Katie Prill

At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton caught up with Rob Haddock, a seasoned supply chain practitioner and advisor with Demand Chain AI, to discuss the persistent planning challenges organizations face—and why maturity, discipline, and optimization still matter more than buzzwords. Demand Chain AI blends consulting services with advanced supply chain technologies, focusing on optimization across trade promotion management, demand sensing, supply planning, and detailed production scheduling. Haddock’s role centers on helping organizations strengthen business processes—particularly sales and operations planning (S&OP), performance reporting, and the practical application of technology to improve execution on both the demand and supply sides.   A Practitioner’s Perspective on Planning Gaps Haddock’s perspective is shaped by decades spent inside large, sophisticated supply chain organizations. Early in his career, he worked within an iconic, global beverage company where advanced planning environments were already in place—though, in hindsight, he admits those tools were sometimes underutilized. Today, Haddock spends much of his time working with small and mid-sized organizations that haven’t been as fortunate. In many of these environments, planning maturity is still low, foundational practices are missing, and—unsurprisingly—Excel remains the primary planning tool. “Basic business practices that have been around since the 1990s…

Global trade practitioners face waves of uncertainty with the possibilities of slews of international tariffs and work stoppages at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts. There are other weighty challenges as well, including conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East, increasingly dangerous storms, and seasonal capacity strains and congestion. Technology plays an increasingly important role in overcoming the many challenges in the global supply chain. “The evolution of supply chain technology has allowed the shipping industry to enhance its operational capabilities. Automation, real-time tracking, and improved throughput have helped manage the heavy volume growth experienced during the pandemic, but recent challenges have highlighted the need for even more robust strategies,” Karim Jumma, e2open’s vice president of product management, wrote in a contributed SupplyChainBrain article. Jumma cited geopolitical conflicts, extreme weather events, and logistical bottlenecks as examples of challenges that have tested the industry and “increased the need for innovative solutions that prioritize flexibility and data-driven decision-making to mitigate against ongoing disruptions.” Supply Chain Now is highlighting E2open, WCAworld, and DP World, three companies continually working on innovative solutions to global trade’s most pressing challenges. DP World Takes Collaborative Approach to Global Challenges DP World’s marketing material says the…