Caitlin Roberson

This post is written by our friends at e2open. E2open is the connected supply chain software platform that enables the world’s largest companies to transform the way they make, move, and sell goods and services. Moving as one.™ Learn More: www.e2open.com.   Global supply chains are under pressure like never before, and disruptions aren’t rare events anymore—they’re structural, constant, and often originate outside your four walls. A single weak link in your supplier network can ripple across production schedules, customer commitments, and brand reputation. The old playbook of reacting to occasional crises doesn’t cut it. To thrive in 2025 and beyond, companies need real-time visibility, predictive insights, and agile execution. That’s where supply chain control tower technology comes in.   What is a supply chain control tower, really? A control tower acts as the command center for your supply chain. It gathers and visualizes data, analyzes disruption impacts, and provides actionable recommendations before problems escalate. Advanced solutions can even automate responses to routine issues and enable cross-functional collaboration to ensure that decisions aren’t just well-informed, they’re executed across the supply chain as well.   Why control towers matter now Supply chain risk isn’t a passing cloud; it’s a thunderstorm that…

At the 2025 Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Fred Baumann, Senior Industry Principal at Kinaxis, one of the world’s most recognized leaders in supply chain planning and orchestration. Kinaxis has spent over four decades shaping the planning landscape and has been named to the Gartner Leaders Quadrant an extraordinary 11 consecutive times—a testament to its execution strength and long-term vision. Baumann’s role at Kinaxis centers on helping chief supply chain officers and senior leaders shape their strategic transformation roadmaps, quantify value, and build the business cases necessary to achieve breakthrough outcomes.   From Episodic Disruptions to Continuous Turbulence When asked about old and new challenges facing supply chain planning teams, Baumann observed a major shift: disruption is no longer episodic—it’s continuous. Historically, companies faced major disruptions every few years. Today, volatility and constraint-related challenges—whether driven by tariffs, sourcing changes, geopolitical shifts, or supply shortages—are unfolding weekly or even daily. This environment demands a new way of working. The speed of global business is accelerating, and uncertainty is at historic highs. As Baumann noted, organizations must now adjust their supply chains “much faster than they had to even last year.” The shift isn’t only…