Supply Chain & Logistics
Inbound shipment delay alerting
Monitor expected versus actual arrival dates for inbound shipments. Flag delays automatically, estimate revised arrival dates, and alert the planning team with context on downstream impact.
40–60%
reduction in unplanned late deliveries reaching the DC
Opportunity assessment
Minor improvement. Small efficiency gain with limited effect on overall turnover or bottom line.
Relatively straightforward. Off-the-shelf tools handle the core task. Implementation is well-understood with good examples to follow.
Moderate data needs. Works with data most businesses hold, but will likely need consolidation, cleaning, or reformatting before use.
Low risk. Limited external exposure. A human reviews output before it reaches anyone outside the team.
Light people impact. A new tool slots into an existing workflow. Minimal training needed. Most people will adapt quickly.
Tooling required
Things to consider
Requires reliable ETD and ETA data from suppliers and freight forwarders. If this data is communicated informally (by email or WhatsApp), a structured data collection process is the prerequisite.
The alert is most useful when it includes the downstream context: which purchase orders are affected, which stores or channels will see stock impact, and what the cover implication is.
Automated alerts only add value if they're acted on. Ensure the planning team has a defined response protocol for delay alerts — the operational value is in the reaction, not the alert itself.
Supplier compliance with ETD reporting varies significantly. Build in a secondary alert for shipments where no ETD update has been received within a defined period — silence is itself a signal.
Experiment starter: For two months, manually log the gap between expected and actual arrival for all inbound shipments. Identify which supplier-lane combinations have the highest delay frequency and average delay duration. Use this as both the baseline for measuring future performance and the prioritisation list for where to focus monitoring first.
Go deeper in the playbook
Section — Opportunity Identification, including the AI Opportunity Assessment ScorecardSection — The Tooling LandscapeThis is an automation opportunity — see the relevant playbook section for how to approach it.More in Supply Chain & Logistics
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Review supplier contracts, compliance certificates, and T&Cs against standard requirements. Flags gaps and deviations for procurement team review.
Purchase order exception handling
Identify anomalies in PO data — price variances, quantity mismatches, missing references — and route to the right team with context and suggested resolution.
Demand pattern summarisation
Convert sales, stock, and forward-order data into plain-language summaries for planning meetings. Identifies trends, spikes, and cover risks.
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