Future of supply chain: The rise of the enterprise decision engine

Move from functional optimization to decision orchestration
A major disconnect persists between planning and execution: Just 38 percent of supply chain leaders say their processes are strongly or fully integrated with enterprise-wide planning and analysis. Yet more than 90 percent believe improvement is needed to achieve future ambitions. Organizations that connect planning, execution, and decision-making across functions will be better positioned to respond to disruption and create value at scale.

Learn how to build the capabilities needed for connected decision-making from The CSCO’s roadmap to a decision-ready supply chain.

Establish scenario planning as a core capability
Only 14 percent of organizations consider themselves top performers compared to their peers. What sets them apart is the ability to anticipate disruption rather than just react to it. By using dynamic simulation to model different scenarios, these leaders evaluate trade-offs and make confident decisions before conditions deteriorate.

Explore how leading organizations are creating faster, more agile decision environments. Download the full report.

Scale AI beyond isolated use cases
AI adoption is accelerating, with 44 percent of organizations embedding AI in logistics, 43 percent in inventory management, and 41 percent in demand planning. Yet, value remains trapped in functional silos because most deployments are only partially integrated. The next phase of AI transformation involves redesigning workflows so that data and intelligence can connect across the full supply chain environment, from procurement to fulfillment.

See how KPMG Supply Chain Operations services can help you discover how to operationalize AI across connected workflows.

Build trust as a foundation for intelligent operations
As supply chains become more autonomous, speed and scale are impossible without trust. While only 35 percent of organizations measure it, leading firms are actively building trust by treating it as an operational capability. They are establishing clear governance, ensuring data quality and transparency, and creating accountability for AI-driven decisions, turning trust from a barrier into an accelerator for confident action.

Invest in adaptability, not just efficiency
Traditional supply chains focused on cost and scale within the enterprise. However, with just 24 percent of organizations improving key agility metrics like supplier lead times, it’s clear that true resilience comes from the outside in. Future leaders can gain a competitive advantage by coordinating intelligence, decisions, and execution across their broader network of suppliers, logistics providers, and manufacturing partners.

See how organizations are scaling supply chain AI beyond pilots. Read Supply chain AI strategy: Scaling AI beyond pilots.

Prepare the human-AI workforce
While 77 percent of organizations report leadership actively promoting AI integration and 75 percent say their culture is open to AI-driven processes, only 47 percent believe they have sufficient internal AI expertise. Success will depend on effectively combining human judgment, intelligent systems, and automated workflows.