For the third time, ProMat (see details in BOX) was held jointly with Automate, at a convention center in Chicago, in the United States. It was a fruitful experience to reflect on the role of technology in the competitive environment of companies, as well as in economic development in general. This article aims to discuss the current process of technology convergence that is enabling a leap in productivity in supply chains and enabling the formation of global networks driven by demand.
Reference for the logistics market
The largest fair of equipment and technological solutions for the logistics and supply chain sector in the Americas, ProMat 2013 was held from January 21 to 24, at McCormick Place, in Chicago, in the United States, with the participation of 785 exhibiting companies and more than 34 thousand visitors from 125 countries.
Promoted by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), Promat occupied a 300 m² space where the latest innovations in equipment for packaging, storage, inventory management and information technology were displayed, among other solutions aimed at the logistics chain.
In parallel to the event, there was also the Automate 2013 conference program, which featured exhibitions by companies specializing in automation, such as Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Kawasaki Robotics, Lincoln Electric and Schneider Packaging Equipment.
Points of interest during the visit
ProMat broadly covers material handling equipment and applied information systems, such as: traditional forklifts, conveyors and racks; going through voice recognition systems, picking to light, and goods-to-person semi-automation systems, in which items are transported by a combination of stacker cranes, conveyor belts and shuttles to the work station of the order picker; to automation systems – ASRS, AGV and e– unit handling systems; in addition to systems integration, planning and execution, such as WMS, TMS and simulation.
Automate focuses on automation systems, with an emphasis on robotics. A good example is the system that uses robots, which literally moves shelves with products within the warehouse space, dynamically positioning them based on volume, and taking them to the location of the order pickers, who receive instructions on the quantities by request. See the very interesting video of the Kiva robots in action (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsMdN7HMuA), which is the heart of the material handling automation system based on the concept of goods-to-man picking process. Kiva, which was recently acquired by Amazon, is a forerunner of this type of system, which provides a significant increase in productivity. Its conception demonstrates a radical change in the design paradigm of a warehouse.
Among other very interesting and innovative robotics equipment, those for movement based on the optical identification of objects stand out. These are part of systems that determine the object to be moved by means of optical sensors, which in turn direct the equipment precisely to, regardless of the spatial position of the object, remove it from the original position and move it to the destination. default.
Unit handling robot
Imagine a box full of different parts and messed up. The equipment reads the inside of the box, looking for the specified item in its memory, and then activates the mechanical arm that will remove the desired part, whatever its position, quickly and accurately.
The same principle was noticed in a forklift robot that “reads” the face of a truck's trunk (or trailer) with stacked boxes of the most varied sizes, and then proceeds to remove the boxes in a logical way, adapting to the positions and dimensions of the same, without any human action.
Robot driven by optical object identification
Lecture and insights
With regard to the series of lectures, a highlight is the “Impact of Robotics on Economic Growth”, given by Professor Henrik Christensen, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, in the United States. He was very provocative in demonstrating that the emergence of a new “wave” of robots and automation is revolutionizing industrial and physical distribution processes, as exemplified above.
Henrik Christensen of Georgia Tech pointed to the emergence of a new "wave" of robots
He pointed out that we are in a process of convergence and technological integration that is being made possible by the current stage of maturation of various types of communication and information technologies introduced in recent decades. Among the technologies in different stages of maturity, we can highlight: advanced planning systems; RFID; GPS; Web EDI; 2D barcode; optical identification of objects; smart technology; communication between machines; Big Data & Analytics Capabilities – related to the analytical capacity of an extraordinary volume of data for data mining and business intelligence; and processing/storage in the cloud, technology based on wireless and Internet communication, including SaaS – software as a service. Not to mention the widespread systems that are constantly evolving, such as ERP, TMS, WMS, inventory management and optimization and simulation.
Robot for pallet assembly in the truck loading operation
It is a scenario in which productivity is being raised to higher levels than the current ones, based on integrated systems that are more agile, flexible, fast, accurate, with in process inspection, high density and quick set-up, which should reach the point of enabling an environment that Christensen calls the industrial internet, in which a connected infrastructure is envisioned, without wires! This new production environment will further minimize the traditional Fordist imperative of “economy of scale” by placing greater emphasis on the “economy of scope” potential in a manufacturing plant, making it economically viable by configuring it to make smaller quantities of greater variety of products. It's mass customization becoming possible in a wide range of industries.
From the point of view of the supply chain, technological convergence implies potential benefits by providing better and more intense sharing of information between partners (e.g. information from points of sale (POS) and ASNs – advance notice of shipment) and a greater visibility of the physical flows, of the system's capacity, enabling the effective management of events. These benefits translate into a reduction in inventories and transportation, as well as an increase in the level of customer service, and the consequent increase in market share and profitability.
Reflection
As a rule, automotive assemblers have been experiencing an increase in production complexity for a long time, due to increasing model variants, associated with reduced life cycle time and greater pressures for rapid launches in the market. These are technological and process innovations that have enabled a transformation in the manufacturing strategies adopted by global corporations – from “pushed” production, based on economies of scale, to “pull” production, based on economies of scope.
This new technological environment is about to enable, far beyond greater visibility, a more effective response capacity to the requirements of customer segments, by dealing with volatility and supply disruptions along the supply chain, based on the formation of global networks founded on into end-to-end integrated operational and decision-making processes.
It is expected that, in the future, the technology will spread the tracking of events upstream of the first level of suppliers, combined with the monitoring of performance indicators in real time, and enable the dynamic optimization of the supply chain. Imagine the impact on business when we reach the point where we can assess the total cost of serving specific customer segments in a precise and dynamic way, based on an analytical capacity boosted by information technology, supporting decisions based on what if.
Currently, this new wave of productivity, based on emerging technologies, is already being felt positively in terms of the competitiveness of North American industry, as one of the drivers of the process of near shoring – phenomenon of manufacturing returning closer to consumer markets in western countries, in particular of high added value products. As an example, Apple recently announced investments of US$ 100 million in the installation of a new factory in the United States, aiming at a risk mitigation strategy in global supplies.
In this sense, we are observing a reconfiguration of global networks, greatly influenced by the adoption of corporate risk mitigation strategies (eg.: global supply disruptions due to natural and geopolitical reasons), making companies adopt redundancies and contingencies in their global production networks and distribution. The vision is to build end-to-end supply chain integration. Currently, it is commonplace to read about corporations that are reducing their dependence on the China factor, due to the uncertain environment.
This trend of reconfiguration of global chains is giving strength to the already known concept of “glocalization”, which is the combination of the terms “globalization” and “localization”, used to describe a product or service that is developed, produced and distributed globally, but which is locally customized to meet the destination market, including specific requirements, such as those relating to environmental, tax, health, national content legislation, as well as the diversity of local consumer preferences.
The global competitive environment has its basic roots in pressures aimed at decreasing costs in the production and distribution of products, and better services to meet the growing demands of consumers for greater variety, speed and reliability, considering local diversity. To this end, corporations able to remain relevant in the market tend to locate their manufacturing plants closer and closer to the consumer market, leading them to the development of strategic suppliers and local PSLs.
In a recent study carried out by the German Logistics Association (BVL, for its German acronym), these corporations are being compelled to develop efficient, resilient supply chains that are increasingly driven by demand, through the orchestration of their global network. The reliability of these supply chains is supported by risk mitigation strategies and training in managing complex global networks. To this end, a technological arsenal and planning and execution processes, structured and integrated, are being incorporated, seeking increasing levels of productivity and synchrony throughout the global chain, with a view to meeting local demand for final demand.
Our late guru in supply chain management, Don Bowersox, holds true: “The fundamental idea is to remain relevant in the market, doing more with less, until you can do everything with nothing!”. And technology plays a key role in this journey of business transformation.
Conclusion
It is in this context that the opportunity for internationalization arises for Brazilian companies, when considering their insertion in global networks, aiming at alignment with the global competitive context and the development of new markets. It is of fundamental importance to be attentive and prepared for technological and business model innovations that may threaten the competitiveness and even the survival of the company. For example, the recent entry of Amazon in Brazil will certainly imply a shock of competitiveness in the country's online sales sector.
In this sense, it is common for leading North American and European companies to develop strategic alliances with centers of excellence (including universities), in addition to participating in international technical missions, trade shows (such as ProMat and Automate) and renowned international associations, such as CSCMP/USA and BVL/Germany. The focus is on seeking broad and permanent updating in terms of technology, as well as on trends, strategies and management approaches in the supply chain and, thus, keeping its executives prepared for an increasingly globalized and fierce competition!
