A·SAct I · Darkroom

AnanthaShankar

Senior Manager, valantic

I work on how supply chainsmake decisions, andwhat AI changes about that.

01 · The negativeWho I am

I've spent more than a decade helping organizations with the complexity of supply chain planning. Today I work where supply chains, strategy and AI meet, looking at how technology changes the way businesses plan and make decisions.

Here I write about ideas, experiences, and questions I'm still working through.

About me →

Contact sheet

02 · Career & selected workFive chapters
SHANKAR 400TX ▸ 2026 ▸ SAFETY FILM
Scroll to advance the film →Select a frame to look closer

Selected exposures

03 · Featured writingA curated few · the full archive follows

End of Act IDarkness for discovery.

Act II · The reading room

Light for understanding.

Ideas, experiences and open questions, set in type and kept for good.

The archive

Essays and shorter notes, newest first.
9Essays6Notes15From LinkedIn

20266 pieces

OctRIP Jev (September 2026–October 2026)!RIP Jev (September 2026-October 2026)! The joke just writes itself - Jev created a new product category and three weeks later OpenAI comes with a distribution model!From LinkedInAI · StrategyNote2 min02 OctWhy is the next big shopper not a person?Muse and Instinct have been going viral - in the US. And I am pretty sure, it is coming to Europe too (maybe next year 🙃) But are brands prepared for it? are they ready for Agentic Commerce?From LinkedInAI · StrategyNote1 min15 SeptOpen letter from an Enterprise Architect - a post-mortem our Autonomous enterprise.- Dec 24th, 2032.From LinkedInAI · StrategyEssay6 minSeptGPT-6 Astra was launched less than a week ago!GPT-6 Astra was launched less than a week ago! I have been following the news behind it - and vicariously enjoying people being blown away by it. It was one-shotting "so many cool use cases" (I ran through my credit limit…From LinkedInAI · Supply chainNote2 min11 JunSAP Joule Studio and the shift to harness engineering — a supply chain perspectiveNow that it's been a couple of weeks since I got back from SAP Sapphire Madrid 2026 — enough time to filter the signal from the noise.From LinkedInAI · Supply chainEssay5 minAprThe same week your team kicks off an agentic AI initiative, someone opens Jira and starts writing user stories.The same week your team kicks off an agentic AI initiative, someone opens Jira and starts writing user stories. Nobody stops them. Nobody thinks to.From LinkedInAI · Implementation · Supply chainNote2 min

20252 pieces

MayThe Interconnected World of Statistics and AIRecently, i read a comment from Aishwarya Srinivasan where she mentionedFrom LinkedInAINote1 minJanIs China Winning the AI Race Against the U.S.?Deepseek is everywhere! and the hype train is going bonkers! $1.5 trillion in stock market value vanished yesterday! This shows how little the public understand GenAI! Does this mean that China is asserting its dominance? and…From LinkedInAI · StrategyNote1 min

20185 pieces

16 JunLeapfrogging the maturity modelIf you have spoken with a consultant from a reputed consulting firm, chances are that you would have seen some form of maturity model or the other. One can trace the origins of maturity model back to 1993 when Capability…From LinkedInStrategy · ImplementationEssay4 min31 MayHow can we future proof our supply chain - by using IBPMarkets, technologies and supply chain challenges are evolving at breakneck speed. Yesterday’s solutions, such as outsourcing, are the cause of today’s problems. Disruptions are dime a dozen and demand are going to be…From LinkedInSupply chain · StrategyEssay5 min01 MarImpact of IoT on your S&OP processInternet of Things was poised to become a pervasive technology but hasn’t lived up to its expectations yet. Beyond its highly popular use cases of smart homes, intelligent transportation, and smart cities, there has not been…From LinkedInSupply chain · S&OPEssay3 min20 FebS&OP and Product ReviewKids love toys. They love to play with them and it keeps them occupied giving parents the breathing space they deserve. As kids grow bigger, the toys they play with change. Once the kid is bored with his toy, or if he sees his…From LinkedInSupply chain · S&OPEssay5 min14 FebTracing the evolution of S&OP and IBPWhat exactly is the difference between Sales and Operations Planning and Integrated Business Planning? This is a highly debated question and we have a lot of supply chain gurus pitching in with their opinions. While some feel…From LinkedInSupply chain · S&OPEssay5 min

20172 pieces

22 JunS&OP Manager – The Godfather of Supply chain“Great men are not born great, they grow great…” \- Mario Puzo, GodfatherFrom LinkedInSupply chain · S&OPEssay4 min04 JunS&OP - The big fat supply chain weddingFairy tale stories are abundant with boy-meet-girl-and-they-live-happily-ever-after type of stories. But as we grew up, we realize that real world is nothing like a fairy tale and that there are a lot of shocking twists and…From LinkedInSupply chain · S&OPEssay3 min