Forced Labour, Flood Risks, and Design Thinking: Rhea Rakshit on Building Ethical Supply Chains Artwork

Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

Resilient Supply Chain is for supply chain, operations, procurement and technology leaders who need practical ways to manage disruption, reduce risk and keep business moving.

Each Monday, technology and sustainability analyst, keynote speaker and former SAP Global VP Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, operators, founders and innovators redesigning how goods, information and decisions move through global supply chains.

These are candid conversations about what works in practice—not polished PR narratives or vague predictions. Guests explain how they are responding to supplier failures, geopolitical shocks, volatile costs, capacity constraints, changing regulations and rising pressure to improve both performance and sustainability.

The podcast examines:
Faster planning and decision-making under uncertainty
Supplier risk, sourcing strategy and business continuity
AI, automation, visibility and operational intelligence
Warehousing, logistics and fulfilment performance
Scope 3 emissions, circularity and responsible sourcing
The systems, incentives and organisational changes needed to turn data into action

The central question is simple: what helps a supply chain withstand disruption, adapt quickly and continue serving the business?

New episodes are published every Monday at 7am CET. Resilient Supply Chain+ subscribers also receive bonus analysis, highlights and briefings on emerging industry trends.

Follow Resilient Supply Chain for practical lessons from the people solving real operational problems—and building supply chains that perform when conditions do not go to plan.

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Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

Forced Labour, Flood Risks, and Design Thinking: Rhea Rakshit on Building Ethical Supply Chains

April 21, 2025 • Tom Raftery • Season 2 • Episode 64

0:00 | 39:22

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On this week’s episode of the Sustainable Supply Chain podcast, I’m joined by Rhea Rakshit, VP of Product Management at Sayari, a company helping organisations untangle the complex web of supply chain risk with data, design thinking, and a strong dose of social impact.

We talk about why traditional supply chain visibility just doesn’t cut it anymore - and how real insight starts with understanding who you’re sourcing from and who they’re connected to. Rhea brings a fascinating perspective, shaped by her background in social innovation and systems design, and years working on both the consumer and enterprise sides of supply chain tech.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ Why ESG is no longer just a CSR checkbox
✅ How forced labour, climate risk, and deforestation are being tracked with data-led approaches
✅ What “human-centred design” actually looks like in the context of supply chain software
✅ The difference between visibility and insight - and why it matters for resilience
✅ How global North boardrooms often miss the lived realities of their suppliers in the global South
✅ Why consolidating sustainability ownership under risk or compliance functions is a game-changer

If you’re serious about building a resilient, ethical, and future-proof supply chain, this conversation is a must-listen.

🎧 Subscribe and tune in at sustainablesupplychainpodcast.com

#supplychain #sustainability #esg #productcarbonfootprint #duediligence #forcedlabour #deforestation #supplychaintransparency #realtimedata #sustainablebusiness

If disruption hit tomorrow, would you know where your supply chain was most exposed? In 15 minutes my free scorecard helps you assess 27 resilience statements, calculate your score, and turn the result into three priorities and a 30 day action plan. You can download the scorecard free at tomraftery.com/scorecard.

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