Real-time automation for distribution — How technology is allowing managers to make instant decisions from anywhere in the supply system based on real-time data. In this automation-forward discussion, we describe how technology is allowing companies to differentiate themselves in competitive markets.
It All Comes Down to Data
Bottom line revenue is tied directly to company efficiency. Whether we are talking about moving products from point A to point B or about managing space in a warehouse, efficiency becomes a measurement of cost and profit.
What does that mean in terms of technology? Big word, and bigger concepts that are available and changing the marketplace: predictive software and hyper-connectivity.
Case Study and the Big What If
What if you could tap into your smart device and watch the efficiency of your entire operation? What if your available data was so current that the hot spots showed up like a flare in the night’s sky? That is in part what both hyper-connectivity and predictive software do. They are an enabler of change and they help to increase efficiency.
Without predictive software, job tasks remain menial. Your company faces the challenges of human data input and errors. Automation helps remove menial tasks and decreases errors in data. Predictive software learns as it goes and not just the business’s routine, but individual workers. It assimilates itself into the workforce and as it does it learns the habits and roles of people. The result is instant data that helps you see current data and where that data is headed. It is like having an accurate crystal ball.
What could your company do with such power?
The Power of Foresight
Remember those “what ifs?” Well, they are a reality. Hyper-connectivity allows you to access data anywhere you have an internet connection. This means key employees or managers can tap into the “flow” of your operation and make changes, not just willy-nilly, but based on pure data. Is your warehouse production slowing down? Why? The data will tell you. Allowing you or your management team to make informed changes that repair efficiency.
Change is inevitable. Managing change is leadership. Can automation help you lead your company in more productive ways? Yes. In busy markets where the competition between companies is high, automation moves you ahead of your competitors. It does this by allowing you to seek key points of production, logistical performance, measure efficiency, and overcome internal problems. Those points all decrease efficiency, which then raises costs. Keeping efficiency running at peak performance helps reduce cost, improve the quality of your product or service, and that boosts customer satisfaction. Happy customers buy more, or refer their friends and that is what helps drive bottom-line profits.<\p>
Leadership in the modern age of technology requires forethought. Automation is the first step in obtaining the vision to navigate through new markets while redefining old markets. What hangs in the balance is market share. Are you ready to increase the market share of your company?