In 20 or 21 years, everyone may have a feeling that it is enough to be choked by the new crown epidemic, especially in the supply chain field. Viruses are cunning and spread not only from person to person, but also through objects, which requires us to maintain social distancing and disinfect between objects and people. This has led to the weakening or even breaking of the connection between people and people, people and things, things and things. Looking at the supply chain, it also increases the difficulty of the work. Originally, it was possible to meet and communicate with suppliers, but because travel was inconvenient, it became online communication. Materials and components that could have been imported from abroad are now subject to strict disinfection.
When something bad happens, turn around find something good, from another point of view, it is precisely 10 years later that the vigorous development of Internet technology has led to the rapid development of digital technology, so that we can still have the ability to connect "digitally" in the face of this epidemic, and further promote the in-depth development of digitalization. You see that video conferencing is popular, and online communication tools such as WeChat and DingTalk are increasingly integrated into the work scene. This is the power of digitalization, which can help us better connect, connect people, connect things, and connect things, especially in the supply chain, so that we can remotely "remotely control" the real logistics on the supply chain.
In the previous article, I quoted the viewpoint in the new book, the three elements of supply chain digitalization management object digitization, management tool digitalization, management digitalization, this article first talks about the digitalization of management objects. If you look at the Tencent conference or the DingTalk conference, it is to digitize the object designed for the "meeting". If we're meeting in the physical world, we'll have a conference room, conference table, projector, attendees, etc. In the digital world (which should be called metaverse according to the current buzz word :)), to have an online meeting, you need a conference room, so you have to apply for a conference room, it is a virtual ID or URL, the participants themselves also need their own ID, you have to mirror the screen, by sharing the screen can be. Then everyone talked and the meeting began.
The same digitalization of management objects in the supply chain is also a similar logic. As an example, I've served customers at home and abroad in recent years, and they're doing one thing widely called "Supply Chain Visibility" and "Supply Chain Visibility" in the United States. It includes the warehouses, inventory, vehicles, factories, assembly lines, object movements, stores, goods in the store, etc. in the supply chain, through IOT technology, computer vision, real-time data processing technology, all reproduced and put online. To be more specific, take "inventory visualization" as an example, if there is a warehouse, I define the warehouse as an object in the virtual world, which has information such as location, size, internal space cutting, Dock, etc. Then the inventory in the warehouse is defined as an object, which also has SKU information, storage location, quantity, expiration date, shelf time, etc. I can then easily see and analyze where my inventory is distributed, how much, which ones are expiring, and so on.
You might say that in the information age, isn't making a report that also reflects this information? It is true that there are many similarities between digitalization and informatization, but what digitalization changes is the way and effectiveness of individual access to information. For example, if you want to check the inventory distribution on the road, it is very troublesome to use the report, but if there is an APP or mini program, you can view it on your mobile phone anytime and anywhere. Or informationization is more of a way to "digitalize" management in the PC era, and digitalization is a "digital" management method in the era of mobile Internet. We go back to 15 years ago, when the video conferencing system required a fixed PC or hardware, you had to get a specific office to have a video conference, and there was no way to go home or on the road. And you look at the video conference now, anytime, anywhere, when eating and drinking Lasa can be opened. This is an important distinction and an important improvement. Don't underestimate this improvement, as being able to see the status of the management object in real time is a very important, if not essential, ability to respond to the changing business changes.
To give a few more examples, you go to McDonald's or KFC, Starbucks stores to order food, or order food on online platforms, these stores have also become digital objects, you finish ordering. Your order becomes a digital object, enters the POS system of these stores to become an order, and then assigned to the store operator, they start processing, and update the order status, you can also see the change in the status of the order online, and you will receive a reminder when you are ready. In this example, the most critical implementation of one-to-one "push" of management objects and service objects is implemented. There is no harm in contrast, or back to 10 years ago, you go to such a restaurant to eat, order a good meal, just wait, and then wait to be notified by the clerk, the clerk may not remember you, can only rely on the number you ordered the restaurant to shout you, or by the menu you received to find you. And now, when the meal is ready, you'll be notified one-on-one. Digitalization allows management objects and service objects to make accurate one-to-one connections.
Transportation and warehouse management has long been digitized, the transport tasks of each logistics vehicle are assigned to the driver in a timely manner, as long as you open the App, you can see the tasks to be delivered today, the sequence and even the path. The warehouse will also prepare the goods to be sent before the convoy arrives, and place them exactly at the Docking station where it should be placed. There are many more such examples, and I believe that there are many practices in the process of being carried out.
How to do the digitization of management objects, there are roughly the following steps.
First, identifying management objects is straightforward, but it's not that simple. In fact, it is what you want to manage, and what granularity you want to manage. Taking inventory visualization as an example, some companies say I just need to know which warehouse and how many of my inventory is in, and some companies say I also have to know which shelf and what batch of this inventory is on. The granularity of management depends on the specific business needs and requires specific problem analysis.
Second, identify the management scenario, with the management object, how will you manage it? You have to enumerate, such as inventory, you have to manage its entry and exit, manage its distribution, do stock viewing, and so on. These management tasks require us to "model" the management object, which refers to the information that defines how many dimensions of information are required for the "management object" and its correlation with each other.
Third, manage the modeling of objects, clarify its ID, primary key, its related properties, information, and its association with other objects.
Fourth, manage the scene verification, take the management object and model you designed, put it in the management scene to verify it, and see if there is anything missing. If there is something missing, go back to the first step and iterate.
Fifth, foolproof, you can start the technology landing and related implementation work.
Finally, the digitization of management objects is not only a technical activity, but also a deep integration of technology, management and business. You need compound talents that have a deep understanding of the business, management, and technology.