One of the challenges of a tech career is the necessity to stay up-to-date on technology advancements. A key part of your ability to solve business problems with technology is understanding how to use the latest advancements to create a solution. Therefore your value as an individual contributor or manager is partially driven by the amount of knowledge that you have cultivated during your life. Technology is a Moving Target Acquiring this knowledge isn’t easy.

In the modern workplace, data integration skills can help you supercharge your career. Regardless of what kind of job you have, it’s likely you will be working with some kind of software. It might be a cloud billing system, an appointment scheduling system, warehouse software, or even just email. Most software applications are driven by data inputs and outputs. If you have even basic competency with data integration, it can open up many opportunities for you to automate tasks and leverage data to solve business problems.

The rapid advancement of technology is both a threat and an opportunity for logistics workers. Robotics, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence could reduce the number of available jobs in certain categories. For example, one report estimated that 294,000 US trucking jobs could be eliminated over the next 25 years as a result of autonomous vehicle technology. However, the growth of cloud technologies offers an opportunity for these workers to move beyond undifferentiated roles into knowledge work that is more aligned with their organization’s goals.

Surveys show that SaaS applications provide many benefits to end-users. Typical improvements offered by a modern SaaS platform include automatic synchronization of data among multiple devices, better collaboration with peers, reduced dependency on email, improved user interfaces, better search capabilities, and a better ability to customize the user interface . A logistics worker’s career success now depends on strong expertise with popular SaaS WMSs, TMSs, ERPs, and CRMs. Today organizations often make knowledge of their SaaS tool a specific job requirement when hiring.

The percentage of jobs in the US that are considered “technology jobs” has been continually increasing. The 2020 pandemic has put this transition on warp speed. Even though we have experienced record levels of unemployment, many tech workers are thriving in this economy. In some industries there has been a massive shift away from traditional business models to technology-driven services. For example, the entertainment industry has been forced to move away from in-person experiences to at-home streaming.

What the SaaS Trend Means for Tech Careers Software as a Service (SaaS) has become the dominant model for delivering business software. With SaaS, applications are hosted by a vendor and made accessible to end customers over the Internet on a subscription basis. The popularity of SaaS is making a substantial impact on the daily activities of IT workers. When software is hosted on internally managed PCs or servers, the IT department is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure that supports these systems.

Software Engineering can be a great career path. However some engineers eventually feel they have outgrown their technical engineering role and get the itch for a new challenge. Often the standard path is for programmers to be promoted into management roles. This can be sometimes be disastrous since many of the attributes a great manager are completely different than the attributes of a great engineer. This results in unhappy managers that manage poorly resulting in unhappy employees.

Severe job losses which have been triggered by the pandemic have disproportionately affected workers in the service and retail industries. These lower-skilled jobs have traditionally served as an economic fail-safe for non college-educated workers. However the lingering effects of COVID-19 could permanently damage these industries and eliminate a large portion of these jobs. Although all industries have been affected, there is strong evidence that the technology sector will recover quickly. To adapt to the new reality, many companies are looking to digitize their businesses.

Given the pandemic’s impact on the economy, there are many Americans rethinking their career situations. One sector that has not only survived but thrived in the current business climate is technology. So many employees are now working remotely, and this is pushing faster adoption of various tech tools. Even more importantly, employers are struggling to do more with less. This is driving even stronger interest in technologies like cloud, automation and AI recently.

Eric Dietrich, author of Developer Hegemony, recently wrote about the need for software engineers to specialize in particular problem domains. In other words, if you’re going to be a great software developer, you need deep domain expertise in a particular vertical. Without that intimate understanding of your stakeholders, it becomes extremely difficult to positively impact the organization you’re working for. Many software engineers attempt to differentiate themselves in terms of their expertise in specific pieces of technology like React, TypeScript, or Python.

A not-so-surprising New York Times piece recently reported on a program to convert blue collar workers to software engineers: They Were Promised Coding Jobs in Appalachia. Now They Say It Was a Fraud.. A couple years ago everyone was jumping on this bandwagon. Here’s an NPR story that was quite up-beat about a program that taught unemployed coal miners how to “ship code” instead of “shipping coal”. It sounded great in theory and I’m sure it resulted in a few successful career transformations.

In this post I will review how electronic data interchange (EDI) is used in fulfillment. Fulfillment is the process of filling orders by picking ordered product from inventory and shipping it to the buyer. Fulfillment is what Amazon does when you buy a product on their web site. The interactions between the buyer and seller vary depending on whether the buyer is a consumer (B2C) or a business (B2B). For consumer purchases, the order is usually accepted through an online store or app.

If you work with data integration in any kind of supply chain related role, it’s likely you will encounter electronic data interchange (EDI). Although EDI is an older technology which is gradually being replaced by alternatives like application programming interfaces (APIs), it’s still very commonly used in the supply chain and logistics domains. There are a huge number of legacy EDI implementations that are driving some of the worlds largest supply chains.

In the modern workplace, data integration skills can help you supercharge your career. Regardless of what kind of job you have, it’s likely you will be working with some kind of software. It might be a cloud billing system, an appointment scheduling system, warehouse software, or even just email. Most software applications are driven by data inputs and outputs. If you have even basic competency with data integration, it can open up many opportunities for you to automate tasks and leverage data to solve business problems.

It’s clear that we are living in a data-driven world. Our steady transition toward highly digitalized lives is making data a key asset in the modern economy. When we go online to make purchases, consume content, or share on social media, we are generating valuable data. Many of the largest tech companies are now operating on business models that depend on leveraging data. However none of that is possible without data integration.

