Yahyah Pandor, Vice President and General Manager for MENAT at Blue Yonder, highlights how the most successful MENAT organisations are blending machine intelligence with human insight
1. Supply chain digitisation has been on every boardroom agenda for years, but what do you think will define the next frontier of transformation beyond visibility and automation?
Visibility and automation were once seen as advanced, but today they’re simply expected. The next frontier of supply chain transformation is autonomy. Rather than systems that only show what’s happening or predict outcomes, organisations are moving towards technology that can recommend and increasingly take decisions on its own.
This shift is already underway. Our latest Supply Chain Compass report shows that 47% of companies are using machine learning and predictive AI, while another 40% say AI is transforming how they operate. The focus is now on building continuously intelligent supply chains, where data constantly informs and optimises decisions from sourcing to delivery.
The end goal is a self-driving supply chain: one that can sense, adapt, self-correct, and learn in real time, with minimal human intervention.
2. Blue Yonder’s platform is built on AI and predictive analytics, yet true success often depends on people using that intelligence effectively. How do you see the relationship between human judgment and machine-driven insights evolving inside modern logistics organisations?
This isn’t a story of humans versus machines, but of symbiotic intelligence. AI delivers speed, scale and precision, while people contribute judgement, context and ethical oversight. Our research shows that 79% of supply chain leaders expect AI to reshape workforce roles, with its greatest impact on planning accuracy, predictability and decision-making speed.
At the same time, challenges such as data quality, fragmented systems and skills gaps mean human oversight remains critical. Blue Yonder’s Cognitive Solutions address this by unifying supply chain data into a continuously learning environment powered by AI Agents. These act as digital teammates, monitoring operations, surfacing real-time insights and recommending next-best actions based on current conditions. With natural-language interaction, teams can access intelligence without technical complexity, driving trust and adoption.
The future is human-in-the-loop: AI handles the heavy data work, while people focus on the strategic and ethical decisions technology alone cannot replicate.
3. Companies often measure supply chain performance by speed and cost, but increasingly, it’s about adaptability and foresight. How is Blue Yonder helping its customers in MENAT move from efficient supply chains to intelligent ones?
Speed and cost still matter, but today the real benchmark of supply chain performance is resilience built on foresight. Our latest Supply Chain Compass research shows that 84% of leaders are prioritising agility and end-to-end connectivity over the next two years.
In MENAT, Blue Yonder helps organisations move from efficient to intelligent supply chains by embedding predictive intelligence and autonomous decision-making through our Cognitive Solutions. Powered by AI Agents, these solutions continuously analyse data, identify risks and recommend—or execute, actions across the end-to-end supply chain.
Built on a true cloud architecture via the Blue Yonder Platform and Snowflake AI Data Cloud, our ecosystem enables unified, multi-enterprise decision-making. Recent acquisitions, including Optoro and Pledge, extend this capability by strengthening AI-driven returns optimisation and accredited logistics emissions measurement as part of everyday planning
Yahyah Pandor, Vice President and General Manager for MENAT at Blue Yonder
Together, these capabilities allow businesses to build supply chains that are not only efficient, but adaptive, intelligent and measurably sustainable.
4. MENAT markets can be complex, fast-growing, fragmented, and digitally uneven. What have you learned about the unique operational DNA of this region that global models often underestimate or overlook?
MENAT’s strength lies in its diversity, which global models often underestimate. The region combines highly advanced logistics and AI-led economies with frontier markets that are leapfrogging into digital maturity, driven by strong entrepreneurial spirit and agility.
Our Compass Report shows that collaboration and shared visibility are among the top enablers of transformation, particularly in markets with uneven digital readiness. In MENAT, co-creation is not optional, it’s fundamental. Business success is built on partnership, trust and alignment with government priorities.
We’ve also learned that transformation endures when technology adapts to local culture, not the other way around. The most successful supply chain programmes in MENAT are developed collaboratively and locally, rather than imported wholesale.
5. We often hear about “digital transformation,” but that phrase is starting to feel overused. What, in your view, are the most misunderstood truths about what real transformation actually looks like inside a supply chain organisation?
The most misunderstood truth about digital transformation is the belief that it’s a technology project. It’s a change-management journey. Our Supply Chain Compass insights show that while many organisations have digital roadmaps, scaling transformation is often held back by skills gaps, legacy systems, and cultural inertia.
Real progress happens only when people, processes and platforms evolve together. At Blue Yonder, we see transformation as continuous, not a one-off initiative. Solutions such as our AI-driven Transportation and Warehouse Management systems deliver value only when teams are empowered to act on insights and processes are redesigned for real-time decision-making.
Ultimately, transformation is about building a culture of adaptability, where data enables faster, better decisions and technology aligns with human capability and organisational purpose. That’s when change becomes real, measurable, and lasting.
6. Looking ahead, how do you define success for Blue Yonder’s presence in MENAT over the next five years?
For me, success over the next five years is measured by our customers’ success. In MENAT, I want Blue Yonder to be known not just as a technology provider, but as a partner that helps organisations reimagine and shape the future of supply chain intelligence. That partnership comes to life through Blue Yonder Services, supporting customers from implementation and change management to continuous optimisation, turning ideas into tangible outcomes in resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. Our advisory boards, including the Partner Advisory Board, keep us close to the market, helping us listen, co-innovate, and chart the roadmap together with customers and partners.
If, five years from now, MENAT customers can point to smarter, more adaptive, and sustainable supply chains-built hand-in-hand with Blue Yonder, that is the true measure of success, for them, for the business, and for me.