Not Just Talk: What Intentional Supply Chain Transformation Really Looks Like

[Transcript]

[00:00:00] Jan Griffiths: This is the Auto Supply Chain Prophets podcast, and we are on a mission to bring you the latest insights and thought leaders leading the charge on supply chain transformation in our beloved automotive industry. This podcast is powered by QAD and AIAG. I'm Jan Griffiths, your host and producer. Let's meet your co-hosts.

[00:00:27] Jim Liegghio: I'm Jim Liegghio from AIAG.

[00:00:29] Terry Onica: I'm Terry Onica from QAD. Let's dive in.

[00:00:36] Jan Griffiths: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Auto Supply Chain Prophets Podcast. Let's check in with my co-hosts, Terry Onica and Jim Liegghio. Terry, what have you been up to?

[00:00:46] Terry Onica: I'm excited. Yesterday, we got published for our 24 Essential Supply Chain Processes in the Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics, and Procurement. So, I'm pretty excited about that. I know we talk about that a lot on the show, and it was published yesterday there.

[00:01:00] Jan Griffiths: Congratulations.

[00:01:01] Terry Onica: Thanks.

[00:01:01] Jan Griffiths: We'd like to put a link to that in the show notes.

[00:01:03] Terry Onica: Absolutely.

[00:01:04] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. Jim, what are you being up to?

[00:01:06] Jim Liegghio: First of all, congratulations, Terry. That's pretty exciting news.

[00:01:09] Terry Onica: Thank you.

[00:01:10] Jim Liegghio: So, here at AIAG, we're busy with getting ready for spring. Training is well underway. We have our Wayne State University Partnership. We have our evening supply chain program — 20 weeks — we call it the A-SCIP program: an immersion program in supply chain management for developing professionals, and that is well underway.

We have a really interesting cohort this year. They're engaged. They're inquisitive. They're talkative. They're really interacting well with the speakers. Jan, you can vouch for that — Terry as well. So yeah, we're on, we're underway, and we're actually getting ready to launch Tomorrow's Leaders Today in about a month. That's our more pre-execution level training for high-potential candidates in the supply chain.

[00:01:44] Terry Onica: It was really exciting last night. I taught the ERP class, and it was great to see so many young supply chain professionals in that class. It just made my heart — because we need that — and I was so excited. I said, "You're the generation that's going to turn this around with technology and really make it kick-off and work really well." It was great.

[00:02:03] Jan Griffiths: It is. Well, I've been playing around with AI again — only this time, I was so proud of myself when I was able to produce a podcast in Spanish using the original voice, and I thought that was a major accomplishment. Guess what? I just did one in Arabic.

[00:02:20] Terry Onica: Wow.

[00:02:21] Jan Griffiths: And I have to tell you, that was really hard. But I got to say, I am loving playing around with AI. And we talk about transformation and technology, we talk about it all day long, but you really, you just got to get in there and do it. You just got to get in there and play around with it. And that's why today I am thrilled that we are bringing on the show an expert, a recognized expert in not only transformation, but supply chain transformation. And that's what we need to talk about, but we need to get away from the buzzwords and just talking about the hype. We need to get down to it. And our guest today, she is ranked as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain. She is one of the Top 25 Global Influencers in Supply Chain Transformation. She is the host of the Transform Talks podcast series amongst many other things. So, without further ado, Maria Villablanca, welcome to the show.

[00:03:36] Maria Villablanca: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here talking to you all.

[00:03:39] Jim Liegghio: Okay, Maria, let's get right to it. The name of the game is uncertainty. I must hear the word uncertainty 30-40 times a day minimum right now with what's going on in the industry. What is the status of leadership and supply chain given that there is so much uncertainty abound?

[00:03:56] Maria Villablanca: That's a really good question because everybody talks about the state of the supply chain, but to talk about leadership, it's important to know that we're like in a period of what I like to call leadership disruption. Supply chain leaders are being asked to navigate a world that is moving faster, it's becoming more complex, and offering fewer certainties.

There's a big shift from where we were just a few years ago. If we think about it, traditionally, supply chain leadership was — I would say — very operational. It was focused on costs, efficiency, and throughput. And today, those things, they do matter, of course, but everything has changed, and I think that leaders now have to think like futurists, like strategists, or change agents.

