Sophia University · Tokyo, Japan

Digital Supply Chain
& Artificial Intelligence
Research Laboratory

Investigating the digital transformation of supply chains through the lens of Artificial Intelligence — including Generative AI and Agentic AI. Our research pursues the vision of the Autonomous Supply Chain: a self-governing network capable of sensing disruptions, reasoning under uncertainty, and acting without human intervention.

Explore Our Research Our Publications
Laboratory Snapshot
6
Published Books
1
Forthcoming Book
2+
Research Papers in Submission
About the Lab

What is the DSC & AI Lab?

The Digital Supply Chain & AI Laboratory at Sophia University (Tokyo) is a research unit dedicated to the study of digital transformation in supply chain management, with a particular focus on the role of Artificial Intelligence — spanning Generative AI, Agentic AI, and advanced machine learning methods.

Our overarching research goal is to understand and advance the concept of the Autonomous Supply Chain: a supply network that can sense its environment, analyze situations, make decisions, and execute actions with minimal human intervention.

We approach this goal through systematic literature reviews, conceptual framework development, and empirical analysis — producing research that is both theoretically grounded and relevant to the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-driven operations.

🔬
Theory-Driven Research We develop conceptual frameworks and conduct systematic literature reviews to build rigorous, cumulative knowledge on AI-driven supply chain transformation.
🤖
Agentic & Generative AI as Key Enablers We study how LLM-based agents and generative models are reshaping supply chain decision-making — from demand forecasting to autonomous execution and resilience management.
Our Research Vision

We envision a future where supply chains are fully digitally transformed — leveraging AI not merely as a decision-support tool, but as an active participant that can perceive, reason, and act. The Autonomous Supply Chain is our north star: a system that is both highly capable and responsibly governed.

  • ✓ Understand how AI transforms supply chain planning, execution, and resilience
  • ✓ Identify the technological and managerial conditions enabling autonomous supply chain operations
  • ✓ Develop and validate frameworks for evaluating AI maturity in supply chain contexts
  • ✓ Examine governance and human-oversight requirements for agentic AI in operations
  • ✓ Publish frameworks that advance academic understanding of autonomous supply chains
Core Research Question

"How can Artificial Intelligence — from digitalization to full autonomy — fundamentally transform the way supply chains sense, decide, and operate?"

Research Initiatives

Our Core Research Areas

Our research covers the spectrum of AI-driven supply chain transformation — from the foundations of digital integration to the emerging frontier of fully autonomous supply chain operations.

🔄
Digital Transformation of Supply Chains
Examining how digital technologies — IoT, cloud computing, big data, and AI — are fundamentally reshaping supply chain strategy, structure, and operations. We study the objectives, pathways, and outcomes of supply chain digitalization across industries.
Digital Transformation Supply Chain Strategy Emerging Technologies
🤖
Agentic & Generative AI in Supply Chain Operations
Exploring how Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, and autonomous agent systems are transforming supply chain decision-making — from intelligent forecasting and scenario planning to multi-agent coordination and autonomous execution.
Generative AI LLM Agents Multi-Agent Systems
🗼
Agentic Supply Chain Control Towers
Redesigning the concept of Supply Chain Control Towers for the agentic era — combining real-time event detection, AI-driven root cause analysis, and autonomous corrective action execution within governed boundaries.
Control Towers Real-time Operations Resilience
🗄️
Governance & Ethics of AI in Supply Chains
Examining the governance requirements for responsible AI deployment in supply chains: accountability frameworks, human oversight of agentic systems, ethical considerations, and the regulatory landscape for AI-driven supply chain operations.
AI Governance AI Ethics Human Oversight
📈
AI-Driven Supply Chain Planning & Decision-Making
Investigating how AI methods — including machine learning, optimization, and simulation — enhance supply chain planning processes such as demand forecasting, inventory management, and risk-aware decision-making across the supply network.
Demand Forecasting Optimization Decision Support
⛓️
Supply Chain Resilience & Disruption Management
Examining how digital technologies and AI enhance supply chain resilience — studying how autonomous sensing, real-time analytics, and intelligent response systems can help organizations detect, respond to, and recover from supply chain disruptions more effectively.
Resilience Disruption Management Risk Analytics
Research Spotlight

The SADA-GO Framework

As part of our research on autonomous supply chains, we have developed the SADA-GO (Sense–Analyze–Decide–Act–Govern/Orchestrate) framework — a capability taxonomy for analyzing and evaluating the readiness of supply chain systems toward full autonomy. It is one of our published research contributions in this area.

Drawing on a systematic review of 68 high-impact papers (2020–2026), the framework maps the key capability dimensions required for autonomous supply chain operations and identifies critical research gaps — particularly in the Governance and Orchestration layer.

