Agents of Change: AI’s Real-World Impact in Supply Chains

AUTHORS | Anvesha Mishra, Chihyu (Linda) Liu

Executive Summary

Sean McCrary, Digital Supply Chain Product Leader at Thermo Fisher Scientific, shared an insightful and grounded perspective on how generative AI is being applied to real business problems today. Blending humor, personal experience, and technical exploration, he emphasized the importance of context, collaboration, and specialization in deploying AI solutions. His presentation highlighted a pragmatic path forward using multi-agent systems, home-grown AI tools like Gene.AI, and even nature-inspired optimization to reshape how inventory and supply chain decisions are made.

The Reality Check

McCrary began by reflecting on the hype cycle surrounding ChatGPT and AI — from writing code to composing music — and how expectations often outpace capabilities. “I can’t just go to ChatGPT and say tariffs are happening, what should I do?” he said, reminding the audience that AI lacks contextual understanding unless we design it to grasp that context.

This realization led his team to develop Gene.AI, an internal AI system designed to tackle excess and obsolescence (E&O). While ChatGPT could assist with unstructured data and language tasks, deeper inventory insights required tailored AI pipelines that could extract, translate, and interpret business data at scale.

Multi-Agent Intelligence

McCrary introduced the concept of multi-agent models, emphasizing that AI agents should not be generalists but rather collaborative “specialists”, each focusing on a specific business problem. These agents fact-check one another and function within an orchestrated system, much like the behavior of slime mold in nature, which he referred to as inspiration for addressing logistics challenges, such as the Traveling Salesman Problem.

Insights and Takeaways

Sean McCrary's discussion provides valuable, grounded insights into AI's real-world impact on supply chains. Key takeaways include AI's capacity to drive efficiency and accuracy, exemplified by its ability to drastically reduce time spent on manual processes like document review. McCrary correctly cautions against expecting generic AI to solve complex, context-dependent problems, advocating instead for tailored, multi-agent systems where specialized AI tools collaborate. This approach positions AI not as a replacement, but as an augmentation, freeing personnel for tasks requiring nuanced judgment and emotional intelligence. Addressing workforce apprehension towards AI adoption is crucial for successful implementation. Furthermore, embracing AI strategically can be particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to enhance their competitive positioning. A fundamental question arising from this shift is how organizations can effectively integrate sophisticated AI solutions with their legacy systems and established processes.

Looking Ahead

McCrary’s key message was clear: the future of AI in supply chain isn’t about building one super-intelligent bot, but an ecosystem of agents working in sync — augmenting processes, replacing inefficiencies, and freeing humans to focus on what AI cannot do: understand emotion, context, and judgment. As he put it, “Multi-agentic systems are the future.”

Authors' Bio

Anvesha Mishra

Master’s Student, Rady School of Management, UC San Diego

Anvesha Mishra is a master’s student at UC San Diego specializing in supply chain analytics and data-driven decision-making. With prior experience at Tech Mahindra in data analytics and visualization, she brings a practical, solution-oriented mindset to solving real-world operations problems.

Currently, Anvesha is working on a capstone project with UC San Diego Health, using simulation modeling to improve hospital efficiency and reduce emergency department congestion. A passionate guitarist, she finds creativity in both music and supply chain strategy—two worlds where timing, coordination, and flow are everything.

Chihyu (Linda) Liu

Co-President at Operations and Supply Chain Club, UC San Diego

Full-time MBA candidate, UC San Diego, Rady School of Management

Linda is an MBA candidate at UCSD's Rady School of Management focusing on Supply Excellence and Innovation, currently serving as Co-President of the Operations and Supply Chain Club. She brings over five years of experience from Sunright Food Corporation, Taiwan's largest miscellaneous food manufacturer, holding roles in Product Management and as a Trading Specialist.

At Sunright, Linda demonstrated strong analytical and leadership skills, driving significant business growth by doubling the B2B client base and increasing key client revenue by 30% through data analysis and targeted digital marketing. She successfully optimized supply chain operations via strategic procurement and logistics management, achieving notable cost savings, and led cross-functional teams in launching multiple new products based on market analysis. Linda excels at leveraging data and collaboration to manage complex projects and achieve strategic objectives.

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