Mindmap High-Tech Supply Chain 4.0

A technology revolution is rapidly changing the way we work, providing threats and opportunities along the way. These developments impact Original Equipment Manufacturers, both at strategic level and at operational level within their supply chains. Together with service provider Arvato, Supply Chain Movement has created a mindmap outlining the route for high-tech supply chains, including road signs indicating potential hazards along the way.

Mindmap manual

Trends for high-tech industry

The high-tech industry are currently facing a tsunami of external trends. The way by which consumers purchase, use and share technology is changing rapidly. An avalanche of new start-ups ends up with a winner takes all outcome for a specific functionality. With emerging ground-breaking technology, such as Augmented and Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence with thinking robots, Internet of Things by interconnectivity between machines, 3D printing and Big Data analysis delivers threats and opportunities to high-tech companies at the same time. These external trends force high-tech companies to prepare for this unpredictable future: Plan.

Impact on high-tech companies

As a result of these market trends companies need to place their financial bets carefully, whereas commercial departments of high-tech companies are seeing business opportunities everywhere especially in new technology and omni-channel sales and distribution. IT departments are confronted with increasing demand from their business colleagues, being responsible for better security, the handling for a tremendous amount of data and remote accessibility around the clock. The impact of trends force companies to make clear trade-offs: Do.

Challenges for high-tech supply chain

Supply chain planning has become more problematic because demand volatility, a lack of common Point Of Sale data and increasing number of new product launches. The sourcing department is challenged by increasing compliancy issues. And Manufacturing needs to be agile to keep up with rapid changes in the market. The omni-channel business  contributes greatly to  Logistics headaches, even more because of the huge amounts of returns, frauds and claims. These supply chain challenges have to be addressed in a structural manner: Check.

Supply chain solutions

In order to create the required agility hightech companies need to apply a postponement strategy with customization per country and on demand 3D printing. Outsourcing logistics and fulfilment to a full-service provider ensures the expected high customer service by the consumer. Improving customer facing online and in store needs to be supported with closed-loop processes in the back-office with clean data. It is paramount for survival that High-tech companies have to implement supply chain solutions in order to keep with the trends in technology: Act.