The Future of Supply Chain podcast is a show hosted by Richard Howells, Sin To, and Oyku Ilgar. The trio discusses hot topics, best practices, and the latest innovations to deliver a risk-resilient and sustainable supply chain. The show features interviews with experts from the world of supply chain, sustainability, AI and automation, who will address the issues of today and tomorrow.
This is an ideal podcast for supply chain, R&D, manufacturing, logistics, and operations executives to learn and share ideas and best practices with their peers.
Episode 30: Improving Intercompany Shipment Visibility with Bristlecone's Vivek Jha
Sep 27, 2023
Show notes
Bristlecone’s Vivek Jha joins us to discuss how logistics and visibility can be a clear source of differentiation in companies’ supply chains, enabling accelerated time to customers and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Vivek Jha, Bristlecone
Vivek Jha is the Practice Lead for SAP Data and Analytics at Bristlecone and has been with the company for 10 years now. He leads pre-sales conversions, innovations, offering development, capability development and quality assurance for supply chain analytics and BTP solution. Bristlecone is a leading provider for AI powered application transformation services for the connected supply chain.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 29: The Importance of On-Time Delivery for Companies’ Customer Satisfaction with parcelLab’s Tobias Buxhoidt
Sep 20, 2023
Show notes
In this podcast episode, we dive into the world of last mile delivery with parcelLab’s Tobias Buxhoidt to discuss how this crucial stage of the supply chain can be optimized. Learn how intelligent tracking systems and innovative solutions can increase efficiency, improve the customer experience, and promote sustainability.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Tobias Buxhoidt, parcelLab
Tobias Buxhoidt is co-founder and CEO of parcelLab, where he leads global business strategy and is focused on bringing the parcelLab platform to brands across global markets. In 2015 he co-founded parcelLab, the only truly global enterprise post-purchase software provider, enabling brands to increase top-line revenue, decrease operational costs, and optimize customer experience in an unprecedented way. The award-winning post-purchase platform empowers brands to transform mundane operational touchpoints into the most differentiated and personalized experience, creating unique moments of pure joy for their customers. Trusted by over 800 brands including IKEA, Chico’s, H&M, and Yeti, parcelLab actively manages the post-purchase experience across 175 countries and tracks shipping data from more than 350 carriers worldwide.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for over 3 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like social media, sustainability, and market trends.
Host: Sin To, SAP
Sin has more than fifteen years of experience in the digital media industry and technology sector in the field of marketing, business development, thought leadership, and as a contributing editor. In 2019, she joined SAP’s digital supply chain team to drive thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s supply chain solutions, emerging market trends, and sustainability.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 28: Focusing on Global Trade to Deliver More than Compliance to Supply Chains with SAP’s Linda McKee and Trond Rovang
Sep 13, 2023
Show notes
International trade has become an increasingly visible topic, impacting global businesses and economies, but your supply chain could be in jeopardy without the proper global trade services in place. SAP’s Linda McKee and Trond Rovang joins us to discuss how these two functions go hand in hand, and how trade services can not only support top line growth, but drive global compliance.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Linda McKee, SAP
Linda McKee is Senior Director, Solution Management for SAP’s portfolio of International Trade Management solutions, including the flagship SAP Global Trade Services. Linda’s SAP career began as a Foreign Trade consultant, supporting implementations at major global customers. She then delivered development projects as part of the High Tech Industry Business Unit, focused on discrete manufacturers within the industry. Returning to her foreign trade roots, her responsibilities are currently focused on providing customers with solutions to support their global, cross-border compliance and operations requirements. Located in Denver, Colorado, much of her time is spent working with customers largely based in the Americas to identify SAP solutions supporting their global businesses.
