Internet of Business’s second annual Internet of Supply Chain conference kicked off yesterday in Berlin, Germany. The two-day event promises to help attendees transform their digital supply chains with IoT technologies, ubiquitous connectivity, and data-driven insights.
Tighter production margins, increased globalisation, and added complexity are all driving businesses to implement a more connected, intelligent, and scalable end-to-end strategy.
Yet supply chain and logistics professionals need to overcome connectivity challenges if they are to employ the latest in data analytics, robotics, and IoT technologies successfully.
Day one saw a number of industry trailblazers share their experience of, and advice on, digital transformation. The morning kicked-off with Phillip Kolb, senior manager of Continuous Improvement at Henkel, who spoke of the need for a holistic approach to digitisation across big data, robotics, ‘sensorics’, machine learning, and analytics.
Dean Ocampo, director of Solutions Strategy at Elementum, then walked the audience through a supply chain machine learning algorithm, examining the opportunities it fosters in the real world. He said:
The fundamental disconnect across supply chains handcuffs everyone to endless, expensive firefighting. This leaves little room for finding creative opportunities to grow. A digitised, connected supply chain will offer solutions to automate logistical or tactical decisions, so that the people of an organisation can raise their heads from tedious processes and finally start driving strategic, top-line growth.
Keynotes from MAN Diesel & Turbo, BICS, Supply Chain Media NL, Tata Communications, Nestle, P&G, and Zalando presented a formidable roster of thought-leadership and talent. These were underpinned by panel discussions on the most effective methods for increasing end-to-end visibility in the digital supply chain, and how data, analytics, and AI will revolutionise the sector moving forward.
Key conference themes for 2018
- Increasing end-to-end visibility and efficiency through IoT and sensor technology
- Optimising supply chain responsiveness with big data and effective data management
- Understanding blockchain for supply chain management
- Exploring the impact of advanced analytics and AI to streamline claims management processes
- Bridging the gap between connectivity and value, and providing a reliable, ubiquitous network
- Technology integration and interoperability challenges
- Generating value from IoT and proving the ROI through test cases and pilots
- Mitigating risk and tackling security concerns
- Tips for overcoming organisational barriers to implement IoT
The conference continues today with presentations from CIPS MENA, LoRa Alliance, Wirepas, GS1, Marionete, and Mikhail Konstantinov, along with quick-fire interactive roundtables that give attendees the opportunity to sit down with our speakers and sponsors to discuss IoT strategy.
See the full agenda here.