Technology is no longer simply enabling Operations. Technology is now fundamentally redefining Operations. Success depends on effectively embedding advanced technologies into the methods and processes of how materials and resources create customer value. Strategic Productivity is a guide and benchmark for capitalizing on disruptive Operations tech.
Now, the capabilities of tech have fundamentally redefined Ops strategy.
“Get the right people doing the right things with the right tools.”
But now, the capabilities of the tools—particularly software and digital and cloud tools—have accelerated to the point where they’re not just flipping the order but fundamentally redefining the equation. The questions have now gone beyond “how best to work?” into “what work to do?” and even “what business are we in?”.
Technology disruption—also known as digital transformation, Industrie 4.0—poses a dilemma for Operations: We have always defined our business and implemented tools to support it; do we now allow the technology to define the business, and we implement systems and processes to support the technology?
When business and process were on top, enabling technologies were tools used by Operations teams.
These included ERP, MES, Supply Chain Management (SCM), shop-floor robotics, etc. They allowed us to perform our operations faster and more consistently. The highly-constructed nature of these systems also had a lock-in effect of constraining flexibility.
Transformational technologies include:
Artificial Intelligence
Blockchain
Business Process Management
Dynamic Case Management
Software Robotics
The Cloud
Internet of Things (IoT)
Big Data
Lean-Agile methods facilitate adoption, shorten time-to-value, and enable rapid adaptation to changing markets and business conditions.
Redefining the productivity equation
Disruptive technologies force us to reconsider how we calculate customer value delivered per unit cost. These include the range of analytic and operational technologies known as AI, the Internet of Things, Blockchain, and 3D Printing. These disrupters are literally redefining the business landscape. They are changing the actors, redefining key performance indicators, and driving new business models.
Generational change and other demographic factors are driving the introduction and adoption of these technologies. Per Jeff Immalt of GE, you are in the software business.
How are you operationalizing software as core to business operations? Have you defined the role digital technologies play in Operations? Have you identified the metrics by which you measure the value the time and cost these technologies contribute—or detract—from the net customer value you are delivering?
To survive and thrive, you must face this dilemma.
You must seamlessly incorporate all three classes of technologies—enabling, transformational and disruptive—into your Operations. You must recognize and embrace software methods, development and tools as integral to your operations functions.
For capitalizing on disruptive Operations tech, Strategic Productivity is both the guide and the mechanism.