TECHNOLOGY
WHEN YOU FLIP open your laptop or log on to your PC at the start of another business day , do you sign into a Hotmail account ?
When you are looking for the nearest place to eat , do you ask Siri ? And when you have finished work for the weekend and want to watch some cosy film , do you turn to Netflix ?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes , then you have been the beneficiary of cloud computing in one form or another . But what exactly does cloud computing technology offer the supply chain sector and what are the direct benefits ?
According to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous , convenient , on-demand network access to a shared pool of computing resources such as networks , servers , storage , applications , and services that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction . In other words , this means that Cloud takes away the need to invest in the building of hardware , installing software , or paying dedicated software license fees ; a bonus for any c-level executive , not just those within the supply chain .
As a result , cloud-friendly supply chain strategies such as Spare Parts Management , Transportation Management Systems ( TMS ), Sales and Operations Planning ( S & OP ) and Store Shelf Optimisations are ready and primed to take advantage and can realise the network effect . The most standout and appealing features of cloud computing which will directly benefit the supply chain are the speed of access to IT resources and the increase in storage capabilities , making the supply chain much more agile .
It also means the subsequent improved visibility to statistics and data will make a supply chain more proactive and responsive , and
30 October 2014