Category Archives: Technology

Is Your Supply Management Organization Ready for Convergence?

According to this recent web exclusive over on CPO Agenda on how “technology creates ever-changing leadership challenges”, 70% of top executives from multinational companies agree that there is a danger in being overwhelmed by the complexity of change as whole industries are transformed by a trend called ‘convergence’.

So what is this convergence? According to wikipedia, it could be technological convergence which is defined as the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks. Today’s smart phone is one example. We had a phone, we had a PDA, we had a gaming system, and we had a wifi laptop for browsing the web. Now we have one device that does it all (and, in the case of Apple, an iPhone that puts the one ring to shame).

And it’s happening across the board. Automotive has to build hybrid cars with integrated GPS and satellite internet connectivity. Fashion and Medicine both have to deal with personalization and custom-fit (in the former, the shoe has to be printed exactly to your foot and in the latter, the drug has to be optimized to your DNA). And technology has to adapt to the other systems you have in place. Gone is the time where you could be a master of one thing. Now you have to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one. It’s a daunting task, and one you’re probably not ready for as it’s a requirement most of your people probably are not ready for.

But one thing is for certain, the next few decades will prove whether or not we are the most adaptive species on the planet, because if we’re not, the impending global economic collapse could end all of civilization as we know it. Either way, we will live in interesting times and China, which once upon a time was the most powerful civilization in the world, will have its revenge.

How to Tell the CEO that Your Legacy ERP is a Disaster Waiting To Happen

This recent post over on the HBR blogs about “a system for speaking IT truths to CEOs” is a must read for every CIO and CPO alike. Both the CIO and CPO know that every IT purchase has a life-span and that every piece of legacy software is a ticking time-bomb waiting to detonate and cost the company millions of dollars in a matter of days (or hours, as Comair found out in 2004) if it is not safely disposed of before the clock runs out, but both often have problems conveying the message.

According to the author, who modified a methodology used by medical doctors who often have to deliver bad news on a regular basis, the following seven-step process will often make the process easier.

  1. Understand the CEO’s perceptions
    Does the CEO grasp what a legacy systems issue is?
  2. Hold the calls
    Deliver the bad news in one, uninterrupted, focussed session.
  3. Enlist a business ally
    Make it a business problem, not just a technical one.
  4. Stick to the Facts
    Focus on the risk and the associated loss. CEOs are generally NOT technical.
  5. Don’t Improvise
    Have a set of best-, typical-, and worst-case scenarios prepared in advance and do not deviate.
  6. Insist on Immediate Action
    Infuse a sense of urgency and a time line for corrective action.
  7. Have a Clear Next Step
    Have a specific plan for getting to the goal.

It’s certainly worth a try if you don’t have a better option (and, chances are, you don’t).

Will Printing Bring Production Back Home?

A recent article over on Supply Chain Digest that asks how soon will “printed” parts revolutionize supply chains — and the world brings up a great discussion point when it notes that consumer product areas could be revolutionized by the approach and some people [are] wondering if the dynamics will, in some cases, lead to domestic digital production of some items versus offshore manufacturing in low cost countries. When you consider that 3-D printing is getting better, faster, and cheaper everyday and is already used to produce

  • aircraft titanium landing brackets
  • industrial gloves made out of nylon, stainless steel, or titanium
  • mobile-phone cases where the shape and colour is personalized for each user
  • dental crowns custom shaped to a patients mouth
  • medical implants

and that these printers can currently handle a wide range of materials including

  • plastics
  • glass
  • metal
  • ceramics
  • nylon

and that

  • 20% of the outputs are now finished products (and not just prototypes) and
  • 50% of the outputs are expected to be finished products by 2020

it makes a great case for moving to digital printing to keep costs down since the only costs are the cost of the machine, the room to put it in, the power to run it, the materials to feed it, and the engineer to come and do preventative maintenance after every X products. No HR costs for assembly workers and, most importantly, no exorbitant shipping costs, which are rising every day as the price of oil is now climbing again.

Plus, the ability to give each and every user a “custom” product without a price increase and still do mass production is enticing. It’s a great way to corner a market if your organization can do it first. And the supply chain can spend more time focussing on improving, and lowering the price of, raw material supply instead of renegotiating logistics contracts and battling fuel surcharges every six months. Furthermore, if a product can be printed faster than it can be air freighted half-way around the world, even if volumes are too high to be met entirely with a printing operation, it’s a great risk — and cost — mitigation strategy.