In 3000 BCE, in Mesopotamia (West Asia), a basin with two wheels attached is pulled by two horses. For the first time in history, a horse-drawn carriage is used, changing military combat, transportation, and logistics entirely. Fast forward 4886 years later, Carl Benz develops the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car, model 1, revolutionizing industries once again. Time and time again, innovation creates paths to innovation, transforming a once three-day trip by foot to trade goods into a 30-minute delivery ordered online the evening before. Efficiencies are the clearest outcome of what we’re looking at today with automation, using automation software and practices to help businesses, verticals, or even single departments focus on what truly matters.
To begin, we need a lab, a test example, and our example is “MadMuffins” (MM hereafter). MM started 20 years ago as a family bakery, and now they have an entire factory and e-commerce store where they sell their goods nationwide. Let’s now examine the problems the enterprise has faced and how we can find solutions with automation.
MM employs 15 staff members to man the phones. Keeping customers happy is a key part of their service, especially in high-risk situations where an individual may have had an allergic reaction or other complaints to handle. The phones ring, the staff answer, but wait times increase, are somewhat unpredictable, and MM cannot keep hiring staff just in case.
Solution : Generative AI Powered Chat Bot
A chatbot powered by generative AI offers significant advantages to a customer service department in an e-commerce setting. It provides round-the-clock support, addressing customer inquiries and issues instantly, regardless of business hours. Through its scalability, the chatbot efficiently manages high volumes of inquiries, ensuring no customer is left waiting. Its ability to learn from interactions enables quick issue resolution, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction. Additionally, the chatbot delivers personalized experiences by analyzing customer data, offering tailored recommendations, and automating order tracking. By collecting feedback, it also provides valuable insights to improve service quality continually.
In essence, a generative AI-driven chatbot acts as a tireless, efficient, and personalized customer service representative for e-commerce companies, ensuring seamless support experiences and driving customer engagement and satisfaction.
MM's sales team is frustrated when they choose to run a sale and the big days hit, only to find that the best sellers are either out of stock by 12:00 or before the day begins
.Solution: Machine Learning lead Inventory Management Software
Implementing inventory management software can streamline your production and logistics processes. It can help track raw materials for muffin production, monitor stock levels in real-time, and automatically reorder ingredients when inventory runs low. This ensures efficient production planning and prevents stockouts or overstocking, ultimately reducing wastage and optimizing costs.
The logistics teams are forever falling behind, routes are becoming a problem and data entry is just turning up wrong causing massive invoicing issues.
Solution: RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
RPA can automate repetitive tasks in your logistics and accounts departments, such as data entry, invoice processing, and order fulfilment. By automating these manual processes, RPA improves accuracy, reduces human error, and frees up your employees to focus on more strategic tasks.
The above are just three examples of where you can find efficiencies in your operations day to day, technologies, whether they be AI or an Air pump, are all designed to help us progress, to be more and to be better and there’s no reason you can’t do the same with your business now.
If you want to talk more about A.I. & Automation technologies, you can find me on X at @Sci_Soft_Sports or find me on linked in (there’s not many Lewis Huxtables out there) or reach out to IJYI if you think automation technologies could be of any use to you.
About the author
Lewis Huxtable
Things to know about me.