6/22/2017 TopSupplyChainTrends2017|SupplyChainandWarehousing|irms360

APTEAN HOME
ContactUs 800.777.6092 LookingforacareerinIT?

Top 10 Supply Chain and Warehousing Trends

for 2017
Submitted on Mon, 2016-11-28
By Upp Software

Tweet Like 2 0

Old Trends Shape a New Era in Supply Chain Management

Buzzwordtechnologieslikecloudandmobilehave
dominatedtopsupplychaintrendslistsfromorganizations
likeGartner(http://www.gartner.com/technology/home.jsp),Forbes
(http://www.forbes.com/) ,andDCVelocity(http://www.dcvelocity.com/)
for5years.Backin2013,ourownsupplychainexperts
startedadvisingclientsthatthesebreakthroughswouldhave
sharpgrowthcurvesduetotheimmediate,measurable
impactonproductivity
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/2014%E2%80%99s_top_warehousing_industry_trends_integration_voice_and_robotics)
forearlyadopters.

Today,thosetrendsarenowareality.Thedigitalsupplychainismakinglogisticsfaster,more
efficient,moreaccurate,andmuchcheaper.Breakthroughsincloud,digitalandmobiletechnology
havespawnedanewsetoftrendsthatwillhaveareverberatingeffectonthesupplychainindustry
foryearstocome.UppTechnologyManagingPartnerandWarehouseManagementSystem
(http://www.irms360.com/products/irmswm_warehouse_management) expert,JimLaverty,discussesthetop10
supplychainandwarehousingtrendsfor2017.

1)IntegratedCompaniesWillGrowtheFastest
Thirdpartyintegrationtoolshavebecomemoresophisticatedanddrivendownthecostand
timelineofintegration.Reportsnowshowthatfullyintegratedcompaniesareoutpacingnon
integratedcompaniesby20%.Withtheriseofopensourceplatforms,connectingallofyour
enterpriseandbestofbreedsystemsismucheasier.

http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/top_10_supply_chain_and_warehousing_trends_2017 1/5
6/22/2017 TopSupplyChainTrends2017|SupplyChainandWarehousing|irms360

Enterprisewidesystemintegrationhasproducedgoldintheformofbusinessintelligence.
Organizationsaregrowingfasterbecausealloftheiremployeeshaveaccesstobetterdata.
Informationisreadilyavailableandautomaticallydistributed,removingthehassleofsearching
withinsystemsorhavingcolleaguesdistributereports.Connectedorganizationsareoutpacing
nonconnectedcompaniesbecausetheyarecontinuallyimprovingtheirinternalprocesseswith
realtimedata.

2)LimitlessMobileOptions
Therulesofmobilityarealwayschanging.WarehouseManagementSystemsarenolongerbound
bymobileoperatingsystemsofferinglimitedhardwareoptions.FromiPhonesandringscannersto
Androidtablets,wedgescanners,andcompact2Dbarcodescanners,warehousesnowhave
unlimitedpotentialformixingandmatchingmobilehardware.Outsideofcost,userpreferenceslike
easeofuseandergonomicneedswillbethemostimportantfactorinbuyinghardware.

3)NeedforBetterDataSecurityWillDrivePeopletotheCloud
Aswenotedearlierthisyear,thecloudisnowthesafestplaceforyourdata
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/time_adjust_your_bearings_on_cloud_data_security) .Havinganentirelyreliable
supplychainwithnearperfectuptimeisnowanexpectation.Organizationswillnolongertolerate
datasecurityrisksthatmaygroundtheiroperationsforhoursifnotdays.Thesecurityflawsof
fragmentedpatcheswithinonpremisesystemswilldrivemoreCIOstoembracethecloudfortheir
mostsensitivedata.

4)NotJustBiggerData,DeeperData
Thebigdatarevolutionhasputrealtimeinformationinthehandsofallemployees,fromdock
workerstocustomerservicerepresentativestotheCEO.Thissmallsampleofbusiness
intelligenceisdrivingahugeneedformuchmoregranulardata.Organizationswilllooktodive
deeperintodatasourcestoproducelabor,workload,operational,anddemandanalytics.
Employeeswilllooktoactonthisdataineasilyconsumableways,fromgraphicaldashboards
displayingrealtimeoperationalinformationonmobiledevicestolaborproductionstatistics
displayedprominentlyonlargescreensthroughouttheirfacility.

5)PredictiveAnalyticsStartProducing
AstheHarvardBusinessReview(https://hbr.org/2016/05/wherepredictiveanalyticsishavingthebiggestimpact)
posted,significantinvestmentsinpredictiveanalyticsaredramaticallyimprovingforecasting
accuracyintheareaofconsumerdemand.Bycombiningaggregatewebsearchdatawithbuyer
sentimentandlocationtracking,datascientistsarebeginningtodrawmuchmoreaccurate
forecasts.Thisinformationwillhelpbuildultraleanfulfillmentorganizationswithoptimized
inventorylevelsateverypointoftheirsupplychain.Withadditionalimprovementstoforecasting
modelsin2017,expectsomerisktolerantearlyadopterstoexperiencesignificantrevenuegains
afterafewearlygrowingpains.

