{"id":8110,"date":"2025-06-09T13:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=8110"},"modified":"2025-06-09T10:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T15:04:16","slug":"agentic-ai-the-next-big-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/09\/agentic-ai-the-next-big-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Agentic AI: The Next Big Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Feature<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The next generation of artificial intelligence\u2014called agentic AI\u2014is being hailed as the technology that will finally fulfill the promise of autonomous supply chains that are smarter, faster, more agile, more efficient and more reliable than ever before. What are the real opportunities and roadblocks, and when can we expect agentic AI to make a real impact? We talk to experts who separate the wheat from the chaff.<\/h4>\n
<\/div>\n
BY DAVID H. COBURN<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"the
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O<\/span>liver King\u2011Smith, co\u2011founder and chief technology officer for MHI member sSy.AI, recalls a few tense moments during a live demonstration of the company\u2019s Supply Chain Operating Technology Intelligence platform (SCOTi) when the CTO for a prospective buyer asked it to identify bottlenecks in his operation.<\/p>\n

Pronounced “Scotty”\u2014a nod to sSy.AI\u2019s Scottish links\u2014the software promised to transform warehouse operations using a new kind of artificial intelligence (AI) called agentic AI to analyze vast amounts of data and provide insights to optimize layout, inventory management and workflow efficiency. And do it fast.<\/p>\n

After “a bit of a heart\u2011stopping 30 seconds while SCOTi sat there thinking about it,” an answer came back that provided the CTO with an actionable insight: SCOTi found there was a long delay between when the pick was happening in the warehouse and when it was actually shipping out of the warehouse.<\/p>\n

“Now it didn\u2019t sit down and explain exactly why that problem was happening, but it explained that there was a real problem,” King\u2011Smith said. “There was a real delay there and it was happening in the warehouse operation.”<\/p>\n

The story highlights just one capability of agentic AI, software programs that empower autonomous AI agents to make decisions and take actions to achieve specific goals\u2014by themselves or in collaboration with digital and physical tools such as application programming interfaces (APIs) or robotics systems.<\/p>\n

With those capabilities and the ability to operate in complex environments and adapt to changing conditions, experts say agentic AI will supercharge supply chains, take automation to the next level, increase productivity and resilience, cut costs and enhance customer experience and worker satisfaction.<\/p>\n

By 2028, 33% of enterprise software platforms will include agentic AI, up from just 1% in 2024, and 15% of day\u2011to\u2011day work decisions will be made autonomously, up from zero percent today, according to supply chain technology consultant Gartner\u2019s Top Technology Trends for 2025 report.<\/p>\n

Top use applications for agentic AI in supply chain and logistics include warehouse optimization and inventory management, predictive maintenance for fleets and equipment, enhanced demand forecasting and process automation\u2014all based on its strength in gleaning insights and trends from oceans of data.<\/p>\n

Solutions providers also are working on applications of agentic AI technology that will automate functions like renegotiating contracts and other aspects of supplier relationship management and managing compliance and risk management systems with minimal human supervision.<\/p>\n

Andrei Danescu, CEO and co\u2011founder of MHI member Dexory, a developer of warehouse intelligence platforms, sees agentic AI as the next step in the evolution from a passive “blind” warehouse operating on scant information to an intelligent warehouse able to adapt based on data collected in real\u2011time.<\/p>\n

“This technology, in terms of AI and autonomous systems, is really becoming front and center, the driver for operational excellence in logistics and supply chain,” Danescu said. “It\u2019s probably going to be one of the biggest revolutions in logistics that we\u2019ve seen since the invention of the forklift and the pallet.”<\/p>\n

Closing the \u2018AI Agency Gap\u2019<\/h4>\n

Agentic AI is looking to build off the recent advances in artificial intelligence known as generative AI or GenAI. Since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in 2022, others have followed, including Anthropic\u2019s Claude, Google\u2019s Gemini, Microsoft\u2019s Copilot and most recently, Chinese upstart DeepSeek.<\/p>\n

These products are trained using so\u2011called large language models (LLMs) to perform structured tasks, generate content such as text and video and respond to relatively simple queries. Think business tasks like email response and customer support, or personal tasks like ordering flowers for your sweetheart.<\/p>\n

While a huge step up from deterministic chatbots limited to dishing out canned responses, LLM\u2011based assistants like ChatGPT still leave what Gartner calls an “AI agency gap” between AI and human abilities to adapt, plan, achieve complex goals, act autonomously and continuously improve through learning.<\/p>\n

Agentic AI promises to close that gap with the use of specialized language models trained on domain\u2011specific data that enables AI agents to perform tasks reliably and repeatably in a defined setting such as a warehouse, act on insights from real\u2011time data and interact with each other to solve problems.<\/p>\n

For example, at ProMat 2025 in Chicago in March, sSy.AI launched a new version of SCOTi specifically for the material handling industry that allows users to customize the software down to the level of a single warehouse or DC and ask questions about their data and get actionable insights in natural language.<\/p>\n

