By Alba Marco, Head of Supply Partnerships, Yahoo DSP
Let’s be honest – digital media buying has always been a supply chain, just not a very good one.
There’s been too many middlemen, too little accountability and far too much money disappearing into the ether. But the tide is turning. With automation and real-time insights, marketers are finally getting the clarity they need to spend smarter, waste less and focus on what actually moves the needle.
For too long, brands have been pouring media dollars into a programmatic ecosystem that’s opaque, inefficient and wasteful. It’s been convenient to ignore the complexity behind the curtain – the endless resellers, the duplication, the untraceable jumps between supply sources – because, on the surface, the machine kept delivering.
But the cracks have started to show. Between economic pressures, increased regulatory scrutiny and a growing demand for sustainable business practices, advertisers are waking up to a hard truth: you can’t optimise what you can’t see.
Enter supply intelligence. This shift isn’t just about cleaning up media supply paths – it’s about finally applying the same level of rigour, automation and accountability to media buying that companies already expect in other parts of their business. And it’s transforming the way we think about programmatic.
Transparency is no longer optional
One of the most significant drivers behind supply intelligence is the push for transparency. The infamous report by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and PwC back in 2020 shone a light on the “unknown delta” – which was the finding that roughly one-third of supply chain costs were unattributable and effectively disappeared into the programmatic black box.
While progress has been made since then, the problem hasn’t gone away. There are still multiple buffers between buyer and seller, hidden fees and a tangled mess of intermediaries that makes it hard for brands to see where their dollars are going – let alone whether those dollars are driving impact.
Supply intelligence gives marketers visibility into their supply chain, helping them understand which supply-side platforms (SSPs) are delivering value, which paths to publishers or networks are inefficient and where they are being charged along the way. Supply intelligence is about informing buyers with the insights needed, rather than making decisions for them.
It’s no use blaming players in the ecosystem – we need to enable smarter, evidence-based decisions. Real-time insights into how impressions flow from demand-side platforms (DSP) to SSPs to publishers allow brands to reduce waste, optimise spend and build direct relationships with the partners that truly make a difference.
Automation is doing the heavy lifting
Of course, having all that data is only useful if you can act on it. That’s where automation comes in.
We are now seeing tools and systems emerge that let buyers dynamically route impressions through the most efficient paths and targeting features, not just once, but continuously. This is a game changer. Instead of manually setting up deals or tweaking supply preferences, brands can automate optimisation based on real-time performance and path quality.
It’s a bit like Waze for media buying: the route to your destination may change depending on traffic, weather or construction and your system should adapt accordingly. Who doesn’t want to avoid those roadworks that cost you time, money and create a high level of stress?
When done right, this kind of automation doesn’t just improve efficiency. It allows media teams to spend less time in spreadsheets and more time focused on strategy, creativity and outcomes.
Sustainability is getting serious
Then there’s the environmental cost.
It’s no secret that the digital advertising supply chain has a significant carbon footprint. All those hops between platforms, servers and auctions utilise energy.
You might recycle, drive an electric car and make an effort to minimise waste at home, but that is all completely a thousand times over if you turn a blind eye to unnecessary resellers and impressions being sent to multiple SSPs in your media buy because that’s what you’ve always done.
Leveraging supply intelligence plays a vital role in helping brands reduce their carbon impact. By cutting out redundant intermediaries, eliminating duplicative requests and streamlining paths to inventory brands can improve not just efficiency, but sustainability.
This isn’t just a “nice to have” anymore – we’re seeing media buyers factor carbon metrics into their optimisation decisions, and publishers rethinking how their supply setups affect the environment.
From plumbing to performance
What excites me most about this shift is how it elevates the entire role of media buying. Supply intelligence turns what used to be considered back-end plumbing into a strategic lever. It empowers marketers to make smarter decisions – about partners, placements, performance and impact – all in real time.
And it doesn’t end at transparency, automation or sustainability. The future of supply intelligence will be defined by collaboration – between buyers, tech partners and publishers – as we collectively rearchitect a supply chain that works better for everyone. One that’s cleaner, more efficient, more responsive and more aligned with the values consumers expect from the brands they love.
At a time when marketing budgets are under pressure and accountability is more important than ever, brands can’t afford to fly blind. Supply intelligence gives us the map, compass and drive to navigate this new terrain and reach better outcomes on the other side.
Now is the time to rethink what smart media buying really looks like. Because when we clean up the pipes, the results flow better.