Podcast Summary: "4 Ways to Optimize Your Supply Chain Planning in 2026"

Podcast: Supply Chain Now
Date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Scott Lewton, Mike Griswold (Gartner)
Guest: Noha Samara (Senior Director, Supply Chain Research & Advisory, Gartner)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into best practices for optimizing supply chain planning as organizations look toward 2026. Joined by Gartner’s Noha Samara and Mike Griswold, the discussion centers on the rapidly evolving landscape of supply chain planning, the impact of continuous disruptions, surging investment in AI, and the importance of strategic alignment, external collaboration, purposeful AI adoption, and people development. The show also highlights actionable insights and memorable teaching moments for supply chain professionals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Challenges and Trends in 2025

• Volatility and Disruption

  • 2025 brings increased volatility: tariffs, geopolitical tension, and supply chain cost pressures (14:46).
  • Insight: “64% of supply chain leaders are seeing these negative impacts of the geopolitical risks. Yet at the same time, the growth ambitions of the CEOs are still there.” – Noha Samara [14:46]
  • Supply chains are facing more frequent and overlapping disruptions, not just one-off events like COVID. (16:28)

• Appetite for AI Investment

  • AI is the most heavily funded supply chain initiative for 2024 and 2025 (23:08, 33:47).
  • There is enormous pressure on supply chain leaders to demonstrate clear ROI for AI initiatives.

2. Noha Samara’s Professional Journey (09:30–11:33)

• Transitioned from process engineering in manufacturing to supply chain planning.
• Held supply chain roles at Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, HMD Global, gaining cross-industry perspective.
• At Gartner since 2020, supporting organizations to evolve their planning strategies and capabilities.

The Four Best Practices for Supply Chain Planning in 2026

1. Drive Strong Strategic Alignment

(Start: 19:06)

• Why It Matters:
  • Planning must be integrated with corporate objectives, not left as a standalone function.
  • Misalignment leads to functional silos and missed value.
• Insight:
  • “Supply chain planning is the core of decision making... it has to have full alignment with those bigger objectives that you want to try to drive. Otherwise... we would be talking about functional silos.” – Noha Samara [19:06]
• Takeaway:
  • Make sure the planning function, people, processes, and technology are deliberately aligned to both supply chain and overarching business strategy.

2. Leverage the Broader Supply Chain Ecosystem

(Start: 26:49)

• Beyond Direct Partners:

  • Move past just collaborating with tier 1 suppliers/customers; engage with the broader ecosystem, including tier 2/3 suppliers.

• Benefits:

  • Creates end-to-end visibility, shared data, and stronger resilience.
  • “The collaboration across the ecosystem ... creates that end to end visibility. It helps you have the right data sets, it enables you to have the right level of decisions.” – Noha Samara [26:49]
  • CPFR (Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment) should apply across industries and partner types, not just CPG.

• Joint Value Creation:

  • “It's joint value creation… a win-win proposition... it wouldn't work without that.” – Noha Samara [30:27]

• Memorable Moment:

  • COVID-19 exposed how little many companies knew about critical tier 2/3 suppliers, catalyzing a shift toward ecosystem collaboration. – Mike Griswold [28:28]

3. Define a Deliberate Role for AI

(Start: 31:35)

• Highest ROI Potential:
  • Planning is consistently viewed by professionals as the function with the greatest AI ROI potential.
  • Yet, many do not see expected returns due to lack of clear AI strategies.
• Keys to Effective AI:
  • Develop an organization-wide AI roadmap – avoid isolated, siloed use cases.
  • Prioritize data readiness, skill readiness, and culture change.
  • “It’s a big myth… when you want to have AI everywhere, you shouldn’t... it's a matter of picking the right use cases. It's a matter of being data ready... being skills ready... a matter of having the right culture for AI.” – Noha Samara [31:35]
• Pitfall to Avoid:
  • “Don’t have AI running around your organization trying to find a problem to solve.” – Mike Griswold [34:39]
  • Use cases must be fit-for-purpose and mapped to business needs and organizational maturity.

4. Evolve People and Skills

(Start: 38:03)

• People at the Heart of Transformation:
  • Technological and process changes must be matched by investment in people – upskilling, expanding roles, and supporting adaptation.
• Decision Shapers, Not Just Planners:
  • “If we always think of our planning teams as those people who are just executing... we’re missing the point on the real role of planning... you have to bring people with you along that journey.” – Noha Samara [38:03]
• Critical Soft Skills:
  • Alongside technical ability, organizations must nurture critical thinking, collaboration, and judgment, especially in the age of AI.
  • Ignoring the people impact of transformation risks poor adoption and wasted investment.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Digital transformation. People drive digital transformation. People make AI happen and make it happen effectively with results and outcomes.” – Scott Lewton [52:58]

Other Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Perils of Siloed AI:
  • “You cannot pick AI use cases in silos. It has to fit the bigger purpose of the organization. It has to be done with a cross functional view.” – Noha Samara [23:08]
• Supply Chain & IT Collaboration:
  • “Organizations that are managing this well have created a relationship between the CSCO and the CIO... The use cases span the organization.” – Mike Griswold [25:26]
• On Teaching & Shaping the Future:
  • “The power that teachers have with young people…shaping the interest that they have and how that affects them moving forward.” – Mike Griswold [07:39]
• On Conference Value:
  • “Triggering an idea...a change in the attendees’ minds and they go and take it to their organizations and initiate something different. That’s what success looks like.” – Noha Samara [44:11]

Important Timestamps

• [09:30] – Noha’s career journey and transition into supply chain planning
• [14:46] – 2025 supply chain volatility and the push for AI
• [19:06] – Best Practice #1: Strategic Alignment
• [26:49] – Best Practice #2: Leveraging the Ecosystem
• [31:35] – Best Practice #3: Deliberate Use of AI
• [38:03] – Best Practice #4: Evolving People & Skills
• [44:11] – The value of in-person summits and actionable peer learning

Final Takeaways and Calls to Action

• Plan with Purpose:
  • Don’t let the hype of new technology or old silos dictate your planning strategy. Tie everything to business goals.
• Engage Beyond the Obvious:
  • Broaden collaboration to include your total ecosystem – upstream, downstream, and laterally.
• AI with Intent:
  • Don’t “peanut butter spread” AI. Build data, cultural, and skill readiness; select use cases based on your unique needs and maturity.
• Prioritize People:
  • Your technology is only as good as the people entrusted to use it. Evolve roles, cultivate critical/soft skills, and ensure buy-in for sustainable transformation.

Action Challenge: "Take one thing from today. Share it with your team. Do something with it. Transform supply chain by deeds, not just words." – Scott Lewton [55:54]

Connect with the Speakers

• Noha Samara: LinkedIn, available for conversations and sharing solution ideas
• Mike Griswold: LinkedIn or email (Mike.Griswold@gartner.com)

Closing Thought

“Innovate to elevate performance. Define the future. Every attendee should be provoked to do something different after the summit.” – Noha Samara [49:41]