Supply Chain Rewired

In the vast landscape of business evolution, few domains have undergone as profound a metamorphosis as supply chain. What began as a simple concept of moving goods from point A to point B has evolved into a complex network that forms the backbone of global commerce.

This network now operates in an unpredictable world, shaped by geopolitical tensions, labor shifts, and rapid technological advancements. And amid the uncertainty, an entirely new class of AI-native disruptors is raising the bar on operational capabilities, achieving unparalleled efficiency, agility, and growth. Companies like SHEIN in fast fashion, Ocado in grocery retail, and Flexport in logistics are rewriting the rules of supply chain. They leverage AI to predict trends, optimize inventory in real-time, and create hyper-personalized customer experiences at scale. Their success is not just incremental—it’s exponential, often outpacing traditional players by orders of magnitude in terms of growth and market responsiveness.

How are these companies different? These trailblazers are not merely adapting existing systems to incorporate AI; they are building their entire operations around AI from the ground up. They are not just investing in technology; they are investing in end-to-end intelligence.

Through the analysis of multiple data sets, including our AI Maturity survey, 700+ use cases from our AI Hub, talent data, and business performance metrics, we’ve unpacked the success factors of the AI pioneers leading the intelligence revolution and identified which AI bets will deliver the greatest rewards across the supply side of The Loop.

The full report, now available to Zero100 members, paints a full picture of the AI landscape. Here’s a preview of our findings.

Planning

AI’s predictive prowess makes it a natural fit for forward-looking functions. So, it comes as no surprise that our AI Maturity survey confirmed this synergy, identifying planning as the function with the highest AI maturity, perceived value, and data quality. Additionally, the Zero100 data science team has found that leaders in AI-powered planning are driving more reliable (by 2.6x) EPS estimates.

When it comes to safe bets within planning, demand planning and demand forecasting are the clear winners. More than 66% of supply chain organizations have the necessary tech foundation upon which to apply AI, and respondents rate their data readiness highest for these two areas.

AI leaders—the top 10% of respondents on AI maturity, tech readiness, and data quality in planning—see clear value in these areas as well. Comparing the top 10% to the bottom 90%, leaders valued AI in demand planning forecasting more highly than the low performers. And their investment is paying off: The top 10% of AI leaders in planning have higher revenue growth (+2%) compared to the bottom 90% (-5%).

Sourcing

The top 25% of sourcing leaders embracing AI saw their revenue grow by 3%, while the laggards watched theirs shrink by 6%. That’s a 9% swing—enough to make any CFO sit up and take notice. But despite having the highest tech infrastructure readiness across all functions (a whopping 57% of supply chain organizations are primed for AI in this function), sourcing is the least mature in AI adoption, perceived value, and data quality.

Given the nascent use of AI in this function, the list of emerging bets for sourcing are expansive. Contract lifecycle management and order processing, which have two of the highest tech readiness and data quality scores (respectively), could be low hanging fruit for the profession.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing may have the lowest tech readiness across all supply chain functions—with only 40% of respondents indicating that they had the necessary tech foundation for AI here—but that’s not stopping the true innovators from forging ahead.

Fast movers in this space are applying AI to predictive maintenance, process optimization, anomaly detection, and autonomous manufacturing. But predictive maintenance and process optimization are two of the highest scoring areas on AI value across the entire Loop and thus are stand-out investments here.

Colgate-Palmolive, for instance, is working with Augury to retrofit its machines to track attributes like vibration, temperature, and magnetic data. Then, data feeds into Augury’s software for analytics and insights. This innovation has saved 192 hours of downtime and $27,000 in variable conversion costs in one facility.

Logistics

These days, as trade routes and relationships have been strained by geopolitical tension, climate change impacts, and war-related conflicts, global networks feel… well, complicated. It’s surprising, then, that Zero100 data scientists discovered that only 6% of earnings calls in 2024 have included mentions of logistics or freight strategies, showing either a lack of capability or prioritization, ultimately leaving potential value on the table.

Our analysis of AI maturity in logistics shows a similar trend. Logistics is the lowest AI maturity area of The Loop, second only to sourcing, with most respondents only piloting AI here.

Those leading the charge are clearly building the business case for intelligent inventory management and route optimization. An overlooked emerging bet? Delivery ETAs. We found that 70% of supply chain organizations have the necessary tech infrastructure and feel confident in the quality of their data for AI in this area.

Understanding the AI investment landscape in supply chain management is crucial for shaping your own strategic decisions. However, our conversations with AI pioneers have revealed that success in supply chain intelligence relies on more than just following trends.

The full report presents an exhaustive range of safe bets, competitive bets, emerging bets, and exploratory bets across planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics and explores several fundamental building blocks that form the foundation for effective AI implementation and value creation.

To access the full report, visit members.zero100.com.

If you are not a Zero100 member, please fill out the form below to inquire about report access.