Topic: Opinions



Latest in Opinions

The complexity of the pharma supply chain

Friday, March 6, 2026 · Rosemary Coates
Pharmaceutical supply chains are among the most complex in the world, combining global sourcing dependencies, strict regulatory oversight, temperature-controlled logistics, and geopolitical and cybersecurity risks that make planning, manufacturing, and distribution far more…

How to rethink talent when AI executes your supply chain

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 · Amanda Dyson, VP of marketing, FourKites
As AI agents increasingly automate supply chain execution, companies must redesign talent strategies to prioritize relationship management, critical thinking, and organizational influence rather than traditional process-based operational skills.

Trade wars won’t break supply chains. But the consumer impact will trouble brands

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 · Kevin O’Marah, co-founder, Zero100
Global trade wars and geopolitical tensions in 2026 are not breaking modern supply chains, but the rising cost of resilience is increasingly being passed on to consumers, creating price pressure, brand risk, and trust challenges.
  • PLUS 

Align AI adoption with climate goals

Monday, March 2, 2026 · SCMR Staff
APQC research shows that while organizations pursue aggressive AI adoption and Net Zero emissions goals, most fail to account for AI’s energy use and GHG impact—creating a growing disconnect between digital transformation and climate commitments
  • PLUS 

Sustainability and AI: A complicated and often overlooked relationship

Monday, March 2, 2026 · Marisa Brown
Supply chains are expanding the use of AI across functions, and that expansion means more data storage and more computation, which all require more electricity use and potentially more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during electricity production.
  • PLUS 

How procurement teams are managing Tier 2 suppliers to lower costs and improve resilience

Monday, March 2, 2026 · Venky Arun & Karthik Rai
As tariffs, volatility, and compressed launch cycles expose the limits of Tier 1 oversight, procurement leaders are leveraging AI-driven Tier 2 visibility to cut upstream costs, reduce hidden risk, and strengthen resilience.
  • PLUS 

Decision velocity:  The new operating advantage for supply chain leaders

Monday, March 2, 2026 · Karin Bursa
In a world of constant disruption and exponential data growth, supply chain performance increasingly depends on how quickly leaders can detect change, decide with confidence, and convert decisions into coordinated action at scale.
  • PLUS 

Futurists: Dubious long-term planning help

Monday, March 2, 2026 · Larry Lapide
Futurism often overpromises insight into distant futures while offering limited practical value for the real planning decisions supply chain leaders must make today.

Where 2025’s AI predictions hit, missed, and what supply chain leaders must recalibrate in 2026

Monday, March 2, 2026 · Dean Alms, chief product officer, Aravo
A review of 2025’s AI predictions shows that while agentic AI and automation advanced in supply chains, data readiness, governance gaps, and third-party risk oversight will determine whether organizations realize real AI ROI in 2026.

Advancing the enterprise in volatile times: Supply chain as a source of reason

Friday, February 27, 2026 · Marko Kovacevic
In an era of tariffs, geopolitical fragmentation, and macroeconomic volatility, supply chain leaders can create competitive advantage by distinguishing quantitative from qualitative shocks, controlling operational levers, and building resilient, partnership-driven networks…

What It Really Means: Bringing the outside in

Thursday, February 26, 2026 · Andrew Byer and Mike Dobslaw
“Bringing the outside in” means shifting supply chain planning and execution from internally driven metrics to real-time, market-based data such as POS, competitive activity, and external events to improve service, stability, and financial performance.

Demography is the missing variable in supply chain strategy

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 · Joseph Coughlin
Demographic change, including aging populations, declining fertility, smaller households, and regional workforce fragmentation, is reshaping demand patterns, labor availability, and last-mile expectations, making demography a critical but overlooked strategic variable in…

What’s happening In China?

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 · Rosemary Coates
Despite escalating U.S.–China tariffs and trade sanctions, China’s economy is expanding, global market diversification is accelerating, and rare earth dominance remains a strategic pressure point for American supply chains.

How CPOs can protect their supply chains against tariff risk—without overreacting

Friday, February 20, 2026 · Mita Gupta, EVP and business unit head, WNS Procurement
CPOs can manage escalating tariff risk in 2026 by using category-level exposure mapping, total cost of ownership analysis, supplier segmentation, and AI-powered modeling to respond proportionally rather than reactively.

Execution, not chat: How Agentic AI changes supply chain operations

Thursday, February 19, 2026 · Prabhat Rao Pinnaka & Ramakrishna Garine
Agentic AI is transforming supply chain operations by moving beyond chatbot-style assistance to governed, ontology-backed execution systems that autonomously detect, decide, and act within defined guardrails.
×

Search

Search

Sourcing & Procurement

Inventory Management Risk Management Global Trade Ports & Shipping

Business Management

Supply Chain TMS WMS 3PL Government & Regulation Sustainability Finance

Software & Technology

Artificial Intelligence Automation Cloud IoT Robotics Software

The Academy

Executive Education Associations Institutions Universities & Colleges

Resources

Podcasts Webinars Companies Visionaries White Papers Special Reports Premiums Magazine Archive

Subscribe

SCMR Magazine Newsletters Magazine Archives Customer Service

Press Releases

Press Releases Submit Press Release