SAP SCM Expert Exchange – Episode 3 Reimagining Supply Chain Planning in the Age of AI

Episode 3 – Reimaging Supply Chain Planning in the Age of AI

Laura Tozzo and Eric Simonson of SAP’s IBP product management and marketing teams trace how artificial intelligence has matured inside SAP Integrated Business Planning over more than a decade, moving from machine learning-driven demand forecasting to generative AI features that help planners interpret complex algorithmic recommendations. They walk through several AI capabilities already embedded in the solution, including AI-assisted master data consistency checks, automatic outlier correction for demand history, and lead time intelligence that flags and recommends adjustments to supplier lead times based on execution data. Tozzo and Simonson also describe how Joule, SAP’s digital assistant, is becoming a single entry point for planners to ask questions, access documentation, and run scenario planning, reducing the need to navigate between multiple applications.

Looking ahead, both experts describe the shift toward semi-autonomous planning, where AI handles data preparation and recommendations while a human retains the final decision. They highlight early examples such as an inventory investment allocation agent that models trade-offs between capital investment and service levels, and an exception management agent that helps planners resolve issues like component shortages or capacity constraints without manually sifting through alerts. Tozzo urges organizations not to treat AI as an afterthought, but to build it into planning conversations from day one, while Simonson frames the broader shift as planners moving from “fighting fires” to deploying automated approaches that extinguish them—changing, but not diminishing, the planner’s role.