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supply chain
August 21, 2025
Hire, Onboard, Manage: Treating AI Agents Like New Team Members
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…
CPG
January 6, 2026
How a Supply Chain Management Data Gateway Benefits Almost Every Industry
Special Guest Blog Post written by Mark Holmes with InterSystems A data gateway provides unified access to supply chain data from various sources, including enterprise systems, supply chain applications, data feeds, data warehouses, data lakes, data marts, and business entities. It helps companies meet their supply chain challenges head on and be ready for supply chain disruptions. Quick and easy access to live and historical data is critical for supply chain managers and practitioners, data analysts, stewards, engineers, and supply chain professionals in any industry. Here are just a few examples of industries that can benefit from a supply chain data gateway: Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Consumer Packaged Goods In FMCG and CPG, the ability to make rapid, data-driven decisions is crucial for staying competitive in a fast-paced market. Companies can optimize their supply chain operations by using a data gateway that provides a unified and harmonized view of data. For instance, a logistics manager can monitor real-time data on inventory levels, customer orders, and transportation schedules to make better informed decisions and reduce lead times and costs while improving customer satisfaction. Healthcare In healthcare, a data gateway can improve visibility and inventory optimization by providing a…