Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – China's President Xi Jinping has arrived in Malaysia as part of a Southeast Asian tour which is seen as delivering a personal message that Beijing is a more reliable trading partner than the United States amid a bruising trade war with Washington. Xi arrived in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday evening in what is his first visit to Malaysia since 2013. He flew in from Vietnam where he had signed dozens of trade cooperation agreements in Hanoi on everything from artificial intelligence to rail development. On touching down, Xi said that deepening "high-level strategic cooperation" was good for the common interests of both China and Malaysia, and good for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world", according to the official Malaysian news agency Bernama. Xi's three-country tour and his "message" that Beijing is Southeast Asia's better friend than the truculent administration of US President Donald Trump comes as many countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc are unhappy with their treatment after the US imposed huge tariffs on countries around the world. "This is a very significant visit.

At the beginning of 2021, the European Commission will propose legislation on AI that will be, at first instance, horizontal (as opposed to sectoral) and risk-based, with mandatory requirements for high-risk AI applications. The new rules will aim at ensuring transparency, accountability and consumer protection, including safety, through robust AI governance and data quality requirements. Europe's approach to regulating technology is based on the precautionary principle, which enables rapid regulatory intervention in the face of possible danger to human, animal or plant health, or to protect the environment. This perspective has helped Europe to become a global leader in the shaping of the digital technology market. Particularly, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, Europe considers it has gained a competitive advantage through the creation of a trust mark for increased privacy protection. Australia and New Zealand have a close relationship with the European Union (EU) and its member countries historically.

For some companies, it means replacing manual, paper and pencil processes with digital data and process support. For some companies it means using autonomous mobile robots and other forms of robotics in their supply chain. For some, it means applying machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to supply chain Big Data. And for some, it means getting better digital data to support an end to end supply chain involving multiple tiers of a company's supply chain. For example, putting a warehouse management system in to replace paper and pencil data in the warehouse would be a limited form of digitization.

Five technology trends are poised to transform the future of work beginning in 2020, DXC Technology announced as part of an annual forecast. The rapid adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) coupled with trusted data ecosystems, empowered interconnected teams and tech-evangelist leaders promises to produce new levels of workforce efficiency, productivity and growth across enterprises. "In turn, CEOs will seek to identify and pursue ecosystem-centric business models and trading partners that deploy trusted and compliant data-sharing practices." "The notion of accelerated productivity will force enterprises to rethink their technology decisions and investments across the enterprise technology stack, which, in turn, will drive a sea change in how enterprises are led and structured, make informed decisions and engage employees and customers," said Dan Hushon, senior vice president and chief technology officer, DXC. "Tech-evangelist leaders will define new interactions between AI and people to create high-performing teams and shape digital strategies that unlock an organization's full potential – securely and confidently modernizing applications, optimizing data architectures and moving workloads to the cloud to produce new and better business outcomes."

IBM this week launched a new supply chain service based on its blockchain platform and open-source software from recently-acquired Red Hat that allows developers and third-party apps to integrate legacy corporate data systems onto a distributed ledger. Through the use of open APIs, the new Sterling Supply Chain Suite allows distributors, manufacturers and retailers to integrate their own data and networks – as well as those of their suppliers – onto a Hyperledger-based blockchain to track and trace products and parts. Among the data that can be integrated are IoT sensor systems for real-time shipment position location. "This is the first move from IBM in what we anticipate to be a significant investment in the reinvention of supply chains by global organizations in the coming decades," an IBM spokesperson said via email. The "As a Service" model delivers services, not products; flexibility, not rigidity; and costs that align to business outcomes.

That's understandable given its potential. AI can offer a huge benefit to supply chain managers, but only if it is based on solid fundamentals that take into account the diverse and dynamic nature of today's modern supply chains. More importantly, it needs to consider the availability of the timely and accurate data needed to make smart decisions. Before addressing what AI can do, it is critical to first understand what it is. In the simplest terms, AI is intelligence exhibited by machines, or when machines mimic or can replace intelligent human behavior, such as problem-solving or learning.

Learn how blockchain, control towers, and recognizing the strategic value of your data can enhance your supply chain. There are interesting shifts and trends in the market as organizations grapple with the abundance of data at their disposal. This year we saw the growth and maturation of various technologies designed to help businesses harvest useful information from all relevant sources. Enterprises had to make sure that data was available to other processes so it could derive business insights. As we prepare for the coming year, we anticipate this trend to continue particularly in the following areas.

Gartner Supply Chain Executive Summit -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today launched Business Transactional Intelligence (BTI), an AI-powered solution that offers anomaly detection and visualization capabilities for mitigating supply chain disruptions and accelerating data-driven decision making. BTI, part of IBM's Supply Chain Business Network, enables companies to garner deeper insights into supply chain data to help them better manage, for example, order-to-cash and purchase-to-pay interactions. The technology does this, in part, using machine learning to identify volume, velocity and value-pattern anomalies in supply chain documents and transactions. Machine learning is a method used to teach artificial intelligence how to learn from data, spot patterns and make decisions on its own. This enables companies to discover potential issues faster and resolve them before they escalate and impact the business.

Supply chain leaders have earned a seat at the strategic planning table. With modern technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), intelligence-driven supply chain management can intensify the impact of supply chain processes, from forecasting demand to optimizing cash flow. Such strategic applications are more important than ever as companies strive to maintain growth – despite global economic uncertainty. International trade agreements, tariffs, demanding customer expectations, and today's high-tech products further magnify the importance of being intelligence-driven. With C-level commitment and advanced IT solutions in place, enterprises can turn supply chain management into a strategic differentiator – one that builds customer loyalty for years to come.

The pace of innovation never slows and Oracle is with you all the way! Every technology wave provides great opportunities. When will they show up on your roadmap? Here you can watch highlights (2 minutes) or the entire session (40 minutes). In this post, I'll highlight our five demonstrations.