Tag: business

Digital Supply Chain podcast screenshot
Digital Supply Chain

Unleashing the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Supply Chain

As the host of the Digital Supply Chain podcast, I am always on the lookout for innovative ways to improve and streamline the supply chain process. That’s why I was excited to welcome Doug Marinaro from Riptide on the latest episode to discuss the potential uses of ChatGPT and AI in the supply chain. And for the first time, a video version of this podcast is available at https://youtu.be/UB8HQ-ZfjYo

ChatGPT, an advanced language model developed by OpenAI, has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach supply chain management. In our conversation, Doug and I dive into the various ways that ChatGPT can be utilized in the supply chain, from helping to streamline communication and decision-making processes to providing data analysis and even helping with forecasting and planning.

One of the most exciting potential uses of ChatGPT in the supply chain is its ability to improve communication. The model’s advanced language capabilities can help supply chain professionals quickly and efficiently respond to customer inquiries and provide insightful and professional responses to emails. This not only saves time, but also helps to ensure that all communication is well thought out and professional.

Another potential use of ChatGPT in the supply chain is its ability to provide data analysis and insights. With its advanced language and analytical capabilities, ChatGPT can help supply chain professionals quickly and accurately analyze large amounts of data to make informed decisions. This can be particularly useful in areas such as demand forecasting, where ChatGPT can help predict future demand for products based on historical data and current market trends.

In addition to its data analysis capabilities, ChatGPT can also help with planning and decision-making in the supply chain. By providing real-time data and insights, ChatGPT can help supply chain professionals make informed decisions about everything from inventory management to production scheduling.

Despite its many potential uses, ChatGPT is still a relatively new technology, and there are certainly some challenges to be addressed. For example, there have been some concerns about the accuracy of the model’s responses, particularly when dealing with complex questions. However, as Doug mentioned in our conversation, these issues are being addressed through updates and improvements to the model, and the future looks bright for ChatGPT and its potential uses in the supply chain.

In conclusion, the potential uses of ChatGPT and AI in the supply chain are exciting and wide-ranging. From improving communication to providing data analysis and insights, there are many ways that ChatGPT can help streamline and improve the supply chain process. If you’re interested in learning more about the potential uses of ChatGPT and AI in the supply chain, I highly encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the Digital Supply Chain podcast.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider following the podcast and sharing it with others who may be interested. And as always, if you find the podcast of value, and you’d like to help me continue to make episodes like this one, you can go to the podcast’s Support page and become a Digital Supply Chain podcast Supporter for less than the cost of a cup of coffee!

And if you’re interested in having your brand associated with the leading Supply Chain podcast, don’t hesitate to check out these sponsorship packages and how I can help your company gain exposure and establish yourself as a thought leader in the supply chain industry, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you!

Bridgette McAdoo profile pic
Climate Confident, sustainability

From Bronze to Gold: How Genesys is Driving Sustainability in Its Supply Chain with Bridgette McAdoo

I recently had the opportunity to host Bridgette McAdoo, the Chief Sustainability Officer of Genesys, on my Climate Confident podcast. Bridgette is a seasoned sustainability professional who has been in the field for over 15 years. During the episode, she shared her insights on the role of sustainability in business and the future of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting.

Bridgette explained how her role as CSO of Genesys came to be. It was a top-down approach from the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer, who wanted the company to be rooted in empathy and sustainability. This is a stark contrast to the typical scenario where a CSO role is created as a result of a crisis or a regulatory requirement. Bridgette shared that the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer’s commitment to sustainability makes her job much easier, and this, in turn, allows the company to focus on its core objective – reducing its carbon footprint.

One of the highlights of the episode was Bridgette’s discussion on the differences between sustainability, ESG, and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). She believes that ESG has gained momentum as it is tied to investor relations and how companies are financially reviewed. On the other hand, CSR is usually associated with community engagement and volunteerism. Bridgette argues that the term sustainability has been diluted and the idea is to have a holistic approach that integrates all the different elements rather than separating them into different teams.

Bridgette agrees that ESG leads to increased employee engagement, lower cost of attracting and retaining customers, and happy investors. Surveys have shown that 70% of employees and consumers are looking for sustainable and responsible companies. ESG has also had a significant impact on finance, as impact investing and ESG investing have tripled in the past few years, making it easier for companies to access capital.

McAdoo speaks about the reporting of sustainability and the difficulty in measuring it compared to traditional financial reporting. She believes that in the next 5-10 years, sustainability reporting will be similar to financial reporting. However, there is currently a lack of standards in ESG reporting which is causing some ambiguity. McAdoo shared that at Genesys, sustainability is supported from the top by CEO Tony Bates and Chief Strategy Officer Peter Graf, as well as from ground level employees through various initiatives, such as sustainability ambassadors and community volunteerism.

Bridgette mentions that Genesys actively benchmarks with other organizations and participates in various coalitions to stay informed about best practices. They also utilize platforms like Ecovadis and CDP and partner with peer companies to survey their supply chains. In the past year and a half, Genesys has moved from a bronze rating to a gold rating from Ecovadis, and improved their CDP score from a D to a B. Bridgette emphasizes that they are actively trying to be a leader in sustainability and to bring everyone within the company and their partners along this journey.

