Bis 375 - Emerging Technology and New Business Organization

Emerging Technology and New Business Organization

Brian Taylor

BIS/375

June 6, 2015

David Virts

Emerging Technology and New Business Organization

Business trends are changing at a rate as fast as technology is changing.  E-business and e-commerce are leading the rapid growth resulting in the emerging technologies.  Expanding technologies in supply chain management, mobile platforms for e-commerce, web services for B2B, B2C, and C2C e-businesses, and next generation robotics for all industries.

Current Technology and SCM systems

E-business is the practice of conducting all or parts of the business electronically or on line. E-business supply chain management (SCM) will conduct all or parts of the organization’s processes for ordering and routing raw materials, and ordering, tracking, and shipping finished goods to customers (Lee & Whang, 2001).  Electronic SCM gives organizations the opportunity to change shipping methods, routes, or ordered quantities immediately in case of an increase in demand, or disruptions in the routes resulting from government instability or even natural disasters along the supply chain route.  

Some organizations are turning to mobile applications to have the ability to conduct and make changes along the supply chain and to conduct business or retrieve data in all areas of their operations (Lee &Whang, 2001).  Mobile applications can be added to smart phones, laptops, and tablets to be carried from location to location and can use mobile data or WIFI to ease data backup and transfer.  Mobile technology can be applied to sales, internet technology, web development, logistics, and every type of bricks and mortar portion of a business.

Technology has had the greatest impact on business, e-business, and e-commerce the modern age has ever seen.  The ability to remotely complete transactions, order goods, and make changes to those transactions was just the beginning.  Enhancement’s in applications, virtualized management, advanced internet platforms was just the beginning.  Automation to reduce labor was the next logical step.  Automation was started in the late part of twentieth century, but companies have emerged to take levels of automation even further into the 21st century.      

Robotics

Using robotics to increase productivity, reduce auditing costs, increase quality, and lower costs associated with labor has been around for a many years now.  However, as technology increases, automation and new uses of robotics are creeping into areas once deemed too cheap to automatize (Sofge, 2014).  Robotics have been used to conduct surgery, build parts, and move materials for years, but automation is now being considered for menial jobs.  Demand for increases in minimum wages and high costs associated with medical insurance are the driving force behind the trend.  The cost of labor is usually the greatest cost to any business and this is especially true in the service and retail industries.