Industry 4.0 is not just impacting manufacturing, it is also having a large impact on the logistics industry. In modern times, supply chains must be able to offer omni-channel fulfilment.
IoSCM regular Guest writer, Jyoti Sharma, Supply Chain and Logistics expert explains;
The demand for high-customised products and services is continuously increasing. Thus, inbound and outbound logistics must adapt to this changing environment. Due to its increasing complexity, it cannot be handled with ordinary planning and controlled practices:
Industry 4.0 is the sum of all disruptive innovations derived and implemented in a value chain to address the trends of digitalisation, autonomation, transparency, modularisation, transportation and distribution.
The biggest impact of the “Industry 4.0” technologies and concepts is to be expected from a technological view especially for the procurement, production and distribution activities in the supply chain. The organisation of logistics from a technological view will mainly change due to the implementation of BI-technologies, Smartphone Apps, AIDC- and RFID-technologies and the miniaturisation of electronics. However, structural changes to the organisation are to be expected mainly in manufacturing processes.
It’s all about the way logistics and supply chain management meet the needs of the stakeholders, keeping in mind the smart supply chain decision. All these decisions are enabled by human and technological components of industry 4.0 and logistics 4.0. Only a well-defined path can enable the performance and speed keeping the quality intact.
Read the full article here