How Caterpillar is using AI to augment human intelligence—and optimize its supply chain

Jamie Engstrom has a winning personal motto: “We reserve the right to work smarter tomorrow”—shorthand for her IT organization’s commitment to keep learning as AI advances and Caterpillar’s business evolves. As CIO and SVP, Engstrom leads a global IT team of more than 2,200 professionals across 28 countries. Though Caterpillar has used AI in some capacity for three decades, Engstrom now drives the company’s use of AI for things like advanced analytics, automation, and supply chain optimization. She approaches these key functions in a holistic way. “We think about a digital thread from our demand planning at the enterprise level, and supply planning through to manufacturing and operations, and being able to apply AI to that,” she says. “We’re seeing some really awesome early benefits,” she adds, citing improved quality on the factory floor, better labor planning leading to a reduction in variable labor costs, better management of material shortages, and more. Engstrom created Caterpillar’s IT AI Center of Excellence and partnered with Accenture and Snowflake to extend that work into manufacturing quality, financial reporting, and supply chain planning. “That is a major part of our …