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What Does 2026 Hold for AI in Supply Chain?
17 Feb, 2026
In 2025, AI has made huge strides. It’s become genuinely useful for most knowledge workers. Reference information can now be digested faster, and draft documents can be created at a pace not known before. Outputs are based on focused information, significantly reducing inaccuracies. Its language capabilities have also been applied to enable automated responses to queries and pragmatic automation of supply chain tasks.
Some examples include:
Automated responses to “noisy queries”
- How much stock do we have?
- When will we have more of X?
- Has customer Y received their delivery?
- When will I [the supplier] get paid?
Focused actions and communications:
Suppliers
- I notice a partly delivered order. Will you be delivering more?
- Interpret response, amend PO quantity or close.
- I notice that you haven’t delivered product X yet. It was due yesterday. When will it be delivered?
- Interpret response, understand implications (and inform), amend dates.
- You’re due to deliver X on Monday. Is this on time?
- Interpret response, amend dates.
Customers
- Credit control
- You have the following outstanding. Could you let me know when this will be paid?
- Amend payment dates, inform managers.
- Order behaviour.
- You usually order X by now. Are you running short? Can I place a new order for you?
- Order entry.
- Interpret inbound order emails and place orders automatically
When applied well, these examples can significantly reduce the administrative burden within most companies and allow for a better-informed workforce.
So what?
The obvious answer is for many businesses to apply the above and take advantage of AI in supply chain automation to drive easy efficiency gains. These components are now well-proven and shouldn’t be considered difficult or culturally intimidating.
In fact, the label “AI” can sometimes provoke resistance, as it implies more “intelligence” than is appropriate and sparks fear about job roles. According to the latest Industrial Agility Assessment, only 45% of industrial leaders consider their organisations highly agile, the lowest level in five years, even as 64% of manufacturers embrace AI, and 73% automate repetitive tasks. This contrast underscores the need for businesses to go beyond basic automation and rethink processes for true agility.
That’s why I praise Microsoft’s use of the word “Copilot.” The above really should be interpreted that way - an assistant that automates repetitive tasks and helps employees do less “busy work” and more thinking.
What is the Future of AI in the supply chain?
AI can produce magic, automate processes, and drive efficiencies. But what if the underlying processes are flawed? Does making a bad process more efficient help a business improve?
Key challenges remain:
- 57% of organisations struggle with data readiness.
- 56% face skills gaps.
- 55% report integration issues.
These obstacles make it clear that process clarity and reengineering are essential for success.
My hope is that businesses gain efficiencies by adopting the above low-hanging fruit and use the time gained to rethink their objectives and reengineer processes for a new world. Operational staff will become empowered and start asking managers for precision and clarity in objectives. With excellent objectives, we have a huge opportunity to redesign business processes with automation in mind, removing “busy work” and allowing staff to focus on analytical decision-making that drives improvement.
If this happens, 2026 could become an intellectually challenging year; a year where leaders define processes with clarity and operational teams challenge old assumptions. A year where “we’ve always done it that way” is replaced with AI-driven supply chain optimisation and clarity of purpose.
Regular Appraisal of Tools
I also hope 2026 is the year businesses start giving their systems, agents, and tools regular appraisals. More frequent than appraisals, they give human employees. Start with the objectives for each tool and evaluate performance against them.
Example: CRM System Review
- Objective: Maintain and increase sales in the business
- KPIs: Reduce customer churn, improve win rate, improve conversion rate
- Performance: ????
- Start, Stop, Keep:
- Keep maintaining good quality records
- Start identifying whitespace in customer accounts for expansion
- Stop excessive effort to maintain data quality
Development Plan:
- Use AI to improve data entry quality via Teams or voice
- Enhance whitespace records
- Prompt sales teams to update data regularly
- Automate deep intelligence research
This review helps leaders prioritise investments and quantify ROI. Sometimes, improvements require external enhancements; other times, they simply require a renewed focus on the tool’s intended benefits.
Industry Insights: Agility and AI Adoption
According to the Industrial Agility Assessment 2025, only 45% of industrial leaders consider their organisations to be highly agile, the lowest level in five years. Meanwhile, 64% of manufacturers are already using AI across planning, design, and decision-making, 73% are automating repetitive tasks, and 65% are improving planning and scheduling. However, barriers remain: 57% cite data readiness issues, 56% point to skills gaps, and 55% report integration challenges.
HSO can help businesses adopt AI and prepare their data. Adopting AI successfully requires more than just technology; it demands clean, structured, and accessible data. HSO specialises in helping organisations prepare for AI by implementing robust data strategies, integrating systems, and ensuring data quality across the enterprise. From modernising ERP and CRM platforms to deploying Microsoft Copilot and advanced analytics, HSO enables businesses to unlock AI’s full potential. Our approach combines process optimisation with data governance, ensuring your AI initiatives deliver measurable value and maximise ROI (Return on Investment) while driving operational agility. Top AI Use Cases in Supply Chains
Top use cases of AI in supply chain
That You Can Implement Today
When people ask, “How can AI transform supply chains?” the answers are usually familiar. Predictive maintenance. Inventory optimization. Demand forecasting. Risk management. Route optimization. Warehouse automation. Dynamic pricing.
All useful. None new.
These are refinements of traditional techniques, enhanced by better algorithms and more computing power. They work, but only when the foundations are right. They depend on clean data, organisational trust, and serious change management. For many businesses, that makes them feel distant, expensive, and intimidating.
So the more useful question is this:
What can AI do right now, easily and quickly, to make supply chains better?
Start Where It Hurts: Admin Overload
Start Where It Hurts: Admin Overload
Look at your business. Where is the admin burden? Where are you chasing data or manually ‘winding the handle’ to get results? In most supply chains, you’ll find heavy workloads in areas like PO management, answering supply chain questions, and managing spreadsheets.
1. Automate Purchase Order (PO) Management
Managing delivery dates, amendments, and supplier confirmations is time-consuming. AI tools using NLP (Natural Language Processing) and automation can scan supplier emails, validate updates, and sync ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems automatically.
Benefits: Reduced admin effort, improved data accuracy, and lower working capital commitment.
Why this matters now
According to the latest Industrial Agility Assessment from The Manufacturer, sponsored by HSO, just 45% of companies believe they operate with a high level of agility. Forbes reports that 70% of executives have implemented or are building AI into supply chains; 77% report ROI within 12 months; 75% plan AI as their top investment for 2026; and 63% expect AI to make decisions across major supply chain functions within 5 years.
Quick Wins with AI
- Low-friction integration: AI tools layer onto existing ERPs - no rip-and-replace required.
- Personalised assistance: Each team member gets an AI ‘co-pilot.’
Benefits: Time saved, improved forecast accuracy, and reduced working capital.
How HSO can help
At HSO, we specialise in helping businesses unlock the power of AI in supply chains, without the complexity. Our approach focuses on quick wins; deploying AI tools that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems, reducing admin burden, and delivering measurable ROI fast.
