The supply chain industry has been buzzing about Open AI ChatGPT since it was initially released in November 2022. The Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) has captured the attention of supply chain industry leaders for its rapid responses and detailed answers. This type of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform has the ability to communicate in an easy to understand, human-like manner. ChatGPT could help improve organizational visibility, streamline internal and external communication, and effectively optimize end-to-end operations.
Visibility
ChatGPT could play a major role improving supply chain visibility with real-time data. “Real-time” refers to continuous updates. Living in a post-COVID-19 society has exposed the risk of disruptions that can leave practitioners or customers starved of essential materials. Having the ability to avoid problems and respond quickly to issues that arise can provide a competitive advantage to organizations across verticals that incorporate this technology. ChatGPT could potentially be a solution to support fast, effective decision-making leading to greater customer satisfaction. Also, ChatGPT could help obtain measurable KPIs, forecast supply chain trends, and streamline compliance. Currently, supply chain software solutions and automated equipment are internet connected systems, alternatively described as Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems. ChatGPT has the ability to tap into IoT devices and leverage its associated data to provide the benefits described in this blog.
Streamline Communication
With ChatGPT, end users can ask questions about order tracking information and receive an immediate response. This can help reduce customer service inquiries and allow customers to receive answers in a timely manner. Implementing a tool to streamline communication between customers, third party logistics providers, distribution centers, manufacturers, and warehouses can drastically reduce the risk of errors. With this, ChatGPT can help improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase productivity.
Optimize Operations
Who benefits from using ChatGPT within an organization?
Everyone from marketing and sales directors, strategic managers and business planners to data analyst and operations managers can benefit. ChatGPT can aid in identifying key terms to improve SEO optimization, gain insight on competitors, generate custom formulas to optimize excel management, and generate custom sales pipelines with added parameters. ChatGPT also has the capability of prioritizing processes, by you simply listing the first and last step, and leave all other steps in-between blank. The program will fill in the missing steps accordingly which lends to significant productivity enhancements. This AI platform can reduce costly investment decisions, help organize and narrow down priorities, and aid to kick off the creative process to solve complex problems. Additionally, it can also provide route optimization services by analyzing shipping data and suggesting better delivery times to reduce costs.
Concerns with the Technology
While ChatGPT can be prone to factual error, it can serve as a tremendous starting point, which after validation provides a significant boost in research and understanding. For some, consideration is being given to the potential benefits that could be realized by incorporating ChatGPT into existing supply chain automated tools or as a standalone product. Agreeably, there is a long journey ahead for this type of development. ChatGPT still has numerous amounts of improvement to build upon before the benefits described becomes reality. On the other hand, this type of technology has the potential to impact the supply chain industry as a whole.
Conclusion
Using ChatGPT in the supply chain industry has the potential to drive efficiency and improve customer experiences. From transportation and storage to delivery and distribution, ChatGPT can increase transparency, streamline communication, and optimize operations leading to increased productivity and profitability. With continued progress in ChatGPT development, it is likely that industry leaders will continue to consider AI chatbot platforms as a key element to improve business operations and increase competitiveness.
—Ashley Rhodes, St. Onge Company
