{"686897":{"#nid":"686897","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Age of Autonomous Supply Chains is Here","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESupply chain management is poised to enter a new era. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hbr.org\/\u0022\u003EThe Harvard Business Review\u003C\/a\u003E has published a groundbreaking article co-authored by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/calmon\/index.html\u0022\u003EAndre Calmon\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor of operations management, alongside \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/seas.harvard.edu\/person\/flavio-calmon\u0022\u003EFlavio Calmon\u003C\/a\u003E, Harvard University; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/seas.harvard.edu\/person\/carol-long\u0022\u003ECarol Long\u003C\/a\u003E, Harvard University; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cee.mit.edu\/people_individual\/david-simchi-levi\/\u0022\u003EDavid Simchi-Levi\u003C\/a\u003E, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hbr.org\/2025\/12\/when-supply-chains-become-autonomous\u0022\u003EThe Age of Autonomous Supply Chains Has Arrived\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d explores how generative AI is transforming supply chain management from automated systems to truly autonomous operations.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased on data collected at the Scheller College of Business, Calmon\u2019s research demonstrates how AI models like Llama 4 Maverick 17B\u2014equipped with optimized prompts, data-sharing rules, and guardrails\u2014can outperform human teams in managing complex supply chains. Using the classic \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/teaching-resources-library\/mit-sloan-beer-game-online\u0022\u003EMIT Beer Distribution Game\u003C\/a\u003E as a testbed, the authors benchmarked AI agents against more than 100 Georgia Tech students. The results were striking: AI-driven systems reduced total supply chain costs by up to 67% compared to human performance.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditional automated systems rely on rigid, human-designed rules. Calmon and his co-authors employed autonomous agents that learn, adapt, and coordinate across functions in real time. The study highlights four critical factors for success: selecting capable reasoning models, implementing guardrails to prevent costly errors, curating data through orchestration, and refining prompts for optimal performance.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis breakthrough positions the Scheller College of Business as a thought leader at the intersection of AI and supply chain innovation,\u201d said Calmon. \u201cWorld-class supply chain management is becoming a plug-and-play capability. Businesses that understand how to guide generative AI agents with the right data and policies will gain a decisive competitive edge.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe implications extend beyond cost savings. By delegating operational decisions to autonomous systems, human managers can focus on strategic priorities such as network design and supplier relationships. In an era of global volatility, this research emphasizes how future supply chain success depends on the strategic use of AI-driven technology.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hbr.org\/2025\/12\/when-supply-chains-become-autonomous\u0022\u003ERead More: Harvard Business Review\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHarvard Business Review has published research by Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management, showing that generative AI-powered autonomous agents can outperform humans in managing complex supply chains.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Harvard Business Review reports that research by Andre Calmon shows generative AI-powered agents can outperform humans in managing complex supply chains."}],"uid":"36730","created_gmt":"2025-12-16 14:17:20","changed_gmt":"2025-12-16 14:23:41","author":"klowe36","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678846":{"id":"678846","type":"image","title":"Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAndre Calmon, associate professor of operations management\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1765893983","gmt_created":"2025-12-16 14:06:23","changed":"1765894132","gmt_changed":"2025-12-16 14:08:52","alt":"Andre Calmon, associate professor of operations management","file":{"fid":"262935","name":"andre-calmon.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/16\/andre-calmon.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/16\/andre-calmon.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":226000,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/16\/andre-calmon.jpg?itok=BcsgF6FN"}}},"media_ids":["678846"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news\/2025\/age-of-autonomous-supply-chain.html","title":"Read More"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2812","name":"operations management"},{"id":"2556","name":"artificial intelligence"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKristin Lowe (She\/Her)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EContent Strategist\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology | Scheller College of Business\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:klowe36@gatech.edu\u0022 title=\u0022mailto:klowe36@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekristin.lowe@scheller.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kristin.lowe@scheller.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}