Innovative Brainstorming with Humans and AI
New ideas can come from multiple sources.
For example, many of us brainstorm with colleagues. We can also leverage artificial intelligence tools for idea generation.
We decided to try both of those approaches — tapping both humans and AI — with a particular question in mind: what are some innovative approaches for leveraging the IFDA Solutions Conference?
We explored this question because the conference is less than two months away and we know that organizations in this industry plan to maximize their experiences at the event. So how can foodservice distributors do this?
We asked Jon Birdwell, director of Warehouse Operations, Ben E. Keith Co, and chair of the IFDA Solutions Conference Planning Council. He said his company is taking a broad approach by bringing close to 30 people at all different levels, from up-and-comers to veterans.
“Ben E Keith uses this as a training opportunity for our employees,” he said. “They will see what other companies in this industry are doing. This will spark ideas they can take back to their facilities. They will learn about technology and data, and about vendor relationships and partnerships.”
Speaking of technology, we asked Mike Peterson, director of Information Technology, Kohl Wholesale, and veteran IFDA Solutions Conference attendee, how he plans to navigate the Solutions Conference to explore technology for his organization’s needs.
“I reach out to our ownership and management teams to see if there’s anything on their radar that they want looked at from a technology lens,” he began. “It might be for a process that is taking a significant amount of time, and they may have heard of vendors who have hardware and software to optimize this.”
He also spends time “just walking around” the expo floor to explore solutions that could be useful and even transformational for his organization.
This includes meeting with “seasoned vendors about their latest technology and also talking to new vendors who have fresh eyes and fresh ideas that may shake things up and take us out of processes that are not optimal.”
After we got these these perspectives from humans — albeit humans who are experienced in navigating the conference — we turned to AI for additional ideas. IFDA has a new AI tool called Knowelle that is available to members. It is accessible via the IFDA website and works like a chatbot. You’ll know you reached the right place when you see a cute image of a robot pushing a box-filled cart.
Users can ask industry-related questions and Knowelle gathers tailored information from IFDA’s research, website, podcast and events. We asked Knowelle how attendees can learn about innovative transportation technology at the Solutions Conference.
The chatbot suggested workshops to attend and advised us to visit the Solutions Expo Hall to see demonstrations on the latest transportation technologies, including telematics, fleet management software, and safety devices. It also pointed out we can attend a Transportation Share Group to learn and network with peers on real-world transportation tech solutions.
We especially liked Knowelle’s closing offer: “If you want a summary of key takeaways or recommendations for which sessions to prioritize based on your role, let me know!”
Based on our little experiment with humans and AI, we’d say you don’t need to limit yourself to one or the other in brainstorming on ideas in this industry. You can benefit from both!
Article authored by freelance writer David Orgel.
