Roundtable: How select technologies and improvements to SCM process can dramatically improve industrial operations.

A few of us at JWN Energy held a roundtable today on how select technologies and improved supply chain management (processes/approaches) can serve to dramatically improve effeciencies for industrial operations - particularly those with multiple stakeholders and long project cycles.

Gone are the days where the function of SCM can hold steadfast to "procurement" alone. Today's supply chain manager has more power than ever before, with the ability to be truly proactive and initiate change.

Technology areas discussed included:

(1) equipment and tools dealing with field productivity (technologies that enable field staff to be connected with head office and/or control assets remotely),

(2) instrumentation and/or software that uses analytics to improve operational performance at a certain stage of work (ex.  the automation of routine processes or diagnostic tools that facilitate decision making) and

(3) technologies that improve asset availability and reliability through the use of predictive data analytics and/or condition based maintenance approaches). 

The technologies in this last area serve to reduce or prevent costly operations interuptions and plant shutdowns due to failure of a critical component/piece of equipment. Anything to avoid that!

So great to have input into from companies such as AMEC Foster Wheeler, Suncor, IBM and Siemens. 

Message me if you have any other ideas/input on how technology and/or innovation in SCM can substantially improve efficiencies in industrial projects - whether they be large or small projects.....