Alumni Success Story - Moisés Barbancho , MDSC 2019

Alumni Success Story – Moisés Barbancho, MDSC´19 Alumni and Founder of Kinetic Digital Solutions.

“This world-class international environment, together with the knowledge and experience I gained, is what helped me break into the digital transformation sector”

 

Moisés Barbancho completed the Master in Supply Chain Management at ZLC in 2018–19, and he hasn’t stopped since. His career has taken him from international SAP projects at Accenture to leading data analytics at Schindler in the United States, and today he is the founder of Kinetic Digital Solutions, where he combines Supply Chain, AI, and technology to help companies make better decisions.

A few days ago, he also returned to ZLC to deliver a masterclass on SAP to current master’s students. Moisés, welcome.

How did ZLC’s Master prepare you to move from operational roles into international digital transformation projects?

It gave me a rigorous framework to understand the supply chain as an interconnected system and its impact across the entire company. From day one, I was exposed to international cases and experiences, both through professors and classmates. This world-class international environment, together with the knowledge and experience I gained, helped me make the transition into the digital transformation sector.

You combine Supply Chain with AI, Machine Learning and Advanced Analytics. How do you see the real integration of AI in supply chains today, hype or reality?

There is certainly a lot of hype around LLMs. It is true they can perform more and more tasks and are evolving incredibly fast.

However, for now, there are still few successful use cases covering an entire business process end-to-end or operating autonomously.

That said, the hype is partly positive, because it is helping executives in companies of all sizes become more familiar with tools and technologies that previously felt out of reach, while also supporting the adoption of more established algorithms. This is having a clear impact across every link in the supply chain.

Today, industrial supply chain planning is hard to imagine without at least some forecasting, or warehouse design without simulations and optimization, much of which is powered by Machine Learning.

Likewise, many repetitive supply chain tasks will be automated, and managers will increasingly move toward monitoring and control roles rather than direct interaction with, for example, purchase orders.

In short: hype around LLMs, reality around more mature technologies.

What technical and digital skills are essential today for a Supply Chain professional who wants to stay relevant over the next five years?

I would say skills linked to efficiency through automation and the ability to support decisions with data — being data-driven — are and will remain essential. It is not only about knowing what to do, but understanding how it can be done in a more autonomous way.

This means understanding what a Machine Learning model, an LLM or an agent can do, and above all being able to clearly communicate requirements so that, for example, a Data Scientist or an Analytics Engineer can understand them.

It is not about becoming a developer, but about understanding what is possible.

You moved from a large consultancy like Accenture to Schindler in the U.S., and then founded your own company. What motivated each of those jumps?

What has always motivated me is continuing to progress in life, both professionally and personally, and these changes reflect that.

The move to the U.S. came because of my wife — her company asked her to relocate for a two-year project, and we moved together. I left my role at Accenture and started looking for opportunities in the U.S. while continuing my training. Eventually I applied to Schindler and was selected as Data Analytics Manager for the repairs business line. After a demanding selection process, including case studies, I joined this fascinating area of business, which covers everything from spare parts production or procurement, distribution and installation, to modernization sales. It is highly intensive in both data and industrial processes.

At Schindler, I also participated in an implementation project as a Key User, which made the transition from Accenture to Schindler feel very natural. I came from collaborating in implementation projects from a more technical perspective, and this project gave me the complete business-side view, allowing me to see firsthand the results and impact within a company. As Analytics Manager, I could also help provide visibility into those impacts in a tangible way.

I saw the same projects from very different perspectives, which was incredibly enriching.

When I returned to Spain and saw how quickly generative AI was advancing — and how it was driving many companies to modernize — I felt it was the perfect time to turn a long-standing entrepreneurial ambition into reality, so I took the leap.

What market opportunity did you identify when founding Kinetic Digital Solutions?

First, the potential business volume. In Supply Chain, the applied analytics market is around $8 billion and is expected to grow to $22 billion by 2030. Combined with the unprecedented speed of adoption, this makes it a very attractive niche.

Also, considering that most companies in Spain are small and medium-sized enterprises, and only a few can afford to hire one of the major technology consultancies, the scenario seemed almost ideal to launch this type of business.

I found myself in the perfect moment, with enough knowledge and experience to take the plunge with controlled risk.

You recently gave a masterclass on SAP to MDSC students. What key message did you want to convey about the connection between business and technology?

The main message I wanted to convey is that what matters is not always having the latest technology, but having the technology that best fits specific needs.

Companies do not pay to have the latest technology — they invest to run their business and solve problems as efficiently as possible, in this case through technology.

In the masterclass, I highlighted needs and challenges that companies of a certain size may face, and how SAP helps solve them and why it has become the market standard.

With those two ideas, I wanted to encourage students to experiment with new ways of doing things, while never losing sight of what truly matters.