Emerging Digital Technologies for the Retail Supply Chain: Strategic Advantage or Big Question Mark?

Emerging Digital Technologies

Everybody wants a strategic advantage in today’s retail supply chain. The intensity of competition, the speed with which orders arrive and must be fulfilled, and the constant pressure to innovate is motivating the development of new technologies.

Digitization is one of the biggest umbrella concepts being touted at the moment. If you do any supply chain reading you’ll know that digital technologies are the proposed answer to every challenge. There is a new solution for every problem.

And it’s no surprise that this is where the best minds are taking innovation. We live in the digital age, and after all, it is digital commerce – e-commerce, omnichannel retail – that’s driving the charge.

So, if the future is digital we thought it was time to look at some of the cutting-edge innovations that are on the market or close to fruition to help you understand the landscape and where we may be in the next few years.

We chose three technologies to discuss in this paper:

• 5G
• Digital Twins
• Blockchain

All three are rapidly evolving and all three have demonstrable benefits for supply chain operations.

These tools may not be right for your organization yet, but understanding what they are and their level of development will be a piece of the strategic puzzle that will help you make the right moves in the retail chess game.

Our piece of that puzzle is the interface between the distribution center and the outside world. A best of breed automated dock scheduling system from C3 Solutions ensures that you are in control of the inventory coming and going from your facility. That’s a foundation piece in the retail supply chain – without it you are operating in the dark.

As these new technologies add a layer of complexity, what we do helps to simplify, streamline, and enhance your operation. Our objective with this paper is to help you make decisions that will drive your organization forward.

Download now for an overview of 5G communications, digital twins, and blockchain and how they may – or may not – become a useful part of your supply chain technology inventory.