Will the Power of AI Transform Supply Chain Planning?

July 19, 2023

Are you struggling to improve visibility, synchronize supply and demand, and optimize your planning processes with limited resources? If so, you are not alone. Many supply chain planners face these challenges daily, searching for new insights, automation, and ways to leverage their teams more effectively. In this blog post, we explore how Firstshift, a pioneering startup in AI-driven supply chain planning, can help you overcome these obstacles and achieve success.

Before we dive in, I invite you to read an enlightening article by Lora Cecere, who is known as The Supply Chain Shaman. In the article, “The Dance with AI,” Lora delves into the transformative power of AI in supply chain planning. You can find it here.

After reading the article myself, I wanted to share how we are tackling these challenges and driving innovation for large and midsize businesses. Let’s look at four key areas.

New Startups Driving Innovation

The challenges faced by supply chain planners require innovative solutions, and Firstshift is at the forefront of this innovation. As a startup dedicated to AI-driven supply chain planning, we are reimagining the entire “planning experience “and addressing the needs of capacity-constrained planning teams with insights and automation to drive faster decision-making. Our focus is on empowering your team, streamlining planning processes, transforming data into actionable insights, and leveraging the latest AI technology for planning recommendations and automation. Our goal is to deliver innovations that enable you to make faster, smarter decisions and stay ahead of your competition.

Harnessing data in all forms with AI

Leveraging data efficiently and reliably is crucial for success in AI-driven planning solutions. Afterall, AI is known to be “data hungry.” As such, we recognize the significance of data and have developed robust mechanisms to handle both internal (within the enterprise) and external (partner provided, third party sourced, etc.) data. By tapping into a wealth of both internal and external information, including historical sales data, customer behavior patterns, market trends, and social media insights, our AI algorithms can quickly uncover patterns and correlations that lead to more accurate forecasts and informed decision-making. We empower you to sense and respond to market changes faster, gain greater visibility, streamline operations, and improve overall supply chain performance.

To apply this to your specific use cases, consider scenarios like demand forecasting where you can let the AI pick the “best fit” algorithm instead of manually testing out different statistical techniques or let AI prioritize planning alerts that are time critical for your planners.

Semantic Layer is the Catalyst for Leveraging AI

Whether it be AI-driven supply chain diagnostics or AI-driven planning recommendations, an extensive “supply chain domain model” is needed to leverage the most powerful AI models (including foundation models in Generative AI) in supply chain use cases. That’s why we’ve brought together some of the brightest minds in supply chain planning and artificial intelligence to build the Firstshift supply chain semantic model. This sophisticated framework captures the nuances of supply chain planning and the relationships between various supply chain and broader business elements including financial metrics.

The semantic model acts as the translation layer between natural language, other easy to use interfaces, and powerful AI and optimization algorithms to provide insights and recommendations for supply chain decision-making.

Planning Democratization will Level the Field

With many supply chain planning teams still bogged down with spreadsheet-driven planning and analysis or rigid monthly processes, it’s time to rethink how planning is done. Whether your team has hundreds of planners, or you run lean with fewer than 20 planners, Firstshift can help you redefine your planning process and elevate your team from spreadsheet-jockeys to business analysts with fresh insights to drive faster decision-making. By streamlining the planning process and embracing AI-driven solutions, you can accelerate your ability to sense and respond faster, gaining tangible outcomes for your business.

Are You Ready for Transformation?

Supply chain planning transformation can be a complex puzzle. As Lora Cecere said, “Stop the stupid RFPs that are circulating in the industry. Instead, partner with a few technologists to test and learn.” You need a partner to move your business forward faster. With Firstshift as your partner, success is within reach. By harnessing the power of cloud computing and AI, you can transform your planning processes and overcome the supply chain planning challenges you face.

Ready to make the smart shift? Schedule a demo to get started.

‍

Similar Blog Posts

Insights

•

May 1, 2025

Why Supply Chains Must Be Built for Agility

Adaptability isn’t optional. It’s the new baseline.

Volatility is not a temporary condition in today’s global supply chains - it’s structural. Geopolitical shifts, trade policies, climate events, and evolving consumer behaviors continue to test even the most robust supply chain models. Yet amid all this uncertainty, one truth holds: agility is the only true defense. And for modern enterprises, agility is impossible without AI-powered planning.

When the Ground Shifts, Static Plans Fail
Consider tariffs - just one of many variables supply chain leaders can’t control. While their timing and scope may be unpredictable, their impacts cascade quickly: sourcing strategies change, manufacturing pivots, lead times swell, and cost structures fracture. Supply chain planning must keep pace, not through spreadsheets and manual workarounds, but with technology that can model, simulate, and adjust in real time.

These kinds of disruptions reverberate across the entire supply chain. They impact:

Procurement and sourcing: shifting suppliers means new lead times, costs, and risk profiles.
Manufacturing: alternate production sites must be evaluated and rebalanced.
Inventory: stock levels must align with evolving demand, capacity, and constraints.
Distribution: networks need reconfiguration—across countries, modes, and facilities.

The Role of AI-Powered Supply Chain Planning
Traditional planning tools are backward-looking and brittle. AI changes the game by enabling adaptive, scenario-driven planning. With machine learning and external data signals layered in, AI-powered platforms surface actionable insights and automate responses to variability.

