SEPTEMBER 2020CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM 192000 enterprises will have digital transformation at the center of their corporate strategy.This will mean that as IT leadership, you will have to have a seat at the table and will play a critical role in leading the future of the company. It will be your responsibility to cut through the clutter of technology buzzwords and instead focus on what all of the innovations really mean for the business.For example, understanding that cloud provides considerable flexibility and a more scalable environment is hugely important for those of us in IT, but the business team will just want to know how it supports broader objectives.Managing digital transformation will require an in-depth understanding of those business objectives, a thoughtful approach to identifying how emerging technologies can truly help at reaching them, and ultimately, a tactical plan to execute. Consider, for example:· IoT--Embracing the IoT for tasks such as machine-driven replenishment and service and performance monitoring.· Automation--Integrating bots and corresponding apps into operational workflows, taking care of everything from order entry to line-side replenishment.· Robotics--Using smaller, more nimble machines to perform multiple tasks and work alongside humans, aiding in productivity.· Artificial Intelligence--Applying it in the way you ship and deliver products, predicting demand and device failures as well as learning what customers want and need.· Big Data--Working to capture their existing data and make it actionable and productive across operations.At ModusLink, we are constantly assessing these and other new technology solutions and helping our clients determine where they can leverage them to bridge gaps that exist in their supply chains, whether it is deploying a new ecommerce platform to help a startup quickly and easily expand into a new region or country; automating sorting in a distribution facility so packages arrive in customers' hands faster; or helping a multinational B2B tech company gain greater control over its millions of software licenses currently in market.Cast Out One-off SolutionsIt can be tempting to look for quick fixes to supply chain challenges--and there is no shortage of technologies and vendors that claim to solve problems in such a manner. Building a solution internally often seems like a quick fix, but over total lifetime the cost to manage, develop and support it often massively outweighs the lower sticker price. With so much change on the horizon, it is critical to take a long-term view of any technology strategy. This is because no one technology will win, but instead the most cost efficient, successful supply chains will deploy a complex web of interconnected solutions.For some companies, this could be as innovative as considering how, for example, their entire customer experience will be transformed as IoT connectivity can enable smoother order replenishment and lessen service calls. For others, and in the case of many of our clients, it could be as practical as leveraging a single global instance of SAP surrounded by best-of-breed systems to run highly efficient, operational processes that significantly reduce costs.The many technology changes impacting our industry don't come without certain challenges. But, as technologists who understand it all best, we're in a unique position to see it for what it really presents: opportunity. No one technology will win, but instead the most cost efficient, successful supply chains will deploy a complex web of interconnected solutions
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