Even companies with the most customer-centric strategies in the world can’t deliver if they’re using a supply chain management system developed in the Pleistocene Epoch of technology—pre-internet, presearch, premobile, and presocial. Let’s face it: Many of these analog processes and technologies are barely prehensile, and that just doesn’t cut it in the digital age.
Expectations have changed, and supply chain professionals are feeling the heat. Companies are under intense pressure to speed up their product development cycles, streamline processes with suppliers, improve product quality, keep inventory low, and reduce delivery times, all while bringing costs down and adhering to constantly changing compliance requirements.
Oracle’s Modern Supply Chain Experience, held in various cities around the world this winter, including London, Abu Dhabi, and San Jose, California, and was an opportunity for thousands of professionals working at various points along the supply chain to attend educational sessions and talk shop.
While every company is unique, these few insights from conference speakers eloquently addressed some of the challenges and trends universally faced by supply chain organizations today:
- “We really are on the precipice of a major sea change in supply chain. This is unlike any other technological change we’re seen in the past. We believe that at some point in time, 100% of customers are going to migrate to the cloud. It’s not a matter of if—it’s a matter of when you are going to be migrating to the cloud.” —Rick Jewell, Oracle senior vice president for applications development.
- “When we do an acquisition, we change them to our standard process and it just runs. It's the gift that just keeps giving. We’re not fundamentally changing the business that we bought, but we recognize that complexity costs a lot of money.” —Cindy Reese, Oracle senior vice president of worldwide operations.
- “Supply chain is a great enabler of sustainability. You can see savings and opportunities everywhere with supply chain: You’re dealing with operations all around the world, you’re dealing with manufacturing, water consumption, socially responsible sourcing—there are just so many opportunities to drive an impact.” —James Ayoub, a senior supply chain management and information systems major at Pennsylvania State University.
- “How do you innovate, how do you plan, and how do you create a culture where failure is not treated as failure? If you’re going be successful, you’re going to have some mistakes. Innovation is simply not easy.” —George Young, Kalypso founding partner.
- “We will have better products because the inventor pool is more diverse in terms of gender, race, thinking, backgrounds, and teaching. The world will be a better place for it.” —Ayah Bdeir, LittleBits founder and CEO.
- “Half of the [supply chain] leadership is going to retire in 5 to 10 years, so who’s going to replace these people?” —Rich Kroes, Oracle director of sustainability strategy.
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