Surveys show that SaaS applications provide many benefits to end-users. Typical improvements offered by a modern SaaS platform include automatic synchronization of data among multiple devices, better collaboration with peers, reduced dependency on email, improved user interfaces, better search capabilities, and a better ability to customize the user interface . A logistics worker’s career success now depends on strong expertise with popular SaaS WMSs, TMSs, ERPs, and CRMs. Today organizations often make knowledge of their SaaS tool a specific job requirement when hiring.

I just finished reading Hit Refresh by Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, and I couldn’t help drawing parallels between his stories and the challenges we face as logistics providers. If you’ve kept up with your technology news, you will know that a huge amount of corporate IT spending has been shifting to cloud services. Nadella has led Microsoft’s transformation from a software developer to a cloud provider. Microsoft is now generating about $20 billion in annual revenue from cloud.

In this post I will review how electronic data interchange (EDI) is used in fulfillment. Fulfillment is the process of filling orders by picking ordered product from inventory and shipping it to the buyer. Fulfillment is what Amazon does when you buy a product on their web site. The interactions between the buyer and seller vary depending on whether the buyer is a consumer (B2C) or a business (B2B). For consumer purchases, the order is usually accepted through an online store or app.

If you work with data integration in any kind of supply chain related role, it’s likely you will encounter electronic data interchange (EDI). Although EDI is an older technology which is gradually being replaced by alternatives like application programming interfaces (APIs), it’s still very commonly used in the supply chain and logistics domains. There are a huge number of legacy EDI implementations that are driving some of the worlds largest supply chains.

Recently our IT Team at JUSDA decided to participate in the GS1 2020 Hackathon. This is the first time any of us have ever done a hackathon and we ended up taking first prize! GS1 is the standards organization that defines the UPC barcode labels that you see on most consumer products. They also defined the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) standard which is commonly used for pallet labeling in the logistics industry.

We all know Amazon’s goal is to automate warehouses as much as possible. This means we can expect a gradual elimination of human jobs in Amazon fulfillment centers. Automated case packing is a key step toward eliminating a highly labor intensive job. Read the Full Article on Reuters

Accurate and timely visibility of your orders, shipments, and inventory can create many opportunities for lowering end-to-end supply chain costs. But the value doesn’t end with cost reduction. Supply chain visibility can have significant impact on revenue generation as well. Here are some examples of the benefits your organisation could receive by improving the visibility you get from your logistics providers. Read the Full Article on Forwarder Magazine

West Coast ocean port congestion is crippling freight flows into the USA. Ocean carriers are beginning to announce significant congestion surcharges which can cost $1000 per 40 foot container. If you are sourcing from Asia, it’s time to come up with a strategy to mitigate the impact on your supply chain. Here’s some actions you can take now. Read the Full Article on LinkedIn

When I talk to customers about the technology tools they use to manage their supply chain, Excel is almost always mentioned. Excel is a great tool for presenting and analyzing data so it’s frequently involved in S&OP processes like forecasting and material requirements planning. It’s usually possible to pull ERP, WMS or TMS data into Excel, so the spreadsheet becomes a hack to fill in the gaps for those business systems.

Everyone is talking about data-driven strategies right now. Enterprises are seeking to improve their strategic planning and operational execution using data and analytics. Many organizations are discovering ways to use their data assets as a market differentiator, and some are creating completely new data-driven business models. These strategies are starting to find their way into global supply chains. An advanced data infrastructure can improve forecasting, inventory planning, network design, lead times, service quality and reduce transportation costs.

Excess inventory is the bane of the supply chain manager’s existence…until it’s suddenly needed for an emergency order. Balancing inventory levels with order fulfillment quality is one of the most difficult challenges supply chain planners face. There are plenty of sophisticated methods and algorithms out there to help calculate safety stock levels. However without good supply chain data, it’s almost impossible to implement any kind of rigorous inventory management process. High quality supply chain data can be instrumental in helping you optimize your inventory levels.

What is Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)? Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CFPR) is a business model that takes a holistic approach to supply chain management and combines the intelligence of multiple trading partners in planning and fulfilling customer demand by using common metrics, language and firm agreements to improve efficiency for all participants. CFPR links sales and marketing best practices – category management, supply chain planning and execution processes to increase availability while reducing inventory, merchandizing, transportation and logistics costs.

The percentage of jobs in the US that are considered “technology jobs” has been continually increasing. The 2020 pandemic has put this transition on warp speed. Even though we have experienced record levels of unemployment, many tech workers are thriving in this economy. In some industries there has been a massive shift away from traditional business models to technology-driven services. For example, the entertainment industry has been forced to move away from in-person experiences to at-home streaming.

Recently our IT Team at JUSDA decided to participate in the GS1 2020 Hackathon. This is the first time any of us have ever done a hackathon and we ended up taking first prize! GS1 is the standards organization that defines the UPC barcode labels that you see on most consumer products. They also defined the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) standard which is commonly used for pallet labeling in the logistics industry.

Severe job losses which have been triggered by the pandemic have disproportionately affected workers in the service and retail industries. These lower-skilled jobs have traditionally served as an economic fail-safe for non college-educated workers. However the lingering effects of COVID-19 could permanently damage these industries and eliminate a large portion of these jobs. Although all industries have been affected, there is strong evidence that the technology sector will recover quickly. To adapt to the new reality, many companies are looking to digitize their businesses.

We are frequently reminded of the cyclical nature of technology. All of us working in tech are under constant pressure to look for the next shiny thing. In fact we feel as if our livelihoods depend on it. Often our stakeholders may have an expectation that there’s some new thing on the horizon that will give them a competitive advantage. But ultimately it’s not the shiny new tech that helps you beat your competitor.