Speaking of Supply Chain

Hosted by Miebach

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Aug 2026

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Welcome to Speaking of Supply Chain – your go-to podcast for real-world insights and forward-thinking strategies in logistics and operations. Whether you’re a supply chain leader, industry innovator, or operations professional, this show delivers expert perspectives and actionable ideas to help you stay ahead. Each episode dives into the most pressing challenges and exciting opportunities shaping the future of supply chain, from risk mitigation and automation to sustainability, digital transformation, and beyond. Featuring conversations with top minds in the industry, you'll gain the clarity and inspiration needed to navigate a rapidly evolving logistics landscape. Subscribe now and join us as we speak with the people who are shaping tomorrow’s supply chain.

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60 recent

September 3, 202638 min

There Is More Than One Definition of Success

Everyone is talking about what AI is going to automate out of supply chain. Far fewer are talking about what's actually left standing when it does.In this episode, Christine Barnhart is joined by Emilie Laliberte , Head of People Development for North America at Miebach, who moved from client-facing consulting into a role she pitched to the CEO herself because it didn't exist yet. Her argument is blunt, a consulting firm has three assets: reputation, client relationships, and people, and only one of them is a differentiator once every competitor has the same tools. She makes the case that employee experience and client experience aren't two scorecards but one, and that the qualities separating people who succeed from people who stall have almost nothing to do with technical depth.In this episode: Why the "one definition of success" for women in supply chain is the thing worth dismantling, not meeting What "high standard, low ego" actually looks like in a hiring decision and why it predicts who lasts The real learning curve for a 20-year practitioner moving into consulting, and what it isn't

August 20, 202630 min

Design the Process With the People in Mind

Everyone is talking about AI, analytics, and the next planning platform. Far fewer are talking about the reason two teams can sit in the same meeting, look at the same data, and walk out with completely different conclusions. Process design assumes people will read it the same way. They don't, and that gap is where most transformations quietly stall. In this episode, Christine Barnhart is joined by Eric Wilson of IBF, author of Beyond Borders, who spent a year on research and hundreds of global interviews after realizing his own S&OP framework was missing the layer underneath it. His argument: structure is necessary, but structure is not the same as inflexible, and the sequence most companies use: build the process, then hand it to the people, is backwards.In this episode: Why the number one missing skill in forecasting and S&OP isn't analytics, it's communication and business acumen What it means to design a process with people in mind, instead of designing one and assigning people to it Why trust is the golden thread across every cultural dimension and why "do I trust the person or the output" is a different question in every region Where the framework transfers beyond national culture, to generational and functional divides inside your own building

August 6, 202630 min

Building the Foundation for AI Success: Real Lessons from SCLA 2026

Everyone is talking about AI—but the biggest lesson from the Supply Chain Leaders in Action Conference wasn't about technology. It was about the leadership, trusted data, standardized processes, and cross-functional collaboration required to make AI successful. Christine Barnhart and Cate Davis reflect on the conversations, customer stories, and practical insights that emerged throughout the conference, sharing why organizations should focus on building strong operational foundations before chasing the next technology trend. If you're wondering how to move from AI experimentation to measurable business value, this episode offers practical guidance grounded in real-world supply chain experience.In this episode, you'll learn: Why AI capability is built through experimentation—not perfection. How leadership, governance, and trusted data determine AI success. What one participant's transformation reveals about building the right foundation. Why human expertise remains essential as AI becomes more embedded in supply chain planning.

July 9, 202648 min

Two Miebach Chiefs Read Between Gartner's Lines

Every system integrator, software vendor, and blue-sky strategy firm now calls itself a supply chain consultancy. Before you sign anything, it's worth asking who actually gets paid once you say yes. In this episode, Christine Barnhart is joined by Jorge Motje, Chief Growth Officer for Miebach globally, and Nick Banich, Chief Revenue Officer for Miebach North America, to dig into Gartner's first-ever Magic Quadrant for specialist supply chain consulting. They make the case that the real differentiator in a crowded market isn't AI or proprietary tooling - it's having zero financial stake in which system, vendor, or integrator a client ends up choosing. In This Episode: •Why the sharpest conflict of interest in consulting is the one most firms never say out loud •How a simple question about loading-dock space turns into a five-whys exercise that exposes a much bigger supply chain problem •What “outcome-oriented” actually means once you strip out the consulting jargon •Why thinking in decades and moving fast aren't actually in conflict — you just need both clocks running at once Interested in the report discussed in this episode? Get your copy here: https://bit.ly/4h9KG2d

June 18, 202611 min

Half of Outsourcing Projects Never Pay Off

For years, outsourcing came down to a cost decision. Run the numbers, pick a provider, move on. The easy math no longer holds: companies are outsourcing more than ever, and most of them still aren't happy with the result. In this episode, Ellen Wood sits down with Bernd Müller-Dauppert of Miebach, who co-authored the firm's new outsourcing study, Outsourcing Under Pressure. He makes the case that the real risk today isn't cost or quality. It's how dependent you become on a provider once the contract is signed. He also gets into why automation and data demands have changed the math, why only about half of these projects actually pay off, and what the companies that get it right do differently. In this episode: • Why dependence and the lock-in effect now rank as the single biggest outsourcing risk — well ahead of cost • How automation and data-quality demands quietly rewrite the economics of the outsource-or-not decision • Why most of a project’s success or failure is locked in before operations ever begin • When a hybrid model — insource what’s critical, outsource what scales — beats betting on either extreme

