More and more manufacturing companies combine planning and execution into one solution so that supply chain disruptions can be better anticipated in the future and optimal solutions can be made on time.
5 key trends in manufacturing:
Trend 1: The level of automation will continue to increase
You can even break this down into individual loads and predict delivery time and risk. There are some chances that a breakdown will occur and deliveries may be diverted thanks to algorithms. Thus, the entire process can be automated, from planning to ad-hoc execution.
Algorithms can also prioritize time and place of urgency, so that production and delivery commitments can be met.
Trend 2: Faster integration of cloud services
More cloud equals more automation. Due to advanced APIs and the move away from local systems, new cloud services can be integrated and customized with very little effort. As new cloud applications enable higher levels of automation.
Trend 3: Data Scientists are the new rock stars
Well-structured and cloud-ready data enables convergence of solutions in a single application. Unified data in a holistic solution used across departments provides a better overview of all activities throughout the supply chain and simplifies process automation.
Trend 4: Applications focus on the user
Millennials are entering the business world with new suggestions and ideas about what should be done with technology and its optimization.
User experience is another important aspect, as it imposes new demands on UX design. Solutions will be successful if they have intuitive graphical user interfaces that use dashboards and diagrams to provide a quick overview of what is happening throughout the supply chain.
Trend 5: Planning and execution from a single source
Automation and cloud applications are accelerating supply chain management processes.
One reason for this is the ability to harmonize the previously separate areas of supply chain planning and supply chain execution in a single application.
An ML-based application that can forecast outages will perform more reliably if it uses planning data from the same application. This will increase supply chain efficiency and provide employees with a better overview and better customer satisfaction as both supply chain disciplines will meet in one application.
Source: BlueYonder