Whether building resilience in supply chains or automating the unloading of semis, artificial intelligence is poised to make massive changes in supply chain management.
Decisions for supply chain executives to consider when adopting these new tools include how to use them, how useful they will be, and how the workforce will make the difference between a tighter bottom line and a boondoggle.
“Supply chain management is the movement of goods and information for all of the products we use every day in our lives,” said Marty Parker, senior supply chain lecturer and coordinator of the Terry College of Business Supply Chain Advisory Board. “AI is rapidly improving our ability to analyze and use that information for more efficient, effective, and resilient supply chains. Our students must be able to use and understand this new technology as they move into supply chain roles.”
As part of this fall’s Supply Chain Advisory Board meeting at the Terry College Business Learning Community in Athens, Parker convened a panel of industry and academic experts on the future of AI in supply chains.
Terry faculty, including Aaron Schecter, MIS professor and director of the Certificate in Artificial Intelligence for Business, and MBA lecturer Thomas Beil, teamed up with AI consultant Sean Wood of Human Pilots AI, and logistics engineer Drew Eubank, co-founder of Zion Solutions Group, to share insights with nearly 100 executives and supply chain management students.
Questions from Terry College students and supply chain advisory board president Sophia Masson and vice president Jack McCabe focused on how to decide what technologies firms should invest in, and how to integrate new technologies into their operations.
“Machines supplement humans,” Beil told the crowd. “I want to say that 10,000 times over. Whether it’s a pallet wrapper, whether it’s conveyance, whether it’s sortation — it’s a human supplement. That does not change.
“(The question is) how can we use AI and what type of machine learning gets us better adapted for the spikes and the lulls, and how to get that product to market when it should be,” he continued. “Let some machine do that — not a human being trying to go through 65,000 data tables and pull information together. That, to me, is the biggest advantage we’re going to see in the next decade.”
Students asked what skills they would need to thrive in workplaces with AI, and each panelist emphasized the importance of critical thinking and an analytical mindset.
“Data never tells a lie, but never tells a story,” said Eubank, explaining the need to for students to hone their ability to interrogate data and AI-driven analysis to make strong decisions. “From a skill set perspective, the human brain is still the most powerful tool on the planet, because we can think outside the box. That type of skills — understanding what the story really is — is going to be impactful.”
Each panelist mentioned the tremendous changes they expect to see in the supply chain industry over the next decade and the challenges of integrating new technologies into existing operations. They agreed that new graduates will have a hand in shaping the future of supply chain management.
“I’m more excited about the challenges this means for younger talent, and what they can do to challenge the way we think,” Eubank said. “When you’ve been doing something for 25 years, it’s very hard to change … (We need to focus on) how we use the new knowledge base as we have younger teammates come on board and challenge the way we do things and challenge our thoughts.”