Supply Chain - Unfiltered

Supply Chain — Unfiltered, presented by the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®), is 20-to-30-minutes of everything you want to know about end-to-end supply chain but were afraid to ask. Our podcasts put supply chains front and center where they belong. Supply chains work 24/7 to keep people and places functioning and thriving. Without supply chains’ effectiveness — our world stops. (Remember the 2020 pandemic?) You’ll hear from industry experts sharing elements of the profession and their impact on financial markets, geopolitics and world trade. It’s real, raw and transparent. The more you tune in to Supply Chain — Unfiltered, perspective shifts about how you see the world and the ways you contribute to its livelihood. We invite you to be part of the ISM® community.

Supply Chain - Unfiltered is a business podcast hosted by Institute for Supply Management®, with 77 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Institute for Supply Management® hosts Supply Chain - Unfiltered, a business show with 77 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #77

  3PL’s Gray Area, From Planning to Implementation

  Aug 5, 202632 minS1

  The supply chain doesn’t break in the obvious places, it breaks in the gray areas: the assumptions inside contracts, the handoffs between shipper and 3PL, and the gaps between a plan and the real world. We sit down with Sandy Hodes , Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement and Corporate Development Officer at Ryder System, to unpack how third-party logistics providers navigate supply chain volatility while still delivering service, controlling cost, and protecting relationships. We get specific about supply chain regionalization in North America, why nearshoring and onshoring decisions are inherently multi-year, and how tariff uncertainty can pause even well-funded moves. Sandy also shares why Ryder shifted away from a global 3PL model years ago and leaned into a “port-to-door” approach built around regional customer needs, stronger synergies, and clearer execution. If you manage procurement, logistics sourcing, or supply chain strategy, you’ll hear practical guidance on what should be black-and-white in an agreement versus what needs to stay flexible for change. From there, we dive into modern contract work and operations: AI for first-pass contract review, pulling KPIs and obligations from messy contract databases, and the real risks of AI hallucinations without human oversight. We also explore warehouse automation and robotics, including goods-to-person systems and ASRS, with a clear message that automation only works when ROI, volume, and standardization support it. Finally, we talk electric trucks and EV fleet adoption, why charging infrastructure and range still block scale, and what 2035 could look like with more automation, shifting labor markets, and bigger demands for strategic supplier relationships. If this sparked ideas for your next logistics RFP, contract renewal, or automation roadmap, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more supply chain leaders can find the show.

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  Episode #76

  Sustainable Procurement Under Pressure

  Jul 22, 202628 minS1

  Sustainability can feel like a moving target when elections, tariff headlines, and shifting regulations keep rewriting the rules. We sit down with Kris Spriano , former Vice President of Programs and Development at the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) and current Product Materials Manager at Arista Networks, to get honest about what’s really happening inside procurement teams and why many companies are getting quieter about sustainable sourcing even while the work continues behind the scenes. We dig into how trade and economic volatility affects supplier availability, and why “just move sourcing” is rarely a clean fix in a complex global supply chain. Kris breaks down what smart regionalization looks like, how lean thinking and network design can lower greenhouse gas emissions, and why a tariff-driven shuffle can actually make climate impact worse if you ignore the fundamentals. From electric fleets and the emerging push to electrify heavy equipment in construction (a major emissions driver) to the overlooked climate footprint of food supply chains, we talk through where sustainable procurement can create real, measurable change. We also get practical about what leadership looks like, including how governments embed sustainability into RFPs and specifications, plus the three reasons that keep sustainable purchasing alive: customer and stakeholder demands, brand reputation risk, and operational cost savings. Finally, we look ahead at AI procurement tools and how they can speed up RFP work and sustainability requirements, as long as teams validate what the tech produces. If this helps you rethink your procurement strategy, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more supply chain leaders can find the show.

