Over the last few years there has been a great deal of interest and development in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) and the potential to improve the supply chain and logistics. There is an immense amount of data available across the supply chain from a combination of Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected directly to supply chain partners and then also a great deal information from your partners across the supply chain network. In addition to the data produced internally through process actions and functionality, there is now an immense amount of data available from external customers to the supply chain network via direct interaction within the extended network through partner portals and direct interactions and integration with supply chain external customers. The Internet and online interactions from eCommerce (B2B and B2C) provide a great deal of this data and supply chain partners would be foolish not to use this data to improve their logistics capabilities.
The challenge for the supply chain network has been two-fold;
- How to utilize the data
- What data to collect for both analysis and use
Artificial intelligence starts with the collection of data for analysis and this is an important starting point. There is no way early on in the collection of data to determine what will be important. This is because the analysis must be performed first to understand the potential use and value of the collected data. The intelligence part of the analysis also requires a great deal of information in order to validate the hypothesis and then to determine direction based on this intelligence. Starting with the data you can see why it is so important to collect everything because the intelligence part of the equation will generally require additional data from the same periods to confirm and validate direction.
It is important to collect all data then because you cannot tell what may be important for the analysis when determining direction. The good news here though is that storage is cheap and the technology to analyze vast amounts of data has been improved through game-changing improvements in technology. These two points have probably done more for the growth and development of artificial intelligence than any other developments over the last few years. These improvements in technology allow the supply chain to refine and redirect logistics activities and practices based on facts and data rather than hunches and hopes. Combine these two technologies with the growth of the Internet of Things capabilities and related technologies and the potential for improvements is almost overwhelming.
These increased capabilities bring improvements and opportunities in automation as well, including warehouse location and slotting, along with drones and robotics to improve efficiencies and especially accuracy while reducing costs. These are not the only areas of improvement than can be achieved through artificial intelligence. There will be improvements in volumes, inbound and outbound forecasts for instance, that will bring dramatic change to the supply chain as manufacturers and transportation providers revise their processes to incorporate the analytics into their plans and procedures. The warehouse operation though will also be dramatically impacted as artificial intelligence brings analytics to the equation that allows the operation to understand and immediately adjust labor forecasts to changes in the operation during the date based on near real time events. Artificial intelligence is just another factor bringing transformation to the supply chain and the supply chain must start with a baseline of continuous improvements in the flexibility and continuous change practices in order to meet the transformations.
Tom Brouillette
Contact: tom.brouillette.@gmail.com
Thank you for reading my post on LinkedIn in addition, Here at my blog I regularly write about management and technology trends. To read my future posts on LinkedIn click 'Follow'
Tom Brouillette discusses supply chain trends and provides strategic business & technology advice to his followers.
It is important to collect all data then because you cannot tell what may be important for the analysis when determining direction. The good news here though is that storage is cheap and the technology to analyze vast amounts of data has been improved through game-changing improvements in technology. These two points have probably done more for the growth and development of artificial intelligence than any other developments over the last few years. These improvements in technology allow the supply chain to refine and redirect logistics activities and practices based on facts and data rather than hunches and hopes. Combine these two technologies with the growth of the Internet of Things capabilities and related technologies and the potential for improvements is almost overwhelming.
These increased capabilities bring improvements and opportunities in automation as well, including warehouse location and slotting, along with drones and robotics to improve efficiencies and especially accuracy while reducing costs. These are not the only areas of improvement than can be achieved through artificial intelligence. There will be improvements in volumes, inbound and outbound forecasts for instance, that will bring dramatic change to the supply chain as manufacturers and transportation providers revise their processes to incorporate the analytics into their plans and procedures. The warehouse operation though will also be dramatically impacted as artificial intelligence brings analytics to the equation that allows the operation to understand and immediately adjust labor forecasts to changes in the operation during the date based on near real time events. Artificial intelligence is just another factor bringing transformation to the supply chain and the supply chain must start with a baseline of continuous improvements in the flexibility and continuous change practices in order to meet the transformations.
Tom Brouillette
Contact: tom.brouillette.@gmail.com
Thank you for reading my post on LinkedIn in addition, Here at my blog I regularly write about management and technology trends. To read my future posts on LinkedIn click 'Follow'
Tom Brouillette discusses supply chain trends and provides strategic business & technology advice to his followers.
