Supply Chain Pioneers

At Gartner Supply Chain EMEA, host Ulf Venne interviews Jakub Watembowski of KION Group and Nadine from Schaeffler about conference takeaways and current priorities in risk management. Jakub, attending Gartner for the first time, highlights the value of networking and supplier-risk-focused sessions, reflects on a panel discussion about KION’s risk management journey using Everstream Analytics, and notes AI as the dominant theme while questioning the gap between vendor messaging and real adoption.   He also observes limited direct discussion of the Middle East war and Hormuz blockade despite its impact. Nadine describes a shift from talking about risk management to building resilience and disruption response, with emphasis on the autonomous business era, AI agents, governance, and the evolving human role, plus insights on information overload, the “five Cs,” and reducing push notifications.   00:00 Podcast Intro and Sponsor 00:35 Meet Jakub at Gartner 00:55 Gartner Impressions and Sessions 01:49 Panel Talk on Risk Tools 02:57 Agility and Buffer Stock Lesson 04:01 AI Hype Versus Reality 05:00 Middle East Crisis Elephant 06:27 Wrap Up and Next Episode Tease 07:11 New Gartner Interview Nadine 07:41 Resilience and Agentic AI 09:11 Humans Managing AI 10:45 Schaeffler AI Use Cases 11:28 Digital Anthropology Five Cs 12:48 Decluttering Information Intake 13:50 Push Notifications Are Toxic 14:18 Final Takeaways and Outro

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #women #visibility #female More information on Supply Chain Women at: https://supplychainwomen.com/ Today on Supply Chain Pioneers: Lucy Pitcher, founder of the Supply Chain Women Network and supplychainwomen.com, who helps supply chain businesses grow through PR, visibility, and reputation. Lucy explains she built the platform after seeing how hard it is for journalists, podcasters, and event organizers to find diverse voices despite many talented women in supply chain, and says it has evolved from a directory into a space for stories, advice, and upcoming resources like an events calendar. They discuss why visibility matters now amid AI-driven change, how many people enter supply chain (including accidental paths and a Lego-inspired IBM leader), and what the industry can improve: visibility and role models, sponsorship over mentorship, better culture and flexibility, return-to-work support, and zero tolerance for harassment. Lucy shares early launch metrics and how individuals and companies can get involved, and briefly outlines her Amplify commercial visibility program. 00:00 Welcome and Sponsor 00:35 Meet Lucy Pitcher 01:45 Why Supply Chain Women 03:10 Why Visibility Matters Now 04:52 How Women Enter Supply Chain 06:42 Fixing the Playing Field 09:18 Lucy’s Perspective Shift 11:33 Success Metrics and Vision 13:19 How to Get Involved 15:27 Amplify Visibility Program 17:21 Building with Tech and AI 19:03 Closing Thanks and Outro

Host Ulf Venne speaks with Howard Walfield from KION (including brands like Linde and Dematic) about his opportunistic move from construction into supply chain, including roles at Fidelity and Raytheon, leading to 15 years of experience and a focus on supply chain risk. Howard shares what his day looks like monitoring incidents across time zones using Everstream Analytics and managing planned risk work. At the Gartner conference, he presented KION’s approach to capturing risk and noted many companies still underinvest in people, time, and budget because they don’t see clear ROI. They discuss the heavy use of buzzwords, the importance of practical AI integration (including tools like Copilot) to reduce busy work, and skepticism about near-term “autonomous supply chains” due to data limitations. Outside work, Howard’s life centers on his three daughters and youth soccer, and they close with reflections on trust, change management, and being more human at work.   00:00 Podcast Intro 00:35 Meet Howard From KION 01:42 From Construction To Supply Chain 03:18 A Day In Risk Management 03:54 Gartner Buzz And AI 04:32 KION Risk Program Talk 05:46 Future Of AI In Supply Chain 07:05 Life Outside Work Soccer 09:20 Gartner Takeaways And Trust 12:25 Closing And Where To Listen

