Supply Chain - Unfiltered

Episódios

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  Louisiana’s Port System Shows What Resilience Looks Like 16.09.2026 23min

  A single river corridor in Louisiana helps move a staggering share of America’s exports, and when it hiccups, the ripple hits farmers, factories, retailers, and consumers. We sit down with Harrison Crabtree, Executive Director of the World Trade Center New Orleans, to unpack what keeps the South Louisiana port system resilient when trade rules shift and nature refuses to cooperate. We get specific about the forces pressing on port operations and supply chain planning: tariffs and trade barri...
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  Closing the Procurement and Production Gap 02.09.2026 29min

  The next supply chain disruption will not wait for your dashboard to refresh, and it definitely will not wait for a two-year implementation plan. We sit down with Antonio Gonzalez, CEO and co-founder of Vallor, to talk about a problem procurement teams feel every day but rarely name out loud: the answers to “what are our options?” are often already negotiated into our contracts, yet the data is not visible when it matters most. We unpack why vendor management modernization keeps stalling eve...
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  How To Build A High-Trust Procurement Data Organization 19.08.2026 30min

  Your procurement team can’t automate what it can’t trust. When supplier names duplicate, dashboards sit unopened, and every “simple” request turns into an Excel fire drill, AI doesn’t fix the problem, it exposes it. We sit down with Laura Beth ("LB") Hirt-Sharpe, Data Offerings Leader for IBM Procurement and an IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award recipient, to get specific about what a strong procurement data organization looks like in the real world. We dig into why many teams hit t...
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  3PL’s Gray Area, From Planning to Implementation 05.08.2026 32min

  The supply chain doesn’t break in the obvious places, it breaks in the gray areas: the assumptions inside contracts, the handoffs between shipper and 3PL, and the gaps between a plan and the real world. We sit down with Sandy Hodes, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement and Corporate Development Officer at Ryder System, to unpack how third-party logistics providers navigate supply chain volatility while still delivering service, controlling cost, and protecting relationships. We get sp...
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  Sustainable Procurement Under Pressure 22.07.2026 27min

  Sustainability can feel like a moving target when elections, tariff headlines, and shifting regulations keep rewriting the rules. We sit down with Kris Spriano, former Vice President of Programs and Development at the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) and current Product Materials Manager at Arista Networks, to get honest about what’s really happening inside procurement teams and why many companies are getting quieter about sustainable sourcing even while the work continues beh...
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  How to Be the Change Agent Who Redefines Resiliency 08.07.2026 27min

  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 dig into the mechanics of change management that actually work: defining a clear North Star, maki...
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  Why The Need for Speed Dictates Decision-Making 24.06.2026 31min

  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 materials moving, keep suppliers aligned, and keep leadership confident that risk is actually under cont...
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  How Procurement Teams Turn Data Into Value 10.06.2026 24min

  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 balances: 4G generative AI, 4E ethical AI, 4M monetization, and 4C democratization. From there, we get...
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  Data Management Is a Dirty Job But Everyone Has to Do It 27.05.2026 23min

  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 about data quality in supply chain management: why cleaning and standardizing data gets treated like a...
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  Hyper Agility 13.05.2026 28min

  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 in purpose. We get specific about what makes hyper-agile organizations work: flexible str...
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  Keys to Quickturn Hiring Amid Global Supply Chain Chaos 29.04.2026 25min

  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 Rebecca Croucher, Chief Growth Officer at Atlas, to map the real path from plan to headcount. We talk...
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  Future of Work and the Auspice of Emerging Markets 15.04.2026 23min

  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, semiconductors, energy, automotive, and materials. We dig into industrial sovereignty, reshoring, an...
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  Thriving at the Intersection of AI, Ethics, and Profit 01.04.2026 36min

  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 workable and to turn “ethics” into something you can actually use. We talk about what business ethics...
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  Why Patience and Feedback Fast-Track LLM Success 18.03.2026 35min

  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 tribal knowledge before it walks out the door. We dig into how generative AI and large language models...
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  The True Trajectory of Automation, Robots, & Where Humans Fit In 03.03.2026 33min

  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, and what’s coming next. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience across industries—from medical dev...
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  Consumer Packaged Goods, Bulk Products, and What to Expect from a 3PL 18.02.2026 25min

  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) provider operating across 30 facilities in 10 U.S. states. Drawing on nearly two decades of experi...
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  Tariffs’ Backlash on Semiconductor Supply Chains 24.12.2025 32min

  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, and succeed in a rapidly changing global market. Tune in for expert perspectives on navigating u...
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  Can Electronics Retrofit the Future and Abate Challenges 08.12.2025 26min

  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 accelerating, especially in automotive and manufacturing. He also highlights the Association’s comm...
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  Electrification and the Impact to Utility Supply Chains 26.11.2025 38min

  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 forecasting are now essential for strengthening resilience and fostering innovation. By working to...
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  How International Supply Chains Navigate Regulations, Risks and Internal Volatility 11.11.2025 24min

  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 attention to ESG compliance, and sustainability overall that are highlighting the need for prac...