Emerging Technologies

    Emerging technologies can be considered the type of technologies that are still in the development stage or the new technologies existing out in front.  Although all new technologies may not pass the testing or development stage, the ones that can pass may transform the lives of people and, finally the world (Williams, 2017). Evolving technologies not only bring new opportunities and practical applications for tech firms in terms of generating new business, revenue, and improving customer experience, but also improve the quality of people’s lives in numerous aspects such as efficiency, safety, health, environmental conservation, and so on.

The Emerging Technology Community has released the list of Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2020, considering the research on the technology landscape and the marketplace’s assessment (Fitzgerald, 2020).  The list includes:

 

1.     Artificial Intelligence

2.     5G

3.     Internet of Things

4.     Serverless Computing

5.     Biometrics

6.     Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality

7.     Blockchain

8.     Robotics

9.     Natural Language Processing

10.  Quantum Computing

 

What are The Emerging Technologies?

 

Artificial Intelligence: Being used in the daily lives of many people and was adopted by numerous industries, AI refers to systems, machines, and algorithms that mimic behaviour associated with human intelligence such as perception, learning, planning, reasoning, and decision-making.

5G: Fifth-generation wireless (5G) refers to the cellular technology designed to increase the speed of wireless networks and provide connectivity of multiple devices.

Internet of Things: IoT refers to the significant number of connected physical devices that collect and share data over wireless networks.

Serverless Computing: Serverless refers to a cloud-based execution model that eliminates the need for managing servers to run applications.

Biometrics: It refers to the process in which unique physical traits of people are being detected and used to verify their identity.

 

Benefits of Emerging Technologies in The Supply Chain 

 Integrating emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, the internet of things, virtual reality, blockchain, etc., in supply chains and embracing the transformations is crucial for businesses’ futures and values since they allow companies to save on time and costs by improving business processes. There are several examples of how emerging technologies may benefit the supply chain in preparing companies for the future. (Chorley, 2018).

 

·      Contributing to the real-time problem-solving performance of companies by predicting and preventing potential problems and malfunctions.

·      Improving the customer service and reducing the cost to serve by connecting the digital thread by leveraging information gathered from emerging technologies like the Internet of Things or Big Data.

·      Allowing companies to monitor and interfere with the processes, changes, and the supply chain not only remotely and globally by the use of cloud-based emerging technologies but also autonomously by the use of artificial intelligence in decision making.

·      Training and preparing supply chain workers using Virtual Reality to provide better practices, realistic experience, and remote training.

·      Helping companies manage supply chain related crises easily by tracing failures, offering correct balances, and providing complete transparency in the product information.

·      Transform the way that supply chains are being operated by the use of IoT-based inventory, asset, or order management systems that consider sustainability and green initiatives.

Buket Bostanci

 

Keywords: emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital transformation, supply chain, IoT

References & Sources

 

Williams, O., 2017. The Advantages of Emerging Technology. [online] bizfluent. Available at: https://bizfluent.com/info-8427727-advantages-emerging-technology.html [Accessed 3 April 2021].

Chorley, J., 2018. 6 Benefits of Emerging Technologies in the Modern Supply Chain. [online] EBN. Available at: https://www.ebnonline.com/6-benefits-of-emerging-technologies-in-the-modern-supply-chain/ [Accessed 3 April 2021]

Fitzgerald, L., 2020. 10 Emerging Technologies Making an Impact in 2020. [online] Available at: https://connect.comptia.org/blog/emerging-technologies-impact-2020 [Accessed 3 April 2021]