It's not just about having a five-year plan and sticking to it. It's about creating systems and cultures that can adapt to whenever the next disruption hits. Because you know what? It's going to hit.

[00:04:46] Terry Onica: Have you seen any early successes with leaders?

[00:04:49] Maria Villablanca: Yes, of course, there are. When you think about companies or leaders that are doing it well, we've got some standout players. You've got — I guess often you hear names from Schneider Electric, CISCO, Unilever, and even HP — because although those companies aren't perfect, what they are is intentional about transformation. And what sets them apart isn't just the tech investment; it's their ability to align the technology, the people, the processes around a unified strategy. I think the real game changer isn't so much about the hype and the jargon — like we were all talking about just now or you were talking about just now. It's about these companies that are successful or these leaders that are successful, are the ones that can foster cross-functional collaboration. They're the ones that can make data-driven decisions, and they're the ones that can create a value-creation engine within their supply chain.

[00:05:43] Jan Griffiths: I have to ask you, Maria — what does it mean to be intentional about transformation? Because I could tell you, in the auto industry, we'll ask a whole bunch of C-suite executives, "Are you intentional about transformation?" and they'll all say yes. Because they all have a different understanding of what that is. But what is a real best practice in your experience working with all your clients? What does it mean to be intentional?

[00:06:09] Maria Villablanca: I think a lot of transformation is lip service, really. Initially, it's people saying, "Yeah, we want to transform," but not really getting transformation into the culture, into everything they do, into the mindset of their organization. Is this something that I have to do because I did it before? Or is this something that I can think about doing differently? And that's the kind of leader that doesn't necessarily do the things that they did before. It's the kind of leader that asks: Can I redefine this? Can I redesign this? Is there a better way to do this? And I think, to me, someone who fosters cross-functional collaboration doesn't just embrace tech for the sake of tech. They look at what problem am I trying to solve? That's, I think, someone who's intentional.

[00:06:51] Jim Liegghio: Maria, we just emerged from the COVID crisis not that long ago. Feels like forever ago, but it wasn't that long ago. What did we learn from COVID as we enter the new crisis?

[00:07:01] Maria Villablanca: It might not seem like it, but I think COVID was a good thing for the supply chain industry. It was a stress test like nothing before. It broke things, right? It broke systems, assumptions, comfort zones. But it also revealed a deep fragility that had been baked into global supply chains.

And I think that when we look at that definition, we realize that it exposed a lot of cracks within the supply chain. So, when you have a lot of that exposure, there's an opportunity for change — an opportunity for improvement. So, I think, to me, the biggest lesson with COVID was to demonstrate the cracks that we had. And equally, it's also to demonstrate the importance of supply chain.

I like to say that supply chain, as a function, worked really well when it wasn't broken. The supply chain was in the back office, in the dark recesses, just getting the job done. COVID put a big light on supply chain. I always like to give the example of: now my mother knows what I do. Beforehand, it was, "What's supply chain?" My neighbors know what I do. When they say, "Oh, I just ordered a new car and it's gonna take forever. Why is that, Maria?" And I think that can only do good things. It can help us attract the right type of talent. It can help us demonstrate the value added that supply chain has. So, really, the lessons were the exposure to the fragility, the state of the fragile supply chain, and also the importance of a value-added supply chain.

[00:08:26] Jan Griffiths: Now, with the tariffs coming along, that's gonna put the spotlight on even more. When people talk to me about tariffs, I say the upside of tariffs is: you had better know where your products are coming from and have full transparency in your supply chain like never before. It really is elevating the function — and the need to have that data to be able to make decisions in real time with that data.

[00:08:52] Maria Villablanca: Again, another fragility. Tariffs will complicate things and they will help you see how fragile relying on one single source is for any organization. So, I think it's important to have an open discussion about the opportunities of redesigning the supply chain for more flexibility, more give, if that makes sense.

[00:09:13] Terry Onica: You mentioned opportunities a few minutes ago in the supply chain. So, what are some of the opportunities you think that are out there right now?

[00:09:20] Maria Villablanca: I think the biggest one is: this is a huge window of opportunity that we've been given right now to sort of reposition the supply chain function as a strategic driver of growth and innovation — not just a cost center. And I think that kind of shift in perception opens up all kinds of possibilities. There's the digital opportunity, right? AI, machine learning, control towers, predictive analytics — all of that. They're here, and when you implement them well, you can make better decisions, faster responses, and more intelligent planning. There's the opportunity for sustainability. We need to build in different types of metrics into procurement, logistics, and production.

