Trade Secrets

The rise of decision-making skills in the supply chain

Episode Summary

Join Dr. Harish Krishnan, Professor of Operations and Logistics at UBC Sauder School of Business, as he speaks with Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, about how supply chain practitioners can automate routine tasks without creating bottlenecks for decision makers. Listen now to learn how technology is reshaping roles in the supply chain industry and how automation and human judgement can be applied holistically.

Episode Notes

Join Dr. Harish Krishnan, Professor of Operations and Logistics at UBC Sauder School of Business, as he speaks with Anne Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kinaxis, about how supply chain practitioners can automate routine tasks without creating bottlenecks for decision makers. Listen now to learn how technology is reshaping roles in the supply chain industry and how automation and human judgement can be applied holistically.

• Dr. Harish states that there are two types of work that we get: tasks and decisions. He defines tasks as routine work that can be specified in advance. Decisions, however, are based on data and context. Dr. Harish believes that tasks are easier to automate, and decisions require human judgement. (02:24)
• Dr. Harish states that technology can help augment decision-making by providing better data. While data can help inform decisions, we still need the right talent to make those calls. Dr. Harish comments, “As we think about talent and training and so on, we really need to think about how we enhance those skills, how do we get more people with those skills, but I think the task-based skills are becoming less important than the decision-making skills.” (5:00)
• While automation can increase efficiency, one risk that we can run into is over-automating tasks, creating bottlenecks in other areas. He states, “The point here is that as you automate certain tasks, you are putting pressure on the human element in some way.” (9:45)
• Automation has shifted the role of supply chain practitioners. Automating routine tasks removes the need for people to accomplish those jobs which results in more value-based, decision-making positions in supply chain. Anne states, “You want somebody who has got domain expertise of supply chain and an understanding of business dynamics, and these other pieces of it that will allow them to focus in a different kind of way.” (10:55)
• Bio of Dr. Harish Krishnan:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/harish-krishnan-b0982a14