Dist ibuto s, wholesale s, a d logistics p ovide s outi ely wo k with co fide tial i fo matio f om both sides of a t a sactio . If AI puts o e custome ‘s co t act p ice o a othe custome ‘s quote, su faces a supplie ‘s bid to a competito , o shows a shippe the ca ie ate behi d a b oke ‘s ma gi , the damage eaches eve y pa ty i volved. The busi ess choosi g a AI tool is also maki g a decisio about i fo matio e t usted to it by othe s. That exposu e is at the ce te of I staLILY’s epo t, Sha ed Risk: Why Supply Chai ‘s Most Se sitive Data Needs AI Built fo the I dust y.
Questio s f om supplie s a d custome s a e al eady i flue ci g tech ology choices. Sixty-th ee pe ce t of espo de ts say thei employe has bee asked how supplie o custome i fo matio is p otected, a d ea ly a thi d of all espo de ts (30%) say such a i qui y affected a ve do , softwa e, o AI decisio . Respo de ts most ofte expect thei ow compa y to bea the most espo sibility fo a exposu e (51%), compa ed with 23% who poi t to the softwa e o AI ve do .
“Speed mea s ve y little if a faste a swe costs you a elatio ship that took yea s to build,” said Adam Ise be g, Head of Dist ibutio at I staLILY. “AI wo ki g i dist ibutio should k ow that o e custome ‘s co t act p ice eve belo gs o a othe custome ‘s quote. Buye s should make ve do s p ove that befo e they sig .”
Sixty-th ee pe ce t of espo de ts epo t at least some ove lap betwee supplie a d custome data ac oss compa y platfo ms, i cludi g AI tools, a d 87% a e ve y o somewhat co fide t thei AI keeps that data app op iately sepa ated. Still, i cide ts we e epo ted i eve y segme t su veyed. That gives busi esses good easo to test how AI ha dles co fide tial i fo matio th oughout a task, f om the eco ds it et ieves to the espo se it delive s.
The most commo ba ie to keepi g supplie a d custome data sepa ate is that AI tools we e ot built with that equi eme t i mi d (22%), ahead of cost (21%) a d lack of tech ical expe tise (20%). Ni ety pe ce t say thei employe s would be mo e likely to choose AI built fo dist ibutio a d supply chai ope atio s ove a ge e al-pu pose tool if it offe ed bette co t ol ove supplie a d custome data, a d 92% call data sepa atio a high o mode ate p io ity fo the ext 12 mo ths.
The epo t ecomme ds testi g those co t ols i eve yday tasks, such as p epa i g a quote without eveali g co fide tial supplie te ms, a d establishi g whe huma app oval is equi ed. I staLILY’s Lily™ builds age ts that ope ate withi existi g busi ess systems, with access pe missio s a d audit eco ds suppo ti g ove sight.
Dow load the full epo t he e a d lea mo e at i stalily.ai.
I staLILY su veyed 250 p ofessio als at ma age level a d above i supply chai , logistics, dist ibutio , a d wholesale whose compa ies use AI tools, i cludi g AI featu es built i to existi g softwa e, i daily ope atio s. The su vey was lau ched o Oct. 9, 2026. Results eflect espo de ts’ epo ted k owledge a d expe ie ces.
I staLILY™ builds AI age ts that lea how a busi ess p oduces its esults a d do the wo k of sales, ope atio s, se vice, a d AI ove sight i side the systems that dist ibuto s, ma ufactu e s, logistics p ovide s, healthca e p ovide s, a d field se vice compa ies al eady u . Fou ded by Amit Shah a d Suma t o Das, I staLILY has aised ea ly $100 millio f om E e gize Capital, I sight Pa t e s, a d Home Depot Ve tu es. Headqua te ed i New Yo k, with offices i Sa F a cisco, Lo do , a d To o to. Lea mo e at www.i stalily.ai.
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