The future of supply chain? The future of work? AI isn’t the big story- this is.

Everyone’s talking about AI agents revolutionizing logistics (boring). That’s not the real shift happening.

After dozens of 1:1 conversations with supply chain execs at Manifest (future of supply chain conference) last week, I realized the real future is something else entirely—something most AI startups aren’t thinking about.

And if you don’t get ahead of it, your projects (and maybe your career) could be dead in the water.

Here’s what I learned.??

1. Storytelling is the premier skill to develop.

- Executives are over-saturated with “data”. Tableau reports. Industry reports. Data all around. AI all around.?

- Thus, the important skill is: can you tell a story with the data? Can you convince an executive to sponsor your project based on that data? Can you help companies wrap their arms around that abundance of data? Can you explain something complex, easily?

- If you can’t, your project is dead. In an age where AI can outperform any analyst, being able to tell a convincing story will become the #1 skill.

2. Data Science everywhere.?

- This one blew my mind. 5 years ago, close to 0% of job descriptions had a component of data science in them.?

- Today, close to 20%.?

- Mix this with my first point on story telling and a clear picture emerges: the future belongs to those who can develop insights, tell a convincing story through data, deal with change management, and use AI effectively.?

3. “Being ready” for AI is BS

- How many times has your executive team said “we are not ready for AI, we need to have better data”?

- That’s BS.? That’s an excuse to not execute. That’s an excuse to not challenge the status quo and explore what’s possible. You can solve specific problems with partial and even incomplete data.?

- There’s no excuse to explore what’s possible anymore.?

4. From visibility to insights:?

- In previous conferences, it was all about “visibility”. Just tell me where everything is.?

- Even though that’s not fully solved, executives care more about what that visibility is telling them, right now, to make a decision.?

- Thus, tools that are able to help companies make better decisions, now, will have the upper hand.?

5. We are fully entering the age of vision:

- It’s easier to just have a camera look at something than, say, scanning it.

- Since ML algorithms have gotten so good at understanding camera inputs (i.e. what’s in front of them) I’m sure most supply chain applications will have a heavy vision component in the next 3 years.

6. Trust is still very much an issue. AI startups should keep this in mind:?

- For now, very few executives trust “agents” or “other models”. How can they trust the output if it’s impossible to explain it??

- A big concern:? if companies purchase AI solutions from startups- are they signing up with a true partner or someone who, by way of being unable to explain their AI solution, is expecting to just keep them captive forever?

- We should all choose to be a true partner.?

The most thought-provoking statement I heard: “Every warehouse in the next 10 years will be fully dark”.

Think about it. In a world where sensor fusion, cameras, and robotics dominate, there might not be a need for physical presence in warehouses. Thus, why even use and pay for lighting? It might even be cheaper for humans to have night vision goggles, occasionally, than paying for 24/7 lighting.?

I couldn’t be more excited about the future and about what we’re building at Desteia!?