Artificial Intelligence for Smart Supply Chain Management: Opportunities and Challenges

The supply chain faces numerous challenges, including disruptions, fraud, inefficiencies, and the bullwhip effect, which can significantly impact its performance. Digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), offer promising solutions to these challenges by enhancing intelligent decision-making, improving visibility, and optimizing operations. This chapter aims to explore the role of AI in transforming traditional supply chains into smart supply chains (SSCs). Particularly, the chapter focuses on as to how AI can reduce supply chain costs, enhance transparency, and protect against disruptions and fraud. Additionally, the chapter also assesses the role of AI in automating manufacturing processes and managing inventory efficiently. The chapter undertakes a comprehensive review of literature on the topic, including articles, books, and reports to analyze the integration of AI in supply chain management. The key highlights of the chapter are the reiteration of the role of AI in smarter decision-making based on historical data, reduces costs, improves environmental sustainability, and enhances overall supply chain resilience. AI also plays a critical role in automating tasks and optimizing inventory management. Likewise, our analysis also highlights AI as a “game changer” for making supply chains more optimized, resilient, and efficient, offering a strategic roadmap for industry experts and researchers.