Crazy stuff can happen in 10 years!
This week a decade ago, I envisioned an autonomous IBP, by comparing the evolution of planning with self-driving car. Level 5 autonomy was far away. Back then, Waymo just became a subsidiary of Alphabet!
In 2019 I joined Aera Technology. A company with the bold vision of ‘enabling the self-driving enterprise’, laser focused on digitising, augmenting and automating decisions.
In 2021, my colleague Hein Regeer and I proposed to reinvent IBP by segmenting its decisions, apply automation or augmentation and human-machine collaboration. We envisioned that most IBP decisions could move to business as usual operating decisions. Strategic IBP decision can be made ‘on-demand’.
Our article was dubbed ‘a brilliant paper’ by supply chain professor and author of the book Humachine, Nada Sanders
By then, Waymo launched its driverless rides in San Francisco, whilst still working on the last 1% of complex urban scenarios.
It is 2026.
Waymo performs over 450,000 weekly paid driverless rides.
Aera is a leader in the Magic Quadrant for Decision Intelligence and has agents that can detect IBP gaps and recommend how to close them, enabling automated and augmented planning decision making and decision learning.
A BCG 2026 supply chain planning report highlights:
👉 Planners continue to devote disproportionate time to reconciling numbers and managing exceptions rather than shaping decisions.
👉 The organizations currently making the most progress … allow AI to influence everyday planning decisions
👉 Ultimately, the constraint isn’t technology
Indeed, the technology is there. But most planners still work like they did in the late 90’s. It is time for bold visions, rethinking operating models, executing them and taking planners on a journey and elevate their job. They deserve it!
Waymo had the bold vision and executed what seemed to be impossible 10 years ago.
Supply Chain Leaders. It is your turn!
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