Creating value is not about the latest technology, but more about the systematic application of solutions where and if they make sense.
That’s the view of Tyrone Rennie of Barloworld Logistics who told delegates at the recent Sapics conference in Cape Town that the race to adopt the latest technology had left a battleground scattered with failed organisations who had lost sight of their core value in their pursuit of digitisation, and suffered the ultimate price.
Referencing the latest Barloworld Logistics supplychainforesight released late last year, Rennie said local perspectives regarding the adoption of key technology trends had delivered somewhat unexpected results. “Local opinion seems to indicate that, in the main, organisations are hesitant to invest heavily in trends that are as yet untested in the South African landscape.
Rather than indicating short-sighted, laggard behaviour, the wait-and-see approach to technology being adopted by local organisations may be wise.” This, said Rennie, was because technology was a means to an end and not an end in itself.
“At its heart supply chain was, and still is, rather simple. Place the right product in front of the right consumer at the right time and price point. As business and the field itself has gotten smarter, and as globalisation has broadened the marketplace, this once simple concept has become more and more complex.”
Getting the basics of value creation right and overlaying these with relevant solutions, be they traditional or technology-heavy, is what ultimately separates the winners from the rest, in his view. He said according to the research undertaken by Barloworld, local industry did not have autonomous vehicles on their business agenda in the near or medium term.
“This approach makes sense, as local infrastructure is unlikely to support widespread use of such vehicles on our national road network.”
