Many supply chain leaders are curious about how artificial intelligence (AI) can fit into their technology stacks. If you’re one of them, you may be interested in reading Shannon Vaillancourt’s latest article on Forbes.com, ‘AI in Supply Chain Management: It’s Only As Good As Your Data.

In the article, Vaillancourt discusses how AI offers the potential to transform supply chain management, thanks to its ability to perform nonroutine tasks faster and more accurately than a human. But as with any data-based technology, building a clean integrated data foundation is essential. This perspective was echoed this week by Wall Street Journal editor Tim Loftus in ‘The Morning Download: Artificial Intelligence Starts with Data,’ which addresses the challenge of data standardization.

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“With the sheer volume of supply chain data we can generate now, it is simply impossible to sort and analyze this data without AI assistance.”

3 Things to Keep in Mind About Artificial Intelligence and Supply Chain Management

  1. You’re not replacing people; you’re empowering them.
  2. AI can’t do everything.
  3. Accurate, complete data is crucial.

“While companies now have access to nearly unlimited data, I believe just having data is not enough to improve supply chain performance. Instead, we can leverage artificial intelligence to use this data to make the right decision to move forward faster, smarter and cheaper. Without the good data, however, artificial intelligence may just as well be making the wrong decision.”