ASCM: Bringing supply chain into the limelight

Tell me a bit about your background, and how you got into supply chain.

Early in my career, I spent quite a bit of time in operations and materials management. We didn’t call it supply chain back in the day – it went by a number of different terms. Not surprisingly, given my role within ASCM, I worked closely with supply chain professionals, not only to elevate the role of the supply chain professional, but to understand the impact that supply chain has on business and society. 

At ASCM, we’re focused on not only supporting that competent, capable individual, but ensuring that organisations are responsible in terms of using supply chain to really enable consumers and patients to get what they need at a reasonable price and reasonable time. This is what supply chain is about. My background combines that business management education and deep engagement with supply chain professionals. This gives me a strong appreciation for not only their challenges, but the opportunities the field faces today.

Tell me about the planning for CHAINge NA this year. What were you looking to achieve when putting ideas together?

Today, supply chain professionals are trying to balance efficiency with geographic diversity and political resilience. They’re trying to put those things together and identify what would make an individual do their job better and exchange that information with others. So our planning is centered around a key theme, which is: how do we equip supply chain professionals for what’s next? 

The systems that we built for speed and cost optimisation are under stress right now. They’re struggling under the weight of complexity, volatility, consumer demands, and all the disruptions that we’re facing today. We’re being called today to rethink not only how quickly and cheaply we can move things and get them to the consumer, but how responsibly, transparently, and resiliently we can operate today. Our hope is that the engagement part of the event enables individuals to exchange information and walk away with insights and actionable strategies that can be taken back to their organisations and implemented. We’re truly looking for that engagement from the attendees. This is an event for the attendees, by the attendees.

It’s also about making the contact and relationships that we all depend on. We’re all seeking opportunities and examples of organisations that have done it better or have responded easier to the challenges that we’re facing today. This provides individuals with an opportunity to engage. We had an opportunity to do this at our European event, after which attendees overwhelmingly indicated that the engagement part – the opportunity to exchange information learned from each other – was a key element of the event itself. We’re trying to replicate that, but with the amount of issues that the US is facing versus the rest of the world, the topics are going to be a little bit different here.

What are the core topics covered at CHAINge NA that you think are most helpful for supply chain professionals?

We need to take a temperature of the current environment, and not surprisingly, we structure the event around several core themes that we’re all facing today. First, resilient and agile supply chains. The adaptability that’s required today is unlike any time that we’ve ever faced. We’ve had disruptions before, and we’ve responded as an industry. Today, we’re continuing to respond, but the pressures on these individuals due to day-to-day uncertainty has created a very different environment.

The second core topic is emerging technologies. As the focus on resiliency and agility becomes much more critical, there are only a few ways to gather the data necessary to enable organisations to make informed decisions. Not surprisingly, AI, digital twins, and a whole host of scenario planning technology tools are a focus for a lot of organisations today. Digital transformation is happening in almost every organisation to shore up their visibility, their transparency, and their traceability.

Also, advancing sustainability practices. We can’t forget that at the end of the day, we still need to be sustainable as an industry. This has been a huge focus within supply chain. It’s taken a little bit of a backseat in the current environment, but organisations are still focused on ensuring that they are sustainable and ethical in their business practices. Lastly, no discussion can be had without understanding what the talent availability is, what their capabilities are, and whether we are ensuring that we do have the right talent.

How important is collaboration (accelerated by things like CHAINge) in supply chain, especially as the landscape becomes more complex?

In today’s environment, as we focus on visibility and on connecting all parts of our supply chain end-to-end, we understand the demand signals clearly so that we can address them appropriately. Collaboration is no longer optional – it’s essential. No single individual organisation can solve today’s challenges on their own, whether it’s navigating geopolitical tensions, managing risk in a global network, or even driving sustainability. The solutions demand cross-functional and industry collaboration. It used to be that the Chief Supply Chain Officer in the back room was only called upon when there was a crisis. Well, I think we’ve got enough crises today that we need to push that individual into the front office.

First, we need to enable them to use their voice at the table to advocate for appropriate supply chain practices, but also in combination with a wide range of other roles. These are the teams that are now addressing these issues. It’s no longer just a supply chain issue; it’s an organisational issue. It’s a societal issue that we now need to address, and there’s only one way to address that; that’s through collaboration within the organisation, as well as with your partners, your vendors, and your vendor’s vendor. This is a very dynamic environment today, and enabling organisations to have that complete visibility and connectivity is critical.

There’s been a lot of talk about a shortage of talent across supply chain; how big an issue is this, from your perspective? And how can it be overcome?

From our perspective, it’s one of the defining issues of our time. As supply chain has moved from the back office to the boardroom, so has the demand for skilled professionals. More often than not, supply chain people come out of finance or engineering. In today’s environment – a very diverse workforce – digital natives are coming into the workforce. They’re not only adaptable, but very comfortable with modern technology. It’s a little bit of a reverse from the leadership that we have in supply chain today, that may still be using that Excel spreadsheet on their systems. Supply chain has the demand for those skilled individuals.

To address this, we’re focused on a number of things. First, expanding the awareness of supply chain as a rewarding career path, which our salary and satisfaction surveys confirm. Secondly, talking openly about investing in ongoing professional development. We’ve been to a lot of conferences and whether we’re talking about AI, sustainability, or disruptions, at the end of the discussion, it always comes down to people. We should be talking about the people at the beginning of the discussion as opposed to the end of it. We need to create that opportunity for individuals to see that they can not only make a difference, but that their voice is heard and followed on within their organisation. That’s what we’re preparing supply chain professionals for. 

We need to provide an inclusive workplace that attracts and retains that diverse talent. As I indicated before, individuals coming into the workforce are digital natives. They’re very adept at AI and they’re more than willing to jump in with the technology. We need to enable them with problem solving, critical thinking, and experience on the job. I couldn’t be more excited about the individuals coming into the workforce today and the focus, and they’re able to change the world through supply chain.

How can supply chain professionals approach the challenge of ever-changing regulatory requirements?

Financial markets and supply chains do not like uncertainty. We like certain demand signals so we can ensure that our supplies are appropriately managed. Supply chain professionals need to have robust systems to monitor changes and provide that data, or the regulatory information and policy individuals reporting become significant. Among the concerns that we have is that more often than not, it’s become regulatory or policy and it becomes a checklist. Part of that concern is whether we’re really focused on really making a change, or focused just on those compliance checklists that often drive down to minimum effect.

Today, technology helps, but so does developing a culture of compliance and resiliency. Once again, collaboration matters, sharing best practices across industries, and enabling individuals to understand that there are ways to respond to the regulatory and the policy changes. 

What are some of the most exciting innovations happening in supply chain today?

I think the combination of the people and technology is what’s going to make an exponential difference. On the technology side, tools like advanced analytics, AI, and digital twins are transforming how we forecast, manage risk, and build resiliency. The real innovation is combining cutting edge technology with a highly skilled, adaptable workforce. I heard a fantastic quote the other day: ‘AI is not going to take your job; an individual using AI is going to take your job’. That’s where the focus is right now – enabling individuals to use technology to really leverage that and enable organisations to be much more responsive and agile, as they address demands.