And I think the biggest opportunity is talent. Supply chain is having a bit of a brand renaissance, if you want to call it that. It's being seen as innovative, impactful, and purpose-driven. And that means we have a real opportunity here to attract top talent — the young, next generation of supply chainers. As you say, Terry, turn everything around for us. And if we demonstrate the value that supply chain can give, then we'll bring them on.

[00:10:25] Jim Liegghio: Yeah. I love the optimistic view. I love the paradigm shift description, Maria. You know, it's moved from marginal gains — or marginal efficiencies, let's say — in optimizing networks and optimizing supply chain into a — like you said — a whole new focus, a whole new renaissance of the industry, and looking at things in a different light. That's gonna require creative thinking and strategic thinking. In a way, these crises have turned supply chain on its head. Continuing that thought, what do you think are some practical steps might be that companies can do to implement some of this — or take advantage of this new renaissance, let's say?

[00:10:53] Maria Villablanca: I have always said that I think that we are really poor at PR from a supply chain profession. I didn't seek to go into supply chain — I fell into it — and most of the people that I speak with are in the same boat. They fell into it, happy to have done so, but they didn't necessarily know about the profession beforehand. We need to get better at that. We need to encourage younger generations — younger people who maybe wanna go and do things like TikTok or go work at Google or something. We need to be able to demonstrate that this is a profession that can change the world, and I think we need to speak more about that. Talk about the innovation, the purpose-driven change that you can make in the world by working in supply chain. So, I think we have a real opportunity here to do better at PR, right? We need to really get better at promoting the value that the supply chain profession can give. The opportunities that exist. We need to get young people to move away from wanting to go do TikToks or be YouTubers or whatever it is young people wanna do and show them how much change in the world can be driven within the supply chain.

So, to me, I think being better at PR — telling better stories, showcasing true leadership — podcasts like this one, where you interview people, make examples of people, and show the rock stars that are changing the world in supply chain.

[00:12:13] Terry Onica: I completely agree. We talked about that last night with the training with this new group of young professionals in supply chain. I'm just like you — I think it's such a cool field because supply chain always has problems, and we don't use technology like we should today. And I think the younger generation's so good at that, and I think that's what they're going to bring to supply chain. And we've been waiting for this forever. I know, in this show, I complain a lot about people still using spreadsheets — please stop. Let's at least use the ERP system. There's a lot of excitement around AI and process intelligence, so I think now is just a great time. I always try to tell young students: supply chain is such a vast field. There's so many aspects of supply chain. Jim, how many were in the supply chain immersion? Wasn't there about 27 sessions? And every session was on something different in supply chain. That's just how big the field is. So, there's never an end to it, and I think that's really good.

[00:13:07] Jim Liegghio: Yeah. And selfishly, in the automotive industry, one of the headwinds we face is attracting people into this industry. But it's more than just chasing parts and not shutting down a line these days. I think, to the point Maria made — dare I say — supply chain is sexy again, right? There are exciting things to do. There are exciting problems to solve and challenges to solve. Maria, you talked about carbon emissions and sustainability — there's that aspect of it. So, part of the challenge in automotive is to attract people to an industry that I think sometimes people see as archaic or outdated, or "I don't wanna work in a dirty factory, trying not to shut that line down at all costs." But there's so much more opportunity in supply chain in automotive. We welcome the challenges. And Maria, if you have any advice for how to steer that ship and entice future talent, we're all ears for sure.

[00:13:49] Maria Villablanca: I think it starts with almost redefining the profession. You're absolutely right, Jim. When you talk about people have seen it as an archaic profession, back office, dark, manufacturing heavy, and talking about shutting down the line. It's not the world we live in anymore. The world we live in is complex. It's got complex problems that are not the same problems our grandparents have. It's very different, and so it requires different type of critical thinking, and with the advent of technology, the skillset is going to change as well. So, I think it's understanding that the supply chain profession is different.

