๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐? โ Evaluating AI in Supply Chain
A big thank you to Lynn (D’Silva) Cinelli and all participants for an ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐งย on how to navigate AI hype and focus on solutions that create ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐.ย Lynn contextualized technologies that offer promise: agentic AI, machine learning, generative AI, Robotic Process Automation and deep learning.
Lynn shared a structured evaluation approach, assessing AI initiatives across five key lenses:
โ
๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ญย โ Does it unlock real business value?
๐ฐ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ | ๐
๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ โ What resources are needed? Can the organization absorb?
โ ๏ธ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ค |ย ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ย | ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐๐ฌย โ Where are the pitfalls? Does it respect policies?
๐ค ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง-๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒย โ How do humans and AI collaborate?
๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒย โ Can the solution scale across the business?
๐ก Core Insights
๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ โ including RPA, machine learning, LLMs, and agent-based tools. Evaluating solutions requires understanding their position within this landscape.
๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ โ Start small, test simple use cases, and scale only where value is proven. This โexperimentโpilotโscaleโ approach helps avoid overinvesting in hype.
๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ โ Most participants are using AI tools both professionally and personally. Some companies are already advancing with targeted, promising initiatives in planning, automation, and data mining.
๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ โ The most promising cases involved AI augmenting human work, not replacing it: e.g. bots surfacing planner queries, automation reducing manual data collection, or analytics flagging risk.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ โ Evaluating AI initiatives through 5 lenses (Benefit, Investment, Risk/Compliance/Ethics, Human-AI Synergy, Scalability) helps avoid โshiny object syndromeโ and focus on use cases that align with business priorities.
In our breakout groups, we explored six practical use cases โ from duty and contract enforcementย to AI chatbots assisting plannersย โ applying this framework to see where AI is already delivering results.
โฌ๏ธ Below you find the summary table of the examples we discussed:
๐ Join our complimentary industry-wide IBP and S&OP work-group sessions to share best practices, expand your network, and learn with peers.
๐
Registration link and plan for the next sessions are in the comments.