EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
Q . ARE THERE ANY KEY STRATEGIES THAT YOU ’ VE SEEN OR COME ACROSS WHERE COMPANIES ARE LEVERAGING YOUR TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS ?
» What I hear as much as anything is trying to do more with less . If it ’ s trying to get your hands on 12,000 bits of data about 12,000 suppliers , that ’ s too large a task for humans to do . So you get to the question of how technology or how can AI help ? I ’ m seeing companies all over the world pilot various ways of using AI . The other has been change management . Much of what involves technology involves the users within an organisation , but for supply chain or for procurement it ’ s a two-sided model . You ’ re asking them to do things differently . Your internal stakeholders and employees , but also these suppliers and maybe their suppliers who don ’ t necessarily have an interest or don ’ t need to because they have many buyers they could sell to . Those that are the most successful are those that spend the most amount of money on change – on managing and educating the why . Why are we asking you to use this technology ? What ’ s in it for you as a supplier or a logistics provider ? That ’ s probably number one .
IS AI GOING TO BE SOLVING LOTS OF THESE CHALLENGES , IS IT THE ONLY WAY FORWARD OR ARE THERE OTHER THINGS AT PLAY ?
By no means is it just technology . Technology ultimately is about data and getting access to data is hard . Those in this room who are involved with the supply chain . Back to when you ’ re talking about multiple tiers , you don ’ t always have access to that data . You don ’ t always have suppliers who are willing to provide that data , whether it ’ s about the material or the inventory or how soon they can provide it .
Whether it ’ s about their child labour levels or their sustainability or the Scope 3 data that you ’ re trying to collect . There has to be this willingness to provide data .
Regulations help , we ’ ve seen with sustainability . A lot of CEOs are interested , and a lot of employees are really excited about it . But to ultimately spend the money to do what ’ s necessary to share the sustainability or the carbon impact of products or services , takes a lot more .
52 December 2024