AI spending rises in supply chains
- AI spending in logistics and supply‑chain tech is accelerating, bringing new tools for forecasting and inventory optimization. - MHI's annual industry report says technology investment in the supply‑chain field is expected to increase despite uncertainty. - Vendors will push more AI features, but buyers should demand measurable workflow improvements before treating them as solved tools. (dcvelocity.com)
Artificial intelligence is moving from pilot projects to core supply-chain budgets, with more logistics operators planning to spend on forecasting, inventory, and automation tools. (dcvelocity.com) The 2026 MHI Annual Industry Report, released April 15, says 56% of organizations expect to increase spending on supply-chain innovation, and 52% plan to spend more than $1 million. The report is based on a survey of 500 supply-chain professionals. (mhi.org) MHI and Deloitte said 71% of respondents see AI as disruptive to supply chains, including 24% who called it transformational. Logistics Management reported that the share rating AI’s impact as “significant or greater” rose to 48%, up 25 percentage points from 2025. (morningstar.com) (logisticsmgmt.com) In plain terms, these tools try to predict what a company will need, where delays will hit, and how much stock should sit in each warehouse. MHI said companies are using AI in inventory management, demand planning, logistics, and visibility across the network. (businesswire.com) That push comes after several years in which supply-chain teams were told to carry more inventory, absorb freight swings, and react faster to disruptions. The 2025 MHI report said 55% of supply-chain leaders were already increasing technology and innovation investments, with 88% planning to spend more than $1 million and 42% more than $10 million. (mhi.org) The new spending wave is also colliding with a familiar problem: messy data. Supply-chain AI vendor Loop said one reason the sector is hard for AI deployment is that information is often inconsistent and spread across disconnected enterprise systems. (dcvelocity.com) That helps explain why vendors are pitching software that promises “orchestration,” or one system that links purchasing, warehouses, transportation, and labor instead of optimizing each step separately. MHI and Deloitte used that idea as the frame for their 2025 report on end-to-end digital supply-chain systems. (businesswire.com) (mhi.org) Trade publications covering the report drew the same practical line: more AI features are arriving, but the test is whether they cut stockouts, reduce excess inventory, or speed decisions. Supply Chain Management Review said the question for operators is no longer whether AI belongs in the enterprise, but whether they can show measurable returns. (dcvelocity.com) (scmr.com) For 2026, the direction is clear: supply-chain companies are still opening their wallets for AI, even as they ask harder questions about data quality, workflow gains, and payback. (mhi.org) (dcvelocity.com)
