Supply Chain Management Review Podcast

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is welcome news for global supply chains, but according to Eric Fullerton, vice president of data insights at project44 , the industry’s focus should not be on returning to normal. Instead, supply chain leaders should be asking what they learned from the disruption and how they can build more resilient operations before the next crisis arrives. In a recent epi...

For decades, supply chains were managed as a series of interconnected but largely independent functions. Planning, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and fulfillment each operated with their own objectives, metrics, and decision-making processes. But according to Graeme Carter, chief global supply chain officer at Coty , that model is no longer sufficient in a world defined by volatility, geopoli...

Artificial intelligence has dominated supply chain conversations for years, but many organizations are still trying to determine where AI is delivering measurable operational value versus where it remains stuck in experimentation mode. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Petra Schindler-Carter, head of retail and consumer packaged goods at Amazon Web Services , joins host Brian Straight to di...

Supply chain disruption is no longer episodic. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Bob Daymon, head of client services for Uber Freight, joins host Brian Straight to break down how logistics organizations are adapting to an environment defined by tariff uncertainty, tightening capacity, and compressed planning cycles. The conversation centers on a fundamental shift: companies that win today a...

Artificial intelligence is widely expected to accelerate global trade, improve decision-making, and unlock new efficiencies across supply chains. But beneath that promise lies a reality few are grasping, and it is one that might result in more market barriers than anticipated. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight is joined Dravida Seetharam, a fellow at the Center for Globa...

Procurement has long been viewed as a tactical function focused on cost savings and compliance, but Sam Jenks believes that mindset is outdated. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, the Kodiak Hub CRO and host of the Way We Source podcast, makes the case for treating supplier relationship management (SRM) as procurement’s equivalent of CRM in sales. Jenks explains why many procurement teams ar...

Cargo theft in the United States has entered a new phase, shifting from localized truck stop thefts to sophisticated schemes orchestrated by international crime networks, according to Scott Cornell, vice president of transportation risk and strategy at LogistIQ Insurance Solutions and chair of TAPA Americas. In a recent episode of Talking Supply Chain, Cornell explained that cargo theft incidents...

In the latest episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight sat down with Dave Pennino, CEO of LogicSource , to explore why procurement is no longer just a cost-control function, it’s becoming a strategic lever for financial resilience. Pennino doesn’t mince words about what’s changed. In an era of tariff uncertainty, inflation, geopolitical instability and shifting consumer demand, CFOs ar...

Artificial intelligence is often pitched to procurement teams as a straightforward productivity win—save time, automate work, and move faster. But in this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight digs into why those promised time savings don’t always translate into better decisions or cleaner execution. Joined by Erin McFarland, VP of Operations at Fairmarkit , the conversation quickly...

Cybersecurity has become one of the most material, and least understood, risks facing modern supply chains. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight sits down with Tim Freestone, chief strategy officer at Kiteworks , to unpack why AI-driven automation, agentic workflows, and digital collaboration tools are rapidly expanding the supply chain attack surface well beyond traditiona...

Pallet building is one of the most common activities in distribution centers, yet it remains largely untouched by modern optimization efforts. In this episode, Talking Supply Chain host Brian Straight speaks with Kyle Franklin, senior solutions consultant for Lucas Systems about why palletization has historically been treated as a manual, experience-driven task rather than a strategic lever for ef...

As supply chain leaders confront rising labor costs, workforce shortages, and global uncertainty, automation is increasingly seen as both an opportunity and a risk. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight speaks with Jeff Bornino, president of North America at TMX Transform , and Nick De Klerk, senior director, about why automation decisions must start with feasibility, not en...

In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Brian Straight speaks with Brian Higgins, partner, U.S. sector leader for Industrial Manufacturing in KPMG’s U.S. supply chain and operations practice, about whether the recent surge in U.S. manufacturing investment represents a true renaissance or a fragile moment shaped by tariffs and geopolitics. Higgins notes that while headlines may exaggerate some ann...

For years, product returns have been dismissed as an unavoidable cost of doing business—an operational burden buried deep in the supply chain. But as e-commerce growth stabilizes and margins tighten, that blind spot is becoming too expensive to ignore. Returns represent not only a massive financial drag but also a powerful, underutilized source of intelligence that can transform forecasting, inven...

AI may be reshaping every corner of the supply chain, but nowhere is the shift more profound—or misunderstood—than in planning. In this week’s Talking Supply Chain, Gartner Director Analyst Jan Snoeckx explains why autonomous and agentic AI are no longer abstract promises but practical capabilities gaining traction inside large enterprises. Gartner’s latest research shows that autonomous planning...

This week’s episode of Talking Supply Chain takes a very real look at something most procurement teams aren’t talking about: the biggest AI risk next year isn’t the technology, it’s the people guiding it. As Sudhir Bhojwani, co-founder and CEO of Oro Labs, told Talking Supply Chain podcast host Brian Straight, “People are still trying to figure out what they want to do with AI … but what people do...

Artificial intelligence has taken hold across the enterprise, but nowhere does it face a bigger challenge than in third-party risk management. As explained in this week’s Talking Supply Chain, AI thrives on structure and consistency, yet supplier ecosystems remain fragmented and inconsistent across industries. Dave Rusher, chief customer officer at Aravo , joins the discussion to explore why the l...

In an era when most automation systems are designed in the U.S. but built overseas, Corvus Robotics is charting a different course. The company, winner of the NextGen Supply Chain Solution Provider Award for Robotics, designs and manufactures its autonomous warehouse drones entirely in America. Co-founder and CEO Jackie Wu told Talking Supply Chain host Brian Straight that building domestically is...

This week’s Talking Supply Chain podcast tackles one of manufacturing’s most pressing challenges: bridging the divide between operational technology (OT) on the shop floor and information technology (IT) that runs enterprise systems. Podcast host Brian Straight is joined by Fares Sakka, director of smart industry for Orange Business , who has spent his career helping companies modernize operations...

In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight explores the growing importance of sustainable procurement—a practice that has quickly moved from a “nice-to-have” to a business imperative. As governments, investors, and customers increasingly demand accountability, procurement is no longer just about efficiency and cost; it is about building resilience, reducing carbon impact, and del...

Most consumers see a box; fresh-food operators see a system. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Edible Arrangements’ supply chain manager Jay De Sieno breaks down why packaging is a strategic lever, not an afterthought. For a gift-centric brand, the container is the first touchpoint and a quality cue—so color, layout, and presentation must reinforce identity while safeguarding perishable pro...

Artificial intelligence isn’t just a buzzword in supply chain, it’s rapidly changing how products move from origin to destination. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight sits down with Stuart Ryan, senior vice president and general manager of the Americas for HERE Technologies, to explore how AI-powered mapping and location intelligence are reshaping transportation and logist...

In a world filled with uncertainty—from tariffs to pandemics—many companies still rely on reaction instead of preparation. On the latest episode of Talking Supply Chain, Tom Strohl, president of Oliver Wight Americas , explains why integrated business planning (IBP) is the secret weapon for companies looking not just to survive disruptions, but to thrive through them. “The difference between those...

When hurricanes or other disasters strike, logistics become a lifeline for thousands, in some cases even millions of people. And the trucking, logistics and supply chain industries are always ready to help, often working side by side with FEMA and other organizations like the American Red Cross, to provide the supplies communities need not only to survive the immediate aftermath, but to rebuild. B...

The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system, which has provided a standardized method of identifying and classifying freight for over 70 years, is undergoing its most significant overhaul in decades. Keith Peterson, director of operations at the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), joined the Talking Supply Chain podcast to explain the rationale and impact of these chang...