Top Trends In Supply Chain Automation In 2022
Hyper-automation and immersive experience are among the top supply chain technology themes this year, according to research.
Gartner said the themes were important for their transformational potential and ability to promote operational resiliency across business functions, technology, and service delivery.
Gartner’s 2021 supply chain technology themes are:
. Hyper-automation
This combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation. Sometimes referred to as digital process automation or intelligent process automation, Hyper automation represents the application of technologies including robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and process mining to automate tasks that once required human intelligence, and judgement.
In combining several automation technologies, it’s possible to overcome the restrictions of single automation tools and move closer to the end-goal of an autonomous supply chain.
Digital supply chain twin (DSCT)
DSCT is a digital representation of the physical supply chain, ensuring that decision-making is aligned horizontally and vertically all through the network. Integrating with existing systems, a DSCT allows professionals to better understand the workings of their supply chain, make informed decisions, predict future events, test design processes, and optimize inventory.
A DSCT can save time, resources, and costs by improving transparency and efficiency, driving better quality control, advancing sustainability and mitigating risks.
Immersive experience and applications
Head-mounted displays, smart glasses, wearable’s, 5G, and smartphones or tablets provide immersive experiences through a mix of graphic processing, AI and other individual business applications. Immersive applications provide many advantages in the manufacturing and supply chain industry. For example, AR can provide real-time information on machinery malfunctions, issue safety warnings, and provide training to employees in a safe and controlled environment
Edge ecosystems
This is where technologies can be used, for example, to track and monitor condition or temperature requirements across multiple phases of a product’s life cycle. These ecosystems can revolutionize how data is processed, putting computation, data storage, and power as close as possible to point of action or occurrence. For supply chain professionals, this can extend the reach and visibility of their supply chains, enable in-depth data analysis, and facilitate speedier response and decision-making times.
Supply chain security
A new generation of scalable technology solutions are expected to evolve, bringing together a more comprehensive approach to embrace security risks such as counterfeits or cybercrime holistically across the supply chain.
Environmental and social governance
Global supply chains have an important role to play in their contribution to both map and assess ESG risks and opportunities. Emerging technologies can help experts better manage and monitor their supply chain activities and ESG risks, whether it’s tracking the origins of products and components to build an ethical supply chain or verifying that supply chain activities align with an organization’s climate change goals.
Companies are expected to invest heavily in these kinds of technologies in the coming years, not only to secure ESG investments but to improve their brand image and drive customer and employee loyalty.
Embedded AI and analytics
These deliver real-time reporting, advanced analytics, interactive data visualisation and intelligence directly into a business enterprise application.
For supply chain and manufacturing experts, embedded AI will enables predictive maintenance for equipment, increased efficiency, higher quality components and products, and better risk and cyber security management.
Augmented data intelligence
Managing supply chains requires continuous decision-making, and most organizations lack the knowledge they need to do so.
As a result, businesses need solutions that help them get a better understanding of their supply chain and the activities that take place inside it, so that choices can be made using current and accurate data. The integration of multiple technologies is known as enhanced data intelligence (EDI). With each other, they speed up sophisticated data processing and provide useful insights, and recommendations.
This combines several technologies that facilitate advanced data processing, delivering insightful information, suggestions and predictions.
Christian Titze, vice president analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice, said the list is focused on broader technology themes, as individual technologies are often converged to solve specific supply chain business problems.
“Immersive experience technologies have the potential to radically influence the trajectory of supply chain management,” said Titze. “It presents new interaction models through the product life cycle, not only with humans, but with other processes, machines and applications.”
He said modern supply chains were highly connected and interdependent.
“Organisations need technologies to map and prepare for ESG opportunities, risks and impacts,” said Titze. “Failure to invest in tools and solutions that govern, predict and adapt to new ESG impacts could have a significant influence on brand or company image, customer value perception, and the cost and availability of goods.”