That said , supply chains remain fragile ; however , if all the proverbial cogs are running the benefits are numerous : cost reduction , decreased inventory , and increase in asset utilisation .

To realise the above , many organisations are moving towards supply chain digitisation which in turn provides them with visibility and an entry point to gain a full view of their end-to-end supply chain networks .

MOTION FORWARD Big data is also driving the move towards digitisation – a lot of information is collected across the entire chain network . With real-time , accurate data , this allows companies to swiftly pivot and respond to drastically changing situations and ensure responses are on point . Information is vital in dealing with constraints on supplies and transportation for example .

In challenging environments , industry is also implementing digital track and trace

systems , using radio frequency identification ( RFID ) tags instead of bar codes , which increases visibility into the supply chain , providing valuable real-time data .

RFID offers great benefits as it can be read by proximity sensors remotely and the data quickly aggregated into the cloud and interchanged through various other IoT systems .

When data is gathered this way , it enables quicker execution of equally important tasks or processes such as observing transit conditions of goods , inventory automation , various reporting and dashboarding and of course automated replenishment of inventory – all without human intervention .

The collected information also supports business intelligence with the visualisation of various metrics which offer rapid information on vital information such as tracking staff levels year-on-year or inventory volumes . In short , digital track and trace simply outperforms humans in terms of processes .

KEEPING UP Considering the above , it ’ s clear that operational technology ( OT ) needs to evolve , and quickly . Traditionally , OT controls

physical hardware and takes care of safety . Today the lines between OT and information technology ( IT ) are fading . In the past , OT systems such as supervisory control and data acquisition ( SCADA ) and distributed control systems ( DCS ) were proprietary , today these systems are open , flexible and offer the ability to speak to other systems outside of their primary domains .

The interoperability of OT systems can break down the silos of information whilst providing organisations with the ability to integrate it with various IT systems . In fact , we are going to see IT functionality increasingly being built into OT , allowing these systems to , for example , seamlessly connect with the cloud and work in conjunction with the onsite edge applications .

THE HUMAN FACTOR There is no doubt that the continued convergence between IT and OT have a lot to offer , however , the human element remains key .

Training must be prioritised to ensure employees are well versed in newly deployed technologies and systems . Here , an interesting and even immersive training approach would be to use the simulation

of the actual processes in a digital twin environment .

In this setup , a virtual environment mimics real-world operations ; processes are therefore similar to the authentic . This environment would then be used to provide training for the would-be operators .

It is indeed a power training tool as the environment can be made available prior to actual implementation which means employees are familiar with the processes and hit the road running . CLA

Supply chains remain fragile ; however , if all the proverbial cogs are running the benefits are numerous : cost reduction , decreased inventory , and increase in asset utilisation .