Impact pathways: walking a tightrope—unveiling the paradoxes of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in sales and operations planning

Impact pathways: walking a tightrope—unveiling the paradoxes of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in sales and operations planning
Amer Jazairy, Hafez Shurrab, Fabienne Chedid
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 45, No. 13, pp.1-27

This research aims to examine the potential tensions and management strategies for adopting artificial intelligence (AI) within Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) environments.

We conducted in-depth interviews with eight S&OP professionals from different manufacturing firms, supplemented by interviews with AI solutions experts and secondary document analysis of various S&OP processes, to scrutinize the paradoxes associated with AI adoption in S&OP.

We revealed 12 sub-paradoxes associated with AI adoption in S&OP, culminating in 5 overarching impact pathways: (1) balancing immediate actions with long-term AI-driven strategies, (2) navigating AI adoption via centralized systems, process redesign and data unification, (3) harmonizing AI-driven S&OP identities, collaboration and technology acceptance, (4) bridging traditional human skills with innovative AI competencies and (5) managing the interrelated paradoxes of AI adoption in S&OP.

The findings provide a roadmap for firms to proactively address the possible tensions associated with adopting AI in S&OP, balancing standardization with flexibility and traditional expertise with AI capabilities.

This research offers (1) a nuanced understanding of S&OP-specific paradoxes in AI adoption, contributing to the broader literature on AI within operations management and (2) an extension to Paradox Theory by uncovering distinct manifestations at the AI–S&OP intersection.

​This research aims to examine the potential tensions and management strategies for adopting artificial intelligence (AI) within Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) environments. We conducted in-depth interviews with eight S&OP professionals from different manufacturing firms, supplemented by interviews with AI solutions experts and secondary document analysis of various S&OP processes, to scrutinize the paradoxes associated with AI adoption in S&OP. We revealed 12 sub-paradoxes associated with AI adoption in S&OP, culminating in 5 overarching impact pathways: (1) balancing immediate actions with long-term AI-driven strategies, (2) navigating AI adoption via centralized systems, process redesign and data unification, (3) harmonizing AI-driven S&OP identities, collaboration and technology acceptance, (4) bridging traditional human skills with innovative AI competencies and (5) managing the interrelated paradoxes of AI adoption in S&OP. The findings provide a roadmap for firms to proactively address the possible tensions associated with adopting AI in S&OP, balancing standardization with flexibility and traditional expertise with AI capabilities. This research offers (1) a nuanced understanding of S&OP-specific paradoxes in AI adoption, contributing to the broader literature on AI within operations management and (2) an extension to Paradox Theory by uncovering distinct manifestations at the AI–S&OP intersection. Read More