The Gartner Supply Chain Podcast

Host Thomas O’Connor and guest Jim Cafone, Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain for Pfizer, discuss how supply chain leaders can take ideas for supply chain innovation from their nascent, early stages into large-scale execution. Jim shares his wealth of innovation experience with Pfizer, including how the organization affects change within its supply chain and the benefits of a “horizontal mindset” for supply chain leaders. He also provides specific examples of these principles in practice, such as Pfizer’s approach to its “An Accord for a Healthier World” initiative.Innovation: Building from ideas to execution at scale. (1:56)Driving innovation at Pfizer through the “An Accord for a Healthier World” initiative. (3:55)What does innovation-related change look like for supply chain operations? (7:43)The importance of sharing successful and valuable innovation across the world of supply chain. (13:48)Advice for supply chain leaders looking to drive more value from innovation programs in their organizations. (17:10)Jim Cafone has been with Pfizer since 2010. In his current role as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain, he oversees Pfizer’s global demand forecasting, demand and supply planning, worldwide logistics, and inventory management. In his previous role with Pfizer as Vice President of Network Design and Performance, Jim was responsible for business development, supply chain network design, Pfizer’s lean production system, all performance reporting and analytics, innovation, and recognition programs.

This episode explores: Reasons behind the emphasis on frontline workers right now (1:00)How chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) can juggle frontline work challenges and approach redesigning the frontline workforce at their organizations (2:18)How CSCOs design their frontline workforces depending on their appetite for change, and whether they view their workforce as a tool or a cornerstone (5:45)The different futures of the frontline workforce, with insight from real-world examples (7:30)Recommendations for CSCOs on the future of frontline work (20:05) Host Caroline Chumakov and guest Emily Rose McRae discuss the call to action for redesigning frontline work and what the human-technology interface should look like for frontline employees going forward. Many CSCOs recognize the need to augment their frontline workforces and to deal with the frontline talent shortage but are unsure of the right approach to take when redesigning frontline work. Emily Rose walks through four potential futures of frontline work and shares examples of the human-technology relationship in each.Emily Rose McRae leads the Future of Work and Talent Analytics research teams in Gartner’s HR practice. While Emily Rose works across all issues that can lead to the future of work, her core areas of focus include emerging technologies and their impact on work and the workforce, new employment models, market and demographic shifts, and workforce planning to anticipate and prepare for these changes. Prior to joining Gartner, Emily Rose worked in management consulting and international development, providing data science support to U.S. government loan programs and microfinance projects in Fiji and Tonga.

In this podcast, host Thomas O’Connor and guest Eric O’Daffer explore the current state of innovations in supply chain-driven organizations through the lens of Gartner’s 2023 Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards.They discuss the Power of the Profession winners and highlight the major themes in supply chain innovations, but also focus intently on how small and mid-cap organizations can drive business value from their innovation efforts. Eric advises supply chain leaders on where to begin their innovation journeys, and how to systematize innovation. Eric O’Daffer is a VP Analyst in the Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain group. His concentration is on the end-to-end healthcare supply chain, starting at the point of patient care and looking back. He focuses most of his time with providers, examining how they best manage all the components of their supply chains. This involves both their internal processes, as well as best practices for partnering with their suppliers to optimize patient outcomes at the best-delivered cost possible. 99% Perspiration — Eyewitness to Supply Chain Innovation by Eric O’DafferBlog is front of paywall and accessible to clients/non-clients.

Amid an ongoing labor shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and massive manufacturing demand for appliances and other consumer goods, GE Appliances, a Haier company, needed to find new ways to attract and retain frontline supply chain workers.Bill Good, GE Appliances’ vice president of supply chain, talks to host Thomas O’Connor about how the business reevaluated and innovated upon their employee value proposition, as well as its successful hiring initiatives in underserved employee populations, such as with refugees and working parents.Bill Good is vice president of supply chain at GE Appliances, a Haier company. With 34 years of experience in manufacturing, he places a high value on employee engagement, building relationships, and leading transformational change. Currently, Bill and his team are focusing on expanding plant capacity, increasing automation in the supply chain, and implementing new digital tools to create a “zero distance” approach with consumers. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, with expertise in Theory of Constraints, Hoshin Planning, and the Toyota Production System.

