Sena Zorlu

In a rapidly evolving global supply chain landscape, SAP’s David Vallejo believes the most exciting innovations are happening in planning—and that the industry is entering a fundamentally new era. At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit 2025 in Denver, Vallejo, who leads global product marketing for SAP’s supply chain portfolio, joined Scott Luton to discuss how planning is transforming, why data now sits at the center of competitiveness, and what SAP is doing to help organizations make faster, more confident decisions.   A Shift From ERP-Centric to Data-Centric Vallejo described his team’s role as one that constantly scans the market—identifying trends, customer expectations, and the problems companies will need to solve next. Those insights help shape new innovations across the SAP ecosystem. He noted that SAP has moved decisively from an ERP-centric worldview to a data-centric one. This shift is essential, he argued, because the biggest advantage in modern planning lies in having the right data—clean, connected, contextualized, and ready to drive decisions. As Vallejo put it, “It’s all about the data that I need to make better planning decisions.”   Planning Models Are No Longer Static Reflecting on how planning has evolved since he entered the field two decades…

Supply chains today are drowning in data but still struggling to answer critical questions. Inventory is visible but not always explainable. Lead times exist in the system, but don’t always reflect reality. Improvement opportunities are identified, yet often fail to translate into action. In this white paper, explore four common challenges that prevent organizations from turning supply chain data into better decisions, and learn where AI can provide real value by improving diagnostics, prioritizing action, and uncovering patterns across complex operations. What You’ll Learn Where AI really improves supply chain outcomes and where it doesn’t How to turn “visible” inventory into something you can actually explain and act on Why many AI initiatives fail and what it takes to drive real impact How to spot hidden inefficiencies in lead times, planning settings, and governance Download the White Paper Discover how leading organizations are moving beyond dashboards to create greater visibility, stronger alignment, and more effective supply chain decisions.