IBM Corp. has made big bets on Watson, its artificial intelligence platform, and the revolutionary ledger system blockchain. So, it only makes sense that the company would ultimately combine the two for the next generation of transaction systems.

One key area that could reap the benefits of what AI and a distributed ledger have to offer is the business supply chain, where new technologies aim to bring clarity and accuracy in an increasingly complex transactional world. Supply chains are prone to disruption; a missed delivery here or a misrouted document there can bring a business process to its knees. This is the opportunity IBM is seeking to target.

“My team has been working on creating more analytics in our supply chain solution,” said Inhi Cho Suh (pictured), general manager of Watson customer engagement at IBM. “It’s really about adding visibility to disruptions.”

Suh spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at the IBM Think event in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discussed Watson’s impact on supply chains, use cases for the blockchain, an initiative to generate data-driven insights in urban areas, and the benefits of analyzing customer engagement. (* Disclosure below.)

This week, theCUBE spotlights Inhi Cho Suh in our Women in Tech feature.

A new, shared visibility ledger

A key component of IBM’s focus involves its Supply Chain Business Network. This separate B2B connectivity offering has 6,000 clients, 400,000 trading partners and 8 million transaction documents per day, according to Suh. With that kind of engagement, it’s no surprise that IBM was interested in providing new technology solutions for its network of business clients.

The company took advantage of its conference in March to promote the benefits of a shared visibility ledger for its clients and partners in the Supply Chain Business Network. “We’re adding blockchain to that as a way to ensure transparency, as well as speed of operation,” Suh explained. “The shared ledger will allow you to see where in the process your transaction document is.”

IBM Watson enables “internet of things” devices to become active participants in transactions. The Watson platform processes and analyzes device-reported data or barcode-scan events. IoT-connected devices can talk with blockchain-based ledgers to validate smart contracts.

An example of this process in action can be found in the shipping industry. A.P. Moller–Maersk Group, one of the largest container ship operators in the world, recently formed a joint venture with IBM to digitize the global shipping ecosystem. Using the blockchain and Watson, the goal is seamless tracking of goods and shipments around the world, with updated paperwork in seconds instead of weeks.

“Small bits of optimization, meaning one percent improvement or resolving invoice and settlements, have such huge ripple effects downstream,” Suh said. “We’re excited because we’re now adding in not just AI capabilities, but also collaboration capabilities, which then allow groups of people to interact in-time and in-moment to address alternative decisions and routes.”

IBM’s application of cognitive processing to supply chain tracking is yet another example of the firm’s major bet on Watson. Suh’s organization is continually looking at new ways to integrate AI applications into business or consumer use cases.

Data-driven insights for urban businesses

One example of this new mission is MetroPulse, IBM’s Watson-powered platform to generate predictive-demand insights from hyper-local data in urban areas. This might include information such as neighborhood demographics combined with product and transaction information for a local business.

Last August, IBM announced that it would team up with SAP SE to provide cloud and analytics solutions for the packaged goods industry using MetroPulse. During big events, like a citywide marathon, businesses can incorporate information on traffic flows and weather to project demand during the event.

“We’re providing ways to integrate and mix datasets,” Suh said. “Delivering multiple platforms over time that learn, interact and evolve can integrate these datasets to give our clients speed.”

As Watson has evolved into a tool for business, IBM has focused AI technology on vertical markets, such as banking, marketing and insurance. During the IBM gathering in March, attendees heard use cases involving customer engagement insights, such as Volkswagen offering a smart car manual in multiple languages and Watson Health serving 115,000 patients versus 50,000 in 2017.

“Customer insights is actually one of our top applications,” said Suh, who described the value of being able to analyze where customers struggle during interaction with an enterprise. “We’re able to look at and understand their journey as they travel through all of these touchpoints.”

The integration of Watson with blockchain technology underscores IBM’s fervent belief that its bets in both areas will ultimately pay off. “The bet on Watson and AI is transforming not just businesses and business processes, but actually transforming professions,” Suh said. “It’s getting better and better.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM Think event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for IBM Think. Neither IBM, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE