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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

Heat Stress Is the Climate Risk Your Supply Chain Is Missing

November 24, 2025 • Tom Raftery • Season 2 • Episode 95

0:00 | 38:45

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What happens to your supply chain when it gets too hot for workers to show up?

In this episode I’m joined by Kevin Vranes, Chief Product Officer at Worldly, a platform working with tens of thousands of suppliers to generate real sustainability intelligence across global supply chains. We dig into why climate exposure, labour disruption, tightening disclosure rules, and escalating NGO scrutiny are converging into one of the biggest resilience challenges companies have ever faced, and why the old ways of managing risk simply won’t cut it anymore.

You’ll hear how rising heat stress across manufacturing regions is creating a very real form of operational fragility, with knock-on effects that most leadership teams still underestimate. Kevin explains why the gap between brand-level assumptions and on-the-ground realities is widening, and why primary data from deep-tier suppliers is becoming essential infrastructure rather than a “nice to have”.

We break down where AI is genuinely transforming sustainability analysis, including the shift from weeks of spreadsheet work to seconds of machine-driven insight, and where human relationships, incentives, and policy signals still determine whether change actually happens on the factory floor. And you might be surprised to learn why NGOs, not regulators, may become the true enforcers of global climate disclosure.

If you care about supply chain resilience, Scope 3, data visibility, or the next wave of sustainability risk, this episode goes right to the heart of what’s coming, and what leaders need to prepare for.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how Worldly and Kevin Vranes are reshaping the future of resilient, sustainable supply chains.

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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🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on supply chain resilience, AI, and sustainability?
I help leaders understand the forces reshaping global supply chains, from geopolitical disruption and climate risk to AI and real-time decision-making.

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