June 4, 202628 min

Automation Will Not Fix a Broken Process

Everyone is talking about warehouse automation. Far fewer are talking about whether they actually need it.The headlines suggest warehousing is racing toward dark stores, lights-out operations, and full robotics. The reality on the ground is quieter and a lot more careful. Companies are introducing automation in stages, weighing real labor and service pressures, and sometimes discovering that the smartest move is not to automate at all. Because if the underlying process is broken, automation just makes it fail faster.In this episode, Ellen Wood is joined by Sophie James from Miebach's UK team to cut through the noise around warehouse automation. They talk about why projects succeed or stall, the real cost of automating a process that has not been optimized first, why cross-functional alignment matters more than the technology choice, and how flexibility and scalability should shape any solution that has to outlast today's assumptions.In this episode: Why the hype around full warehouse automation does not match what is actually happening The cost of layering automation onto a process that has not been optimized When "do nothing" is the right answer and how to recognize it How 3PL versus owned operations change the automation calculus

May 21, 202618 min

Why Pharma Cannot React Its Way Out of the Next Crisis

Risk used to be something pharmaceutical companies responded to. Now it is something they have to design for. For decades, pharma optimized for scale and cost. APIs and starting materials moved to India and China, manufacturing capabilities in Europe quietly disappeared, and intense price pressure became the unquestioned baseline. Then came the Suez blockage, COVID, tariffs, and conflict-driven disruptions. Each one was treated as a singular event to react to, not as a signal that the underlying network itself needed to change. In this episode, Ellen Wood is joined by Stephan Gotthardt, fresh off moderating a panel at European LogiPharma 2026 in Vienna, to discuss what proactive resilience really looks like in pharma supply chains. They dig into why regionalization is becoming a structural strategy rather than a short-term fix, why pharma has to stop accepting price pressure as a given, and how the talent profile of the global head of supply chain is shifting as the industry borrows mindsets from FMCG and automotive. In this episode: Why singular responses to each new crisis will never build a resilient network What regionalizing pharma actually requires, and why it cannot happen overnight Why the resiliency vs affordability debate starts at the wrong end The non-negotiable capabilities pharma supply chains will need by 2030

May 7, 202633 min

Why Your Planning System Can't Help You Change

Companies have invested in planning systems, AI, and better data. So why does planning still not translate into performance? The problem is not the technology itself. It is how design, planning, and execution have been treated as three separate disciplines for decades. Each has its own tools, its own teams, and very little connection between them. Your planning system is excellent at holding your current configuration. It was never built to help you change it. In this episode, Christine Barnhart sits down with Rafael Vasquez and Paul Webb from Coupa to talk about where so much supply chain value quietly gets lost: the gap between the network you have, the plans you run, and the decisions executives actually need to make. They dig into why scenario planning belongs in a design environment rather than an APS, how an always-on digital twin lets companies be either proactive or reactive but agile, and why working capital tied up in the wrong places is often the fastest place to find returns. In this episode: How design, planning, and execution should connect through a real feedback loop Why scenario planning does not belong inside your planning system Where to find quick wins in inventory, capacity, and transportation What is actually changing in how Coupa works with customers and partners

April 16, 202629 min

Why Your Planning System Is Not the Problem

Most companies know they have a planning problem. The question is whether they are solving the right one. It is easy to blame the technology, push for an APS upgrade, or chase the latest AI tool. But too often, the real issues sit underneath: outdated parameters no one has reviewed in years, data that does not reflect reality, and planning processes that never connect to execution. In this episode, Christine Barnhart sits down with Dan Kogan from Solventure to talk about why so many planning investments fail to deliver, what it actually takes to fix the foundation, and how organizations can stop running around their planning systems and start running on them. They also dig into the overinvestment in prediction at the expense of preparation, and why data health might be the most overlooked lever in supply chain performance. In this episode: Why companies keep blaming their APS when the real problems are elsewhere What orchestration actually means and why most organizations are not doing it How to balance investment in prediction with investment in preparation Why data health is the foundation everything else depends on Read Dan's blog post on APS upgrades HERE

April 2, 202625 min

Why Modex Matters More This Year

Modex is full of innovation. The hard part is knowing what actually works. With thousands of exhibitors, live demonstrations, and bold promises on every aisle, supply chain leaders are not short on ideas. What they need is clarity on which technologies are ready for real operations and which ones are just show floor excitement. In this episode, Ellen Wood is joined by Miebach colleagues Bastian Himmeroeder and Jack Wagner to discuss what makes Modex valuable for supply chain leaders right now. Together, they explore how companies can approach the event with more intention, avoid chasing technology for its own sake, and focus instead on solutions that solve real operational problems and support the next wave of supply chain investment. In this episode: Why Modex matters more than ever as companies enter a new investment cycle The biggest mistakes leaders make when evaluating automation on the show floor How to separate exciting concepts from scalable, real-world solutions