AI Research: Positive Signs on the Horizon

Ramp performed research on artificial intelligence and the impact on jobs. Their research paper, “A New Look at AI’s Impact on Jobs: Firm-Level AI Spending and Workforce Adjustment” found that firms that adopt AI grow headcount 10.2% over the two years following adoption. Entry-level headcount grew 12% over the two years following adoption. Both of these statistics are the opposite of what has been feared. Additionally, for small businesses, the impact is higher, showing AI can unlock capabilities that previously required a dedicated team. Successful companies are gaining ground while stodgy firms will widen their gap to catch up. 

What Should We Learn

Forward thinking companies are looking for ways to roll out AI in a smart and practical manner. A few tips for success:

1. Sales forecasting: Companies should move beyond relying solely on historical sales data and incorporate market intelligence, customer trends, promotions, seasonality, and supply chain signals into their sales forecasting process. AI has become a key differentiator because it can identify changing demand patterns, emerging trends, and anomalies far faster than traditional forecasting methods, enabling planners to make proactive adjustments before issues impact customers or profitability. Combined with an effective SIOP process, AI-powered forecasting improves predictability, optimizes inventory, and positions companies to respond quickly to changing market conditions.
2. Advanced Planning Systems (APS): Modern Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) systems have evolved well beyond generating optimized production schedules. Today’s leading solutions leverage AI to continuously analyze changing demand patterns, supply constraints, production capacity, inventory positions, supplier performance, and external market signals. Rather than simply reacting to yesterday’s data, AI enables APS systems to identify emerging trends, recommend proactive actions, evaluate multiple scenarios, and continuously refine plans as conditions change. Companies that leverage AI-enabled APS systems are better positioned to anticipate disruptions, improve customer service, optimize inventory, and stay ahead of rapidly changing market conditions instead of constantly reacting to them.
3. Robotics: Robotics is transforming manufacturing by increasing throughput, improving quality, enhancing safety, and addressing persistent labor shortages. From collaborative robots (cobots) working alongside employees to autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) moving materials throughout a facility, manufacturers can automate repetitive, physically demanding, and precision-driven tasks while enabling employees to focus on higher-value activities. AI is accelerating these capabilities by allowing robots to recognize patterns, adapt to changing conditions, optimize workflows, perform predictive maintenance, and make real-time decisions based on sensor and production data. Together, robotics and AI provide manufacturers with the agility, scalability, and operational resilience needed to remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic environment.
4. Claude/ ChatGPT:  A trend that is gaining momentum with clients is the use of AI tools such as Claude, Grok and ChatGPT. Several companies are exploring the use of Claude for analysis, ChatGPT for writing copy and/or research etc. Ensure your company is using the private version as you don’t want to train AI models with your company data. 

AI is quickly becoming a competitive differentiator rather than simply another technology investment. Companies that begin building AI capabilities today will be better equipped to improve forecasting, optimize planning, increase productivity, enhance decision-making, and respond more effectively to changing customer and market conditions. Those that delay risk falling further behind as competitors leverage AI to become more agile, scalable, and profitable. The time to start is now—begin with practical applications, build organizational confidence, and expand AI capabilities as part of your broader supply chain and business strategy.

If you are interested in reading more on this topic:
Supply Chain Visibility Fueling Faster, Smarter & Proactive Decision-Making