AI & Generative-AI Control Towers: Reinventing Retail Supply Chain Management

Abstract

The present paper analyzes the disruptive capabilities of AI and Generative AI-based control towers on the retail supply chain management. Conventionally, supply chain systems have to deal with divided information flow, little visibility, and slow decision-making as global retail functioning becomes increasingly complex and highly disturbed. Through the incorporation of the actual demand indicators, the state of vendors, weather predictions and data regarding the point of sale, AI-powered control towers provide a simplified, transparent image of the supply chain. Generative AI provides an additional advantage, including scenario-based planning, risk forecasting involving advanced analytics, and decision support through natural language, which allows the planners to react to arising challenges in a quick and appropriate way. Case based evidence proves high percentages of visibility, improvement in the management of disruptions, cost savings, and reduction in decision latency. The technologies also enhance supplier relation and long-term resilience and competitiveness. In spite of the obvious advantages, there are still several challenges connected with adoption such as readiness of the organization, socio-technical convergence and ethics. The paper summarizes contemporary knowledge on the potential operational and strategic usefulness of AI-based control towers within the retail industry and provides instruction on how to use them, as well as establishing a premise on which the future research on the construction of flexible, resilient, and ethically regulated supply chains within the gradually turbulent global economy can be based.