**San Francisco**: Oracle has unveiled role-based AI agents in its cloud supply chain suite, designed to automate routine tasks and improve operational efficiency. Executive Chris Leone emphasises the agents’ capability to enhance productivity in procurement and manufacturing, revolutionising resource management and decision-making.
Oracle has recently introduced role-based artificial intelligence (AI) agents as part of its cloud supply chain and manufacturing suite. Announced on January 30, the new AI feature aims to automate routine tasks, thus enabling companies to focus more on strategic supply chain initiatives.
Chris Leone, executive vice president of applications development at Oracle, highlighted the productivity challenges faced by supply chain professionals, who reportedly spend several hours each week on administrative tasks, including data analysis, policy reviews, and order processing. Leone stated that this administrative burden significantly hampers productivity and resource management. The introduction of AI agents is intended to alleviate these issues by streamlining workflows, enhancing accuracy and efficiency, facilitating smarter decision-making, and fostering a more agile and responsive supply chain.
The AI agents are designed to assist procurement professionals by improving the speed and accuracy of processes like creating, processing, and fulfilling purchase requisitions. For instance, the AI can offer insights into procurement policies, suggest product recommendations, and identify essential information required to complete a purchase.
In manufacturing and production contexts, these AI agents help operators ensure compliance with procedural guidelines and safety standards. Additionally, they provide suppliers with streamlined access to company-specific policies and guidelines, thereby enhancing productivity.
A distinction emerges in the discussion of AI agents compared to robotic process automation (RPA). While RPA handles tasks much like a highly skilled but inflexible assembly line worker—requiring reprogramming for any changes in processes—AI agents offer a more dynamic approach. As reported by PYMNTS, AI agents can reason through problems and arrive at appropriate solutions by understanding context and adapting to changing circumstances. Unlike RPA, which relies on structured inputs and logic, AI agents operate using unstructured data and personal reasoning, thereby exhibiting greater versatility.
An illustrative example contrasts RPA-powered chatbots, which may only handle predetermined responses to common customer inquiries, with an AI agent that uses advanced training, such as GPT-4 technology, to engage in more natural and context-aware responses. This capability enables AI agents to provide better customer service by understanding and dynamically addressing a wider range of questions.
Overall, Oracle’s introduction of AI agents represents a significant advancement in supply chain management, aiming to enhance operational efficiency and supplier relationship management by moving beyond traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) and dashboards and fostering a more proactive approach to real-time data and operational analytics.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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