[00:14:25] Jan Griffiths: You mentioned, Maria, about PR and marketing, and this is right in line with this subject of attracting people to supply chain. I've noticed there's a few CPOs out there that do it really well. Do you know the CPO of Volvo — Andrea? I forgot her last name. She is out there all the time on LinkedIn, talking about what's happening, talking at conferences, talking with her team, talking with suppliers. I love the way that she's so public about supply chain — that she's giving it a much more innovative feel. And I think a lot of us — and I say "us" because even though I'm a recovering supply chain person, I still consider myself part of supply chain when it suits me — the whole idea when I was in supply chain, I would never have posted anything on LinkedIn about what I was doing. Because quite frankly, I would be afraid that I would somehow upset the CEO or I would violate some communications protocol. And we've gotta get over that, don't you think? We really need to be talking about how great supply chain actually is and the opportunities. What do you think Maria?

[00:15:41] Maria Villablanca: A hundred percent. You're talking to someone who is really vocal on LinkedIn. I'm really active and vocal on LinkedIn, and initially, it was cringey for me. You know this — I'm a Gen Xer, I'm not used to this sort of thing. It was, "Oh my gosh, no one's gonna wanna listen to me." But I realized that not a lot of people are speaking about it. Not a lot of women are speaking about supply chain. There are a few — and they're brilliant, they're fantastic — but they're not too many. And so, I had an opportunity to do that, and what ended up happening is people would reach out to me and say, "Oh my gosh, your post resonated with me," or, "This is exactly the problem I'm facing," or, "This is the issue I'm having — and how brilliant to bring supply chain to the conversation." And I think the job that I can do is to demonstrate the cool elements — the fact that I'm passionate about supply chain, I'm passionate about the problems it can solve, and I want other people to see that. So yeah, I think being vocal on LinkedIn, showcasing the rock stars — as I what like to say. There are a lot of really cool things happening in supply chain. A lot of really cool people solving some amazing problems that the world has, and so it's our responsibility to showcase them — which is what you're doing and what I do as well.

[00:16:52] Terry Onica: I have a question for you — just stepping back and changing gears here. One of the things I really wanna ask you is: what is the appreciation for supply chain that you're seeing at the CEO level? Are you seeing a change there, or are you seeing it's a little better? I'm just curious what you are feeling as you're out there — 'cause I know you're out there with so many clients.

[00:17:14] Maria Villablanca: Let's say before the pandemic, it was non-existent. It was something that needed to be done — and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The pandemic really highlighted the fact that supply chain can be a strategic value driver, not just a cost center. My concern was — and I wrote a newsletter about what I felt some of the big risks were in supply chain about a year and a half ago, two years ago — that in our quest to go back to "normality," we would slip back into obscurity somehow, and supply chain would cease to be the voice at the board table, right? It would cease to have a voice at the board table. And so, I think that there is perhaps less appreciation than there was during the years of the pandemic. However, crisis is not over. We are dealing with geopolitical issues, with economic issues, with talent shortages, with global warming, sustainability — whatever regulations.

It seems as though — you talk about a black swan, right? No. We're dealing with a flock of swans at the moment. And so, there's only one person that the CEO can turn to understand how to resolve some of these issues, and that is the Chief Supply Chain Officer — CPO, COO — someone who runs the supply chains. Perhaps there's not the same level of appreciation there was during the years of the pandemic, but I definitely think it's better than it was before. But again, it's all for us to grab. It's for us to take now — for us to continue the conversation of change-maker, value driver, strategic agent of change. And again, moving away to the redesign of supply chain so that it's not just a cost center, it could be a value driver.

[00:18:54] Terry Onica: So, we like to talk about that a lot in the show. If you look at Amazon, we like to say: money can be made in the supply chain. If you look at them — the amount of money that they make by being good at supply chain — I wish they were more of an inspiration to a lot of companies to really look at that.

[00:19:10] Maria Villablanca: They change the game — they redefine the game. And you asked me a question about transformation and how you can have an intention to transform, right? Be purposeful. And that is, I think, where I come across the leaders that are constantly checking themselves and asking themselves, "Can I do things differently? What's another way of looking at this?" And so, the traditional supply chain leader was looking to save costs, drive down costs, increase speed to market, right? Now, they're looking at questions around, "How do I drive profit and growth for the organization?" And so, that kind of thinking is someone who's intentional about transforming the role.

[00:19:47] Jim Liegghio: Let's dive in just a second on the leadership aspect of it within an organization. You talked about the Chief Supply Chain Officer and their visibility to the CEO — and their importance to the CEO — but let's look at it the other way down, through the organization. How does that leader effectively lead through the organization — through their team downstream, if you will? What steps can they take, or how are their leadership traits changing these days?

