STRIVE Vol 7 Issue 1 | Page 21

Gurumantra AI the next big thing in SCM The use of AI in supply chains will ultimately result in spawning an ecosystem where supply chains link themselves with each other enabling seamless flow of products and information from one end to the other. What are the applications of Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing and supply chain automation? AI is changing the traditional way in which companies are operating. Siemens in its “lights out” manufacturing plant, has automated some of its production lines to a point where they are run unsupervised for several weeks. Siemens is also taking a step towards a larger goal of creating Industrie 4.0 or a fully self-organizing factory which will automate the entire supply chain. Here, the demand and order information would automatically get converted into work orders and be incorporated into the production process. This would streamline manufacturing of highly customized products. What are the applications of Artificial Intelligence in supplier management and customer service? Organizations are also increasingly leveraging AI for supplier management and customer management. IPsoft’s AI platform, Amelia automates work knowledge and is able to speak to the customers in more than 20 languages. A global oil and gas company has trained Amelia to help provide prompt and more efficient ways of answering invoicing queries from its suppliers. A large US- based media services organization taught Amelia how to support first line agents in order to raise the bar for customer serv