AI in 2025: Expect Another Wave of Innovation in Supply Chain

The last couple of years have brought huge advances in the application of artificial intelligence to businesses generally, and the supply chain in particular. But that’s nothing compared with what’s coming in 2025 and beyond, industry experts say.

Generative AI, delivered in such popular forms at ChatGPT and employing large language models (LLMs), is among the buzzwords to have dominated recent conversations about the fast-developing technology. In supply chain, however, all the talk today is about AI-driven autonomous operations, removing the need for human intervention in key decision-making.

Hardik Chawla, senior product manager-technical with Amazon.com, defines it as “end-to-end process automation — completely hands-off.” Others might prefer the catchier term “self-driving supply chain.” Regardless of how it’s described, however, modern-day AI is promising to bring a whole new level of automation and efficiency to supply chains in the coming months and years.

Procurement is especially ripe for the concept, says Chawla, with AI selecting which supplier is most capable of fulfilling a given order, then optimizing for production lead times and desired inventory levels.

AI also takes over the selection of carriers for transportation of raw material…