Technology

Wearable technology, 3D printing, advanced robotics, real-time shipment tracking and integrated business planning tools are just a few examples of technologies that are in place now, or will be in the near future, throughout the supply chain. grows, and supply chain leaders are facing a major talent shortage. This lack of talent can slow innovation throughout the industry, according to ...

The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning system (GPS) technologies is mitigating the risks within supply chains by minimizing financial losses due to downtime, reducing the chance for non-compliance with government regulations on product safety as well as corporate governance, and even protecting the physical safety of workers. But the use of such technologies to provide an ...

Moving a roll of cloth destined for military uniforms from manufacturer to warehouse to fabricator has been, until recently, a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. The introduction of automatic identification—specifically Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)—has transformed it. Manufacturing employees used to handwrite each cloth roll’s data onto manually attached tags. At the warehouse, employees would copy each roll’s information onto a sheet by ...

Mobile technologies are improving processes within each step of the supply chain—and expediting real-time communication for better visibility across the entire chain. An increasing number of manufacturers are outsourcing some or all of their supply chain management to third-party logistics providers, which are leveraging mobile technologies to report performance metrics—as well as potential problems—to their clients in real time, says ...

Supply chain management is getting an adrenaline shot in the arm with emerging wearable and mobile technologies. From smart glasses, to voice-directed hands-free wearable scanners, to real-time views of every touchpoint within the supply chain via mobile devices, manufacturers, distributors and their partners are experimenting with various technologies to expedite processes, improve worker safety and increase transparency within the supply ...

On “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard often pondered the week’s signature conundrum over a cup of comfort. “Tea. Earl Gray. Hot,” he’d say to the Replicator, and a moment later it would materialize. We’re not quite there just yet, but at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we got one giant step closer with the ...

Predictions about the future of logistics often include scenarios of driverless trucks loaded with goods cruising effortlessly down the highway and flying drones departing from warehouses to make last-mile deliveries of consumer goods. Will such visions become a reality? Despite anticipated benefits to automated driving and delivery systems, technological, legislative and other barriers could slow their adoption. Assisted not autonomous ...

Cloud computing has played a critical role in the improvement of supply chain management by supporting an enterprise’s efforts to share data with multiple partners across many different locations throughout the world. While the benefits of cloud computing include improved collaboration among supply chain partners, cost-effective use of staff resources and the ability to adapt to changing business needs quickly, ...

With all the hype about the Internet of Things, it wouldn’t take much to feel, well, left out of things. Before panic sets in, a word from the experts: Even though the idea of an interconnected—and perhaps automated—world of sensor-led devices that can freely transfer data over a shared network keeps making headlines, it’s still not reality. “To be clear, ...

Big data—the vast amounts of information that businesses, companies and organizations collect and store about inventory, operations, customers, vendors, sales and other transactions—and the challenges associated with strategically processing it play a key role in the operation of today’s most successful supply chains. Companies that figure out how best to harness the capture, storage, management and analysis of big data ...