Supply Chain Now

The yard may be one of the most overlooked areas of the supply chain, but its impact extends across transportation, warehousing, customer service, safety, and the bottom line.In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton sits down with Adam Newsome, CEO of Lazer Logistics, to explore how greater visibility, intelligence, and action can transform yard operations into a strategic advantage.Adam shares how Lazer Logistics combines connected technology, operational data, AI, and decades of institutional knowledge to improve decision-making across hundreds of locations. He explains why visibility alone is not enough, how AI...

Transportation may be essential to global supply chains, but that doesn’t mean more movement, more technology, or more complexity automatically creates better results. Sometimes the smartest transportation strategy starts by asking a much simpler question: What is the customer actually trying to accomplish?In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and Tevon Taylor welcome David Ivan, President and CEO of BNSF Logistics, for a conversation that challenges conventional thinking around transportation, customer experience, lean principles, technology, and the role of rail in today’s supply chain.With more than 25 years of experience on t...

Supply chains are facing pressure from every direction, from inflation and shifting consumer behavior to climate-driven disruption and rapidly evolving AI capabilities. For leaders, the challenge isn’t simply keeping up. It’s figuring out where to focus, how to make faster and better decisions, and how to turn emerging technology into measurable business value.In this episode of The Buzz, powered by MFG.inc, Scott Luton and special guest co-host Tanzil Uddin with Manifest are joined by Dheera Anand, Partner at Bain & Company, to unpack some of the biggest forces shaping supply chain today. They explore the...

Supply chain performance is still being measured by outdated assumptions. Lora Cecere argues that optimizing individual functions for lower cost does not necessarily improve the business. In fact, it can throw the entire supply chain out of balance. Better performance starts with understanding what is actually feasible within an industry, focusing on the metrics that drive value, and recognizing that supply chains are complex systems that cannot be improved one function at a time. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton speaks with Lora Cecere, founder of Supply Chain Insights, and Wael Abdelmalek, CEO a...

Most transportation companies talk about technology, efficiency, and growth. But after more than 50 years in the industry, the lesson is simpler: people, relationships, and the ability to adapt are what keep a business moving forward. Scott Luton speaks with Marcia Taylor, owner and CEO of Bennett Family of Companies, about resilience, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the evolution of transportation. They explore how Bennett grew from 15 trucks and 30 trailers into a diversified transportation and logistics organization, why listening to customers shaped its expansion, how the company has preserved its family culture through decades of growth, and where AI a...

Supply chains used to be built primarily around cost and efficiency. Abe Eshkenazi says that era is over. Today’s leaders have to balance AI, resilience, geopolitical risk, talent, cybersecurity, and a level of disruption that makes predicting what comes next nearly impossible. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton speaks with Abe Eshkenazi, CEO at the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), about how the supply chain profession is changing. From what organizations need to get right before scaling AI, to the reshaping of globalization, the growing importance of optionality, and the evolution of...

Most wine drinkers picture a boutique vineyard. Andrew Rice says the real story is scale: hundreds of rail cars, thousands of truckloads, and a regulatory maze most consumers never see. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and special guest co-host Wanda Johnson speak with Andrew Rice, senior ERP technical product manager at Gallo, about the wine supply chain. From grape to glass, government regulation and the three-tier system, harvest and weather risk, inventory and aging complexity, and how technology like agentic AI is transforming operations. Andrew explains why wine supply ch...

The digital economy may get the headlines, but behind every AI breakthrough, electric vehicle, automated warehouse, and data center is a complex physical supply chain making it possible. In this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, hosts Scott Luton and Karin Bursa welcome Gaurav Singh Chaudhary, founder and editor of Silicon and Steel, to explore the infrastructure, materials, energy, and global trade relationships powering some of today’s biggest transformations.From Walmart’s massive investment in automated fulfillment to dramatic shifts in the Southern timber industry, Scott, Karin, and Gaurav break down the connections betw...

AI adoption is not really a technology question. It's a trust question, and trust levels shift dramatically depending on where a company operates and who its customers are. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and co-host Bill Huber, retired VP CFO at VELUX, speak with Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures, about trust and AI adoption, open banking and data interoperability, fragmented data versus bad data, workforce retraining, and the lessons global supply chains can borrow from fintech. Theo explains how to tell healthy friction from harmful friction, treat fragmented data differently...

An AI agent can finish a task and still violate the rules that matter most. In supply chain, that gap can affect cost limits, approved suppliers, compliance requirements, safety protocols, and escalation paths. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton speaks with Vin Vashishta, CEO and AI strategist at V-Squared, about intent contracts, audit trails, workflow reorchestration, tokenomics, semantic layers, and evidence-based AI strategy. Vin explains how to evaluate AI by the value it creates, budget for recurring usage costs, work with imperfect information, and require consultants to connect every recommendation to...

