We recently spoke at the International Supply Chain Seminar hosted by Allport Cargo Services in London. In front of the bustling audience, our product director, Andy Hawkins, presented his vision on ‘AI, Machine Learning & Predictive Analysis: Buzzwords or business benefit?’, sharing his insights into the evolving AI model and what impact it will have on the supply chain.
Artificial Intelligence has dominated the headlines over recent years, yet it is only now that it is really coming to the forefront of the logistics industry. As the demands of an ecommerce dominated world continues to influence the market, companies are searching for more advanced retail models – delivering even greater detailed, real time location and performance data to achieve new levels of agility and responsiveness. But to do this businesses need the right tools; human processing alone will no longer be good enough.
As Andy explained, from revealing problems in certain locations at specific times of year, to predicting potential operational disasters, AI is set to transform both tactical and digital supply chain decision making; changing the logistics industry as we know it.
Touching on his expertise within the field, Andy was the last speaker to address the 70 retailers in the audience. Exploring today’s incredibly complex supply chains, Andy examined how AI will offer retailers the ability to be proactive and innovative in completely new ways. Products are now tracked, and operational performance monitored, as organisations look to drive the continual improvements in efficiency required to meet escalating consumer demands. Using AI, retailers will be able to unveil essential information about operational performance – not just today but in the future. And the combination of data sources and Machine Learning will enable companies to further enhance decision-making and optimise opportunity, from spotting shifts in retail to considering historic quality trends.
Some other key takeaways from his thought-provoking presentation included:
- Complete statistical analysis is now faster than ever with the adoption of AI.
- Machine Learning will provide extended insight into the supply chain, assisting with shipment planning and cost management.
- Global data insight can be mined to not only forecast the likely impact of a weather event but also rapidly reconsider alternative supply routes.
The fact is the introduction of AI is set to revolutionise the supply chain, opening up new and exciting opportunities for retailers. With this in mind, the overarching message of Andy’s talk was to reconsider technology within the supply chain; by embracing AI retailers will be best placed to refine and improve their decision-making to plan for the ever-evolving retail market.
Did you attend the event? Let us know what you learnt @adjunosolutions