Amazon is using what could be a truly unique artificial intelligence language version to test a customer service chatbot capable of conducting real-time conversations with original dialogue. The AI chatbot is being tested to help human agents, though the company intends for it to be used directly with customers, and Amazon's Jared Kramer wrote in a blog, "We are unaware of any announced deployments of end-to-end, neural-network-based dialogue models like ours."
The Business Journals (tiered subscription model)/Atlanta
(2/27)
State of the Wholesale Supply Chain Industry in 2020 For the third straight year, Blue Ridge asked wholesale supply industry leaders about their challenges, how they're thinking about solving them and how they're dealing with the pace of technological change. One key finding for the 2020 survey is the adoption of new machine learning, such as A.I., which is on the rise as a strategy to combat supply chain disruption. Get the report to read more.
The most high-impact changes a distributor can make are informed by shifts in competitive, external and internal environments, writes consultant Michael Vitale. Motivators can include underserved customer expectations, regulatory pressures and poor business performance in comparison with peers.
Employee turnover is commonly caused by people being frustrated with their career path, which can mean a lack of promotions but goes beyond that, career experts say. "People become more connected and excited about work when they feel part of a 'bigger something,' " says speaker and author Howard Shore.
Nextiva's Gaetano DiNardi outlines 11 trends in business-to-business marketing for 2020, including the rise of affiliate marketing, the importance of review sites and the top brand differentiator being customer experience. He also explains why B2B marketers must stop prioritizing new customer acquisitions and turn their attention to onboarding, retention and customer advocacy instead to leverage true growth.
Businesses can escape stagnation with four values that rally teams toward common goals, writes Jeff Bevis, co-founder and CEO of FirstLight Home Care. Earn employees' trust by listening, investing in them, ensuring fairness and leading by example, he recommends.
Old school distribution is about stocking inventory, taking orders and serving demand. New school distribution is about innovating through customer services and working side-by-side with customers in the real world. The future of distribution is about solving problems in your customer's business -- often before your customer even knows a problem exists. Innovate to Dominate provides breakthrough ideas, lessons from leading distributors who are innovating and inspiration to help you lead your customers into the future and sustain your competitive advantage.
"Unlock the Power of Inventory Analytics: Aligning Working Capital to Customer Experience to Maximize Your Bottom Line" is based on 15 years of distribution research. It reveals the fundamentals and contemporary practices for designing the role of inventory in this era of ever-evolving new business models. You'll receive an inventory management framework, customer service metrics, a step-by-step implementation approach, real-world distributor case studies and a plan-of-action road map. Take a look by reading the introduction.
