*This article is sponsored by Bazoom
For many industries, the reality of the global supply chains is that they are growing increasingly more complex and interconnected. This means that establishing an efficient supply chain, one that is driven by standard software, is often not good enough. Modern supply chains, successful ones, have shown that they must be responsive, fast, and have a high degree of predictive accuracy, as well as being efficient. Supply chains that show the ability to dynamically reroute shipments and reallocate inventory as demands shift in real time have risen to dominate several industries.
Flexibility like this, real-time flexibility, what we call decisioning, is possible only through custom AI software that is designed from the ground up for supply chain management by artificial intelligence software development services.
While it might appear that 'out-of-the-box' tools can offer some level of supply chain AI, typically these solutions fail to live up to the potential that can be achieved with custom AI architectures designed for a specific industry or even a specific company. Let's look a little further into why bog-standard tools can't hack it, and why an AI development service like Azumo might be the best bet for companies that want a partner to develop custom AI software tailored to their needs.
Why Off-the-Shelf Supply Chain Tools Fall Short
The simple truth of it is, most Software as a Service (SaaS) tools for supply chain management weren't built with the complexity and speed of modern logistics in mind. They might work just fine for smaller companies and slower niches, but for many modern businesses, these services will fall flat as soon as they attempt to optimize their supply chains. To break it down further:
Generic SaaS Solutions Fail to Understand Unique Operational Constraints
Many companies and businesses have unique supply chains that need a unique approach. Pre-built models are unable to understand the nuances of an industry and will fail to handle things like cold-chain tolerances, production line thresholds, or replenishment cycles. AI software development services can ensure your needs are met, whatever they might be.
Older Models Can't Engage in Real-Time Decisioning Due to Data Lag
Older models usually rely on data uploads that are not as granular and are much slower than those that a model built by an AI development service can have. This means that for older models that try to engage in decision-making:
- Forecasts will be out of date by hours, if not days.
- Real-time disruptions to routing will be unseen or ignored.
- Snapshots of the inventories will be half-true or incomplete.
Custom AI architectures that can analyze in real-time are able to truly engage in decisioning.
No Integration with Other Systems
A huge downside for many SaaS tools is that they rarely possess the ability to properly integrate with other systems. When they do integrate, it's often poorly. By engaging with AI software development services to build a supply chain AI, you can have them perfectly integrate all of your existing systems and tools into it.
Bog-Standard Systems Lack True Automation
Most SaaS solutions that you can acquire have only small levels of automation and tend to focus on providing only analytical tools. This means that they always require the intervention of some other program or a person to make use of their data. Custom AI architectures can have automation loops built in that allow them to act on the data they receive.
What Real-Time Supply Chain AI Actually Requires
There are three key components that supply chain AI needs in order to properly engage in decision-making.
Custom AI Architectures
While every solution will be different, they are likely to include the following as standard:
- Ability to compute demand and sensor data at a high velocity.
- The ability to model different scenarios and extrapolate a positive outcome quickly.
- No need for approval for decisions.
- Complicated optimization options, including variables.
Unified Data Pipelines
When decisioning is on the table, data pipelines must be real-time and must unify:
- Point of Sale and eCommerce data.
- Information from warehouses.
- Data from product suppliers.
- Data from outside sources, such as traffic, the weather, and even broad economic data.
The construction of such a unified data layer is something usually only achieved through custom AI software.
Models Built for the Niche
Every industry is wildly different and can have huge variations in what sorts of things might impact a supply chain. Models must be built by artificial intelligence development services as unique and niche-specific tools. Decisioning in real-time requires a level of familiarity with the specifics of a niche that a bog-standard model simply cannot provide.
Why Custom AI Solutions Transform Supply Chain Operations
With custom AI architectures built by artificial intelligence software development services, supply chains gain several powerful advantages.
These tools are typically able to forecast demand in a hyper-accurate fashion, enabling smarter moves in terms of stockpiling and distribution. The models built by artificial intelligence software development services can also dynamically optimize inventories, meaning that shortages should not occur, stock will be rebalanced to other locations if needed, and the cost of carrying and transport will be reduced.
Tools created by an AI development service are also likely to help with routing and logistics by automating much of it. Being able to detect, or even predict, choke-points and areas of congestion, custom AI software can route around these issues.
The Real-World Impact: What Companies Gain with Custom AI Decisioning
What exactly are companies likely to get when they hire artificial intelligence software development services? These tools are likely to result in much more robust logistics overall, meaning they will be faster, less prone to unexpected disruptions, and see fewer issues when expanding into new markets. The end result of these benefits is likely to be an increased level of customer satisfaction, as products will be available more readily.
Choosing the Right Path: Build, Buy, or Hybrid?
When you contract AI development services, there are three main choices that you can take.
You can buy a product off-the-shelf, bog-standard as it were. This is fine if you are a small team or only require basic levels of analytics.
You can have the AI development service fully build a supply chain AI for you, which will give you exactly what you need, but at a higher cost.
The third option is to take a hybrid approach. To do this, you can buy a bog-standard model, then have artificial intelligence software development services build custom AI software on top to fill in any gaps it might have.
Real-Time AI Is a Competitive Advantage — But Only If It’s Built for Your Supply Chain
Making use of real-time AI that can engage in decisioning is a huge advantage, but that advantage only exists if the AI is built to do what you need it to. Standard off-the-shelf models can only take you so far and are likely to fail to understand any specifics of your niche.
Contracting AI software development services to build you a custom model, or to layer custom features over standard models, will give you an advantage over companies that are using more standard solutions.
