8 technologies and recommendations henceforth at the center of manufacturing and the supply chain industry



As other industries, the supply chain industry owes henceforth its growth and sustainability to the emerging technologies. 


The industry needs resources to train a new breed of supply chain professional who has technical, analytical and problem-solving skills. The industry needs capabilities to close the talent gap through education and training programs and industry collaborations.

The emerging technologies boost productivity and sustainability, drive new markets, encourage innovation and create new, high-paying jobs.

The 2016 MHI Annual Industry Report titled Accelerating Change: How Innovation is Driving Digital “Always-On” Supply Chains provides new insights into trends and technologies that are having a dramatic impact on supply chains and the people who run them. 

One can easily observe that, the industry leaders surveyed viewed eight technologies studied as an even greater source of competitive advantage and disruption than they were just one year ago. The technologies are:
  • Predictive analytics
  • Robotics and automation
  • Sensors and automatic identification
  • Wearables and mobile technology
  • Driverless vehicles and drones
  • Inventory and network optimization tools
  • Cloud computing and storage
  • 3D printing
The study also makes several recommendations for companies looking to remain competitive in the manufacturing and supply chain space, including:
  • Invest, test and learn in these technologies
  • Partner with solution suppliers, universities and trade groups
  • Determine where to start generating data
  • Determine how current your data needs to be
  • Make sense of the data so you can act on it
  • Nothing is more important than talent management