Supply Chain Management Review Podcast

Episode

• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Gartner’s Ryan Polk on why AI is exposing procurement’s process problem 13.08.2026 42mnt

  Procurement organizations have invested heavily in artificial intelligence, automation and digital transformation, but technology may be exposing a problem that has been hiding underneath those investments: The processes themselves aren’t always ready for AI. On this episode of Talking Supply Chain, host Brian Straight speaks with Ryan Polk, chief of research for procurement at Gartner, about findings from Gartner’s latest chief procurement officer survey, including the finding that 63% of procurement leaders say their own business processes are preventing them from achieving their top priorities.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Cleo CEO Mahesh Rajasekharan on why orchestration is supply chain’s next frontier 06.08.2026 38mnt

  Supply chain leaders have invested billions in visibility platforms, automation and AI. Yet many organizations continue to struggle with execution, revenue leakage and increasingly complex operations. On this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Brian Straight speaks with Mahesh Rajasekharan, president and CEO of Cleo, about the findings from the company’s 2026 Global Supply Chain Executive Report and why supply chain orchestration is emerging as the next competitive differentiator. The discussion explores how leading organizations are moving beyond resilience, redefining supply chain performance and using AI to connect planning with execution rather than simply automating individual tasks.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: uShip CEO Sean Wu on the secondhand economy supply chain 23.07.2026 45mnt

  The rapid growth of the secondhand economy is forcing logistics providers to rethink how supply chains are designed. While traditional transportation networks have been optimized for speed, efficiency and automation, oversized, one-of-a-kind products require a different approach—one centered on care, transparency and customer expectations. In this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Brian Straight speaks with Sean Wu, CEO of uShip, about the rise of recommerce, the logistics challenges of moving unique items and why digital marketplaces are making nationwide resale more accessible than ever.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: The state of US reindustrialization 16.07.2026 42mnt

  Six months after first discussing the possibility of a U.S. manufacturing renaissance, Talking Supply Chain host Brian Straight welcomes Brian Higgins, U.S. sector leader for industrial manufacturing at KPMG, back to the Talking Supply Chain podcast to assess what has changed. While investment in domestic manufacturing continues to grow, Higgins argues that the real challenge has shifted from announcing projects to executing them. The conversation explores how tariffs, geopolitical instability, labor shortages, AI adoption and supply chain resilience are reshaping manufacturing strategy, while emphasizing that success will depend less on predicting disruption and more on building organizations capable of sensing and responding faster than competitors.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: The Strait of Hormuz is open, but normal is not near 25.06.2026 49mnt

  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 episode of Talking Supply Chain, Fullerton joined Supply Chain Management Review Editor-in-Chief Brian Straight to discuss project44’s data on shipment diversions, port congestion, supply chain recovery, and what separates organizations that successfully navigate disruptions from those that struggle.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Building the Supply Biome 18.06.2026 35mnt

  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, geopolitical uncertainty, rapidly changing consumer preferences, and accelerating digital transformation. On this episode of Talking Supply Chain, Carter introduces the concept of the “Supply Biome”—an adaptive, interconnected ecosystem that continuously senses signals from across the business environment and responds in near real time. Drawing on leadership experience at Coty, Amazon, Unilever, Avon, and Procter & Gamble, Carter explains why supply chains must evolve beyond linear processes and siloed functions toward operating models enabled by AI, collective sensing, and integrated decision-making.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Moving from AI pilot to execution with AWS’s Petra Schindler-Carter 28.05.2026 45mnt

  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 discuss how leading retailers and CPG companies are moving AI beyond dashboards and pilots into real-world execution.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: How logistics leaders are winning in volatile times 30.04.2026 37mnt

  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 aren’t the ones with perfect forecasts, they’re the ones that move fastest with imperfect data. Drawing from Uber Freight’s 2026 Logistics Playbook, Daymon outlines how leading organizations are restructuring planning, embracing real-time decision-making, and building agility into their operating models to stay ahead of volatility.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: AI and the new trade barrier 02.04.2026 33mnt

  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 Global Enterprise, and Sarah Lahti, who is the Director of Operations and Program Management for the Digital Supply Chain Institute, to help make sense of AI and whether AI is truly leveling the playing field or quietly creating new barriers. From infrastructure and talent gaps to regulatory fragmentation and cyber risk, the discussion highlights how AI may be reshaping not just supply chains, but who gets to compete in them.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Rethinking supplier relationships 12.03.2026 44mnt

  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 are still relying on spreadsheets and fragmented systems to manage supplier relationships, even as their responsibilities expand to include resilience, ESG compliance, innovation, and risk management. He argues that SRM should serve as the “operating system” of procurement—integrating supplier onboarding, risk management, performance tracking, and collaboration into a continuous lifecycle rather than a point-in-time process.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Cargo theft’s new era 05.03.2026 47mnt

  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 increased roughly 93% between 2021 and 2024, while strategic cargo theft—fraudulent schemes involving brokers, carriers, and falsified documentation—surged more than 1,400%.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: From cost cutter to strategic powerhouse 19.02.2026 40mnt

  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 are under relentless pressure. But the real risk, he argues, isn’t just volatility, it’s underinvestment in procurement.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Turning AI time savings into value 05.02.2026 38mnt

  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 moves beyond hype into the operational friction that emerges when AI is layered onto outdated processes and governance models.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Is AI expanding cyber risk? 29.01.2026 45mnt

  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 traditional IT environments.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Why pallet building is the next frontier for warehouse productivity 15.01.2026 36mnt

  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 efficiency.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Why automation feasibility should guide supply chain decisions 08.01.2026 43mnt

  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 enthusiasm for the latest technology. The discussion emphasizes that rushing into large capital investments without fully understanding operational needs often leads to costly mistakes that can burden organizations for decades.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Is a manufacturing renaissance happening? 18.12.2025 40mnt

  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 announcements, underlying data—from manufacturing construction spend to foreign direct investment—shows real momentum, particularly as companies reassess resilience, proximity to customers, and supply chain risk.
• 
  In Transit Podcast: The returns reckoning — fixing the most overlooked gap in modern retail 11.12.2025 32mnt

  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, inventory planning, product design, and customer experience. In this episode of In Transit, host Vishnu Rajamanickam from The Logistics Report speaks with Chuck Fuerst, chief commercial officer at ReverseLogix, about why the industry’s mindset around returns must fundamentally change.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: AI-driven planning enters a new phase 04.12.2025 35mnt

  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 has officially passed the “peak of inflated expectations,” moving out of hype and into measurable value. That shift, Snoeckx notes, reflects a deeper mindset change: companies aren’t asking if AI can help planners anymore; they’re asking how it should.
• 
  Talking Supply Chain: Procurement’s AI stress test 20.11.2025 37mnt

  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 don't know is how to truly solve their end-to-end process problems.” His point is clear: organizations are racing toward AI without knowing how to use it well and the consequences are coming fast.