In the article “Top 20 AI Applications in the Supply Chain” for Inbound Logistics (July 2023), Katrina Arabe, among others, named ProvisionAi’s load optimization tool.

Load Planning Revolutionized with AI

AI transforms load planning, ensuring balanced transportation plans, preferred carriers, and optimized storage and labor across sites.

Take ProvisionAi’s LevelLoad solution, for instance. Analyzing shipment patterns, it detects demand spikes for the next 30 days.

The system adapts by shipping items early or holding less-needed ones.

Kimberly-Clark, a LevelLoad user, benefits from nightly runs. ProvisionAi’s chief scientist, Dr. Jeffrey Schutt, notes higher tender acceptance, reduced transportation costs, and enhanced operations.

AI’s short-range planning, utilizing reinforcement learning, swiftly constructs realistic loads, optimizes weight/cube mixes, and signals early tendering in the TMS.

This groundbreaking technology utilizes a combination of AI and operations research to manage flows across more than 300 lanes simultaneously. 

How Works Load Planning with AI:

Drawing data from supply planning, demand planning, enterprise resource planning, transportation, and warehouse management systems, the technology performs the following tasks:

• Analyzes all deployment transportation lanes, considering product prioritization, network constraints, costs, and loading constraints for each truck.
• Adjusts optimized load quantities based on shipment requirements and associated costs.
• Establishes network rewards and penalties for transporting items outside specified periods.
• Simulates loading to determine daily shipments for the next 30 days.
• Instructs the transportation-management system to reserve a vehicle based on the simulation.

The key lies in making trade-offs across the entire network, prioritizing essential products, and optimizing limited resources.