Manhattan Associates, the leading supplier of supply chain management software solutions and renowned for their warehouse management systems (WMS), recently held their Momentum user conference.
One of the key highlights from the event was the keynote speech by Sanjeev Siotta, Chief Technology Officer at Manhattan, where he discussed the potential of integrating ChatGPT into supply chain management. In case you haven’t been following recent technology news, ChatGPT, a groundbreaking form of Generative AI, has been hailed as the most significant technological advancement since the launch of the Apple iPhone.
It has quickly become the fastest-growing application in history, amassing a staggering 100 million users within a mere two months.
ChatGPT is an AI text generating bot developed on a foundation of large language models (LLMs), enabling it to comprehend and generate responses to text prompts through extensive data training.
Describing ChatGPT as a mere answer generator would be an understatement. In a matter of seconds, it can compose entire articles.
Curious about its capabilities within the supply chain domain, I engaged with the bot and found that my role as a writer is not in immediate jeopardy.
When presented with specific themes, the engine lacked the necessary data to generate a useful article.
On the other hand, broader topics yielded well-written articles, albeit with a tendency towards excessive fluff and a lack of substantial insights. Moreover, fact-checking some of the article’s claims proved them to be unverifiable.
However, when tackling widely discussed subjects such as “sustainable supply chains,” the resulting article was remarkably impressive.
Artificial intelligence excels at making predictions, with ChatGPT functioning as a statistical sentence/paragraph completion machine that crafts content based on probabilities.
Its objective is not necessarily to convey truth but rather to produce articles that mimic the work of professional writers.
Consequently, the peril of generative AI lies in the potential for generating misleading or false information.
While ChatGPT could undoubtedly aid in crafting training manuals, Mr. Siotta of Manhattan Associates envisions a broader scope for this technology.
Manhattan’s research and development team has been experimenting with ChatGPT for several months, well before it garnered significant attention.
Siotta believes that generative AI holds the potential to enhance various aspects of supply chain applications. Given the vast amount of data generated by warehouse management systems, integrating AI becomes essential for optimal performance.
Siotta envisions managers utilizing ChatGPT to inquire about their top three performers for the day or to determine the most suitable personnel for inbound dock assignments.
Source: www.forbes.com Steve Banker