Abby Baird on Supply Chain as a Force for Positive Change

2024 is flying—Q2 is here. It’s been a wild ride already, navigating continued inflation and escalating geopolitical tensions while keeping track of the latest global partnerships and mergers rocking market dynamics. Sound familiar? The global economy has been through a battery of shocks since we’ve made it to the other side of the Covid pandemic.

The continuing conflict in Gaza with dire humanitarian implications is an ongoing supply chain disruptor and rising economic threat. Historically, wars around the globe have spiked oil prices, accelerating costs and challenges across the chain. In fact, oil prices jumped 100% during the Kuwait invasion, 20% during the Iran-Iraq war, and 30% during the civil war in Libya. Oil prices have already reached a fever pitch, and the continuing death toll in Gaza could provoke another uprising by local citizens like the damaging oil embargo of 1973—an act of defiance by Arabs to the oil producers.

With all this in mind, supply chain challenges aren’t going anywhere. On a positive note: the number of female logistics and operations professionals ready to solve challenges continues to grow. That’s important, because as we already know, organizations that employ more women across leadership roles outrank competitors in profitability and customer satisfaction, in large part due to their ability to bring actionable insights and new approaches to respond to market dynamics.

Diversity in thought is powerful. That’s one of the many reasons why at Let’s Talk Supply Chain we’re humbled to feature Women In Supply Chain™ who are redefining their roles across logistics and manufacturing. The numbers show Women In Supply Chain™ drive stronger moves forward—sooner.

Women In Supply Chain™ inspire all of us. These emerging influencers and tenured leaders unleash some much-needed optimism that we can continue finding innovative approaches to conquer the latest logistics and Ops challenges, or at the very least, roll with the punches. At Let’s Talk Supply Chain, we hope our Women In Supply Chain™ blog series motivates you to ascend beyond gender norms to make a meaningful impact.

Let’s Talk Supply Chain’s Women In Supply Chain™ program, and our blog and podcast series share the value of investing in your female workforce.

This month, we’re excited to feature Abbie Baird, Production Planner at Ferrara, and our very own marketing consultant at LTSC. Abby boasts a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas and a business degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration and Management. She started her supply chain journey in 2019 and since then has been building her arsenal of experience across supply chain marketing, category management, supply, and production planning.