The year of AI

From the January-February 2025 edition of Supply Chain Management Review.

January-February 2025

As much discussion and deployment of artificial intelligence took place in 2024, 2025 is shaping up to be an even bigger year. This year will likely see the acceleration of AI, and specifically Generative AI, into…

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As much discussion and deployment of artificial intelligence took place in 2024, 2025 is shaping up to be an even bigger year. This year will likely see the acceleration of AI, and specifically Generative AI, into everyday business functions.  According to Gartner’s 2024 Hype Cycle for Procurement and Sourcing Solutions, rapid adoption and multiple use cases will move GenAI into the “Plateau of Productivity” within two years. Gartner’s Hype Cycles are used by its clients to identify what level of interest they should have in a technology or solution. There are five levels, with the Plateau of Productivity being the top level for near-term technologies.

The idea that Gartner says GenAI is ready for primetime should not be a surprise, nor a truly groundbreaking prediction for anyone involved in supply chain. The real question is whether your organization is taking advantage of it now through a pilot program, or whether you have plans to do so in 2025. Gartner identified a number of use cases such as contract management, sourcing and supplier management with additional expected use cases to include supporting supplier performance management, P2P and analytics. Gartner noted that companies should look to launch “targeted use-case pilots” that can help clarify what capabilities are scalable and monitor developments in the market to look for opportunities to leverage GenAI without the need to build proprietary infrastructure.

It is that last point that is so important. Like other technological advances, companies can be slow to adopt Generative AI for a couple of reasons. One is fear of failure, choosing instead to let others “try it out” first and find the faults. The second is cost. Any new technology suffers from a lack of scale needed to bring down the cost. In the early day of warehouse robotics, that was a significant barrier. The industry responded by creating the Robotics-as-a-Service model, essentially placing the cost burden on the manufacturers rather than the adopters who simply “rented” the technology.

The same opportunity exists with GenAI.  AI companies are anxious for businesses to adopt their technology. The upside is there are plenty of opportunities to adopt GenAI in a targeted manner, and scale as needed.

I recently spoke with a company doing just that. Wild Bull Services is a large importer of beef, butter, and other products. The company adopted an AI-platform from Stampli to automate its payables. It now believes Stampli’s product can help it automate import documentation and is working with the technology provider on building a system to do just that.

This year will be the year for companies to embrace innovation, foster adaptability, and invest in talent and training necessary to position them for future success.

GenAI opportunities are there. You just have to look for them.

SC
MR