IBM’s New Transaction Tech Takes On Supply Chain Blindspots

IBM‘s new Sterling Business Transaction Intelligence (BTI) Enterprise and Multi-Enterprise editions allow companies to take away “supply chain blind spots” and respond to “predictive insights” from artificial intelligence, the technology company said in a post.

“These editions build upon the IBM Sterling Business Transaction Intelligence Basic Edition complementary capability of [the] IBM Sterling Supply Chain Business Network (SCBN),” the announcement noted.

IBM said the Sterling BTI Multi-Enterprise Edition harnesses the IBM Blockchain to create one shared, secure “version of the truth” for B2B transactions. Firms can “can deepen trust and transparency across the partner ecosystem with invitation-only blockchain access that allows trading partners to see the same chronological history of events and documents,” according to the post.

Additionally, the company noted that every partner stays in control of who receives different kinds of information.

IBM said its Sterling BTI Enterprise Edition uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities to provide notifications of postponed or late orders, helping to enable companies to stay ahead of challenges. It also offers cycle time forecasts that assist in finding event probabilities for occasions such as when an order will be shipped in full or when an order acknowledgment will be received.

As a result, IMB said that companies can “monitor the orders that may not make your on-time, in-full expectations.”

In separate news, IBM unveiled a blockchain-based network named IBM Rapid Supplier Connect, which would give buyers access to a wider range of suppliers beyond their traditional supply chain and would provider suppliers with a streamlined onboarding process and near-real-time inventory information. The technology will be free through the end of August for “qualified buyers and suppliers” in Canada and the United States, per an announcement in April.