The 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report predicts 95% increase in investment
April 11, 2019
by
Inside Logistics Online Staff
George Prest presents the results of the 2019 MHI Annual Report with Scott Sopher from Deloitte and an industry panel.
Chicago, IL – Investment in supply chain technology is predicted to climb by 95 percent in 2019, according to MHI’s 2019 Annual Industry Report, “Elevating Supply Chain Digital Consciousness”.
Eight out of ten survey respondents believe digital supply chains will be the predominant model within just five years. The survey results also suggest that investment in supply chain innovation is at a critical inflection point, with a trend of declining investment from 2015 to 2018 being more than countered by the 95 per cent increase in projected spending for 2019.
Manufacturing and supply chain professionals are facing many challenges but, according to the report, the top one continues to be hiring qualified workers (65 per cent).
This year’s report provides updates on the innovative technologies MHI predicted would have the most potential to transform supply chains. The report also covers the potential of these technologies to disrupt the industry as well as their adoption rates and common barriers to adoption.
The 11 technologies covered in the report are:
These 11 technologies work together to create next-generation supply chains that can meet these challenges because they are digital, on-demand and always-on.
“The pace of supply chain innovation over the six years of our survey is truly astounding, creating real and measurable competitive advantage for early adopters,” said George Prest, CEO of MHI.
“With supply chain complexity showing no signs of slowing, the risk of inaction is only growing. Leading manufacturing and supply chain executives agree that technology is the key to future success.”
The top technologies respondents say can be a source of either disruption or competitive advantage are:
Adoption Rates
Cloud computing and storage has the highest current adoption rate (56 per cent). Adoption is expected to grow to 79 per cent over the next two years, and to 91 per cent over the next five years.
Over the next five years Predictive Analytics is expected to reach an 87 per cent adoption rate, followed by IoT at 80 per cent, Robotics and Automation at 72 per cent, Artificial Intelligence at 55 per cent and Driverless Vehicles and Drones at 51 per cent.
Top Barriers to Adoption
The top three barriers to adoption of these technologies are:
Supply Chain Talent Gap
A highly-skilled and increasingly digital supply chain workforce is needed to implement these technologies. This has been a theme in all six annual reports and the talent gap is growing as the adoption of these technologies increases.