A recent IDC InfoBrief survey, commissioned by Blue Yonder, has revealed Australian and New Zealand businesses are significantly increasing their investments in AI-powered supply chains to build resilience, boost productivity and meet evolving customer demands.
The ‘IDC InfoBrief, AI-Driven Orchestration for the Modern Supply Chain’ research included 742 business leaders across sectors such as manufacturing, retail, logistics, transportation, wholesale and distribution throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Nearly all respondents (99.5 percent) said they consider supply chain visibility a top priority, with 99.7 percent emphasising the importance of agility in responding to disruptions.
“AI and advanced technologies are emerging as critical enablers of this shift – supporting faster decision-making, collaborative supplier networks and flexible logistics planning,” said Blue Yonder.
When it comes to priorities over the next three years, ANZ organisations said they will focus on multi-shoring strategies to expand supply bases and mitigate risk, while cybersecurity resilience will also take centre stage to protect increasingly digital supply chain ecosystems. Product innovation for faster, more efficient market delivery and consumer focus to improve satisfaction and responsiveness also came out on top.
The leading area of focus for generative AI was revealed to be warehouse and inventory management, followed by worker productivity, procurement and supply chain design.
Antonio Boccalandro, President of APAC at Blue Yonder, said ANZ businesses are responding to a new era of supply chain complexity by leaning into AI-driven orchestration.
“They are building smarter, more connected ecosystems that can see, analyse, decide and act (SADA) in real time. As the region is beset by economic and logistical challenges, this innovation will be critical to ensure business continuity and success.”
Across the region, other Asia-Pacific nations are focusing on the advancement of digital connectivity and sustainable supply chain models, with organisations in Southeast Asia adopting cloud-based collaboration, robotics and IoT to address fragmentation, reduce environmental impact and ensure they stay agile as market shifts take hold.
In fact, the data reveals 47 percent of Asia-Pacific supply chain organisations are already achieving faster data-to-decision outcomes through AI, while 35 percent are using digital ecosystems to enhance supplier collaboration.
“These findings highlight that the region is moving toward a future where predictive technologies underpin every aspect of the supply chain – from procurement and logistics to fulfilment and customer engagement,” said Blue Yonder.
The report underscores the importance of AI-driven orchestration – integrating data, systems and processes across stakeholders to eliminate silos, reduce manual interventions and support quicker responses, cost reductions and more environmentally sustainable operations.
“Organisations across Asia-Pacific must adopt scalable AI solutions, cloud platforms and collaborative ecosystems to future-proof their supply chains,” added Stephanie Krishnan, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia-Pacific.
“Those who can unify their data and orchestrate their networks in real-time will lead in performance, resilience and innovation.”
