The release of Amazon Web Services Supply Chain solution has set LinkedIn ablaze with reaction, as supply chain and operational executives digest the implications.
AWS Supply Chain is a new application that helps businesses increase supply chain visibility, “to make faster, more informed decisions that mitigate risks, lower costs, and improve customer experiences”, AWS said, as it launched the product.
AWS Supply Chain ‘unifies data to provide insights’
AWS added: “AWS Supply Chain unifies supply chain data, provides machine learning-powered insights that are actionable, and offers built-in contextual collaboration.”
This, claims the company, will help businesses increase customer service levels by “reducing stock-outs and help lower costs by reducing over-stock”.
The solution works by providing a real-time visual map feature, showing the level and health of inventory across limitless locations. It also provides targeted watchlists, to flag potential risks.
When a risk is identified, AWS Supply Chain provides inventory rebalancing recommendations and built-in, contextual collaboration tools that, says the company, make it “easier to coordinate across teams to implement solutions”.
The solution is also designed to connect to existing enterprise resource planning and supply chain management systems, “without replatforming, upfront licensing fees, or long-term contracts”, AWS says.
Upon launching the product, Diego Pantoja-Navajos, Vice President of AWS Supply Chain, said: “Customers tell us the heavy lifting needed to connect data between different supply chain solutions prevents them responding quickly to supply chain disruptions.
“AWS Supply Chain aggregates this data and provides visual, interactive dashboards that provide the insights and recommendations customers need to take actions toward more resilient supply chains.”
LinkedIn reacts to AWS Supply Chain
But how have supply chain managers and operational executives received AWS’s supply chain solution?
The reaction has been generally positive, although most observers feel it is too early to pass any kind of judgement just yet. There are also concerns AWS Supply Chain is too narrow in scope.
Chao-Ming Ying is CTO at New Horizon Soft, a company that provides supply chain planning software for manufacturers.
Ying felt it was “inevitable Amazon would launch a supply chain software service”.
He adds: “Over the past two decades no company has had more impact on how businesses view the strategic importance of supply chain management.
