As value chains are becoming more complex, and customers expect more value for a smaller cost, Nordic manufacturing and logistics companies are looking for ways to improve planning, forecasting and customer knowledge. More and more are turning to AI and analytics, and the pandemic has further emphasized the need.
AI is already transforming manufacturing and logistics in many ways. Compared to other sectors, this industry is in a unique position with many years’ experience from gathering data. Now, the pandemic with its over-night changes in demand, supply and production, have shed light on the need for improved dynamic demand predictions, planning and forecasting and the importance of understanding end-consumer and B2B needs better.
Improved forecasting and planning
Manufacturers in sectors like the food industry, automotive, electronic parts, household appliances and industry suppliers need to utilize data and AI to get better at dynamic demand forecasting, production planning, supplier planning and procurement analytics.
“They also need to improve contract management, production yield optimization, quality management, shop floor idle time optimization and reduction of cost and losses”, says Anoop Sharma, who is leading Cognizant’s Nordic AI and analytics practice.
Supply chain optimization
Logistics companies are utilizing data and taking predictive decisions about complete supply chain and operation planning, digital twin visibility of every leg in the supply chain, cargo management, port and terminal management, fleet optimization, fuel optimization, carbon emission reduction and move towards more sustainable solutions.
“We’ve seen successful use cases with schedule planning, work order management optimization, product development lifecycle management, product feature optimization, as well as inventory and part optimization,” says Anoop Sharma. “Some clients are also applying AI on top of robotic automation to get optimal business outcomes”.
Modernizing digital platforms
How do you make AI happen then? Leaders globally, as well as in the Nordics, are focusing on building a modern data ecosystem and a digital core by modernizing their legacy systems. This means moving to cloud, creating coherent stories by joining the dots between silos of data and by enriching new data sources, using un-utilized dark data and applying industry-specific machine learning models, image analytics and NLP (Natural-Language -Processing) techniques.
As one of the major data and AI consultancy organizations in the world, with over 400 AI experts in the Nordics alone, Cognizant works to operationalize andimplement data, AI, and analytics solutions at some of the world’s biggest companies.