AI Strategy Takes A Data Foundation That Cleansing Can’t Provide

BusinessManufacturingAI Strategy Takes A Data Foundation That Cleansing Can’t ProvideByPaul J. Noble,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover the impact of AI and Machine Learning on the supply chain. Follow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 05:54pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.AI Adoption in Supply ChainGartnerGartner's Supply Chain Symposium Makes One Thing Clear: Executing Your AI Strategy Takes a Strong Data Foundation That Traditional Cleansing Can’t ProvideFrom a sinking San Francisco skyscraper to jaw-dropping live demos on the show floor, this year's event revealed an uncomfortable truth that most supply chain organizations are building AI on foundations they have not actually fixed.As they have for over a decade, supply chain executives flocked to Gartner's Supply Chain Symposium to connect on the high-priority topics facing global supply chains, both today and in the future. The single theme threading through the breakout sessions, analyst briefings, and hallway conversations was that the AI moment is real, but the data foundation beneath it mostly is not. Supply chain leaders are staring down an uncomfortable gap between ambition and architecture, and the analysts, practitioners, and technology vendors on the floor had a lot to say about how to close it.Here are the highlights that stood out to me.Gartner: You Are Building AI on Shaky FoundationsAnalyst Vas Plessas opened one of the Symposium's most attended sessions with a photograph of San Francisco's Millennium Tower: 58 stories, $10 million units, sinking 30 inches and tilting 18. The developer saved $10 million on the foundation. Repair estimates now run between $100 million and $500 million.The metaphor for supply chain AI was not subtle, and it was not meant to be."The algorithms are available to everyone. The data foundation is your competiti...