Kinaxis, a Canadian firm specialising in supply chain orchestration, has reportedly been selected by Tosoh Corporation, a major player in the Asian chemical industry, to transform and streamline its supply chain operations using artificial intelligence. According to the announcement, Tosoh aimed to enhance operational resilience and agility in an industry marked by frequent disruptions and complex regulatory demands. The company said it chose Kinaxis’s Maestro™ platform to improve coordination between sales and operations, optimise inventory management, and better balance supply and demand amid market volatility.
Historically reliant on manual, spreadsheet-based processes, Tosoh said it faced significant challenges in gaining comprehensive visibility across its global operations. The firm claimed that the Kinaxis platform, which integrates AI and automation, offers a unified solution intended to replace fragmented workflows and enable quicker, data-driven decisions. “Traditional Enterprise Resource Planning systems simply can’t keep up with the complexity and speed required in today’s chemical industry,” Mitsuhiro Nishimura, vice president at Tosoh, is quoted as saying in the release.
The move is part of a broader trend seen in various industries where companies seek AI-powered solutions to navigate increasingly complex and volatile supply chains. Kinaxis has previously partnered with other organisations, including Brother Industries and ExxonMobil, to develop tailored supply chain solutions for sectors ranging from electronics manufacturing to energy. These collaborations emphasise improving demand forecasting, scenario planning, and real-time decision-making capabilities through AI and advanced analytics.
Kinaxis’s platform, Maestro™, is described as combining proprietary technologies to provide end-to-end transparency and agility, from strategic planning through to last-mile delivery. Independent reports highlight that Kinaxis focuses on AI-driven concurrent planning, integrating machine learning with analytics to optimise trade-offs involving cost, capacity, and delivery performance. Industry observers note that such systems aim to reduce reliance on static data and manual interventions, offering companies dynamic tools to respond faster to market shifts and mitigate risks.
However, while the promise of AI in supply chain management is gaining traction, challenges remain around implementation complexity, data quality, and integration with existing enterprise systems. Some experts suggest that successful adoption requires not only technological investment but also organisational change and alignment of cross-functional teams. It remains to be seen how effectively Tosoh will leverage these capabilities to overcome longstanding issues of visibility and responsiveness in the chemical sector.
As supply chains across industries face heightened uncertainty, the deployment of AI-based orchestration platforms like those offered by Kinaxis reflects an increased prioritisation of digitisation and automation. Yet, the real test will be in how these technologies perform in practice under market stress and regulatory complexity, and whether they deliver measurable improvements in resilience and efficiency.
In summary, Kinaxis asserts that its AI-infused Maestro platform will provide Tosoh with the tools needed for enhanced supply chain management, citing improved efficiency, agility, and growth potential. This development aligns with a broader industry shift towards intelligent supply chain solutions designed to tackle disruption and drive competitive advantage in fast-evolving global markets.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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