Past vs. Future: Is Your Tech Mindset Holding You Back?
In this Empower 2025 session Mike Watson from Northwestern University and cofounder of Opex Analytics and Colin Kessinger, a longtime analytics consultant, share their candid perspectives on the evolution of supply chain technology, AI, and decision intelligence.
Drawing on decades of experience advising Fortune 100 companies, building technology firms, and teaching supply chain strategy, they cover:
Why large language models (LLMs) are a new kind of computer that complement not replace optimization and simulation
The risks of buying platforms that may not stand the test of the next 2-3 years of change
How to think about decisions everywhere in your business, not just in planning tools
The role of talent, domain expertise, and training in making AI work in practice
Practical lessons from dirty dull and dangerous tasks to jagged solutions and decision quality
Their message is equal parts optimistic and pragmatic. Success comes from combining new AI capabilities with deep domain knowledge, the right questions, and the right people.
Watch now to learn how to future proof your supply chain analytics strategy in an era of continuous disruption.
See Lyric Studio in action.
Watch a working session that takes a real supply chain decision through all four layers, from raw data to the moment a planner commits.