Exclusive Interview: Cleo Reflects on AI, Trade Tariffs and Regulatory Issues

Editor's Note: Because the supply chain industry has historically been slow to adopt when it comes to digitization, there simply hasn't been enough collected data for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to make reliable suggestions, says Jorge Rodriguez, SVP of Product Development at Cleo – a software company providing business-to-business (B2B), embedded integration, application-to-application (A2A), cloud integration and big data.

“As we start to see a more modern supply chain emerge in 2020, AI and ML algorithms will enable a 30,000 foot view of the supply chain and provide valuable insights to ease previously tedious processes like product redirects, new partner and supplier onboarding, order cancellations, oversupply and more,” he adds.

Dave Brunswick, VP of Solutions at Cleo, is also concerned about the impact of The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which is a bill intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California,

“In addition to CCPA, we can expect host of other regulations coming down the track in 2020 and beyond. Unless there is consistency of approach between states, it will become more difficult for companies to comply with all the different policies out there,” he says. “If regulation is too restrictive and variable across state boundaries, it could create a significant barrier for expanding businesses. On the flip side, if regulation is too loose and doesn't have real teeth when organizations don't comply, then there is little point in implementing it since it will not materially affect behavior. The challenge for states is to plot a course through the middle.”

Dylan Lee, Director of Product Marketing at Cleo, observes that unpredictable events like international trade tariffs, project yellowhammer and no-deal Brexit will continue to threaten supplier relations, costs and global supply chain partnerships - with delays at the border for the flow of goods lasting up to six months.

“Companies will prioritize a superior system of communication between partners and customers to ensure organizational agility and safeguard against potential devastation,” adds.

Finally, Cleo executives maintain that Manufacturers, retailers and logistics companies that achieve tighter integration between systems, partners and applications (and can onboard or offboard each as needed) will build the most resilience during “economic uncertainty.”

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