Generative AI could boost supply chain planning, Belgian tech firm says

The Belgian tech vendor OMP has launched a program of generative AI (Gen AI) pilots in collaboration with some of its Fortune 500 customers that could transform supply chain planning, the company said last week.

According to OMP, transformative digital solutions are sorely needed in a rapidly evolving world where supply chains are growing increasingly complex. In response, the company is now integrating Gen AI technologies into its Unison Planning software solution to bring digital supply chain planning to the next level of interactivity and intelligence.

Initial use cases will involve deploying cloud-based Gen AI to elevate planning knowledge among users, and to advance supply chain insights across the enterprise. And OMP is currently evaluating additional applications.

For example, in the area of knowledge management, Gen AI solutions present users with a seamless chatbot-like interface when consulting OMP documentation, to understand concepts and functionality, and receive hands-on support. This will dramatically improve access to expert knowledge and increase adoption.

Gen AI will also allow software platforms to give insightful information in response to queries expressed by users in natural language. It could, for example, reveal the detailed rationale behind a proposed plan or the potential impact of changes, generating charts and macros on demand. This will give a much larger group of people within an enterprise access to supply chain information vital to the business.

And Gen AI will reinforce OMP’s Unison Planning product by crawling additional internal data including email correspondence, documents, and spreadsheets as well as external data such as social media, news, market trends, weather and climate data, and socio-economic data. This will help users organize work more efficiently and allow them a broader view of the risks and trends impacting their businesses.

“Gen AI won’t just make planning easier and more efficient,” Senior Vice President for OMP USA, Philip Vervloesem, said in a release. “It will allow everyone involved to focus more on decision-making and adding value. We want to instrumentalize Gen AI in supply chain planning through intensive collaboration with OMP customers. That’s how we work and how our customers will get the highest value out of it.”