Currently, global supply chains are going through a period of reinvention that requires technological strengthening to face the challenges of the current context. For example, this sector must take measures in the face of restrictions due to new outbreaks of COVID-19 that persist in countries such as China.
In addition, it is necessary to improve logistics and distribution systems in the face of the global geopolitical environment that today slows down the shipment of essential metals for the automotive and aerospace industry, such as nickel or aluminum, which are supplied by Ukraine and Russia.
These changes have impacted all sectors, but mainly manufacturing and supply chains, two industries that today find in technology an enabler that allows them to continue their operations, as well as respond with agility and flexibility to disruptions.
When considering the mentioned factors, it increases the relevance of having a solid IT architecture that -precisely- helps to respond to the advance of solutions for sectors such as e-commercewhich has become a priority in Mexico and around the world, by driving the progress of the digitization of supply chains.
Other challenges for this industry are: generating an impact in each of its links, implementing management technology based on Digital Transformation and matching investments in all areas that comprise it. In other words, we must go beyond improving logistics and merchandise delivery processes to deepen and modernize supply chains from start to finish, from procurement and manufacturing to product shipment.
To meet this goal, relying on Open Source technology represents an advantage that allows building comprehensive digital solutions that arise from the collaboration of thousands of programmers, developers and cybersecurity experts, but also from those who are part of a company in transformation.
The sum of efforts, talents, research techniques, findings and perspectives is a catalyst to build disruptive solutions that impact all the links of the supply chains that are committed to this technology, which is preferred by 90% of the 1,250 leaders IT participants in the study “State of Enterprise Open Source 2021″who identified as their main benefits: higher quality software systems (35%), access to the latest innovations (33%) and more security (30%).
It should also be considered that Open Source has proven to be key in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and edge computing, which are essential tools for supply chains, by allowing the creation of virtual representations from simulations of supplier changes or delivery routes, or when analyzing data and automating processes to improve manufacturing.
Now, having the best technologies is only part of the formula to reinvent this sector; In addition, it is necessary to adopt an open culture that is characterized by encouraging the participation of all members of the organization in the construction of better solutions, and that guides employees to make the most of the power of a true Digital Transformation.
I am convinced that this sector is making progress in its reinvention, and that – hand in hand with innovation – it will become resilient, capable of anticipating and easily adapting to the constant changes in the political, health, business and social context, in order to continue being a fundamental piece of the national economy, which today requires the collaboration of companies, governments and society to recover and exceed the levels recorded before the pandemic. An objective that, I am sure, we will achieve by staying united and supported by technology.
By Javier Cordero Vice President and General Manager of Red Hat NoLa
diarioti.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.