Insights
Automation for supply chain is being picked up faster
The first machine age brought human work force from farm to industries by creating multiple types of job . Arrival of machines with artificial intelligence ( AI ) also more likely to bring new dimension to work places . Expert from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE ) predicted that driverless vehicles will be the most viable form of intelligent transportation . They estimate that up to 75 % of all vehicles will be autonomous by year 2040 .
This is recently announced that Ford plans to offer fully self-driving vehicles by 2021 . These vehicles will come without steering wheel and pedals servicing the autonomous mobility services . By year 2030 , Uber expects to be operating mostly with fleet of driverless vehicles . Majority of car makers intend to deliver autonomous vehicles by year 2020-21 to meet new market segment of vehicles without human drivers ; this market segment is estimated to be at USD 87 billion approx . as estimated by experts .
Shashi Shekhar Group Chairman & Founder , SCLG Chairman & Managing Partner , innovaXL
twitter : @ shashi _ SCLG
Like self-driving cars , the intelligent robots with sensors , machine learning ability and distributed smart machines will touch multiple jobs across functions — both manual and knowledge jobs . Within supply chain and retail functions , warehouse processes are more likely to be partially and fully automated in near future is becoming reality . Network of robots will travel miles inside warehouses to bring the movable racks to the pickers . Should humans race against these machines and robots ? Rather human work force should start building more abilities to work with machines in delivery of efficient and effective tasks . This is a new machine- human work place emerging around us that many of us sometimes fail to notice . The routine and less intelligent tasks are more likely to be automated in very near future--intelligent robots and machines will keep appearing at workplaces around us and such a change might as well sometimes go unnoticed .
The context of automation in supply chain landscape is being again brought in with an aim of awareness for possible disruptive scenarios and also bringing context of keeping positive mindset towards the near term and long term change brought in by artificially intelligent machines . Some experts said that in future there would be less jobs for humans and more for machines — this is not true in the sense that new categories of jobs are already being contemplated that machines are less likely to perform . The creative problem solving , managing unpredictable situations , servicing to customers , ideation , research & development , problem solving , new way of working and related rules etc . are work domains that humans are more likely to perform better than machines .
Recently in February last month , this has been good to start year 2017 with positive community networking and dinner with 80 plus personnel from 60 plus corporates discussing supply chain economics , automation and changing landscape for supply chain in region .
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