Setting the Stage
In this hyper-digitalized age, the ability to effectively gather, analyze, and interpret vast amounts of data is a game-changer to say the least. Many organizations are “drowning in data”, and are desperately in need of new tools and workflows to transform raw information in profitable action. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) come into play, offering a transformative approach to producing valuable market intelligence and insights. Let’s take a closer look at how these technologies are revolutionizing the transportation and logistics ecosystem in 2023 and beyond.
First, let’s demystify AI and LLMs and their use in the enterprise.
AI is a broad term that refers to machines or software that mimic human intelligence, and can include everything from advanced Excel models to neural networks that approximate neural activity in the brain. LLMs, on the other hand, are a subset of AI that deal with understanding, generating, and interpreting human language in a meaningful way. They are trained on vast amounts of text data, enabling them to generate human-like text based on the input they receive. These models can be customized for specific use cases, such as finding, summarizing, and appropriately delivering insights from the market to decision makers. Such data sources can include market prices, weather feeds, white papers, industry reports, press releases, and internal company documents.
Now, onto the benefits. AI and LLMs offer several distinct advantages when it comes to gathering and summarizing market intelligence, especially now that so much information is available, yet difficult to harness with human minds alone.
1. Speed and Efficiency: AI and LLMs can process, summarize, and analyze data at a speed that humans simply cannot match. This means businesses can gain insights and make data-driven decisions faster than ever before, all with a leaner workforce. Such decisions include how to price their services optimally, when to renegotiate supplier and vendor contracts, new sales channels to pursue, and additional value-add services to offer to customers.
2. Scalability: With AI and LLMs, businesses can analyze vast amounts of market data without the need for a large team of analysts. By starting small, they can leverage world-class cloud infrastructure (we prefer to use Microsoft Fabric as a “base layer” for these workflows) to make an impact quickly while laying the foundation for larger and larger data sets and workloads over time. This scalability is a significant advantage in today’s environment, and allows IT teams to rapidly prototype solutions without incurring a large amount of technical debt.
3. Accuracy: AI and LLMs can reduce human error in market data aggregation and analysis. They can identify patterns and trends that might be missed by human analysts, leading to more accurate and reliable insights. They can also provide an additional layer of verification, cross-referencing source material to ensure its veracity and relevance to the particular task at hand.
4. Customization: AI and LLMs can be trained to understand the specific operating models and goals for various industry categories (e.g., rail, trucking, maritime, 3PL, and more), markets, and even individual businesses. This means they can provide highly tailored insights that are directly relevant to a company’s needs. Going a step further, these tools can also be tailored to an individual’s role, meaning the insights a CMO receives will take on a different flavor from, say, a sales rep working his/her territory. The impact of this ability cannot be understated for building future-proof, proactive analytics workflows across the entire organization.
“Generative AI is the perfect complement to modern analytics workloads, unlocking the ability to quickly synthesize a mind-boggling quantity of data into actionable, strategic insights."
Looking Ahead
In conclusion, AI and LLMs offer a powerful new avenue for gathering, summarizing, and delivering market intelligence when and where it is needed to support high-impact decisions. Whether exploring new sales channels, pricing strategies, promotional programs, or value-added services to offer, LLMs shine. They provide speed, scalability, accuracy, and customization, enabling businesses to make strategic decisions with speed and confidence to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced, data-rich world. These technologies are paving the way for a new era of strategic market intelligence, and we look forward to exploring specific tools and data architectures that make it all possible in future installments of Advancing Analytics. Thanks for sticking around, and we’ll see you next time.
Getting Started
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About the Author
Chris Andrassy is an entrepreneur and managing partner at Astral Insights, focused on transforming data into sustainable business value on a global scale. He began his career at PwC in New York City, supporting the digital transformation of mature organizations struggling to innovate in a hyper-competitive world. After experiencing the limitations of traditional analytics practices, he decided to begin a new chapter alongside colleagues and industry veterans. His departure from New York marked the inception of Astral Insights, a Raleigh-based AI & analytics solutions firm helping mid-market and enterprise clients transform data into profit. Chris is also an investor focused on innovative technologies including synthetic biology, sustainable energy, and artificial intelligence. Outside of work, he is an avid musician, skier, traveler, and fitness enthusiast.