Technology Outlook: 2010 and Beyond

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the January-February 2011 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

January-February 2011

No question about it, we have a lot of sophisticated and veteran supply chain professionals who read SCMR. Certainly, over the course of their careers, these individuals have demonstrated a knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of our profession. But interestingly, every time we run an article that covers the basics of supply chain management—or conduct a reader survey of topics of interest—we’re pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response the “fundamentals” receive.There’s got to be a reason for this counterintuitive result. I haven’t put it to deep analysis yet, but it’s logical that information on the basics…

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As Director of Supply Chain Management for ARC Advisory Group, Steve Banker keeps a watchful eye on emerging developments in the supply chain space. It’s a task he is well familiar with; Banker has been covering supply chain, logistics and warehousing management for ARC since 1996—making him one of the most senior analysts in the business. “Essentially, I grew up with the industry,” he says.

Tracking supply chain technology is a big part of Banker’s job at ARC, a leading research and analysis firm that focuses on manufacturing, logistics and the supply chain. Banker covers the subject from multiple aspects—the vendors, the users, the technology itself and the market. As for the market, as Banker relates in our interview, things have not been especially upbeat for several years now; there’s simply been no growth. Banker sees another year of the same before things start to turn around when a gradual recovery begins in 2011.

But just because the market is down, Banker says, that doesn’t mean supply chain practitioners cannot benefit from the new technology that’s available as well as some exciting new applications now starting to emerge. Two in particular that he singled out are demand signal repositories and robotic materials handling.

Banker’s insights and observations on technology should help supply chain managers be better prepared for whatever the coming year holds in store. SCMR Editorial Director Francis J. Quinn conducted this interview.

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