In 2005, the idea of a supply chain “thinking for itself” would have sounded like science fiction.
Back then, most supply chains were driven by spreadsheets, legacy ERPs, and static demand forecasts. AI was experimental. Generative AI hadn’t even been coined. And most organizations were focused on cost arbitrage, not resilience.
Now fast forward to 2025.
We are living through a renaissance in supply chain transformation. Disruption is no longer episodic, it’s systemic. From geopolitical tension and climate risks to accelerating product cycles and volatile demand patterns, today’s supply chains must adapt in real time or risk falling behind.
What’s enabling this shift isn’t just better data or faster machines. It’s a reimagining of how intelligence, operations, and decision-making intersect, led by advancements in artificial intelligence, and in particular, agentic and generative AI.
As someone who works closely with global leaders across high tech, manufacturing, and consumer industries, I’ve seen firsthand how the smartest supply chains are no longer just efficient – they’re intelligent, anticipatory, and self-optimizing.
Let’s unpack how that shift is happening – and what it means for the future of manufacturing and supply chain excellence.
The complexity conundrum
Whether you’re producing semiconductors, consumer electronics, or beverage products, the core challenges facing supply chain leaders are remarkably consistent:
Operational fragmentation: Companies often operate across dozens of countries, with decentralized teams, processes, and platforms. That scale brings opportunity – but also friction
Legacy systems: Many supply chains are built on aging infrastructure that doesn’t talk to other systems, making end-to-end visibility difficult and integration painful
Data disarray: A wealth of data exists – but it’s siloed, unstructured, and underused. Supply chain decisions are still often based on intuition, not intelligence
Vulnerability to disruption: From trade policies and pandemic aftershocks to semiconductor shortages and labor constraints, traditional supply chains are brittle
In this context, leaders are no longer asking how to optimize a single function like sourcing or inventory. They’re asking: How do we redesign the system as a whole?
Intelligence at the core
That system-wide rethink starts with embedding intelligence across the value chain – from planning and procurement to distribution and aftersales.
This isn’t just about automating repetitive tasks. It’s about building agentic supply chains – networks of interconnected, autonomous agents that can perceive, decide, and act with minimal human intervention.
For example, consider a global tech services company that had grown rapidly through mergers. It inherited 30+ ERP systems and wildly inconsistent finance and procurement practices. By embedding AI agents into its order-to-cash and source-to-pay workflows, it cut cycle times, reduced cost-to-serve, and improved cash flow accuracy.
One of the most impactful outcomes came from applying intelligent dispute resolution. In its receivables, roughly 5% of the outstanding value was locked up in customer disputes, often taking up to four months to resolve. By training AI models to identify dispute patterns, recommend actions, and automate workflows, resolution times were cut by 40%. That’s not just an operational win – it’s a working capital breakthrough.
Across procurement, similar advances are happening. Intelligent agents now monitor supplier performance, flag risks, and even suggest alternate sources when disruptions are detected – reducing dependency and increasing agility.
AI at the edge: Lessons from Japan
Let’s shift from high tech to consumer goods.
In Japan, beverage companies face a unique operational reality: the country’s iconic vending machine culture. Some manufacturers manage networks of hundreds of thousands of these machines. Keeping them stocked and serviced is a complex, logistics-intensive challenge – made even harder by seasonal demand fluctuations and unpredictable equipment failures.
Until recently, much of this work was reactive. A machine would break down or run low, triggering a service call. Technicians were dispatched without optimization. Spare parts were often misaligned with actual needs.
By embedding intelligence into field operations – linking IoT data, AI planning tools, and real-time inventory systems – this reactive model has been replaced with a predictive, autonomous one. Equipment downtime has dropped, parts usage has become more efficient, and overall service costs are down significantly.
The real transformation, however, is cultural: these companies no longer think of supply chain as back office. It’s a strategic enabler of customer experience and growth.
Reinventing supply chains: Three priorities
So how can other organizations accelerate their journey?
Here are three imperatives I see shaping the next generation of intelligent supply chains:
Make data a strategic asset. Structured or unstructured, internal or external; data must be harnessed holistically. Leaders are investing in creating “data fabrics” that unify visibility across their networks. This forms the foundation for meaningful AI-driven decision-making
Design for adaptability, not just efficiency. Historically, supply chains were optimized for cost. That model is no longer sufficient. Flexibility, multi-sourcing, and intelligent scenario modeling are becoming non-negotiable. AI makes this possible at scale by anticipating change, not just reacting to it
Build cross-functional intelligence. The true power of agentic AI lies in connecting the dots. When finance, operations, customer service, and procurement all operate on shared intelligence, decisions get faster, smarter, and more impactful
A new supply chain mandate
The most transformative supply chains today aren’t just integrated or automated. They’re intelligent ecosystems—where AI drives speed, agility, and resilience. And they’re led by organizations bold enough to rethink how decisions are made, and who (or what) makes them.
Over the next decade, the gap between leaders and laggards will widen. Those that embrace intelligent orchestration – powered by agentic AI, enabled by strong data foundations, and guided by clear business outcomes – will define the future of global manufacturing and supply.
We’ve moved from managing transactions to orchestrating value. That’s the future we should be building – today.
The article first appeared in Supply Chain Management Review. It was authored by Tanguy Caillet, global supply chain consulting leader at Genpact.
