Supply chain leaders consider generative AI’s potential

Given our role serving influential organizations across the globe, KPMG has frequent touchpoints with chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) during which we share and learn insights about their top-of-mind issues and trends. Few topics are hotter right now than generative artificial intelligence (AI), which CSCOs discussed with cautious optimism during our most recent conversations.

Key takeaways

• CSCOs highly value discriminative AI for predictive analysis but have yet to build the same level of confidence with newer generative AI technology.
• Pilots now underway at several companies provide use cases and help demonstrate the potential to others considering generative AI applications.
• Early promising solutions in the supply chain include improving and expanding employee access to information for customer service; and organizing process and procedure content for consistent maintenance and training across facilities.
• Key barriers to implementation for many are the absence of a value-based strategy for where and how to apply generative AI to the supply chain, and concerns around data security and integrity.
• Companies can avoid the trap of treating generative AI like “a bright shiny object” by first understanding the desired outcome, and then developing uses cases for easy wins.