From the ongoing geopolitical conflicts affecting cross-border trade to a recessionary environment, the stakes for maintaining a robust supply chain have never been higher. Manufacturers, aware of the precarious nature of global supply networks, are fortifying their supply chains, diversifying sources of raw materials, and exploring new shipping lanes to mitigate losses and brace for unforeseen challenges.
One way that’s proving useful to find and evaluate these options is the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence (AI). There are current opportunities in production, efficiency, quality assurance (QA) and risk management. By adopting automation and AI, manufacturers can navigate the current supply chain landscape and protect their businesses against whatever curveball comes next.
While pandemic-related concerns have ceased for some manufacturers—though outbreaks continue to pose risks in manufacturing hubs and nearby ports—many still struggle to keep up with demand or fail to predict demand accurately. This threat and the ongoing geopolitical tensions have led to shortages of critical goods and materials for many, disrupting a variety of production arms.
There are several ways that automation and AI can help manufacturers navigate the current supply chain landscape. First, automation can help to increase visibility into the supply chain and identify potential risks. By tracking data points such as supplier locations, production levels and inventory levels, manufacturers can better understand where their supplies come from and where potential disruptions might occur. Additionally, automated systems can provide real-time alerts when risks are identified, allowing manufacturers to take proactive measures to avoid or mitigate them.
An easy place to begin is using automation to track goods or raw materials through your supply chain. This is largely done through automation and integration of existing cloud platforms. When the data is collected, your team can look for threats and areas of concern, such as realizing that your two suppliers of raw materials actually source from the same mine. Any disruption there means a potential failure in your supply chain.
Second, automation can help manufacturers optimize their production processes. By using data collected from the supply chain, manufacturers can identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their production lines. Additionally, automated systems can control production processes in real time, adjusting as needed to improve output and minimize waste. QA feedback from these changes and systems will help companies make small adjustments to optimize the result for each production line or change.
Smart automation tools help you assess if the process changes yield the desired improvements or if some other issue is causing a bottleneck or concern. For example, you can automate outbound freight selection for your production lines. Rules that pick the cheapest shipment without prioritizing customer needs or lead times may fail to protect margins by increasing customer service demands and decreasing satisfaction.
Finally, AI-powered solutions can be used to predict future demand trends and adjust production accordingly, building continuity of operations. By analyzing past patterns in customer behavior, AI systems can generate forecasts that help manufacturers plan for future spikes in demand. This allows them to proactively adjust production and stock levels, ensuring they can meet customer needs even during periods of high demand.
Consider using AI to empower automation infrastructure decisions. These tools can help a company better understand the changes to the workforce each would entail and how shifting hours impacts HR, facilities, quotas, shift makeup, new skill requirements and more.
Implementing automation and AI solutions can help manufacturers overcome many challenges they currently face in protecting their supply chains. By increasing visibility into the supply chain, optimizing production processes, and predicting future demand trends, manufacturers can take proactive steps to avoid or mitigate disruptions. In doing so, they can ensure the continuity of operations and protect against potential risks.
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