Tech News, Magazine & Review WordPress Theme 2017
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Supply Chain Updates

Manufacturing, supply chain see greatest cost savings from AI: McKinsey

usscmc by usscmc
January 7, 2020
Manufacturing, supply chain see greatest cost savings from AI: McKinsey
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Dive Brief:

  • Supply chain and manufacturing are two functions most likely to see cost savings as a result of using artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent survey by McKinsey and Company that asked hundreds of respondents about the benefits their companies were seeing from AI and its impact on organizations.
  • The survey found 64% of respondents saw cost reduction in the manufacturing space while 61% saw a reduction in supply chain planning costs.
  • The report suggests the supply chain savings are the result of better spend analytics and better network optimization. The manufacturing savings were are the result of improving “yield, energy, and throughput,” the report noted.

Matt Leonard / Supply Chain Dive, data from McKinsey

 

Dive Insight:

Manufacturing and supply chain management are complicated operations, which often leads to waste, according to Freightflows CEO Matt Morgan.

“Any time that there’s complexity, machine learning and AI can add significant benefit​,” Morgan said in an interview with Supply Chain Dive.

The MAPI Foundation, a group that advocates for the manufacturing sector, says AI can optimize various stages of the supply chain from warehouse management to supplier relationships, according to a recent report.

One example is Procter & Gamble’s use of AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to automate warehouses and distribution centers. P&G was able to automate delivery of about 7,000 SKUs and cut supply chain costs by about $1 billion annually, the MAPI Foundation noted in its report.

Noha Tohamy, a distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner focused on supply chain analytics, said the findings of the McKinsey survey were in line with her experience.

The two main benefits of AI adoption are increased efficiency (doing more with less or the same capacity) and decreased cost. The cost reduction is not typically the result of decreased headcount but rather improved forecasting. AI can provide better answers more quickly and “can improve my market share or my ability to make products available,” Tohamy explained.

The use of AI and IoT in the manufacturing setting is often referred to as “Industry 4.0.” Predictive maintenance is one area that could lead to efficiency gains, according to proponents of Industry 4.0. The ability for sensors to monitor machines and pass this data along to algorithms that determine if there’s a problem can decrease downtime of equipment and thus increase output for any given factory. Improved uptime for machinery was the most common goal of predictive maintenance, according to to a survey from PwC.

But Morgan cautions that AI and machine learning are simply tools to reach a goal, not a goal themselves.

“You need to start with a hypothesis, you start with a goal,” Morgan said. “And then you need to use the data to go find out how to improve that metric in the business.” Modern technology has made it economical to apply machine learning techniques at a larger scale, but that doesn’t mean they’re the solution to every problem, he said.

Once the hypothesis is in place, data will be required to test it.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect data and it doesn’t have to be massive and massive amounts of data,” Tohamy said. “But there’s enough data for us to start training the AI model or the machine learning model.”

Deploying a modern, industrial AI ecosystem is more than collecting some numbers and building a model. This environment requires analytics technology, big data technology, cloud infrastructure, domain knowledge and evidence, according to a 2018 paper in Manufacturing Letters by four researchers at the University of Cincinnati. This combined environment includes technology, but also the industry-specific knowledge needed to make AI a realistic tool.

As companies get this mix right, more will want to follow in their footsteps and the market for industrial AI is expected to expand 52% between 2017 and 2024, according to Research and Markets.

Just a few years ago, the examples of companies using AI and machine learning were few and far between, Tohamy said, adding that the outlook for AI in the supply chain space is “extremely positive” but said there was still work to be done to scale the technology across larger networks.

One of the challenges companies face is “scaling up these use cases and those examples,” Tohamy said. “So, it’s one thing to use AI for one specific product or one specific region, but how can I deploy that across an entire global, complex supply chain. These are the areas where I need more proof points.”

This story was first published in our weekly newsletter, Supply Chain Dive: Operations. Sign up here.

usscmc

usscmc

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • How Hapag Lloyd captured a major market share in the Container Shipping Industry in USA
  • Why USA’s East Coast is the Favorite Destination for Manufacturing Companies
  • How Trade Relations Between the USA and UK Improved After Keir Starmer Became Prime Minister
  • Tips and Tricks for Procurement Managers to Handle Their Supplier Woes
  • The Crazy Supply Chain of Walmart Spanning Across the Globe

Recent Comments

  • Top 5 Supply Chain Certifications that are in high demand | Top 5 Certifications on Top 5 Globally Recognized Supply Chain Certifications
  • 3 Best Procurement Certifications that are most valuable | Procurement Newz on Top 5 Globally Recognized Supply Chain Certifications

Archives

  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019

Categories

  • Global News
  • Supply Chain Updates

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • Antispam
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2025 www.usscmc.com

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us

© 2025 www.usscmc.com