Eager to Leverage Technology\u2019s Benefits<\/h4>\n

Those walking the show floor at ProMat wouldn\u2019t have seen many technologies already incorporating agentic AI\u2014the concept is still very much in the experimentation stage\u2014but many exhibitors showcasing solutions there are working to build it into the next generation of their products.<\/p>\n

A lot of the excitement is focused on how agentic AI can be used in combination with other developing technologies such as computer vision, image processing and robotics to bring a new level of autonomy and orchestration to manufacturing, distribution and logistics operations across the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Dexory\u2019s Danescu, for example, looks into the future and sees how agentic AI could enhance the company\u2019s digital twin platform, DexoryView, which is updated continuously with data collected by its proprietary 14\u2011meter\u2011tall autonomous mobile robots to provide real\u2011time warehouse visibility.<\/p>\n

Currently, the system relies on traditional AI and machine learning to bridge the gap between data and insights, but Danescu foresees a day when agentic AI models will be able to “spit out an agent” capable of re\u2011slotting inventory or regenerating warehouse layouts based on the data provided by the AMRs.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s what gets us really excited,” Danescu said. “This is going to be completely transformational for the way people are actually running their businesses, for the way the supply chain actually operates at the global level.”<\/p>\n

Raffaello D\u2019Andrea, CEO and co\u2011founder of MHI member Verity, sees agentic AI\u2019s potential to improve operational efficiencies by enabling warehouses to autonomously process and act on data from Verity\u2019s AI\u2011powered drone system, which uses computer vision to find discrepancies such as misplaced inventory.<\/p>\n

Verity\u2019s system is deployed in more than 150 sites worldwide, including by its largest customer, IKEA. The company, in a pilot project with footwear brand On at a Maersk warehouse in California, is now testing an RFID\u2011based system that provides visibility beyond line\u2011of\u2011sight and has proven 99.9% accurate.<\/p>\n

Instead of prescriptive supply chains where, for example, an employee alerted by the WMS instructs a forklift driver to move the misplaced goods, D\u2019Andrea envisions a future when agents powered by agentic AI collaborate to fix the error on their own, saving time and freeing up workers for other tasks.<\/p>\n

“You want to have that higher\u2011level agent say go and store it in the best place possible,” D\u2019Andrea said. “And then a system like ours would determine the optimal storage location, where to retrieve it when needed, and autonomously handle the entire process\u2014without requiring predefined instructions.”<\/p>\n

One company hoping to leverage agentic AI is MHI member FORTNA, which announced at ProMat a new partnership with sSy.AI that will use SCOTi to develop next\u2011generation warehouse analytics and warehouse design to improve material handling operations in e\u2011commerce and omnichannel facilities.<\/p>\n

The R&D project will include how sSy.AI\u2019s 3\u2011D computer vision technology, winner of the ProMat 2023 Startup Innovation Award, can be combined with the analytics capabilities of agentic AI to convert video feeds from warehouse cameras into real\u2011time data that can be used to update digital twin platforms.<\/p>\n

Analytics for inventory management, demand forecasting, route optimization and other purposes has been the entry point for agentic AI into the material handling and supply chain space, but experts say the technology\u2019s full impact won\u2019t be felt until what AI chip maker Nvidia calls “physical AI” becomes reality.<\/p>\n

That will be the day robots and other systems fulfill the promise of true supply chain automation as they harness agentic AI to convert data into physical action, becoming intelligent, reasoning machines able to perceive their surroundings, make decisions on the fly and turn on a dime as conditions dictate.<\/p>\n

“Now is the time for robots,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confidently proclaimed to some 25,000 people packed into a hockey arena in San Jose on March 18 for the company\u2019s annual AI conference. Agentic AI is the reason why.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full feature.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

ANGGALIH PRASETYA\/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Feature The next generation of artificial intelligence\u2014called agentic AI\u2014is being hailed as the technology that will finally fulfill the promise of autonomous supply chains that are smarter, faster, more agile, more efficient and more reliable than ever before. What are the real opportunities and roadblocks, and when can we expect agentic AI to make a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":8111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5,10,13],"tags":[4012,173,3817,3555,428,2097,442,1902,1907,466,441],"class_list":["post-8110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-article","category-features","category-industry-trends","category-technology","tag-agentic-ai","tag-ai","tag-ai-data","tag-ai-supply-chain","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-emerging-technology","tag-mhi-solutions","tag-mhi-solutions-magazine","tag-mhisolutionsmag","tag-supply-chain","tag-supply-chain-innovation"],"yoast_head":"\nAgentic AI: The Next Big Thing? - MHI Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mhisolutions-digital.com\/mhiq\/0325_volume_13__issue_3\/MobilePagedArticle.action?app=false&cmsId=4276870\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agentic AI: The Next Big Thing? - MHI Solutions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Feature The next generation of artificial intelligence\u2014called agentic AI\u2014is being hailed as the technology that will finally fulfill the promise of autonomous supply chains that are smarter, faster, more agile, more efficient and more reliable than ever before. 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