On this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, hosts Scott Luton and Karin Bursa welcome Philip Vervloesem, Chief Commercial and Markets Officer at OMP, for a wide-ranging conversation on the forces reshaping global supply chains. From extreme weather and transportation disruptions to China's rapidly expanding automotive industry, the team explores today's biggest supply chain headlines before diving into AI, decision velocity, always-on planning, and the evolving role of supply chain professionals. Supply chain leaders have more data, technology, and intelligence at their fingertips than ever before, but the real competitive advantage comes from turning...

Soft freight demand would normally suggest plenty of available trucking capacity. Q2 2026 told a different story.   In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton is joined by Karin Bursa, Bobby Holland, Director of Freight Business Analytics at U.S. Bank, and Dr. Jason Miller, Eli Broad Endowed Professor of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, to unpack the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index. They examine why shipments remained subdued while shipper spending climbed sharply, including a nearly 28% year-over-year national increase in spending.   The conversation covers regional freight conditions, ti...

AI adoption in supply chain is moving from curiosity to business-critical execution. The companies pulling ahead are not chasing shiny tools. They are finding root causes, cleaning up messy data, and using technology to reduce wasted time across procurement, planning, inventory, and fulfillment.   In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton and Karin Bursa speak with Wiley Jones, co-founder and CEO of DOSS, about the Enterprise Unleashed series and what leaders should take from the first several conversations. Wiley shares why culture, clarity, and leadership ownership are central to successful AI programs.   ...

The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, is back with another timely look at the news and trends shaping global supply chain. In this episode, host Scott Luton is joined by Paul J. Noble and special guest Lora Cecere, founder of Supply Chain Insights, for a wide-ranging conversation on agentic AI, supply chain fraud, manufacturing, forecasting, lead times, and why decades of technology investment still haven’t delivered better results for many organizations. From the growing role of AI agents in commerce to the increasing sophistication of supply chain fraud, this episode tackles some of the biggest ch...

How will AI reshape supply chain teams, technology investments, and the future workforce? In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton is joined by Mike Griswold, Vice President Analyst at Gartner, for another conversation in the Supply Chain Today and Tomorrow series. Mike shares his perspective on AI strategy, supply chain technology, inventory management, and the decisions leaders must consider as business expectations continue to change. The conversation explores why organizations should be careful about replacing entry-level roles with AI, how supply chain teams can balance technology with human expertise, and...

How is the consulting industry changing as technology, AI, and new buyer expectations reshape the market? In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton speaks with Amber Salley, Founder and Managing Director of the Amber Salley Advisory Group, about the changing consulting landscape and what supply chain leaders should consider when hiring outside expertise. With experience as a practitioner at IBM, consultant at Booz & Company and Accenture, Gartner analyst, and vendor executive, Amber shares her perspective on why traditional consulting models are under pressure, how AI is accelerating existing changes, and why specialization...

From shifting commodity markets and explosive data center growth to drone delivery and AI-enabled workplaces, supply chain leaders are navigating change from every direction. In this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, Scott Luton and Dr. Rod Thomas are joined by Hans Kremer, partner and co-founder of Inchange, to unpack the latest supply chain headlines and explore what professionals and organizations need to thrive in a rapidly evolving business environment. The discussion shifts to professional development, where Hans shares why companies need to stop training in silos and create more cross-functional learning...

A missed delivery in a public health supply chain is never just a logistics problem. It can mean a child misses a vaccine, a patient goes without treatment, or an entire community loses trust in its healthcare system. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton welcomes Don Hicks, CEO of Optilogic, and Taylor Wilkerson, Executive Director of Design for Life, for a powerful conversation about using supply chain design to help more people access essential medicines. Don and Taylor explain why many public health supply chains face the same complexity as the world’s la...

Most apparel companies don't have a demand problem. They have a lead time problem. In this episode of Supply Chain Now, hosts Scott W. Luton and Scot Case welcome Maithili Shenoy, Founder and CEO of La Naia Collective, for a frank, frameworks-forward look at why the global apparel operating model is cracking under its own weight and what it would actually take to rebuild it. From the Multifiber Agreement's unraveling in 2005 to the speed at which TikTok now dictates what sells, Maithili draws a clear line between the world the industry was built for and the one...

From rising diesel prices and geopolitical instability to new defense sourcing requirements and rapid advances in artificial intelligence, procurement and supply chain leaders are navigating a business environment where the traditional playbook no longer works. In this episode of The Buzz, powered by Toyota Automated Logistics, hosts Scott Luton and Allison Giddens welcome James Meads, founder of Entrepreneurial Procurement, for a timely discussion on the forces reshaping procurement and global supply chains. The conversation explores major investments in domestic manufacturing, the growing tension between lean inventory and supply chain resilience, and the ripple effects of diesel shortages...