The Headache of Managing Supply Chain Data

This time of year, we're inundated with predictions. Some of them you look at and forget. Others stick with you and get your problem-solving wheels spinning.

The second scenario happened to me the other day when I was browsing sites and looking up enterprise IT trends. Three of the executive predictions cited on the Business 2 Community site in Brian Rich's article and the related market comments by industry executives got me thinking about supply chain issues EBN readers would be all too familiar with. Many of you can help answer these questions for me. I think they would be interesting topics for future blog posts.

The first statement that stood out was from Brian Reagan, vice president of product marketing at Actifio: "The need for multiple copies of data for various purposes (backup, business continuity, disaster recovery, test and development, analytics, etc.) remains mission critical, yet as data volumes continue to accelerate, the ability to meet service levels at a reasonable cost is challenged."

This one from Irad Carmi, chief technology officer at TOA Technologies, got me thinking, too: "I believe that in 2013, businesses will look to the applications they have to better use this real-time data in new ways -- such as enabling better social connections and making in-the-moment decisions."

Lastly, Carlos Montero-Luque, chief technology officer at Apperian, makes an interesting point:

Mobile device management will be replaced by a broader view of enterprise mobility management that incorporates a holistic view of apps, content, access to backend services, as well as networks and devices that comprehensively addresses all aspects of mobility within an enterprise.

Let's think about these predictions filtered through the way you work today and the IT issues your organization is struggling with. Seeing these statements side-by-side and coming off the "big data/fast story" I wrote last week, a bunch of questions popped to mind. For instance:

• How many copies of supply chain data do you need in today's business environment, and who uses those copies? Do you really need all those copies?
• How quickly are supply chain updates now required by partners, and how quickly can partners really respond today? Have we done so much supply chain automation that we're down to updates every few seconds, or are we still far from that?
• Have we really arrived at a point where we can get real-time inventory data or pull a consumer question off the Twitter feed and act on it within a few seconds of posting that information?
• How many different devices does the average supply chain professional use today to get job-related info? Which one is the one you can't live without?
• How is the convergence of these things (actual real-time information being reviewed on laptops, phones, and tablets in and out of the office) affecting supply chain analytics, version tracking, exception management, team collaboration and information sharing? Pros and cons?
• Does multi-device, real-time data access make flexibility even more confusing and complex, or it is truly simplifying communication between supply chain teams? How so?
• What data-related issues are causing you a headache right now? Or reversely, how has modern-day data retrieval and management made your life easier today?

Tell me what you think and I'll consider using it in a future blog post. Email me at jenn@jenniferbaljko.com.