Decisions vs. Tasks: What Agentic AI Actually Means in Operations
Session Overview
"Agentic AI" has become a catch-all term β but DHL Director of Data Quality Prerit Mishra argues it hides two fundamentally different things: agents that do tasks, and agents that make decisions. The first is automation with a chat interface. The second changes how the business actually runs.
These two paths demand different data, different governance, and different operating models β yet most enterprises invest in them as if they were the same. This session separates the two and gives leaders a clearer lens for where to invest first, drawing on real-world experience scaling AI from pilots into operational reality across global supply chains.
What you'll take away
- Two Kinds of Agents β why "task agents" and "decision agents" are not the same problem, and the cost of treating them alike.
- The Foundations That Matter β the data quality, governance, and operating-model differences each path requires before it can scale.
- Where to Invest First β a practitioner's framework for sequencing agentic AI investment for real operational impact, not just a better chat interface.
Speaker
Prerit Mishra is a data and AI leader at DHL. As Director of Data Quality, he builds the trusted data foundations that allow AI to deliver impact reliably across large, global operations. Previously Head of Data & AI for DHL Asia Pacific, he built and scaled the regional data and analytics capability and embedded AI into how the business runs. Across 15+ years in data, analytics and AI β spanning manufacturing and supply chain at Micron and DHL β he has helped move enterprise AI from pilots into operational reality. A frequent speaker across Asia Pacific, Prerit brings practitioner perspectives on enterprise AI adoption, human-AI collaboration, and the real-world impact of AI on how businesses run. He holds a Master's in Automation from the National University of Singapore.