Every industry finds it overwhelming to keep track of raw materials, inventory, logistics, and customer orders. Here, supply chain management comes to the rescue.  

No more conflicts, redundant data entry, or lack of visibility across the chain. Supply chain management solutions are becoming more advanced by using machine learning (ML). It makes the supply chain more efficient by meeting customer demands promptly, driving profitability.  

Machine learning in supply chain management can help businesses stay ahead of their competitors by reducing costs and delivering exceptional customer experiences. Read the top 10 ways ML can transform supply chain management.  

Top 10 Ways to Optimise Supply Chain with Machine Learning 

Machine learning uses algorithms to learn data patterns and make data-driven decisions. Let us see how it is revolutionising the supply chain management in industries: 

1.Accurate Demand Predictions 

Accurate gauging of demands is the first step to making supply chain solutions effective. ML helps to learn historical data, market trends, and other variables to predict feature demands accurately.  

Its ability to understand large datasets considers many scenarios for accurate demand predictions.  

2.Predictive Maintenance 

Companies dealing with physical assets like vehicles and machinery can take advantage of predictive maintenance. They analyse real-time data from sensors, and machine learning algorithms predict weak points of the machinery.  

For instance, ML can help predict failure in a conveyor system by analysing motor quality, vibrations, and belt speed. 

3.Optimising Inventory 

A company must always know its inventory levels to efficiently meet customer demands. ML evaluates real-time data on several factors to identify the ideal inventory levels for each item, such as: 

• Consumer demand 
• Supplier lead times 
• Seasonality 

This optimisation reduces costly overstock situations and prevents stockouts leading to missed sales and unsatisfied customers. 

4.Prevents Fraud 

Machine learning algorithms can be used to check product quality through automated inspections. The feature of real-time analysis of results can detect anomalies. It can also prevent fakes by preventing credential abuse.  

5.Supplier Risk Mitigation 

Machine learning continuously monitors supplier performance data like on-time delivery rates, quality metrics, financial health indicators, etc. By analysing external risk factors like geographic and political risks, ML models can identify potential supplier issues before they happen.  

This is a supply chain management solution that allows for contingency planning.  

6.Risk Management 

Issues such as natural disasters, global pandemics, labour disputes, and political tensions could pop up at any moment. However, this should not disrupt the supply chain, as it would lead to a chain reaction of losses.  

ML continuously tracks digital data worldwide, such as news reports, satellite imagery, social media, and other historical data, to make a contingency plan.  

7.Transport Route Optimizations 

One of the key supply chain management solutions provided by ML is identifying optimal transport routes. Different travel modes, such as road, air, and sea, have complexities.  

ML considers several factors like traffic conditions, vehicle types, and real-time driver locations to keep the distribution network intact.  

8.Pricing Optimization 

Machine learning reveals demand patterns and price sensitivities by analysing historical sales data, promotions, competitor pricing, etc. 

This insight enables dynamic pricing optimisation, where businesses can automatically adjust pricing based on demand, inventory levels, customer segments, etc. 

9.Warehouse Management 

ML is crucial in supply chain management solutions, as it is a complex process with many factors. It includes labour productivity in put-away, packing, and picking.  

10.Planning Future Productions 

Machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence) can plan production according to customer demand. This will lead to better inventory management and prevent stockouts and overstocking.  

Bottom Line 

Each industry aims to increase its profitability with robust supply chain management solutions based on machine learning (ML). ML can predict market volatility and create risk management plans accordingly.  

If you are a business that needs efficient supply chain management for your warehouse, choose Quinta WMS software. It can seamlessly manage warehouse operations, including put-away, picking, stocking, and task management.