As manufacturing operations become more interconnected and data-driven, supply chain leaders are under pressure to deliver faster insights, tighter alignment, and more resilient strategies. Gaps in leadership alignment, disconnected systems, and under-leveraged data continue to hold teams back. In our latest webinar, Jon Pacheco, a supply chain expert from Siemens Advanta, and Jordan Slabaugh, CMO at LeanDNA, shared new research from 200 U.S. manufacturing leaders and explored how leading organizations are moving from misalignment to measurable momentum. Here are the top 3 takeaways from the discussion:
1. Alignment Starts by Speaking the Same Language
Even today, 94% of supply chain leaders and 85% of executives report their company’s top leadership is skeptical about the connection between supply chain resiliency and business performance. This disconnect leads to underinvestment, misaligned priorities, and missed opportunities.
The key? Shift the conversation upward. Rather than focusing solely on tactical metrics like inventory turns or on-time delivery, supply chain leaders can elevate discussions by framing their work in terms of its impact on core business outcomes. This means demonstrating how supply chain decisions contribute to broader business goals like revenue growth, margin improvement, and market share expansion.
"By transitioning that language and also driving the strategies linked to the overall business strategy that helps get more alignment from the wider executive teams, particularly where they don't necessarily have supply chain backgrounds.” - Jon Pacheco
The misalignment becomes particularly costly during times of disruption. During events with unpredictable factors such as tariffs, organizations that can speak to revenue impact, market share gains, and competitive positioning—rather than just inventory turns and on-time delivery—are better positioned to gain executive support for strategic initiatives.
2. Digital Transformation Needs People and Process, Not Just Technology
The most striking finding: over 90% of manufacturers have committed to digital supply chain synchronization, yet only 19% have accomplished their goals. The gap between intention and execution continues to widen.
"One of the common failures in digital supply chain synchronization is getting these technologies and implementing them without formally considering the people and process. So I'm going to go implement a solution, but actually I don't have the people, whether it's organizational structure, the training, the capability, I also don't have a process." - Jon Pacheco
Successful manufacturers like Spirit and Modine approach digitization as an enablement layer that connects and refines existing operations. They focus on:
- Unified strategy across all business areas
- Stakeholder inclusion throughout the transformation
- Foundation building before layering advanced technologies
The key is treating digital transformation as a holistic business change, not just a technology implementation.
3. AI Success Requires the Right Foundation
Almost unanimously (92%), manufacturing executives agree that AI-driven insights are essential for predicting and preventing supply chain disruptions. However, AI is only as effective as the data, infrastructure, and strategy it’s built on.
"The success of AI depends on how ready your business is. Data integrity, a strong master data set, and the right infrastructure are essential." - Jon Pacheco
Organizations seeing AI success share common traits:
- They solve real business problems first, rather than experimenting withAI for innovations sake
- They ensure robust data integrity across synchronized systems
- They future-proof operations by capturing data today that may power long-term solutions
The most practical AI applications emerging include analyzing historic trends for forecasting, summarizing complex contracts, and removing data gatekeeping. But these only deliver value when built on clean, connected data sets.
Make Alignment and Execution a Priority
The road to supply chain transformation is not just about adopting new tools. It requires strong leadership alignment, cross-functional collaboration, and a solid data foundation. As Jon emphasized, manufacturers who focus on connecting strategy with execution are seeing meaningful progress. These three insights offer a clear starting point for organizations ready to close the gap between ambition and action.
To hear the full conversation watch the webinar on-demand.
