FEATURE
Unilever plans to deploy more than 40 AIpowered digital twins across its network over the next 18 months. These systems will allow teams to identify potential problems earlier, simulate alternative scenarios and make decisions before issues affect production.
The significance of this transition extends beyond introducing another generation of software tools.
“ The biggest opportunity isn’ t just deploying AI, it’ s fundamentally redesigning our underlying processes so people and AI can work together effectively,” Cuthbert says.
That distinction could prove critical. Supply chains have traditionally been built around sequential processes, with forecasting, sourcing, production, logistics and retail operations functioning as connected but often separate disciplines.
AI creates the opportunity to link those processes far more closely.
A shift in consumer behaviour could influence a forecast, which could affect production requirements, material sourcing and logistics planning almost immediately. Digital twins could then model the manufacturing implications before physical changes are made.
The result is a supply chain that increasingly behaves as a connected digital system rather than a series of individual operations.
For Unilever, the prize is greater than efficiency alone. Better forecasting can reduce inventory, digital twins can cut waste and connected customer data can improve product availability.
More importantly, the same infrastructure can make the organisation more resilient when conditions change unexpectedly.
As global supply chains become more complicated and consumer expectations accelerate, the ability to anticipate what happens next is becoming a competitive advantage.
Unilever’ s strategy suggests the future of supply chain management will therefore depend not simply on how much AI companies deploy, but on how effectively they combine technology, data and human judgement across the entire organisation. • www. intelligentcio. com
INTELLIGENT CIO NORTH AMERICA
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