The latest research from LogiPharma has revealed that artificial intelligence and machine learning are top investment priorities for pharmaceutical supply chain leaders, with advanced data analytics following behind as a key priority for 73% of respondents.
LogiPharma
The findings, collated from a survey of pharmaceutical supply chain professionals ahead of the LogiPharma Digital Supply Chain Connect event later this year, show that AI and agentic AI are now the most frequently cited strategic priorities across the sector.
Research respondents identified demand planning and forecasting, inventory optimisation and logistics orchestration among the leading application areas for AI deployment. At the same time, many organisations continue to face questions around governance, compliance and implementation. Regulatory uncertainty and compliance concerns were identified as the single biggest barrier to broader AI adoption, while more than half of respondents remain uncertain about AI's ability to meaningfully improve disruption prediction and mitigation.
Of further interest is the investment disparity between AI and Network Optimisation, ranked as a priority by 53% as opposed to AI’s 96%. This supports recent insight from SkyCell which posits that there is an ‘operational maturity gap’ between the visibility provided by AI and the systems which are in place to react when that visibility identifies problems.
"What's particularly interesting is that the industry conversation has evolved beyond whether AI has a role to play in pharmaceutical supply chains," said Ben Sharples, event director at LogiPharma Digital Supply Chain Connect.
"Today's leaders are focused on where AI can create the greatest value, how it can be deployed responsibly and what foundations need to be in place to support successful adoption. By looking at investment priorities, we get a better view of what is actually being progressed, both in terms of AI and in the elements which support its implementation and productivity.”
Meanwhile, the approach to automation, upskilling and general digital transformation is unclear. Whilst all three of these elements often figure in discussion regarding the future of the pharma supply chain, the research found that they weren’t ranked specifically as budget priorities, potentially indicating that where once they were discrete budget lines, they are now subsidiary considerations under headline investments such as AI and machine learning.