The future of the digital supply chain with AI Agents

Agents are taking over. Not in the distant future, but right now. In the digital supply chain, autonomous AI systems analyze massive amounts of data in seconds, make decisions, and take action without human intervention. Sensors in machines, vehicles, and connected products deliver precise real-time information from the physical world. These agents then respond immediately by negotiating delivery dates, optimizing inventory levels, and avoiding disruptions. AI is becoming not only digital but also physically tangible. Robots, vehicles, and facilities are becoming active entities in the network. Thus, the supply chain is becoming a living system: intelligent, connected, and self-organizing.

Many leading tech CEOs, including Satya Nadella, Christian Klein, and Jensen Huang, share this vision. At NTT DATA Business Solutions, we also see this as a great opportunity for us and our customers. We believe change can only succeed through the interaction of people, digital intelligence, and physical technology. This process has already begun. In this blog series, you will learn how we are using artificial intelligence in the digital supply chain today and why the question is not if change will happen, but when.

The development of generative AI ranges from chatbots, such as ChatGPT, to company-specific copilots and autonomous agents that can communicate with each other. While co-pilots provide assistance, agents act independently. But what exactly does that entail?

Goods receipt offers significant potential for optimizing processes with AI. The entire process can be automated, from the truck’s arrival to the storage of the goods. License plate recognition (ANPR) enables automatic access, and delivery documents are captured via optical character recognition (OCR) and large language models (LLMs) and posted directly to the system. Drivers receive multilingual on-site navigation generated by AI. Image recognition algorithms capture load carriers and all relevant information from the supplier label, posting it automatically to the system. The focus is on seamless integration into existing systems and processes, not on standalone AI solutions. Although employees are relieved of manual tasks, their experience remains indispensable. Human-in-the Loop (HITL) remains central to quality and process reliability.

The shop floor often lacks transparency because information is scattered across assembly areas, workstations, and systems. This complicates workflows, slows down processes, and impairs quality. An optimized display of all process-relevant information in the familiar SAP Fiori interface at the worker’s workstation provides clarity. On top of this, an intelligent, multimodal copilot provides active support to workers: It is voice-controlled, context-sensitive, and fully integrated into the system landscape. It uses the most powerful AI services from Microsoft. The copilot reduces skilled workers’ workload, improves decision-making, and enhances the user experience. This scenario can be flexibly expanded with augmented reality and transferred to other production-related areas.

In modern companies, the purchasing and supply chain processes are closely linked. However, isolated systems and manual coordination often lead to delays and inefficiencies. SAP Joule Agents and the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol enable procurement and supply chain agents to collaborate seamlessly and automatically.

For instance, when a procurement agent detects a bottleneck for a critical component, it can automatically notify a supply chain agent. The agent then checks alternative suppliers in real time, evaluates inventory levels, and adjusts production plans accordingly.

This type of intelligent agent interaction is based on the SAP Business Data Cloud and the SAP Knowledge Graph.

This ensures that decisions are always made in the context of current business data. Integrating the A2A protocol enables secure and efficient communication between agents from different systems and providers.

Although this scenario is still in development, one thing is clear: The future lies in intelligent, autonomous systems that work together across departmental boundaries to increase the supply chain’s efficiency, resilience, and speed.