AI, the Cloud and New Innovations Positively Impacting Materials Inventory and Data Management 

Few things dictate a company’s success like an agile and efficient supply chain. While factors such as innovation, talent and customer service impact a business’s bottom line, nothing can cause disruption, limit profitability and reduce efficiency like a dysfunctional supply chain using disparate technologies and depending on unreliable data.

Few things dictate a company’s success like an agile and efficient supply chain. While factors such as innovation, talent and customer service impact a business’s bottom line, nothing can cause disruption, limit profitability and reduce efficiency like a dysfunctional supply chain using disparate technologies and depending on unreliable data.

Indeed, supply chain inefficiencies for both B2B and B2C companies are driving up costs and complicating continuity. In the UK alone, supply chain inefficiencies cost $2 billion and burn 100 million man hours each year. As Accenture’s report on the shifting nature of supply chain management concludes: “Companies—across all industries—feel increased pressure to cut down on delivery times and logistical costs while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.”

It’s clear that companies are taking notice. While we first saw this with B2C companies, it’s now fully impacting B2B businesses, as well―driving up costs of materials and processes while complicating continuity of knowledge and operations. Streamlining and modernizing supply chains are top priorities for B2B businesses in virtually every industry, and, as a result, spending on supply chain software is quickly rising.

With software solutions being a viable way to reduce costs while improving efficiency, transparency and speed, it’s critical for companies to select the right product―one that will make both an immediate and sustainable impact on their materials inventory and data management. Verusen’s pioneering cloud platform uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to harmonize and provide visibility into materials inventory data across systems including multiple enterprise resource planning systems (ERP). The platform’s predictive capabilities also optimize inventory and procurement. Not only does it help companies avoid overstock costs and production risks from inaccurate materials inventory, the platform supports a more agile supply chain that better handles the dynamic pace of today’s business climate and changing customer demands.

More specifically, the Verusen solution has three critical abilities that meet today’s surging supply chain demands:  

1. Harmonize Disparate Inventory Systems Data

To be sure, streamlining and improving inventory systems is not an entirely new concept, and many companies are operating with multiple software integrations layered on top of one another. Or, companies rely on consulting companies to periodically help clean up and synchronize inventory data.

Verusen’s solution automatically integrates with ERP and other disparate data sources, extending over numerous systems and facilities. Using the power of AI, the software learns from the company’s inventory experts and encodes this knowledge to harmonize information across multiple inventory catalogs moving into the future. The results are AI-driven harmonization producing a true material master—linking materials across naming conventions and categorizations with 99-percent reliability at scale―a game changer.

2. Control Policy and Procedures for Proactive Materials Management

Once data is harmonized, accessing and navigating the supply chain ecosystem are easier than ever before. For example, with Verusen, companies can search the supply chain for specific materials across material masters, revealing true on-hand quantities including duplicate materials. Consequently, companies can control costs by avoiding purchasing duplicate materials—which drives up overstock—and by maximizing the consumption of existing materials. In other words, it’s a way for companies to embrace strategic cost management by optimizing their inventories in an always-changing environment.

3. Predict Inventory Needs for Continuous Improvement

Along with innovation comes a pressing need for optimization. By learning and leveraging the insights of the company’s inventory experts, the Verusen platform’s AI algorithms determine real-time suggestions for inventory management and procurement. Predictions are living and breathing, taking into account real-time trends for stocking levels, including safety stock, minimum, maximum and more. Inventory reports keep stakeholders performing at their highest levels by providing them with real-time, dynamic insights into the supply chain so they are always equipped to make the best decisions.

As companies face more pressure to reduce costs while continually addressing the shifting demands of both B2B and B2C customers, the need to optimize the supply chain is real and growing. Verusen’s platform offers a comprehensive solution that solves current problems and anticipates future opportunities.

For more details about the launch of the Verusen cloud platform, read the full news release here.

Verusen is launching its pioneering cloud platform at the “Salute to Digital Innovation and Intelligence in the Supply Chain” event taking place today (March 13, 2009)from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Register to attend here: https://bit.ly/2HiCsnj