The month of March has been centered on issues of privacy and data in the world of supply chain. At the forefront is the ongoing conflict between Apple and the FBI over law enforcement demands that Apple unlock the encrypted iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter. With engineers declaring that they will quit rather than comply, long term questions of policy and concerns about privacy shape the field’s discussion, especially given the increasingly sensitive data that is required for making modern global supply chains swift and efficient.
Online retailers are facing shifts in the cost of doing business, as new minimum wage standards will also affect their overhead. Yet to be seen is how this will affect the retailers’ balance of technology and human team members in doing business. Meanwhile, retailers like Lands End continue to bank on building omni channel infrastructure as a means of bouncing back.
Composition failures on the hoverboard continue making news. And airports have begun to ban the products. While the hoverboard originally gained attention due to safety concerns, its latest challenges come from alleged intellectual property breaches in its design.
Finally, conventions are tapping into technology and data. The formerly folk music festival South by Southwest has developed into a space for technological and supply chain innovation. And the upcoming Comic Con in Silicon Valley similarly promises to bring fantasy and sci fi into connection with technology and software development.
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