Issue link: https://enterprise-resources.awscloud.com/i/1527868
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sponsored by: AWS Transforming Supply Chains with AI: A Path to Autonomy September 2024 Written by: Stephanie Krishnan, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia/Pacific Over the last 12 months, Asia-Pacific supply chains have faced continued pressure, requiring resilience and adaptability to overcome challenges caused by geopolitical tensions, natural disasters, and supply chain disruptions. Key challenges identified in IDC's 2024 Supply Chain Survey include increased transportation and supplier costs, delivery delays, unpredictable demand, and skill shortages. These disruptions have created substantial hurdles in maintaining cost efficiency and service levels, pushing organizations to seek innovative technological solutions to enhance supply chain resilience and agility. The need to adapt to rapidly changing conditions has made it imperative for organizations to reevaluate their strategies and capabilities. Shifting Business Priorities and Strategic Focus In response to these challenges, Asia-Pacific supply chain participants are prioritizing the modernization of IT infrastructure to improve agility, fostering innovation in product offerings and business models, and emphasizing sustainability. Key priorities include reducing costs, eliminating waste, driving efficiency, and adopting direct-to-consumer (D2C) retail models to become more consumer-centric. Organizations are focusing on addressing planning inefficiencies, transport disruptions, and warehouse challenges. They recognize the importance of overcoming technology debt and integrating advanced solutions to improve supply chain operations and extend capabilities across their ecosystems. Advanced Technologies Enabling Autonomous Supply Chains Organizations are increasingly investing in advanced technologies to build autonomous supply chains. An autonomous supply chain is a sophisticated system that operates independently, leveraging advanced technologies to optimize and manage functions. Key characteristics include self-managing capabilities, self-actuating tasks, self- learning through machine learning (ML), and self-scaling based on real-time demand. Autonomous supply chains reduce dependency on manual interventions, improve operational efficiency, and dynamically adapt to changing market conditions and disruptions. This shift toward autonomy is essential for organizations looking to enhance supply chain performance and resilience in a complex and unpredictable environment. This Executive Summary looks at the current state of Asia-Pacific supply chains, the adoption of advanced technologies, and strategic steps for moving toward supply chain autonomy. This shift toward autonomy is essential for organizations looking to enhance supply chain performance and resilience in a complex and unpredictable environment.