Here’s how it works:

Real-time scenario planning: Model the impact of tariff shifts, supplier changes, or demand fluctuations instantly - before they happen.
Attribute-based forecasting: Predict demand not just by product, but by features, location, seasonality, and macroeconomic signals.
Multi-tier visibility and synchronization: Align planning across sourcing, production, and distribution - not in silos but as an interconnected system.
Automation of repetitive tasks: Free up teams to focus on strategic exceptions while AI manages routine re-forecasts, replenishment triggers, and alerts.
Integrated execution alignment: Coordinate inventory, transportation, and fulfillment execution to match updated plans, dynamically.

From Reactive to Resilient
Organizations that cling to rigid planning cycles and fragmented data will struggle to keep pace. In contrast, companies embracing AI-powered planning can:

Shift from reactive fire-fighting to proactive decision-making
Manage risk by simulating scenarios and optimizing trade-offs in real time
Seize opportunity - faster and with confidence - when the competitive landscape changes

Built to Thrive in Disruption
Agility is no longer a differentiator - it’s the requirement for survival. The modern supply chain must be engineered for resilience, responsiveness, and optimization. AI-powered supply chain planning platforms are the foundation of that transformation.

Because in a world of constant change, the strongest supply chains aren’t the most efficient. They’re the most adaptable.

See It in Action
Ready to see how AI-powered planning can transform your supply chain strategy? Schedule a demo today and discover how to unlock real-time visibility, smarter forecasting, and faster decision-making—at every level of your supply chain.

‍

News

•

March 18, 2025

Firstshift Launches Pluto, an AI-powered copilot for Supply Chain Planning Excellence

Los Altos, California – March 18, 2025 – Firstshift, a leading provider of AI-powered supply chain planning software, today announced the launch of Pluto, a Generative AI-powered planning copilot that assists planners with their decisions and tasks.

With options to leverage natural language query capabilities and an intuitive query builder, Pluto empowers supply chain professionals to gain critical insights faster, streamline decision-making, and optimize operations with unprecedented ease.

“Pluto is a game-changer for supply chain professionals,” said Hari Menon, CEO and Co-founder of Firstshift. “By making supply chain insights more accessible, actionable and accurate, Pluto allows planners to plan with confidence. With AI-powered insights at their fingertips, decision-makers can navigate supply chain complexities with greater speed and precision. Pluto is the first in the line of a series of AI-powered planning copilots and agents in our product roadmap.”

The flexibility of Pluto to operate in a natural language mode or the query builder mode makes it easy for planners to ask questions about their supply chain and get answers instantaneously. For complex and detailed analysis, Pluto’s query builder mode allows users to create complex queries effortlessly without requiring deep technical knowledge.

Supply chain leaders in enterprises are constantly challenged having to deal with shifting consumer demand, supply disruptions, and increasing operational complexity. Planners in their organization have to be agile to adjust plans, evaluate scenarios and make decisions based on insights derived from large volumes of data. Pluto changes the game by offering an AI assistant that compliments or extends a company’s supply chain planning team’s capabilities without adding staff or expertise. This is especially important as access to experienced talent and professionals with supply chain planning experience becomes increasingly competitive and difficult.

Pluto is available as part of Firstshift’s AI-powered demand and supply planning platform and solutions. Schedule a demo to see it in action and learn more about our platform’s solutions.

###

Firstshift is an innovative provider of AI-Powered supply chain planning solutions for large and medium-size enterprises. Firstshift's customer base includes leading brands in CPG, Food & Beverage, Industrial products and Apparel & Fashion industries. For more information visit www.firstshift.ai.

Insights

•

January 28, 2025

Unlocking Growth Opportunities with AI-Powered Demand Forecasting in the Food & Beverage Industry

From unpredictable consumer behaviors to supply chain disruptions, the challenges of demand planning are a delicate balancing act. Companies must adapt quickly to meet demand without sacrificing efficiency or profitability. AI-powered demand forecasting offers a game-changing solution, empowering F&B companies to make smarter decisions, reduce costs, and unlock growth opportunities.

Why Traditional Forecasting Falls Short

Conventional forecasting methods rely on few statistical algorithms applied on historical sales and shipment data and don’t account for :

Intermittent demand spikes
Volatile demand patterns
Unforeseen external factors, like weather and trends

These inaccuracies lead to either excess inventory of lost revenue.

How AI-Powered Demand Forecasting Makes a Difference

Leveraging machine learning and external signals, AI-driven demand planning dynamically predicts demand across product categories, markets, and supply chains. Key advantages include:

✅ Increased Accuracy: Attribute-based planning adjusts forecasts based on real-time changes like promotions, market trends, and consumer behavior.

✅ Scenario Planning: Simulate outcomes with ease, compare “what-if” scenarios, and adjust plans to avoid disruptions.

✅ Reduced Waste: Accurate forecasting means optimized production—no more overstocking or spoiled inventory.

✅ Growth Insights: AI uncovers demand signals you might miss, like external trends or regional opportunities, to fuel revenue growth.

Real Results for F&B Companies

Companies adopting AI-powered solutions see results like:

Up to 30% improvement in forecast accuracy
Reduced inventory costs by 10-20%
Faster response to supply chain shifts

By unlocking demand insights and improving agility, F&B businesses can turn challenges into opportunities.

Ready to Unlock Growth?

Don’t let inaccurate forecasts limit your growth. Explore how AI-powered demand forecasting can help you stay ahead of demand, reduce costs, and grow your business. Schedule a demo today.

‍