Autonomy is the future of supply chain
Over the past few years, we have experienced an unprecedented time, with a steady increase in supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, geopolitical events and the effects of climate change. All of these events have changed enterprise expectations for supply chains. According to Gartner research, nearly 80% of organizations expect supply chains must be able to make faster, more accurate and consistent decisions in real-time, in such an increasingly volatile and fast-evolving market.
With this expectation in mind, CSCOs need to design a new supply chain operating model that is geared around real-time data availability and people enablement for better decision making. Digitalization is the critical enabler, not only because it helps automate tasks originally requiring some form of human judgment or action. Technology also helps unleash employees’ trapped talent by freeing up their time from nonvalue-added tasks and by augmenting their decision-making capability.
These steps are already being taken by leading supply chains. For example, Intel’s autonomous planning uses machine learning (ML) to analyze results from the planning engine and explain plan changes cycle over cycle, including what drove particular changes. With this knowledge, it can identify the need for a new plan and then start an autorun. If the scenario meets all stated goals, it can autonomously publish it as the plan of record for the company. It’s also able to create a knowledge base that gets stronger over time by accumulating supply chain knowledge and expertise.