Live from the Gartner supply chain conference, host Ulf Venne speaks with two guests in separate segments. David Shillingford shares what stands out this year versus last: a shift from broad AI talk to the “so what” and “how,” focusing on autonomy, the autonomous ecosystem, and the need for pristine data; he also discusses physical automation driven by regionalization, reshoring, and workforce challenges, and argues supply chain is firmly a board-level issue amid geopolitics and extreme weather. Austin Myers of Certifical explains how manual, document-heavy vendor onboarding and insurance compliance create inefficiencies and risk, and describes Certifical’s real-time verification and monitoring of insurance data to automate compliance year-round; he notes issues like fake documents and emphasizes consolidation to a single source of truth, system understanding, and learning how to improve “tomorrow” beyond AI hype. 00:00 Podcast Intro and Sponsor 00:35 Live at Gartner Orlando 01:17 AI to Autonomy Trends 02:35 Automation and Physical Supply Chain 03:49 Keeping Supply Chain Board Relevant 06:11 Personal Future Theme AI Adjacencies 07:35 Gartner Tips and Networking 08:42 Meet Austin from Certificial 09:22 Why Supply Chain and Manual Docs 10:57 What Cert Official Does 12:02 Fake COIs and Risk Control 14:29 First Gartner Takeaways and AI Hype 16:07 Consolidation and Clean Slate Systems 17:49 Final Takeaways and Sign Off

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #automation #coordination #ai In this Supply Chain Pioneers episode, Ulf speaks with Nick Gospodinov, founder and CEO of Mandel AI, about his journey from starting to code at age 10 in Bulgaria to founding companies and building Mandel AI. Nick explains how Mandel acts as an AI supply chain coordinator by extracting key data from unstructured channels like email and Slack into systems of record, validating documents across RFQs, POs, confirmations, and invoices, and monitoring execution via agent functionality that follows SOPs and escalates issues. He shares lessons from early pivots after Y Combinator, why supply chains can fail over a single missed email, how agents can handle edge cases like tariff surcharges, and updates on Mandel’s $3.9M funding round. Nick also discusses building with Bulgarian engineering talent, scaling considerations, AI adoption challenges, and how martial arts shaped his persistence.   00:00 Podcast Intro 00:35 Meet Nick Gospodinov 01:20 Early Coding Origins 03:06 First Startup Spark 04:55 Pivot to Supply Chain 07:31 What Mandel AI Does 10:08 Funding and Market Momentum 11:17 Supply Chain Reality Check 14:44 Building from Bulgaria 19:07 AI Future and Adoption 25:09 Martial Arts Mindset 27:36 Closing and Where to Listen

#supplychain #logistics #procurement #podcast #thoughtleadership In this 50th episode of Supply Chain Pioneers, host Ulf welcomes Scott Luton of Supply Chain Now to discuss his career path from the U.S. Air Force into supply chain roles across manufacturing, distribution, consulting, and digital media. Scott shares takeaways from the Manifest conference, including the push and pull between point solutions and integrated ecosystems, more non-supply-chain technologists entering the field, the impact of geopolitics on innovation, and the importance of culture, leadership, and “fellowship over friction.” They explore key skills such as creating your own luck through networking, customer focus, accountability, and experimentation, plus Ulf’s lessons on operationalizing ideas and change management. Scott explains why he founded Supply Chain Now, his commitment to diverse voices, the meaning of National Supply Chain Day (April 29), and how technology should improve the workforce’s safety, quality of life, and balance. Scott's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwindonluton/ Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com/   00:00 Show Intro and Sponsor 00:35 Meet Scott Luton 01:36 Scott Background and Journey 02:42 Manifest Takeaways 06:33 Stumbling Into Supply Chain 09:45 Skills That Shaped Him 13:55 Olf Lessons and Change Management 18:05 Why Supply Chain Now Started 20:31 Platform Evolution 21:14 Active Listening Skills 22:48 Building Diverse Voices 27:15 National Supply Chain Day 28:42 Air Force Lessons 31:44 Future of Supply Chain Tech 35:01 Moonshine Supply Chain Story 38:19 Closing Thanks and Signoff

