The report Resilient by design: Reinventing supply chains with human-agent operations, prepared by the Capgemini Research Institute, analyzes how global disruptions are accelerating the transformation of supply chains and the revolutionary role that agentic AI will play in their management.
Capgemini’s study reveals that while organizations are increasingly relying on AI agents to proactively orchestrate their networks, full automation remains a distant goal: human oversight and judgment will continue to be critical.
Results of the report on Spain
In this context, resilience and sovereignty are posited as the true strategic priorities, supported by investments in sustainability, cybersecurity and solid data foundations.
1. Accelerated transformation and increased investments
● Significant transformation: 80% of organizations in Spain affirm that their supply chain has changed significantly in the last two years (compared to 75% of the global average).
● Dedicated teams: To manage these changes, 76% of Spanish companies have established an office or team dedicated to leading the transformation of their supply chain.
● Increased investment: 66% of organizations in Spain plan to increase their investments in supply chain transformation over the next 12 to 18 months, with an average increase of 10.8% in their budgets.
2. Agentic AI: Adoption and limits of automation
● Acceleration in adoption: 36% of Spanish organizations are already using or piloting AI agents in their supply chains, a figure notably higher than the global average (22%).
● AI-driven decisions: 62% of Spanish executives believe that, in the next 3 to 5 years, the majority of business decisions in the supply chain will be made by agentic AI systems.
● Cautious about total automation: Despite this progress, only 26% are confident that their supply chain will be fully automated in the same period, reflecting a realistic stance in the face of operational complexity.
3. The indispensable factor: human supervision
● Authority to validate decisions: In Spain, 80% of managers emphasize that humans must maintain the authority to validate the decisions made by AI agents and intervene when necessary.
● Intervention as the basis of trust: 74% of Spanish organizations consider that trust in supply chain decisions driven by AI will depend on this capacity for human intervention.
● Data quality risk: 86% note that the inability to ensure data is accurate at decision time represents a significant challenge to successfully deploying AI agents.
4. Resilience, geopolitics and sovereignty
● Resilience as a top priority: 84% of companies in Spain identify building resilience as the top priority for their supply chain (compared to 73% globally).
● Impact of geopolitical instability: 76% point out that geopolitical instability is a major challenge today, and 80% are highly concerned about the adverse impact of import/export tariffs.
● Sovereignty strategies in progress: 40% of Spanish companies already have a sovereignty strategy for their supply chain and an additional 36% are formulating one. Their priorities are resilience (90%), ensuring manufacturing capacity (80%) and digital and data sovereignty (78%).
5. Sustainability and risk prevention
● Sustainability as a volatility mitigator: 66% say that reducing emissions and energy intensity in their network has reduced their exposure to fuel price volatility and regulatory risks.
Cybersecurity remains a critical concern, with 76% of Spanish executives in the sector citing it as a challenge
● Cybersecurity challenges: Cybersecurity remains a critical concern, with 76% of Spanish executives in this sector citing it as a main challenge when digitizing and implementing AI in their operations.
The report “Resilient by design: Reinventing supply chains with human-agent operations” is based on quantitative research conducted in July 2026. 1,000 executives at director level or above in private sector organizations with annual revenues greater than $1 billion were surveyed, distributed in 13 countries. In the case of Spain, 50 leaders were surveyed, covering key industries such as consumer products (46%), life sciences (26%), industrial manufacturing (24%) and aerospace and defense (4%). The analysis is complemented by qualitative interviews with industry leaders.
