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Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked a large interest across various sectors, where it has been praised for its capabilities of transforming the way businesses operate. The food supply chain (FSC) is a particularly complex and unique supply chain due to its nature of dealing with perishable products. With sustainability becoming an increasingly important aspect for stakeholders, it stresses the importance of the FSC optimizing their operations to ensure minimal environmental impact while maximizing efficiency. Although the topic of AI is widely discussed in society, research concerning the topic remains limited. While the existing literature frequently discusses AI’s potential in broad terms, it is lacking in showcasing the practical effects it can entail within specific industries. Therefore, investigating the implications of the technology in the FSC is highly relevant from both a practical and theoretical standpoint.

The study’s purpose is to contribute with insights into how the implementation of AI has affected food supply chains in Sweden. It holds an exploratory research design and an inductive research approach, taking the perspective of the inbound logistics part of the FSC. To gain a clear understanding of what practical effects AI has entailed, the study highlights both the dynamics of the FSC before implementing AI, as well as its dynamics after implementing it. This study used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews to obtain its empirical data. The interviews were conducted with two of the large food retailers in Sweden, and a thematic analysis was then employed to identify a few key areas that the empirical findings showed. 

The results show that the main areas where AI has affected the FSC is in (1) time-savings, (2) inventory management, (3) waste management, and (4) internal supply chain efficiency. The common denominator between these areas was identified to be the improved forecasting ability that AI provides. Forecasts play a significant role in improving efficiency since they entail a supply chain-wide impact where both suppliers, warehouses, and ultimately the end-customer are impacted from them. However, the findings indicate that although AI is an effective tool, it remains to have certain limitations and still requires human maintenance to properly function.