Supply Chain | Generative AI Consulting Services
QAD, a provider of next-generation manufacturing and supply chain software solutions in the cloud, sought a better way for employees to search for internal documents. To achieve this, they were interested in exploring Vertex AI and Conversation but needed a partner who could help.
Employees can now use the power of natural language to answer questions, due to Vertex AI Search and Conversationʼs ability to consolidate answers from resources on
file.
100+ countries now benefit from enhanced service due to QAD’s improved internal ability to uncover answers through automation—allowing for faster delivery of critical solutions.
Five internal Google Sites were selected to run tests on to determine the feasibility of using Vertex AI Search and Conversation.
Supply chain
QAD is a provider of next-generation manufacturing and supply chain software solutions in the cloud, delivering adaptive applications that help manufacturers rapidly respond and adapt to disruptions in supply and fluctuations in demand. Currently providing solutions to customers in 100+ countries, QAD seamlessly optimizes agility, efficiency, and resilience for their customers.
The challenge for Pythian was to determine whether Vertex AI Search and Conversation could improve employees' ability to conduct internal searches of information and enhance overall performance.
As a long-time customer of Google Workspace and Google Cloud, QAD currently uses Google Sites to store useful information for employees. The sites are indexed on Google Cloud Search, which allows employees to use keyword searching to find information. QAD asked Pythian to determine whether Vertex AI Search and Conversation would improve and accelerate employeesʼ ability to find answers to their questions.
Vertex AI Search and Conversation is an out-of-the-box search engine solution from Google Cloudʼs Vertex AI platform. It enables organizations to quickly build generative AI-powered search engines for enterprise search capabilities to be made available to users (in this case, customers and employees). Vertex AI Search and Conversation can be customized to meet specific objectives while also maintaining access control, data privacy, and sovereignty. It enables users to ask follow-up questions, conduct multimodal searches, view summaries of top search results, and more.
Pythian partnered with QAD to help conduct a test of Vertex AI Search and Conversation on five internal Google Sites: Human Resources, Finance, IT Help Desk (Internal & External), and Legal. Pythian had built a trusted relationship with QAD, as they had worked together on previous engagements. Pythian identified and provided a custom solution to implement the project and trained the employees on effectively using Vertex AI Search and Conversation.
QAD's current Google Sites, indexed on Google Cloud Search, relied solely on keyword searching, which could limit employees' ability to efficiently find answers.
QAD sought to determine if Vertex AI Search and Conversation could enhance and expedite employees' ability to find information.
The challenge involved integrating and testing Vertex AI Search and Conversation across multiple internal Google Sites.
Employees needed to be trained on effectively using the new Vertex AI Search and Conversation platform.
To implement the project, Pythian recommended that an internal administrator use Google Takeout to export HTML content from the Google Sites and then upload the content to a Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket. Pythian created a Vertex AI Search and Conversation app to index the HTML content that had been uploaded to the GCS bucket. While this approach could not be automated, it was effective for comparing the efficiency of Vertex AI Search and Conversation to Google Cloud Search.
Pythian recommended using Google Takeout for HTML content export from Google Sites.
Content was uploaded to a Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket.
A Vertex AI Search and Conversation app was created to index the HTML content from the GCS bucket.
Pythian applied an approach that, though not automated, effectively compared Vertex AI Search and Conversation to Google Cloud Search.
The project exceeded the established criteria. Vertex AI Search and Conversation improved overall search accuracy, as it provided precise responses to queries and excluded false information. It was also able to connect and relate correlating copy (e.g., blending information from IT Help Desk and related applicable information from Human Resources). Employees were amazed at the power of using natural language to answer questions, due to Vertex AI Search and Conversationʼs ability to consolidate answers from resources on file. More importantly, QAD was impressed that employees became more productive due to the speed at which they were able to answer questions.
Pythian demonstrated the technical feasibility of using Vertex AI Search and Conversation across the organization, and how it could be expanded to other types of data sources (e.g., databases, portals, documents). Pythian was also able to educate the QADʼs employees on how to understand and use Vertex AI Search and Conversation to its full capabilities. QAD is now confident it can implement a more robust version of Vertex AI Search and Conversation that would tap into future updates from Google. They were also encouraged that Pythian would be able to help with training on future AI-related technologies.
Overall search accuracy improved with precise responses to queries, excluding false information.
The system effectively connected and related correlating information across different departments (e.g., IT and HR).
Employee productivity increased due to the speed at which questions could be answered using natural language.
QAD gained confidence in implementing a more robust version of Vertex AI Search and Conversation and in Pythian's ability to provide future training.
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