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March 19, 2021

This Week on Supply Chain Now: March 15th – 19th

Listen Up! This week was full of thought leadership, industry news, and strategic insights, so make sure to catch all things Supply Chain Now right here!   On Monday, Charles Walker and Enrique Alvarez joined Scott and Greg to talk about Leadership Lessons Learned. Listen up if you’re ready to feel inspired!     On Tuesday, Mike Griswold, VP of Research at Gartner, joined our hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss the top stories, news, and trends in supply chain today.     On Wednesday, Azaleah Davis joined us on the podcast to talk about how she found her way into engineering and biomechanics, the evolutionary journey aspriing leaders have to be willing to take to be their best self, and more!   If you missed Monday’s The Buzz livestream, then check out Thursdays podcast episode of the replay featuring the Lora Cecera, Founder of Supply Chain Insights, as she joins our hosts Scott and Greg to dive into the top news in supplu chain this week plus share her own incredible story and inspirational perspective.   And on Friday, we finished off with a Dial P for Procurement livestream. Tune in as hosts Kelly Barner and Scott…
supply chain planning
January 6, 2026

ZS’s Caglar Ozdag on Firefighting, AI Skepticism, and Why Data Must Come First in 2026

At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton sat down with Caglar Ozdag, a supply chain leader at ZS. Known for its deep analytics and technology expertise across industries such as life sciences, airlines, consumer goods, and agriculture, ZS has become a trusted partner for organizations looking to elevate their planning and manufacturing performance. Ozdag leads the firm’s supply chain practice with a focus on planning from detailed forecasting through detailed scheduling. As a former practitioner himself—having led planning operations at large global enterprises—he brings a grounded, real-world perspective to the challenges facing today’s supply chain leaders.   Old Problems Persist—and New Ones Are Emerging When asked about classic and emerging challenges in planning, Ozdag didn’t hesitate: firefighting isn’t going away. From supply planning disruptions to last-minute schedule changes, firefighting remains a daily reality. “Life happens,” Ozdag noted. Plans rarely match reality, and organizations must constantly adjust. But today, a new layer has been added: AI uncertainty. Everywhere he goes, leaders are asking the same questions: “Is AI the right investment?” “Will the ROI materialize?” “Are we adopting the right tools, or just chasing hype?” This blend of enduring complexity and emerging skepticism has become a defining…