As systems develop it is critical that business owners are aware of the possibilities and options available to them. We always advise speaking to an expert to ensure you select the right system for your needs, get this implemented correctly and have someone to reach out to for support if things change. The SB Digital team can assist so please reach out to Ryan if you have any queries by calling
Forecasting and demand planning is where AI comes into its element. By using big data and predictive analysis, software uses historic trends, customer buying patterns, seasonality impacts, marketing plans and economic conditions to predict sales forecasts. Working backwards and considering resource availability also enables manufacturing forecasts to be automated. What was once the realm of Mystic Meg has become a science with increasing accuracy. Heavily used by the likes of Amazon these tools are starting to appear in smaller business systems and enable those that invest in technology to get insights that can drive business success. Advances in inventory management enable automated procurement processing based on minimum stock levels. Combine this with predictive sales and production forecasting as discussed above and businesses can ensure they have lean inventory levels, reducing their exposure and the impact on cashflow.
Automated delivery tracking updates the system for where goods are located and reduces the need to chase suppliers and logistics partners and update customers as well as prompting communication where necessary. This can also update inventory levels automatically as status change through the process, which links into the automation on inventory management. What’s next? Automation continues to be built into manufacturing products, focussed around connected systems and triggers. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, is still being built into software products and we would expect that to be the next big phase of automation development, changing how teams interact with the various systems they use. As Chris George points out in his article on page 6, regarding Research & Development tax relief, in some cases claims for additional tax relief can be applicable to companies who develop their own bespoke software. However, utilising existing ‘off the shelf’ software and integrating it into your company’s operations is unlikely to breach the threshold to qualify as development.
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