Don Bowersox

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…

Heading right into October (can you believe it’s next week??) with more great interviews, conversations, livestreams, and episodes!   We started the week with a new episode in our Logistics with Purpose series. Pat Plonski joined Scott, Greg, and Enrique to celebrate 50 million books for Africa!     On Tuesday, Scott and Greg welcomed Mike Griswold with Gartner back to the podcast as they discussed the top three things to know in supply chain today and tomorrow.     We published our Supply Chain Buzz on Wednesday, and Scott and Jamin were happy to welcome Sarah Barnes-Humphrey with Let’s Talk Supply Chain to the show!     On Thursday, Greg continued his conversation with Ben Gordon of Cambridge Capital for part two of the interview for TECHquila Sunrise.     And Friday, Scott and Greg were excited to welcome one of their favorite Supply Chain News writers, Emma Cosgrove with Supply Chain Dive, to the podcast!   Which was your favorite episode? Never miss an episode by subscribing to Supply Chain Now! Make sure you tune in next week for more great conversation, timely topics, and exceptional guests.