The Future of Supply Chain Operations: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence

Overcoming barriers and tackling challenges have been addressed with greater optimism across various sectors, thanks to the advancements brought by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years. Among the sectors most transformed is supply chain operations, where AI has become central to building reliability, resilience, and sustainability.

This shift has also increased demand for upskilling supply chain professionals, making AI competence a core requirement for the future workforce.

One professional with the expertise to speak on these advancements and their impact is Sidra Tufail. She has led supply chain operations across three continents (Asia, Europe and the Americas) and more than 15 countries, including the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Her career includes setting up greenfield supply chains for new product categories and holding senior roles in Fortune 500 companies such as Unilever and Philip Morris. Recently she also started sharing her expertise by coaching AI startups in the field of health care and supply chain services.

“Artificial Intelligence has significantly propelled agility and resilience in supply chain operations worldwide. This became especially meaningful during crises such as climate change disruptions, COVID-19, the Suez Canal blockage, which forced organizations to reassess their planning and resilience,” she explained. She recently joined executives from Microsoft, Duracell, and General Mills in a roundtable on AI forecasting during disruption, emphasizing the need to challenge the status quo and focus on people upskilling.

Figures and Outlook

In 2024, more than $110 billion was invested globally in AI startups—a 60% increase from the previous year. This surge underscores how rapidly organizations are betting on AI to reshape critical functions, from demand forecasting to risk management. The supply chain sector also showed signs of recovery, with digitization and rethinking of inbound/outbound processes adding resilience alongside AI and sustainability.

“These AI-powered resources have proven extremely useful for logistics growth,” Sidra added, noting that companies able to integrate them effectively are not only improving efficiency but also building long-term resilience against future disruptions.

Experience to Understand and Overcome

Sidra also emphasizes organizational leadership and change management as essential for deploying AI-driven strategies.

“Challenges—and opportunities—for organizations usually stem from both internal and external factors. It’s crucial to understand external phenomena like AI, but equally important to manage the internal environment through upskilling and change management,” she said.

Reflecting this perspective, she has partnered with the Columbia University Supply Chain Innovation Network, where she contributes to discussions on global supply chain challenges and the skills required for the workforce of the future.

See summary here.

Current Role at PMI

Sidra Tufail is currently Director of Supply Chain Integration at Philip Morris International, based in Connecticut, USA. Since 2017, she has overseen operations across the Americas and globally, leading AI adoption in demand planning and fulfillment for both B2B and direct-to-consumer channels.

She reports directly to PMI’s Vice President of Operations and is a member of both the Americas Executive Leadership Team and the Global Supply Chain Leadership Team. She also remains an active contributor to industry dialogue, from Columbia University’s Supply Chain Innovation Network to international conferences hosted by Reuters and Executive Platforms.