Japanese tech giant Fujitsu is using AI agents to facilitate rapid impact analysis and optimal decision-making in global supply chains.

This is positioned to enhance resilience in supply chains, and is available worldwide as part of the firm’s all-in-one operation platform Data Intelligence PaaS (DI PaaS, www.fujitsu.com/global/themes/data-driven/data-intelligence-paas), offered as part of Uvance (global.fujitsu/en-global/uvance), Fujitsu’s cross-industry business model to address societal issues.

Fujitsu says it will continue to contribute to a sustainable world by enhancing resilience through the integration of data, AI technologies and expertise, reducing the impact on businesses even in unforeseen circumstances.

In recent years, geopolitical risks, natural disasters and market fluctuations have heightened uncertainty for businesses around the world. The manufacturing industry, with its complex global supply chains, faces particularly significant risks. Unforeseen events can lead to changes in transportation routes, production stoppages and increased costs, which can exert downward pressure on profits and reduce competitiveness. Traditional supply chain management struggles to respond swiftly, making the review of business continuity plans and strengthening supply chain resilience urgent priorities.

The offering consolidates data from internal and external sources, swiftly pinpointing products heavily impacted by market fluctuations and calculating profit impacts. Using DI PaaS’s data integration capabilities, analyses that once took weeks can now be completed in days. AI agents offer countermeasure proposals, facilitating optimal decision-making through on-screen simulations.

It enhances supply chain resilience through three key steps:

• Analysis of profit and cost structure: Visualises suppliers and factories affected by market fluctuations in the global supply chain, presents import costs incurred for each product and route, and enables customers to understand their profit and cost structure in detail and identify potential risks
• Strategic pricing simulator: Analyses the impact of price changes on demand using a price elasticity model, simulates appropriate sale prices for each product when cost structures change due to market fluctuations, and facilitates the formulation of optimal pricing strategies in response to market changes, increasing customer revenue
• Operational change simulator: Supports supply chain optimisation through analysis of changes in cost structure and profit when changing from procurement sources with excessive import costs; AI agents evaluate the impact of operational changes, such as selecting alternative suppliers and changing transportation routes, and the orchestrator agent makes comprehensive judgments to support rapid impact analysis and optimal decision-making

“We are witnessing significant changes in the international landscape,” said Shotaro Yachi, chairman of Fujitsu’s future studies centre. “In these rapidly evolving times, it’s crucial to understand our environment, chart our course and adapt. I am confident that Fujitsu’s innovative business model and advanced technologies will swiftly develop and deliver to enhance the resilience of Japan’s industry against various environmental changes.”