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Coronavirus Disruption Puts Supply Chain Software to the Test


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The checkout line at a supermarket.

Software firms have urgently added new information to shore up algorithms that predict food supply and demand.

Credit: Jeremy Hogan/Zuma Press

Software firms are strengthening their algorithms as the coronavirus outbreak stresses food supply chains.

Noodle.ai has added new information to better predict food supply and demand, shortening the forecasting windows for its algorithms from months to days.

Blue Yonder has integrated COVID-19 death statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and created virtual "war rooms" to monitor changes on the ground.

Meanwhile, manufacturers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to identify pressure points and shift resources as needed, and distributors are using models to determine where to direct fleets of trucks and trains to keep shelves stocked.

However, Richard Tiffin of U.K.-based data analytics firm Agrimetrics said the AI-powered tools that underpin food supply chains could further be tested as food production in key countries declines in the coming months and travel restrictions squeeze the migrant labor market.

From The Wall Street Journal
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Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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