6/26

A Wall Street Journal piece describes, "how digital business disrupts the supply chain." The same information could be characterized as, "how digital business matches supply and demand."

Point-of-sale is being revolutionized. It's not just digital capture at retail stores and online. It is a vector relationship of the time-of-sale, variable pricing, technology involved, social context, prior purchasing behavior, intentional influence, and much more. What was once an inventory-management signal has become -- in combination -- a strategic management signal.

The WSJ highlights three key characteristics of "digital business"

An increased number of network nodes. As devices become more self-aware and communicate with their ecosystems, new possibilities are opened for the supply chain. Many more enterprise assets will describe availability, capacity and health, while inventory—such as perishable goods—can be located and even its freshness determined. Real-time availability of more granular data will improve decisions for planning, allocation, optimization and service.

Automated judgment. Making human decisions from the abundance of data available will be overwhelming, requiring nonhuman intervention for faster decisions and to also ensure human resource capacity is available to think strategically.IBM Corp.'s Watson and Google Inc.’s Nest Labs demonstrate two ends of the spectrum for self-learning and automated judgment, ranging from advanced science to home energy management. Supply chain nonhuman customers will decide where and when they need product or how best to use capacity.

Cyber risk increases for operational technology. As operational technology, OT, devices connect to the Internet they are more exposed than in the past. This will require a convergence with how IT is managed.

I will add one more: Potential benefits tend to be self-optimizing. Those enterprises that are early-and-effective adopters have an amplified advantage versus competitors who do not have similar visibility into the market.