Some people think that the supply chain is behind in terms of
technology. The technology, though, is available. As an industry, we
should start looking at the best ways of leveraging these technologies
for benefit.
Consider mobile devices. My nine-year-old daughter uses an iPad and
FaceTime to video chat with me and never gives it a second thought. In a
distribution center, though, it’s not so easy. Not every operator
working in a distribution center can take pictures and or even send a
text message. Many don’t even have access latest mobile devices. The
supply chain community is risk averse and the cost of failure in such a
mission critical function is high. The focus is on being timely, as well
as complying with a variety of regulations and standards.
When a box leaves the distribution center, getting it to the final
destination requires cooperation between a variety of entities. As it
passes from the distribution center through Fed Ex to the United States
Post Office, it needs to be scanned for tracking by each party. If one
party in the chain changes the process, such as using a different label
or label printer or barcode specification, it’s critical that the change
is workable for everybody. If the chain is broken, workers must
manually intervene which takes time and lowers accuracy. These
dependencies make change daunting.
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