Steven Osburn

Special Guest Blog Post written by Deborah Dull   Imagine it’s launch season in your supply chain, and a team of AI agents is hard at work: coordinating shipments with suppliers, allocating inventory, and handling a missed delivery. It’s hard to go a day without hearing about the latest AI headlines: new LLMs, new applications, new use cases. These discussions are part of my every day. Business leaders and IT teams are eager to explore – and they have a lot of questions… and apprehension. In these discussions, we have found one framework that lands consistently: consider AI agents like new hires, not new software.   Step 1: Hire Like You Mean It Just like hiring humans, this step is about defining what you need. The first decision is the purpose of the role: what problems are you trying to solve? Where are your people overwhelmed? Where is your business growing in coming months? From here, the next decision is to build the business case just like you would for a new headcount. For example, consider the ROI of having a digital employee who can process supplier performance data 24/7. Now, decide on the type of agent that will join…

Most organizations talk about visibility—but few truly achieve it. Are you one of them? In today’s fast-paced, disruption-prone environment, having real-time visibility across your supply chain isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Yet, fewer than 10% of companies surveyed can say they have end-to-end insight into their supply chain operations. So what’s standing in the way? And more importantly—how do you overcome it? “Understanding the Foundation of Visibility” is the first whitepaper in a powerful new series by NCS Partners, designed to help supply chain leaders break down silos, align teams, and turn fragmented data into actionable insight. Download this white paper to learn how to: Identify the five most impactful focus areas for building end-to-end visibility Align leadership and secure cross-functional buy-in to drive transformation Build a clear vision and roadmap to avoid common visibility pitfalls Integrate distributed data sources to enable real-time, actionable insight Promote continuous improvement and communication across teams   Whether you’re just beginning your visbility journey or ready to refine your approach, this foundational guide offers expert-backed strategies used by top-performing organizations.   Download the “Understanding the Foundation of Visbility” white paper here to learn more