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #ai #diy In this episode of the Supply Chain Pioneers Nishith Rastogi, founder and CEO of Locus.sh, talks about his early start in programming, his work with AI and machine learning, and how AI has shifted from backend tools to front-end, human-facing systems.  Nishith discusses fears of AI replacing jobs, arguing that roles will change while growth continues, and explains why logistics appealed to him as a real-world, constraint-driven problem with human impact.  He outlines Locus.sh’s evolution from hyper-local last-mile routing to broader transport decision-making across surface, ocean, and air, serving CPG/FMCG, transportation, retail, and e-commerce.  He also shares how his leadership matured, Locus.sh’s partnership with IKEA’s Ingka Group, and his vision for Locus as a software factory expanding into hardware and robotics.   Locus.sh Website: Locus | End-to-End Logistics Solution for All-Mile Excellence Connect with Nishith on LinkedIn: (1) Nishith Rastogi | LinkedIn   00:00 Welcome and Sponsor 00:35 Meet Nishith Rastogi 01:42 Early Coding Origins 03:21 AI Then and Now 05:49 Will AI Replace Jobs 07:56 From Amazon to Logistics 09:15 The Human Side of Delivery 10:59 Building the Locus Platform 12:50 Who Locus Serves 14:42 Evolving as a CEO 17:01 IKEA Partnership Milestone 19:50 Future of Locus and Logistics 21:52 Final Lesson and Farewell

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #ai #technology #startup Join us in this episode of the Supply Chain Pioneers Podcast with Stan Garber, co-founder and president of LevelPath. Discover Stan's exciting journey from high school entrepreneurship to revolutionizing procurement with AI-driven solutions. Learn about Stan's inspiring stories of multiple successful ventures, challenges, and the innovations behind LevelPath. Whether you're in procurement, supply chain management, or just an innovation enthusiast, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of procurement. Don't miss it! Levelpath homepage: https://www.levelpath.com/ Follow Stan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stangarber/   00:00 Introduction to Supply Chain Pioneers Podcast 00:35 Meet Stan Garber: Co-Founder and President of Levelpath 01:05 Stan's Entrepreneurial Journey Begins 04:36 The Birth of Online Ordering with Onis 05:21 Challenges and Innovations in Online Ordering 10:14 Transition to Procurement: The Scout RFP Story 14:45 Founding Level Path: A New Era in Procurement 19:24 AI in Procurement: The Future with Level Path 21:18 AI in Sourcing and Contract Management 22:49 The Importance of Clean Data 25:07 Trust and Adoption of AI 29:32 AI's Role in Procurement Efficiency 33:56 Future Plans for Level Path 36:27 Market Trends and Predictions 38:10 The Intersection of Art and Procurement 40:32 Conclusion and Farewell

#procurement #logistics #supplychain #medicaldevice #biotech #hightech #ai #resilience Welcome to the latest episode of Supply Chain Pioneers with Kevin Nelson, Senior Operating partner and advisory board member at Bio Stream Medical Consulting. Kevin shares his 35 years of experience in procurement and supply chain, spanning high tech, biotechnology, and medical technology sectors. He discusses his accidental journey into procurement, his progression from operational roles to consulting at IBM, and his strategic insights in the med tech space. Kevin also highlights the transformative role of AI in procurement and supply chain, the importance of stakeholder relationships, and the evolving nature of leadership. Tune in to learn how embracing technology and fostering meaningful relationships can elevate the supply chain industry.   00:00 Introduction to Supply Chain Pioneers Podcast 00:35 Meet Kevin Nelson: Career Overview 01:58 Falling into Procurement 03:31 Transition to Consulting 05:50 Finding Purpose in Life Sciences 07:23 Strategic Purchasing Insights 09:58 Leadership and Team Building 14:22 Embracing AI in Procurement 17:47 Future of Supply Chain Roles 20:53 Personal Insights and Conclusion

#supplychain #procurement #logistics #leadership #trust #change Welcome to the Supply Chain Pioneers Podcast, in this episode Ulf talks with Jim DeVries, founder and managing partner of Enhanced International Group and Chief Strategy Officer of the Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium. Jim shares insights from his diverse career, from engineering to consulting, and discusses the importance of understanding supply chain risk management, the evolution of the field, and strategies for driving change within organizations. Tune in for an engaging conversation on the future of supply chain management, trust, and leadership. 00:00 Introduction to Supply Chain Pioneers Podcast 00:35 Meet Jim DeVries: A Journey from Engineering to Consulting 01:10 Early Career Insights and Experiences 02:26 The Evolution of Supply Chain Risk Management 06:47 Sales Skills and Lean Six Sigma 11:00 Operational Excellence and Supply Chain Optimization 13:44 Joining the SCRM Consortium 17:47 Driving Supply Chain Risk Management Forward 22:38 The Reality of AI Project Failures 23:07 Discussing Risk in Business 26:59 The Future of Supply Chain Risk Management 30:05 Enabling Change in Organizations 36:05 Leadership and Personal Growth 39:02 Recommended Reading for Change Management 40:45 Conclusion and Farewell