Melissa Drew on Fast Talk, AI, and Closing the Gender Gap in Supply Chain
With a decade hallmarked so far by constant disruption, consumers are more aware of supply chain and how industry shortages, the gender gap in supply chain, and climate events impact their daily lives and local communities. The headlines are keeping a steady stream of supply chain dialogues popping into Twitter and news feeds—there’s even a recent indie-rock album by Jack White named Supply Chain Issues. A term that once only resonated with industry insiders is everywhere. Supply chain once a shadow operation consumers weren’t aware of that was looked at as a basic operational function is now recognized as a strategic business arm responsible for driving resilience and innovation.
While the most chaotic health pandemic in modern memory hasn’t helped supply chain managers, the ongoing labor shortage is one of the major factors that continues fueling the ongoing waves of delays, limitations, and stock-outs. One dialogue that hasn’t really caught fire yet is how closing the gender gap in supply chain can help the industry build its ranks and agility. Because having more Women In Supply Chain™ leadership and operations teams isn’t just the right thing to do, it can help move the industry forward. There are hard facts showing women bring more curiosity and agility to their organizations to empower standout performance.
At Let’s Talk Supply Chain, we’re dedicated to closing the gender gap in supply chain by highlighting women making leaps and bounds in their careers to support smart new approaches. Every month our Women In Supply Chain™ blog series brings you the female thought leaders who are making bold moves and shaking up the industry as we know it. Let’s Talk Supply Chain gives them a platform to share what drives them and how they are igniting real progress at their organizations.
Let’s Talk Supply Chain™ explores challenges women supply chain leaders face that all too often go unnoticed. We celebrate their breakout achievements and the beginnings that positioned them for their recent success stories, ushering change at businesses across the global supply chain. In our Women In Supply Chain™ blog series, readers hear from female trailblazers across the global industry about their experience, the challenges they’ve faced and overcome, and the career advice they have for other women working their way up the chain.
This month we’re proud to feature Melissa Drew, Associate Partner and a Digital Transformation Executive at IBM. Melissa is a founding member and committee chair for Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA) and a board member of Blended, a division of Let’s Talk Supply Chain dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the industry. Melissa has a Project Manager Professional (IT) Master’s Certificate from The George Washington University and a Masters in Management Information Systems from Auburn University. This summer her book Transforming the Organization: Building a Flexible Foundation for Future Disruption makes its debut.
About the Author
Naomi Sylvian (She/Her/Hers) is a Senior Manager, Supply Chain Solutions Marketing at Anaplan where she supports brand awareness and expansion—leading marketers to simplify supply chain planning, make it profitable, and ignite agility by integrating other key business planning areas. Naomi has 16 years of marketing experience and is passionate about telling stories that matter. For over a decade, she has been committed to highlighting the voices of female thought leaders in male-dominated industries. Naomi’s LinkedIn Newsletter, The Chain Explained helps break down supply chain concepts and disruptions to give industry outsiders a greater understanding of how they impact their everyday lives.
