Panel at CES Discuss Global Supply Chain Issues
A panel discussion at CES on January 5 focused on how to best utilize and share data to address global supply chain issues. With supply chain issues plaguing the world right now, data and technology are playing a crucial role in addressing how to overcome this issue.
“The good news is there is tons of data out there,” said Steve Schmith, Director of Automotive Strategy at Acxiom. “The challenges that companies are trying to understand when it comes to that data is how to use it and how to aggregate it – not only in ways that are gleaning insight, but also in ways that are ethical and compliant with various regulations.”
“Historically a lot of these data points have been in very siloed organizations,” according to Schmith, who notes that various industries are showing a willingness to partner and share information as business silos begin to blur.
Schmith believes the automotive supply chain sits at a key inflection point due to semiconductor shortages and a push toward electric vehicles.
“We’re finding ourselves in a situation of not only how do we create a supply chain that’s going to meet consumer demand, but how do we do so when all of these other industries are also vying for these components,” Schmith said. “And the very finite set of suppliers that are providing them.”
Organizations that are beginning to work together and share data also now have to balance protecting proprietary information while cooperating on shared challenges, according to Finch Fulton, Vice President or Policy and Strategy at Locomation. He said in particular that when companies need to buy certain types of materials or components, they may not want competitors to use that information to prevent those purchases.
“There’s no agreement on common data specifications for these shortages in the supply chain,” he said. “There is data out there, but is it the right type of data for the types of questions people are asking.”
Fulton does note that there is a bipartisan political push to address the supply chain challenges in transportation.
“If you look specifically at trucking, there’s a big push,” Fulton said. “Different administrations have tried to take a crack [at] how can you provide more transparency on some of that downtime and supply chain holdups.”
Fulton says that data can be minded to help carriers improve the quality of life for drivers and, by extension, address the industry’s ongoing driver shortage.
“You can start addressing issues around driver pay and getting drivers home to address the loneliness, depression, all of the health issues that come with that,” he said. “That’s how you can stop that flood of people that leave truck driving as an industry, and that’s how you take care of the supply chain issues that come from the lack of trucks.”
Schmith noted the cloud, AI and machine learning are all new ways to share data and address supply chain bottlenecks. Digital twinning, for instance, is the process of creating a computer model of something like a truck to better share information about it. This type of technology could help the industry move toward a made-to-order model for vehicles, reducing strain on components.
“It’s not only from a perspective of using these industry 4.0 types of technology to design faster and build faster,” Schmith said. “From an OEM perspective, there are some very good examples out there of companies that are looking at it, from the design process, to the delivery, to the customer experience perspective.”
Story via Transport Topics
