Student Ar cles
AI the next big thing in SCM
Here are some ways in which Artificial intelligence will improve the efficiency of supply
chain planning:
Streamlining processes in Supply Chain Planning
The businesses counting on mechanical ways of handling their supply chain planning process
face consequences of a tedious distribution management systems that handle multiple
operations vulnerable to human error. The process of manually distinguishing stock levels,
estimating optimal replenishment cycle, and fulfilling orders are slow and prone to inaccuracy.
AI systems would be able to scan through large amounts of historical information to streamline
every facet of supply chain planning from demand to inventory to supply.
Handling supply Chain Disruptions
Supply chain professionals are human beings and human beings tend to stay to things
that they are acquainted with. On the contrary, AI wouldn't be caught up with any pre-
conceived notion, and act strictly on the premise of information available to them and
past-outcomes of decisions. To Illustrate, IBM recently launched Watson supply Chain,
which considers infinite sources of data comprising of social media, weather forecasts,
historical information, and newsfeeds, and uses cognitive technology to track and
predict supply chain disruptions to recommend the most effective course of action.
Logistics optimisation
Apart from forecasting and scheduling functions of supply chain planning, firms are
trying to use AI into technologies such as driverless cars to optimize the process of
logistics planning. The arrival of autonomous vehicles might considerably improve
accuracy, decrease lead times, cut back transportation costs, and save human labour
costs. For example, Artificial intelligence technology of TransVoyant is in a position of
gathering information from satellites, radars, sensors, and smartphones to track real-
time movement of products and estimate the time of arrival by considering various
factors such as weather conditions, port congestion, and natural disasters.
There are firms that specialize in providing end-to-end logistics solutions for Supply
Chain Management. Such firms design, assemble and market autonomous and driver
assistance software and systems for automotive and industrial applications. To increase
the benefits of automotive applications, there are devices that boost driver awareness,
along with providing partial, conditional and full autonomy. To enhance industrial
applications, such firms give autonomous mobile robots for end-to-end warehouse
logistics.
IBM Watson Supply Chain
Volume 7 issue 1 November 2017
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