In energy supply chain operations, timing is everything. Whether it's managing critical material shortages before they delay drilling operations, optimising logistics across global procurement networks, or making the right LNG shipping decisions under volatile market conditions, the ability to act on data quickly and confidently can mean the difference between profitable operations and costly disruptions.
Blend is excited about the new conversational analytics tool from Databricks, a leading data platform provider we partner with that offers industry-leading data governance through Unity Catalog. This technology represents a meaningful leap forward in democratising data access across energy organisations. The outcome is that supply chain decision-makers can now have natural conversations with their operational data to drive immediate action.
Top-performing energy companies use their data effectively, delivering the right insights to the right decision-makers precisely when action can have the greatest impact. At Blend, we work with industry-leading energy companies to transform their supply chain processes and solve complex operational challenges through the right use and analysis of data. For example, we have delivered solutions that have significantly improved procurement efficiency, logistics optimisation, and contract fulfilment rates across upstream and midstream operations.
Let's say you're a logistics manager for an Upstream Operator in the UK North Sea. You're coordinating helicopter flights, supply vessels, and urgent equipment deliveries to multiple offshore platforms. You're managing weather windows, deck space constraints, and critical path materials for ongoing drilling campaigns. You need real-time visibility on vessel locations, backlog materials at shore bases, and upcoming weather disruptions but don't have time to call multiple contractors, check various tracking systems, or wait for the weekly logistics report.
Now with Databricks, an AI/BI Genie chat interface can be created so you can simply ask "Which platforms have critical drilling materials awaiting shipment for more than 48 hours at our Aberdeen shore base?" and receive an immediate response from governed data. You can continue the conversation with fit-for-purpose analytics to support operations with explanations, visualizations, and actionable insights. The solution depends on managing your supply chain data (from systems like SAP Materials Management, vessel tracking systems, or specialized offshore logistics platforms) within Unity Catalog, a unified governance solution for data and AI assets on Azure Databricks.
Blend helps companies understand how AI can transform current supply chain processes by reducing time spent on manual data consolidation and building targeted insights designed to inform critical procurement and logistics decisions. We help energy organizations integrate AI into day-to-day supply chain operations, providing high-quality insights while reducing manual effort, enabling teams to focus on strategic sourcing rather than routine data tasks.
Databricks' AI/BI Genie is transforming supply chain processes, allowing for faster, more informed decision-making with access to an organization's centralised procurement and logistics information. The real power of Genie isn't just in providing a first answer, but in enabling supply chain professionals to ask follow-up questions that drill deeper into unexpected patterns they discover or for the root cause analysis required.
The conversational nature of AI/BI Genie mirrors how supply chain professionals naturally think about operational problems and the way actual procurement decision-making happens - dynamic, responsive, and following logical threads as new information emerges. It's particularly valuable in complex energy supply chains where challenges rarely present themselves in neatly structured ways that match predefined dashboards. Rather than requiring rigid, pre-structured queries or technical language, supply chain teams can:
The energy industry has long faced a fundamental challenge: supply chain managers, procurement specialists, and logistics teams with the most valuable business questions often lack the technical skills to efficiently extract answers directly from their complex, multi-system data landscapes. That process is often slow and inefficient, relying on a single analyst who knows the systems, manual Excel consolidation, or overburdened data teams.
Traditional supply chain analysis requires SQL expertise, understanding complex ERP data models, and navigating multiple technical systems - meaning business analytics teams often get bogged down with routine reporting requests.
Databricks AI/BI Genie eliminates these barriers by allowing supply chain teams to have data conversations in plain language. A logistics coordinator can ask "Which supply vessels have utilisation rates below 70% while we have materials waiting more than 72 hours for shipment to West of Shetland assets?" and receive immediate answers with context, trend analysis, and visualisations. No coding, manual data extracts, or complex Excel modeling required.
Genie combines AI capabilities with domain expertise by incorporating business-specific instructions, designing relevant query templates, and defining the appropriate governed datasets and predictive models. Supply chain subject matter experts work with data teams to shape the environment, ensuring the tool understands industry-specific terminology and returns contextually appropriate results.
The Genie continuously improves through user feedback, learning the specific language and needs of specific energy supply chains over time. This creates a virtuous cycle where supply chain professionals become more data-literate while the AI becomes more attuned to their specific operational needs.
A critical challenge with many AI tools in the energy sector is data governance - managing commercial sensitivities, ensuring data security, and maintaining regulatory compliance across global operations.
What makes Genie particularly powerful for energy supply chains is how it combines natural language accessibility with enterprise-grade governance. Unlike many LLM solutions that create compliance risks, Genie builds upon Unity Catalog to ensure:
These governance features are especially critical in energy supply chain operations where commercial confidentiality, safety requirements, and strategic sourcing sensitivities demand trustworthy analytics.
You can learn more about the benefits of Unity Catalog here.
It's important to recognize that AI/BI Genie isn't a standalone solution or magical fix for all supply chain challenges. Rather, it's a powerful technology option that depends on your AI strategy and the expected value opportunity. All analytics efforts should directly support supply chain excellence and business outcomes. Any technical solution must leverage clean, integrated data as the foundation for insight generation.
When the right information reaches procurement teams and supply chain decision-makers at the right time, it directly impacts cost optimisation, supply security, operational efficiency, and ultimately, production uptime and financial performance. As part of the right data strategy and deployment, AI/BI Genie can enable that.
