Imagine providing an AI with a Bill of Material (BoM) for the components of a complex durable product (along with product definition packages for each component within the BoM) and the AI then automatically
finds the right suppliers
negotiates contracts and
executes and monitors the contracts
resulting in the materials showing up at the right time and right place for the manufacture of the product.
This panel will discuss/demonstrate recent research that supports elements of this vision as well as requirements and challenges to reaching this vision. Discussion in the workshop may identify existing work that can be leveraged to reach the vision, identify and prioritize research/technology gaps that need to be filled along the way, evaluate the plausibility and value of this vision, and identify who would benefit from realization of the vision. Opportunities for an OKN and/or ontologies and standards that would enable the vision should be documented. Information surfaced by this panel will inform the work in later parts of this workshop to create action plans and begin organizing efforts to execute those plans.
Some specific questions to be addressed include:
What form should the bill of materials take? How much detail should it contain?
How do we identify different sources for different raw materials and processes?
How do we orchestrate supplier solicitation and bidding?
How do we specify and exchange contracts with suppliers?
How do we negotiate and monitor contracts across multiple suppliers?
What legal concerns must be taken into account to automatically negotiate, execute and monitor contracts?
How do we gain visibility into overall supplier network to identify gaps and vulnerabilities?