In the Age of Supply Chain Tech, Who — or What — Is a ‘Partner’?

We in the world of supply chain do love that word “partnership,” don’t we? Otherwise, why would we devote an annual issue of SupplyChainBrain to examples of vendors and buyers coming together to solve knotty supply-and-demand problems against a never-ending torrent of uncertainties? Why bother with a list of “100 Great Supply Chain Partners,” if our audience didn’t derive educational value from these real-world experiences? Most of all, though, I think we love the word “partner” because it connotes something that’s entirely and unequivocally … human. 

Or so we’ve always thought. Only people can be partners, right? But technological developments of recent years are increasingly challenging that assumption. Who’s to say that a modern-day robot, or even a faceless automated warehouse system, can’t be a “partner,” if it makes a business more responsive, competitive and profitable? 

There’s a catch to this line of reasoning, however. Because as technology gets better and better at performing tasks that were once the exclusive province of people, the need for flesh-and-blood workers diminishes — in many cases, to the point where none is required at all. What kind of a partner is it, after all, who ends up “partnering” you out of a job? 

So we’re left with the big debate that’s currently raging in the world of technology in general, and artificial intelligence in particular: In the end, does it deliver promise, or peril? AI is already making strides toward analyzing massive amounts of data and using it to dictate key decisions on supply chain planning, sourcing and execution. It no longer seems that big a leap, for example, from a descriptive to a prescriptive system, with the latter taking humans out of the loop completely. 

To some extent, I suppose, that’s inevitable. But I take heart from the many tech-savvy industry experts who insist that people will continue to play an essential role in the supposed “lights-out” future of global supply chains. Will certain jobs be lost to automation? Of course. But in the history of technological innovation, humans have a way of sticking around. Whether AI is generative, agentic or “general,” it can’t match the creativity of the human mind, or interact with the wonders of the external world in the manner of a biological brain. Most of all, it can’t satisfy the need for actual person-to-person contact — dare we call it “partnerships”? 

Which brings me to the issue (in both senses of the word) at hand: our annual list, and accompanying case studies, showcasing 100 Great Supply Chain Partners. As always, the selected vendors of products, services and technology must be nominated by their customers for inclusion. And while varying widely in content and scope, all of the relationships highlighted here are much more than transactional — they demonstrate a long-term commitment by supply chain partners to meeting ever-changing customer demands for efficiency, agility, responsiveness and resilience in highly uncertain times. 

By all means, consider embracing the latest technology to supercharge all aspects of your supply chain. But never underestimate the power of human-driven partnerships, as highlighted in these pages, to yield the best and most valuable results. And, if you’re a purchaser of supply chain products or services, consider celebrating one or more of your vendors by nominating them for inclusion in next year’s list — when, I’ll wager, humans will still be very much in the loop.