INFORMAZIONI SU QUESTO EPISODIO
In this episode, we sit down with Doug Johnson, former VP of Global Supply Chain at Emerson, to explore the lessons he learned from more than three decades leading global supply chain and procurement teams. Doug shares how an unexpected career path led him to the top, why great leaders spend more time listening than talking, and how the right culture and people matter more than compensation. He also explains why procurement should never focus on cost alone, but instead align every decision with what the business and the customer truly need.
The conversation also explores how global sourcing has evolved, what it takes to build strong supplier relationships, and why speed, quality, and customer value often matter more than securing the lowest price. Doug shares practical leadership lessons from building teams across the world, encouraging healthy disagreement, and creating an environment where people are empowered to make better decisions.
Doug also discusses the growing role of AI in procurement and supply chain, including why many companies struggle to adopt it successfully. He explains why clean, structured data is the foundation for any successful AI strategy, why technology should solve real business problems instead of chasing trends, and how better forecasting could become one of AI's biggest opportunities for the future of the supply chain.
Key Topics:
-Why Cost Should Never Be Procurement's Top Priority
-The Leadership Trait That Separates Great Managers From Average Ones
-The Biggest Mistakes Companies Still Make With AI
-Why Clean Data Matters More Than the Latest AI Tools
-The Supply Chain Forecasting Problem AI Still Can't Solve
-How Great Leaders Build Teams That Challenge Their Ideas
Timestamps:
01:20 How Doug Accidentally Built a 34-Year Career at Emerson
03:48 The Real Reason Doug Almost Left the Company
05:29 The Leadership Lesson That Changed Doug's Career
07:46 How Emerson Built Its Supply Chain in China
08:41 What Most Companies Get Wrong About Supplier Quality
11:22 Why Cost Shouldn't Always Come First
14:10 Why Speed Beats Cost in Supply Chain
15:18 How Procurement Can Drive Business Growth
17:59 The Supplier Doug Thought Would Never Succeed
21:30 What Remote Work Is Still Missing
25:24 Why Most AI Solutions Fail in Large Companies
27:45 The Biggest AI Mistake Companies Still Make
31:43 The Supply Chain Problem AI Still Can't Solve
34:04 The Forecasting Challenge Every Business Faces
39:27 Why Great Leaders Don't Force Agreement
Connect with - Doug Johnson:
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/supplychainleadership
Connect to Lightsource.ai:
LinkedIn - / lightsource-ai
Website: https://lightsource.ai/
TRASCRIZIONE 🔗
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Emerson, not the highest paying group in the business, but it's not all about money.
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Leaders who tell don't get very far.
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What do you feel like were the problems that you really wished you could have had technology to solve?
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Like that you're like, man, this is like a real printing problem.
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The mistake that a lot of supply chain people make i…
