Emerging Technology
- Explain the functioning of technology in context to its technical and functional parameters
(i) Robotics
Over the past years, robots have been designed with increased levels of their flexibility and intelligence, which have been incorporated in the building on their system. With this in place, there is witness significant improvements in its mobility while the ability to connect robotics using IoT and enhanced safety measures have been integrated as well. Having these unique features has made it easier to apply the use of robots in supply chain management. In supply chain management, potential robotics applications are far beyond the material handling and automotive plant. Robots can multitask in order to streamline the supply chain functions enormously and as well as integrate with other automation systems. Of late, much has been discussed concerning transforming the delivery, which has been dominated by the use of delivery drones, autonomous trucks, and crewless cargo ships.
(ii) Big data analytics
Using big data for organizations has always been considered to be integrals for efficient and successful supply chain operations. Companies incorporate their data sets from the depths with key insights into their operations, thus revealing how big data plays a key role in any business industry. Analytics enables a company to make substantial improvements and gain insights to leverage information that would help bring a competitive advantage to an enterprise. Big data enables mass volumes of structured and unstructured data to be quickly modeled from multiple sources. This can increase visibility and provide deeper insights into the entire supply chain for the supply chain management. Big data analytics has been deployed to help in tracing, forecasting, and improving services to the customer and creating improved relationships across business management.
(iii) Drones for logistics and monitoring
In the consumer sector, drones are remodeling photography and creating new hobbies, amongst other uses. There is a wide range of use of drones in the commercial sector as well; the drones are designed to deal with a wide range of applications and also in industries. Use drones can help make operations less costly, more efficient, and providing grounds of operations that are safe for workers. The drones are equipped with advanced features that boost its operation and functionality like GPS mapping, flight planning, sensor technology, increased carrier capacity, and precise controls.
- Explain how technology has changed the supply chain processes, leading to better performance, lower costs, and reduced cycle time.
(i)Robotics
Robots have largely been used to improve the accuracy and speed of the routine operations; this is largely seen in manufacturing and warehousing spaces. The robotics are said to work with humans more effectively, therefore, adding on their efficiency and enabling reduce rates of risks of employees in any hazardous environments. Use of robotics has led to better performance, helping lower the costs and reduce the cycle time; these are due to their ability to help in decreasing long term costs, increase workers productivity; provide labor and utilization stability; enabling access to difficult or dangerous areas, and helping reduce rates of making errors.
(ii) Big data analytics
The use of big data analytics has been of great help in reaching to the maximum performance in the operation of the supply chain management. The use of data analytics has regarded to add value to the SCM as it enables predict analysis and modeling activities that would provide a new viewpoint. Through the imposing of this technology, SCM can enable the business to meet the target of having better performance, lowering its operating costs, and reducing its cycle time through its capability to make quicker, smarter, and more efficient decisions. The use of big data technology has benefited the SCM in that it has the ability to; have a better understanding of risks that may be involved, gain a significant return on investments made, achieve better accuracy during planning, and helps in preparing for the future.
(iii) Drones for logistics and monitoring
The technological advancement and usage of drones have made significant changes that make them play a significant role in supply chain management. Drones have already started being deployed in stock management to assist in improving the rates of checks and tracking of the stocks that are around the warehouse. The drone is an evident technological advancement that has brought significant changes as earlier on inventory management, which was considered to be labor-intensive, time-consuming, dangerous, energy inefficient, and costly.
- Critically analyze the implementation of the technology in context to changes in organization structure with a use case example.
(i) Robotics
The use of robotics can come with implications to the organization; the introduction of this technology advancement tool may cause a significant change in the basic structure set of the business. Some of the changes that may be witnessed could be changed in communication within and between departments, roles deployed in the hierarchy of the organization, decision making responsibilities. An example of the implication that can come along with the introduction of robots can be increased interaction between technical support personnel from engineering and maintenance and the production team. The implementation of robot use can also have a significant change in the relationship between manufacturing and marketing groups, as robots are capable of reducing the time that is taken for an employee to switch from one product to another.
(ii) Big Data analytics
The use of the technique of data analytics has brought significant changes in the administration of any business. The techniques provide the way n which decisions are made, bring in predictive sales forecasting, providing insights into customers facing operations, and avails customer comprehension. Other effects that may be brought about by the implementation of this technological advancement is that it may there improve better sales and marketing understanding to assess customer satisfaction, generate more effective decision making and utilizing on budgets made. Once the data analytic provides this data, the management is likely to go through reshuffle and adjustment to the weak areas that prove not to provide any significant help.
(iii) Drones for logistics and monitoring