Datria Systems Inc. displayed its voice software for warehouse, field service, and manufacturing operations at ProMat 2011 today. The software, which runs on a server, can communicate with workers through standard devices such as cell phones or handheld terminals. Because no special unit is required, Datria Vice President Brad Wyland says that its voice-technology approach is cheaper than other solutions.
If former Alabama University football career Nick Saban could point to a foundational moment in his career that helped shape his philosophy to coaching it would be this: In 1998, his Michigan State University football team with a 4-5 record was headed to Columbus, Ohio, to play an undefeated Ohio State University team. Speaking at a keynote session for MHI’s Modex tradeshow, Saban admitted he did not think his team had any chance of winning. So, he asked his friend who was a sports psychiatrist what he should say to his team.
“He said you need to teach the team to focus on one play at a time, like [the play] has a history and life of its own, and to be totally process-oriented,” Saban recounted. “Do not be worried about the outcome, be worried about all the things you can do to get the outcome. There’s no external factors. There’s no scoreboard. You focus 100% in front of you and what you need to do for that play.”
Michigan State went on to win, in spite of being down by 10 points at one point.
“In that game, I totally changed philosophies and became a transformational leader instead of a transactional leader,” said Saban. “I was no longer always worried about the outcome. What do you have to do to get to the outcome, that was the whole focus.”
Saban attributes that philosophy change to altering the trajectory of his career, resulting in his going on to win seven national college football championships. Saban said that was the one recommendation he would have for business leaders in the audience would be to get out of a similiar transactional mindset of everything is about the bottom line to focus on what needs to be done to get to the bottom line.
Throughout the keynote session—which was conducted as a Q&A with Agile Business Media Founder and Board Member Mitch Mac Donald—Saban continued to touch upon how discipline, process, and culture could foster success both on the football field and off.
“People ask me all the time, ‘What does it take to win?’” he said. “I think they’re expecting me to say, have a good game plan, adjust and adapt during the game, do a good job at the preparation, and have a good system and staff. All of those things are really, really important, but probably the most important thing is the kind of culture you build in your organization.”
MHI CEO John Paxton put it succinctly when summing up the MHI 2024 Annual Industry Report on Wednesday at the industry association’s Modex trade show in Atlanta: “AI is the word of the year.” While you could quibble that artificial intelligence (AI) is actually two words, the general sentiment behind Paxton’s assessment is correct; every recent discussion about supply chain technology eventually wends its way around to the promise and challenges of implementing AI.
The 1,700 manufacturing and supply chain leaders who took part in the survey that formed the basis for the report certainly agreed: 84% of survey respondents said they plan to adopt artificial intelligence technologies within the next five years.
The biggest potential areas of application for AI in the supply chain according to respondents are: logistics, shipping, and transportation (34%); supplier selection/due diligence (33%); inventory management (27%); customer behavior tracking (24%); contracts (24%); pricing (23%); and demand forecasting (19%).
As an example of a potential application for AI in transportation, Matt Hough, Chief Information Officer of Cintas shared during a panel discussion following the release of the report that his company uses AI for dynamically routing its trucks. This effort has allowed the company—which supplies uniforms and cleaning and safety supplies to other business—to create better customer density on those routes. As a result, they were able to handle a major increase in their business while only adding three trucks.
A huge challenge to implementing AI, however, is making sure the integration of AI and human is done well. The panelists acknowledged that there can be a lot of fear around the use of AI and robots both on the floor and in the back office.
“If your workforce is not bought in and are not going to embrace the technology that you are bringing into your facility and supply chain, it’s going to fail,” said Chaneta Sullivan, director, Facility Development and Safety, Chick-fil-A Supply. “Because they’re going to think you’re trying to replace them."
A good way to approach a technology and automation implementation, said Sullivan, is to begin with using technology to respond to any complaints or gripes that your employees have about their job. Use the automation to specifically respond to something that is challenging about their job and make it better. You need to make sure your people understand how the technology is going to improve their life and work environment, she said.
On a more general level, the report showed that investment in supply chain automation and technology continues to be strong. Last year ‘s report showed significant investment in supply chain technology as companies tried to shore up their supply chains in the wake of the disruptions wrought by the pandemic. Some wondered if that interest would cool in light of higher interest rates and growing costs. The 2024 report, however, showed that 55% of supply chain leaders are increasing their supply chain technology and innovation investments with 88% saying they are planning to spend over $1 million. Forty-two percent plan to spend over $10 million.
A copy of the report, which was produced by both MHI and the consulting company Deloitte, can be downloaded from MHI’s website.
Stored energy solutions provider EnerSys is showcasing its newest NexSys charging innovations at MODEX 2024 in Atlanta this week.
Visit Zebra Technologies at booth #B6623.
