From geopolitical uncertainty to rising customer expectations, procurement leaders are under increasing pressure to deliver value, agility and resilience. The good news is that innovations like agentic AI and complex analytics are no longer just theory. They already make it possible to automate work processes on a large scale.

The last few years have shown that disruptions in the supply chain have now become the new normal. Whether global conflicts, raw material shortages or sudden spikes in demand: supply chains must adapt faster than ever before. That’s why this year is not about incremental improvements, but about rethinking processes – with intelligent technologies that anticipate, adapt and act autonomously.

From complexity to clarity: How Agentic AI creates completely new possibilities

AI agents are reshaping supply chains, and we are already seeing real value in practice:

• Supplier onboarding in hours instead of weeks: Companies can achieve significant efficiency gains by working more closely with their suppliers, such as material suppliers or logistics service providers. AI agents independently check supplier information and compliance and add them to your network. This shortens the onboarding time by up to 50 percent.
• Predictive maintenance and servicing to avoid downtime: Instead of reacting to outages, AI agents monitor asset health and proactively trigger maintenance actions, reducing unplanned outages by 30 percent.
• Acting independently in the event of disruptions: When short-term changes occur, such as disruptions or high-demand opportunities, AI agents analyze events and alerts, model scenarios, and initiate actions, all while maintaining human involvement. For example, when critical inventory needs to be moved, agents automatically place orders, optimizing inventory levels and reducing lead times by 25 percent.

These are not distant possibilities, but real scenarios that have already been tested by SAP supply chain customers. AI does not replace humans, rather it serves to support human decision-making. Teams are relieved and can concentrate on strategic tasks instead of constantly filling gaps.

Analyst reports show why an AI strategy is important

SAP solutions provide the foundation for strategies highlighted as game-changing in 2025 reports from leading analysts. These include:

These awards are more than just recognition. They confirm the trust our customers and partners have in SAP and reflect the successes we achieve together. They also underline an important fact: excellence in the supply chain is now the board’s top priority.

Sustainability: From a must to a competitive advantage

Sustainability is not just a tick on the compliance checklist. Sustainable business brings competitive advantages. Over 25 percent of global emissions are already taxed or regulated through trading systems. Circular economy and carbon accounting have become key metrics for supply chain managers because responsible practices lead to measurable benefits. Compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards mitigates regulatory and reputational risks, and optimizing logistics for lower emissions often means fewer miles driven and lower fuel costs. At the same time, customers and investors increasingly prefer brands that transparently disclose their sustainability metrics and thus create a strong unique selling point on the market.

SAP solutions help companies measure their emissions, ensure ESG compliance, and use sustainability data to inform purchasing, sourcing, distribution, and planning decisions. This makes sustainability a lever for growth rather than a reporting exercise. Gartner-ranked companies often cite sustainability as a driver of resilience and profitability. When companies can credibly demonstrate their commitment to reducing carbon emissions and implementing the circular economy, they not only comply with regulations, but build trust and open up new market opportunities.

Outlook: SAP roadmaps for global supply chains 2026

In 2026, our priorities are to enable supply chains that are smarter, more connected and more resilient. We are increasing our investments in Agentic AI to support end-to-end value creation, such as integrated business planning, sales and operations planning, digital manufacturing and logistics execution. The goal is to integrate AI directly into the processes where decisions are made, making planning more predictive and execution automated. Over time, companies will completely redesign workflows and decision-making processes and Agentic AI will usher in a real paradigm shift.

We are also evolving our supply chain orchestration capabilities. As global supply chains increasingly operate across networks, companies need an integrated platform to coordinate planning, procurement, manufacturing and logistics with their partner networks. This year we are continuing to work on optimizing our solutions so that risks in complex supply chains with many sub-suppliers can be identified even better. Data – from the entire company and the partner network – is synchronized in order to derive concrete recommendations for action. In this way, we help our customers gain more clarity so that they can act more quickly in the event of disruptions in the supply chain.

We continue to focus on the high quality of the data. Reliable, harmonized data is essential for AI-driven decisions and supply chain orchestration. In 2026, we will focus on improving the consistency of our master data and data quality across the network. At the same time, we integrate modern AI models to provide our customers with reliable and scalable insights on which they can make informed decisions.

Together, these areas form the backbone of the innovations we are delivering this year. This enables our customers to move from reactive processes to intelligent, proactive orchestration. But technology isn’t everything. Things get really interesting when we work with our customers and partners and transform complexity into opportunities.

The main message for 2026: act on a large scale

The supply chain landscape is evolving faster than ever. Agentic AI, sustainability and intelligent automation are not optional, they are essential. Companies that use these technologies to truly optimize the way they work and make even complex decisions will be leaders in resilience, efficiency and accountability. In a world where adaptability is the key competitive advantage, hesitation risks being left behind.

Don’t wait until profound changes force you to act. Build the skills now to navigate uncertain times and best position your business for future growth. Find out more about SAP’s AI-powered solutions here.

Dominik Metzger is President and Chief Product Officer at SAP Supply Chain Management.

*IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2025 Vendor AssessmentDocument No. US53010225, November 2025
**IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI-Enabled Asset-Intensive Enterprise Asset Management Applications 2025-2026 Vendor AssessmentDocument No. US52977525, December 2025
***2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises Document No. G00826212, October 2025