Global industry already employs over a million working robots, and robotic devices perform about 80% of the work in car manufacture. Along with drones, 3-D printing, big data and machine-to-machine communication, these new technologies are transforming the business world – and supply chain professionals have been warned to keep up or lose out.
It is therefore no surprise that a number of international and local speakers at the annual SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals – to be held this year in Cape Town from 4-7 June – are addressing the revolution that disruptive technologies are causing in supply chains worldwide.
“The fourth industrial revolution is certainly upon us, and is already changing everything about the way we do business,” said SAPICS president Mungo Park. “It is predicted that half the jobs available today will not exist in just ten years’ time. Supply chain professionals need to hear these messages and take them back into their workplaces, to ensure our economies keep abreast of the opportunities and threats.”
World-renowned business transformation enabler Sean Culey will in fact make this topic the focus of his keynote address to the conference, highlighting how we are at the transition point between business revolutions. According to Culey, we are migrating from the industrial model to the ‘Internet of Everything’ – where artificial intelligence and cognitive computing will be among the new forces that change the nature of the supply chain.
Culey will also be conducting a full-day workshop on 7 June on how to: ‘Prepare your business for a new wave of disruptive technology!’
In another tech-related presentation, Cradle Technology Services CEO Craig Collins will sound a ‘dire warning’ and a call to action for delegates – to open their minds to the huge changes that are in store for supply chain management. He promises that everyone listening will leave the session with an understanding of how these changes will impact on them personally and on their businesses.
Addressing the way that cloud computing, mobile computing and digitisation has contributed to real-time and last-mile visibility of logistics is Miguel Jorge, solution architect and integration specialist at STRATO IT Group. Using a case study of building materials suppliers Cloete’s Sand and Stone, Jorge will also share how business processes were improved by adopting these new technologies – with benefits in terms of customer satisfaction, cost savings and competitive advantage.
Unleashing the power of supply chain visualisation is the focus of a talk by Lyle Petersen, business analyst at Woolworths SA, where delegates can discover how to include visualisation techniques and technology in their arsenal of tools to monitor risks, discover opportunities and drive strategy.
According to Petersen, the increasing complexity of supply chains makes it vital to convert data into actionable insights, and this task has become central to the role of technical teams and business analytics. Discovering and visualising insights – and mapping the supply chain in innovative ways – can reduce risk and improve efficiencies in your enterprise.
An informative exhibition of the latest supply chain products and services is held alongside the conference, and delegates can choose to participate in a range of site visits to companies in the Cape Town area. One such visit is to Woolworths’ impressive consolidated Foods Supply Chain Distribution Centre in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, where state-of-the-art supply chain practice can be seen at work.
Short workshops on the first and second days of the conference provide valuable capacity-building opportunities to delegates at no extra charge. There will also be longer, in-depth workshops on day three, included in the conference registration fee.