Big Ideas in Supply Chain

Embracing innovation for a futuristic supply chain

Episode Summary

Shifts in consumer behavior are forcing supply chains to evolve, leading many chief supply chain officers to ask: how do we keep up? For Mohan Sodhi, Professor of Operations & Supply Chain Management at the Bayes Business School at the City University of London, and Jayashankar Swaminathan, Professor of Operations at the University of North Carolina, the key is to embrace innovation or risk falling behind. Mohan and Jay are joined by Angel Mendez, Board Member and Supply Chain Innovator, and Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to discuss how to develop and bring innovation to the forefront of your organization so you can optimize supply chains for the future.

Episode Notes

As supply chains continue to evolve in a post-pandemic landscape, many supply chain practitioners are wondering how to best stay on top of trends. In today's competitive environment, knowing how to deliver the right product the right way and being able to optimize data and analytics could make or break your organization. In this podcast, Mohan Sodhi, Professor of Operations & Supply Chain Management at the Bayes Business School at the City University of London, and Jayashankar Swaminathan, Professor of Operations at the University of North Carolina, join Angel Mendez, Board Member and Supply Chain Innovator, and Dr. Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, to discuss how to bring innovation to the forefront of your organization so you can optimize supply chains for the future.

• Mohan says that the biggest opportunities in supply chain innovation depend entirely on how much change is required within your supply chain. If you’re keeping your supply chain constant, then new innovations like AI or predictive learning technologies can be used to enhance it, making it more effective and efficient. However, some companies are being forced to shift their processes due to changing consumer habits. He uses music as an example to explain how products may stay the same, but the delivery method could change, highlighting how we went from tapes, to CDs, to MP3s and now streaming. [5:19]
• Keeping up with innovation isn’t easy for chief supply chain officers that are focused on day-to-day executions. Jay explains that there are a lot of opportunities to explore and get started at universities, or even online learning courses like Coursera. He also recommends having a business case or pilot put in place to determine the value of embracing innovation by solving a real problem. Jay states, “if you want to be successful at innovation you need to try a lot of things. 75%-80% of attempts will fail but you shouldn’t lose heart.” [17:01]
• Looking towards the future of supply chain innovation, Mohan says most of the students he teaches are interested in digital technology like AI, blockchain, and creating a start-up model. Jay says he’s seen a significant shift with his students who were once interested in the global aspect of supply chain and are now looking closer at digitization and making the supply chain more responsive. [19:53]

To hear more from Mohan, Jay, Angel, and Anne about embracing innovation for a futuristic supply chain, watch our Big Ideas in Supply Chain podcast.

To learn more about the work that Mohan is doing at the Bayes Business School at the City University of London, you can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

To learn more about the work Jay is doing at the University of North Carolina, you can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.