Supply Chain stress test
This is it
The collapse of ports and supply chain networks in general is an indicator of a new normal where convenience and service come at a price, and the perfect storm of economic, social and technological changes are all coming full steam to a head-on collision. From an increasing lack of skilled workers, preference for remote jobs, mental health relevance and virtualization of assets, are all impacting the scenario and calling for a new era, metaverse perhaps? Whatever that era is called we need to catch up and quickly to stay on track in front of an increasing number of challenges from global to domestic.
But supply chains suffocation is also demonstrating the finite aspect of any system and how recovery speed is hurting them. From health to house hold products demand during Covid to season goods glut toward the end of the year, a stressed supply chain stopped delivering and by now shops advertising limits in quantities allowed by customer are becoming an unsettling aspect of consumption and sentiment. There is no forecast to panicking and I am talking by experience.
If we are reaching a physical limit to supply chain capacities and all we can tell are symptoms such as shortages, price increase, quality impact, it may be an indication of a new solution required. Whether is automation, simplification, onshoring or in general a digital transformation, we are talking of a totally different nature of a business model, technological platform, capable to quickly adopt and resolve new paradigms to be aware of.
Awareness seems to be a hot commodity in a world where disruption is a constant, and legacy ways of working and producing are rapidly fading by the day. In a prior entry a sliding rule was mentioned, rodolex, kardex and alike are museum like items but office solutions for word processing, worksheets and presentations are just facing a similar destiny.
It will be naïve to pretend that onboarding new employees will follow same path with same tools used in previous cohorts to make them aware of new positions, facing increasingly different demands in a deeply abstract and technological world.
So next time you deliver your user story, board presentation or project status start wondering if the user experience of the audience is being fulfilled or simply sharing some information required to take the next step. Naturally I am talking of visual tools to deliver key messages from awareness to retooling in 3d and spatial perception for a innovative, disruptive and engaging show!
AR/VR immersion, gaming and remote interaction will require a new office suite where Steam, Blender, Discord, AltSpace and alike will become email, analytics, presentation and workplaces to build workflows and fill pipelines. Not those pipelines.
Gustavo Pisani
Richmond, 10/26/2021
