Artificial Intelligence Improving Logistics

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.

Artificial Intelligence Improving Logistics

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 the partners across the supply chain network.  In addition to the data produced internally in the organization supply chain actions, there is now an immense amount of data available from external customers to the supply chain network partners via direct interaction within the supply chain network through partner portals and direct interactions  integration points with supply chain external customers.  The Internet and online interactions from eCommerce (B2B and B2C) provide this data.  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 technologies and the potential for improvements is almost overwhelming.

 

These capabilities bring improvements and opportunities in automation including warehouse location and slotting, drones and robotics to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. These are not the only areas of improvement to the 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 force 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.

Next Wave For Retail

The next wave for the retail marketplace is the convergence of the internal business networks that include the supply chain partners and the external social network that includes consumers and the variety of social network sites and connections. The consumer is driving this convergence through their use of network services and connectivity as they are building their own network of connections for services and goods along with their connections. The objective for this consumer network services convergence is to connect in their own personal network both retailers and their extended supply chain partners such as transportations services and manufacturers to build a cohesive and service based network to support their own needs. This extended consumer network of services and computing capabilities, especially mobile capabilities, have given the consumer the tools to build their own social commerce network. Many service providers have recognized this and have developed new services that allow the consumer to create their own personalized shopping and purchasing capabilities. Considering the growth and value to the consumer of these social commerce network services I really do not see this trend slowing are expect quite the opposite.

There are two things bringing this together;
- The first is the computing and network capabilities,
- The second is new service providers taking advantage of these changes.

A big part of this next wave is how retailers and service providers utilize localized and personalized services in their practices. These services will provide the secret sauce that will fuel the next wave of retail. This has been growing for a while now through experimentation from both consumer experimentation and service providers. You can also see that some retailers have embraced the wave and are working towards developing the market in this direction.

I see the key aspect to the next wave as the localization of services and especially as it relates to interactions with consumers which in turn will drive the personalization that can grow as a result of the localization. Consumers have been using social networks and technologies for a while now to develop their own virtual shopping practices and even virtual shopping malls of their favorite retailers. They are using the services that are available from mobile app developers and now Google has jumped into the localization with both feet to provide consumer capabilities to search and shop based on their current location and even their destination location.

The Google developments and offerings they are providing through Maps alone will drive the localization of eCommerce to new levels. Retailers, restaurants and entertainment are offered and consumers are providing the personalized evaluations, ratings and recommendations on goods and services. Consumers are already tapping into these services in their shopping and travel decisions and retailers must recognize this and then take actions to incorporate the capabilities into their plans, services and offerings. Google is commercializing these services to expand their apps and services further into the lives of consumers and retailers and other service providers have a great reason to embrace these capabilities in their offerings to support their own sales and services.

Fortunately for retailers and service providers Google, for one, is providing the framework for localization that can be utilized by retailers and they are happy to provide this framework for others because it extends the Google brand and the data Google is able to obtain from this framework. This is an important benefit that should also push retailers into this next wave; the amount of customer data available as a result of this localization and personalization can be immensely valuable to retailers.

What are your observations and experience in this social commerce network? Are you seeing any impact or changes to consumer demands that can be related to these changes?

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'