Watch: Adaptability: The New Supply Chain Imperative

Volatility in supply chains is here to stay, and businesses must respond by acquiring the systems needed to ensure complete adaptability. Artificial intelligence can help, says Fab Brasca, senior vice president market strategy with Kinaxis.

Volatility in supply chains used to be defined as something that happens periodically. “Now it feels like volatility is structural,” says Brasca. Today, “a TikTok video can empty a shelf.” Supply chains must be far more proactive in their response to disruption and change.

AI is playing an important role in helping them to do that. Many worry about the prospect of an “AI bubble,” but Brasca says that “there’s real technology around all that — real value that can be driven, if you’re focused on the right use cases.”

With the help of AI, organizations can automate key processes and analyses, enabling them to “make decisions at the speed of volatility,” Brasca says.

It’s not just about resilience and ability to survive in the face of change, he says. “It’s about thriving in the midst of all these crazy things that happen in our world.”

That said, the pace of AI adoption by businesses feels sluggish. Surveys find 71% of executives expressing a desire to accelerate the process, but only 22% believing that their current architectures can support such an initiative. Brasca acknowledges that AI, like many new technologies, is subject to much hype and blind investment. But some companies are doing it right, by focusing on value and working with customers to drive real change. “If you weed away the noise,” he says, “you get at the real meat of what can be driven with things like AI.”

Organizations need to understand that adoption of AI isn’t just about technology, Brasca says. They need to accompany that effort with a clear view of how human associates will be working with the models. And they need to put into place the proper governance that will allow them to trust the data.

How long will it take? “I think it will be quicker than we realize,” Brasca says, adding that “the next year or two will see some incredible advancements in the space.”