Ask any businessperson what the new, new thing in supply chain management is and they’ll invariably say, “Artificial Intelligence.” All the hype notwithstanding and tempered with a dose of skepticism, it’s not an exaggeration to state that the application of AI to disciplines such as demand planning, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution planning, and logistics can materially alter the way in which international trade is conducted. Despite its bright future, this session begins with the heresy that AI will be unable to create order-of-magnitude benefits until linear supply chain mindsets are abandoned for a circular, demand-based approach. Based on the tenets of “System Dynamics,” the presentation’s hypothesis is that AI will only reach its potential when folks stop engaging in silo-based cause-and-effect decision-making and begin to treat interactions between international business players as an array of interdependent and ever-expanding feedback loops. In what truly is a revolutionary perspective on supply chain management, logistics, and trade compliance, this TPM Academy session will demonstrate how the success of global trade lies in the fusion of AI with the organic principles of System Dynamics. Built upon an understanding of what AI is and how its capabilities align with the concept of “Systems Thinking”, attendees will emerge from this session confident that AI will play a dominant role in global trade for years to come.

Content of the 90-minute presentation will include:

• The true definition of Artificial Intelligence and the concept of feedback loops

• Setting the stage: Examples of mainstream AI applications

• AI’s “Kitty Hawk Moment”

• Why AI for international business is so hard: separating the hype from the hope

• AI and applications for global trade: Current examples

• AI and applications for global trade: What’s being worked on

• Where the real breakthrough lies: The fusion of System Dynamics and AI

• The road ahead: Future applications for trade-based AI