SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER ITINERARY
Human roles will shift from managing operations to managing intelligence, focusing on data quality, strategy, and oversight rather than transactions. MILAN LUKETIC , Chief Technology Ocer, Birdseye Security Solutions A manager’s day starts with an AI-curated dashboard showing disruptions, risk signals, and recommended actions already in motion. AI acts like a rudder, guiding choices and providing direction, while the manager remains the captain, applying judgment and strengthening supplier relationships. ERIN MCFARLANE , VP for Operations, Fairmarkit
Think of a security team in a casino monitoring cameras and handling alerts or a production controller monitoring machine up-time; this will be the modern-day supply chain manager in 2030. Supply chain managers will have software-trained experts handling process configuration, monitoring, and exception coordination. Warehouses will no longer have to rely on sta within the building for coordination, planning, and exception management. Warehouse teams can be supported by o-site control towers specializing in material movement, exception management, and coordination. GLENN KOEPKE , VP, Industry & Solution Strategy, Vector
Supply chain managers will collaborate with virtual AI teams and human decision-makers in real time. AI assistants will be present in every meeting, displayed on screens much like TVs in today’s homes. These systems will support sourcing, inventory management, issuing purchase orders, and optimizing annual budgets. Humans will still oversee and approve key AI-generated decisions. AI will send purchase orders, adjust supplier inventory levels, and issue corrective actions for quality issues. Managers will work with S&OP, inventory, and finance teams to merge insights from each department’s AI system, harmonizing strategies in a day instead of the weeks-long planning cycles used today. DAVID WEEKS , Supply Chain Industry Practice Lead, Moody’s
Leaders focus less on managing transactions and more on guiding judgment-based decisions, prioritizing growth, and developing teams to work eectively alongside automation. Proactive leadership and human insight become the true dierentiators. JOE GALVIN , Chief Research Ocer, Vistage
January 2026 • Inbound Logistics 89
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