Kelly Scheib

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…

ATLANTA, GA — January 6, 2026 — Supply Chain Now, the award-winning global digital media platform recognized as the #1 Voice of Supply Chain, today announced the promotion of Mary Kate Love to President, effective January 1, 2026, alongside the continued engagement of a distinguished Advisory Board composed of proven leaders across supply chain, technology, strategy, and media. Together, these leadership updates signal Supply Chain Now’s next chapter of growth as the company prepares for significant expansion in 2026: scaling programming, partnerships, and demand-generation capabilities while staying rooted in authentic, practitioner-led content serving a global audience of more than 1 million listeners. In her new role, Love will lead Supply Chain Now’s strategic growth across programming, partnerships, operations, and long-term platform strategy, further strengthening its mission to inform, connect, and elevate the global supply chain industry. “Mary Kate is a trusted, decisive leader with a rare combination of delivering both strategic vision and operational excellence,” said Scott W. Luton, Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now. “In 2025, she played a pivotal role in accelerating our revenue growth, expanding our audience to more than one million supply chain professionals, and sharpening our focus on delivering measurable value for both practitioners…