100 Global supply chains are being reshaped by a convergence of forces: geopolitical volatility, tightening regulations, resource constraints and escalating cyber threats. For manufacturers and industrial firms around the world, this turbulence has transformed the supply chain from a back-office function into a strategic operation. According to Indranil Sircar, chief technology officer of manufacturing and mobility industry at Microsoft, this new reality demands not just incremental improvement but a rethinking of how supply chains operate, collaborate and adapt. “Geopolitical shifts – such as tariffs and export controls – have become daily realities, forcing us and our peers in manufacturing to rethink sourcing strategies and regional footprints,” he says. At the same time, regulatory frameworks like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and EU Deforestation Regulation are elevating compliance from a reporting activity to an operational discipline, requiring auditable, multitier data across global value chains. Resource shortages and cyber risks are adding further strain, where maintaining expectations for uptime Microsoft’s Indranil Sircar details how AI and agentic operations are transforming the next generation of manufacturing supply chains BY RICHARD HUMPHREYS FEATURE “ The frontier firm will be increasingly shaped by agentic technologies and ecosystem orchestration” INDRANIL SIRCAR Reshaping the supply chain
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