Data harmonization and advanced demand planning are currently hot topics as Carnival Corporation works to overhaul its supply chain operations, according to Kevin Muhich, head of MAST.

With a portfolio of eight different brands, the company is currently focused on standardizing its Planned Maintenance System (PMS) across the fleet to eliminate operational inconsistencies.

“We have to get that accuracy in the data infrastructure. It’s very key to enabling everything downstream with supply chain,” Muhich explained.

He said that this structural overhaul involves linking the newly standardized PMS to advanced forecasting and modeling tools to evaluate elements that didn’t exist in the industry just five years ago.

“We’re looking at all the data points that work from operations, from onboard the vessels to shoreside and where supply chain can then leverage those data points,” Muhich noted.

While the immediate focus is on the technical side of the operations, Muhich added that food and beverage departments are right on our heels.

Integrating artificial intelligence into these forecasting models is a major component of the strategy, though Muhich stressed that these systems remain heavily dependent on accurate data generation.

“When you’re looking at the AI, it spits out only as good as the inputs in it,” he said, noting that technology in the industry is moving faster than he ever imagined.

Successfully implementing these new systems requires a change management effort to build trust among shipboard teams, Muhich said.

“We have to get people to trust that the system is doing exactly what they think it’s doing,” he explained, noting that this distrust is part of human nature.

Getting crew members to adapt to new technologies requires consistent handholding, he added, to prove that centralized systems make their lives easier and more reliable.

The adoption of these new processes varies significantly across Carnival Corporation’s portfolio, Muhich continued.

While some brands are ready to implement weight-driven, automated inventory scanning to feed AI engines, others lack the basic physical infrastructure, such as specialized racking, to support such systems.

“It’s not different; it’s just where we’re at in the starting point to the endpoint that might be a different journey to get there,” Muhich said, emphasizing that human interaction with new technology will continue to evolve.

He said that his goal is to reach a level of data-driven maturity that other global businesses have utilized for decades, opening the door for better vendor relations and advanced supply planning.

“There are a lot of ingrained ways of working in the cruise lines that also need a lot of adaptation and changes,” Muhich said. “I’m not going to put my house on it, but I think in five years we’ll be in a much better space.”