artificial-intelligence
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From Forecast Accuracy to Decision Accuracy: The Next KPI Shift in Supply Chains
Executive Summary Introduction For decades, forecast accuracy has been the gold standard of supply chain performance management. Teams are measured, rewarded, and often judged based on how closely their forecasts match actual demand. Significant effort is invested in improving statistical models, cleansing data, and refining planning processes to reduce forecast error. Yet many organizations with Continue reading
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Why Most AI Supply Chain Transformations Fail at the Operating Model Level
Executive Summary Introduction Over the past few years, organizations have invested heavily in AI to improve supply chain performance. Advanced forecasting models, risk sensing tools, and optimization engines have moved from pilots to production environments. Yet for many companies, the promised value of AI remains elusive. Models perform well in controlled pilots, dashboards look impressive, Continue reading
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How AI Is Redesigning Global Supply Chain Decision-Making in 2025
Executive Summary Introduction For more than two decades, supply chain excellence was largely defined by better planning cycles, improved forecast accuracy, and tighter cost control. Organizations invested heavily in ERP systems, advanced planning tools, and performance dashboards designed to optimize efficiency in relatively stable environments. In 2025, that paradigm is no longer sufficient. Volatility is Continue reading
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Autonomous Supply Chains Are About Decisions, Not Robots
The term “autonomous supply chain” often conjures images of robotic warehouses and self-driving trucks. But true autonomy is not about hardware—it’s about decision-making. As highlighted in Harvard Business Review’s article “When Supply Chains Become Autonomous,” the future of supply chains isn’t defined by the replacement of humans with machines. Instead, it’s the rise of generative Continue reading
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The End of the Stable Supply Chain: A New Operating Model for the Next Decade
The traditional notion of a “stable supply chain” is fading into history. Once anchored by predictability and efficiency, supply chains today face a relentless barrage of disruption—from geopolitical conflict and regulatory shocks to climate disasters, cyberattacks, and demand volatility. Rather than striving to restore a lost sense of normalcy, leading companies are building a new Continue reading
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Designing Supply Chains for Permanent Volatility
For decades, supply chains were optimized for stability. Forecasts were based on seasonality. Inventories were lean. Costs were predictable. Disruptions were rare—and treated as temporary anomalies. That world is gone. In its place, we face permanent volatility: geopolitical shifts, trade restrictions, pandemics, cyber threats, labor shortages, climate disruptions, and demand unpredictability. These forces are not Continue reading
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Exception Management Is Broken — AI Can Fix It
Exception management was once seen as a strength in supply chain operations. The ability to spot a disruption, escalate it, and react quickly was a badge of honor. Dedicated teams were set up to monitor late shipments, expedite orders, rework plans, and recover from the unexpected. But today, exception management is broken. What used to Continue reading
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Customer Promise vs. Supply Reality: How AI Improves Delivery Commitments
For decades, delivery commitments in supply chains were treated primarily as commercial agreements. Sales teams negotiated dates with customers, planning teams attempted to make them feasible, and operations teams absorbed the consequences when reality failed to align with the promise. This model functioned reasonably well in a world of stable demand, predictable lead times, and Continue reading
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The Cost-to-Serve Opportunity: Why Supply Chains Lose Profit Without Seeing It
Why growth and profitability increasingly diverge Many supply chains appear successful on the surface. Volumes grow, revenue increases, service levels remain acceptable, and operations teams stay busy. Yet margins stagnate, working capital rises, and every planning cycle feels harder than the last. This contradiction is not accidental. It is structural. Across industries, companies have learned Continue reading
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From Firefighting to Decision Ownership: How AI Helps Supply Chains Escape Permanent Crisis Mode
Why most supply chains are stuck reacting instead of deciding Ask almost any supply chain team how their week went, and you will hear the same answer: firefighting. Expediting late orders, resolving shortages, managing escalations, responding to disruptions, and explaining misses. Firefighting has become normalized. It is often even rewarded. The best firefighters are seen Continue reading