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Chatbots in Supply Chains – Not a CHOICE anymore

In recent years, any and every website offers a LIVE chat with an agent option where it is most likely not a real person. It is a chatbot that can offer an experience that can match nearly as much as what a real person can offer.

In the age of instant gratification where customers expect the brands that they deal with to remain available always. It is getting to a point where brands are left with no choice but catch up and try to meet their customer expectations through all modes.

What is a Chatbot?

At its core, a Chatbot is a computer program that is written to empower it with certain decision-making capabilities. It leverages concepts of Artificial Intelligence to engage in a meaningful conversation with a person. The end goal is to assist the concerned person with their queries.

Chatbots are programmed to learn from human behavior and replicate it. They are taught to comprehend language beyond simple commands and interpret them depending on the situation. As Chatbots talk more to humans, they accumulate data, analyze responses and essentially learn, thus becoming truly intelligent.

The Magic Behind Chatbots - NLP

NLP or Natural Language Processing is based on deep learning and allows computers to understand users based on their inputs. It is NLP that allows chatbots to asses the intent of a user's message based on the context and then formulate a suitable response. This response almost mirrors the human interaction process.

Without Natural Language Processing, Chatbots can only act as an array of multiple-choice questions. With NLP, however, it is hard to differentiate between a bot and an actual person. It provides a seamless personal experience without the trouble of actually having a person on board.

Why are Chatbots Essential To Supply Chain?

Saving money is the least prominent benefit a business gains from using chatbots. There are plenty more -

  • Seamless Live Chat - Chatbots engage customers the same way a person would. The benefit is that there is no wait time as there is no limit to the number of bots working at the same time. This efficiency makes live communication lose the annoying wait time, thus giving the customer a seamless experience.
  • Live Updates - Chatbots can keep customers engaged all the time, anytime. They can push live updates and offers and other information to the customer as the business may seem fit. Customers are thus always up to date on recent trends and continuously engaged with the business.
  • 24x7 Customer Service - Chatbots don't need nap time, nor do they work in shifts. They are available 24x7 for all customer queries, throughout the year. The customer no longer has to wait until the next day or another time to get their work done.
  • The Politeness Factor - Often, customers tend to ask the same thing over and over again. A real person may get bored or distracted or both and end up snapping at a customer. With chatbots, that risk is zero.
  • Increased Engagement - With all the attention that chatbots are always ready to provide customers, the customer-business interactions go up and engagement skyrockets.
  • Less Stressful - The stress of running a business and trying to ensure that all customer queries are met is immensely stressful. With chatbots, at least you know that your business is well represented and all customer queries are being dealt with in real-time.

How Is The Industry Coping?

Chatbots are no longer an optional item in supply chain management. In fact, they have become essential, almost ever user platform has one. A survey by Oracle revealed that 80 percent of brands are planning to use Chatbots by 2020. Another survey by Ubisend study has found that 35 percent of consumers want more companies to use Chatbots. Thus, the popularity of Chatbots among customers is booming. Businesses need to make sure they keep up with it. Schedule a demo with FarEye to unlock new opportunities in Supply Chain industry.