Supply Chain - Unfiltered

Change is easy to describe and brutally hard to deliver, especially in supply chain and procurement where every shift touches customers, suppliers, systems, and frontline teams. We sit down with Manish Kapoor , founder and CEO of Growth Catalyst Group, to get honest about what separates a thought leader from a true change agent and why execution is the part that tests your leadership the most. We...

Stability is the word we all want to hear in supply chain, but Lucas Cunha thinks we should stop waiting for it. The pace of AI, the churn in global trade, and the squeeze of nonstop deadlines are pushing logistics, procurement, and operations teams into a new reality where adaptability is the real baseline for survival. We dig into what that means on the ground when you are trying to keep materia...

Data is quietly becoming the most negotiable asset in business and the easiest one to misuse. We sit down with Charlotte de Brabandt, Ph. D. , an expert in procurement, digital transformation, and AI-driven sustainability, to make sense of what it means to treat data like an economic engine rather than a pile of reports. We walk through Charlotte’s AI data economy model and the four forces it bala...

76% of leaders say data-driven decision making is the goal, but most people still don’t trust the data they’re looking at. That contradiction is not just frustrating, it’s expensive. We talk with Susan Walsh , founder of The Classification Guru , about what actually breaks procurement data and supplier master data over time, and why “just add AI” won’t fix a messy foundation. We get practical abou...

Disruption isn’t a phase you “get through” anymore. It’s the environment, and it’s forcing supply chains and organizations to evolve beyond classic agility into something bigger: hyper agility. We sit down with Dr. Charlotte de Brabandt to unpack what hyper agility really means and why she sees it as a true superpower for teams that need to sense change early, respond fast, and still stay grounded...

Scaling globally is exhilarating right up until the “how fast can we hire” question meets reality. A new client award or a winning bid can force a rapid ramp in a country where you have no entity, no local payroll, and no clear view of employment law. That’s when opportunity turns into internal panic, and the clock starts ticking on delivery dates, revenue, and credibility. We sit down with Rebecc...

Trillions in new factories are coming, supply chains are shifting closer to home, and yet the biggest constraint is not equipment or real estate, it’s people. We sit down with Isaac Hagan , Senior VP of Emerging Verticals at ManpowerGroup, to unpack what “emerging talent markets” really mean right now and why they often look like familiar industries under extreme transformation: manufacturing, sem...

Your supply chain decisions can feel like you’re parked in the middle of a busy intersection with traffic coming from every direction: operational pressure, ethical expectations, AI disruption, and the constant demand for profitability. We sit down with Burkhard Schemmel , senior sales leader at Maersk and founder of the Research Institute of Alterocentric Business Ethics, to make that chaos worka...

A 20-year veteran retires, and suddenly the “way we do it” disappears with them. That is the reality across manufacturing, maintenance, and field service right now, and it shows up everywhere: longer onboarding, inconsistent work, safety gaps, and teams stuck relearning the same fixes under pressure. We talk with Siva Kumar Lakshmanan (Siva), CEO of DeepHow , about a practical way to capture triba...

This episode explores how robotics, AI, and automation are reshaping manufacturing, supply chains, and the future of work. In this episode of Supply Chain Unfiltered , host Melanie Stern sits down with Myron Moser , alliant Strategic Advisory Board Member and Chairman Emeritus at Hartfiel Automation. A 35-year veteran in industrial automation and robotics, Myron unpacks what’s hype, what’s real, a...

How should consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and bulk product manufacturers adapt when tariffs shift, retailers pivot, and consumer demand becomes unpredictable? In this episode of Supply Chain  - Unfiltered , presented by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), host Melanie Stern sits down with Jesse Jones, Vice President of Operations at WSI, a national third‑party logistics (3PL) provi...

Discover which companies thrive, and which struggle, when tariffs and trade barriers shift. In this “Supply Chain – Unfiltered” episode, Chandler Willison of M Science explains why supply chain flexibility is key to resilience, and how smaller firms with rigid operations are most vulnerable to policy changes. Gain practical insights into the strategic moves that help organizations adapt, optimize,...

