INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION
“ Here the IA journey can help level out the balancing act of moving beyond largescale automation ”
DWIGHT KLAPPIC RESEARCH VICE PRESIDENT AND GARTNER FELLOW , GARTNER
In short , the past 12 months have changed the game . Where once intelligent automation ( IA ) was a nice-to-have technology , a background project that organisations could come to terms with , in their own time , now IA is a must-have , says Jonathan Wright , IBM ’ s Global Head , Supply Chain for Business Transformation Services .
“ Businesses that leverage intelligent automation are poised to address today ’ s workforce dislocation , supply chain challenges , and customer service
disruptions — and to thrive in tomorrow ’ s recovering market ,” he says . “ IA uses automation to optimise repeatable tasks and enhance ‘ higher order ’ tasks within a company , completely transforming supply chains . Whether it is leveraging IA to enable supply chain professionals to make more informed decisions or implementing IoT sensors on shipments for better visibility and tracking , every step of the supply chain has an opportunity to be transformed .”
Short term benefits of IA include improving singular processes , such as demand planning , by leveraging data science and machine learning ( ML ) to improve forecasts and reduce bottlenecks ,” Wright says . Over time , IA has the capability to refocus a company entirely and refine workflows across planning , sourcing and manufacturing to produce better long-term business decisions . supplychaindigital . com 67