AI fused with trade data may finally smooth clunky supply chains

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT may revolutionise the way both the public and private sector use data to ferret out risks and opportunities in the $32 trillion global trading system.

During the pandemic, government agencies and industries like financial services and telecommunications accelerated their adoption of machine-learning tools. But many involved in trade were caught in analog, paper-laden transactions playing catch-up.
Now, after three years of historic trade disruptions, generative AI and language-learning models have emerged just when governments and companies need them to better manage the world’s convoluted supply lines.
“On the longer time horizon, we’ll see highly accurate predictive analytics and forecasting driven by integrated data from each step in the supply chain,” said Julie Gerdeman, chief executive officer of supply-chain risk assessment firm Everstream Analytics.

“This will automate decision-making to mitigate risk exposure and disruptions, leading to fully resilient, sustainable, and risk-adjusted supply chains.”
Better Data
Analysing trade data is a notoriously complicated practice. Sorting through hundreds of millions of shipment records scattered across subsidiary names and freight forwarders in unstructured, error-prone datasets can be a Sisyphean effort.
But AI tools are helping many organisations simplify trade-data analysis in ways that may help smooth cross-border commerce — a notoriously labor-, spreadsheet- and carbon-intensive engine of the world economy.