• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » How A.I. Is Transforming Supply Chain Planning in High-Tech

How A.I. Is Transforming Supply Chain Planning in High-Tech

March 12, 2018
SupplyChainBrain

By its very nature, high-tech should be more advanced than other business sectors in the adoption of artificial intelligence for supply-chain planning. But that’s not necessarily the case.

“It’s one of those things that everybody assumes everybody is doing,” says Brian Tessier, vice president of global supply-chain innovation with Schneider Electric. “But nobody really knows what it means. It’s five miles wide and five miles deep.”

The general awareness and application of A.I. is on the rise, notes Tessier. Smart devices such as intelligence speakers are becoming increasingly common in homes. In high-tech, there are “pockets of best practice, but it’s very variable right now.”

There are two distinct approaches to A.I. today, says Madhav Durbha, vice president of industry strategy with Kinaxis. One is the traditional “purist’s” ambition of designing computer programs to mimic the human brain. Another is a more practical effort that involves an application-specific use of A.I. The latter approach doesn’t necessarily seek to replace human planners with machines. Instead, it works to apply the technology to defined use cases within an organization.

Joe Lewis, senior manager of Deloitte Consulting, agrees that many companies are pursuing what has been referred to as “narrow A.I.” The near-term goal, he says, is to combine A.I. and machine learning with human experts. Nevertheless, there is a debate as to whether demand planners will ever reach the point where people are taken out of the loop altogether, and computers are able to outperform the human brain.

For now, “we are close to achieving specific, scaled-down tasks,” Lewis says. A.I. is increasingly being applied to supply-chain management to identify trends, monitor supplier quality and perform inventory optimization.

The problem for A.I., says Durbha, is that supply-chain planners typically must operate with imperfect and inadequate data. “That’s where machine intelligence stops, and human creativity needs to come into the picture.”

Tessier says A.I. and machine learning are well equipped to assume the “drudgery” of basic planning processes. The challenge for a company like Schneider Electric is that it must align processes and definitions from multiple organizations in the event of a merger or acquisition. In such instances, it’s could be valuable to apply aspects of “non-traditional” A.I. – even those that aren’t considered applicable to business. “Learning through observation is where the majority of these systems are today,” he says.

It’s somewhat ironic that the effort to replace people with machines invariably leads to the question of human talent – specifically, where it will come from in the future. Qualified individuals will need to demonstrate both “strong analytical skills and business acumen,” Durbha says. College graduates with double majors in mathematics and business are ideal candidates for the supply-chain planning job of the future. The question is whether there will be enough of those individuals to go around.

Lewis believes consulting organizations such as Deloitte will come to rely on multiple individuals with specialized skills, working together as a team. “I’m optimistic about the future of talent,” he says. “We’re starting to see more broad-based people coming down the pike.”

To view the video in its entirely, click here

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Sales & Operations Planning Forecasting & Demand Planning Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Technology Food & Beverage High-Tech/Electronics
KEYWORDS Food and Beverage Forecasting & Demand Planning High-Tech/Electronics Sales & Operations Planning SC Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Technology
  • Related Articles

    How A.I. Is Transforming Supply Chain Planning in High-Tech

    How A.I. Is Transforming Supply Chains

    Supply Chain Planning: What is S&OP? How Is It Done? Who's Doing It Well?

SupplyChainBrain

Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing