Westfall Technik and Arkestro lead Predictive Procurement

There’s an old saying, which in a world awash with ‘Big Data’, has taken on greater meaning: ‘All models are wrong; some models are useful.’ 

But forward-thinking companies are working on how to tame overwhelming amounts of data, with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up processes, save on spending and find new opportunities for business growth.

These industry leaders include Westfall Technik, a provider of plastics manufacturing solutions to the medical, consumer packaging and consumer goods industries around the world. Chief Supply Chain Executive David Schultz joined Westfall in February this year and is responsible for the global supply chain across the entire enterprise.

Among Schultz’s early business decisions was the introduction of a Predictive Procurement Orchestration solution provided by San Francisco-based Arkestro for use across the entire Westfall enterprise. 

The Arkestro platform pre-embeds preferred outcomes into any organisation's system or process. It accomplishes this by offering AI pricing suggestions to buyers, which can be offered to and accepted by suppliers.

“It’s that old expression,” he says. “‘All models are wrong; some models are useful’ – we would say that all models are wrong, some models are useful, but the Arkestro model – used in partnership with our customers – is the best way to get a tangible business impact.”