Facilitating AI integration with simplicity at scale
2026-09-02 · MIT Technology Review
When Technology Becomes a Liability
As companies scale, the technology supporting operations can become a liability just as quickly as it becomes an asset. Disconnected systems, site-specific tools, spreadsheets, and manual workarounds create data silos that make it harder to spot problems early, coordinate responses, and make decisions with confidence. For Jabil, a global manufacturing company with more than 100 sites across over 30 countries, the answer has been to make integration and simplification a priority.
Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jabil has roughly 60 years of experience providing engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions across industries. With more than 140,000 employees, it serves as a trusted partner to over 400 of the world's top brands.
A 'Simplify-First, Then-Innovate' Mindset
The company adopted a 'simplify-first, then-innovate mindset,' says Harish Manohar, SAP IT director at Jabil, recognizing that adding new technologies without first reducing complexity risks creating more risk. The goals are to:
- Standardize processes;
- Consolidate where possible;
- Establish a more consistent data backbone across the organization.
'Any innovation without simplification is going to add more complexity,' Manohar says. That philosophy also reshapes how Jabil approaches modernization: 'Any modernization or transformation should add measurable business value.' The company focuses on connecting processes end-to-end across its supply chain and building a foundation that can scale consistently across regions.
Why Integration Comes First
Integration comes first because, as Manohar puts it, 'the backbone of any contemporary or modern organization is data.' Before organizations can optimize, automate, or apply AI, data needs to flow seamlessly across systems.
Doing this across a global organization is hardly straightforward. Jabil's 100-plus sites operate with varying levels of process maturity, legacy systems, and localized workflows, while regulated businesses bring additional compliance requirements. Standardizing across different regions and business environments means changing processes and governance without disrupting operations already in place. Much of the complexity stems from 25 years of accumulated technical debt—site-specific tools, manual workarounds, spreadsheet-based processes, and legacy applications that created silos and delayed robust decision-making.
Value Beyond Technology
The value of this work extends beyond the technology to the people using it. Integrated workflows can:
- Offer employees shared visibility into data;
- Reduce manual data reconciliation;
- Help employees move from chasing information to acting on insights.
For Jabil, the aim is also to improve real-time visibility into supply chain events, enabling faster responses to disruptions and reducing operational risk.
Building the Foundation for AI and Automation
Looking ahead, this foundation could make AI and automation all the more useful and scalable. With trusted data and integrated systems in place, Jabil is exploring:
- Predictive supply chain insights;
- Intelligent exception handling;
- AI-driven planning and forecasting.
To Manohar, the takeaway is clear: 'Simplicity at scale is a very competitive advantage,' and technology investments must ultimately connect to business value and operational resilience. This episode of Business Lab is produced in partnership with SAP.