Wal-Mart Automates Supplier Negotiations

Procurement and related supplier contracts and negotiations addressed with AI type methods:

Walmart automates supplier negotiations
By Dan Berthiaume - 03/26/2020 in ChainstoreAge

Walmart is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to negotiate more valuable supplier contracts at lower cost.

The discount giant is deploying the AI-based commercial negotiations platform from Pactum to automate negotiations with part of its global supplier network. 

Walmart is set to pilot the Pactum platform with some of the company’s long tail vendors who provide low-volume, niche products. 

Pactum’s team of analysts begins each project by mapping what they call the “value function” in a given set of negotiations. This is combined by the vendor’s negotiation chatbot, which is capable of autonomously conducting best practice negotiations. Once a negotiation is complete, all information will be updated automatically in Walmart’s relevant systems, such as ERP and CRM.  ... " 

IBM, Chainyard Build Supplier Trust Blockchain

Intriguing play by IBM, using their Hyperledger Blockchain.  Would seem also that 'smart contracts' would be natural additions to such an approach, to specify context and domain specific constraints.  Note the large number of companies involved.  This might be called a classic 'trust' type application.  Procurement view seen as a next step.

IBM, Chainyard unveil blockchain-based 'Trust Your Supplier' network in ComputerWorld

IBM has partnered with Fortune 500 companies to launch the network, which is aimed at automating the validation and onboarding of buyers and suppliers.    By Lucas Mearian

IBM and blockchain consultancy Chainyard today announced a new permissioned blockchain-based network designed to improve supplier validation, onboarding and life cycle information management.

Along with IBM, Anheuser-Busch InBev, GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, Nokia, Schneider Electric and Vodafone are founding participants in the Trust Your Supplier (TYS) network.

"This blockchain initiative represents a great opportunity for Nokia to further enhance our suppliers' experience and optimize the onboarding process," Sanjay Mehta, vice president of procurement for Nokia, said in a statement. "Using the latest technology to address a classical challenge will be of benefit for everyone, and further increase the speed of using innovative solutions."

Unlike IBM's other blockchain-based networks, which can track everything from produce to jewelry from origin to destination, there is no product tracking on the new distributed ledger.

"TYS plans to add additional functionality over time as the network scales," said David Post, managing director of Blockchain Ventures at IBM.

TYS was built to act as a cross-industry blockchain network for procurement functions. The network's first use case relates only to supplier onboarding and validation, according to Post. .... "

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