93% of Supply Chains Struggle to Implement GenAI Plans
Supply chain operations have battled higher risks since the pandemic, with impacts becoming more frequent and widespread.
It is no surprise then, that supply chain professionals are turning to generative AI to not only analyse and predict risk data, but also create solutions.
A report by EY and HFS Research has found that 73% of supply chain executives are planning to implement GenAI to their operations.
This shift will accelerate the growth of autonomous supply chains and increase digitisation and technological innovation.
In supply chain operations, AI is used to analyse and interpret data, as well as to generate solutions to any impacts in real-time- giving the company greater end-to-end visibility.
AI is not new to supply chains
The report found that 90% of respondents have embedded some form of traditional AI- which is rules-based and requires prepared data sets and predefined logic to solve problems- in their businesses, primarily focusing on data-driven insights.
The difference with generative AI- which can create new content based on the data it has been trained on, using techniques such as large language models, transformer neural networks and generative adversarial networks- is that it can design new processes and forecast demand to develop a cost-effective solution to supply chain disruption.
Companies are struggling to implement GenAI
However, only 7% of the 460 executives surveyed for the report have successfully implemented Gen AI in their operations, whilst 62% have had to reassess their projects.
The report also showed that even among those organisations which have begun the roll-out of GenAI, only 28% have achieved a “low-human-touch” supply chain, whilst 50% have achieved end-to-end visibility.
The race for a fully autonomous supply chain is on
In order to remain leaders in the industry, executives will need to keep up with the race for a fully autonomous supply chain as those further ahead are 5.2 times more likely to see success with GenAI.
This widening digital gap will weigh on companies internationally, as the survey covered 19 countries across the globe, and every industry- from wellness to energy.
Respondents represented organisations with over US$1bn in annual revenue that were at least in the planning stages of deploying GenAI in their supply chain.
The gap will also begin to show in companies’ bottom lines and efficiency, as human error becomes more costly in comparison and customers demand more convenient, quicker product delivery.
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