Creating impactful solutions is nothing new for the P2P team to take on. We’ve previously introduced you to their future ready NextGenP2P dashboard. Now it’s time to hear about a simple yet powerful concept paving the way for future supply chain strategy analysis.

Improving Spend Visibility via Machine Learning & Identifying Opportunities, or RETINA – I/O, is a project which aims to improve spend transparency. By using data analysis and classification of products, it provides an opportunity to identify clear savings across a supplier base.

The project tackles a problem within the current supplier centric process. While the current process reviews the whole spend data, the details can’t be seen and makes it difficult to identify opportunities and formulate strategies. The P2P team had to come up with a way to engage a solutioning team in collaborating on an innovative solution for the future of supplier development and Siemens' competitive advantage.

By enriching the spend dashboard and providing a visual of the information through a simple interface, commodity managers are able to better strategize shifts with suppliers. A dedicated model training team and audits ensure the quality of the program which will be even more powerful with expansions to various supplier bases. Currently, 70M USD spend is AI categorized. Through regular audits, feedback loop and training of the model, the accuracy of the AI model will improve and ensure a solid foundation for the quality improvement of the data.

The ownership and collaboration through the course of the project has been commendable. After understanding the base requirement for the SOP SCM US, the GBS team from US & India brainstormed on the approach and committed to a 3–4-month project delivery. With a concrete and agile project plan, regular feedback loops and constant improvisation of building the Artificial Intelligence model, the team was able to deliver the project and integrate it with a state-of-the-art dashboard. Challenges were met with robust solutions from everyone involved.

As of June 2021, the project has moved into regular operations and has been leveraged by the commodity management team to drive key initiatives. We are excited to watch this initiative continue to grow and positively impact customers.

For additional details on the project, feel free to contact Rajesh Rajendran at rajesh.rajendran@siemens.com.