Economies the world over are in a brutal and unsettling phase of transition in which new technologies are shaking the foundations of business and demanding innovative solutions from supply chain managers.
 
Speaking at the 39th SAPICS conference at Century City in Cape Town, keynote speaker Sean Culey threw down the gauntlet to supply chain management professionals, highlighting the extent of ‘creative destruction’ underway in the global  economy. The conference has brought together some 800 delegates from across Africa and abroad, to discuss cutting-edge trends and technologies in supply chain management.
 
Culey, Vice-President of Manucore in the UK and a regular speaker at SAPICS, told delegates that technology is “turning certainties into absurdities” – with a “triple-whammy” of robotics, automation and convergence already severely disrupting traditional ways of doing business.
 
“The world’s largest transport company owns no vehicles, the world’s largest retailer holds no inventory, the largest accommodation provider holds no real estate, and the world’s largest movie provider has no cinemas,” said Culey. “A five-year-old company that has developed an app that hails cars, is worth more than the companies that make the cars. This is our world in transition.”
 
He said the digital world of e-commerce is impacting harshly on business in the physical world, with a “retail apocalypse” underway among the traditional giants of retail like the global superstores.
 
Opening the conference on Monday morning, SAPICS president Mungo Park urged supply chain practitioners to develop innovative ways of staying ahead of economic disruption, highlighting the increasingly integrative role that supply chain plays in today’s corporate environment. He also emphasised the importance of developing supply chain skills in Africa, as well as accrediting professionals to reflect the vital role they play.
 
Speakers at the conference explored issues including automation, robotics, 3D-printing, virtual reality and ‘big data’ – sharing views on how best to leverage new technologies to improve operational efficiency.
 
Woolworths’ Head of Supply Chain Bradley Nitsckie, contributing to a panel discussion on supply chain trends hosted by Carte Blanche presenter Derek Watts, emphasised the need for re-skilling in the supply chain space – as practitioners come face-to-face with new and more demanding challenges to their roles and their businesses in future.
 
Reflecting on the impact of the international political landscape, PwC’s Douglas Kent said the current policy uncertainties – especially following the UK’s Brexit vote and the election in the US of Donald Trump as president – made it more difficult to plan investments and manage risk.
 
Based in the US and responsible for PwC’s Supply Chain Planning Centre of Excellence, Kent urged businesses to generate realistic baseline assumptions on which to quantify and monetise their risks – as a starting point for managing the volatile business environment.