Abstract

Background: Persistent stock-outs of essential medicines, fragmented procurement, and weak inventory visibility continue to undermine service delivery in Nigerian teaching hospitals, even as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes healthcare supply chains globally (GHX, 2026; Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare [FMoHSW], 2025). Purpose: This study examined the relationship between AI-driven supply chain management (AI-SCM) and healthcare service delivery in federal teaching hospitals in South-South Nigeria. Methods: A correlational survey design was adopted. Data were drawn from a structured questionnaire administered to 384 respondents (pharmacists, supply chain and procurement officers, clinicians, and administrators) across six federal teaching hospitals, with 352 valid returns (91.7%). Research questions were answered using means and standard deviations, while hypotheses were tested with Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression at the 0.05 level of significance. Results: Respondents rated AI-SCM adoption positively overall (grand mean = 3.76). AI-SCM correlated strongly and positively with service delivery (r = 0.71, p < 0.05), and the four predictors demand forecasting, inventory optimization, procurement automation, and supplier/risk analytics jointly explained 58.4% of the variance in service delivery (R² = 0.584, F = 121.7, p < 0.05). Inventory optimization (β = 0.34) and demand forecasting (β = 0.29) were the strongest predictors. Conclusion: AI-SCM is a significant determinant of healthcare service delivery in the studied hospitals. The study recommends phased investment in AI-enabled forecasting and inventory platforms, workforce capacity building, and data-governance reforms