"Never make predictions, especially about the future." But, spacing the distances, I think I'll take some license and share my perspective on trends and the possible future of value chain management.
The task becomes even more complex if we take into account that the changes in the elements that make up the SCM, from the logistical perspective and the classic operational conservatism, do not help too much.
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What elements will also shape the future supply chains?
1. Information systems
If there is one element that has radically transformed the way we face the challenges of modern SCM management, it is the systemsthat allow us to manage all the elements from a single point. ERPs have changed the playing field, since their management capacity, based on the historical and projections offered by big data, is almost infinite.
Cloud computing . Or the cloud. There are many predictions, such as that of Mark Hurd, Oracle's Co-CEO, who states that by 2025, 80% of business applications will run in the cloud compared to the current 24%; that in 2025 two suppliers will have 80% of the market for SaaS applications and that virtually all corporate data will be in the cloud. It sounds scary.
If the above is true, how many SCM applications will be in the cloud? 80%? 90%? And how many WMS applications will work in SaaS environment? But nobody can deny Oracle a reality and is that it is the largest provider of SC solutions, and that has its price.
2. Multichannel
The new commercial trends in the retail and retail sector are leading to an intense transformation of the way in which logistics will face the future management of the value chain. The commercial process almost always takes this order:
Physical store
Online store
Multi-channel
Brands and stores offer us numerous channels (physical, online, mobile) where you can buy your articles.
Omni-channel
Not only do they offer us multiple channels, but they provide us with the same shopping experience (UX) regardless of the channel we use. It is the omnichannel customer care.
In addition, the traditional supply chain for international operations did not take into consideration the final consumer for distribution purposes. It was the channel at destination who was in charge of reaching the buyer. Now, proactive supply chains must take care of both the traditional and the online channels, both in the national and international markets.
3. Automation and robotization
When we thought that everything (or almost everything) was invented, the B2Cappears . And it has caught us with the changed step. From a stable model, with fixed, regular and known delivery points, we pass to an irregular, unstable, dispersed demand, with little money and tremendously demanding. Welcome to the Internet retail.
How is the online channel? Demand agility and response in real time compared to classic models. Order picking systems and their distribution change rapidly, and they do not look anything like traditional models.
Is there a market for warehouse automation? The answer is yes. Yes to robotize part of the execution process , yes to the WMS / SGA systems in the cloud and yes to the optimization of delivery processes and last mile . An online order arrives at the warehouse, a robot picks it up and takes it to the point of preparation. Once ready, and depending on the urgency, the distance or the service contracted, it is delivered by another aerial or perhaps terrestrial robot, which we can control with a simple application of our smartphone: between science fiction and reality, but they are already in phase beta. On autonomous deliveries, legislation, cost and vandalism will have the final say.
Autonomous cars They are already on the street. Does anyone doubt that in the not too distant future will be those who take the goods to the points of consumption? What else does an autonomous car give than an autonomous truck? The good thing about the last one is that it will be able to load 30 pallets of merchandise.
4. Sustainable logistics
Another of the great challenges that we face today and in the future is logistic sustainability, which has gone from being an almost non-existent element in our environment (or, at most, an added value) to become a demand.
The companies , generally transport companies, already announce the carbon footprint they leave and the plans they have to reduce it further in the future . This has created an environmental awareness, and both operators and shippers or manufacturers of vehicles, ships and planes already consider the reduction of the carbon footprint in their emissions a critical element.
In B2C it is even more important . The big cities of the world are putting more and more obstacles to the circulation of internal combustion vehicles through their residential and central zones, and rewarding vehicles with electric motors.
5. IoT (Internet of things)
According to a Cisco report this year, the number of devices connected to the Internet will exceed 25,000 million by 2020 and according to the Technavio report, M2M communications (machine to machine) will reach 46%, so from the control of routes to the SGA, through tracking systems, RFID, POS or ERP, the devices will communicate with each other generating information flows that will end up having an impact in some way on the management of the SC.
These communications and that number of connections will make and demand a supply chain that is very proactive and flexible, but above all predictive . Must be able to anticipate events before they occur, based on the big data and past flows, otherwise it will always be in tow from the demand, which reduces effectiveness and increases its cost.
The IoT will give a lot of visibility throughout the value chain , which will mean that the classic reporting and information models will be obsolete when replaced by real-time information.
Surely there will be more challenges and no less important, as well as others that we can not even imagine exist and that we will discover as they occur. Are we ready for them? I do not know, but I do not want to lose them.
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