IBM has joined forces with SAP to pioneer innovative solutions targeting the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries. This collaboration aims to enhance various facets of business operations, including supply chain management, finance operations, sales, and services.
Building on their collective technological expertise, IBM and SAP have integrated IBM WatsonX, an enterprise-ready AI and data platform, along with AI assistants, into SAP solutions. Their collaborative efforts will focus on developing both generative and traditional AI solutions, with a specific emphasis on addressing challenges within the direct store delivery business process and product portfolio management.
"Global and regional consumer industry organizations must manage various commerce applications and need advanced insights to provide proactive recommendations that help improve operations and meet customer expectations. With SAP, we are looking to build on the long-standing work of incorporating AI into SAP solutions that can help enterprise clients achieve further business value," said Luq Niazi, Global Managing Partner, Industries and Global Consumer Industry, IBM Consulting.
IBM Consulting and SAP are actively engaging with CPG clients globally to gather detailed requirements for creating secure and scalable AI solutions. These solutions will seamlessly integrate with SAP's Direct Distribution solution, offering enhanced capabilities for managing store-level assortments, optimizing product distribution, and driving incremental revenue.
Enhancing transportation planning and execution
IBM aims to transform SAP Direct Distribution by integrating external data, including weather, traffic, and local events, into the system. Leveraging AI capabilities, the initiative aims to optimize store delivery routes, with a strategic focus on reducing costs and minimizing carbon footprints. Real-time updates will enable on-the-fly adjustments based on dynamic local conditions, fostering a more adaptive and efficient last-mile distribution process.
Optimizing store-level assortments
Harnessing the power of both AI and generative AI, innovative solutions are set to redefine the development of store-level assortments by intricately considering market dynamics, historical sales patterns, anticipated demand, and the existing product mix. Through these advanced technologies, the solutions aim to offer specific product recommendations and initiate preliminary planning, creating a tailored approach that maximizes sales potential while minimizing unnecessary waste.
Automating order settlement
Additionally, IBM and SAP have crafted innovative solutions geared towards efficient order settlement through automation and intelligent workflows. The primary focus is to harness the power of AI within the last mile distribution component of SAP Direct Distribution, aiming to significantly enhance the accuracy of order settlement processes.
IBM Consulting plans to build these solutions on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) and will integrate WatsonX through APIs. The enriched user experience will extend to warehouse planners, frontline delivery associates, and client representatives through WatsonX Assistant, leveraging IBM's conversational search capabilities.
"At SAP, we look forward to collaborating with IBM on this important initiative to help consumer goods companies transform their operations and improve their bottom line. We understand the complexities that come with managing direct store delivery and by leveraging the power of AI we aim to help our customers better manage their last mile distribution more effectively, minimize waste, improve customer satisfaction and achieve business value in today's fast-paced consumer industry," said EJ Kenney, Senior Vice President Consumer Products Industry and Life Sciences Business Unit at SAP.
In other news, SAP has introduced enhanced generative AI features within its SAP Customer Experience lineup, to enable businesses to automate time-consuming tasks and swiftly analyze data from various parts of the organization.
