When It Comes to AI, the "Devil’s in the Data"

Oliver Wyman, Vitol, and ClearDox Weigh In on AI Adoption in Commodities Markets

Business is in the midst of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and there is a general consensus that the technology is growing so powerful that it will reshape the commodities landscape in profound and pervasive ways. How this will happen remains to be seen. Estimating the power and possibility of AI is becoming a routine topic of business conversation, but getting a grasp on the specific effects on commodities firms here and now is more difficult.

In a recent webinar hosted by Commodities People, four experts from the commodities world explored the current state of AI development for their industry. Over an hour-long discussion led by Howard Walper of Commodities People, Reggie Wade from Oliver Wyman, Vitol’s Vinod Mathew and Chris Robertson, and Rick Nelson of ClearDox discussed the current state of development, including challenges and specific areas of promise.

With the title of the “Devil’s In The Data: Using AI to Mitigate Operational Risk and Enhance Decision Making”, the webinar delivered a down to earth, real-world debate that is helpful to businesses as they consider, adopt and adapt to the latest AI solutions.

AI is Coming of Age in Commodities Markets

Some AI tools have been around for decades but recent advancements with large language models (LLMs) and readily available computing power have ushered in an AI boom. Wade pointed out that AI is no longer just for developers and data scientists as emerging tools create a democratization of knowledge and capabilities that can be delivered on-demand across an organization. In short, AI is a good thing because it increases information access and precision while humans supply the wisdom gained from real-world experience.

For their part, Robertson and Mathew detailed how Vitol is making use of AI and the ways in which it is transforming their business. Robertson described how AI has been embraced by their teams because the new tools are like “tractors rather than shovels”, making work more efficient and rewarding. With applications provided by ClearDox, their team has been able to upskill from mundane tasks to more complex and interesting assignments, providing benefits to both the workers and the company.

Mathew, for his part, concurred, saying that their “bright and smart” team members add additional value as their previous experience and knowledge is brought to bear on richer data and new challenges. Practically speaking, he also pointed out that improved efficiency reduced risk in ways that are of distinct value, even if it can be hard to measure. For example, the automated ingestion and reconciliation of transactions might reveal that the 48th out of 50 transactions is problematic—a fact that might have taken hours to reveal (or missed entirely) when relying on manual processes.

Nelson pointed out that risk lurks in many areas and that a more prompt, 360-degree view of all operational processes leads to a comprehensive understanding of risks. The adoption of AI tools can lead to outcomes that span from readily apparent gains in speed and scalability to more discrete improvements, such as uncovering important facts that were previously buried in document. This can include information about transactions involving sanctioned vehicles or legal jurisdictions for force majeure clauses.

The Advantages of Industry-Specific AI

The possibilities for AI in commodities are being advanced with AI-native solutions designed for the industry. These offer both focused application and broad capabilities thanks to natural language queries on top of AI-optimized data and agentic automation. ClearDox, a technology leader in AI for the commodities industry, is able to help firms explore the adoption cycle and benefits of this fascinating field of technology.