Technology Record - Issue 35: Winter 2024

40 COVER STORY Medline, a medical supply manufacturer, has also partnered with Microsoft to use AI to improve healthcare supply chain operations. “The solution, called Mpower, aims to leverage AI-generated insights to save time and improve inventory management,” says Murley. “This partnership aims to reduce disruptions and enable healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. The solution combines customer and supplier data to provide actionable, predictive recommendations for healthcare supply chain professionals.” AI-powered Microsoft technology is also enhancing supply chain operations in the consumer goods industry. CONA Services – a Coca-Cola system IT services company – has combined data from demand, supply, transportation and production into one solution. Built on Azure with help from Microsoft partners Blue Yonder and Snowflake, the solution enables employees to access all data in one place. “Technology has made our company more resilient by putting cohesive enterprise planning all together in one place under the Blue Yonder roof,” says Baron Jordan, chief product officer of supply chain at CONA Services, which is now exploring how AI-driven innovations can take its operations to the next level. Another retailer implementing AI is Coles Group in Australia. The supermarket chain will use AI-powered models, powered by Azure OpenAI, to generate 1.6 billion productions on the flow of 20,000 stock-keeping units per day. Its Microsoft-powered Intelligent Edge Backbone system uses data from internet of things sensors across the supply chain to enable real-time stock visibility and predict supply chain disruptions across 850 stores. Similarly, technology firm and manufacturer Siemens is using Microsoft’s AI tools for operational improvements. The company is using Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365 within its Smart Infrastructure Buildings Business Unit to streamline the creation of over 1.4 million annual work-order reports generated by its more than 10,000 field technicians. The solution aims to generate higher-quality, standardised reports, improving customer communication, supporting efficient facility operations and boosting the firm’s sustainability efforts. These use cases are made possible by the robust infrastructure underpinning the AI technologies. As the adoption of AI accelerates, so does the demand for the data centre capacity required to support these innovations. Microsoft’s efforts ensure that as industries transform with AI, the underlying infrastructure evolves in an environmentally conscious way, enabling organisations to innovate responsibly while contributing to global sustainability goals. “The growth in AI adoption has driven a significant increase in data centre activity, with global workloads in 2020 being nine times what they were in 2010,” says Murley. “At Microsoft, we are continuously researching and innovating ways to make our data centres and AI systems more energy and water efficient. In the coming years, new data centres will come online that consume zero water for cooling, and we’ll expand our use of super-efficient liquid cooling systems, such as cold plates. Furthermore, we’re investing in carbon-free energy sources like wind, geothermal, nuclear and solar power, ensuring that AI’s growth does not come at the expense of sustainability.” The agentic shift AI solutions are poised to reshape the future of enterprise and public sector operations, with intelligent agents able to seamlessly integrate with every aspect of a business. “These agents, powered by advanced AI models, will be able to provide real-time insights and automate complex workflows, scaling the impact every individual and team can drive to improve operations and end customer experiences,” says Murley. “They will free up human talent to focus on more strategic and creative endeavours. The ability to process and analyse vast amounts of data with unprecedented speed and accuracy will unlock new dimensions of efficiency and innovation, transforming how organisations operate and compete in the global marketplace.” Coles Group will use AI models, powered by Azure OpenAI, to streamline its store and supply chain operations Photo: Linkedin/Coles Group

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