企業科技領導者在指導公司的科技支出優先事項時，必須從兩方面考慮：短期和長期。

短期內，目標是確保日常業務的可持續性，特別是在中斷時期。從長遠來看，高管們選擇的項目能夠推動業務發展并提供競爭優勢。在行業趨勢、專家洞察力和投資回報的指引下，高管們會經營這出戲。

在受到DataStax董事長兼首席執行官Chet Kapoor的采訪時，聯邦快遞信息服務(FedEx Information Services)副總裁、聯邦快遞公司(FedEx Corp.)首席信息官羅布·卡特(Rob Carter)在接受采訪時，列出了他的前三名優先項目：

01、基于傳感器的物流

“在物聯網的世界里，我真正興奮的是基于傳感器的物流，”卡特說，他在聯邦快遞的任期長達20年。聯邦快遞擁有“許多專利”的嵌入式傳感器，使公司通過交付過程了解關鍵貨物，卡特說：“今年我們將帶來一波重大的創新浪潮?！?/p>

02、自動自助化

與DEKA開發和研究公司(DEKA Development and Research Corp.)一起，聯邦快遞一直在研發一種交付機器人，卡特稱之為該技術的“有趣應用”。5月份，聯邦快遞也申請了一項專利注冊。，具有本地管理系統和數據存儲的自動采集過程。

03、區塊鏈

供應鏈系統利用區塊鏈系統來提高效率和提高能見度。但卡特也看到了這項技術在打擊欺詐方面的潛力?？ㄌ卣f：“隨著世界越來越多地充斥著假冒偽劣品和邊境等問題，我認為區塊鏈在全球供應鏈內部成為一個開放且相互連接的系統有著巨大的潛力?！?/p>

傳統遺留問題

在監督一家財富50強公司的技術時，風險很大，預算也很龐大?？ㄌ卣f，對于一個像聯邦快遞這樣規模的組織來說，領先的企業技術面臨的一個挑戰是從傳統技術的轉變。

卡特說：“我們所做的最困難的事情就是試圖把注意力集中到現代的、占主導地位的技術設計中去。”在遺留技術上運行的企業技術系統可以成為“在基于云的世界中連接的一個抑制劑”。

整年，卡特與高層領導團隊和業界思維領袖一起舉行規劃會議，以保持領先于創新曲線。

卡特說：“我們將‘上上下下’，看看完全不同的東西，我們將與工業和分析領域的杰出人士建立良好的聯系?！?/p>

區塊鏈優勢

在大流行后的供應鏈應用區塊鏈項目中，供應鏈很有空間。類似項目不受限制。

畢馬威(KPMG)美國數字能力公司(DigitalCapability)美國負責人克利夫·正義(Cliff Justice)表示，在大流行開始時就已存在的供應鏈上的使用案例仍在繼續，KPMG.投資回報率是幫助領導者圍繞區塊鏈做出決定的重要因素。

“數據顯示，市場對區塊鏈的應用有一個更復雜和更現實的看法，”正義說?！霸谶@些供應鏈領域有更明顯的投資回報。”

在.致股東的函件FedEx首席執行官弗雷德·史密斯(FredSmith)表示，區塊鏈及其所能提供的洞察力“將徹底改變全球供應鏈”。

但使用區塊鏈只會在用例中蓬勃發展，在用例中，它可以顯示出與現有系統相比具有明顯的顯著優勢，以抵消部署方面的投資和努力，Justice說。

雖然早期試點暫停，因為公司評估了這一流行病對業務的影響，但運行的網絡--利益相關者已經結盟，資金已經清算完畢--項目將向前推進。

這是因為冠狀病毒大流行使人們注意到已經面臨的障礙供應鏈。弗雷斯特副總裁瑪莎·貝內特說，對運輸地點的可見性和供應鏈的相互關聯性是行業面臨的兩大挑戰。

分析人士認為供應鏈空間是區塊鏈應用的一個關鍵領域，因為它提供了彈性和去中心化，允許公司共享單一來源的不可變的、可審計的數據。

原文：

3 technologies FedEx's CIO geeks out on 

Enterprise tech leaders are asked to think in two tracks when guiding a company's tech spend priorities: short term and long term.

In the short term, the goal is ensuring the sustainability of daily operations, especially in times of disruption. Long term, executives choose the projects that can push operations forward and provide a competitive advantage. Guided by industry trends, expert insight and return on investment, execs make the call and run the play.

Asked by host Chet Kapoor, chairman and CEO of DataStax, what technologies bring out the "geek" in him, Rob Carter, EVP of FedEx Information Services and CIO of FedEx Corp., listed his top three while speaking on the Inspired Execution podcast series:

Sensor-based logistics: "In the world of [internet of things], something that I'm really excited about is sensor-based logistics," said Carter, whose tenure at FedEx spans two decades. FedEx holds "many patents" on embedded sensors, which let the company "light up critical shipments" as they move through the delivery process. "This year will bring a pretty significant wave of innovations from us around that," said Carter.

Autonomy: Alongside DEKA Development and Research Corp., FedEx has been working on a delivery bot that Carter calls "an interesting application" of the technology. In May, FedEx also filed to register a patent around automating the picking process, featuring a local management system and data storage.

Blockchain: Blockchain systems are leveraged by supply chain systems to improve efficiency and boost visibility. But Carter also sees potential in the technology to help combat fraud. "As the world becomes more full of counterfeits and issues at borders and things like that, I think blockchain has a huge potential to be an open and connected system inside of supply chains globally," said Carter.

The question of legacy

When overseeing tech for a Fortune 50 firm, the stakes are high and budgets are expansive. One challenge of leading enterprise technology for an organization the size of FedEx is the shift away from legacy technology, said Carter.

"The hardest thing that we've done is try to marshal forward into the modern, dominant design of technology," said Carter. Enterprise tech systems running on legacy technologies can become "an inhibitor towards being connected in a cloud-based world."

Throughout the year, Carter holds planning sessions alongside senior leadership team and industry thought leaders to stay ahead of the innovation curve.

"We'll go 'up and out,' and look at something completely different, and we'll have wonderful connections to luminaries in industry and analytics," Carter said.

Blockchain's upper hand

In blockchain adoption post-pandemic, supply chain is one of the spaces where projects continue unfettered.

Use cases around supply chain that were in place at the start of the pandemic are continuing, said Cliff Justice, U.S. leader of Digital Capabilities at KPMG. ROI is an essential factor helping leaders make determinations around blockchain.

"The data is showing us that the market has a more sophisticated and realistic view of the application of blockchain," said Justice. "There's more tangible ROI in those supply chain areas."

In a letter to stockholders, FedEx CEO Fred Smith said blockchain, along with the insights it can provide, "will completely change worldwide supply chains."

But adoption of blockchain will only thrive in use cases where it can show it has a clear, significant advantage over existing systems to offset the investment and efforts around deployment, Justice said.

While early pilots paused as companies took stock of the impact the pandemic had on operations, running networks — where stakeholders were already aligned and funding was cleared — moved forward.

This is because the coronavirus pandemic put a spotlight on obstacles supply chains already faced. Visibility into shipment location and the interconnectedness of supply chains are two such industry challenges, said Forrester VP Martha Bennett.

The supply chain space is cited by analysts as a critical area for blockchain application, because it provides resiliency and decentralization, which allows companies to share a single source of immutable, auditable data.

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