Professional AV
Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility and Efficiency Through Radio Communications
Low-tech radio systems prove surprisingly effective at solving modern supply chain coordination challenges
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Key takeaways
Two-way radios enable real-time coordination among supply chain personnel, improving synchronization and overall efficiency.
Radio networks can help replace excess inventory by improving information flow, leading to cost savings on idle stock.
Despite advanced digital alternatives like IoT and RFID, radios' simplicity and directness remain a competitive advantage in logistics.
While the logistics industry often gravitates toward cutting-edge technology, Wesley Boyce, an Assistant Professor of Practice in Supply Chain Management and Analytics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, brings to light the enduring significance of radio communication. In a world enthralled by digital innovation, he argues that the simplicity of radios could be their greatest strength in supply chain management.
In a concise overview, Boyce reveals how two-way radios amplify visibility and efficiency within supply chains. "These radios enable personnel to coordinate activities in real-time, significantly improving synchronization and making the supply chain more efficient in general," Boyce says. By providing instant communication, radios enhance the monitoring of assets and shipments, leading to better inventory management and quicker problem identification.
These radios enable personnel to coordinate activities in real-time, significantly improving synchronization and making the supply chain more efficient in general.
— Wesley Boyce, Assistant Professor of Practice in Supply Chain Management and Analytics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Boyce emphasizes the strategic advantage of radios, stating, "Information provided by radio networks can effectively help to replace inventory, leading to cost savings by reducing money tied up in idle inventory." Despite the buzz around IoT and RFID technologies, he concludes that radios' swift and direct communication continues to hold substantial value in logistics, proving that sometimes, the classic tools withstand the test of time.
Information provided by radio networks can effectively help to replace inventory, leading to cost savings by reducing money tied up in idle inventory.
— Wesley Boyce, Assistant Professor of Practice in Supply Chain Management and Analytics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
About the author
Wesley S. Boyce is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis in logistics and supply chain management from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 2014 and his MBA from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. His research interests include a broad array of topics related to supply chain management, logistics, and transportation, with specific interest on supply chain relationships and external costs of logistics. Prior to joining UNL, Dr. Boyce served as a faculty member of the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa, the Breech School of Business Administration at Drury University, and the School of Business at Park University. Teaching interests include courses in operations management, logistics, supply chain management, and business analytics.
