Evrim Ertugrul

Prospects of supply chain automation have the industry abuzz. It’s even become a major sticking point in the International Longshoremen’s Association contract negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance. The dockworkers do not want ports to automate processes out of fear they will lose their jobs to machines. Today, there are seemingly endless possibilities for optimization. Terms like generative artificial intelligence and machine learning have become commonplace in discussions about ways to gain efficiencies and reduce costs. Can man and machine work together as businesses leverage automation for optimization? Beyond the Buzz: Understanding the Automation Imperative Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), is described by Business News Daily as a later-stage development in which machines take in data on their own and then analyze it. Automation, on the other hand, is fixed on repetitive tasks; after a job is performed, an automation system “thinks no further.” The Business News Daily article explained that “automation involves an entire category of technologies that provide activity or work without human involvement,” while AI involves “a machine exhibiting and practicing something similar to what we describe as human thinking – that is, the ability to interact in thousands of ways with the…

Another busy week full of new episodes and livestreams at Supply Chain Now! If you missed an episode, get a quick summary and listen here. On Monday, our very own Clay “The Dawg” Phillips gives some insight on his job at Supply Chain Now. Supply Chain Now · “Recent Key Takeaways with Clay “The Dawg” Phillips”   On Tuesday, Scott & Greg welcomed Shannon Vaillancourt with RateLinx and Tim Judge with Agillitics to the show to share about optimizing supply chain decision making.   Supply Chain Now · “Optimizing Decision-Making in Supply Chain in 2020 & Beyond”   On Wednesday, we published this week’s Supply Chain Buzz, complete with the Retail Rundown and with special guest Chris Lingamfelter with 6 River Systems.   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Buzz for August 31st: The Retail Rundown & Chris Lingamfelter”   On Thursday, Scott and Greg welcomed co-host Paul Noble with Verusen to the show and featured Scott Armstrong with CONA Services LLC as their special guest.   Supply Chain Now · ” A View from the CFO’s Office: Scott Armstrong with CONA Services LLC”   And we wrapped up the week with Greg’s TECHquila Sunrise as he gives some…