The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the global landscape as supply chain organizations endured unprecedented challenges. Faced with disruptions, uncertainties, and rapid market fluctuations, organizations that operate traditional supply chains were left scrambling.

Technology rapidly evolved from a supplementary role to become a cornerstone of supply chain resilience. It is anticipated that by the end of 2023, 80% of supply chain entities will redirect investments towards AI, ML, and affiliated technologies — a significant leap from the mere 30% before the pandemic. This shift underscores a radical reimagining of supply chain dynamics. The focus expanded beyond just physical logistics to emphasize digital information flow, autonomous and adaptive analytics, and instant decision-making.

Digital transformation is not only optimizing but revolutionizing supply chain operations, enhancing adaptability to unforeseen challenges. The adoption of AI and ML is on the rise, not just for their automation capabilities, but for their capabilities in managing the ever-increasing big data. As AI takes the lead, digitized processes, efficient workflows, and precise data operations have become standards. Such advancements facilitate the convergence of expansive data systems, with planning and execution strategies evolving from predictive phases, progressing to prescriptive, and ultimately aiming for complete autonomy. Catalyzed by unexpected adversities, this transformative journey has bolstered and redefined the very foundation of global trade.

Bristlecone stands at the forefront of AI-enhanced application transformation services tailored for the digital supply chain. Rooted in the robust foundation of the Mahindra Group, Bristlecone has an expansive global presence with over 12 hubs worldwide. Its team of over 2,700 supply chain and technology specialists further cement its reputation as a premier digital supply chain system integrator.

Partnership with SAP

Backed by a strong partner network, end-to-end supply chain consulting services, and core integration engineering skills, Bristlecone’s AI-enhanced application transformation services are tailored for integrated supply chains. They deliver exceptional quality, particularly to enterprises leveraging SAP Digital Supply Chain solutions.

Bristlecone transcends the role of a typical SAP Systems Integrator. The company aims to optimize investment returns and champion the mission of contemporary supply chain transformations.

“Our robust and comprehensive relationship with SAP is multifaceted: not only do we serve as a direct customer, but we are also recognized as an approved global strategic supplier,” says Nirav Patel, President and CEO of Bristlecone.

Bristlecone has offerings catering to four main sectors – industrial (including manufacturing, hi-tech, and semiconductors), consumer (encompassing retail, CPG, and durables), life sciences (comprising pharma, medical devices, and healthcare), and technology (which covers software, edtech, and platforms).

“Predominantly, the focus is on aiding these core markets in their supply chain transformations and solving customers’ complex supply chain problems. Our consultancy services and IP-driven solutions chiefly address five core domains: cognitive manufacturing, integrated planning, smart procurement, logistics, and a digitization aspect that ties all four together. These domains represent our primary areas of expertise, and we possess intellectual properties that correspond to each of these areas, including planning, procurement, execution, manufacturing, the IoT domain, and the overarching digitization component,” said Patel.

AI Business Accelerators

As technology consistently advances, the challenge has shifted from being data-centric to insight-centric. Effective utilization of AI and ML technologies, coupled with the skill to merge data from various sources, is essential for attaining optimal visibility, automation, and cognitive intelligence within the value chain.

Additionally, while clients anticipate innovation from established ecosystem partners like SAP, they also demand forward-thinking solutions to implement as they navigate their AI-driven journeys. Bristlecone's mission is to navigate these clients throughout this transformative phase, highlighting that the value of their ecosystem, products, and platforms becomes evident when they witness concrete business results.

The company enables businesses to harness advanced technologies, fast-track solution implementation, enhance user engagement, and optimize business returns by offering unique, tailored accelerators. Through their IP-led accelerators, the company strengthens the foundational SAP structure, supporting clients in the deployment and expansion of these platforms.

Bristlecone offers the following accelerators:

SENSE.AI: An early warning system, SENSE.AI assesses potential opportunities and risks, evaluates impact, and enables a timely response. It generates warnings for weather, regulatory changes, sanctions, tariffs, delays predictions and value-at-risk estimations for shipments and benchmarks and carries out scenario analysis for 100,000+ events.

TRACE.AI: TRACE.AI is a real-time customer order tracking system that uses condition monitoring leveraging an IoT-enabled tracking solution. It identifies leading indicators for ETA/EQA for multi-carrier tracking, automates with ERP and TMS, suggests timely alerts on delays, missing assets, counts and performance, and provides location/movement visibility.

A360: A360 predicts machine breakdowns by monitoring the health, utilization, and efficiency of high-value assets. The tool allows asset preventive maintenance schedules, health and utilization input for capacity and budget planning, and timely alerts for failure rates, process breakdowns, etc.

DOC.AI: DOC.AI extracts information from unstructured transactional documents using OCR and reduces manual workload by automatically extracting key data fields with OCR/AI algorithms, documenting and handling with higher degree of data accuracy, and transferring extracted data into digital systems and workflows.

DEMAND.AI: DEMAND.AI is a responsive demand forecasting solution that factors external and internal demand signals for real-time demand sensing, dynamic capacity planning, AI-powered guided buying, advanced scenario planning, and visibility into supplier risk.

NEO DATA LAKES: A multitenant, cloud native, Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) Platform for the supply chain domain, NEO provides a Data Lake with associated Big Data Services & Analytics and a Low Code Application Development Platform for rapid application prototyping, building and deployment. This accelerates the building of an intelligent unified data layer that enables cross-system integrations.

Patel remarks, “These are completely IP-led solutions that give customers ‘an eye in the sky view of their logistical landscape.’ Accelerators amplify the returns our customers gain from their overarching technology ventures. Take, for instance, our doctored AI tool, which is an OCR-supported solution, bundling integration and workflows, and incorporates GenAI to streamline the entire digitization process. A practical application is the automation of invoice processing. Given that numerous procurement operations grapple with invoices in various languages, the application of doctored AI and OCR aids in efficiently decoding and structuring this data.”

What this means for SAPinsiders

Incorporating digital advancements in the supply chain is among the most reliable methods to fortify the resilience of a business. Embedding technologies within the supply chain can enhance efficiency, adaptability, and robustness. While AI facilitates digitization, streamlines workflows, and manages data operations essential for synthesizing large data systems, it also provides crucial insights leaders require to make timely and assured decisions specially in supply chain operations.

Enhance Traceability, Forecasting and Visibility: AI tools such as TRACE.AI and SENSE.AI enable accurate demand forecasting by analyzing vast and varied data sources in real-time. This results in improved inventory management, reduced waste, and optimized operations, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions quickly.

Automate Workflows: AI-driven tools automate routine tasks and processes, from warehouse management to transportation logistics. This not only reduces manual errors but also significantly accelerates supply chain operations, leading to increased productivity and cost savings. Bristlecone’s frameworks streamline document-driven transactions through NLP (Natural Language Processing) and Vision technologies to extract intelligence from documents, automate paper and email-based workflows, and seamlessly integrate them with business applications.

Inventory Visibility, Transparency and Traceability: Comprehensive visibility throughout the supply chain is essential for streamlined inventory management. Bristlecone’s solutions for supply chain provide clear oversight, transparency, and accountability for inventory, enabling customers to oversee stock levels, observe inventory shifts, and pinpoint potential chokepoints or lapses in your supply chain.

The future of supply chain management lies at the intersection of cutting-edge technologies and enhanced human judgment. As organizations increasingly acknowledge this, they are set on a transformative path, making their supply chains agile, responsive, and resilient in the face of ever-changing global dynamics.