ership. Autonomous vehicles, for
instance, will improve efficiency, but
there are numerous ways they can be
a source of revenue. Those that carry
passengers can be mobile kiosks,
making sales to passengers. And
while they are carrying passengers,
the trunks can be carrying packages
for delivery.
Supply chain leaders need to be
alert to these opportunities and be
able to capitalize upon them. To do
that, they must think as business-people—more like a general manager and less like a transaction-focused
logistics manager.
It’s Simple Math
Pickers Travel Less = You Save Money
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FG EF DE CD BC AB HI IJ JK KL
HI IJ JK KL
EF DE CD BC AB
21 31 33 V V 01 11
01 11
02 12
WW
XX
01 11
02 12
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YY
01 11
02 12
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Comparison
Path Optimization 305.2 feet - 33.3%
Location Sequence 457.7 feet 0.0%
Pick Location
Pick Path
AA
AA
; The Internet of Things will enable full
visibility of the supply chain from factory
to customer.
; Blockchains will enable track and
trace, and will limit the influence of bad
actors.
; Logistics services will become available on a Logistics as a Service (LaaS)
basis, where a third party provides plat-form-based turnkey solutions for end-to-end processes.
; “Frenemy networks” will include
competitors in a service offering.
; Every supply chain job will change
due to digitization, through such means
as apps, advanced analytics, and cloud
computing power.
; “Networks of networks” will develop
through the constant realignment of networks with new partners to enable value
delivery.
; We will see highly personalized busi-ness-to-individual (B2i) communications
and commerce.
; Robots and autonomous vehicles will
play an increasingly significant role.
QWhy is know-how about emerging sciences critical to businesses in general and supply chain organizations in
particular? How will the roles of supply
chain professionals evolve?
AI firmly believe that a company must grow as fast as its market to survive
in the long term. Since the rate of change
in the markets is going up continuously,
innovation and growth must be everyone’s job, not just that of a select few.
Let me address this using an example.
Today, a transportation leader is rewarded for securing the right contractual rates,
managing drivers for safety and compliance, and executing on time and within
budget. In a world of autonomous vehicles, there is no driver to manage, and the
job of the transport leader is to ensure
and build the right algorithms, manage
the integrity of assets, and ensure good
customer interactions. Because so much
must change, being ahead of it is critical.
My experience has made me a firm
believer in the ability of logistics to drive
revenue and create new business models.
Logistics can drive customer intimacy,
operational excellence, and product lead-
