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Meet the Supply Chain Now Host: Jake Barr

Supply Chain Now is the voice of the supply chain industry, and our hosts are experts in the field. Podcast listeners and webinar viewers tune in to hear the sage advice of host Jake Barr, heralded as an architect of global supply chain strategy and creator of “profit powerhouses.” 

Earning His Spot on Stage 

Barr today is the CEO of BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, which provides support to such Fortune 500 companies as Cargill, Caterpillar, 3M, PepsiCo, and Pfizer and helps them bring products to market.

“We place a premium on accelerating speed to market by leveraging supply chain transformation,” he says. “The result is better operating margin performance and the opportunity to drive faster growth in revenue.”  

During his more than 33 years with Procter & Gamble, Barr served as the global director of supply network operations and led the end-to-end planning transformation project, which created control towers that now manage the daily business globally and earned him recognition as the architect for the company’s demand-driven supply chain strategy. 

He served on the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics advisory council for its Supply Chain 2020 Project, was named to the League of Leaders for retail and consumer goods executives, and is a recipient of the Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know Award. 

‘The John Wayne of Supply Chain’

Supply chain digital platform project44 executives call Barr a “supply chain champion” and Supply Chain Now CEO Scott Luton deems Barr “the John Wayne of Global Supply Chain.”

“With nearly 50 years of experience, Jake Barr has seen it all — from transforming supply chains into profit powerhouses at Procter & Gamble to consulting for Fortune 500 giants,” an announcement for an episode of project44’s Supply Chain Champions podcast said, adding that he has “bold takes on the future of supply chain management.” 

Gustavo Lopez Ghory, the former chief supply chain officer for Kimberly-Clark, also hailed Barr, calling him “an amazing professional and supply chain practitioner. His mastery in the areas of supply chain design and end-to-end supply chain management coupled with his approach to business make him unique. I am so fortunate I had the chance of working with Jake for many years and learning from him.” 

Developing Supply Chain Talent

Throughout his career, Barr has worked to help others excel in the supply chain industry and he encourages participation in the annual Gartner/AWESOME Women in Supply Chain Survey, which he calls “an outstanding contribution to the development of talent in the supply chain space.”

The results of this year’s survey will be released at the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium May 5-7 in Orlando, Florida. 

Bringing Together Industry Rock Stars

As an organizer, Barr brought together a “rock star speaker lineup” for the 15th annual University of Kentucky Supply Chain Forum, “Rethinking Supply Chain with Intelligence,” in March. 

Speakers included Ammie McAsey (Rabicke), the senior vice president of customer distribution operations at McKesson; Jonathan Rodammer, vice president of U.S. end-to-end supply chain operations at Kenvue; Whitney Shlesinger, vice president of global supply chain planning and logistics at McCormick & Company; and Rolando Ortiz, the head of international IT for The Wendy’s Company.

Providing a Platform for Supply Chain Leaders

Barr said Noha Samara, senior director of the global supply chain in Gartner’s Supply Chain Research & Advisory Group, provided “incredible insights” during a February Supply Chain Now webinar, “The Rise of Decision Shapers.”

In turn, Samara said the experience was “one of the most enjoyable webinars” she had participated in. 

The webinar was designed to help participants drive critical business decisions, especially in times of uncertainty, and gain actionable insights to elevate their leadership and make smarter decisions that generate real value. 

During a March episode of The Buzz, Barr and co-host Scott W. Luton, Supply Chain Now’s CEO, learned some peak season takeaways from Marc Gorlin, the founder and CEO of Roadie.

And in a livestream last fall, Barr and Luton discussed innovative strategies for optimizing both inbound and outbound transportation planning, including smart shipment consolidation and carrier selection, with Manhattan Associates’ Kristin Kay, a senior design lead, and Laura Beth Adres, a solutions advisor.  

Supply Chain Now Hosts Keep Listeners Informed

Supply Chain Now is the #1 source for supply chain podcasts. The industry-leading supply chain podcasts include:

 

Listen now to these programs as well as all our thought-provoking supply chain podcasts and webinars in our library.

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