Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Dun & Bradstreet and IBM launch GenAI procurement tool

GenAI procurement tool screenshot

AI platform synthesizes datasets and provides intelligent recommendations, partners say.

Ben Ames
By Ben AmesDec 02, 2024
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
See Full Bio

Dun & Bradstreet and IBM have collaborated to create a generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant for procurement teams, saying the tool will help users to make faster data-driven decisions, mitigate risks, and drive efficiencies across their supplier networks.

The “D&B Ask Procurement” product works by synthesizing vast datasets and providing intelligent recommendations, according to Dun & Bradstreet, which calls itself a provider of business decisioning data and analytics.

It was built with IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx.ai technology with support from IBM Consulting, and connects to Dun & Bradstreet’s business risk, financial, and firmographic data and insights. It then uses a conversational chat interface to provide advanced reasoning capabilities and autonomous decision making, helping teams to query critical supplier insights, expedite analysis and reporting, and identify suppliers for engagement, the partners said.

“One key point of entry for Gen AI adoption is AI assistants, and together IBM and Dun & Bradstreet are collaborating to bring clients new innovations within the procurement domain,” Parul Mishra, Vice President of Product Management, Digital Labor at IBM, said in a release. “With D&B Ask Procurement, an AI assistant built on the foundation of watsonx Orchestrate, users can seamlessly complete tasks and automate complex processes with natural language, helping drive efficiency, cost-savings and higher productivity.”

ProcureFinance & Strategy
dun & bradstreetibmprocurement
ProcureFinance & Strategy
dun & bradstreetibmprocurement

Recent

chart of top business concerns from descartes
Article

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

photo of worker at port tracking containers
Article

Trump tariff threat strains logistics businesses

diagram of blue yonder software platforms
Article

Blue Yonder users see supply chains rocked by hack

More Stories

person using AI at a laptop

Gartner: GenAI set to impact procurement processes

Progress in generative AI (GenAI) is poised to impact business procurement processes through advancements in three areas—agentic reasoning, multimodality, and AI agents—according to Gartner Inc.

Those functions will redefine how procurement operates and significantly impact the agendas of chief procurement officers (CPOs). And 72% of procurement leaders are already prioritizing the integration of GenAI into their strategies, thus highlighting the recognition of its potential to drive significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, Gartner found in a survey conducted in July, 2024, with 258 global respondents.

Keep ReadingShow less
A series of blocks. The first block is balanced on the edge so that it shows both "glob" and "loc" the rest of the blocks read "alization" to create the sense of both "globalizaiton" and "localization."

Balancing global sourcing and local availability can improve supply chain resiliency and sustainability.

Prazis Images via Adobe Stock

“Glocalization”: The path for navigating a volatile global supply chain

Over the last two decades, globalization became more intense, and with it, competition among companies and their supply networks. The constant fight for new sources of raw materials at a more competitive cost, the development of suppliers in low-cost countries, and the ability to manage logistic chains have become part of the routine of strategic sourcing.

In today's economic environment, companies are continuously pressured to reduce costs to combat slower growth; to offset increases in material prices, energy, and transportation; and to counterbalance various other pressures, such as inflation. Despite these issues and the economic instability worldwide, companies must continue to differentiate themselves and find growth opportunities to compete in the global marketplace. For example, in order to boost revenues and fuel growth, many companies are now under as much pressure to reduce product life cycles and speed-to-market as they are to find savings and reduce operational costs.

Keep ReadingShow less
A rusty blue chain crosses in front of blue, red, and yellow containers.

Labor strikes can stop supply chains in their tracks unless companies take steps to build up resiliency.

huntspy via Adobe Stock

Strikes and labor negotiations highlight need for resilient supply chains

Strikes and potential strikes have plagued the supply chain over the last few years. An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Economics Policy Institute concluded that the number of workers involved in major strike activity increased by 280% in 2023 from 2022. Currently, the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports are facing the threat of another dockworker strike after they return to the negotiating table in January to attempt to resolve the remaining wage and automation issues. Similarly, Boeing is continuing to contend with a machinists strike.

Strikes, or even the threat of a strike, can cause significant disruptions across the global supply chain and have a massive economic impact. For example, when U.S. railroads were facing the threat of a strike in 2022, many companies redirected their cargo to avoid work stoppages and unhappy customers. If the strike had occurred, it would have had a massive economic impact. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), estimated that the economic impact of a railroad strike could be $2 billion per day.

Keep ReadingShow less
gartner chart of survey on procurement risk

Gartner survey: supply disruption ranked as top procurement risk

A hefty 42% of procurement leaders say the biggest threat to their future success is supply disruptions—such as natural disasters and transportation issues—a Gartner survey shows.

The survey, conducted from June through July 2024 among 258 sourcing and procurement leaders, was designed to help chief procurement officers (CPOs) understand and prioritize the most significant risks that could impede procurement operations, and what actions can be taken to manage them effectively.

Keep ReadingShow less
A warehouse worker in an orange vest looks at a tablet in front of racks piled with boxes.

MRO experts call for greater focus on business risks

A new survey finds a disconnect in organizations’ approach to maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), as specialists call for greater focus than executives are providing, according to a report from Verusen, a provider of inventory optimization software.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of the 250 procurement and operations leaders surveyed think MRO procurement/operations should be treated as a strategic initiative for continuous improvement and a potential innovation source. However, just over half (58%) of respondents note that MRO procurement/operations are treated as strategic organizational initiatives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2024.