Artificial Intelligence and the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Between Ambitions, Complexity, and Concrete Transformation

At the heart of the digitalization challenges within pharmaceutical supply chains, AI has become a major lever for transformation. As an expert in end-to-end process orchestration with Anaplan, Beyond Plans is already supporting this revolution on the ground. With a pragmatic, tool-equipped approach deeply embedded in the ecosystem.

From Technological Promise to Operational Reality

AI is no longer a distant prospect: it has entered executive committees, driven by the rise of generative models and promises of optimization. According to the LogiPharma 2024 report, 51% of pharmaceutical supply chain decision-makers expect a return on investment within 2 to 3 years on their AI/ML projects. This figure reflects both interest and the urgency for results.

However, this expectation faces a complex reality: the integration of AI into logistics operations depends heavily on a factor well known to Anaplan experts like Beyond Plans: the quality, availability, and freshness of data.

The Core Issue: Shared and Interoperable Data

Over 90% of the data useful for AI does not reside in ERPs or internal systems but in exchanges between partners (CMOs, 3PLs, suppliers, clients…). Therefore, it is crucial to build interconnected digital networks capable of providing real-time data flows.

This is precisely where the Anaplan + Beyond Plans tandem makes sense: providing an agile platform to model, integrate, and anticipate end-to-end flows, adapting to the multiple exchange formats (EDI, API, Excel, etc.) of partners… and ensuring perfect adoption by operational teams.

Optimizing Inventory Management, Planning, and Sustainability

Three key uses of AI stand out:

• Inventory optimization (40% of respondents),
• Supply chain visibility and traceability (34%),
• Risk management (32%).

These align strongly with the use cases that Beyond Plans regularly addresses with Anaplan, particularly through models for Sales & Operations Planning, supply network planning, and inventory rebalancing. The integrated approach allows for scenario simulation, anticipating disruptions, and optimizing service levels while reducing logistical costs.

The Other Challenge: People, Culture, and Change Management

The report highlights that the barriers to AI adoption are less technological and more organizational. Team training, data culture development, project governance: these are the core issues at the heart of the support approach led by Beyond Plans, combining industry expertise, change management, and quick implementation thanks to the Anaplan platform.

Cold Chain, Sustainability, and Compliance: Renewed Priorities

The report also highlights a transversal challenge: sustainability, particularly in cold chain management. Yet, 55% of respondents cite data silos between partners as the main obstacle to visibility and performance management of environmental impact.

Here again, a centralized process modeling under Anaplan – including emissions, cost, risk, and service – offers a powerful foundation to arbitrate, simulate, and prioritize actions, such as introducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) with a carbon footprint.

Towards Predictive, then Generative AI

The future of AI in pharmaceutical supply chains is already underway: after predictive analysis, generative AI (and eventually agent-based AI) will enable real-time scenario simulation, propose corrective actions, and even autonomously manage certain processes. However, to achieve this, one condition remains essential: a clean, real-time data foundation shared by all actors in the supply chain.

It is within this framework that Beyond Plans deploys its Anaplan projects: not as a standalone tool, but as a digital backbone, integrating data, partners, and use cases to fuel AI technologies and build a resilient, sustainable, and intelligent supply chain.

In short, AI in Supply Chain is no longer a matter of foresight but of action. It demands a methodical approach to data, processes, and collaboration among stakeholders. With its perfect mastery of Anaplan and ability to orchestrate complex projects, Beyond Plans positions itself as a strategic partner for pharmaceutical companies looking to transform their supply chains and fully leverage digital innovations.