Supply chain management in the AI era
Your point solutions are failing you
You’re staring at three different screens, each telling you something different about the same SKU. Your WMS shows 253 units available. The order management system claims 186. And your inventory planning software? It’s working with yesterday’s numbers.
Your major customer needs an urgent update on their stock levels before a promotional campaign launches in 48 hours. Which number can you trust?
Three missed calls from the customer light up your phone. Your team is already stretched thin managing impossible volumes, and now they’ll have to conduct yet another manual inventory count to reconcile these disparities. Time you can’t afford to waste.
“We invested in each of these supply chain management systems,” you think to yourself. “But what good is technology when it’s working with different versions of the truth?”
Discover the path to easier growth. Deposco’s AI intelligence-driven supply chain solutions remove roadblocks and connect all the coordinates to your success.
While point solutions promise optimization within their specific domains, they create new headaches when they can’t help you make optimal decisions – or even communicate effectively with each other. As AI continues to evolve and your competitors leverage it for greater efficiency and decision-making, the limitations of these siloed supply chain management approaches become increasingly risky.
AI can create supply chain magic, but there’s a catch
Supply chain AI is not just a buzzword, it’s a game-changer. With 65% of organizations already leveraging generative AI to enhance operations, the potential is enormous smarter decisions, streamlining processes, and reducing headaches. This is the future of supply chain management.
But here’s the catch—too many companies are integrating AI into only bits and pieces of their supply chain, missing out on the real magic that happens when it works across the entire operation. This ‘real magic’ includes predictive demand forecasting, dynamic route optimization, and real-time labor management – all in one flexible, modern platform.
Point solutions provide an incomplete view
Regarding AI in supply chain management, one thing becomes increasingly clear: AI within point solutions is a bit pointless.
AI in “point solutions” refers to the practice of applying AI to only one part of the supply chain, such as your WMS or order management system. Don’t get me wrong, AI can do some amazing things. But it can only do so much when applied to just one piece of the puzzle.
Discover our end-to-end supply chain platform, your GPS for rapid growth, flexibility, and excellence.
AI’s true power is revealed when you have a complete view of your supply chain. It’s not just about individual processes, but about understanding how they all fit together. This holistic approach is where AI truly shines.
Supply chain operations aren’t a series of isolated processes
Your execution (how things get done) and planning (how things are anticipated) are tightly entwined. These two areas need to work hand-in-hand to make smart, data-driven decisions.
👀 See what you can do with our supply chain execution solutions
👀 See what you can do with our supply chain planning solutions
A system that only focuses on one without integrating with the other will always create gaps – which create waste. That’s where things go wrong. It’s like trying to run a relay race where each runner follows their own path and timing without passing the baton to the next. Without seamless coordination between planning and execution, the team’s effort falls apart, and you never make it to the finish line efficiently.
Point solutions breed silos and problems
Think about companies that employed a “best-of-breed” strategy, where they selected the top provider of each category. This strategy, while it may seem beneficial, often leads to siloed systems. They have access to some data, but not all of it. The data they control? Sure, they can optimize within that small section. But when it comes time to connect data to the rest of the supply chain, they’re stuck waiting for integrations to pull over data from other systems – and often, the sync isn’t reliable. By then, it’s outdated or incomplete.
While competitors using those siloed systems are busy trying to connect the dots, you’ve already got a fully integrated platform running. AI empowers you to see the big picture and make decisions in real-time across the entire supply chain. This is where the magic happens.
While others guess, you’ll know exactly where you’re headed with intelligence that turns data into your secret weapon.
Integrating AI across the entire supply chain
Rather than confining AI to isolated point solutions – truly integrated AI supply chain management significantly enhances operational efficiency and decision-making. A study by EY revealed that 82% of supply chain leaders find that data silos and fragmented systems hinder end-to-end visibility, underscoring the necessity for integrated platforms to leverage AI’s capabilities fully.
A survey by Forrester revealed that knowledge workers spend nearly 29% of their week—about 11.6 hours—searching for the information they need to do their jobs. This wasted time, largely caused by data silos and fragmented systems, not only slows productivity but also leaves employees feeling disengaged and frustrated. It’s a clear reminder that disconnected systems don’t just hinder efficiency; they impact morale and the bottom line.
Gen AI promises
Generative AI and other advanced models have the potential to revolutionize supply chain management operations. 65% of CSCOs anticipate that they could optimize or automate between 26% and 50% of procurement and operational tasks within the next three years.
The transformational potential of AI in supply chain management underscores the critical need for integrated systems. AI should not be confined to isolated point solutions. It needs to access and analyze data across the entire supply chain. This approach drives real-time efficiencies, reduces costs, and enables predictive capabilities. It’s time to unlock AI’s full potential with a unified platform approach.
Having everything integrated in sync under one roof isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity. The synergies of having an end-to-end view with AI can optimize—whether it’s predicting demand, adjusting for labor shortages, or optimizing routes in real time.
The takeaway?
It’s not enough to just throw AI supply chain management at a single part of the process and call it a day. To truly reap the benefits, your execution and planning must come together with all the data that drives them. When your systems work in harmony, that’s when AI really shines.
Discuss your unique challenges and get a personalized plan: BOOK A TOUR NOW