Supply Chain Under Pressure: How Leaders Stay Ahead

In an era of constant and accelerating change, what does it look like to adapt in real time, lead through the uncertainty, and separate the signal from the noise? To take a closer look at this question, Kevin Slaughter, partner in and leader of the Corporate Practice Group at LP, launched “The Practical Leadership Podcast,” a place for conversations with leaders in the trenches delivering real-world insights.

In this inaugural episode, Kevin speaks with Dorothy Capers, the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of C.H. Robinson; Ted Jackson, Board Member of Belpak; and Chris Schlag, General Counsel of Baldwin Richardson Foods, about how major geopolitical factors and technological changes are impacting the supply chain. The panel discussed topics including:

• Navigating Current Supply Chain Challenges: Effective players are embracing more proactive planning and flexibility in logistics; educating customers on the impact of tariffs and other geopolitical factors; and addressing “change fatigue” with customers, providers, and government affairs pros.
• Collaborating Across Supply Chain Functions: Shared services across legal, procurement, finance teams, and HR are evolving in response to volatility in the market. The lines between these functions have blurred, and professionals are working more in concert.  
• Embracing Data-Driven Decision Making: Making “risk-informed” decisions under pressure requires access to accurate, verifiable data that can be quickly obtained and constantly updated to reflect the dynamic landscape. Leaders must balance creating short-term solutions against a longer-term horizon that is not yet in focus.
• Leveraging AI in Supply Chain Management: AI enables greater speed and agility across all aspects of the business, with AI agents performing many of the logistics functions human labor used to perform manually. When companies first clearly articulate the desired business outcome and create a tailored tool that responds to that need, they see the greatest benefit.
• Adopting AI and Agents in Business Operations: Embracing AI agents requires a true 360-degree transformation of the company, including building a governance framework, training your internal team members, and educating partners and customers about new processes. Companies that are not ready to take the plunge unfortunately are being left behind.
• Transforming Traditional Practices With Technology: AI tools can also provide vastly more sophisticated information that prepares buyers and sellers to engage in strategic commercial conversations to move deals forward.
• Building Resilience Into Supply Chain Decision Making: Companies need to make decisions at a network, not shipment, level; implement new technologies as the backbone of all innovation; and treat supply chain as a competitive capability, not just a cost center.
• Navigating Disruption in Supply Chains: Business leaders should assume there will be ongoing, periodic disruption, and plan accordingly. Leaders must think about how to differentiate themselves and find the opportunity, even under these constraints. You can’t predict these disruptions, but you can prepare.
• Building Relationships for Future Challenges: One of the most important things operators can do in uncertain times is develop strong relationships across the supply chain so that when an issue arises, trust already exists and players can work together to create solutions. Building a system that can adapt before it needs to will create a strategic advantage.

As smart leaders know, there is no perfect playbook for reckoning with tariff volatility, geopolitical shifts, and technological disruption. But building systems designed to adapt rather than simply endure helps companies thrive today and in an uncertain future.  

Question about supply chain pressures? Reach out to Kevin Slaughter or another member of LP’s Food & Beverage focus area.