How digital optimization is transforming supply chains: Part 2

Answering the need to manage supply chains more effectively via digital optimization is a challenge every enterprise with aspirations for sustainable success must address. But how can such optimization be practically implemented in order to yield immediate results?

In Part 1 of our look at supply chains and digital optimization, we made the case for wholesale transformation by examining how supply-chain optimization is being addressed by business leaders. While desirable, enterprise-wide makeovers can also be cost-prohibitive if not counterproductive to many businesses in the short run. 

Often smaller, focused steps are a way C-suite leaders and chief supply chain officers can advocate for meaningful change that is both results-oriented and less disruptive. With this in mind, we offer three highly targeted strategies for reimagining your supply chain’s future around digital optimization.

Channeling data instantaneously with augmented reality

From smartphone games to virtual dressing rooms, Augmented Reality (AR) has been making steady inroads into our lives for years. It is a means for channeling high-speed data, cloud technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture even granular information instantly.

Through smart glass, sensors, cameras and other devices, AR is being used to identify breakdowns in machinery or in the packaging of goods. Technology companies are taking advantage of AR’s ability to increase efficiency and give employees the ability to make better, more informed decisions.

AR is especially useful to supply chain officers in determining optimal ways of moving goods, accounting for such variables as traffic patterns, weather, spoilage, and container size. Systems connected to dashboards help truck drivers plot the best route by factoring in gasoline efficiency, size, weight and perishability of cargo.

As data becomes more central to day-to-day operations, AR is becoming indispensable for finding profit in the delivery of goods and services. More business leaders appreciate how smoothly a well-run AR engine brings enterprises closer together. 

AR is even touted as a job enhancer: “…As more AR technology enters the workplace, reality shows humans not only have a place, but their jobs will be safer, more productive and more interesting as a result.”

Virtual modeling for improvement with digital twinning

Digital twinning, or the virtual representation of a real-life system or object with the aid of sensors, machine learning/AI, and more is another data-centric model increasingly practiced by supply-chain leaders for validation and verification.

In supply chain optimization, digital twins replicate key physical pieces of the process, measured through IoT sensors and online replication of supply-chain network assets. These digital twins can be tested to see how they respond to any number of key variables, which can then be factored into designing changes to improve supply-chain operations.

Using digital twins to locate and identify patterns of movement in the supply chain, planners can map out models that anticipate every possibility. Digital twins can be designed to emulate and augment decision-making, quickening response times.

Accenture has identified a number of uses for digital twins in supply chain optimization: “Process-driven digital twins are proprietary, exist 24/7 in the digital world and can be changed anytime to model and pilot new approaches–all without disrupting the physical supply chain.”

Digital twinning is ideally accomplished with the help of a managed-services partner who is able to provide both high-speed data connectivity and infrastructure support, a service like Dedicated Fiber Internet (DFI). In this way, a first-time digital twin program can leverage immediate efficiency gains for the enterprise and incentivize wider digitalization strategies.

Know what is really going on with a Single Version of the Truth (SVOT)

Supply chains are often hampered by the fact they operate largely outside of the owner enterprise, subject to conditions that enterprise cannot manage or control. A platform that operates under a Single Version of the Truth (SVOT) is focused on achieving total visibility of supply chain operations, inside and beyond a single enterprise.

A platform equipped to offer SVOT-level supply chain transparency needs to be part of a system that collects data from partner entities committed to a better, broader operational understanding, organizing core data in a way both comprehensive yet digestible. SVOT is ideally aligned with partner systems along the supply chain, so that problems can be identified and solutions found before they cause serious problems.

Deloitte calls SVOT “a common, integrated data repository” accessible across the enterprise: “In this model, performance measurement and incentives will be associated through a common, holistic set of metrics.”

In supply chain management, having an authoritative, real-time understanding of where and how critical shipments are being channeled through the delivery process is vital to successful outcomes.

When the supply chain is operating properly, SVOT technology can give enterprise leaders confidence in anticipating successful outcomes, and planning accordingly. When there are snags or complications to sort through, SVOT provides clear, actionable insights to act on quickly and effectively.

It all begins with the right network

All these forms of digital optimization rely on networks built around high-speed data. Such a network requires highly scalable capacity and low-latency bandwidth that can deliver vast information smoothly and reliably. Spectrum Enterprise’s Ultra-High Speed Data enables cloud solutions to offer speeds of up to 100 Gbps, ideal for a network designed to manage fast-changing supply chain issues across a multi-state enterprise.

Do you have the right systems in place to provide your network with precise information and total visibility across your enterprise?

Do you have the correct framework to make timely decisions based on data that is both comprehensive and immediate?

The right digital supply chain optimization strategy offers opportunities for an organization to enhance value and avoid vital time and manpower drains.

How can your enterprise focus more on digital optimization of your supply chain? Learn how to exceed your business goals today and tomorrow with Spectrum Enterprise solutions.