Read the Paper
Stage 1
📡 Sense
Unified data ingestion from IoT, ERP, external feeds. Multi-modal, real-time signal processing — "The Eyes."
Stage 2
🧠 Analyze
Multi-modal reasoning, simulation, knowledge graph inference, and digital twin-assisted scenario planning — "The Brain."
Stage 3
⚡ Decide
Dynamic optimization, multi-agent negotiation, and autonomous plan-prevent-recover decision generation — "The Will."
Stage 4
🤲 Act
Autonomous transaction execution, multi-interface control (API/IoT/OPC), and continuous real-time operations — "The Hands."
Meta-Layer (All Stages)
🏛️ Govern / Orchestrate
The foundational layer enabling safe autonomy: AI ethics, audit trails, adaptive learning, human-on-the-loop oversight, and regulatory compliance — "The Conscience." The most critically underdeveloped dimension in current research.
Our Team

People Behind the Research

The Digital Supply Chain & AI Laboratory is led by its Director and Co-Director, supported by graduate researchers at the Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University.

Directors
Prof. Yacob Khojasteh
Yacob Khojasteh, Ph.D.
Lab Director · Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies
Profile →
Dr. S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi
S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi, Ph.D.
Lab Co-Director · Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies
Profile →
Graduate Researchers
UT
Ugur Topsever
Digital Transformation in the Airline Industry · Passenger Experience & Service Efficiency
AD
Alessia Debertolo
Inventory Management · Independent Bookstores under Demand Uncertainty
ZH
Zach David Hoheisel
AI for Data Transfer in Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing
RY
Riki Yanagida
ChatGPT & Generative AI in Operations and Supply Chain Management

Interested in joining the lab? See the Contact section.

Publications

Books & Research Papers

Our research outputs span books, journal papers, and working papers on the digital transformation of supply chains, AI adoption in operations management, and the path toward autonomous supply chains.

Digital Transformation of Supply Chains cover
📘 Book · Springer, 2026
Digital Transformation of Supply Chains: Business Objectives and Applications
Springer, Switzerland (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-01206-7)
Yacob Khojasteh & S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi
View on Springer →
Emerging Technologies in Supply Chains cover
📘 Book · Springer, 2026
Emerging Technologies in Supply Chains: Towards Digital Transformation
Springer, Switzerland (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-01218-0)
Yacob Khojasteh & S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi
View on Springer →
Supply Chain Risk Mitigation cover
📘 Book · Springer, 2022
Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: Strategies, Methods, and Applications
Springer, Switzerland (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-09183-4)
Yacob Khojasteh et al.
View on Springer →
Production Management cover
📘 Book · CRC Press, 2018
Production Management: Advanced Models, Tools, and Applications for Pull Systems
CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL
Yacob Khojasteh (Editor)
View on Routledge →
Supply Chain Risk Management cover
📘 Book · Springer, 2017
Supply Chain Risk Management
Springer (DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-4106-8)
Yacob Khojasteh (Editor)
View on Springer →
Production Control Systems cover
📘 Book · Springer, 2016
Production Control Systems: A Guide to Enhance Performance of Pull Systems
Springer (DOI: 10.1007/978-4-431-55197-3)
Yacob Khojasteh
View on Springer →
Cover
Coming
Soon
📙 Book · Forthcoming
Autonomous Supply Chains — Powered by Agentic and Generative AI
Springer (in preparation)
Yacob Khojasteh & S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi

A comprehensive treatment of autonomous supply chain architectures, covering Agentic AI deployment, the SADA-GO framework, governance design, and roadmaps for practitioners transitioning toward full operational autonomy.

In Preparation
📄 Journal Paper
A Capability-based Framework for Analysis of Autonomous Supply Chains
Yacob Khojasteh & S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi · Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University

Proposes the SADA-GO framework — a structured capability taxonomy for autonomous supply chains — validated through systematic review of 68 papers (2020–2026). Identifies critical gaps in multi-modal execution, governance, and adaptive learning.

Under Review
📄 Journal Paper · SSRN Preprint
Agentic Supply Chain Control Towers: A Framework for Autonomous and Resilient Operations
Yacob Khojasteh & S.M. Mousavi Jahan Abadi · Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University (February 17, 2026)

Develops a next-generation Control Tower framework that integrates Agentic AI capabilities — enabling supply chains to move from passive monitoring and human-approved responses to autonomous, governed real-time corrective actions.

Under Review Read on SSRN →
Events

Events & Activities

Our lectures, workshops, and seminars explore the future of autonomous enterprise and AI-powered supply chains. Below is our recent activity and upcoming schedule.

Upcoming Events

New lectures and workshops will be announced here.

Follow the Graduate School of Global Studies news page for the latest updates.

Past Events
24
Apr
2026
Public Lecture · Completed
"Autonomous Business is Coming: How AI is Powering the Next Wave of Enterprise and University Transformation"
🕔 17:30–19:00 (JST) 📍 Sophia University Yotsuya Campus, Bldg. 10, Room 301 🌐 Delivered on-site and online via Zoom 🗣️ Language: English

Hosted by the Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University. The lecture explored how Agentic AI is reshaping enterprise decision-making and the role of universities in preparing for the autonomous era.

✓ Completed View Announcement
Contact

Get In Touch

We welcome inquiries from researchers and graduate students interested in our research on autonomous supply chains and AI-powered operations management.

Send Us a Message