Kansas City Shows Off Supply Chain Plan for Smart City

The Kansas City SmartPort freight-based economic development organization hosted Microsoft’s head of supply chain management at its annual industry briefing to talk about how technology is changing the way companies produce and distribute products around the world. 

“The KC region is recognized nationally for innovative approaches to community planning and development. Our region will receive significant Federal funding to implement Smart Transportation in partnership with Google, and Cisco has picked KC to be one of the world’s first Smart Cities,” said Chris Gutierrez, president, KC SmartPort. “We are proud to carry that innovative thinking into discussions around making our regional supply chain companies more successful in today’s global marketplace.”

The panelists and speakers at the briefing represented national experts on wearable technologies, drones, the IoT, 3D printing and cloud computing, all of which are drastically changing how the supply chain industry does business. They included keynote speaker Mark Heinrich, GM, Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain Management, Microsoft; Jeff Risley, business development leader, Bartlett & West; Mitch Free, founder and CEO, Cloud DDM; Dan Pinkham, director, operational excellence, Compass Minerals; and Andrew Ehlers, VP, channel sales, NA Central U.S. and Canada, Zebra Technologies.

The group discussed how technologies are being applied in innovative new ways to create greater visibility and efficiency in the supply chain, as well as creating a new supply chain workforce.

“When you talk about logistics and the technology revolution going on, logistics is the new manufacturing,” said Heinrich. “This is especially true in Kansas City where you can reach nearly the entire U.S. population within 48 hours by truck. The thing that is amazing to see is how this is changing the face of the workforce in Kansas City.”

Smart City infrastructure is beginning to gain purchase all over the world, and Kansas City is making a strong case to lead the U.S. in implementation. We’re looking forward to seeing this project begin to bear fruit.