No matter what type of business you are operating, ensuring efficient & organized supply chain management is essential to keep your customer satisfied by providing them an ultimate customer experience with enhanced product quality & distribution on time. But it's not that easy at all. From buying raw material to warehousing, manufacturing & delivering the final products to the consumer via logistics, the supply chain is a complex & multi-faceted process.
But thanks to the continuing efforts of the several companies working towards supply chain optimizations, the industry is holding its head up for many appealing technologies streamlining the entire processes to speed logistics. The technology innovations like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics or autonomous robots, etc. in several industries worldwide are effectively transforming the supply chain management & providing a better service to their customers.
In this blog, financial advisor Mr. Ngulminthang Lhanghal has listed down some of the major innovations that are transforming supply chain management. Let’s have a look:
- Big Data Analytics Provide Wealth Of Knowledge - Big data analytics are making a tremendous impact on supply chain management. The automated data processing of both structured and unstructured data allows supply chain managers to get massive amounts of information in real-time. For example, advanced solutions by machine learning algorithms evaluate the data & point out discrepancies like machine malfunctions and transportation delays help managers to make smart & cost-effective decisions.
- Less Human Interference With Artificial Intelligence - Today, the availability of numerous IoT devices (Internet of Things) is enabling managers to handle the complexities of supply chain management with less or no human involvement at all. Whether it is tracking devices for DoD’s alerts, sharing supply chain information, or efficient fleet management by automated day-to-day transactions such as ELD solutions to record driver’s logs, hours of service, & perform vehicle inspections with a few clicks, AI is transforming the raw data into actionable data without human interaction. Various IoT devices provide companies with reliable data on customer tendencies and logistics trends.
- Accelerated Supply Flow With 3D Printing - The concept of 3D printing is enabling companies to manufacture specific & customized products in-house as per consumer’s needs by using specialized materials at minimized costs. The shorter manufacturing process is resulting in the quicker supply of final goods to customers which further empowering companies to stay competitive in the logistic market. Plus, it is also lowering the inventory levels, decreasing shipping costs, and promoting economical warehousing.
- Autonomous Robots Are Boosting Productivity - The adoption of robotics in supply chain management is not only saving manager’s time but also increasing quality & accuracy of productivity at reduced management costs by automating routine tasks in the company. Collaborative mobile robots have greater flexibility & scalability compared to traditional warehouse automation solutions. For example, they increase order picking efficiency & improve accuracy by guiding workers through tasks, help in warehousing & manufacturing, thereby reducing accident threats at the workplace as well as help managers run a smooth operation by responding to queries 24/7 through AI.
- Cutting Payroll Costs With Autonomous Vehicles & Eco-fuels - Many companies are now investing in autonomous vehicles to cut down payroll costs, eliminate human injury & vehicle wear & tear tasks as well as increase fuel efficiency. What’s more, is the rising popularity of eco-fuels for ensuring environmentalism & long-term financial sustainability.
- Efficient Fleet Operations With Logistic Softwares Such as TMS - Transport Management Software or TMS is a logistic program allowing supply chain managers to streamline fleet operations & successful physical movement of goods by tracking inventory & material across the supply chain in real-time. Earlier, it was a time-consuming task with high human errors but it is an accurate task with reduced operating costs.
- Radio Frequency Identification - Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is genuinely contributing to the supply chain world by automatically identifying, following & tracing goods with radio signals in real-time without human involvement. These tags look like barcodes that improve the data accuracy & traceability throughout the supply chain.
- Geolocation - RFID is not the only business innovation that is improving goods tracking & other aspects of the supply chain. New geolocation solutions provide low-power wide-area (LPWA) networks, securely connect networks and sensors to the cloud via the IoTs through which the managers can view & transmit data worldwide. It is decreasing both cost & energy consumption.
- Drone Deliveries - A drone is an autonomous aerial vehicle that can be controlled & flown automatically through remote access by using in-built programmed flight routes. They are impressively overcoming the shortcomings of on-road transportation systems in supply chain management such as delays in delivery of goods due to traffic jams or construction works. Drones are small, light & comparatively cost-effective options to operate that are decreasing transportation costs & speeding up delivery.
- Blockchain - It is a permanent & more sufficient ledger of transactions that is being adopted by many companies to improve transparency, reliability, and efficiency in supply chain management. Blockchain technology can efficiently handle sensitive data, track a timestamp and reference link at each step in a transactional record.
Now you know how several technologies are transforming the future of supply chain management for both companies & consumers across the world. Technological solutions are making a great impact on logistics & manufacturing processes. It is high time when SMEs should start adopting them into their supply chain processes.
