Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen rapid growth in the last few years. Today it’s more accurate than ever. Thanks to its diverse applications, it has become integral to almost all industries. Including Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
The AI adoption rate in manufacturing and supply chain businesses is expected to grow from 11% in 2022 to 38% in 2025. Source
Main benefits of AI in supply chain management:
· Lower Operation Costs
· Seamless Operations
· Increased Productivity
AI helps build effective solutions by reducing costs and maximizing resources. Automation speeds up processes and reduces errors and delays.
Let’s discuss the applications of AI in supply chain management.
AI and Supply Chain Management
Predictive Analysis
Historical data can predict the demand and help maintain the inventory. Optimizing the supply chain with AI can help avert foreseeable risks. It can forecast price variations in the market.
AI can process large amounts of data error-free. It can analyze the data at various levels and intervals.
With AI, you can find the best route for your shipment. You can ship through optimized routes making the whole process simple and quick.
Computer Vision
What if you could quickly sort out the damaged packages from a huge bunch of packages? Or sort packages belonging to a different category? With AI, it’s possible.
AI-based computer vision makes sorting easy! Whether damaged packages or packages belonging to other categories.
It can also sort and label inventories according to their dimensions, weight, and other factors. It can aid in loading and unloading packages in warehouses with the help of robots.
Autonomous Vehicles
AI makes the trucking industry more intelligent and ensures fast deliveries. It identifies the best and fastest routes to the destination. The chances of package damage are also minimal as the system analyzes data and acts on it.
Big Data
Big Data analytics can handle a large volume of data and produce useful analytics. You can stay ahead of your competition with these useful insights.
Transportation Forecasting
Transportation forecasting is an exciting application of AI in supply chain management.
Here’s how it works.
It uses AI and ML algorithms to address your future shipping capacity. Even the capacity of carriers, modes, and lanes in the future. It alerts foreseen risks, bad weather forecasts, and low inventories.
Advantages of AI in Supply Chain Management
Let’s have a look.
High-Quality Data
Not just the quantity, but the quality of data is crucial. AI is a boon for effective supply chain management. It allows the best possible utilization of data in shipping.
Do you know how AI can gather and organize enormous amounts of data?
How? Let me tell you.
With AI capabilities like Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. NLP can understand words, phrases, and jargon. ML can connect ideas to build context and learn. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Enhanced Safety
You can ensure enhanced worker and material safety with AI-based automated technologies. AI believes in preventive maintenance. It examines data to alert manufacturers of potential dangers. Thereafter, manufacturers can respond quickly and keep their warehouses compliant and safe.
Increased Productivity
One of the most important goals of an eCommerce business is prompt delivery to the customer. With AI systems in place, you can reduce reliance on manual labor and switch to a faster and safer process. Automation can accelerate even the most traditional warehouse processes.
Reduced Operation Costs
Supply chain management automation can operate for extensive periods without any errors. Leading to decreased mistakes and workplace incidents in the warehouse.
Warehouse robots increase the speed and accuracy to a large extent. This reduces the operational expenses and benefits the supply chain.
Wrapping Up
User experience is not limited to the internet anymore. It also depends on the associated logistics and supply chain management.
AI in supply chain management can fill the gaps and ensure error-free processes. Right from sourcing the raw material to delivering the end product. You can save time, and money and reduce errors with supply chain management automation.
iThink Logistics is a reliable logistics partner with the right resources and experience We can assist you with your logistics and supply chain management. Get in touch with us today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is AI beneficial only for large supply chains?
AI can benefit supply chains of all sizes. Smaller companies too, can optimize their supply chain processes with AI tools.
2. What are the challenges of implementing AI in supply chain management?
Some challenges include,
- – The need for skilled staff to manage AI systems
- – Managing change within the organization, and
- – 100% integration of AI with the existing supply chain.
