Puga Sankara is the co-founder of Smart Gladiator LLC. Smart Gladiator designs, builds, and delivers market-leading mobile technology for retailers, distributors, and 3PL service providers. So far, In Command Wearables have been used to ship, receive, and scan more than 5 million boxes. Users love them for the lightweight, easy-to-use soft overlay keyboard and video chatting ability, as well as several other capabilities that were made available to them that they did not have before. Puga is a supply chain technology professional with more than 17 years of experience in deploying capabilities in the logistics and supply chain domain. His prior roles involved managing complicated mission-critical programs driving revenue numbers, rolling out a multitude of capabilities involving more than a dozen systems, and managing a team of 30 to 50 personnel across multiple disciplines and departments in large corporations such as Hewlett Packard. He has deployed WMS for more than 30 distribution centers in his role as a senior manager with Manhattan Associates. He has also performed process analysis walk-throughs for more than 50 distribution centers for WMS process design and performance analysis review, optimizing processes for better productivity and visibility through the supply chain. The size of these DCs varied from 150,000 to 2 million square feet. Sankara has an MBA from Georgia Tech. He can be reached at puga@smartgladiator.com or visit the company at www.in-cmd.com.
Getting products into hands of the customer quickly and efficiently is quickly moving from a differentiator to table stakes. As expectation of buyers increase, distribution centers must look for new ways to get things done correctly and efficiently. Consider these realities: Often, the picking process is the most time-consuming process off all, making…
Sometimes, a regular day sticks in your memory. I still remember one typical Monday. I woke up at 3:00 AM, packed a week’s worth of clothes, kissed my wife and child, and got on the road to go to the airport. On the freeway, I saw a guy on a motorcycle, who took off with…
If brick and mortar retail is to survive, retailers can’t just sell technology, but they must use technology in new and smart ways. Plus, it can’t be gadgets for the sake of gadgets, but must help customers in measurable ways. What that looks like is continued to evolve. It might be installing iPad stations where…
Is retail dead? This became the crux of the matter when I found myself invited to pitch in front of a leading retailer at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech. It was an exciting opportunity that was dulled when the name of the retailer was revealed. They are losing market share to…
Think about all our familiar, modern superheroes: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Ironman, and Wonder Woman. What differentiates them from others is, at least in part, a heroic attitude, let’s call it swagger. All the movies that trace their exploits did an excellent job of taking us vicariously through their adventures, making us believe that just about…
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In fact, at least when it comes to figuring out strategy, one excellent way to find the path to success is to find someone who is doing what you would want to do and study that successful execution. You can create a successful model and understand market dynamics.…
Recently, I was invited to take a place on a Tech for Distribution Center (DC) panel during the annual Georgia Logistics Summit. We tackled some intriguing questions: During this time of technological change, what does the future work force look like? What is the most important quality to look for when hiring? Who will be…
Managers matter. Management style matters. For many workers, autonomy means trust. When I look back on my career, my best managers avoided micromanaging their employees. However, I’ve also seen it work for some leaders. Early in my career, while I still lived in India, I remember one interview, for a job with a newly-minted public…
At a recent Next-Gen Executives: Transformative Leadership in the Smart Machine Age Summit, I learned that the leadership component was as much or more important than the smart machine part. The professor leading the summit was Dr. Ed Hess from University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. After an exhaustive amount of research, he and…
I was excited to see an email from my alma mater, Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology, inviting me for a thought leadership summit. I knew I wanted to go, but I also knew I needed preparation. This complimentary, invitation-only VIP partner event that is hosted by Dr. Saby Mitra, who…