[00:20:08] Maria Villablanca: You know, I interview a lot of people, and I speak with a lot of people, and I would say there is a pattern with the successful transformational leaders that I see. They're decisive, they're curious, and they're aligned. They know where their business is going, and they've built a supply chain that's connected to that vision, not just operating in isolation. These are leaders that invest in digital, but they don't make it like a vanity project. They focus on change management, process redesign, team development alongside technology. They're not afraid to pilot new ideas, even if they are going to fail or if they have failed it. They expect some failures and they use them to learn and improve faster than the competition. I would also say that they're very good at communication. They're very good communicators. I get asked a lot of questions about: "What's the skill of the future, Maria? What is the supply chain leader of the future have?" Are they gonna need to learn to code in Python, or are they gonna need to learn how to... I don't know... talk to chat GPT? No. They need to be critical thinkers. They need to be disruptive thinkers, good communicators, and have amazing soft skills, but also be very aligned with where their business is going.

[00:21:19] Jan Griffiths: That's perfect. Great response.

[00:21:21] Terry Onica: If you look to the next two to five years, where do you think we're headed to with supply chains?

[00:21:26] Maria Villablanca: Ah, the great crystal ball question. I think we're gonna see a convergence of forces that are gonna reshape the entire landscape. That's a big claim. I think we're gonna see AI and automation that's just gonna fundamentally change how we plan, source, produce, and deliver. We're going to see predictive, self-correcting, and eventually autonomous supply chains that are within reach. I think we're gonna see that the global economic and geopolitical order is gonna continue to shift, and we're gonna move away from globalization towards maybe regionalization. Companies are gonna build diversified supply chains to hedge their risks. And I think talent shortage is just not gonna go away. We're still going to see companies that need to succeed by investing in leadership development, by upskilling their talent, and by creating a culture that attracts the next generation of leaders.

[00:22:20] Jan Griffiths: Maria, as we look out to our audience — supply chain leaders in the automotive industry — what is one thing that they should be doing right now to start to take action on supply chain transformation? And it's not putting together a PowerPoint with a whole bunch of buzzwords in it. What is the one thing that they should start to do — and that they could do — right now?

[00:22:42] Maria Villablanca: I think the first thing is: learn to unlearn. It's a cool phrase, but what does it mean? It means I need to think things through in a different way. This is not the same problem that we had, and so we can't use the same solutions we've always had. To me, it's about: can this be done in a different way? I think they also need to look at not just supply chain but leadership. How do you lead with courage? How do you think like a storyteller? If you think about it, we're in a really big moment of transformation. And the companies that succeed are gonna be those that dare to do things differently and can bring others along with them, right? So, the job of the leader isn't just to manage a supply chain — it's to shape the future of how business is gonna get done. And that means being bold, asking tough questions, challenging the same old assumptions, and building something that's not just more efficient, but perhaps more human, more resilient, and more responsible.

[00:23:40] Jan Griffiths: After listening to you today, I have never felt more excited about supply chain in my entire life. What about you, Terry?

[00:23:46] Terry Onica: Absolutely. I'm very excited. It's just great to hear. How refreshing.

[00:23:50] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. Jim?

[00:23:51] Jim Liegghio: Music to my ears. I've really enjoyed the comments, and I look forward to the future of supply chain. It's not something to be afraid of or reactionary to. It sounds like there's a lot of opportunity for the right people to lead in the right ways, and that's super exciting from where I sit.

[00:24:06] Terry Onica: And supply chain's gonna be cool — that's exciting. Because we grew up in an era where, in our early supply chain careers, it wasn't very cool. We were firefighters in a back room. So, it's so exciting that this next generation's gonna get an opportunity to really improve it — and have a really cool and successful career in it.

[00:24:24] Maria Villablanca: It wasn't even called supply chain then. When I first got started, I was a troubleshooter — did a bit of procurement, did a bit of sourcing, did a bit of everything.

[00:24:31] Jan Griffiths: That's right. Maria, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure.

[00:24:35] Maria Villablanca: Thank you for having me.

[00:24:37] Jan Griffiths: We love to hear from our listeners; reach out to any one of us; our contact information is in the show notes. And if you want to dive deeper into our content, check out our website at autosupplychainprophets.com.