In this episode of “Supply Chain – Unfiltered,” host Melanie Stern welcomes Dr. John Mitchell, President & CEO of the Global Electronics Association, to discuss why electronics – like energy – touch every sector and every life. Mitchell shares new trade flows analysis showing that electronics now represent one in every five dollars of global merchandise trade, and explains how this trend is ac...

In this episode of “Supply Chain – Unfiltered,” featuring Conrad Snover, CEO at ProcurAbility, dives into the impact of electrification on grid infrastructure and supply chains. Success in today’s environment hinges on building collaborative, long-term partnerships among utilities, suppliers, and contractors. Conrad discusses that integrated supply chain models, strategic contracting, and shared f...

Audrey Clavedon, Head of ESG Leadership and Consultancy at Sedex, joins “Supply Chain – Unfiltered” to discuss opportunities for transforming ESG compliance and the outlook for 2026. Rather than getting bogged down by reporting requirements, businesses can refocus their efforts on making a tangible impact on sustainability and building resilient supply chains.  This year has brought heightened att...

In this episode of Supply Chain – Unfiltered, Vijay Manohar Cherukuru, Director of Product at Walmart GoLocal., a division of Walmart, one of the world’s largest retail supply chains, shares his insights into the evolving landscape of delivery and logistics. VJ discusses how Walmart GoLocal is balancing automation and human expertise, scaling innovative technologies like drones and driverless truc...

In this episode, LightSource CEO, Spencer Penn shares how his experience working on the Model 3 program at Tesla – scaling it from a boutique car business to millions of vehicles – helped shape his vision for transforming procurement through AI. Spencer discusses how leveraging AI and automation are redefining procurement, turning it from a tactical function into a driver of strategic level thinki...

In this episode, Mat Witte, CEO of ORTEC Americas, addresses the pressing challenges supply chain operators across North America are facing. From labor shortages to rising costs, inventory issues, and reluctance to adopt automation, the landscape in transportation, warehousing, and distribution continue to evolve, and not without strain. Mat brings decades of experience in supply chain optimizatio...

In this episode of “Supply Chain — Unfiltered”, we explore the evolving landscape of data democratization in supply chain management. Our guest Dr. Charlotte Anabelle de Brabandt, digital futurist and author, introduces a framework designed to make data accessible to both analytics-driven professionals and those less data-inclined. Learn how organizations are shifting away from siloed data ownersh...

Is corporate pullback from sustainability real, or just a myth? In our latest “Supply Chain Unfiltered” episode, ISM journalist Melanie Stern sits down with Daniela Ocio, CEO of Kloopify, to unpack the economic realities behind emissions reduction and ESG strategy. Daniela shares why sustainability isn’t just a regulatory checkbox, it’s a smart business move.

In this episode of Supply Chain Unfiltered , host Melanie Stern speaks with Mike Aller about the growing intersection of supply chain resiliency, cybersecurity, and national security. With AI accelerating both opportunities and risks, the conversation explores how emerging cyber threats are reshaping the way businesses and governments must think about protecting domestic supply chains. From resour...

In this episode, we dive into the evolving dynamics in supply chain recruitment and retention. Joined by Christine Corson, Executive Director at DSJ Global, the episode explores the implications of Gartner’s labor market survey, the rise of short-term hiring strategies, and the growing importance of agility and adaptability in candidates. Christine shares actionable advice for job seekers, from ne...

Join us for our latest episode featuring Angela Burke, Director, Operations & Maintenance, at Pivot Energy, who joins our host, Melanie Stern, to discuss the creative dual use of energy production and agricultural support that organizations are prioritizing. 

Join us for our latest episode featuring Alexander Style, General Manager of Americas at Vinturas, who joins our host, Melanie Stern, to discuss integrating blockchain technology into supply chains. They tackle the risks, cybersecurity, benefits, and use cases for how this technology is accelerating information sharing.

From the 2025 ISM World Conference in Orlando, Florida, this episode features transformative supply chain executive LeAnne Coulter. She joins host Melanie Stern to share crucial insights on how procurement and supply chain professionals can survive and thrive, amid today’s VUCA environment (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) and supply chain regionalization. As Coulter notes, “The...