ChatGPT represents a turning point in the creation of chatbots. But can it have real utility in supply chain and logistics? This tool applies advanced machine learning techniques to simulate actions that, until recently, were reserved for the human mind. Solving mathematical operations, generating programming codes, answering user questions and creating literary texts are some of the abilities of this new conversational artificial intelligence system.
The technology, launched at the end of 2022 by the Open AI laboratory, has taken off with a bang due to its disturbing ability to interact and expertise in providing comprehensive responses in real time. The ChatGPT artificial intelligence system is an evolution of existing chatbots on the market. Chatbot technology makes it easier for users to search for information, responding quickly and efficiently to their demands.
How can ChatGPT improve logistics and the industry?
ChatGPT applies artificial intelligence technology, one of the pillars of logistics in the coming years. “The transformation potential of AI technologies in supply chains is infinite and we have only scratched the surface in terms of exploring how and in what context they can be applied,” George Bargiannis, head of the IT area, told Mecalux and Information Systems from the University of Huddersfield.
While the democratization of chatbots could broaden the horizons of the industry, it remains to be seen whether conversational technology will gain a foothold in the supply chain. According to Esteve Almirall, Professor of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at Esade Business School, the ChatGPT innovation could fill a clear need in the supply chain. “Resolving customer doubts continues to be an unresolved problem. Until now, the interaction of chatbots with customers has not been very successful. This is an area in which we will see great improvements in the coming years and which is especially relevant when it comes to selling technological products, since they tend to raise questions that are far from obvious”.
Another of the potential applications of ChatGPT in the supply chain could be the automatic generation of documents. The language modeling technology allows the ChatGPT tool to recognize, summarize, translate, predict, and generate texts and other content based on knowledge acquired from massive data sets. Almirall values the ChatGPT application to generate documents automatically: “Although conversational language models do not move boxes, predict demand or delays in the supply chain, or plan routes, this technology could have an impact on logistics ”. How? “Large language models have the potential to improve productivity in processes such as document management through the automated creation of draft contracts or commercial offers that should only be reviewed later,” says the professor.
ChatGPT, the supply chain, and the reliability of the information
The head of the area of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Huddersfield argues that it is still early to define the importance of this technology for company logistics: “As with all new AI technologies, it is difficult to establish the potential repercussion that ChatGPT can have without doing extensive validation and testing first,” warns Bargiannis.
The validity and reliability of the information is another point of controversy that arises in technological innovations such as ChatGPT. “In the case of supply chains, the availability of data to feed ChatGPT is a considerable hurdle – end-to-end data visibility in the supply chain remains a substantial challenge and achieving it would be a requirement for any advance of ChatGPT to have a real application in this field”, says Bargiannis.
ChatGPT uses linguistic models to manage large volumes of data. For Professor Bargiannis, this chatbot model could have a real application in the supply chain: “The integration of chatbots with LLM technology can be implemented in customer-facing processes or internal procedures such as supplier selection. Chatbots could make it easier to find answers and make optimal decisions, ultimately reducing operating costs and optimizing resources.”
However, the success of this technology could depend on its ability to discern which information is true and which is false, or simply useless for the user: “Further integration and adoption of smart technologies in supply chains can only be achieved if these solutions have the capacity to justify their answers”, clarifies Bargiannis.
What incidence can the use of inaccurate information have for ChatGPT? The director of the Center for Intelligent Warehousing and Logistics Systems at the University of Bath, Vaggelis Giannikas, gives an example: “If you are trying to track a package and ChatGPT gives you a random estimate of the delivery date, is that better than giving no estimate at all?” This academic assures that there is still a long way to go before ChatGPT can have an impact on the supply chain: “We have to better understand how the technology works before launching ourselves into using it for industrial purposes. To determine its validity, it is necessary to better understand, above all, if the information is true, if it is an estimate with the appearance of being true or if it must be discarded as false.”
The potential of ChatGPT in the supply chain
The ChatGPT solution has burst into force in recent months. The OpenAI chatbot already has more than 100 million unique users per month. Its growth potential is indisputable. However, will this technology have a significant role in the supply chain?
It is still too early to anticipate scenarios. But what is undeniable is that to play a decisive role in the logistics of companies, artificial intelligence solutions must have internal procedures that verify the veracity of the data to achieve processes that are not only agile, but also reliable.
