When AI Meets ERP: The Rise Of Hybrid Intelligence In Global Supply Chains
If you want to see the future of enterprise AI (artificial intelligence), forget chatbots—look at a cargo ship. In their Forbes article, Malini Leveque and Daniel Varab from SAP explore how “hybrid intelligence”—the blend of AI’s flexibility and ERP’s (enterprise resource planning) structure—is transforming global supply chains into living, responsive networks. Traditional ERP systems were built for predictability: steady flows of orders, invoices, and inventory. But today’s supply chains are stretched thin, dealing with disruptions from tariffs, logistics issues, and shifting regulations. This is where hybrid intelligence steps in. AI interprets unstructured data like supplier messages or weather alerts, while ERP systems validate, govern, and execute the resulting actions. The result? Agile decisions that remain compliant and accountable. Platforms such as SAP Business Network exemplify this shift, connecting buyers and suppliers through shared data and real-time visibility. When disruptions occur, AI models can anticipate impacts, simulate scenarios, and suggest alternatives—while ERP ensures that any change respects capacity, timing, and compliance rules. Leveque and Varab highlight that the real power of AI in 2025 isn’t about replacing ERP but enhancing it. Hybrid intelligence brings together generative insight and temporal precision—knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to make it stick. As SAP CEO Christian Klein puts it, “Digital technology is not an add-on to supply chains; it is the supply chain.” The winning enterprises of tomorrow won’t just react to disruption—they’ll anticipate and orchestrate around it, guided by the seamless collaboration between human insight, artificial intelligence, and enterprise systems.
