(Idea was raised by client question yesterday: "What is the future of Supply Chain?")
Supply Chain 4.0 is the way which products and services are generated with the use of a mix of disruptive technologies properly interoperable. These main Industry 4.0’s technologies are Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Blockchain and Augmented Reality.
All those technologies effectively integrated allows better performance on supply chain processes in terms of efficiency, integration, collaboration, responsiveness, flexibility, quality and transparency. These integrated technologies aims to create cyber-physical systems overall the supply chain’s processes.
However, the Industry 4.0 revolution has considered a clear separation between humans and machines, specifically robots.
Super Smart Society (Society 5.0): This terminology has been promoted by the Japan Government in 2016. Society 5.0 predicts the intensive use of Industry 4.0’s technologies with human interaction going beyond the threshold of manufacturing and business perspective. On the supply chain side, it is not necessarily linked to the industry. Although some relation and impacts might occur on supply chains, it focus more on solving problems regarding people’s quality life and humanity collaborating to create smarter society.
As an industry, we’re getting better and better at Industry 4.0 implementation and optimization — and doing it at scale. From delivering never-before-seen levels of supply chain visibility to streamlining every aspect of the transaction and transportation. We have more data than ever before, and more robust ERP systems to help make sense of it. But here’s the thing: supply chains are, at the end of the day, about people.
I am drafting the idea to build a next generation of supply chain solutions and the target resolution:
Bringing more customization to a supply chain, improving not only customer satisfaction but also efficiency and margins.
Reducing supply chain risks and waste based on more current information.
Enabling supply chain and logistics functions to spend more time on strategic experimentation and less on fighting fires or matters of basic execution.
Improving supply chain integration for more strategic partnerships.
Getting more value for customer. Mass Customisation. Human touch is not only needed in customizing and personalizing products but also in ensuring seamless end-to-end supply chain processes: from selecting the right raw materials to understanding the personalization and customization requirements of individual customers.