Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, Americas: Day 2 Highlights

November 4, 2020

Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, Americas: Day 2 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, taking place this week virtually in the Americas. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference.

On Day 2 from the conference, we are highlighting organizing strategies for planning leaders, dive into autonomous transportation and take a look at the future of supply chain.

Be sure to check this page throughout the day for updates.

Key Announcements

Press releases and stories covering news from Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, Americas:

Organizing Strategies for Planning Leaders

Presented by Ken Chadwick, VP Analyst, Gartner

Getting to the "right" organization design is a constant challenge for many supply chain leaders. In this session, Ken Chadwick, VP Analyst at Gartner, outlined strategies for developing the necessary organization structure and talent to translate information into action in modern day supply chains.

Key Takeaways

“Building knowledge and expertise is one of the biggest challenges that companies have.”
“The three core organizing strategies for supply chain planning organizations are seeking balance, developing expertise and orchestrating outcomes.”
“The first element of designing your ‘fit for purpose’ organization is understanding your company’s business and operating model.”
“Align supply planners to the supply face of the business and align demand planners to the commercial face of the business.”
“Early and mid-maturity companies are focused on increasing standardization in processes while higher maturity companies are looking to leverage automation wherever possible.”
“One of the ways companies drive planning mastery is through centers of excellence which are used to drive expertise in critical areas.”

Autonomous Transportation: The Digitalization and Automation in Transportation

Presented by Bart De Muynck, VP Analyst, Gartner

Current economic conditions have complicated transportation processes, making it harder to secure freight capacity which drives a need for digitisation and automation. In this session, Bart De Muynck, VP Analyst at Gartner, explained the strategies that chief supply chain officers should consider.

Key Takeaways

“There is a need to automate and digitize to make interactions and business easier for shippers and transportation providers alike.”
“Moving away from manual and labor intensive processes is a driving force for many organizations. [...] Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are the basis of autonomous decision making; of turning autonomous transport from a dream into a reality.”
“With pressures to reduce costs and enable remote work environments it is now even more critical to drive process automation.”
“Turning away from autonomous software and processes towards autonomous things, we predict by 2025 more than 12% of newly produced vehicles will have level 3 or higher autonomous driving hardware capability.”
“The technology is advancing, but we still have limited regulations to allow use of autonomous trucks on a large scale on public roads.”
“The true power comes in when the different processes and technologies come together and are combined in a seamless and autonomous process.”

Signature Series: The Future of Supply Chain

Presented by Mike Burkett, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

The evolution of digital technologies, and the opportunity of the circular economy, are among the external forces reshaping how supply chains are defined, organized and operated. In this session, Mike Burkett, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed the path toward designing and planning a future-focused supply chain strategy.

Key Takeaways

“In the future, the biggest, most powerful supply chains aren’t necessarily going to be the supply chains that win.”
“The concern for supply chains is that CEOs don’t have full confidence that their chief supply chain officers […] are actually ready to support the digital business that they are investing in.”
“The No. 1 force that is reshaping supply chains is the transition from a smart space to a smart supply chain.
“CSCOs have got to be able to respond and deal with the global shocks that can come.”
“The reverse logistics area is becoming much more common in other industries beyond the industrial space.”
“It will no longer be acceptable to create waste in a future supply chain.“

View coverage from Day 1

View coverage from Day 3

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