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Building Smart Supply Chains for the Future

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Building smart supply chains that are connected, data-driven, sustainable, and resilient, powered by AI-enabled digital technologies.

Digital transformation has taken over industries by storm and has had a similar impact on supply chains too. While some supply chain practitioners are missing the bandwagon of transformation and faltering to keep pace with the digital revolution, others are acing the game by embracing the latest technologies to turn supply chains smart. Artificial Intelligence has been a revelation, intelligently powering supply chains to smartly maneuver processes, systems, and networks. AI-driven technologies such as Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Blockchain, and more have enthused the different sections of supply chains for enhanced performance and efficiency. This blog piece lines out the impact and influence of a smart supply chain.

Smart Logistics

Logistics as a function is what keeps supply chains rolling. Any interruption to this set-up and movement of raw materials required for manufacturing products can instantly fall flat on its face. Similarly, it can have an adverse impact on the delivery of finished products to the end customers. Smart logistics is the application of contemporary technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Machine Learning, and Advanced Analytics to optimize the management and delivery of goods and services. Logistics services that embrace smart by integrating real-time data and analytics improve supply chain visibility, enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and provide better customer service. The right use  of technology in logistics can help organizations use real-time data, and machine learning algorithms to optimize delivery routes and reduce transportation costs. It can also empower them to strengthen last-mile deliveries by using drones, autonomous vehicles, and other technologies to improve speed and efficiency, besides reducing the carbon footprint. The confluence of technology and data also helps  companies better monitor shipments, inventory levels, and identify potential disruptions.

Smart logistics enables the visibility of goods in transit within a Smart Supply Chain

An IoT-connected cargo truck

Smart Manufacturing

The evolution of Industry 4.0 has brought about a paradigm shift in the manufacturing sector. It has helped manufacturers use technological advances to their advantage, increasing productivity and efficiency. Smart manufacturing is the intelligent layer applied over existing manufacturing practices to make them data-driven, intelligent, and in many instances self-governing. The influx of AI-driven technologies such as predictive analytics is helping manufacturers keep their production floors active and thriving. Predictive analytics ensure machines and equipment are in the best shape always, running at peak efficiency. Also helping keep the optimization quotient constant and high are digital twins that provide a digital replica of the manufacturing process to simulate and optimize production. Pre-programmed robots and cobots are another inclusion that is helping manufacturers smartly automate their operations. These robots are not just helping do the physically strenuous work effortlessly, it is also helping safeguard laborers from working in unsafe and hazardous conditions. Embracing smart manufacturing also enables businesses to use 3D printing technology or additive technology to manufacture products with greater precision and customization, besides helping keep a vigil on the quality of products to thwart defects. Smart manufacturing can help manufacturers strategically drive operational efficiency, reduce costs, and provide better products to customers by delivering high-quality, customized products, faster. It also empowers manufacturers with flexibility and agility equipping manufacturers with new-age capabilities to face the ever-evolving market conditions.

Smart manufacturing ensures steady supplies in a Smart Supply Chain

Programmed robots assembling vehicles in the factory

Smart Warehousing

Warehousing is integral to supply chain success. It helps businesses meet the constantly fluctuating demand of customers by maintaining required inventory levels. Smart warehousing enables warehouse operators to use AI-driven intelligence to optimally manage inventory levels and judiciously support supply chains. It also is essential for effectively managing returns and sustainability efforts. Integrating contemporary technologies into warehouse management systems is helping warehouse managers utilize IoT sensors and RFID technology to track inventory levels, keep track of inventory fulfillment and monitor the movement of goods in real-time. It is helping managers automate manual tasks such as picking, sorting, packing, stocking, and more using intelligent robots besides helping executives to strictly monitor the movement of goods, avoiding instances of theft and loss.

Smart warehouses ensure effortless governance of warehouses in a Smart Supply Chain

A digitally automated Smart Warehouse

A smart control tower ties all ends of a smart supply chain together

Multiple stakeholders, disparate systems, and manual processes are major deterrents that slow the progress and growth of supply chains. The need of the hour for supply chains is a centrally governing system that binds all the processes and systems and provides supply chain managers with a holistic view of the entire supply chain. An AI-powered control tower does exactly that. It not just binds all the processes and systems, into one thread but also draws valuable, actionable inferences to orchestrate the end-to-end of the supply chain molding them into smart supply chains. It efficiently helps identify and understand the impact of market dynamics to predict disruptions besides providing a data-driven strategic roadmap to mitigate the upstream and downstream effects. A centrally governed control tower equips supply chain managers to respond faster buoyed by efficient collaboration and decision support, while powering operational automation.

Innover’s Digital Supply Chain Solutions are primed for the new-age supply chains. Our hugely experienced team of supply chain experts utilizes the latest in technology to stitch together disparate processes and functions of the supply chain, into one cohesive and efficient system. A centrally governed system or control tower. Powering these control towers is our expertise and use of advanced analytics that ensures you are at the forefront of innovation and efficiency. Our holistic view and solutions for supply chains encompass digital operations, experiences, and advanced analytics to make you future-ready and smart.


  • Innover Team  |  May 19, 2023   |  
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