Agentic AI and physical AI are among the top supply chain technology trends expected to shape the industry in 2026, according to a new report from Gartner.
The business and technology research firm said advances in artificial intelligence are enabling chief supply chain officers to improve resilience, create business value and rethink operating models. Gartner said the trends fall under three themes: autonomy and agency, specialization and intelligence and trust and governance.
“This year’s trends highlight the growing role of AI as the foundation for more autonomous, intelligent and adaptive supply chains,” said Christian Titze, vice-president analyst and chief of research in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “As organizations move toward hyperconnected, AI-driven environments, leaders must focus not only on deploying advanced technologies, but also on ensuring they work together to deliver measurable value and long-term resilience.”
Gartner said agentic AI, collaborative multiagent systems, physical AI and polyfunctional robots represent the autonomy and agency theme. Other trends include intelligent simulation and domain-specific language models, while product provenance and decision governance fall under trust and governance.
“These trends represent more than incremental improvements. They are catalysts for transforming supply chains,” Titze said. “Organizations that proactively evaluate and integrate these technologies in line with their business objectives will be better positioned to navigate disruption, scale innovation and maintain competitive advantage.”
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