Companies’ business processes are planned with software supported by artificial intelligence.

Focusing on digital transformation, Hitit University plans the business processes of companies with the artificial intelligence-supported software it has developed.

Within the scope of a project initiated in collaboration with Hitit University Technology Transfer Office Joint Stock Company and Dalyan Machinery, artificial intelligence-supported process management software has been developed. With the software developed, critical processes such as decision-making mechanisms, data management, and future forecasting models of companies are reported quickly and systematically. The software, developed specifically for Dalyan Machinery within the framework of university-industry cooperation, can process data related to 110,000 current accounts and 60,000 products in real-time according to the requested year and period. The data, which are also subjected to financial analyses, are reported and sent to users’ screens.

Meryem Yalçınkaya, a faculty member at the Department of Industrial Engineering of Hitit University, which developed the software, stated that predictions for the future are made by applying machine learning and deep learning techniques to the data obtained from the programs used by Dalyan Machinery.

Stating that predictions are made based on parameters related to the new models produced, Yalçınkaya said, “We present the results obtained from these predictions to managers and users through a web-based panel in the internet environment. We provide decision support services in critical processes such as future decisions, sales, and receivables collection through these reports to our users and managers.”

Dalyan Machinery’s Board Chairman Erkan Dalyan mentioned that they started keeping data in computer environments years ago, saying, “We only processed this data. We issued our invoices, kept our inventories, but we thought we needed to find a way to use this data that had accumulated over the years.”

Noting that they held meetings about what to do with the accumulated data, Dalyan expressed that they decided to collaborate with Hitit University for the project, saying, “We wanted to process this data and make it meaningful. We have started to use the corporate memory of the company more efficiently.”

“We are working on future forecasting models using different methods”

Stating that there are accumulated data from past years and that the data is very large, thus approaching reality closely, Dalyan said, “Fortunately, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning have developed significantly during this period, allowing us to use them and test many models simultaneously, comparing with the past. For example, we take the year 2020, use the data from 2020, and predict the year 2021 as if it never happened. If the predictions hold, we look at 2022. We look at 2023 from 2022. If these hold, we forecast 2025 from the data of 2024. Not all of them always hold. We are working on future forecasting models using different methods.”

During this process, Dalyan expressed that all data was processed using terms like artificial intelligence, deep learning, and machine learning while learning from the past, saying, “Even large companies we work with wanted to benefit from these. Because the number of current accounts we work with is 110,000, and we have about 60,000 products. When we combine these, a significant amount of data emerges. This data is processed. While Meryem handles the data on the computer side, Professor Savaş interprets it financially. When the university and industry come together, the work gains more meaning. There has been something in our city for years. I think it is similar in other cities as well. There is always the name of university-industry cooperation, but unfortunately, due to a lack of steps taken from both sides, it cannot be initiated. Since it cannot be initiated, no results can be obtained. Now, with the establishment of the Technology Transfer Office, it is so much easier to proceed with these matters; I recommend it to all industrialists.”

“Artificial intelligence is among the working areas of the Technology Transfer Office”

Hitit University Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Eşref Savaş Başcı stated that universities are not just institutions that provide education, conduct research, or serve the community, saying, “One of the greatest features that distinguishes universities today is actually being able to benefit society and achieving cooperation in line with their objectives while doing so.”

Stating that Hitit University specializes in “Machine and Manufacturing Technologies,” Başcı continued: “We are the only university in Turkey specializing in this field. Of course, this specialization will bring university-industry cooperation along. University-industry cooperation can be achieved through activities conducted under certain headings, and for this purpose, our university has established the Technology Transfer Office Joint Stock Company. This office will also bring together all the infrastructure that the industry needs, working with knowledge, experience, and science, and will provide solutions to the problems that the industry requires. Digitalization is also one of the most critical areas of development today. Our university fulfills its responsibilities in all elements that have made digitalization significant today. Thus, developing new models that can make predictions about the future based on past data that the industry desires, increasing digitalization, and utilizing artificial intelligence models have also become part of the working areas of our technology transfer office. In this context, with our collaboration with Dalyan Machinery, we analyzed the past data of our company together with our consultant professor and quickly started making future predictions based on this analysis. This work has been quite productive because we have revealed the past by analyzing our company’s data and presented a software that enables them to jointly decide about the future by applying new models.