Talking Supply Chain: From cost cutter to strategic powerhouse

Talking Supply Chain: Building the Supply Biome

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 [http://www.coty.com], 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

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 [https://aws.amazon.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com], 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

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

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 [https://www.thecge.net/], and Sarah Lahti, who is the Director of Operations and Program Management for the Digital Supply Chain Institute [https://dscinstitute.org/], 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

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.