We all want a world where business operations run smoothly, efficiently and with pinpoint accuracy. Although a supply chain that is 100% free from disruptions isn’t happening anytime soon, it is possible to achieve efficient and smooth operations thanks to AI agents.
Acting as your automated second-in-command, AI agents are systems that not only automate complex tasks but also provide actionable insights and swift resolutions, bringing measurable benefits and streamlining every aspect of supply chain management.
On the surface, AI agents might sound like another piece of technology in an already overcrowded market of AI- and machine learning-powered tools. But in reality, they go beyond mere predictions or natural-language responses, offering the distinct capability to independently analyze information and then recommend (and execute!) decisions autonomously. Let’s dive into how they can be used, right now, to optimize and improve your supply chain and deliver real ROI and measurable results.
Agents are not your average AI
AI agents are built differently from the other AI tools that you will have come across. Fundamentally, they’re made from the five key areas:
- 1. A large language model, which gives agents their brainpower. This is what makes them understand complex language, perform reasoning and make informed decisions.
- 2. Prompting techniques, which give agents clear instructions to guide all strategic actions. This ensures that all decisions are made within the set goals, operational context, safety guardrails, and overall strategic approach.
- 3. Memory capabilities, including both short-term memory for immediate processing and long-term memory to maintain contextual information over its lifetime.
- 4. External knowledge integration, which allows the agents to pull data and information from diverse sources, such as external databases, APIs or embedded data sets.
- 5. Tool integration, which gives agents the power to act and execute tasks independently.
Many AI tools on the market are simply using large language models to run fancy chatbots. Our agents are five steps ahead—they don’t just provide a response, but have the data, refined prompts, knowledge, memory, and tools to fully process, calculate and act just like humans. It’s a unique capability that we call the SADA operational loop:
- See: AI agents continuously monitor the environment to detect real-time changes or disruptions.
- Analyze: They apply pattern recognition and causal analysis to understand the significance of these changes within a comprehensive business context.
- Decide: Leveraging a deep understanding of your business, AI agents evaluate possible courses of action and determine the best strategy to achieve business goals.
- Act: AI agents will automatically act (within limits you set) or submit the action for your approval.
AI agents aren’t a passive tool that can help with your active problems—they’re fully a part of your system, constantly on the lookout for changes, finding the best strategic action for your business, and proactively acting on your behalf. They’re the partner you wish you had by your side sooner.
As Wayne Usie, Blue Yonder EVP and Chief Strategy Officer, put it during ICON 2025:
The agents “are not just on the same platform and connected—they are conscious. They share one brain, one data model and always have the most up-to-date information.”
Meet your AI Agent team
We have a whole team of AI agents ready to transform your supply chain. This includes:
- Inventory Ops agent. Manages stock levels and demands, optimizes transportation and adjusts order fulfillment priorities to prevent waste and maximize stock
- Logistics Ops agent. Cuts transportation costs and boosts fleet productivity by improving routing, guiding fleet redeployment and capturing backhaul opportunities
- Warehouse Ops agent. Enhances order fulfillment and reduces carrying costs by optimizing space utilization, resolving fulfillment bottlenecks and forecasting labor needs
- Shelf Ops agent. Enhances product placement and shelf organization by editing planograms in bulk with natural language and facilitating real-time in-app collaboration
- Network Ops agent. Prevents disruptions by automatically responding to network events and streamlining operations
- Tariff agent. Acts early on tariff risks and changes, supporting cost mitigation by evaluating alternative suppliers and adjusting sourcing decisions.
