An analytical framework for evaluating the impact of Artificial Intelligence technologies in supply chains

Abstract

This study introduces a novel framework for analyzing the impact of technologies through their effect and maturity, allowing for a clear presentation of the literature review results. We then conduct a literature review on applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Supply Chain (SC), focusing on evaluating the impact of existing technologies. The proposed framework is based on three axes: (1) maturity axis, which evaluates the readiness level of each technology and its current spread of use, (2) effect axis, which measures the disruption it can bring in terms of performance improvement and the number of potential applications, and (3) full axis, which combines the previous two axes. The proposed novel framework allows researchers to look at the existing literature differently. It makes it easier for practitioners to read and understand the impact of such AI technologies on SC. For the literature review that validates the framework, we have analyzed 24 literature review papers and 118 application papers on this topic. We have grouped the application papers into 90 technologies and used the proposed framework to evaluate them. From the analysis and discussion, we confirm some previous conclusions made in the literature as well as discover new gaps, and we suggest research avenues to be explored.