Dell and Noodle.ai expand partnership to bring AI to supply chain

Artificial intelligence (AI) has as growing role in supply chain operations thanks to integrations like the partnership announced Tuesday between computer retail giant Dell Inc. and Noodle.ai, a tech startup that says its products can help make "Industry 4.0" a reality.

San Francisco-based Noodle.ai has previously launched alliances with third-party logistics providers (3PLs) such as NFI Industries and Transplace, saying it can enhance their services through AI and machine learning technologies.

Dell was already a financial supporter of Noodle.ai, following the startup's announcement in 2018 that it had received $35 million in a "Series B" funding round from the venture capital firms Dell Technology Capital and TPG Growth. Backed by that money, Noodle.ai announced plans to build out more applications in manufacturing, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and transportation and logistics.

This week, Noodle.ai continued to expand those applications by teaming with Dell to help users' "digital transformations" from analog, on-premise operations to digital, cloud-based computing.The partners announced the launch of an "Enterprise AI" data platform that they say accelerates manufacturing and supply chain projects in developing Industry 4.0, a term for the application of digital systems, automation, and the Internet of things (IoT) to manufacturing technologies.

Under the new partnership, Noodle.ai says its "multi-tier, industrial-grade edge-to-cloud-to-edge solution" can help companies reduce waste and material defects, and cut the energy required to create new products and solve predictive challenges.The firm's applications allow customers to anticipate and plan for the variables affecting business operations, including product quality, maintenance, downtime, costs, inventory and flow. Using AI, they can mitigate issues before they happen and eliminate pockets of waste and inefficiency that accumulate across supply chain functions, Noodle.ai said.