The advent of next-generation Artificial Intelligence(AI) is ushering in a new era of heightened productivity and efficiency. This is spurring novel breakthroughs in the supply chain domain. With AI's transformative influence, the conventional ways of operations managers collaborating with suppliers, vendors, and third-party service providers are being revamped to streamline the entire process. By collaborating with suppliers and utilizing state-of-the-art AI, Supply Chain managers can enhance supply chain performance and avert logistics disruptions triggered by diverse external factors. We're excited to launch Copilot in Microsoft Supply Chain Center, which harnesses generative AI to assist Supply Chain managers in real-time communication with suppliers regarding specific news.

Supply chains have gotten increasingly more complicated to manage in recent years. Physical flows are becoming more interconnected and market volatility has increased the requirement for agility and adaptability. This has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen an increased global demand for resources while juggling a variety of changing pandemic precautions. This is why using AI to help optimize supply chain management is becoming more prevalent across industries. Early adopters are more resilient and prepared for the inevitable future of artificial intelligence within the supply chain management industry.

Supply chains have gotten increasingly more complicated to manage in recent years. Physical flows are becoming more interconnected and market volatility has increased the requirement for agility and adaptability. This has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen an increased global demand for resources while juggling a variety of changing pandemic precautions. This is why using AI to help optimize supply chain management is becoming more prevalent across industries. Early adopters are more resilient and prepared for the inevitable future of artificial intelligence within the supply chain management industry.

Demand forecasting refers to the process of planning and predicting goods and materials demand to help businesses stay as profitable as possible. Without strong demand forecasting, companies risk carrying wasteful and costly surplus – or losing opportunities because they have failed to anticipate customer needs, preferences, and purchasing intent. Demand forecasting professionals have specialized skills and experience. When those skills are augmented with modern supply chain technologies and predictive analytics, supply chains can become more competitive and streamlined than ever. In the wake of the pandemic, companies are in an exceptionally fast-moving business climate.

The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered video analytics over the years has radically altered and improved the operations of many processes, across industries and continents. The findings of the IHS Markit Video Surveillance Intelligence Service shows that there has been a consistent growth in the global professional video surveillance equipment market, with the worldwide market revenue jumping up from $18.2 billion in 2018 to $19.9 billion in 2019. Supply chain management, which basically refers to the handling of various processes comprising the production flow, all till the end product is finally delivered to the customer, has become smarter using the next-gen video analytics technology. Devices that are intelligently embedded with the technology, such as CCTV cameras, are automatically able to gather crucial data in real-time through video feed. The AI-based system then adds intelligence to these devices, which are also able to carefully analyse this data, recognize any kind of critical or abnormal events during any leg of the supply chain, further sending automated alerts in real time.

From shortages of personal protective equipment to a variety of grocery items to electronics and apparel, coronavirus (COVID-19) has hit the global supply chain in expected and unforeseen ways, and it seems likely that it could take many months to recover. Bouncing back more quickly, said experts, will require supply chain managers to turn to new ways of managing the supply chain, including using Internet of Things (IoT) data, analytics and machine learning (ML). These tools will become the foundation on which supply chain managers gain insight into their markets and erratic supply and demand trends. "Having the right machine learning and AI technologies will help you understand the market and better manage your supply chain," said George Bailey, director of the Digital Supply Chain Institute. While the disruption is now global, its starting point was in China -- the 800-pound gorilla in global production.

This is an opinion piece written by Christian Titze, vice president analyst at Gartner. Opinions are the author's own. Control towers are the artificial intelligence (AI) of supply chain. Everyone wants to have it, but nobody quite knows how it works. Supply chain leaders see the term in vendor presentations, usually connected with the promise that a control tower will make the supply chain better, faster and smarter.

Companies are starting to apply artificial intelligence across global supply chain management to improve efficiency, speed and decision-making in areas such as supply chain planning, warehouse automation, and logistics. The SCM World 2016 Future of Supply Chain Survey found that the importance of artificial intelligence has grown rapidly, with 47 percent of supply chain leaders believing the technology is disruptive to global supply chain management strategies. Market-research firm IDC predicts that by 2020, 50 percent of mature supply chains will use AI and advanced analytics for planning, and to eliminate sole reliance on short-term demand forecasts. Supply chain planning and optimization, including demand forecasting, are among the key areas where AI is already beginning to be deployed. Experts say that global supply chains have become so complex, and are affected by so many variables, that AI may be essential to help identify and predict problems and potential solutions.

The number of moving parts in even the most basic of supply chains means that supply chain managers can use all the help they can get. AI is an emergent tool that could be of great use to supply chain managers. So where is AI as a tool for supply chain management, and which trends are most shaping AI's role within the industry? These industry insiders shared their answers to these questions. "A big tend will be orchestration systems that ensure humans, robots, and AI are working together to maximize their inherent strengths. A lot of companies incorporate robots into a single process step within their organization. This limits the machines potential to interact with other parts of the operation (and more importantly learn from those interactions), underutilizes the capabilities of other resources, and limits the operations ability to mix and match process steps based when needs change. It essentially creates a silo effect which decreases efficiency and productivity – the exact opposite of what AI is brought in to do." "We're particularly excited about how robots are getting better and better. They do a lot of heavy lifting in warehouses; not intelligent enough to take the jobs of human workers, but at least make human jobs better and easier than before."

That's understandable given its potential. AI can offer a huge benefit to supply chain managers, but only if it is based on solid fundamentals that take into account the diverse and dynamic nature of today's modern supply chains. More importantly, it needs to consider the availability of the timely and accurate data needed to make smart decisions. Before addressing what AI can do, it is critical to first understand what it is. In the simplest terms, AI is intelligence exhibited by machines, or when machines mimic or can replace intelligent human behavior, such as problem-solving or learning.