From Resilience to Readiness: Designing Supply Chains for a World that Never Stabilizes

Special episode recorded live from ASCM’s CHAINge Conference 2026 What does it take to build a supply chain that’s ready for disruption when disruption itself has become the norm? In this special episode of The Chain, recorded live at ASCM’s CHAINge Conference 2026, Liz Young, Supply Chain Reporter for ‪@wsj‬ , moderates the keynote session, “From Resilience to Readiness: Designing Supply Chains for a World that Never Stabilizes.” The conversation brings together Heather Lane, Vice President, Supply Chain Strategy & Systems at Ulta Beauty; Steve Van Vossen, Vice President, Global Operations Excellence at Lindsay Corporation; and Anand Lal, Group Vice President, Supply Chain at Grainger. Drawing on three very different supply chain environments, the panel explores how organizations can prepare for constant volatility rather than simply react to the latest disruption. They discuss smarter inventory strategies, sourcing and supplier diversification, extreme-weather preparedness, cross-functional collaboration, AI and automation, cybersecurity, and the skills tomorrow’s supply chain professionals will need.  From building stronger operating models and business continuity plans to developing more adaptable talent, this conversation offers a practical look at what it means to move beyond resilience and design supply chains for readiness. Want more supply chain knowledge? Visit ASCM.org. For more details on The Chain Podcast, visit ascm.org/podcast TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction: Building Supply Chains for Constant Disruption 00:43 Building Resilience into Retail Supply Chains 02:19 Responding to Volatile Global Demand 03:47 Why You Can’t Chase the Last Disruption 07:51 Rethinking Inventory and the Marketplace Model 10:43 Just-in-Time vs. Just-in-Case Inventory 14:49 Diversifying Suppliers and Rethinking Global Sourcing 18:21 Managing Tariffs and Supply Chain Uncertainty 21:29 Managing Costs Without Passing Them to Customers 27:01 Preparing Supply Chains for Extreme Weather 32:44 Relationships and Cross-Functional Leadership 38:56 AI, Machine Learning and Supply Chain Automation 47:46 Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Risk 52:02 Building the Supply Chain Workforce of the Future 58:04 Would Domestic Sourcing Eliminate Disruption? #ASCM #ASCMpodcast #TheChainPodcast #Supplychainpodcast #Podcast #supplychain #supplychainmanagement #supplychaintech #supplychaintalent #talentdevelopment #supplychainskills ##aiinsupplychain #mentorship #careersinsupplychain #supplychainresilience #agility #supplychaindisruption