Imagine this: you receive an Amazon package on your doorstep, and for a moment, you can’t recall ordering it. Inside, however, is exactly what you need—perhaps a household item you were running low on. As you investigate, you realize that rule-based AI made the purchase on your behalf. You had set expectations weeks ago (perhaps months or more!), instructing it to monitor prices and order when specific conditions were met. The AI then explains its actions: “On this date, you instructed me to buy this item if it went below this price point. The item dropped below the price point, which aligns with your instructions, so I purchased the item for you.”
Not that long ago, this sounded like science fiction. Something we would only see in the movies. However, today, this is a relatable scenario and illustrates a critical need with AI: explainability. A key challenge for businesses looking to harness the power of AI in supply chain is to ensure these autonomous systems are transparent and accountable; able to clarify the “why” behind their decisions to enable users to trust in their interactions. The same principles apply to supply chain planning. Powered by AI, intelligent workflows in supply chain planning software are elevating how organizations design, manage, and adapt their processes — while fostering the trust essential for adoption.
Intelligent Workflows: The Nexus of Automation and Human Insight
Agentic AI systems are at the heart of the human-machine synergy, with their ability to run experiments on the supply chain and interact with each other. These systems can process vast quantities of demand signals or supplier data, identifying anomalies and trends – and learn from the results. With memory to track past actions and their outcomes, the AI refines its approach, increasingly taking ownership of decisions while humans define the overarching goals. This allows for intelligent workflows that deliver actionable insights and drive continuous improvement, all supported by AI.
This collaboration isn’t limited to human-machine interactions; it also extends to machine-to-machine workflows. AI helps create autonomous decision-making systems, where processes adjust dynamically based on real-time data inputs. However, humans remain essential for oversight, particularly for complex or nuanced decisions, ensuring that trust and accountability are built into the planning environment.
Atlas’ Intelligent Workflows help organizations manage and orchestrate complex processes and operations where the path is lined by uncertainty. Workflows infuse automation and augmentation into decisions, enabling organizations to optimize end-to-end supply chain processes.
These workflows are critical to AI-driven operations, facilitating seamless collaboration between human users and AI.
The Power of Transparency and Trust in Automation
Across industries, companies leverage AI and automation as forces for substantial efficiency gains, but this adoption hinges on trust. Supply chain teams need to feel confident that the outputs of intelligent workflows and AI-powered recommendations align with set goals and expectations. This requires transparency and clear reasoning behind every decision the systems make.
For instance, we trust Google Maps to tell us the best way to get from point A to B. Google Maps has built this trust by showing the reasons a route is selected including why delays occur (construction, accident, weather, etc.). In addition to the recommended route, Google Maps provides alternates and allows us to see the impact if we select any other options.
Like in the above example, intelligent workflows provide visibility into each option, decision point, adjustment, and action. Users can monitor processes in real-time, trace the root causes of disruptions, and analyze how recommendations were derived. This “glass box” approach both fosters confidence and encourages greater adoption of advanced supply chain planning tools.
Without transparency, organizations risk employees reverting to the perceived comfort of manual processes, outdated systems or gut-feel decisions. This significantly undermines the potential of AI investments. Transparent workflows help bridge this gap, allowing users to confidently embrace automation while retaining control and oversight.
Guiding Users with Tailored Experiences
Supply chain professionals span diverse roles, from procurement specialists to planners and executives. Each group brings unique expertise and varying levels of familiarity with supply chain processes. Intelligent workflows cater to these differences, offering tailored user experiences that guide decision-making and simplify complexity.
For example:
- Planners benefit from visual workflows that are easily understood and drag-and-drop interfaces that enable them to modify workflows with ease.
- Executives gain high-level visibility into process outcomes and key metrics.
- Tech-savvy users can configure workflows to address complex or specialized scenarios to supercharge value.
This adaptability is critical in bridging gaps between users who may have deep domain expertise but lack technical proficiency and those who excel in technology but are less familiar with the intricacies of supply chain planning. By aligning workflows to individual needs, organizations empower all users to make better, faster, more confident decisions.
Intelligent Workflows in the Atlas Planning Platform
At John Galt Solutions, we’re focused on making AI practical and approachable to everyone, which is why explainability is key to our approach, to build trust and clarity through our technology. The Atlas Planning Platform exemplifies the power of intelligent workflows in supply chain planning. Designed to support a multi-enterprise ecosystem, Atlas enables collaboration across various roles, skills, and functions, ensuring that the right people can effectively work together.
Atlas’ Intelligent Workflows evolve as your supply chain processes mature. As uncertainty or disruption occurs, Atlas automatically monitors and responds to the changing conditions, while allowing your users to intervene when necessary to ensure continuity and minimize disruptions. For instance, the workflows might detect an unexpected spike in demand for a product and automatically reroute inventory to meet customer needs. If a planner needs to investigate further, Atlas provides a detailed history of decisions and changes, making it easy to identify root causes and/or validate outcomes.
Atlas’ intelligent workflows are key to AI-driven operations, going beyond automating routine tasks to guiding complex decision-making. The seamless collaboration between human users and AI ensures that processes are adaptive, agile and relevant to quickly respond to changing circumstances. The ability to bridge gaps between different users and align processes to their needs ensures broad adoption, unlocking the full potential of AI-driven supply chain planning.
Let’s have a chat about how we can help your company navigate supply chain complexities by leveraging intelligent workflows and more AI-powered capabilities to enhance collaboration and decision-making, and drive efficiency. We’ll help you pave the way for a smarter, more agile supply chain.
