5 Examples of AI in Supply Chain Management in Daily Operation

With the world getting more interconnected under globalization and increased worldwide trade, a huge number of products are shipped across different borders daily. Supply Chain management teams of various countries make sure that the products and goods reach their customers timely in a safe condition.

The supply chain involves several stages from the manufacturing of raw material to its storage, the labor-management, the shipment of the final product to the financial and information exchanges, all come under it. Any mistake in the supply could lead to drastic results for the supply chain management.

Increasing demand to incorporate technological solutions:

With every new day, there is an increased demand to make the supply chain better in terms of visibility, tracking, and transparency. The last few years have seen the supply chain sector evolve from its linear structure and expand into complex forms.

The incorporation of AI technology has solved a great number of supply chain shortages and new ideas are also being given practical shape to add more efficiency to the supply chain in the future.

Why is it Necessary?

The technology has progressed and the businesses have expanded. The current complex supply chain structures and numerous different components are compelling business managers to improve their management and services to succeed in the market.

Before moving on to explore the digital trends in the supply chain, let’s first understand what digital transformation is.

Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation is the process of advancement and reshaping of items, administrations, and whole plans of action by automated innovations. It is the way towards utilizing technologies to make new or make changes to an existing system, business processes, culture, and user experience to meet changing business and market necessities.

Digital Transformation can be of four sorts:  

• Business process
• Model
• Domain, and
• Social/organizational.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has played a very important role in digitizing the supply chain. These days, AI and MA are taking over to digitize almost every industry and company of logistics and its future systems.

How is it helping? 

AI has enabled the companies to get access to the information required that may include the billing information, dates, parties included, addresses, etc. AI can assist in

• Managing the traffic
• Analyzing dangerous travel areas
• planning or evaluating the structure
• arranging construction jobs
• Planning maintenance
• Self-Driving Trucks

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the AI examples in supply chain management.

Adding Efficiency

AI assists in saving time and cost by automating the repetitive and monotonous jobs of the employees. AI helps spot hurdles and gridlocks before they even happen. It acts as a catalyst to accelerate logistics operations tasks.

Better Transportation

With the assistance of AI, companies can ensure on-time and efficient delivery of the products. Artificial intelligence can help diminish reliance on manual jobs, making the whole supply chain processes quicker and more dependable.

Natural Language Processing

AI has proved to be the source for an improved business. For example, NLP i.e. Natural Language Processing helps the logistic companies to keep a check on the financial processing.

It detects financial errors or irregularities by the use of invoice information. And helps the companies to plan freight efficiently.

Making Predictions About the Supply and Demand

AI plays an important role in anticipating future supply demands. It helps a firm to collect real-time data related to

• Sales
• Seasonal changes in the customer demand
• Irregular demands

Artificial intelligence can streamline supply chain operations by determining inventory demands. The information flow makes it adjust the inventory levels according to the needs.

Competitive Edge:

By analyzing information and critical reports, it gives room to flexibility in strategizing while always remaining one step ahead. It also perceives new chances and new plans of action.

Decision Making

AI can assist your organization in data analysis and decision making by smoothing out various stages of the supply chain by giving operational data and analysis about frameworks and designs. By assessing the collected data, AI makes future predictions and helps plan future strategies.

Chatbots and Voicebots:

Chatbots are transforming customer care. Showing availability 24/7, chatbots are there to answer the queries of customers whenever needed.

Internet of Things  

The Internet of Things has changed the transportation experience. With IoT, communication can be improved to a whole another level. Moreover, to achieve a superior connection with the transportation mediums including trains, trucks, ships, and planes is not any more troublesome.

IoT offers sustainable frameworks. The web-powered gadgets enable the smart gathering of information and the IoT sensors can alert vehicles and trucks of possible obstructions ahead during the transit.

Smart Vehicles: 

Smart vehicles are capable of

• Predicting confusing turns
• Differentiate between individuals on foot, cyclists, bikers, and so forth
• Avoid road threats

It can change the entire outlook of the transportation business and is expected to lessen vehicle crashes by as much as 80%. Drivers utilizing loT can monitor

• Fuel Usage
• Brake Efficiency
• Speed

Scanning Freight limit 

The utilization of Internet-of-things (IoT) sensors can help observe the space a particular package takes. This data can be used to calculate the shipment cost. Taking care of this information into a blockchain-based system set apart with the understanding would allow self-executing billing based on the proportion of space taken by the freight.

Visibility  

The success of current transport and logistics management is centered around the idea of visibility. Visibility is one of the most significant trends in the transport and logistics industry. One of the recent developments in this domain is the introduction of Anti-theft GPS which has made it possible to reach the live location of the truck fleet. This technology is saving organizations from huge losses.