We’re in an era ripe with potential. Technologies that can help hone supply chains are less expensive and more accessible than ever before. Offered as on-demand Software-as-a-Service solutions that require virtually no investment in additional IT infrastructure, they are also more configurable — in many cases, enabling users with little or no technical expertise to add forms and functionality without assistance.
As a result, midsized businesses that could not justify tech investments with a Fortune 100 price tag now have opportunities to transform their supply chains in ways inconceivable just a few years ago. Such innovations are increasingly ubiquitous across industries for a wide range of use cases, for example:
- Tying a medical device maker’s sales forecasts to purchasing and delivery schedules.
- Monitoring the performance of suppliers for an automotive manufacturer.
- Using robotic pickers in an omnichannel retailer’s distribution center.
There is a subsequent downside. Despite innovations in supply chain technologies, more organizations complete deployments only to find they failed to achieve desired business outcomes. Why this happens is rarely contingent on the technology but instead is a result of common implementation mistakes.