In this podcast, host Caroline Chumakov and guest Simon Bailey discuss how Gartner’s 2023 Leadership Vision for chief supply chain officers can help CSCOs balance and effectively respond to the upcoming trends, challenges and demands in the new year. Caroline and Simon specifically explore the “triple squeeze” of inflation and recession’s economic pressures, global constraints on affordable energy, and attracting and retaining supply chain talent, as well as increased boardroom demand for supply chain to both free up cash and enable company growth.Simon recommends CSCOs avoid short-term solutions and take a balanced, holistic view of these demands as part of long-term planning, and dives into the details of what to prioritize and which tactics to use.Simon Bailey is a VP Analyst in Gartner’s CSCO Enablement team, supporting chief supply chain officers’ strategy development in areas including ecosystem strategies, customer centricity and sustainability. His published work includes this Leadership Vision for CSCOs and Gartner’s Supply Chain Strategy Predicts. Recent research focuses on circular economy, and the barriers to ecosystem partnerships, and the enablement of new operating outcomes such as greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

In this podcast, host Thomas O’Connor and guest Dwight Klappich dive deep into the reasoning behind two of the five predictions in Gartner’s Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology. Dwight presents the survey data, key drivers and justification behind both.They define how composable, microservice-oriented approaches to supply chain management technology will allow organizations to easily mix and match technological capabilities to meet their needs. Then, they discuss how many companies will leverage a singular, interconnected technological platform to manage intralogistics.Finally, Thomas and Dwight close on a brief overview of the remaining predictions within Predicts 2023 for Supply Chain Technology.

In this podcast, host Thomas O’Connor discusses Gartner’s Supply Chain Executive Report: The Future of Supply Chain 2023 with its lead author and podcast guest Jennifer Loveland. They explore how most C-suites have returned to viewing supply chain as a cost center rather than a strategic partner.Jennifer and Thomas dive deep into how supply chain leaders can combat this view by generating near-term and long-term competitive advantage through commercial innovation that enables customers to get their own jobs done outlining specific examples from Schneider Electric such as “factory-as-a-service”.They introduce a reinvention strategy covering four key areas- commercial innovation, achieving sustainability outcomes, real-time decision execution and human-centric work design. Each reinvention provides a vision for where to innovate over the next five years to support growth, compete for scarce talent and meet speed and sustainability expectations. Excelling in these areas can help make you an equal strategic partner within the C-suite by pulling ahead of your peers.

In this podcast, guest Pia Orup Lund joins host Thomas O’Connor to discuss Gartner’s Maverick Research: The Digital Era — The End Of S&OP? They explore why sales and operations planning’s (S&OP’s) traditional reliance on predefined time horizons and its strict division of responsibility are too simplistic, and how dynamic, impact-focused decision making processes will replace it. They also describe what these looming changes mean for operational, tactical and strategic stakeholders, and why implementing advanced technologies with AI and advanced analytics helps supply chain leaders monitor and resolve disruptions to their planning efforts.

In this podcast, host Caroline Chumakov is joined by guests Lauren Wheatley and Sarah Watt in discussing the ongoing European energy crisis, its impacts upon global supply chains and how supply chain leaders should respond. They anticipate the ripples of the crisis to continue for at least the next three years, so they explore reports about business viability concerns and rising raw material costs in Europe from affected supply chain leaders. In response, they offer proactive, long-term solutions designed to help you weather the crisis, such investing in on-site renewable energy and managing uncertainty through dynamic scenario planning.Lauren Wheatley is a research director within Gartner’s Energy and Utilities Industries team. Lauren’s primary focus is advising clients within the energy services and renewable energy domains. Her research interests include renewable energy development and asset management, and how strategic decisions about energy can influence sustainability goals. Through a focus on low-carbon energy strategies, Lauren helps Gartner clients find effective ways to address energy risks within their organizations.Prior to joining Gartner, Lauren worked within the renewable energy sector. She has a successful, executive track record in strategic planning and implementation, business and team development, and international business growth.Sarah Watt is research director with Gartner’s Supply Chain Group. Sarah’s research interests include sustainable supply chain, climate change, circular economy, biodiversity loss and responsible sourcing. She helps Gartner clients find more effective ways to apply sustainability principles within the supply chain while balancing multiple organizational priorities. Her work aims to show how embracing sustainability can be profitable for the business while also being good for the planet. She also works with supply chain leaders to link their business strategy to their talent management requirements.

In this podcast, host Thomas O’Connor and guest Dana Stiffler discuss how chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) can attract, retain and engage frontline employees by allowing workers more autonomy and flexibility. Stiffler provides a real-world example from GE Appliance’s pilot of these practices, and data from Gartner’s Supply Chain Executive Report: Supply Chain Success Depends on the Frontline Employee Experience.