Gurumantra
AI the next big thing in SCM
What are the applications of Artificial
Intelligence in procurement?
AI is helping drive cost reduction and
compliance agenda through procurement
by generating real time visibility of the
spend data. The spend data is automatically
classified by AI software and is checked for
compliance and any exceptions in real time.
Singapore government is carrying out trials
of using artificial intelligence to identify
and prevent cases of procurement fraud.
The AI algorithm analyzes HR and finance
data, procurement requests, tender
approvals, workflows, non-financial data
like government employee’s family details
and vendor employee to identify potentially
corrupt or negligent practices. AI will also
take up basic procurement activities in the
near future thereby helping improve the
procurement productivity.
What are the applications of Artificial
Intelligence in new product
development?
AI has totally overhauled the new product
development process. By reducing the time
to market for new products.AI facilitates
interaction of the product developers in
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Operations & Supply Chain Club, IIM Raipur
the digital space by recognizing the
gestures and position of hand. For
example, the act of switching on a button
of a digital prototype can be accomplished
by a gesture.
What are the applications of AI in
demand planning and forecasting?
Getting the demand planning right is a pain
point for many companies. A leading
health food company leveraged analytics
with machine learning capabilities to
analyze their demand variations and trends
during promotions.The outcome of this
exercise was a reliable, detailed model
highlighting expected results of the trade
promotion for the sales and marketing
department. Gains included a rapid 20
percent reduction in forecast error and a 30
percent reduction in lost sales.
These examples showcase that in today’s
dynamic world, AI embedded supply
chains offer a competitive advantage. AI
armed with predictive analytics can
analyze massive amounts of data
generated by the supply chains and help
organizations move to a more proactive
form of supply chain management.