In a World of Bottlenecks and Blackouts, Next Best Action Keeps Things Moving
Supply chains are rarely at peace. Political standoffs often lead to sudden export restrictions on critical raw materials. Production lines slowdown from global conflicts, pandemics, or even traffic pileups at major bottlenecks.
Delays mount. Executives scramble for alternatives, but the heavily-relied-upon predictive models aren’t built for shocks of this magnitude.
For years, businesses relied on predictive analytics to anticipate demand and optimize inventory. But forecasts have a fatal flaw—they assume stability. A geopolitical crisis, supply chain bottleneck, or market shock can instantly make yesterday’s predictions useless.
Prescriptive analytics—and more specifically, Next Best Action (NBA)—can help in such scenarios. Instead of passively forecasting demand, NBA continuously evaluates disruptions and prescribes the best course of action in real time.
Next Best Action, in the case of supply chains, can leverage machine learning and ask the all-important “what-if” questions to simulate disruptive scenarios and prescribe appropriate next steps. It can integrate with descriptive (what happened) and predictive (what might happen) analytics to prescribe data-backed actions using optimization, simulation, and decision analysis.
Prescriptive analytics—and more specifically, Next Best Action (NBA)—can help simulate 'what-if' scenarios. Instead of passively forecasting demand, NBA continuously evaluates disruptions and prescribes the best course of action in real time.
Take an auto manufacturer managing thousands of suppliers across continents. A sudden surge in demand for EV components can create a ripple effect of shortages. With NBA, the company doesn’t just react—it prepares.
By mapping complexity interconnections between supply nodes, NBA enables more precise “what-if” simulations—what if a supplier goes offline? What if a port shuts down? What if demand spikes 20%? Instead of reacting in crisis mode, businesses make preemptive adjustments, ensuring the right response at the right time.
When companies are dealing with billions of dollars' worth of stock and inventory, it can help provide a competitive edge and make them more resilience to unforeseen shocks.
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The Road Ahead
To be sure, while Next Best Action is a critical pillar of prescriptive analytics, it’s one component of a broader strategic toolkit for companies to consider. Organizations need an integrated suite of capabilities—from scenario testing models that stress-test supply chain vulnerabilities, to decision support systems that align cross-functional teams, and optimization algorithms that dynamically tackle resource allocation, route planning, and cost minimization. NBA shines brightest when layered with these solutions, acting as the agile “brain” that synthesizes insights into actionable steps. True resilience comes from combining NBA with a holistic prescriptive strategy.
In a world where uncertainty is the only certainty, Next Best Action and prescriptive analytics can be a solution to help organizations thrive in the face of disruptions. But despite its advantages, adopting prescriptive analytics isn’t plug-and-play. Data quality issues, integration challenges, and user skepticism remain real barriers. Success requires investment in technology, a culture of data-driven decision-making, and upskilling employees to trust and leverage AI-driven recommendations.
About the Authors:
Ashish Sawant is the Head of Sales and part of the Founder's Office. Todd Wandtke is a Business Unit Head and Head of Marketing.