Growth companies are investing in customer-facing supply chain solutions

Vantage point: Insights from cutting-edge research

In today’s digital supply chain landscape, electronic linkages between customers and suppliers is on the rise, and double-digit growth is expected in 2017 and beyond, according to research by business-to-business integrated managed services provider DiCentral, along with SAP and the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business. The whitepaper, “Proactive Partnerships: Creating Supply Chain Value in the Digital Era”, helps prepare supply chain and EDI (electronic data interchange) decision-makers for digital disruption in the supply chain and highlights how to adopt digital tools to prepare for and protect against this disruption.

According to 80 percent of respondents, their customers run an existing EDI compliance programme, which can result in penalties, and nearly 75 per cent respondents have been subject to fines due to non-compliance. Among those receiving fines, three per cent reported penalties of over $100,000 in 12 months.

CIOs focusing on innovation in times of political and economic uncertainty

Two-thirds (64 per cent) of organisations are adapting their technology strategies in the midst of unprecedented global political and economic uncertainty, with 89 per cent maintaining or ramping up investment in innovation, including in digital labour, and 52 per cent investing in more nimble technology platforms, according to the 2017 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey, the world’s largest survey of IT leadership. Digital strategies have infiltrated businesses across the globe at an entirely new level. The proportion of organisations surveyed that now have enterprise-wide digital strategies increased 52 per cent in just two years, and those organisations with a chief digital officer have increased 39 per cent over last year. To help deliver these complex digital strategies, organisations also report a huge demand for enterprise architects — the fastest growing technology skill this year. Cyber security vulnerability is at an all-time high, with 32 per cent IT leaders saying their organisation had been subject to a major cyber attack in the past 24 months.

Artificial intelligence could turn some skilled practices into utilities

Information officers have a major role to play in preparing businesses for the impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on business strategy and human employment, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that by 2022, smart machines and robots may replace highly trained professionals in tasks within medicine, law and IT. “The economics of AI and machine learning will lead to many tasks performed by professionals becoming low-cost utilities,” said Stephen Prentice, vice-president and Gartner Fellow. “Many competitive, high-margin industries will become more like utilities as AI turns complex work into a metered service that the enterprise pays for, like electricity.” While AI will hit employment numbers in some industries, many others will benefit as AI and automation handle routine and repetitive tasks, leaving more time for the workforce to improve service levels, handle more challenging aspects and even ease stress levels in high-pressure environments.