Fuelling the constant flow of advancement today may be attributable to the growing “personality” of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in almost all human activities.
It continues to redefine various niches like supply chain security, providing advanced tools and methodologies to identify vulnerabilities, manage risks, and enhance their overall resilience.
To fully rope AI into your measures, you may capitalize on these bankable insights.
1. Real-Time Monitoring: Your Eyes Everywhere
Implementing and maximizing AI-driven real-time monitoring systems in your turf enables you to track products and shipments across the entire supply chain without much effort.
Enabling techs like GPS trackers, RFID tags, and Transport Management Systems (TMS) are now more than capable of providing uninterrupted “visuals” into your goods’ location and status, whether you’re the sender or the recipient.
Most traditional tools often lack comprehensive coverage across borders and transportation modes, prompting you to pitch in more effort. But with advanced AI solutions, you’ll be given a “control tower” view, pooling data from various sources to provide actionable insights and preempt potential disruptions to your business processes.
2. Predictive Analytics: Anticipating and Mitigating Risks
The more advanced AI-powered predictive analytics today can already help you somehow foresee potential supply chain disruptions (like analyzing historical data and identifying patterns) before they happen. With machine learning (ML) processes, you’ll have a responsive ally in ascertaining delays, demand fluctuations or spikes, and possible chain setbacks like inventory shortages.
Although these may depend on the quality of your data, the sophistication of your AI model, and real-world unpredictability (like natural disasters or unprecedented political issues), it’s a tech that can elevate your business risk management and foresight.
You can also bank on Generative AI or Gen AI to help you run through large datasets, especially in simulating varying scenarios, helping you become more proactive and prepared should any threat or crash happen.
3. AI Bill of Materials (AI BOM): Securing AI Components
Planning to integrate AI into your supply chain? You may need a more structured approach to manage and secure AI components and other related systems, like an AI Bill of Materials or AI BOM, to provide you with a comprehensive inventory of all AI models, datasets, and algorithms to somehow coach your operations.
It’s also to complete your approach to make your AI system keep tabs on transparency, facilitate risk assessment, and aid your team in detecting malicious codes that may be lodged in today’s AI models.
4. Advanced Cybersecurity Measures: Protecting Against AI-Powered Threats
It’s not only the professionals who are into tech, but cybercriminals now are also using AI to launch faster, smarter, and more dangerous attacks.
This means traditional security just doesn’t cut it anymore, especially when really protecting your systems. You need defense systems that are just as intelligent – systems that can spot weird behavior, find weak spots, and shut down threats the moment they appear.
That’s why setting up strong, AI-based protection isn’t optional anymore – it’s how you protect private data, avoid costly breaches, keep your customers’ trust, and safeguard your firm’s operations.
5. Addressing Shadow AI: Governing Unauthorized AI Usage
Right now, one of the biggest threats in your workplace’s systems isn’t from outside hackers – it’s from “shadow AI” that may already be lurking within your office walls.
It usually happens when some of your team members use AI apps or tools without approval from your IT or security experts. Your staff may not really mean any harm – they’re just trying to get work done faster, the easiest way. Most often, however, these unauthorized tools can quietly open the door for serious problems.
It’s just like leaking sensitive data, breaking privacy rules, or violating industry regulations without anyone even realizing or anticipating them. That’s why it’s way proactive if you set up clear rules about which AI tools are safe to use and which ones are to be avoided.
More and more cybersecurity companies today are rolling out new systems that can spot shadow AI tools in real time and block anything risky before it causes damage, and the earlier you work with them, the better.
Keeping things secure isn’t just about firewalls anymore; it’s now more about knowing exactly what AI your firm is using, by whom (is the staff authorized), and how to further strengthen your firm’s system security.
6. Investment in AI Talent: Building a Skilled Workforce
To fully capture AI into your supply chain security, investing in skilled professionals is especially vital. Many roles like AI specialists, data scientists, and cybersecurity experts are quite needed for developing and managing AI-driven security solutions and other fixes.
A survey by experts indicates that 47% of mid-sized UK businesses plan to integrate AI into their supply chain operations, with nearly 25% intending to invest in specific roles to support AI incorporation.
7. Collaborative Data Sharing: Enhancing Visibility Across the Supply Chain
You can’t really secure what you can’t see, so, to truly protect your supply chain enterprise from the get-go, everyone involved needs to be on the same page – and that means sharing information. From your suppliers and manufacturers to distributors and retailers, everyone holds a piece of the puzzle to hold your fort.
Yes, today’s tech can track shipments, monitor inventory, and analyze data faster than ever. But here’s the real issue: many companies still hesitate to share what they know. Whether it’s fear of exposing trade secrets or just a lack of trust, this hold-back creates blind spots that bad actors can exploit and use against legal players like you.
The real fix? Stronger partnerships with your stakeholders and business circles–because in today’s ever-advancing world, information security is a team sport – and no one wins by playing solo, even incognito.
Article and permission to publish here provided as Contributed Content. Originally written for Supply Chain Game Changer and published on April 8, 2025.
Cover photo provided by pexels.com.