warehouse management information systems and technology

1. Privacy laws are continually in flux. The most recent blow to consumer privacy was the 2017 Congressional overturning of Internet privacy protections. According to the ACLU, those pro-privacy laws “would have prevented ISPs from sharing our browsing history with advertisers, forced ISPs to be clear about what information they’re collecting, and required ISPs to take reasonable steps to protect our data from hackers,” (ACLU, 2018).

Several states, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and most of the Northeast have since begun the difficult process of working to reinstate Internet privacy laws (ACLU, 2018). The decision made in Washington, supported by the Trump administration, bequeaths a tremendous amount of power to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), giving them leeway and control over consumer information. Prior to this federal legislation, ISPs were not able to share customer data such as browsing history with marketers.

The only potential benefit to customers would have been possibly receiving more targeted advertisements and promotions—something few consumers actually need or want more of given the ways Google and other media algorithms already work. Typically, privacy laws like this recent 2017 legislation balance the needs of consumers for privacy protection with the needs of corporations to have access to information that would benefit economic growth. 2. Not all artificial intelligence systems are fancy, high-end technologies or advanced robotics like those depicted in science fiction films.

Many of the technologies consumers use every day rely on some kind of artificial intelligence, from Siri to simple email filters for spam. One of the most obvious uses of artificial intelligence is in the online shopping environment. Through collaboration with Google, retailers can track consumer web browsing habits and then use those aggregates to develop a consumer profile. From that profile, marketers can then present targeted ads or even targeted hits that come up in the search engine.

Similarly, a single store will recognize some of the items a consumer has browsed and make recommendations for other items with similar features. Amazon uses artificially intelligent systems to track what consumers look at and purchase to make suggestions. Artificial intelligence can also be used for sophisticated pricing models. As Narula (2018) points out, Uber, Lyft, and other ride sharing applications use artificial intelligence to base pricing on supply and demand. Many other companies use artificial intelligence to gauge consumer interest to generate real-time supply and demand pricing. 3.

Warehouse management information systems like Infoplus (n.d.) are used to compile and analyze data on everything from current inventory, which can be used to compute more advanced calculations like demand predictions. This type of information can be leveraged to provide business intelligence that could give my organization a competitive advantage over its rivals. For example, demand forecasting helps the organization to quickly respond to reorders for key clients.

A firm that does not use Infoplus or similar systems may have delays between the time the client places the order and the time the order is fulfilled. Clients depending on strict scheduling might be more interested in working with a firm that has more robust warehouse management systems. Another key feature.