Supply Chain Management For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 12

Integrating Advanced Manufacturing into Your Supply Chain

IN THIS CHAPTER

Looking at how technology is changing supply chains

Exploring automation of manufacturing and material handling

Preparing for drones and autonomous vehicles

With machines getting smarter, stronger, and faster every day, dealing with the rapid pace of innovation has become an important part of supply chain management. Many of the principles of supply chain management are built on assumptions about the capabilities of manufacturing and distribution processes. How much you can make, how far you can move it, and how much it will cost all depend on what technologies you use. New technologies are changing the way supply chains work, and will require supply chain managers to reevaluate the best ways to plan, source, make, deliver, and return products in the future.

The problem with these new technologies is that it is hard to predict how quickly they will become available and how significantly they will affect a supply chain. In many cases, new technologies provide new ways to perform the same tasks we’re already doing, but the technologies enable us to do those things better, faster, and cheaper. In ...