Toyota's Jason Stone on leveraging AI and data visibility to make proactive decisions
On the Red Sofa at ALSC Global 2026, Jason Stone, general manager for supply chain development and optimisation at Toyota North America, discussed how AI, data and control towers can improve visibility and help shift the decision-making process from reactive to predictive.
Jason Stone, general manager for supply chain development and optimisation at Toyota North America, took part in the session that kicked off ALSC Global 2026 – a panel discussion all about control in the face of chaos and how this can lead to improved competitiveness. In addition to sharing his insights on stage, Stone joined Automotive Logistics on the Red Sofa to discuss further the role of AI in the supply chain today and how greater visibility can support more informed decision-making.
"Our supply chain visibility journey has been going on for some time now," Stone told Automotive Logistics. "Originally we focused on capturing the data, then we moved onto organising the data and ultimately utilising the data – this utilisation is where we're able to shift from being reactive to becoming more proactive."
He noted that in additional to supporting more resilient and efficient supply chain operations, this enhanced visibility can also improve the overall experience for Toyota's team members. "It feels better if you know about a problem coming and you can respond to it in an appropriate and more controlled way."
Stone also pointed towards AI as a way to automate traditionally manual and repetitive tasks, freeing up more time for staff to focus on more value-added work like problem-solving or continuous improvement.
As the need for resilience in the supply chain grows, Stone touched on the importance of collaborative partnerships. "Our core philosophy is to build and maintain relationships with our suppliers and our logistics partners – we can grow, learn and be successful together," he said. "One area that I think is changing is whenever we have new business or some type of new technology or innovation – that allows us to look in different places for how we meet those needs."
On balancing the need for a lean supply chain with the need for a resilient one, Stone highlighted some of the benefits of Toyota's just-in-time (JIT) approach. "We feel like JIT allows us to see problems more quickly so that we can respond to them when they're smaller problems and not wait until they're much larger and more complex problems."
He noted that the speed at which Toyota is able to perform tasks now should allow the company to be able to reduce lead times, adding that in some cases technology can allow greater visibility of inventory, in turn allowing Toyota to make the right adjustments earlier. "Utilising the data and information is imperative to us being able to continue with our JIT approach, and in some cases maybe even improve it," he concluded.
