Using Disruptive Technology To Mitigate Supply Chain Issues

Supply chains can be quite complicated because they usually involve multiple processes to create and transport a product to customers. If you are directly involved with supply chains, you’re probably familiar with the various issues that can arise and know that not all supply networks are effective. However, many of these issues can be mitigated with disruptive technology.

Disruptive technology refers to innovation that alters how customers, industries, or enterprises function, and these have the potential to replace traditional methods. Disruptive technology alters how goods are produced, delivered, and monitored while fundamentally changing supply chains.

8 Disruptive Technologies That Address Supply Chain Issues

1. 3D Printing

The first plastic prototypes were manufactured in the early 1980s using 3D printing. The current state of 3D printing allows for the production of completed objects from materials including metal, human tissue, concrete, and even food.

An excessively complex supply chain may be greatly simplified with 3D printing because manufacturers can design the parts they need to get the job done on-site without having to outsource these. Businesses can therefore localize the manufacturing of items closer to consumers, resulting in quicker turnaround times, lower shipping costs, and more individualized products.

2. E-Commerce Marketplaces

Employing e-commerce platforms help companies improve transparency by providing a single point for all component purchasing. In addition, marketplaces provide buyers and sellers with security and efficiency when it comes to processing transactions. Some of these include tools to handle the request for quotation and the bill of materials so that buyers can look beyond their conventional sourcing strategies.

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical items that have been technologically augmented with sensors to gather, share, and send data. Internet of Things connects with your manufacturing and logistics operations in a way that could provide significant new levels of real-time insight into where a product is in your outbound supply chain. Inventory can be routed more effectively in real-time to match demand signals with end-to-end visibility.

4. Organization and Control of a Vast Network of Suppliers

Hundreds of suppliers operate alongside a huge, multidimensional organization, delivering supplies and supporting activities across several locations and countries. Organizations require a comprehensive approach to third-party services to manage these providers and reduce risk properly. Procurement platforms that use real-time data to manage vendor contracts, improve service verification, automate invoicing and payments, and control supply chain costs are examples of a sophisticated solution to this problem.

5. Blockchain Technology

Blockchain has the potential to fundamentally alter how retailers and producers of consumer packaged products manage their supply networks. Blockchain technology aims to prevent data from being destroyed, altered, or changed by storing it all in open, shared databases that are visible to all users. Every procedure, job, and payment involved has a digital record. The identification, validation, storage, and dissemination of the authorization for every action necessary at any step.

Shippers, freight forwarders, carriers, ports, insurance firms, banks, attorneys, and others are exchanging “milestone” information and data about their parts of a specific shipping transaction in active pilots of this technology.

6. Wearable Tech

Smart electronic gadgets worn without using your hands are known as wearable technology. Wearables are used by businesses like UPS to speed up supply chain operations.

7. Leverage Artificial Intelligence To Analyze Data Sets

AI is being used by more and more businesses to evaluate data sets, understand consumer behavior, and more accurately forecast future demand. Companies can simplify their supply chains and save time and money by becoming better at forecasting. A company’s bottom line can be significantly impacted by improving short-term decision-making to combat supply networks’ instability.

8. Data Science

Thanks to tools like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing, data science is impacting the supply chain in a powerful way, allowing operators and engineers to study and utilize that data in powerful new ways.

To gather data efficiently, manufacturers can use the CIM ME2000 DM. The CIM ME2000 DM is a cutting-edge solution for industrial marking applications requiring automated data gathering and management.

If you’d like to learn more about CIM ME2000 DM, contact us today at 800.486.1312 or click here to request a quote.

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