Guest: Trond Rovang, SAP
Trond Rovang is a solution owner for SAP Global Trade Services and is based in Oslo, Norway. Before joining SAP, he had a career in international retail, working across the Nordics, Central Europe and the UK. Since 2008, he has been working at SAP with leading retail, consumer products and manufacturing companies focusing on logistics and international trade as an SAP Solution Expert. Trond joined the S/4HANA Solution Management two years ago, focusing now on International Trade Management, in general, and Global Trade Services, in particular.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 27: The Importance of Capturing Actual Demand & How AI Can Help with Alloy.ai’s Joel Beal
Sep 06, 2023
Show notes
The power of real-time data can make or break a company’s supply chain, especially in the consumer industry. Alloy.ai’s Joel Beal joins us to discuss how AI is changing how brands forecast demand, fulfill customer expectations, and revolutionize how companies look at data.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Joel Beal, Alloy.ai
Joel Beal is CEO and co-founder of Alloy.ai, whose consumer demand and inventory software allows consumer goods brands to make faster and smarter sales and supply chain decisions. Alloy.ai is the platform of choice for leading consumer goods brands – including Bic, Bosch, Crayola, SimpliSafe, Melissa & Doug, Valvoline, and many more – across multiple industries.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 26 - Golden Insights: Navigating the China's Golden Week and Supply Chain
Aug 30, 2023
Show notes
In this podcast episode, we talk with Uwe Haizmann from EAC Consulting about supply chain challenges and possible solutions regarding the upcoming China’s Golden Week. And we take a closer look on China and its strategy to build a more resilient supply chain as well as sustainability.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest:Uwe Haizmann
Since 2008, Uwe Haizmann has been advising EAC clients and projects on strategic development and operational excellence in Asia – first in Shanghai and since 2022 in Munich. He joined the EAC management team in 2014.
His industry expertise is in healthcare, chemicals, engineering and consumer goods. Here he assists companies in the optimisation of their global value chains and the strategy of their Asia activities.
Before joining EAC, Mr Haizmann gained operational work experience in various positions. He is fluent in Mandarin and English and holds a degree in Business Administration with a focus on East Asia as well as an MBA from the Chinese European International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai.
Mr Haizmann is a frequent speaker at events on Asia-related topics.
Host: Sin To
Sin has more than fifteen years of experience in the digital media industry and technology sector in the field of marketing, business development, thought leadership, and as a contributing editor. In 2019, she joined SAP’s digital supply chain team to drive thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s supply chain solutions, emerging market trends, and sustainability.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 25: What Chinese Decoupling Could Mean for the U.S. Supply Chain with Supplyframe’s Richard Barnett
Aug 23, 2023
Show notes
Ever wonder what would happen if the United States decoupled from China? Supplyframe’s Richard Barnett joins us to discuss how the reliance on Chinese sourcing has major impacts on the global value chain, the downstream effects on the High-Tech industry, and how the chip shortage has brought the topic to center stage.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Richard Barnett, Supplyframe
Richard Barnett is the chief marketing officer and SaaS sales leader at Supplyframe, where he drives go-to-market and communications strategy for the company’s unmatched industry ecosystem and pioneering Design-to-Source Intelligence (DSI) Solutions, which transform how people and businesses design, source, market and sell products across the global electronics value chain. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in strategic marketing, sales and product management, Richard is recognized as a thought leader on supply chain and strategic sourcing transformation as well as digital marketing engagement with design engineers.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 24: Celebrating Six Months of the Future of Supply Chain
Aug 16, 2023
Show notes
Believe it or not, we’re already six months into The Future of Supply Chain and we thought of no better way to commemorate the occasion than reminiscing on the amazing conversations we have had with our guests so far, from 2023 predictions to International Women’s Day to funding the supply chains of tomorrow.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Host: Sin To, SAP
Sin has more than fifteen years of experience in the digital media industry and technology sector in the field of marketing, business development, thought leadership, and as a contributing editor. In 2019, she joined SAP’s digital supply chain team to drive thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s supply chain solutions, emerging market trends, and sustainability.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 23: The Power of Synchronized Processes Across Your Ecosystem with SAP’s Venkat Venkataramani
Aug 09, 2023
Show notes
In times of distress, vulnerability, and fragility, companies all over the world were unsure of the strength of their supply chain processes. However, those very vulnerabilities are becoming the driving force in digital transformation, as SAP’s Venkat Venkataramani discusses the power that process synchronization can have.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Venkat Venkataramani, SAP
Venkat Venkataramani is responsible for driving North America Go To Market Strategies for the Digital Supply Chain and Industry 4.0 Line of Business at SAP, North America. He has a successful profile of Leadership of large High Impact Teams with broad set of experiences in Sales, Sales Leadership, Business Development and Presales in the Software Industry, demonstrating success in executing Go To Market and Demand Generation strategies at scale with a focus on driving customer adoption, driving pipeline and revenue.
