The supply chain crisis affecting businesses could be solved if firms used Artificial Intelligence technology to work closer together, according to a leading software company executive.

Speaking at the LEAP conference in Riyadh, Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE, said businesses needed to show “courage” to embrace transformations, particularly around issues of sustainability as customers no longer care solely about “price and quality of projects.” 

Klein said the current “supply chain crisis” is “because everybody is working on their own.”

Reflecting on the technological solutions available, he said: “We should enhance AI by using billions of data to analyze the needs of the consumer.”

“No one does business alone, you have to connect with millions of suppliers, manufacturers, etc,” Klein added.

The LEAP conference features more than 400 speakers set to address the promises of modern technology and the increasing prominence of digital economies. 

It will run from Tuesday Feb. 1 to Thursday Feb. 3.