Navigating the AI Talent Gap: How Budget Limitations Challenge Nearly Half of Businesses

According to a recent report, a staggering 44% of businesses are struggling to find the skilled professionals necesary for rolling out AI technologies. While 60% of these companies are keen on investing in AI and automation, they face important hurdles like budget limitations (43%) and issues with data quality (39%) that hinder their scaling efforts.

The State of Supply Chain 2025: Balancing Inflation, Investment & Innovation report from Relex Solutions, which specializes in online supply chain and retail planning tools, highlights that firms are ramping up their AI investments to tackle inflation and trade uncertainties. However, an increasing gap between strategy and execution could jeopardize these initiatives.

This study gathered insights from over 500 professionals in retail, consumer packaged goods manufacturing, and wholesale across seven different nations.

The findings reveal that inflation is prompting retailers to rethink their strategies; for instance,31% are optimizing operations while another 31% are tweaking prices to remain competitive. Additionally, the trend towards private label products is gaining traction—59% of retailers reported expanding their own-brand offerings as consumers look for better value.

“Supply chain leaders today have a tough balancing act—they need to embrace technological innovation while navigating economic challenges,” noted Dr. Madhav Durbha from Relex. “The disparity between what AI can achieve and how it’s actually being implemented poses both significant risks and exciting opportunities for conversion within supply chains.”