Monica Hernandez

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 great week here at Supply Chain Now! Have you listened to all the episodes? If not, you can check them all out here:   We introduced a new series on Monday, with This Week in Business History, where Scott looks back at some of the biggest historical events in business history for the week ahead.   Supply Chain Now · “June 15th- This Week in Business History: Goodyear, IBM, & More”   Then on Tuesday, we continued in the Logistics with Purpose series and welcomed Melenie York with Whitehouse & Schapiro.   Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Melenie York with Whitehouse & Schapiro”   On Wednesday, Scott and Greg tackled the top news in supply chain on the Supply Chain Buzz.   Supply Chain Now · “Supply Chain Buzz for June 15th: Grocery, Bots, Retail Challenges, & More”   Scott and Greg were joined by Radu Palamariu with Alcott Global on Thursday, as they discussed the current supply chain talent market.   Supply Chain Now · “Key Observations in the Current Supply Chain Talent Market: Radu Palamariu with Alcott Global”   And we wrapped up the week with a world-class supply chain leader as Scott and Greg…