With 25+ years of experience in Leadership and Individual Contributor roles in Supply Chain and Manufacturing at both startups and Large Enterprises, he has been a practitioner and customer advisor in the past, and is currently leading a team of professionals focused on customer facing engagements to drive transformational elements of their Business Processes.
Venkat’s specific industry vertical domain expertise includes Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage, Life Sciences Industrial Machinery and Components, Automotive and Specialty Chemicals.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 22: How AI Helps Enable Risk Resilient Manufacturing with SAP's Sam Castro
Aug 02, 2023
Show notes
New, enhanced technology continues to change the way we work, and Artificial Intelligence is already making its presence known in the Manufacturing space. On this week’s episode, SAP’s Sam Castro joins us to discuss how new technology can help companies reach their profitability, sustainability, and productivity goals all whilst empowering the shop floor workers of the future.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Sam Castro, SAP
Sam Castro joined SAP in July 2005 with the acquisition of a small company called Lighthammer. At that time he was responsible for implementation consulting, field enablement, custom development, and training for the core products (Illuminator, Xacute, UDS, CMS). These products have since evolved into the core SAP Connected Manufacturing products (Mfg. Integration & Intelligence or MII and Plant connectivity or PCo) that you see today.
Sam is now part of SAP LoB Manufacturing Solution Management group, which is directly responsible for strategy, direction, and customer adoption of all of the manufacturing products at SAP. He is specifically responsible for Industrial Analytics, that is SAP MII, Digital Manufacturing for insights, and Digital Manufacturing for execution, and he is the solution owner for Process MES products. In this role, he is actively working on mid- and long-term features and deliverables and how they are positioned with the broader SAP portfolio; he also provides guidance for product development investment.
Host: Richard Howells, SAP
Richard Howells has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for almost 4 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like sustainability, market trends, and emerging technology.
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!
Episode 21: Deciphering the Hurdles in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain with AstraZeneca’s Robert Tubis
Jul 26, 2023
Show notes
In this podcast episode, we talk with Robert Tubis from AstraZeneca about supply chain challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. We take a closer look at a German law that will help eliminate supply chain bottlenecks, and how the use of advanced technologies can help to make products more sustainable and improve the supply chain to overcome these obstacles.
Come join us as we discuss the Future of Supply Chain.
Guest: Robert Tubis, AstraZeneca
As a lawyer with a Master’s degree in Economic Law from the University of Cologne, Robert Tubis worked in in different law firms advising mostly pharmaceutical companies, before co-founding a CoGAP GmbH, where he acted as CEO from 2010 to 2014. Robert later joined AstraZeneca and is currently heading the Contracting & Sales Service department. In his current role he responsible for supplying the German market with AstraZeneca’s medicines and acts as the interface between AstraZeneca’s commercial supply chain, distribution, and customers (wholesalers, hospitals, pharmacies).
Host: Nicole Smythe, SAP
Nicole Smythe has been with SAP for over 3 years now but has been working in the supply chain space for over 6 years through various field experiences. With a Master’s degree specializing in Global Supply Chain Management, Nicole hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the space with her active marketing contributions, blogs, and now podcasts, focusing on topics like social media, sustainability, and market trends.
Host: Sin To, SAP
Sin To has more than fifteen years of experience in the digital media industry and technology sector in the field of marketing, business development, thought leadership, and as a contributing editor. In 2019, she joined SAP’s digital supply chain team to drive thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s supply chain solutions, emerging market trends, and sustainability.
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