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  Episode #75

  How to Be the Change Agent Who Redefines Resiliency

  Jul 8, 202628 minS1

  Change is easy to describe and brutally hard to deliver, especially in supply chain and procurement where every shift touches customers, suppliers, systems, and frontline teams. We sit down with Manish Kapoor , founder and CEO of Growth Catalyst Group, to get honest about what separates a thought leader from a true change agent and why execution is the part that tests your leadership the most. We dig into the mechanics of change management that actually work: defining a clear North Star, making the benefits real for the people doing the work, building a roadmap that anticipates friction, and celebrating small wins so momentum does not die halfway through. We also talk about risk management in supply chain transformation, including how to weigh risk versus value, when to pause, and why pilots are often the safest way to prove your assumptions before scaling across sites. Manish shares stories from building an early centralized command and control model for last mile operations, along with a hard-earned lesson from a Lean Six Sigma rollout that failed because the change was pushed instead of owned. From there, we zoom out to the current reality facing e-commerce teams dealing with tariffs and uncertainty, including a practical operational framework focused on labor, logistics, locations, and inventory. We close with personal resilience tools for those moments when you are doing “all the right things” but still feel overwhelmed. Subscribe for more candid supply chain leadership conversations, share this with a colleague who is leading change, and leave a review with the one idea you are going to try next.

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  Episode #74

  Why The Need for Speed Dictates Decision-Making

  Jun 24, 202632 minS1

  Stability is the word we all want to hear in supply chain, but Lucas Cunha thinks we should stop waiting for it. The pace of AI, the churn in global trade, and the squeeze of nonstop deadlines are pushing logistics, procurement, and operations teams into a new reality where adaptability is the real baseline for survival. We dig into what that means on the ground when you are trying to keep materials moving, keep suppliers aligned, and keep leadership confident that risk is actually under control. Lucas shares how Otrafy approaches supplier management and regulatory compliance with AI workflows that can pull data out of messy documents and compare it against complex requirements across jurisdictions. We talk real examples like pesticide thresholds that vary country by country, plus the rising pressure around claims such as organic, pesticide-free, and PFAS-free. Then we layer in the things that are making planning harder right now: shifting tariffs, ingredient swaps like food coloring replacements, and the operational “sanity” it takes to keep running while rules and costs change under your feet. We also zoom in on FSMA 204 and the 2026 traceability deadline, including the expectation to trace critical tracking events fast, potentially in under 24 hours. From there, the conversation turns toward the bigger disruption ahead: AI-driven decision-making, the possibility of machine-to-machine procurement, and the risks of chasing speed without guardrails. If you care about AI in supply chain, food traceability, regulatory compliance, and practical ways to stay competitive, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a teammate, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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  Episode #73

  How Procurement Teams Turn Data Into Value

  Jun 10, 202624 minS1

  Data is quietly becoming the most negotiable asset in business and the easiest one to misuse. We sit down with Charlotte de Brabandt, Ph.D. , an expert in procurement, digital transformation, and AI-driven sustainability, to make sense of what it means to treat data like an economic engine rather than a pile of reports. We walk through Charlotte’s AI data economy model and the four forces it balances: 4G generative AI, 4E ethical AI, 4M monetization, and 4C democratization. From there, we get concrete about data monetization in two practical lanes. Direct monetization is selling or licensing data (often anonymized). Indirect monetization is using data to improve performance: tighter internal processes, smarter sourcing decisions, better customer experiences, and new products that are built on real behavior signals. AI is the accelerant and the risk. We dig into how AI raises data value through automation, predictive insights, and personalization, while also creating new problems like bias and unclear accountability. We also cover trends procurement and supply chain teams should watch right now, including data mesh and decentralization, AI-powered decision making, and sustainability in AI. Finally, we take on data privacy and consumer trust, the influence of GDPR and CCPA, and why transparency with vendors and stakeholders is becoming the new normal. If you want a clearer, more realistic playbook for competing in an AI-driven data economy, listen now, then subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review.

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