6)BetterContingencyPlanningEliminatesDisruptions
http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/top_10_supply_chain_and_warehousing_trends_2017 2/5
6/22/2017 TopSupplyChainTrends2017|SupplyChainandWarehousing|irms360

HurricaneAndrewwasjustoneofanaverage260majornaturaldisasters
(http://www.sdcexec.com/article/12275911/supplychainriskspredictingandrespondingtodisastersanddisruptions) that
takea$211billiondollartollontheglobalsupplychaineveryyear.Realtimelocationtrackingand
comprehensivefieldanalyticsarehelpingtominimizetheinevitabledisruptionscausedbynatural
events.Byintegratingmobilesensordatawithpredictiveanalytics,organizationswillbeableto
reactswiftlytochangingconditionsasthesituationunfolds.Companieswillalsoseektolessen
theirrelianceonphysicalinfrastructuressothattheycanmaintainseamlessoperationsinan
emergencyregardlessoftheirphysicallocation.

7)TheRiseofAugmentedReality
EveryfootballgameonTVnowincludesayellowfirstdownmarkerthatappearstobeonthe
playingfield.Totheplayersandthefansinthestadium,thelinedoesnotexist.Buttopeople
watchingathome,itispartoftheviewingexperience.Thankstosensordriventechnologies,this
typeofaugmentedrealitywillsoonbecomecommoninwarehouses.Pickerswillsoonwear
glassesthatrecognizecartonsandscanitemsautomatically,drivingpickingaccuracytonew
heights.

Cerasis(http://cerasis.com/2016/02/10/augmentedrealitysupplychain/)reportsthataugmentedreality
technologiesaregrowingatarateof100%annuallywithanestimated$600billiondollarvalue.
Expecttoseesomeamazingdevelopmentsinthisareanextyear.

8)SupplyChainsGoCloudOnly
ThreequartersofallWarehouseManagementSystemusersareprojectedtobeinthecloudby
2020(https://www.zebra.com/us/en/aboutzebra/newsroom/pressreleases/2016/studyfindsincreasedwarehousetech
investmentby2020.html) .Themassmigrationtocloudapplicationsforthesupplychainindustrywill
begininearnestnextyear.Moreorganizationswilladoptcloudfirstandcloudonlypoliciesasthe
costandtimelineofimplementationsarereduced,andmoreprebuiltsystemintegrationsbecome
available.Supplychainsthathavelaggedbehindinupgradingtothecloudwillreaptherewardsof
aquickerandlesspainfulmigration.

9)EDITransactionsIncrease
90%oftheglobalsupplychain(http://www.sdcexec.com/blog/12274886/apisversusediwhatyouneedtoknow
aboutthefutureofsupplychaintechnology) reliesonEDItosharefreightdatawiththeirsupplychain
partners.CompanieswillexpandtheiruseofEDItobecomeevenmoretightlyintegratedwiththeir
networks.TheneedforshippingdatawilldriveevendeeperuseofEDIwithexistingpartnerships
asorganizationsthathadthreeorfourtransactionsetswilllooktoatleastdoublethat.

10)TheSupplyChainLaborShortageGetsWorse
ArecentSCMWorldsurvey(http://blogsimages.forbes.com/kevinomarah/files/2016/11/161103November
KOM_Image1Forbes.jpg?width=960) foundthatforeverysupplychainjoblostin2017,threejobswillbe
added.Thiswillcreateanevengreaterstrainonanalreadytightlabormarket.Findinggoodlabor
willbeevenharderandmoreexpensivethanitistoday.OrganizationswilllooktoLabor

http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/top_10_supply_chain_and_warehousing_trends_2017 3/5
6/22/2017 TopSupplyChainTrends2017|SupplyChainandWarehousing|irms360

Managementtechnologiestogetmoreproductivityoutoftheirexistingstaffandforecaststaffing
needsonadaytodaybasis.Thislaborcrisiswillalsodrivelargerinvestmentsandhigher
adoptionratesofautomatedwarehousetechnologieslikeAmazonsKivaRobotics
(http://www.businessinsider.com/kivarobotssavemoneyforamazon20166) .

Wanttoseemoreoftheirms|360EnterpriseCloudWarehouse
ManagementSystem?
AttendoneofourweeklyproducttoursandseeitLIVE.ViewUpcomingTours
(http://info.upp.com/proudcttour)

OtherArticlesYouMayLike
5MajorTrendsfromtheGartnerSupplyChainExecutiveConference
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/5_major_trends_gartner_supply_chain_executive_conference)

Top10SupplyChainandWarehousingTrendsfor2016
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/which_warehouse_management_system_pricing_model_right_you)

10ThingsSupplyChainLeadersShouldDoBefore2015
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/10_things_supply_chain_leaders_should_do_2015)

2014sTopWarehousingIndustryTrends:Integration,Voice,andRobotics
(http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/2014%E2%80%99s_top_warehousing_industry_trends_integration_voice_and_robotics)

SupplyChain&WarehousingTrends:MobileTechnology

http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/top_10_supply_chain_and_warehousing_trends_2017 4/5
6/22/2017 TopSupplyChainTrends2017|SupplyChainandWarehousing|irms360

(http://info.upp.com/l/8712/2015-12-03/268dxq)

Logisticsexecutivesandsupplychainmanagershavelongconsideredtheideaofswappingoutexpensive
mobilecomputersforlessexpensive,easiertousetabletsthathavemorerobustfunctionality.itisnotonly
possibletorunwarehousesontabletsitismoreprofitable.

(http://info.upp.com/l/8712/2015-12-03/268dxq)

Blog Type:
IRMS WM Blog

RELATED TOPICS

LIVE Product Tours

Schedule a Demo

Resource Center

Blog Home

http://www.irms360.com/blog_post/top_10_supply_chain_and_warehousing_trends_2017 5/5