The Future of Supply Chain

We explore what happens when robots become coworkers, from embodied AI and humanoid robots in manufacturing and logistics to workforce transformation, robot certifications, and the path toward a more autonomous supply chain.

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What happens when your next coworker isn't human? In this episode, we sit down with SAP’s Dr. Lukasz Ostrowski to explore how embodied AI is stepping off the screen and onto the shop floor. Get a sneak peek at what the factory of the next decade could look like, and why the journey toward an autonomous supply chain is closer and more nuanced than the headlines suggest. Press play if you’re curious about where robotics is heading next, and what it means for the people, processes, and future of supply chain.
 
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Guest 1: Dr. Lukasz Ostrowski, Development Manager & Head of Embodied AI & Robotics, SAP

Dr. Lukasz Ostrowski is Development Manager & Head of Embodied AI & Robotics at SAP, focusing on bringing innovation into SAP at scale. With 10+ years of leadership experience, he specializes in disruptive innovation in collaboration with line-of-business and industry leaders. He helps enterprises make robots business-aware—grounding physical execution in SAP business context, governance, and outcomes.

Host 1: Richard Howells

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

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Show Links:
Read: SAP Shares Physical AI Partnerships & New Robotics Pilots

Supply Chain Management:  
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠       

Follow Us on Social Media : 
Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   
 
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John Holmes from Accenture and Andy Hancock from SAP joined us to explore why asset management matters more than ever. The conversation covers EAM and APM convergence, lift-and-shift cloud migration risks, and how AI agents, IoT, and digital twins move maintenance from time- and condition-based approaches toward predictive and prescriptive strategies. We also discuss citizen EAM owners, workforce transformation, autonomous asset management, and supply chain resilience

Guest 1: John Holmes, NA Intelligent Asset Management Practice Lead Managing Director

Guest 2: Andy Hancock, Global Vice President, Global Head of Domain Advisory Asset Management and Field Service, SAP
As a seasoned global executive who has held numerous leadership roles during his 19-year tenure at SAP, he has brought quantifiable results to leading global brands through innovation advocacy. Having worked in more than 40 countries and experienced a vast array of cultures, he understands the importance of challenging the status quo to drive business outcomes and create a competitive diUerentiator in turbulent global markets.

Host: Richard Howells
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

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Show Links:
Accenture: ⁠https://www.accenture.com⁠

Supply Chain Management:  
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠       

Episode Transcript
Episode Description

Follow Us on Social Media : 
Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   

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Ryan Jones from SAP discusses the new era of field service and asset management, covering AI agents, autonomous operations, and how integrated asset management drives supply chain resilience.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Ryan Jones, Product Marketing Manager at SAP, joins us to explore the evolving landscape of field service and asset management. We talked about the risks of operational fragmentation, the ripple effects of asset downtime, and how AI agents transform maintenance from a cost center into a revenue driver. Ryan also shares success stories and discusses SAP's new unified offering, and outlines the journey toward autonomousoperations.

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Guest 1: Ryan Jones, Product Marketing Manager, Asset Management & Field Service, SAP

Ryan Jones has spent the last 10 years at SAP working across enterprise asset management, field service, and ERP. He has held roles in solution advisory, solution management, and product marketing, helping customers connect business processes with practical technology adoption. Before SAP, Ryan was an operations manager and SAP ERP user, giving him a grounded perspective on what it takes to make enterprise systems and AI work in real operations.

Host 1: Richard Howells

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP  

Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.  
 
She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.  

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Show Links:
SAP Field Service and Asset Management: The Next Evolution of SAP FieldService Management. LINKSupply Chain Management:  
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠       

Follow Us on Social Media : 
Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Oyku Ilgar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠      
SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   
 
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!

We explore how COOs can rethink supply chain security, from physical risks and open source vulnerabilities to AI threats, data sovereignty, and building a cyber-resilient culture across the business network.

Download the ⁠episode transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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We sit down with a cybersecurity expert to unpack the full scope of supply chain security, from physical risks like truck hijacking and component integrity to emerging digital threats like AI-driven attacks on open source software. We discuss why COOs must evaluate supplier capabilities, embrace data sovereignty, secure AI projects, and foster ecosystem collaboration to build truly resilient supply chains.
 
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Guest 1: Jay Thoden van Velzen, Technical Advisor in SAP’s Office of the Chief Security Officer

Jay Thoden van Velzen is Technical Advisor in SAP’s Office of the Chief Security Officer, where he covers and supports security process-, product-, and partner management, putting him in the middle of navigating rising security threats, an increasing compliance burden and rapid technology changes, to secure SAP’s cloud platform expansion, Business AI and the Autonomous Enterprise. He previously led SAP’s cloud infrastructure security operations during the Next Generation Cloud Transformation Program running 2020-2022, establishing key cloud security programs that SAP still relies and builds on today. His relationship to Supply Chain Management remains strong, having functioned earlier as its main Security Expert 2015-2019.

Host 1: Richard Howells

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP  

Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.  
 
She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.  

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Show Links:

Supply Chain Management:  
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠       

Follow Us on Social Media : 
Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Oyku Ilgar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠      
SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   
 
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!

PwC’s Christian Sachse joins us to talk all things logistics. Discover recent trends such as automation, AI, nearshoring, and sustainability.

Download the episode transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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In this episode, Christian Sachse of PwC Germany shares what supply chain leaders must prepare for in logistics, from automation and AI to sustainability, nearshoring, labor shifts, and resilience. He explains how planning, visibility, and control towers support better execution.
 
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Guest 1: Christian Sachse, Director, PwC
Christian Sachse is a Director at PwC Germany, where he leads the transportation practice within PwC's global Center of Excellence for Logistics Transformation. With a career spanning over a decade in SAP logistics consulting — progressing from ABAP developer to senior leadership roles at firms including IBM, Deloitte, and PwC — he brings deep expertise in SAP Transportation Management and end-to-end supply chain optimization to global organizations across automotive, manufacturing, retail, chemicals, and beyond. In today's discussion, he shares his perspective on the future of supply chain technology and innovation.

Host 1: Richard Howells

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP’s ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.

Host 2: Oyku Ilgar, SAP  

Oyku Ilgar is a marketer and thought leader specializing in SAP’s digital supply chain and ERP solutions since 2017. As a marketer, blogger, and podcaster, she creates engaging content that highlights innovative SAP technologies and explores key topics including business trends, AI, Industry 4.0, and sustainability.  
 
She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance & Accounting and English Translation, along with a master’s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade, specializing in marketing. With her background in digital transformation, Oyku communicates technology trends and industry insights to help professionals navigate the evolving business landscape.  

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Show Links:
PwC

Supply Chain Management:  
⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠ 
⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠       

Follow Us on Social Media : 
Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, 
Oyku Ilgar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠      
SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠   
 
Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!