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Intelligent supply chains: From automation to ecosystem.

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From chaos to coordination: Why orchestration matters now.

As supply chains become more complex, orchestration is becoming a key link. It connects advanced technologies with human insight. This helps organizations work faster, clearer, and with more purpose.

By the end of 2025, warehouses will be highly complex. Many facilities around the world will use several automation systems. These systems will include AMRs, robotic arms, conveyors, and palletizers, all working at the same time.

Amazon, the global leader in e-commerce, has used over one million robots in its operations. This number makes manual coordination impossible. According to the company, approximately 75% of Amazon’s worldwide deliveries now involve some form of robotic assistance.

This growing automation has helped Amazon increase productivity. It also reduces the pressure to deal with problems like high employee turnover at its fulfillment centers.

As robotic automation grows in modern warehouses, the challenge has changed. It is now about managing machines smartly, not just using them. By the end of this year, about 67% of warehouse automation projects will use AI technologies. This is up from about 45% in 2020. This shows a clear shift from separate robotic systems to smart, coordinated intelligence.

AI-based orchestration platforms now serve as the “brains” of warehouse operations. These systems analyze real-time data—robot location, battery levels, task urgency, and inventory status—to assign tasks dynamically. The result? Order cycle times are reduced by 35%, and order picking errors drop by up to 50%.

Ocado is a leader in AI-driven fulfillment. They use software to manage over 3,000 robots in one warehouse. This helps them achieve 99.9% order accuracy and complete picking in just 5 minutes.

Beyond the four balls: The rise of connected ecosystems.

The most transformative aspect of orchestration is its expansion beyond the warehouse. In 2025, end-to-end (E2E) orchestration is becoming the norm, integrating signals from:

Supplier production schedules
Port and carrier delays
Customer demand forecasts
Global disruptions (e.g., weather, strikes)

For instance, a leading electronics manufacturer used orchestration to reroute inventory in response to a port strike in Asia. The system changed shipping routes on its own. It also moved stock and updated customer delivery times. This helped reduce possible revenue loss by $2.3 million.

The strategic shift: From hardware to software.

While robotics and sensors remain essential, the true differentiator is software. The intelligence layer, where orchestration, analytics, and decision-making converge, creates value. Companies adopting AI-powered orchestration platforms are reporting 30–50% higher process efficiency than organizations that rely primarily on hardware-based automation alone.

SAP’s Digital Supply Chain suite, combined with integration partners like Westernacher, enables businesses to:

Deploy orchestration rapidly with prebuilt connectors
Align strategy with execution
Gain real-time visibility across the supply chain

As supply chains become more complex, finding the right partners for orchestration solutions can help improve resilience and clarity.

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Intelligent supply chains: From automation to ecosystem.

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Article

Intelligent supply chains: From automation to ecosystem.

Quest

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