The Climate Confident podcast aims to bring you inspiring stories from sustainability leaders, and this episode was no exception. I highly recommend you listen to the full episode to learn more about Bridgette McAdoo’s journey, her insights on ESG and sustainability reporting, and Genesys’ sustainability initiatives.

Don’t forget to follow the Climate Confident podcast for more inspiring stories and remember, if you value receiving weekly actionable insights on sustainability in business, you can always sign up to be a Supporter of the podcast for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

Trends & Concepts

Understanding the Smart Grid – my TreeHugger interview

Interview
Photo credit Lee Jordan

Jaymi Heimbuch contacted me recently to ask if I’d agree to be interviewed for a TreeHugger article she was planning to write on Smart Grids. “Love to”, I said.

Jaymi sent on the questions, I replied and today she posted the interview on TreeHugger.

Here are the questions and my answers:

TH: What’s the biggest barrier with smart grids right now? Is it utilities not latching on? Is the technology too new? Is it that not enough people understand what it is?

There are multiple barriers to complete smart grid roll-outs at the moment. The biggest one, as far as I can see is money!

The smart meter roll-out alone costs in the order of $150 per household just for the device. Then there is the installation engineer on top of that. And the software to back it up. In terms of the software, remember that presently utilities take maybe one meter reading a month. When they start taking readings from smart meters they will be taking up to 2880 per 30-day month when they are taking 15 minute readings (or 720 for hourly readings). If they have 1 million customers they go from 1m meter readings a month to 720m per month (or 2,880m). That’s a massive jump in the amount of incoming data which needs to be stored, queried for billing, and held for however long.

A lot of the software to handle this is still being developed and utilities, being very conservative, don’t want to be guinea pigs. And newer technologies tend to have a price premium.

Circling back to the price for the utilities. If they have 1 million customers, they are looking at spending hundreds of millions on the smart grid roll-out (smart meters, communications infrastructure for smart meters, back-end database for data, back-office apps for using the data – customer care, billing, etc.).

One of the big deals about smart grids is that it will help us reduce our consumption – from the utilities perspective, they should invest these large sums of money so we can reduce the amount we purchase from them? You can start to see the difficulties.

TH: What’s the most apparent way a smart grid will change the average person’s daily life? What about the most important way?

You know, the best way a smart grid could change the average person’s life is ‘not a jot’ – apart from reduced utility bills.

Utilities are talking up demand response programs and how they will be able to come into your house or apartment and turn down your air conditioner (for example) at times when supply is short and demand is high. This is a top-down approach destined to piss off customers and will in no way get buy-in from a skeptical public.

Far preferable would be some kind of automated demand response, completely controlled by the consumer, so far example as a homeowner I’d set my dishwasher at 8 PM to come on at 5c per kWh or 5 AM, whichever comes first. As long as the dishes are done by 7 AM, I’m happy. Similarly with other devices. Plenty of loads in the home are movable. You don’t care when your hot water is heated, as long as it is hot when you need it hot. A well lagged (insulated) boiler would mean you could heat it when electricity is cheap, and then use it whenever.

By the way, totally counter-intuitive but cheaper electricity has a higher renewable percentage so actively selecting for cheaper electricity means you are actively selecting for electricity with a higher percentage of renewables in the mix. How does this work?

Well, electricity prices on the wholesale market are very volatile. Consumers are protected from this but electricity prices can fluctuate by orders of magnitude within a 24-hour period. Price is set by good old supply and demand. Demand fluctuates according to day of week, time of day and by season. As the price drops on the wholesale market, it becomes less attractive for more expensive generators (the ones with start-up costs for their generation – the fossil fuel burners, for example) to stay selling in so they drop out. The renewables, on the other hand, are price takers. They don’t have significant start-up costs for generation so they stay in the market no matter what price they get. So, as the price drops, more and more fossil fuel generators drop out and the percentage of renewables in the mix increases!

TH: Other than this change in demand and timing, how will the smart grid help us incorporate renewables into the grid?

Utilities are used to dealing with a situation where their generation (gas coal, oil) is steady and predictable in its output and their customers’ demand is unsteady but generally predictable (demand tomorrow = demand this day last year +1-2%, say).

For various reasons utilities are having to move to a situation where they need to incorporate more renewables into their mix. Renewables generation is not steady and is only slightly predictable (via weather forecasts, for example). Because electricity has to be used as it is generated (can’t be stored, generally), the more unstable the generation, the more unstable the grid.

How can you fix this? Well, one way would be to align the demand with the supply.

How do you do that? …

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 Toolset presentation

I gave a talk yesterday for the members of it@cork titled “The Web 2.0 Toolset – a business focussed overview”

There were around 70 people in attendance and feedback afterwards was very positive.

Here is a copy of the presentation I gave. I hope to have a video of the presentation live by tomorrow.

http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=itcorkweb20-1211923292108227-9