UPDATED 09:02 EDT / DECEMBER 13 2016

BIG DATA

FusionOps will harness AI to automate supply chain operations

The size and complexity of a large enterprise’s supply chain can make it incredibly difficult to stay on top of every upstream change that may impact operations.

As a result, companies are turning to business intelligence providers such as FusionOps Inc. that promise to ease the task. The Mountain View-based firm offers a specialized cloud service for analyzing the various third-party entities, assets and expenses involved in bringing a product to market. Today, it’s moving to broaden the platform’s capabilities even further by introducing a trio of “cognitive applications” that use machine learning technology to help decisionmakers find important information about their supply chains.

The first addition is a search function that provides a Google-inspired interface for looking up operational records. It lets users centrally retrieve product materials, supplier files and other business data from their companies’ internal information troves without writing any code. The feature eliminates the need to separately query each system where the records are kept, which can  save a lot of time in a large organization with multiple database deployments.

FusionOps is pairing the search function with a rule-based data mining tool called Supply Chain Opportunities that makes it possible to automate queries. The app can be configured to evaluate new data, draw the appropriate conclusions and bring them to the attention of decision-makers. An inventory management professional, for instance, could use it to ensure that they’re notified when an opportunity emerges to offload excess stock.

The third and final cognitive application that FusionOps has unveiled today is designed to let companies act upon such information without requiring any manual input. Dubbed Supply Chain Actions, it’s essentially a souped-up recommendation engine that is capable of implementing its own operational guidance.

In a scenario such as an inventory surplus, the tool could automatically approve relevant product orders from distributors to speed up the sell-off process. Supply Chain Actions also provides an operational tracking mechanism that monitors how well vendors keep up with their contractual obligations. When a partner starts falling behind schedule, the tool can automatically notify the appropriate contact person that corrective action is needed.

FusionOps hopes that the new cognitive applications will help customers streamline their supply chain operations and thus make its platform more competitive. The company is facing off against better-established providers such as IBM Corp. that are similarly incorporating artificial intelligence technology into their products.

The new search and query automation functions will become available later this month, while Supply Chain Actions is due to arrive in the second half of 2017. The release marks one of FusionOps’ most significant product updates since its $25 million funding round in April, which saw the participation of several notable investors including New Enterprise Associates.

Image courtesy of FusionOps

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU