From Pallets to Picassos: A Museum Tour for Supply Chain Mavericks!

These days, you can’t escape the buzz around Artificial Intelligence—everyone’s favorite trendy topic. But despite all the hype, truly game-changing, value-driven AI projects? They’re rarer than a Picasso at a yard sale.

Why is that? Could it be because of the word art in “artificial intelligence”? After all, art can often feel elitist and cryptic, and it usually requires an expert to explain it. But is that the case?

Let’s take a trip to the museum to find out. Let’s immerse ourselves in creativity, take a look at a few masterpieces, and return with a spark of brilliance that might shake up our supply chain strategies.

The Museum as a Metaphor for Supply Chain Management

Before entering the museum, let’s examine the parallels between a museum and the management of global supply chains.

• Curating Collections vs. Selecting Suppliers: Just as a curator carefully assembles a collection to create a compelling exhibit, supply chain managers hand-pick suppliers to ensure high-quality, reliable products. The art of selection is critical in both worlds.
• Navigating Exhibits vs. Managing Inventory: Museum visitors wander through galleries, much like supply chain managers guide inventory through various stages—from suppliers to customers, ensuring everything flows smoothly.
• Exhibit Interpretation vs. Data Analysis: Visitors interpret art through their lenses, while supply chain managers decode complex data to draw insights and make strategic decisions. Both require a keen eye for detail.
• Temporary Exhibitions vs. Seasonal Demand: Supply chain managers adjust production and inventory to meet seasonal demand, while museums prepare for special exhibitions. It’s all about being agile and responsive to change.

Museums + Supply Chains: A Surprising Source of Inspiration

So, let’s go to the museum and take a tour. What can an artist teach us, supply chain managers? Quite a bit. Traits like creativity, adaptability, and holistic thinking—staples of any great artist—are also essential for managing global supply chains.

• Creativity enables artists to approach problems from diverse angles and devise innovative solutions. For supply chain managers, this might mean designing new processes or solving logistical bottlenecks with fresh perspectives.
• Adaptability is crucial for artists who adjust their work in progress. Supply chain management is about responding gracefully to market changes, unexpected disruptions, and new regulations under pressure.
• Holistic thinking enables artists to perceive how all elements of their piece interconnect. Similarly, supply chain managers must grasp the entire ecosystem—from suppliers to end customers—to ensure the machine runs smoothly.

Problem-Solving: The Art of Supply Chains

Let’s be honest, supply chain management isn’t just bureaucratic—it’s an art form. Here’s why:

• Vision & Big Picture Thinking: Just like an artist envisions their final masterpiece, a supply chain manager must foresee the entire supply flow, from raw materials to finished goods, while keeping the end goal in focus.
• Precision & Attention to Detail: Every brushstroke matters to an artist, just like every delivery schedule and inventory count matters to a supply chain manager. One minor slip-up can throw the whole picture—or supply chain—off balance.
• Adaptability & Flexibility: Artists refine their work on the fly. Similarly, supply chain managers adjust to delays, shortages, and other challenges to ensure that operations run smoothly. Flexibility is essential for both.

In truth, supply chain managers aren’t just managers but artists. And, just like artists, they utilize a range of tools to bring their vision to life. This leads us to a controversial thought: Maybe AI tools for supply chains shouldn’t be called “artificial intelligence” at all.

A New Name for AI in Supply Chain?

Here are three alternative names to reframe the conversation:

• Synthetic Intelligence: This highlights how intelligence is engineered through machine learning and smart data processes without the elitist “art” vibe.
• Data-Driven Intelligence: This term acknowledges the importance of relying on hard data and evidence, highlighting the rational and measurable aspects of such tools.
• Algorithmic Intelligence: Shining the spotlight on the algorithms and deep data crunching that drive smart decision-making.

By ditching the pressure-laden “AI” buzzword and opting for a more practical, grounded term, we allow our supply chain artists to explore new inspirations and implement their masterpieces with whatever tools they see fit.

So, the next time someone mentions artificial intelligence in supply chain management, smile and consider it another brushstroke in your artful masterpiece of global logistics.