Supply Chain Optimization

It’s A Shame To Waste Good Data

 

 

There is a ton of data out there…but who uses it for good purposes?  When will mainline software suppliers, who make the WMS, TMS, and YMS everybody uses, start to think about using data to help productivity?  Every article I read about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the supply chain is pretty generic.  Yes, there are sales forecasting applications that use AI – but most operational data is being kept only for audit purposes.   
 
  1. Why isn’t some WMS supplier using the vast quantity of transactions to sift through and find best practices in unloading, loading picking, put-away, etc.?  For example, couldn’t a warehouse zone pallet-storage locations around what is shipped together rather than straight velocity?  If Walmart always orders 20 pallets of item “A” and only 1 pallet of item “B,” why is “B” somewhere in the back of the warehouse?   “B” should be stored with “A.”
  2. Why can’t a TMS predict which carrier will accept the tender a few days in advance? 
  3. And, for that matter, why can’t we successfully tender shipments without even having the order?
There is a lot to be done…who will step up and do it?