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Jorge Alvarado da Piedade

Senior Client Executive

As Senior Client Executive for the Airbus group, my objective is to understand my customer’s requirements and pain points in their supply chain to provide a tailored solution based on SupplyOn's services portfolio and innovation capabilities. I, therefore, concentrate my blog on current trend topics surrounding the supply chain, partner collaboration, and digital transformation.

Posts by Jorge Alvarado da Piedade:

Industry News

Aviation Forum 2023: navigating the future of aerospace

Held on December 5, 2023, the Aviation Forum 2023 showcased the industry's resilience and determination, commencing sharply at 9:00 am. Despite adverse weather conditions that caused numerous flight cancellations, over 1,300 attendees, 130 exhibitors, and 70 speakers converged for the two-day event. Beyond the impressive numbers, the event quality was also reflected by the insightful contributions and discussions which encapsulated the current state, challenges, and opportunities of the aerospace industry.In essence, all the discussions revolved around a common goal: shaping the future of aerospace.Ramping up: a multifaceted challengeThe aerospace industry is gearing up for a substantial increase in production, targeting approximately 100 aircraft per month. Although international traffic is approaching pre-COVID levels, Airbus and its suppliers face a multifaceted challenge amid a poly-crisis, encompassing issues like interest rates, climate challenges, and material shortages.Managing the ramp-up is not a singular challenge but a poly challenge, given the myriad of interconnected issues.Collaboration emerged as a pivotal theme, recognizing that 80 % of the industry's added value stems from procurement activities. Cooperation between different tiers and OEMs is deemed crucial for future success.Collaboration: unlocking supply chain efficienciesJürgen Westermeier, CPO of Airbus, emphasized that collaboration is key to enhancing supply chain efficiencies. Airbus introduced four major initiatives:ZeroM: aimed at reducing the impact of supply chain disruptionsAXEXX: focused on increasing competitiveness and reducing costsAeroExcellence: a cross-industry initiative to mature supplier industriesNextEra: aiming to secure industrial continuity through collaboration and data leverageSustainability: the future license to operateSustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is crucial for its sustainability efforts, but the industry is also exploring alternative energy sources, such as liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel cells and GKNA LH2 concepts.Holistic sustainability requires the involvement of all stakeholders: suppliers, OEMs, operators, regulators, and political and business leaders.In addition to alternative energy, industry efforts include recycling materials, exploring eco-friendly alternatives, reducing buffer stocks, and leveraging data and technology for a greener future.Challenges and opportunities aheadOne of the major topics for the future is the concept of a "digital material passport". Efficient systems and digitization will be essential for tracking materials throughout the aircraft lifecycle.Another future topic are environmentally friendly materials such as green aluminum or green steel. Yet industry acceptance is still at an early stage for these potential alternatives.Reducing unnecessary buffer stocks is crucial not only for cost but also for sustainability.Collaborative, transparent, and open use of data and technology can drive a greener future, too. But the industry grapples with the challenge of building trust and taking decisive action. In conclusion, the Aviation Forum 2023 illuminated the path forward for the aerospace industry, emphasizing collaboration, sustainability, and technological innovation as key drivers for future success.
Aviation Forum 2023: navigating the future of aerospace
SCM Insights

The 5 building blocks to deliver the ROI of your digital transformation

In the dynamic business landscape, digital transformation has emerged as a game-changer. As organizations try hard to stay competitive and relevant, it's no longer a question of if but how and when they should embark on their digital transformation journey. However, achieving a return on investment (ROI) from these efforts is not a given; it requires a strategic approach. Here is a brief summary, after 14 years in the industry, of the five building blocks to consider when embarking on a digital transformation initiative to ensure and deliver the ROI you expect.1. The right scopeOne of the fundamental drivers of digital transformation ROI is defining the right scope. Without a clear understanding of what needs to be transformed and why, your efforts can become unfocused and wasteful. Start by identifying specific pain points, goals, and the expected outcomes. This will allow you to prioritize and allocate resources effectively, ensuring that your digital transformation initiatives align with your business objectives, and most importantly, it allows you to track where the ROI is coming from.2. When the decision is made: go all in!Digital transformation isn't just about embarking on the journey; it's about ensuring you reach the destination successfully. One critical driver of digital transformation ROI is completing the transformation and fully digitizing the processes.When a project remains incomplete or certain processes aren't fully digitized, companies often find themselves in a challenging situation. They end up managing both the old, legacy systems and the newly digitized processes simultaneously. This not only leads to operational inefficiencies, but also dilutes the potential ROI.To maximize your digital transformation ROI, it's crucial to ensure that the transformation journey is comprehensive and delivers on the defined scope. This will not only streamline operations, but also allow your organization to fully leverage the benefits of digital technology, ultimately delivering the desired return on investment.3. If you don’t get started, you’ll move backwards: pilots as a means to test, learn and capitalizeDigital transformation doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing endeavor. A successful approach often involves starting with pilot projects. These smaller initiatives provide a testing ground for new technologies and processes, allowing you to test your assumptions, learn, and capitalize, before scaling up. Pilots also demonstrate the benefits of digital transformation to stakeholders, building trust and buy-in across the entire organization.4. Change management: bringing new solutions into usageSuccessful digital transformation is as much about managing people as it is about implementing technology. Change management is a critical driver of ROI because it ensures that your workforce is equipped to adapt to the new digital environment. Effective communication, training, and support mechanisms help employees to make a smooth transition and become advocates for the change rather than resistors.5. Managing the change: bridging the old and the newWhile change management sets the stage, ongoing management of the change is essential and requires a delicate balancing act. Digital transformation is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process. It's not just about defining the new processes post-digitization, but also about handling the past activities that were managed with the old processes.This includes defining the new processes, managing the legacy processes/non-digital methods, continuously monitoring the transition, and ensuring that value is delivered, even after the digitization project is finished.By successfully managing the change and bridging the gap between old and new processes, your organization can make the most of its digital transformation efforts and achieve a higher ROI, even when dealing with legacy activities. This holistic approach ensures that no stone is left unturned on your journey toward a more efficient and digitally empowered future. In conclusion, delivering ROI through digital transformation is attainable, but it demands a strategic and comprehensive approach. It starts with defining the right scope, gaining full commitment, and initiating pilots to validate your efforts. Effective change management ensures that your workforce is aligned with the transformation, and ongoing management keeps your initiatives on the path to success. By embracing these five drivers, your organization can not only navigate the challenges of digital transformation but also reap the rewards of a more efficient, competitive, and innovative future.
The 5 building blocks to deliver the ROI of your digital transformation
SCM Insights · Technology

