Kevin Coy

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…

Another great week here at Supply Chain Now! Have you listened to all the episodes? If not, you can check them all out here: On Monday, Scott and Greg chatted with Jenny Froome and Dominique Zwinkels. Supply Chain Now · “Supply Chain Front & Center: Jenny Froome & Dominique Zwinkels”   Then on Tuesday, we continued in the Logistics with Purpose series and welcomed Jeremy Newhouse with MATTER to the podcast.   Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Jeremy Newhouse with MATTER”   On Wednesday, Scott and Greg tackled the top news in supply chain on the Buzz, and welcomed special guest Rob Lopez with Peach Tree Commercial Capital.   Supply Chain Now · “Supply Chain Buzz with Rob Lopez & Peach Tree Commercial Captial: Manufacturing, Money & More”   Scott and Greg were joined by Lynne Johnson and Joe Barto with AME on Thursday:   Supply Chain Now · “Helping Manufacturers Share, Learn, & Grow: Joe Barto & Lynne Johnson with AME”   And we wrapped up the week as Scott and Greg were joined by Ricahrd Schrade with Automation Intelligence:   Supply Chain Now · “Tomorrow’s Automation Today: Richard Schrade, Co-Founder & President of Automation Intelligence” Which…