The pace of global change isn’t slowing down—and supply chains can’t afford to do so either. That urgency brought senior supply chain and logistics leaders to Berlin for TFEST25.
As a participating sponsor, Blue Yonder joined these discussions, helping leaders explore how AI is reshaping performance across the global value chain.
The themes discussed at TFEST25 weren’t theoretical. They reflected real challenges organizations are facing now, and the decisions leaders must make to stay competitive heading into 2026 and beyond.
Across sessions, roundtables, and networking, five themes stood out, pointing to where supply chain is moving next and the capabilities organizations need to invest in today to remain competitive.
AI is now the engine of supply chain transformation
At TFEST25, this shift came to life through real customer examples and a live demonstration.
Blue Yonder’s main-stage session brought together Daniel Hickling, director of supply chain visibility and collaboration at Haleon, and Gabriel Werner, global vice president of end-to-end solution advisory at Blue Yonder.
Haleon shared how it is applying AI across its global network—from vendor-managed inventory with retailers to tighter collaboration with more than 120 contract manufacturers.
Hickling described Haleon’s progression through key stages of AI maturity, including predictive intelligence to assess tariff impacts, automated actions such as purchase order confirmations and follow-ups with suppliers, and early agentic support that guides teams using standardized best-practice prompts.
Blue Yonder demonstrated these capabilities with its personal briefing feature—an agentic AI assistant embedded directly in the planning workflow.
Instead of beginning the day scanning exception dashboards, planners receive a role-specific briefing that flags priority issues, quantifies risk and financial impact, and recommends next steps. The agent then automates scenario creation, comparisons, and investigation workflows.
The takeaway:
AI-enabled planning and intelligent execution are quickly becoming the standard for organizations that need faster cycles, sharper decisions and greater confidence.
Value chain resilience is now a core requirement
What once felt like a rising trend is now the norm: disruption is constant, and supply chains must be built to withstand it.
Leaders described this pressure across every part of the value chain — from new trade rules and expanding sanctions to stricter data-sharing and growing expectations for visibility across suppliers, partners, and contract manufacturers.
For Haleon, operating at the intersection of fast-moving consumer health and tightly regulated pharmaceutical markets means the company must keep humanitarian supply lines moving while also protecting sensitive data.
Striking that balance requires strong controls, including role-based access, secure data foundations, and guardrails that prevent information from crossing regulatory boundaries.
The takeaway:
Resilience requires more than diversified suppliers or added buffer inventory. It demands real-time intelligence, scenario-based planning, and network strategies tailored to each product, region, and risk profile.
Data-driven decision-making is entering a new era
Rather than simply pursuing visibility, leaders focused on how to convert interconnected datasets into actionable intelligence at scale.
Hickling described how Haleon is linking product-category classifications to tariff data, enabling AI agents to analyze cost exposure, and recommend alternative manufacturing options based on capability, compliance, and market conditions.
Across sessions, speakers pointed to the same shift: moving away from reactive analysis toward continuous, cycle-over-cycle intelligence. Digital twins, richer datasets, and autonomous insights are helping teams see patterns before they become problems.
Werner emphasized this point during his demo: exception-based planning is no longer enough. Supply chains need tools that surface trends, opportunities, and root causes—not just alerts after something has already gone wrong.
The takeaway:
Organizations that elevate their data maturity will unlock faster decisions, lower operating costs, and improved resilience across the value chain.
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