Don’t Panic! P1 Consulting is here to help…
“I like the cover,” he said. “Don’t Panic. It’s the first helpful or intelligible thing anybody’s said to me all day”
― The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The late, great, sorely missed Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, was an extremely prescient individual. Long, long before the iPad or any generic tablet had been conceived, he imagined a portable electronic device (the Hitchhikers Guide) capable of providing advice and answers to intergalactic travelers’ queries throughout the universe on just about any subject. Such a device would be fearsomely powerful, of course, and so as not to intimidate its users, the publishers of The Guide provided it with “the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover.”
Don’t Panic is good advice. Not just to hitchhiking intergalactic travelers but also to those confused and, perhaps, increasingly anxious about how the hyperbole surrounding AI – artificial intelligence – impacts the use of Supply Chain optimisation tools. Such solutions have the power to enhance operational efficiency, improve forecast accuracy, reduce inventory levels and associated costs and a wealth of other benefits – but it is becoming impossible to review and evaluate any digital offering without reading how AI is about to unleash a tidal wave of Things To Make Life Even Better. Smaller organisations may be justifiably overwhelmed by the buzz-words of the present digital zeitgeist, the precepts of which are often arcane and downright confusing. The most contemporary are starting to categorise AI, creating even more questions for many – for example, what’s the purpose and indeed, need, for Predictive, Generative and Agentic AI for those involved in optimising their Supply Chains? We’ll delve into each of these areas of ‘new AI’ in future articles, but for now, let’s simply pigeonhole these three terms for the sake of clarity.
Predictive AI – broadly speaking, the ‘predictive’ element is all about using historic data (e.g. sales history) to forecast future outcomes. Supply Chain systems use algorithms and advanced mathematics to identify patterns and trends in such data, producing potential and possible outcomes based on future forecasts. That’s the ‘Predictive’ bit.
Generative AI – with a generative model, the AI has the capacity to create new content, ask complex questions and also to provide equally complex answers based on that same existing sales history data (as an example). The AI becomes a helper in the human-technology partnership, facilitating access to new ways of thinking often overlooked due to the size and complexity of the issue being modelled. Sometimes, using Excel simply has its limits…
Agentic AI – this is where AI starts to get spooky. Agentic AI has the capacity and ability to autonomously perform tasks and make decisions, i.e. with no human intervention. Such Agents’ power is becoming immense and they are increasingly being used in Supply Chain Management to automate complex workflows, improve decision-making, and enhance overall operational efficiency. Agentic AI isn’t as yet that commonplace – but it will be…
It’s easy to understand why Supply Chain practitioners might indeed panic. Many Supply Chains are hugely sophisticated, complex interactions orchestrated by multiple players and entities across pan-continental theatres of operation. Multiple SKUs moving through the sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and end-customer delivery cycle with new product introductions, item phase-outs, stock and inventory balancing and a host of other equally important characteristics to bear in mind – all whilst contending with global financial instability, wars and disruption to trade routes. Throw in having to understand how artificial intelligence is now likely to impact the use of systems and solutions designed to simplify and enhance operational processes and it’s no wonder some will panic.
However, this is where P1 Consulting can help.
Yes, AI – in all its flavours – is going to be a major influencing factor on the way Supply Chain solutions function. Kinaxis’ Maestro platform, including the Planning One solution, already has AI built into it and the roadmap includes exciting ongoing development. That’s genuinely good news, ensuring that it can retain its market-leading positioning, delivering operational results and enhanced business outcomes in line with the needs of today’s Supply Chains. But at P1 Consulting, we’ll hold your hand as you first understand the implications and thereafter, work side-by-side with you to leverage AI in ways and in the language which makes most sense to you – the language of the Supply Chain, not technology or artificial intelligence itself. We’re here to help you to talk business, to optimise your processes, reduce your costs, to grow and to improve profitability – not baffle you with unintelligible technobabble.
AI is an inevitability. However, there’s absolutely no need to panic about it. If you’re concerned about what AI means for you and your business, simply arrange a chat with us and, as per Douglas’ opening quote, we’ll try to be the most “helpful or intelligible thing anybody’s said….all day”. Promise.
