Digital supply chain value is moving from visibility to decision intelligence

A February 2026 Digital Supply Chain/Edge study argues that digital supply chain capabilities have become part of the operating model for large manufacturers. The survey is based on 100 digital supply chain decision makers, mostly multinational companies in North America and Europe, and points to the scale of the operating problem: large enterprises in the sample manage, on average, 42,000 SKUs, $690 million of inventory value and 2,200 suppliers. The useful signal is not generic digital transformation. The study reports measurable gains in inventory efficiency, forecast accuracy, demand sensing and real-time visibility, while also showing that enterprise-scale rollout remains slow. Value typically takes 12 to 18 months to materialize, especially for complex organizations. The 2027 outlook reinforces the architectural shift: investment attention is moving toward industrial AI, AI forecasting, IoT logistics, warehouse and transport automation, and scenario planning platforms. For Supply Chain leaders, the question is no longer whether digital supply chain is a side initiative. It is whether visibility, sensing, planning and execution systems are being designed as one decision architecture or accumulated as another layer of fragmented tools.