Three technologies — blockchain, the Internet of Things, and analytics — are beginning to offer dramatic advances in supply chain management. They are making it easier to improve customer fulfillment, achieve profitability targets, and make supply chains more resilient and sustainable in terms of the environment and the treatment of stakeholders. This article provides an update on the capabilities needed to exploit these technologies and offers advice on how to build them.
Buy CopiesSupply chains must meet multiple objectives: a high level of customer fulfillment, profitability targets, and resilience to disruptions. Companies are also beginning to prepare their supply chains for a responsible future by guaranteeing that their production and transportation systems are safe and environmentally friendly, raw materials are obtained from sustainable sources, and workers are paid fair wages. Until recently, the cost of achieving all these goals was exorbitant, forcing organizations to make tradeoffs. However, analytics combined with Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology are rapidly making these objectives attainable.
Vishal Gaur is the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and a professor of operations, technology, and information management at the Johnson School at Cornell University.
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