F3 chat: How to begin your automation journey

Lean Solutions CTO gives data automation strategy tips

(Photo: FreightWaves)

This fireside chat recap is from Day 3 of FreightWaves’ F3 Virtual Experience. 

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: The important role of data in logistics: Creating an unfragmented industry

DETAILS: Alfonso Quijano, the CTO of Lean Solutions, and Mary O’Connell sit down to talk about the most effective way to harness data for process improvement. Automation is king and they discuss where to start.

INTERVIEWER AND SPEAKER: Mary O’Connell, freight broker/3PL expert at FreightWaves, and Alfonso Quijano, CTO of Lean Solutions Group. 

BIO: Quijano is an electronic engineer and technology executive focused on the logistics industry. He has participated in the creation of state-of-the-art technology solutions such as fully automated vehicle access control systems with ALPR. He is a seasoned full-stack software developer knowledgeable in various high- and low-level programming environments, as well as IT project manager and leader of software divisions, taking projects from zero to completion on live production environments in record time. 

KEY QUOTES FROM QUIJANO:

“The primary issue is after you have [all of the data] connected, then you have to find a way to harbor that information somewhere. Then we start talking about data warehousing and ETL systems or ways to get the information and extract it from those data warehouses in a consistent and clean fashion. … To a person who has not gone down that road, that can be difficult to start.” 

“Sometimes you have all of this information and it’s hard for the common user to understand. You bring them back a bunch of new data points and key metrics and the solution ends up being more difficult than the actual problem. … It’s all about how we can use all of those data points, connect them and bring those back in a seamless way for the customer.”

“A lot of people will say an automation journey starts with having the right tools and right technology. Well it’s not. It actually starts with knowing what you want to automate and having processes very well defined before you start.”

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Grace Sharkey

Grace Sharkey is a professional in the logistics and transportation industry with experience in journalism, digital content creation and decision-making roles in the third-party logistics space. Prior to joining FreightWaves, Grace led a startup brokerage to more than $80 million in revenue, holding roles of increasing responsibility, including director of sales, vice president of business development and chief strategy officer. She is currently a staff writer, podcast producer and SiriusXM radio host for FreightWaves, a leading provider of news, data and analytics for the logistics industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Michigan State University. You can contact her at gsharkey@freightwaves.com.