Robert Turner

A British logistician is credited with coining the term “supply chain management” in the early 1980s, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that the world became familiar with such aspects of supply chain operations as logistics, inventory and supplier management, and procurement. The influence of supply chain leaders also has grown with the understanding of the importance of the supply chain in the global economy. Supply chain management is a complex field with many moving parts, and the need for accurate and reliable information is more crucial than ever. Industry leaders help facilitate discourse and spur innovation to shape the future of the supply chain. In this article, we highlight five of these supply chain leaders, showcasing their extensive expertise and experience in the industry and what they are planning for the future. Making Moves: Five Supply Chain Leaders on the State of the Industry 2024 has been an exciting year so far. The OSRA 2022 ruling went into effect to better regulate demurrage and detention charges; Chinese e-commerce businesses are heating up the airfreight industry; and in dire contrast, the U.S. trucking industry continues to struggle through a lengthened lean patch. In an increasingly volatile ecosystem, the industry…

Last month, we launched Between the Lines, our Supply Chain Now book club, with a simple idea: the best leaders don’t just consume headlines, they read deeply, think critically, and stay curious. The response to our first edition reminded us how powerful shared learning can be! This month, we’re building on that momentum with fresh selections designed to challenge perspectives, spark new ideas, and strengthen the way we think, innovate, and navigate an ever-evolving global landscape.   Check out a few of the selections the Supply Chain Now team recommends from February 2026:   Scott Luton: The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis from Citrini Research Imagine a short-term future where the very technology we hail as humanity’s next great productivity engine becomes essentially the source of a global economic crisis. “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” from Citrini Research is a thought experiment that projects just such a scenario: by 2028, rapid and widespread AI adoption has supercharged productivity yet hollowed out the consumer economy, driving unemployment above 10% and triggering a deep market downturn as traditional spending collapses despite booming output. In this speculative, but unsettling, framework, AI doesn’t fail, it succeeds so overwhelmingly that the economy it was meant to…