This episode is produced in partnership with ITLS Board of Advice.
Professor Behnam (Ben) Fahimnia is a distinguished expert in supply chain management and decision sciences, currently serving as a Professor and Chair at the University of Sydney. His extensive research encompasses areas such as supply chain transformation, risk management, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in supply chain operations.
Elton Brown is a Senior Consultant at Demand Management Systems. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Intelligent Supply Chains at the University of Sydney, an active member of SCLAA, an author, presenter and industry advisor.
What you’ll learn:
What makes AI succeed—or fail—in supply chains? Success hinges on data quality, integration with business processes, and change management. Failure often results from viewing AI as a magic fix rather than a tool needing context, governance, and human alignment.
Can AI work with poor data, or is clean data a must? Surprisingly, AI can help clean messy data—but expectations must be realistic.
Where does human judgment still matter in automated systems? Humans are still essential, especially in strategic decisions and disruption management.
How should AI be used at different decision levels in supply chains? And how this differs at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels.
Is AI helping or hurting sustainability? It’s a lever for both environmental and business continuity goals.
Quotes:
“AI is like a hammer—you need the right nails, the right timing, and the right framework. Otherwise, you’ll just break things.”
“Supply chain isn’t just logistics. Logistics is a subset—supply chain is the full ecosystem of decisions, from procurement to delivery.”
“Optimization used to mean hundreds of variables. Now, we’re simulating billions of scenarios in seconds.”
“The best AI supply chains are built with humans in the loop—judging, validating, and making the final call.”
“Sustainability isn’t just environmental. It’s about resilience, labour equity, and long-term continuity.”
“Distrust is the #1 barrier to AI adoption in supply chains. Cultural readiness matters just as much as technical readiness.”
Timestamps
04:20 – Supply Chain vs Logistics
Ben explains why the terms are often grouped together, how they differ, and the historical evolution from operations management to global supply chain thinking.
07:45 – Where AI Works… and Where It Fails
Elton discusses the difference between thriving vs failing AI implementations in supply chains, using analogies like hammers and houses to explain misuse.
13:00 – Strategic, Tactical, and Operational AI Use
Elton breaks down how AI impacts different layers of decision-making: long-term planning, inventory and demand forecasting, and real-time logistics.
27:55 – Ethics, Bias, and Data Access in AI
Both guests explore concerns around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the need for transparent, diverse governance in AI rollouts.
31:01 – What’s Next: Blockchain, IoT & Real-Time Digital Twins
The episode wraps with predictions about emerging tech—particularly the convergence of AI, blockchain, and IoT in transforming supply chains.
Links:
Connect:
Connect with Elton via Linkedin
Connect with Ben via Linkedin
Connect with Emily via email: emily@compassiot.com.au
Connect with Byte Size via LinkedIn
Connect with Compass IoT (the producer of this podcast) via our website
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