Momentum 2024: New Solutions for Advanced Supply Chain Commerce

Momentum 2024 is well underway here in San Antonio, where the event kicked off with two big announcements from Manhattan. We unveiled Manhattan Active® Supply Chain Planning, the culmination of a ten-year supply chain unification journey that allows our customers to finally make the impossible possible by breaking down those traditional silos and providing a broader view that includes every facet of the supply chain. By that I mean that we’ve enabled the unification of the two worlds - supply chain planning and supply chain execution - in a way that resets the bar for effectiveness and efficiency.

We also introduced Manhattan Active® Maven, a specialized Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) solution built for customer service, and Manhattan Assist, which adds cutting-edge GenAI capabilities to all Manhattan Active solutions. Recognizing that customer service capabilities, especially chatbot experiences, have been far from ideal, our first application of GenAI’s power is to redefine the efficiency and service standards of customer service – both before and after sales transactions. Our new AI-powered solutions will not only close the existing gaps in supply chain intelligence but also drive the efficiencies and effectiveness of the supply chain for the future, removing barriers to true innovation.

We recognize the challenges of meeting the changing demands of modern-day consumers who expect products and services to come to them – fast and no matter where they are. For consumers, there’s little to not like about the extreme convenience that’s being showered upon them. But on the other side of the transaction, where the breakneck speed required to meet delivery commitments could potentially traumatize a supply chain, there’s barely time to think about how to process such a fulfilment promise, let alone plan for it.

In a previous era, supply chains were linear in nature, where planning and execution processes worked in siloes and utilized a unidirectional sharing of information. But in today’s fast-paced environment, where even a social media post by a high-profile influencer can prompt an immediate shift in a product’s demand, execution and planning must work together – concurrently, bi-directionally and in real time.

Because the GenAI-powered bot has access to every piece of information on the order from the OMS, it’s able to provide a greater customer experience - whether that’s providing an update on the status of an order or making a last-minute change after the transaction is complete. And when it needs to transfer the customer to a human representative, it’s able to provide everything from a quick summary to insight about the customer sentiment so that the handoff to a human doesn’t result in a frustrating experience.

But that’s just the beginning as Artificial Intelligence technologies continue to advance at a record pace that makes predictability that much harder. Warren Barkley, Head of Product for Google Vertex Gen AI, who took to the stage for an afternoon session, told the crowd that a technology roadmap used to be about nine months but, with AI, the predictability of the technology’s capabilities has shifted to about four months because things are evolving and advancing at such a rapid pace.

Over the next few days in San Antonio, several key speakers on both the main stage and in our panel discussion sessions – top brand customers, leading innovators, and respected industry analysts, among others – will share their thoughts on today’s market trends, challenges, and opportunities. We’ll offer demos of new technologies and, of course, explore the possibilities of what’s to come when Generative AI is paired with the Manhattan Active platform. And we’re excited to have our guests explore the live retail store we’ve created in the main hall to showcase the capabilities around point-of-sale, store fulfillment, RFID technologies and more.

We’re looking forward to an enlightening and empowering few days in San Antonio and are excited to see how these innovative new technologies are adopted, implemented, and integrated in the coming months and years.