Turbulent times can expose weaknesses in distribution chains, putting stress on chokepoints and reducing access to critical components, suppliers, and capital. The ability to respond to changes rapidly and effectively depends on a variety of assets and business capabilities: replacing or augmenting supply sources in response to partner inventory issues or trade war-induced tariffs or restrictions, and having agile manufacturing processes that reduce redundancies and streamline product inputs. Each thread of this complex web of factors that affects supply chain resilience must be examined and assessed separately to identify potential vulnerabilities and mitigate them. At the same time, most of this web simplifies down to two primary strands, common capabilities that run through every resilient business: increasing visibility and maintaining sufficient diversity in the supply chain. Capability 1--Insight Developing data capabilities and analysis tools that reach from suppliers and partners all across the value chain through to end customers, allowing companies to anticipate and prevent supply disruptions.

Despite years of hype (and plenty of worries) about the all-conquering power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there still remains a significant gap between the promise of AI and its reality for business. Tech firms have pitched AI's capabilities for years, but for most organisations, the benefits of AI remain elusive. It's hard to gauge the proportion of businesses that are effectively using artificial intelligence today, and to what extent. Adoption rates shown in recent reports fall anywhere between 20% and 30%, with adoption typically loosely defined as "implementing AI in some form". A survey led by KPMG among 30 of the Global 500 companies found that although 30% of respondents reported using AI for a selective range of functions, only 17% of the companies were deploying the technology "at scale" within the enterprise.

One still hears mainly about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, but it is currently being applied to practical effect across a range of industries. Further, the pipeline of initiatives already in motion suggests that the use of AI is advancing faster than many think. These were some of the key insights gained from a comprehensive scan of how more than 90 leading companies in 15 different industries are using AI. The study, completed by A.T. Kearney, includes more than 100 distinct use cases. For each use case, we tracked the type of AI technology employed by the company, how the AI solution was developed, its current stage of development, where in the value chain AI is being applied, and the objective the company is pursuing by using AI.

This Halloween, we attempt to discuss what fears haunt HR about the future of work. Do you fear of AI taking over our jobs – the robot apocalypse as they call it? Does the visual of deserted workplaces – rife with cobwebs, haunted by the voices of former employees – where machines have taken over make you lose your sleep? We asked leaders engaged in HR, HR technology, and the future of work practices on what the biggest fears of HR are. Your HCM System controls the trinity of talent acquisition, management and optimization - and ultimately, multiple mission-critical performance outcomes.

Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenTrump says his Doral resort will no longer host G-7 after backlash Ocasio-Cortez: Sanders' heart attack was a'gut check' moment Ocasio-Cortez tweets endorsement of Sanders MORE (D-Mass) and entrepreneur Andrew YangAndrew YangYang cautions Democrats: Impeachment might not be'successful' Yang defends Gabbard: She'deserves much more respect' Super PAC seeks to spend more than million supporting Yang MORE's fight over jobs and automation at the last Democratic debate highlighted the divide over the contentious issue, including among experts. Warren and Yang sparred at Tuesday's presidential debate over whether automation or trade were primarily responsible for eliminating jobs in key parts of the country. Yang's campaign is centered around a universal basic income, which would pay every adult citizen $1,000 a month to combat the job loss brought on by automation. Americans, he said, are already seeing the effects of speedy technological advancement. "Their Main Street stores are closing. They see a self-serve kiosk in every McDonalds, every grocery store, every CVS," he said at the debate in Ohio.

Internet-enabled, voice-activated "smart" devices have infiltrated homes, making it possible for people to adjust their bedroom temperature, turn on their oven or order a pizza merely by speaking the command. But talking and beeping devices, combined with other noise-emitting items like TVs, phones and iPads, have created a high-tech racket. It's the opposite of the peaceful retreat many homeowners strive to create. "Homes have suddenly become more'live,' " says Steve Haas, an acoustical consultant who works in luxury residences. "It emphasizes the need for better control."

The retailer can know the status of our strawberry from the moment it's picked, thanks to connected sensors that collect information about soil content, exposure to sunlight, humidity, and temperature. These sensors are in place across the supply chain, giving the retailer a tool to make better decisions about how and when to get the strawberry to the store. The strawberry's batch is assigned a digital "token" immediately after it's picked. The retailer is now able to ensure freshness by tracking every action it takes from the orchard to the store--how long it sat in the distribution center, the truck it was loaded on, and when it arrived at the store. AR-equipped glasses enable distribution center workers to examine our strawberry and see the data about it.

Where did all the jobs go? Well, we're finally starting to find some satisfactory answers to the granddaddy of all economic questions. The share of Americans with jobs dropped 4.5 percentage points from 1999 to 2016 -- amounting to about 11.4 million fewer workers in 2016. At least half of that decline probably was due to an aging population. Explaining the remainder has been the inspiration for much of the economic research published after the Great Recession.

After reading the morning news, you would be forgiven for pronouncing 2017 a low moment for the world. Whether the rise of uncivil politics, the insecurity of one's personal data, the continued threat of terrorism and nuclear weapons or yet another example of those in power abusing their station, it's been a downer of a year. In times like these, it helps to look forward to a more optimistic future we might still realize. My colleagues and I at A.T. Kearney's Global Business Policy Council have done just that in our year-ahead predictions for 2018. Yes, there are some definite challenges ahead, but we also identified two especially bright spots.

In our previous article, in addition to defining cognitive A.I. (CAI), we asserted that it is crucial for businesses to start their planning and embracing of A.I. now. This article builds on that theme by highlighting the significant disruptions to industry that are on the horizon and proves that time is of the essence. In other words, if you are not scared by the end of this article, then we have not done our jobs (if we do scare you, please share or comment below). To set the proper context, we created this fancy consulting slide to contextualize the evolution of A.I. for businesses. The Y axis shows the continuum of CAI capability going from serving, augmenting, and then to replacing humans.