133 “The pattern across both is the same,” says Rodriguez. “We don’t win by owning the application layer. We win when the data foundation, the AI and the governance model are strong enough that partners with 20 years of domain depth can build decision intelligence on top of them – and the customer gets a connected supply chain without a rip-and-replace programme.” Technology, however, is only part of the transformation. As AI moves into everyday operational decision-making, manufacturers also need to rethink how their organisations work. “The technology question is largely settled; the operating model question isn’t,” says Rodriguez. He identifies three changes that separate organisations scaling AI from those remaining in pilot projects. “First, manufacturers need explicit decision rights for agents, defining which decisions can be taken autonomously, which require approval and how the system should escalate when confidence falls below a defined threshold. “Second, data trust needs to become a prerequisite rather than another workstream. If planners do not trust the numbers – particularly when the system of record and planning tool disagree – they will override the agent, and the value of automation quickly disappears. “Finally, roles themselves will change. Planners will increasingly stop producing Photo: Microsoft Manufacturers are increasingly combining intelligent automation, connected data and human oversight to create supply chains that continuously sense, plan, execute and improve
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