Saint Louis University will host the third annual Tech-Chain conference at the Busch Student Center on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, drawing more than 200 senior supply chain leaders for a single-day program on generative and agentic AI and the move to autonomous supply chains. The event, titled Generative AI, Agentic AI, and the Road to the Autonomous Supply Chain, runs from 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and centers on how organizations can shift AI from pilots into revenue-generating production.
Supply Chain AI agenda and speakers
The program, organized by Saint Louis University’s Center for Supply Chain Excellence, includes three speaker sessions, three executive panels, and three practitioner panels focused on advancing insight-generating tools into autonomous, agent-driven systems. Registration is $175 with early-bird discounts available. SLU says speakers and panelists represent 15 global organizations, including Amazon, Apple, Caterpillar, Lowe’s, McKinsey, Medline, Staples, UiPath, Wayfair, and World Wide Technology. The day concludes with an open networking reception at the Busch Student Center, located at 0 N. Grand Blvd.
Jett McCandless, founder and CEO of project44 and the newly formed LSP44, will deliver the keynote session The Real-Time, Agent-Native Supply Chain. project44 underwent a corporate restructuring in July, splitting into two entities: project44, which will continue to serve enterprise shippers, and LSP44, positioned as a standalone business delivering AI-native agent infrastructure to third-party logistics providers and freight brokers. project44 was originally launched in 2014 and tracks trillions of dollars in global GDP across 190 countries.
Other scheduled sessions include Paul Lewis, CTO of Pythian, leading Where to Start With AI, and Amber Salley, founder and managing director of Salley Advisory, presenting on the Four Forces Reshaping Supply Chains.
Local deployment case: Schnuck Markets
A locally grounded presentation will come from Caleb Carr, senior director of data science and engineering at Schnuck Markets, on generative AI use cases and ROI. Schnuck Markets, founded in St. Louis in 1939 and operating stores across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, partnered with Pythian in 2026 on a 12-month AI initiative using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise. The project aims to build an agentic ecosystem to automate store workflows such as item setup and stock replenishment across Schnuck’s 111 regional stores.
Market context and technology trends
Market forecasts underline the economic stakes for agentic systems. Gartner projected enterprise spending on supply chain management software with agentic AI capabilities to grow from less than $2 billion in 2025 to $53 billion by 2030. Gartner has also identified agentic AI and physical AI as top supply chain technology trends for 2026, describing a shift toward self-directed multi-agent networks that execute both physical and digital operations. Analysis cited by industry outlets from Coherent Market Insights indicates autonomous decision execution in supply chain operations rose from 12% of total operational decisions in 2022 to 28% in 2025, with projections to reach 55% by 2030.
Industry reporting on McKinsey research finds early adopters of AI-enabled supply chain management achieved a 15% improvement in logistics costs, a 35% reduction in inventory levels, and a 65% boost in service levels versus slower-moving competitors, while stressing the need for clean data integration across transportation and warehouse systems.
Workforce implications
Panels at Tech-Chain are expected to address workforce impacts. A survey of 509 global supply chain leaders conducted between July and October 2025 found 55% expect agentic AI adoption to reduce entry-level hiring needs, while 86% said it will require companies to fundamentally redesign talent pipelines and organizational roles. The same research emphasizes human-machine collaboration and role redesign rather than simple headcount elimination.
The Center for Supply Chain Excellence, directed by Vineet Sharma, launched the Tech-Chain series in October 2024 and held a follow-up event on emerging supply chain technologies in October 2025. SLU notes the program is backed by its Master of Science in Supply Chain Management at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, a program consistently ranked among the top 15 graduate supply chain programs in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. The Chaifetz School, founded in 1910, also offers executive education including an AI in Supply Chain for Leaders course.
