o9 Solutions Debuts Smart Planning AI-Powered Supply Chain Planning Service

Artificial intelligence (AI) software planning firm o9 Solutions and Deloitte on Monday (April 18) announced the launch of Smart Planning, a subscription program that brings together Deloitte’s supply chain and data science with o9’s planning platform.

Smart Planning is an AI-powered, cloud-based digital insights, connectivity and workflow automation platform that streamlines strategic- and tactical-level supply chain activities by combining o9’s technical scale and solution architecture with Deloitte’s planning-as-a-service capabilities, according to a press release.

“Global supply chain disruption has been compounded by an ongoing pandemic, blowing up production schedules and manufacturing and creating significant bottlenecks,” o9 Solutions President and Chief Operating Officer Igor Rikalo said in the release. “Today’s business landscape underscores the need for faster and better decision-making.

“Supply chain management is one of the most crucial albeit challenging roles in an organization and attracting and retaining planners with skills that go far beyond traditional analytics is harder than ever. Smart Planning ensures enterprises remain rightsized resource-wise by providing them with demand, inventory, supply, and integrated business planning services on a single, scalable platform that is designed to automatically adapt to evolving supply chain conditions,” he said.

Through Smart Planning, Deloitte can perform several data-heavy activities on the user’s behalf.

“High global supply and demand volatility have revealed weaknesses in planning capabilities, requiring planning processes to be nimbler and more responsive than ever before,” Deloitte Consulting LLP Principal and Supply Chain and Network Operations Offering Leader Adam Mussomeli said in the announcement.

“To address performance gaps, companies are looking to define and deliver next-generation supply chain planning capabilities,” he said. “What’s needed is a dynamic, flexible, and tailored solution like Smart Planning, which can provide companies across a variety of industries with a fast and cost-effective mode for addressing complex planning challenges across various supply chain functions.”

Related: Pepperl+Fuchs To Use o9 AI Tech For Supply Chain Innovation

In December 2020, Pepperl+Fuchs, which works in industrial sensor technology and explosion protection, announced it’s working with o9 Solutions’ AI-powered platform to bolster decision-making and better visibility.