John W. Phillips

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…

It’s been an exciting week here at Supply Chain Now! Catch up on all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here for all the hottest supply chain news! On Saturday, Scott and Greg welcomed Eric Johnson with JOC & Enrique Alvarez with Vector Global Logistics to the podcast!     On Monday, Scott and Greg spotlight one of the strategic sponsor partners of the AIAG Supply Chain Summit, Surgere, as they welcome Robert Fink and Katie Lewis to the show.     On Tuesday’s podcast episode, Scott & Greg welcomed Alex Pradhan, Product Strategy Leader with John Galt Solutions, to discuss the top three lessons learned in 2020 from a supply chain planning perspective.     On Wednesday, Scott and Greg hosted the Supply Chain Buzz where they dove into the boom in warehouse employment, sustainability shifts within the business environment, and other hot supply chain news!     On TECHquila Sunrise this Thursday, Jason Perez, CEO and founder of YARDZ, joined Greg White to talk about how he found the will and the skill to succeed in supply chain tech against all odds.   And we wrapped up the week with JP Wiggins of 3Gtms and Kara…