JUNE 9 — A recent paper, “The Impact of AI on Job Opportunities and Challenges in the Supply Chain Sector,” didn’t scream about a robot apocalypse. It didn’t promise a frictionless utopia, either. Instead, it did something far more useful: it told the truth. And the truth is this—AI is not coming for your warehouse job tomorrow. But it is coming for the version of your job that involves mind-numbing repetition, manual data entry, and staring at a spreadsheet to predict next quarter’s demand. The question isn’t whether AI will transform supply chains. That battle is over. The question is whether we—educators, executives, and workers—are brave enough to manage the messy, human transition that follows.

For decades, supply chain was the back office of the global economy—undervalued, underpaid, and drowning in inefficiency. We now see how a disruption in the supply chain at the Hormuz Strait is creating havoc for the world economy. AI is changing that. The paper highlights that automation of routine tasks (inventory tracking, route optimization, basic procurement) is freeing human workers to do what humans actually do best: solve problems, negotiate with suppliers, and manage exceptions.

The researchers note a clear shift. Entry-level “data entry clerk” roles are shrinking. But “inventory AI auditor,” “supply chain exception handler,” and “last-mile delivery analyst” are on the rise. These are not sci-fi jobs. They are real, and they pay better.

One striking finding from the analysis was that companies that integrated AI responsibly didn’t reduce headcount—they reallocated it. Workers who once scanned barcodes for eight hours are now being trained to manage the algorithms that predict when those barcodes will run out. That is not job destruction. That is job evolution. But here is where the conference paper stops being a pep talk and becomes a warning label.

The authors identify a brutal challenge: the gap between what AI can do and what the current workforce can manage is widening into a canyon. Most supply chain workers today were never trained to question an algorithm’s output. They were trained to follow orders. AI, by contrast, requires constant oversight, ethical judgment, and digital literacy. Without massive, urgent reskilling, we will end up with a two-tiered system: a small elite of data scientists who understand the black box, and a mass of confused workers who fear it. That is not efficiency. That is a recipe for resentment and operational disaster.

The paper is particularly sharp on the “transparency” problem. When an AI system flags a shipment for rerouting, or denies a supplier payment, who would explain the decision to the human on the other end? Currently, no one. The researchers call this the “accountability vacuum”—and it is the single biggest ethical risk in the sector today. So, what should we do? The authors have suggested a few measures.

First, stop treating AI as a cost-cutting hammer. Every executive in that conference room knows the temptation. Use AI to replace people, and you’ll save money for two quarters. Then your remaining workers will be terrified, your systems will drift out of alignment, and your “efficiency” will crumble. The researchers’ data is clear: the firms that succeed are those that invest more in human training, not less.

Second, unions and industry bodies need to wake up. The supply chain sector is notorious for thin margins and thinner training budgets. Collective bargaining in 2025 must include “upskilling clauses”—guaranteed hours for workers to learn AI oversight, not just fight against automation.

Finally, a word to the young person considering a supply chain career: ignore the doomsayers. Subaithani and Karthika’s paper shows that AI is creating more interesting, less soul-crushing work. The forklift driver who learns to manage a fleet of autonomous pallet movers becomes a logistics supervisor. The clerk who understands demand forecasting becomes a planner. The robots are here. But they are still stupid. They need humans to set their morals, interpret their errors, and take the blame when things go wrong. That’s your job now. Don’t waste it.

*The author is affiliated with the Tan Sri Omar Centre for STI Policy Studies at UCSI University and is an Adjunct Professor at the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya. He can be reached at ahmadibrahim@ucsiuniversity.edu.my.

**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.