SUPPLY CHAIN
“With digitalisation , it ' s critical to have clearly defined objectives and goals ”
AMY SHORTMAN VP PRODUCT MARKETING , OVERHAUL
What are the biggest barriers to digitalisation ? AS : The most complex issue is standardisation of processes across the globe . Global supply chains involve multiple stakeholders , and they often use different systems . Some still use paper-based documentation and tools such as Excel to manage complex tasks that it was never designed for .
Others who are further along the digital transformation journey can find themselves using disparate systems or solutions that are not a fit for their business goals .
We ' re finding that , at the moment within the industry , many companies focusing on their digital journey often don ' t know where to start or select the wrong vendors , and this leads to disillusionment .
MG : Barriers have less to do with technology than they do the fear or inability to change . For the most part , logistics operators are simply trying to keep up with what ’ s in front of them at any given moment . They work in email , across multiple systems and documents , and manually parse and re-enter data . There ’ s not time to stop and change processes that , while inefficient , are at least very familiar .
Meanwhile , logistics leaders face the same issues that many corporate execs confront each day . They are dealing with effects like the Great Resignation , customers who are unhappy with shipping delays and high costs , and ongoing constraints with carrier capacity . Trying to reinvent or digitalise a process during a crisis is daunting , and ends up getting pushed farther down the list of priorities .
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