The overwhelming popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been a hot topic since the turn of the new year. Discussions of the positives and negatives have been argued at great length, however it is hard to find non-speculative arguments in favor for ChatGPT in the supply chain. ChatGPT can be used to create content, improve upon writing, create code and much more. Some even wonder if the AI chatbot could replace programmers or writers, and how it has the potential to revolutionize different industries.
Ways ChatGPT can be adopted to the Supply Chain
Predictive Analytics – The software can be used to analyze data from different sources such as customer orders, production schedules, and inventory levels, to make predictions about future demand and supply. By doing so, it can help companies optimize their supply chain processes, reduce waste, and increase efficiency.
Customer Service – ChatGPT can be used to provide personalized customer service to consumers by answering their questions about product availability, shipping times, and delivery options. As of now, contacting can be a time-consuming and stressful process, ChatGPT would offer a more efficient way for a business to assist their customers.
Inventory Management – ChatGPT can be used to monitor inventory levels in real-time and predict when certain products will run out of stock. This could help companies avoid stockouts and overstocking, which can lead to lost sales and increased costs.
Procurement – ChatGPT can be used to automate the procurement process by analyzing data on supplier performance, product quality, and pricing. By doing so, it can help companies make better purchasing decisions and negotiate better deals with suppliers.
Document Generation – With assistance of ChatGPT, companies may now have an easier to create contracts and keep information well documented. This would be utilizing the large language mode (LLM) of the AI. This would be of great use for small to medium size companies who do not have the funds to outsource this aspect of their business to a third party.
The Future
For ChatGPT and many other AI software alike, the future is bright and promising. Due to the continued success of ChatGPT, the big players in the technology industry have been eyeing the ever-growing AI chatbot market. In January of this year, Microsoft confirmed an investment of $10 billion in OpenAI. This follows an initial $3 billion in the company. Google, one of Microsoft’s biggest competitors has also developed their own AI chatbot, Bard. It was released in March 2023 to a limited number of users in the United States and Britain.
The opportunity for investment is there for continuous improvement, of the AI. I foresee in the near future the technology improving to a point where adoption into the global supply chain will become inevitable. The competitive drive by the tech companies to produce the best product to capitalize on the market in its infant stage is an alluring proposition. The financial backing we have seen already is a statement of intent.
Drawbacks
Currently there are doubts and concerns with the implementation of the chatbot. This week has seen Italy become the first western country to block ChatGPT. The Italian data-protection authority said there were privacy concerns relating to the model. The regulator said it would ban and investigate OpenAI “with immediate effect”. OpenAI will have to maneuver around the different laws and regulations in countries they wish to operate in.
Particularly, the EU has strict laws on data protection with the consummation of the GDPR compliance regulations that came into effect in 2018. With Italy being the first to raise concerns, other EU members such as, Ireland. The Irish data protection commission is following up with the Italian regulator to understand the basis for their action and “will coordinate with all EU data protection authorities” in connection to the ban.
To improve ChatGPT big data is accumulated, however concerns are raised by the machine learning aspect of the AI. Regulation will need to act fast as we are currently in uncharted waters, in terms of AI being easily accessible to the masses. It may change how we conduct ourselves within business and daily life. The negatives should not be overstated as the positives of this technology might be underestimated.
