Reflecting on Gartner® supply chain technology predictions

Here are some of my reflections on the top three prioritized areas:

Increasing focus on customer experience

The top strategic priority in the survey is to ensure that logistics investments are used for improving the customer experience and to enable more service choices to amplify the value. This is sometimes forgotten when we discuss supply chain automation and cost reductions. Staying competitive is not only about streamlining, it is also essential to show how we contribute to the right customer experience.

My take is that we should always think about what value a supply chain investment brings to our customers. Is your operation flexible enough to be responsive to new order fulfillment models and service offerings? Are you systematically measuring not only customer service but also customer satisfaction?

Increasing digitalization of processes and offerings

Adopting AI was the top supply chain technology-funded initiative 2025. AI will play a bigger and bigger role in optimizing activities with better prediction of demand, streamlining warehouse operations, enabling real-time visibility into transportation operations, and eliminating administrative work in customer service and support.

Gartner® is however raising concerns that by 2030, the overall TCO for SaaS logistics applications will increase by at least 40% due to the continued introduction of advanced AI capabilities. I mean that it is important to look at AI as any investment, using an ROI approach and measure what it really means in terms of increased productivity and cost savings. Look at what you want to achieve and what you really gain from it.

Increasing automation of physical execution

From static productivity improvements to flexible growth enabler? There is a continued drive to automate warehouse processes. Gartner® predicts that by 2030, 50% of new warehouses in developed markets will be designed as “robot-centric” facilities, with humans being optional. 

So will robots take over entirely? We have earlier thought of automation – also robots – as expensive, static, and cumbersome to change or adjust, while human workers are versatile and flexible. I think one of the most interesting developments is that robotics automation with AI-trained autonomous robots are now seen as enabling (not preventing) more adaptable and dynamic operations. This is a big change in just a few years, and it will be interesting to see if lower price points and standardization of robot interactions will boost this further.

Don’t forget the integrated supply chain

One thing that is less in focus when we discuss strategic priorities and AI is how to improve the flow of information between the parties in the supply chain (“It is just system integration.”). When RFID was at its hype peak, it was seen as God’s gift to mankind and that it would replace barcodes within a few years. But it didn’t. Why? Because it required all parties to agree on new standards and to invest extensively in completely new equipment, tags and software. This was a much bigger hurdle than anyone thought, so barcodes are still dominating.

I think AI can contribute a lot in this area and induce much more rapid changes by ensuring data quality and availability, which will improve information exchange and seamless handshakes in the supply chain. But it will require a more holistic approach, where we today focus mainly on isolated automation and cost reduction initiatives.

Pär Wetterlöf
Product Officer at IMI Supply Chain Solutions