Integrating AI in Supply Chain Management: Using a Socio-Technical Chart to Navigate Unknown Transformations

For decades, the collaborative networks community has studied supply chains, focusing on trust, visibility, collaboration, and innovation, with emergent technologies being a key area of research. The rise of digital technologies has led to extensive studies on supply chain digital transformation. With the surge of AI-based technologies, there is an increasing body of research on AI's human and social impact on Supply Chain Management (SCM). However, while Socio-Technical Systems (STS) thinking has been applied to digital transformations, it has not yet addressed AI-induced changes in supply chains. This paper synthesises recent research on AI integration in SCM and the use of STS thinking in AI systems design. We propose a mapping approach for profiling AI-induced supply chain transformations for strategic design. We also present the Supply Chain Socio-Technical AI (SC-STAI) profiling tool in practice, demonstrating how it maps supply chain participants’ current and desired states regarding AI integration.