Every retailer–supplier relationship runs on a defined set of digital rules. Purchase orders, acknowledgments, advance ship notices, and invoices move between trading partners under retailer-specific data mappings and compliance requirements.
In an interview with ERP Today, SPS Commerce Chief Product Officer Mike Svatek said those relationships require a “sophisticated and nuanced” approach. That perspective shaped MAX, a set of AI capabilities the company embedded in its supply chain network.
“In collaborating with customers, we learned that they want to move even more effortlessly between specific trading partners and tasks in ways that a conversationally based approach can facilitate,” Svatek said.
Suppliers and brands, he added, are “eager to change their own behavior when they have evidence to show where operational improvements can be made.” Those lessons define how MAX engages users and when it recommends action.
MAX Rolls Out in an Advisory Capacity
MAX is a set of AI capabilities embedded directly into SPS Commerce’s supply chain network, designed to work inside customers’ existing workflows.
“MAX is rolling out with the ability to guide users through workflows while identifying key anomalies across the network of trading partners that an SPS Commerce customer engages with,” Svatek said. At this stage, the system surfaces issues and recommends actions and remains advisory rather than executing transactions itself.
Over time, that boundary may shift. Svatek said MAX will “begin taking action on behalf of trading partners,” constrained by business parameters customers define and operating in “a fully transparent manner with humans in the loop.” The progression, he suggested, is deliberate: recommendation first, parameterized execution later.
Measuring MAX Through Existing Operational Metrics
Svatek said customers should evaluate MAX using metrics already familiar inside digitization programs rather than new AI-specific benchmarks.
“MAX is designed to drive the same metrics that are part of a digitization program, including greater supplier compliance with retailer requirements,” he said. That includes ensuring orders are processed and shipped correctly, improving efficiency in the order-to-cash cycle through anomaly detection and suggested solutions, and guiding suppliers through the setup and operationalization of new retail trading partners.
The emphasis is operational. Compliance rates, order accuracy, and cycle times remain the baseline indicators. MAX is designed to surface exceptions earlier in those workflows and provide guided responses inside existing fulfillment and EDI workflows.
Intra- and Inter-System AI in Supply Chains
Asked whether AI will reshape the role of the supply chain network or simply enhance existing systems, Svatek said the impact spans both.
Many existing supply chain systems will apply AI within their own scope of data and control, decreasing the time it takes to drive specific workflows by automating tasks. He describes these as intra-system innovations.
Other systems that foster connectivity, he said, are positioned to reshape and orchestrate workflows across the supply chain. He calls these inter-system innovations.
“Network-based businesses like SPS Commerce can deliver these inter-system advancements via AI while helping our customers and partners with the data, connectivity, and expertise they need to drive their intra-system innovations,” Svatek said.
Svatek said the company will continue to anchor its product roadmaps in customer value. Corporate goals and company-wide initiatives, he said, reflect what he described as a “customer-obsessed mindset.” SPS will “continue deploying capital and energy here.”
What This Means for ERP Insiders
Advisory lowers barriers to AI adoption. Svatek makes clear that MAX begins in an advisory role. That staged approach allows customers to evaluate value and build confidence before allowing the system to take bounded actions within defined parameters.
Existing metrics remain the proof point. Rather than introducing new AI-specific KPIs, SPS ties MAX to familiar digitization measures such as compliance, order accuracy, and order-to-cash efficiency. That alignment keeps MAX grounded in business outcomes.
AI that automates and orchestrates. Svatek said future supply chain AI will both streamline workflows inside individual systems and coordinate activity across trading partners. Network-based businesses, he argued, are positioned to deliver that cross-partner orchestration while supporting internal automation.
