Metro Atlanta is a hub for logistics. In fact, Deloitte ranked Atlanta as the #2 metro area for digital supply chain, ahead of five major U.S. metros. With companies like The Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, UPS, Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines and others, Atlanta has transformed into a supply chain city.
Metro Atlanta is a hub for logistics. In fact, Deloitte ranked Atlanta as the #2 metro area for digital supply chain, ahead of five major U.S. metros. With companies like The Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, UPS, Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines and others, Atlanta has transformed into a supply chain city. From highways to rails to the frequency of flights, combined with an outstanding capital ecosystem, Atlanta is uniquely positioned for supply chain technology and talent.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) hosted the quarterly Supply Chain Leadership Council meeting with updates from leaders at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Gartner and Watson Supply Chain. Led by Sandra MacQuillan, chief supply chain officer at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and chair of MAC’s Supply Chain Leadership Council, this quarter’s council meeting discussed digital supply chain, supply chain innovation, talent and artificial intelligence.
Matt Davis, managing vice president of global CSCO community at Gartner, led the discussion on supply chain innovation and how the transformation into automation will help create news ways for talent to work in the industry. Davis detailed that the shift to automation from a conventional approach will drive continuous improvement and more comprehensive insights into supply chain data.
John Moore, director of WW sales at Watson Supply Chain, discussed the industry shift into artificial intelligence and other technology developments. An artificial intelligence system is designed to ingest vast quantities of data, reason over the information, and mimic human interaction. According to Moore, the implementation of artificial intelligence within supply chain organizations could help the company retrieve data 90 percent faster, cut disruptions by up to 50 percent, and reduce mitigation time from days to minutes.
David Harnett, chief economic development officer at MAC, gave a quick update on recent economic development wins in the region and the collective effort to grow the region.
Project Numbers:
61 Landed Companies
31 expansion and retention
30 new to metro Atlanta
34 percent are foreign-owned
Metro Atlanta is a recognized leader in supply chain, and Georgia is a thriving global logistics center, home to more than 12,300 logistics providers that employ over 150,000 people. As the industry continues to grow, MAC’s Supply Chain Leadership Council will continue to bring business leaders together – facilitating conversations around supply chain expansion opportunities.
Upcoming supply chain participation opportunities include the Southern Automotive Conference from October 3-5 and the CSCMP Edge Conference from October 30 – November 2. As the industry continues to grow, stay connected by using #SupplyChainCity and #GrowAtlanta on social media. The next Supply Chain Leadership Council meeting will be held in conjunction with the Smart Cities / IoT Leadership Council on October 25. If you have any questions on how your organization can engage with MAC, please reach out to Ben Harris.
