Manhattan Sightline: Explaining AI in Logistics

A new tool aims to address skepticism about artificial intelligence in logistics. Supply chain software vendor Manhattan Associates has released "Sightline," designed to reveal the reasoning behind AI-driven decisions. This new capability, part of Manhattan's ActivePlanning suite, explains the "why" behind projected outcomes in plain business language. It offers planners a detailed understanding of factors shaping forecasts, orders, and inventory. These factors include forecast inputs, safety stock decisions, and lead times. Manhattan states that advanced AI forecasting can often feel like a black box, making it difficult for practitioners to understand its actions. Sightline aims to embed explainability directly into the planning system. This allows users to investigate outcomes where decisions are made. These AI-driven adjustments to forecasts, replenishment, and allocation can have major implications for logistics professionals.