While AI Destroys Millions of Jobs,
One Role Is Exploding.
Everyone talks about AI replacing jobs. Very few talk about the roles that are booming because of AI. Here's the data, and why S&OP / IBP leadership is the biggest career opportunity of the next decade.
The big picture: AI is reshaping the workforce
The World Economic Forum predicts AI will create 170 million new jobs while displacing 92 million by 2030. That's a net gain of 78 million. But the impact is wildly uneven. Some roles are disappearing. Others are more valuable than ever.
So where do supply chain roles land? It depends entirely on what kind of work you do.
"AI won't replace supply chain managers. It will automate repeatable workflows and surface insights at scale. Strategic oversight, negotiation, and operational judgment remain human responsibilities."
S&OP / IBP roles are exploding
Demand for S&OP and IBP leaders has multiplied 4x in 10 years. IBP roles alone grew 12x since 2016. SAP IBP now has over 1,000 enterprise clients worldwide, and every implementation needs skilled planners.
Why are these roles AI-proof?
Because S&OP / IBP leaders are orchestrators, not executors. They connect Sales, Operations, Finance, and Strategy. They facilitate trade-off decisions, build consensus, and align the organization around one plan.
These are deeply human skills: cross-functional influence, stakeholder alignment, judgment under uncertainty. AI amplifies them but cannot replace them. The S&OP / IBP leader is the conductor of the AI-augmented orchestra.
Orchestrator vs. executor: the great divide
The supply chain is splitting in two. Roles that decide and facilitate are growing. Roles that execute repetitive tasks are being automated. The data is clear:
Why exactly are S&OP / IBP roles so resilient? Because the core of the job is human judgment. When a supplier fails, when demand spikes, when capacity is short: AI can crunch scenarios, but a human must decide which trade-off to make, convince the executive team, and drive execution.
Here's how the "human judgment vs. automatable tasks" split looks across roles. The higher the blue bar, the more AI-proof the role is:
The salary opportunity is massive
More demand + fewer qualified people = salary explosion. S&OP/IBP pay has grown +52% at Manager level and +88% at Director level in 10 years, far outpacing general supply chain compensation.
The problem? Almost nobody knows how to do it well.
Despite booming demand, very few people truly master S&OP / IBP. Most companies still run rigid, siloed planning with 1990s methods: too complex, too many spreadsheets, zero real collaboration between functions.
They need people who can simplify, facilitate, and deliver. Not theory. Not rigid consulting frameworks. Something that actually works in the real world.
Become an "S&OP / IBP Leader"
in a few weeks
Build alignment and collaboration with simple structures and practical tools.
After supporting 100+ professionals and organizations, I distilled everything into a step-by-step playbook:
| ✶ | My exact methods, templates and tools |
| ✶ | How to build trust and collaboration across silos, simply |
| ✶ | Real-world examples from 100+ implementations |
| ✶ | Step by step: from assessment to execution |
| ✶ | No jargon. No rigid frameworks. Just what works. |
Join the next cohort and position yourself for the biggest
career opportunity in supply chain this decade.