As we wrapped up our 2019 Velocity Conference in Orlando last week, I was reminded how lucky we are to be in supply chain. For three days we had the opportunity to listen to some of the top supply chain leaders and visionaries discuss their challenges and how, through people, process, technology and data, they are able to transform their operations to create faster, more flexible and responsive supply chains that result in a competitive advantage for their businesses.

The best part of my job is working with our customers; setting strategies and goals to overcome challenges and celebrating the successes they achieve. My role with Logility provides the opportunity to work with a number of companies that are focused on improving their operational efficiencies, boosting omni-channel performance, and streamlining and automating complex global planning networks – just to name a few. The pace of innovation and change in supply chain is accelerating and it’s fascinating to learn about so many businesses and how each prioritizes and pursues their digital transformation initiatives.

Recognition of Excellence

At the 2019 Velocity Conference we recognized several companies for their digital supply chain transformations.

Recipients of the 2019 Accelerator Awards: Follett, Leupold + Stevens, Jockey International, Inc., Siemens Healthineers and Smithfield Foods, Inc. Each of these companies were recognized for leading digital supply chain initiatives that resulted in significant business impact through the combination of people, process, technology and data to drive innovation.

2019 Velocity Award Winner: Tillamook County Creamery Association received the prestigious Velocity Award in recognition of their aptly named initiative, The Tillamook Supply Chain Transformation Project. This initiative was all about strategic growth for the business, building their brand, serving a global customer base and expanding their product portfolio. This exciting growth initiative recognized the need for comprehensive supply chain planning and was powered by Logility Voyager Solutions™ to provide one source of the truth to fuel better fact-based decision-making.

The 10X Challenge

These Accelerator and Velocity Award winners, along with the many other companies presenting at the conference, each embrace transformation and the digital supply chain. As Allan Dow, president of Logility shared with attendees, these companies are increasing their speed and agility to support accelerated growth and cost-effectively exceed service level requirements. As he noted during his opening keynote address, looking out 10 years, companies across industries and geographies will need to improve their supply chain capabilities by a factor of 10. That means increasing speed and agility 10X. Managing a network that is likely to be 10X as complicated as today’s global market. Customer demands that are 10X more than the pace we currently face. To be successful in this speed-driven transformation you must execute on these three tenants:

• Automate through Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Implement a Supply Chain Master Data Management (SC MDM) strategy
• Organize for Agility

Innovations in Supply Chain

Supply chains move at a ferocious pace and are fueled by multiple data streams available from both internal and external enterprise systems, social networks, syndicated streams, IoT (Internet of Things) and more. Commodity prices, weather information, market trends and geospatial data are just a few of the data points that can influence short-term supply chain performance. To succeed and meet the 10X Challenge, companies will need advanced AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) to transform data and help predict customer needs, identify trends, address disruptions and deliver a more synchronized supply chain from product concept to customer delivery.

Success in the supply chain is based on four factors: people, process, technology and data. To help accelerate more precise decision making it is important the solutions that power supply chains and integrated business planning (IBP / S&OP) deliver the latest innovations and are a platform to help meet and exceed the 10X Challenge. Taking advantage of the latest technological developments can be a challenge for many companies running legacy solutions or those that are reliant on ERP providers for their supply chain capabilities. The upgrade paths are long and expensive. This process must be simplified. Through our Logility Evergreen program we are helping accelerate and simplify upgrades to the latest platform so our customers can benefit from artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate supply chain decision making.

A few of the AI and machine learning-based features available in the Logility Voyager Solutions platform include:

Logility Voyager Pulse Wise™: A new autonomous capability that continuously senses, analyzes and automatically updates the demand planning parameters to ensure the supply chain operates at peak performance. The AI-based solution monitors forecast accuracy in real-time and adjusts forecast parameters autonomously for each item to increase accuracy and ensure the supply chain operates at peak performance.

Advanced Demand Simulation: Utilizes advances in AI to run concurrent simulations based on forecast variability to determine a company’s ability to meet revenue goals. These advanced analytics help identify supply chain resiliency based on demand variability to identify a risk factor for any given item or product family.

Enhanced Multi-echelon Inventory Optimization (MEIO): Uses multiple algorithms to determine the best inventory investment targets based on demand characteristics, service level goals and available budget. Machine learning algorithms automatically select the best inventory policy for each item across a company’s product portfolio considering demand characteristics ranging from high volume to sporadic.

Logility Voyager Solutions Inspiration Board: A Pinterest-like workspace where traditional text based assortment plans become vibrant visual representations of collections. This allows brand owners to merge the art and science of buyers and planners to provide greater visibility throughout the planning process and ensure each sales channel is able to meet its plan.

Advanced Demand Sensing: An innovative solution that leverages AI and multiple data streams to create an accurate sense-and-respond forecast to increase margins and optimize inventory deployment. The solution builds on traditional approaches to accelerate decision-making for improved service levels, reduced inventory investment and increased profitability across retail, consumer goods, consumer electronics, and food and beverage industries.

Twenty years ago could you imagine we would be talking about same day delivery, the role of AI in sensing and responding to changes in demand and supply? Just imagine what 10 years in the future will be like. Will the Star Trek holodeck be a reality where products are beamed or digitally printed at the customer location? While that may be a bit far-fetched, I am certainly excited to see how we continue to innovate and drive value and I look forward to celebrating the success our customers achieve along their supply chain transformation journeys.

Live Long and Prosper!

(Velocity 2019 Photo Gallery)