A revolution is under way in how companies are expected to track assets and manage their supply chains. Pressure is rising from end users who have become accustomed to knowing where their goods are at any moment in their journey. For example, many last-mile and small-package logistics and shipping providers can deliver visibility to customers who expect exact location and status details, but struggle to understand or scale visibility of their own supply chain assets to run these complex operations.
The proper integrated hardware and software solutions can bring clarity to your supply chain, allowing you to do more strategic asset planning and risk mitigation than ever before. With the streamlining of your supply chain management, you will save time, improve customer service, and increase profitability.
How the Technological Revolution Is Affecting the Supply Chain
Before the use of computers became widespread, many supply chain operators used more manual methods to track products, like spreadsheets, Post-it notes, and other less sophisticated methods. That system of human-driven supply chain management no longer works in a world that has grown more complex.
The smartest companies are streamlining their supply chain data collection by employing the latest technology innovations, from radio frequency identification (RFID) to ultra-wideband (UWB) to cellular tracking and GPS data, to reduce costs and improve overall market competitiveness. Embracing technology can provide significant advantages over the competition and build market share.
Additionally, technology continues to improve. There are now systems that provide 99.9% or better data accuracy as companies track assets from warehouse to end user, which offers companies strategic asset planning opportunities. By combining Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology with groundbreaking hardware and software, building a safe, secure supply chain is now within reach.
Using the Information to Improve Strategic Asset Planning
Providing company leaders with access to real-time data about the state of their supply chains provides them the critical information to make meaningful decisions about how to deploy their assets strategically. To receive accurate, actionable data, you must use the proper technology platform so manual tasks can be automated, operational decisions can be made with a source-of-truth dataset, and cost savings can be realized. This frees employees to solve strategic problems and seek future solutions that set your business apart.
Inventory management, which often costs between 25% and 33% of companies’ budgets, is another area where having specific, granular data will help you make smarter business decisions and improve profitability over time. The more data you collect and analyze, the more efficient your inventory strategy can be, minimizing waste while keeping inventories at levels sufficient to meet your customers’ needs. The top hardware and software options allow you to project customer demand trends using the extensive data you’re collecting. By using this, businesses can minimize the costs of overstocking inventory and paying additional fees for storage and transportation.
Demand forecasting data should be distributed throughout the organization to improve decision-making at all levels. When combined with additional data specific to your organization, these powerful tools allow for better long-term decision-making and mapping the path to a profitable future. The key is to ensure buy-in from everyone to make it as effective as possible and to reduce supply chain costs. Creating the complete data picture is the best way to provide you with the clarity needed to take meaningful action.
As you build the technological infrastructure necessary to digitalize your business, it is crucial to ensure the systems can interface, communicate with each other, and share data in real time. One of the key elements to creating this system is finding software that allows information to flow freely between different company departments and provides outputs that can be easily analyzed as supply chain conditions change. Supply chain challenges don’t just affect the supply chain infrastructure. Problems in the supply chain can have an impact on the entire company and prevent it from reaching its revenue goals. Being able to execute on accurate data can be the difference between success or failure for your company.
Mitigating Risks with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are revolutionizing supply chain management, improving efficiency and accuracy, and freeing executives and employees to determine how best to minimize risks through long-term strategic thinking. AI and ML do in seconds what it would take employees weeks to do, which provides companies with the real-time ability to identify patterns and trends. Observing the identified patterns allows for quick pivots to avoid inventory-driven delays.
ML algorithms can use historical data to predict what might happen in the future. This knowledge allows companies to foresee and adjust to potential supply chain disruptions like those that occurred during the pandemic in 2020. Instead of companies finding themselves reacting to changes, the predictive capabilities of AI and ML offer opportunities for proactive measures to mitigate risks, like diversifying suppliers or increasing safety stock levels.
To implement AI and ML programs effectively, companies must start by collecting supply chain datasets specific to them. The quality of an AI analysis depends on gathering and maintaining accurate input data, which is why it is crucial to deploy software platforms that capture the data with 99.9% accuracy.
Combined, AI, and ML can transform the way companies think about supply chain management. With their predictive capabilities, they can streamline demand forecasting, optimize inventories, plan efficient tasks and evaluate product quality before they reach end users. For example, AI can help warehouse managers anticipate potential equipment failures and service the machines before catastrophic problems occur. Such actions can reduce downtime and improve overall operational efficiency.
The Bottom Line
The technological revolution has reached supply chain management. Driven by advanced IoT, AI, and ML, companies can operate at unprecedented precision and efficiency. Collecting and integrating accurate datasets allows employees to improve asset management, strategic asset planning and risk mitigation throughout supply chain operations. Embracing this technology is crucial to maintain an edge on competitors in the small-package shipping companies in an increasingly crowded market.
William “Bill” Wappler is the CEO of Surgere, an industry pioneer leveraging IoT technology to revolutionize the supply chain. Bill has more than 20 years of experience directing and executing technology strategy growth for global and Fortune 500 companies. Learn more and discover how to leverage Surgere’s supply chain expertise at surgere.com.
This article originally appeared in the September/October, 2024 issue of PARCEL.