In energy supply chain operations, timing is everything. Whether it's managing critical material shortages before they delay drilling operations, optimising logistics across global procurement networks, or making the right LNG shipping decisions under volatile market conditions, the ability to act on data quickly and confidently can mean the difference between profitable operations and costly disruptions.
Blend is excited about the new conversational analytics tool from Databricks, a leading data platform provider we partner with that offers industry-leading data governance through Unity Catalog. This technology represents a meaningful leap forward in democratising data access across energy organisations. The outcome is that supply chain decision-makers can now have natural conversations with their operational data to drive immediate action.
Top-performing energy companies use their data effectively, delivering the right insights to the right decision-makers precisely when action can have the greatest impact. At Blend, we work with industry-leading energy companies to transform their supply chain processes and solve complex operational challenges through the right use and analysis of data. For example, we have delivered solutions that have significantly improved procurement efficiency, logistics optimisation, and contract fulfilment rates across upstream and midstream operations.
Let's say you're a logistics manager for an Upstream Operator in the UK North Sea. You're coordinating helicopter flights, supply vessels, and urgent equipment deliveries to multiple offshore platforms. You're managing weather windows, deck space constraints, and critical path materials for ongoing drilling campaigns. You need real-time visibility on vessel locations, backlog materials at shore bases, and upcoming weather disruptions but don't have time to call multiple contractors, check various tracking systems, or wait for the weekly logistics report.
Now with Databricks, an AI/BI Genie chat interface can be created so you can simply ask "Which platforms have critical drilling materials awaiting shipment for more than 48 hours at our Aberdeen shore base?" and receive an immediate response from governed data. You can continue the conversation with fit-for-purpose analytics to support operations with explanations, visualizations, and actionable insights. The solution depends on managing your supply chain data (from systems like SAP Materials Management, vessel tracking systems, or specialized offshore logistics platforms) within Unity Catalog, a unified governance solution for data and AI assets on Azure Databricks.
Blend helps companies understand how AI can transform current supply chain processes by reducing time spent on manual data consolidation and building targeted insights designed to inform critical procurement and logistics decisions. We help energy organizations integrate AI into day-to-day supply chain operations, providing high-quality insights while reducing manual effort, enabling teams to focus on strategic sourcing rather than routine data tasks.
Databricks' AI/BI Genie is transforming supply chain processes, allowing for faster, more informed decision-making with access to an organization's centralised procurement and logistics information. The real power of Genie isn't just in providing a first answer, but in enabling supply chain professionals to ask follow-up questions that drill deeper into unexpected patterns they discover or for the root cause analysis required.
The conversational nature of AI/BI Genie mirrors how supply chain professionals naturally think about operational problems and the way actual procurement decision-making happens - dynamic, responsive, and following logical threads as new information emerges. It's particularly valuable in complex energy supply chains where challenges rarely present themselves in neatly structured ways that match predefined dashboards. Rather than requiring rigid, pre-structured queries or technical language, supply chain teams can:
The energy industry has long faced a fundamental challenge: supply chain managers, procurement specialists, and logistics teams with the most valuable business questions often lack the technical skills to efficiently extract answers directly from their complex, multi-system data landscapes. That process is often slow and inefficient, relying on a single analyst who knows the systems, manual Excel consolidation, or overburdened data teams.
Traditional supply chain analysis requires SQL expertise, understanding complex ERP data models, and navigating multiple technical systems - meaning business analytics teams often get bogged down with routine reporting requests.
Databricks AI/BI Genie eliminates these barriers by allowing supply chain teams to have data conversations in plain language. A logistics coordinator can ask "Which supply vessels have utilisation rates below 70% while we have materials waiting more than 72 hours for shipment to West of Shetland assets?" and receive immediate answers with context, trend analysis, and visualisations. No coding, manual data extracts, or complex Excel modeling required.
Genie combines AI capabilities with domain expertise by incorporating business-specific instructions, designing relevant query templates, and defining the appropriate governed datasets and predictive models. Supply chain subject matter experts work with data teams to shape the environment, ensuring the tool understands industry-specific terminology and returns contextually appropriate results.
The Genie continuously improves through user feedback, learning the specific language and needs of specific energy supply chains over time. This creates a virtuous cycle where supply chain professionals become more data-literate while the AI becomes more attuned to their specific operational needs.
A critical challenge with many AI tools in the energy sector is data governance - managing commercial sensitivities, ensuring data security, and maintaining regulatory compliance across global operations.
What makes Genie particularly powerful for energy supply chains is how it combines natural language accessibility with enterprise-grade governance. Unlike many LLM solutions that create compliance risks, Genie builds upon Unity Catalog to ensure:
These governance features are especially critical in energy supply chain operations where commercial confidentiality, safety requirements, and strategic sourcing sensitivities demand trustworthy analytics.
You can learn more about the benefits of Unity Catalog here.
It's important to recognize that AI/BI Genie isn't a standalone solution or magical fix for all supply chain challenges. Rather, it's a powerful technology option that depends on your AI strategy and the expected value opportunity. All analytics efforts should directly support supply chain excellence and business outcomes. Any technical solution must leverage clean, integrated data as the foundation for insight generation.
When the right information reaches procurement teams and supply chain decision-makers at the right time, it directly impacts cost optimisation, supply security, operational efficiency, and ultimately, production uptime and financial performance. As part of the right data strategy and deployment, AI/BI Genie can enable that.
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