FEATURE Artificial Intelligence


People will forever play


an integral supply


role in the chain


Energy crises, global labour shortages and transportation bottlenecks have all sharpened the focus on how automation can accelerate processes and streamline operations. However, lessons of the past clearly show that humans remain a vital component of supply chains today, writes Polly Mitchell-Guthrie, VP of Industry at Kinaxis


M


uch of today’s innovation stems from artifi cial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML),


which can automate mundane tasks like managing thousands of lead times. Investment in these capabilities is a major driver behind digital transformation, which strengthens the role of technology in future supply chains. AI/ML holds tremendous promise for supply chains, specifi cally because these technologies are masters at fi nding patterns in vast volumes of data. Since the algorithms “learn” by looking for patterns, they are most commonly “trained” using vast amounts of historical data. Once the algorithm has learned the pattern from the training data, the algorithm uses that pattern to make predictions on an entirely new data set. These machine insights and automation can tackle a scale far beyond the cognitive capacity of humans. Despite this, supply-chain planning is an extensive and complex activity that needs to be organised by humans. While technology has growing potential to automate some supply-chain planning, we are still a long way from having fully- autonomous supply chains. AI/ML can fi nd predictive patterns in vast volumes of data but still lacks context, collaboration and conscience – which are all uniquely


26 November 2021 | Automation


human attributes. Successful supply chains need to have a balance between AI/ ML automation with the knowledge and involvement of humans. The best measure of a supply chain is customer satisfaction alongside company success and growth. And, as much as supply chains have evolved the need for eff ective planning, the complexity of sourcing and incorporation of new technologies are enduring elements. But, perhaps the greatest continuity of all, although the one most in question today, is the role of humans.


The areas people excel in Supply chains today face many challenges, from issues sourcing fuel to getting products on shelves. These disruptions make pattern-fi nding a challenge, and algorithms alone are unable to fully understand the context of these disruptions. It’s humans who possess the ability to derive meaning from context, so when disruptions arise, it is people who are able to use business acumen and domain expertise to make the best decisions for their supply chain. Collaboration is another key element of


effi cient supply chains where the input of humans has a crucial role to play. Humans must come together through partnerships and collaboration to build robust,


resilient and effi cient supply chains. Even today, while mathematical analysis and algorithms can yield insights into relationships between data elements, they cannot build relationships between people. Human collaboration is likely to grow in importance over time, as the future will call for even more unique partnerships in a broader supply chain ecosystem, including co-opetition. Moreover, when a supply chain faces


disruption, or has to go on allocation, it is human judgement that must decide the fastest, fairest way to distribute the goods. Whilst humans can steer supply chains into traffi cking in confl ict minerals, or despoiling the planet, it is also human conscience that sounds the clarion call for change. After all, even as automation is increasing as a means of driving machines and supply chains, humans still have an important seat to fi ll. AI/ML can provide invaluable machine intelligence, but human knowledge is still needed to operate supply chains within their context, through collaboration and with conscience, because supply chains are and always will be human.


CONTACT:


Kinaxis www.kinaxis.com


automationmagazine.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48