Advanced analytics: from data-driven to outcome-driven analytics

 The obsession to know the futureHuman beings have been and always will be obsessed with knowing the future with the wonder that if they know what will happen they can make better decisions and achieve better results.In business, the obsession is the same. In the last 15 years of my working experience, I have seen, participated in, and delivered work on contributing to forecast modeling and analytics. What I learned is that as soon as the prediction is out, it is by definition not the truth nor the reality of the future, but rather an estimation of what will or might happen. Whatever the method, a prediction is just a prediction, that’s it. In best cases, it becomes a support for decision-making but it should not be the only criteria to make decisions. (more…)
Advanced analytics: from data-driven to outcome-driven analytics
SCM Insights

Four reasons to accelerate your digital transformation in times of Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has put supply chains under pressure. From Fortune 500 companies to SMEs, through all kinds of industries, the impact on operations and planning activities was and remains real. Supply and demand forces have been tremendously shaken by the accentuation of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) driven by the pandemic.As for digital transformation, the question is not if or what, but when. (more…)
Four reasons to accelerate your digital transformation in times of Covid-19
SCM Insights

How to achieve your targets with digital transformation

Digital transformation, what a nice and trendy topic that is in everyone’s mouth, but not yet implemented in everyone’s company.In fact, digital transformation is getting popular due to the democratization of technology and relatively lower cost of acquisition. More and more companies look at it closer and closer, some jump into it, while others still wait and see. Nothing wrong with that. This is part of the normal cycle regarding technology adoption.The only difference is that in the past decade, companies still had time to wait, see, and then move forward. Nowadays, even though the key question remains “WHEN”, the truth is that there is not much time to waste on the “wait & see” pushing companies to start taking action and the real question is at “WHAT SPEED”. (more…)
How to achieve your targets with digital transformation
SCM Insights

Get rid of the KPI ‘Mille-Feuille’ by getting it right!

Those who have already tasted Mille-Feuille, a tasty French dessert, know how delicious this pastry can be. For those not yet having had the chance, give me a call, I know some nice addresses in Paris, where you can get the best.The point is, as delicious as it can be at times, at some point it might be too much. Should you try to count whether or not there really are thousands of tasty layers (“mille-feuille”), I wish you good luck.Why am I telling you this? Well, for KPIs, the situation could be same! (more…)
Get rid of the KPI ‘Mille-Feuille’ by getting it right!
SCM Insights

Going beyond operational supply chain digitalization

Nowadays, most leading companies have EDI interfaces in place to communicate their demands, improve demand visibility, and receive information about shipments. The most advanced ones use cloud platforms, allowing for real-time collaboration with suppliers and other business partners like subcontractors or carriers. It goes without saying, that analytics and big data play an increasing and critical role for companies in all industries.This trend has had a huge impact on stocks reduction and optimization of procurement processes. But it has also increased reliability and provided consistent data. As a result, transparency is not just a concept anymore, but has become reality; and brings with it a common and trusted view and understanding between business partners.Unfortunately, this will not prevent (more…)
Going beyond operational supply chain digitalization
Industry News

How the Berlin AirShow 2016 has set trends towards digitalization of the supply chain

Three, two, one, lift off:The Berlin Airshow (ILA) took off on Wednesday 1st of June at 9.30 with an introductory speech of Volker Thum, Head of BDLI, who highlighted the important role of a strong supplier network for a successful Aerospace Industry. He stressed the effort which is required to maintain the high level of technology innovation. (more…)
How the Berlin AirShow 2016 has set trends towards digitalization of the supply chain