JUNE 2019CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9soon recognize the missed opportunity to wield a competitive weapon in the fight to realize your strategic ambitions and yield economic sustainability.Dear Operations and Procurement ChiefsThe Operations and Procurement Chiefs need to recognize the technology-leveraging operations logistics manager and bring alongside him a technology-progressive logistics procurement manager to consider a new approach to developing their collaborative partnership. Together, they should be challenged to redefine the company's demand profile for logistics services, determine what entities can deliver the optimal match of logistics services which strikes the proper balance of costs, breadth of services and reliability for transportation and back-office services. This collaborative team-of-twomust be supported with autonomy and authority.You and your planning, inventory management, quality, human resources and operations execution heads must give this team your careful attention to theirplans for leveraging industry 4.0 solutions in Logistics.Dear Human Resource ChiefThere is a widening and deepening logistics skills gap. Census figures tell us we are at the start of declining situation where we progressively suffer from the deficiencies of skills in the evolving logistics function. We cannot start too soon to recruit and retain talent in a function with so much potential.The counter to this dim view of qualified headcount future is recognition that the digitalization of support functions will result in headcount reductions for roles related to managing information in traditional non-digitalized processes including hazardous goods declarations, import/export paperwork, procurement and invoicing. Now is the time of opportunity to recognize and rejuvenate those members of your processing staff that have retraining potential to be transferred into the fewer, more technology-driven roles where exception management, problem-solving, data-analytics skills and an agile mindset will win the day.Dear Quality ChiefIn a recent trial, we attached Intel's IoT devices to productsocean-freight shipped and road freight shipped from Northeast US into Mexico. I can see an example of the future with the Intel®Connected Logistics Platform soaking up data from devices tracking location, temperature, humidity, luminosity, angleand shock at every pallet, drum and carton across all manufacturing segments and industries. In the trial, the devices proved to be perfectly capable.Further, it is clear to see how the devices will drive intelligence from information in a cost-efficient manner, while monetizing and providing opportunity for continuous optimization.In the near term, Chief of Quality, if you could monitor the environment of every package through all n-tiers of your supply networkto the customer's door, will you be the first in your industry to differentiate your product with verified quality metrics against your competitors' offerings?Logistics Digitalized FutureSupply Chain leaders, who wish to be looked upon favorably for their guidance through this Industry 4.0 digitalization era, must recognize there is little time to contemplate the change. Technology adoption is happening with a scope and pace not seen in any arena of human existence. Logistics professionals need to accept a significant change - traditional forwarders, brokers and shipper processes will cease to exist in their current form. C-suite leadership must ready their workforce to speak the languages of EDI and APIs and develop collaborative, professional relationships with their data scientist colleagues. Supply chain leaders at all levels must define a structured and disciplined approach which is aligned with supply chain goals.Today, the digital transformation of the $2 trillion global freight forwarding sector, as well as the even larger $7 trillion global logistics industry is well underway.It is inevitable that logistics digitalization is in your supply chain future, the decision is to let it happen or to make it happen in your enterprise in an orchestrated manner aligned with achieving your supply chain ambitions.
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