Eric Johnson

At Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2026 in Orlando, some of the sharpest minds in supply chain gathered to tackle one central question: what does the next operating model for supply chain actually look like? In a special livestream conversation, Scott Luton sat down with Mike Griswold, VP Analyst at Gartner, alongside fellow Supply Chain Now hosts Karin Bursa and Jake Barr, to unpack the biggest themes emerging from this year’s symposium. The consensus? Supply chain leaders are moving beyond AI fascination and toward something much bigger: redesigning how decisions, workflows, and organizations operate.   AI Is No Longer the Story. Outcomes Are One of the strongest themes from the event was a more mature, pragmatic approach to AI adoption. According to Mike Griswold, many organizations are finally moving past the “shock and awe” phase that dominated conversations a year ago. “People need to figure out exactly what problem or problems AI is going to solve for them,” Griswold explains. That may sound simple, but it represents a significant shift. Instead of experimenting with AI for AI’s sake, companies are becoming more disciplined about identifying operational value and measurable business outcomes. Griswold also warns against a familiar trap: creating “highly efficient…

Get ready to increase your supply chain IQ! Check out all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams from this week right here! On Saturday, Karin Bursa welcomed Manda Hunt from the Empty Stocking Fund to TEK TOK to talk about how the organization transformed from a brick and mortar model to an online virtual gift selection.     On Sunday, Scott and Greg welcomed Mark Morley from OpenText to the podcast to share his key observations in the latest supply chain tech.     On Monday’s podcast episode, Wasim Munayyer from the Munayyer Group joined Jamin on Logistics & Beyond to talk about the three traits needed to succeed when it comes to optimizing technology in the freight space & the importance of leveraging available resources and information related to tech.     On Tuesday, Scott Luton and special co-host Page Siplon with TeamOne Logistics welcome an esteemed panel of mental health advocates on the podcast: John Hearn with The Benefit Company and established healthcare leader, Yinka Ajirotutu.     On Wednesday, Scott Luton and Greg White welcome Eric Olson with Total Quality Logistics and Bobby Holland with U.S. Bank to talk about the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index.…