Simon Bowes, European Corporate Vice-President for Manufacturing Industry Strategy, Blue Yonder, provides his take on what 2026 holds for the industry
By 2026, we will see artificial intelligence firmly embedded at the heart of global manufacturing supply chain strategy. After years of disruption from crises, tariffs, and climate events, companies have realised that resilience is not just about surviving shocks—it is about building systems that learn, adapt, and anticipate.
In many ways, the argument in favour of using AI to improve supply chain performance and resilience has already been won. Blue Yonder’s Supply Chain Compass research reveals that 74% of industry leaders believe AI is already transforming their operations.
The challenge now is moving from experimentation to scaled deployment—unifying data, connecting processes, and equipping teams to act on AI-driven insights with confidence.
Intelligent ecosystems
AI is transforming supply chains from reactive networks into intelligent ecosystems. Predictive AI enables manufacturers to sense demand shifts or supply constraints days or even weeks earlier. At the same time, generative and agentic AI are changing how people interact with information.
Warehouse managers or planners no longer need to spend hours trawling through dashboards; intelligent agents can summarise weekend activity, flag underperforming carriers or even propose solutions. This human-AI partnership turns what was once an administrative effort into strategic decision-making.
It is also important to recognise that in-built supply chain expertise is mandatory to make AI support this human-AI partnership. Without in-built supply chain expertise there is a long and painful ramp up training AI tools to give accurate advice.
Reshaping geography
Disruptions are also reshaping the geography of supply chains. Nearshoring and ‘friendshoring’ are becoming mainstream as companies seek shorter, more reliable routes to market. AI supports this regionalisation by modelling trade-offs between cost, lead time, and risk through automated, continuous scenario planning.
Ultimately, the companies that thrive through 2026 will not be those with the longest supply chains, but those with the smartest, powered by AI that connects insight with action at speed and scale.
