DGS took part in the third edition of the Supply Chain Planning Observatory of the Digital Innovation Observatories at the Politecnico di Milano, an initiative that brings together companies, experts and academia to analyse the evolution of Supply Chain Planning models and support organisations in moving towards more integrated, resilient and data-driven approaches.

Established in 2023, the Observatory carries out research activities and provides opportunities for discussion on the state of the art in Supply Chain Planning, exploring the technologies, data, processes, organisational practices and skills required to manage supply chains characterised by increasing complexity and variability.

The areas analysed include demand forecasting, inventory, transportation and production planning, Sales & Operations Planning, performance measurement, and the use of advanced analytics, simulation and Artificial Intelligence tools to support decision-making.

The 2025-2026 programme

The 2025–2026 edition was developed through an annual programme of workshops, working sessions and research activities involving companies from the Observatory community and researchers from the Politecnico di Milano.

The programme began with the kick-off meeting on 19 November 2025 and continued with sessions held on 18 December 2025, 2 February, 18 March, 22 April and 17 June 2026, dedicated to progressively sharing and discussing the insights emerging from the research.

On 22 September 2026, the final conference, “Planning the Supply Chain in a Flock of Black Swans”, presented the results of the edition, bringing companies and experts together to discuss resilience, collaboration across functions and throughout the supply chain, the evolution of skills, and the role of data, AI and automation in planning processes.

Supply Chain Planning: key findings from the 2026 Research

The research, conducted between March and June 2026 across 75 manufacturing companies operating in Italy, depicts an environment in which shocks, volatility and disruption have become structural features of Supply Chain management.

96% of companies monitor risks across their supply chain, but only 20% do so continuously and systematically. The main sources of concern include geopolitical instability and tariffs, cited by 65% of companies, followed by demand volatility (57%) and logistics disruptions (49%). At the same time, eight out of ten companies are seeking to strengthen their simulation and scenario analysis capabilities.

Performance measurement systems are also becoming more structured: the share of companies without a structured process fell from 52% in 2024 to 13% in 2026. Today, 39% have a structured process based on periodic data collection and dashboards, while 36% have already reached a continuous and proactive model, with defined roles and responsibilities and data stored historically in dedicated systems.

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Supply Chain Planning is still at an early stage: around one in two companies has started assessments, pilot projects or operational initiatives, while only 25% use AI at scale in at least one process. The most widespread applications currently concern demand forecasting, order management and inventory management, while one of the main barriers remains the availability of adequate internal skills.

Overall, the findings point to a gradual shift towards planning models capable of combining continuous monitoring, simulation, collaboration and a stronger ability to interpret the impact of changes in a timely manner.

Collaboration and AI: DGS’s contribution to the final conference

DGS contributed to the final discussion through Stefano Fazio, Pre-Sales Manager & Solution Architect at DGS, who took part in the roundtable dedicated to resilience, visibility and flexibility in the Supply Chain.

A key focus of his contribution was collaboration as a structural component of planning. In a Supply Chain exposed to continuous change, building a shared plan requires connecting decisions and their consequences across demand, production, logistics, sourcing and different business functions, while progressively extending collaboration to customers and suppliers as well.

This is the direction taken by the Collaboration Hub within ComplEtE®, developed to create a shared environment where people and functions can work on the same scenarios and assess their impact. A change in the forecast or budget can therefore be evaluated together with its consequences for production capacity, logistics and sourcing, helping to identify constraints and alternatives before a change develops into a critical issue.

The second topic addressed was AI applied to planning and the ability to make system-generated recommendations understandable. As complexity increases, it becomes essential to enable planners to reconstruct the causes that led to a specific outcome, compare alternatives and assess their effects.

This is the approach behind the ComplEtE® AI tutor, an agentic system designed to support planners in analysing data and the cause-and-effect relationships that determine the results of a scenario. The goal is to support faster and more explainable decisions, while keeping human expertise central and creating the conditions for a more informed, measurable and collaborative planning process.

Participation in the Supply Chain Planning Observatory is part of DGS’s broader commitment to advancing planning models, contributing to the community with technological expertise and project experience gained through the transformation of Supply Chain processes.

The discussion developed throughout the 2025–2026 edition confirms that resilience, collaboration, data quality, simulation and Artificial Intelligence are becoming increasingly interconnected in building decision-making processes capable of adapting rapidly to change.

Find out more about the results of the Politecnico di Milano Supply Chain Planning Observatory research here.