Reimagining Global Supply Chains For 2025 And Beyond

San Jose, California, United States, June 27, 2025 — Xraised had an exclusive conversation with Abhijit Supekar, Sr, Director, Global Supply Chain at Aeva, also ex-Google/Fitbit and Lucid Motors, with over two decades in Global Supply Chain Management and Planning. As a thought leader and an advocate for balanced leadership, Supekar paints more than just strategy — it’s his blueprint forged by multiple global conflicts over the last decade.

The WTO Trade Forecast for 2025/26 highlights a structural shock to the worldwide supply chain highlighting that the trade downturn is biggest since the COVID pandemic and re-emphasizing the policy risk if the tariff war resumes. To thrive amid global uncertainty, supply chain leaders must view agility and continuity not as optional, but as essential. Supply chains are no longer just processes; they’re strategic engines of global competitiveness.

“Tariffs were a minor hiccup in the regular course of business,” Supekar explains. “Now, they’ve become high-stakes weapons.”  In this economic warfare—marked by fragmented trade agreements, volatile geopolitics, and mounting inflationary pressure, tariffs have the power to break economies overnight. The casualties? Innovation, affordability, and resilience for global businesses. The White House published, from escalating U.S.–China  tensions or the latest joint statement between these global leaders, sanctions triggering ripple effects across industries forcing companies to rebalance sourcing strategies, rethink pricing, and redefine their value creation. And the impact isn’t limited to sourcing or manufacturing. “Tariffs now touch every operational node—from component cost forecasting to warehouse network optimization,” Supekar warns. “A single policy change instantly turns a profitable supply chain into a margin sinkhole.”

Supekar, an industry leader known for turning fragility into resilience, believes the only way forward is to architect supply chains that are not just responsive—but unshaken. His message is clear “The future belongs to those who can craft #UnshakenSupplyChains—transparent, adaptive, and resilient systems that thrive even under intense pressure.”

From Fragility to Resilience

Supekar highlighted concept of #TripleHelixSupplyChainDNA framework in his article Building unshaken supply chains: A blueprint for economic resilience published by the Supply Chain Management Review. He explains that this concept interlinks the three strands of the supply chain specifically—Supply Chain Spectrum from Unstructured to Structured datasets, Supply Chain Cohesion from Fragmented to Unfragmented relationships and Supply Chain Gradient from Complex to Simply networks.

Figure-1: How #TripleHelixSupplyChainDNA framework serves as a lens to interpret global conflicts that directly impact core business outcomes

So now you may ask, what does this have to do with the #UnshakenSupplyChain and what does it actually look like?

As Supekar put it, “Building an #UnshakenSupplyChain does not mean you will never face global conflicts but it is a framework that lets you adapt, optimize and thrive during tough times.” This is his actionable blueprint for the three pillars — supply chain, team and tools, to operate in unison and is now being adopted by companies worldwide that have clarity: the future isn’t about resisting change, it’s about designing for it.

Drive End-to-End Transparency

• Ensure visibility, availability, and flexibility across all supply chain layers
• Develop supply chain mapping & proactive risk assessments
• Implement strategic sourcing to simplify architecture

Strengthen Teams and Build Trust 

• Reward creative problem-solving for evolving supply challenges
• Create culture of continuous learning and adaptability
• Foster clear communication and internal/external trust

Invest in Smart Tools and Technology 

• Leverage automation (e.g., scanners, tracking, etc.)
• Use AI/Gen-AI for real-time predictive analytics, Global risk monitoring, etc.
• Enable smart, secure, efficient planning systems (eg. Blockchain-based platforms)

Considering the above framework — while there is plenty of literature on building resilient supply chains that drive end-to-end transparency, let’s take a closer look at investing in smart systems and empowering our teams..

AI is not a trend — it’s your team member!

For many in the industry, AI is always seen with suspicion: Will it replace my job? Is it too complex? Can it be trusted with high-stakes decisions? Supekar takes a different stance. “I believe tools and processes should serve us—making our work better, faster, and more meaningful.” He says “When we celebrate success stories and treat failures as learning opportunities, adoption happens naturally.” When AI removes the painful parts of the job—like manual data pulls, outdated reports, and chaotic dashboards—teams begin to see it as an enabler, not threat.

Smart-decision making relies heavily on real-time access and machine-learning algorithms to analyze hidden relationships, predict next steps and recommend actionable insights. Supekar cited examples like AI-powered tariff assessments that could be embedded with our daily operations to not only ensure compliance with the evolving geopolitical landscape but also recommend explorations to minimize the impact of these tariffs. 

“The big problem for most organizations,” Supekar emphasized, “is that their systems remain disconnected with multiple sources of truth creating confusion and lack of trust among teams.” Companies need to invest in interoperable systems to build the basics blocks they could scale their supply chain.

Supekar highlights “AI glues the three strands of the #TripleHelixSupplyChainDNA to craft the #UnshakenSupplyChain.”

Leadership at the Crossroads: Teams, Training, and Trust

Supply Chain leaders now need to look beyond robust supply chain architectures but build high-performing teams and empower them with smart-decision making. To weather the current and future unforeseen global conflicts, Supekar shared his secret behind building his organization. “We are not looking for textbook smartness in engineering or analytics but talent that can switch hats from geopolitical strategy, data engineering and business acumen while understanding the technical aspects of the product.”

As Supekar shared during the BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain conference panel on The Evolving Role of the CSCO in 2025, today’s leaders need to focus on not just the supply chain but also incorporating smart tools and cultivating talent pipelines. On similar lines, Supekar concluded at the executive roundtable on Building a Smart Supply Chain – Empowering Our People with the Tools to Make Smart Decisions at Manifest 2025 that real-time, interoperable tools are crucial to build resilience but it’s not just the systems but people who run them matter the most.

Looking Forward: Ensuring Supply Chain has a seat at the Exec table

Once viewed merely as a cost center, Supply Chain now is a critical competitive differentiator. Today, every C-level executive is focused on financial resilience, operational agility, and real-time visibility into risk exposure. Every hire. Every meeting. Every strategic move. If it doesn’t strengthen the company’s financial engine—don’t do it.

Supekar stresses that the supply chain function is best suited to strategize and respond with transparency, scenario-driven simulations, and supplier diversification reports. In the example of tariffs as a global conflict, Supekar, during Episode 75 of The Supply Chain Show™, said “Tariffs change cost dynamics, but more importantly, they force us to holistically reevaluate our sourcing architecture.”

The evolving economic warfare fueled by geopolitical instability is here to stay, it’s our new world. And, leaders like Abhijit Supekar are not only sharing their experiences over the past decade of global disruptions but providing a battle-ready blueprint for embracing the #TripleHelixSupplyChainDNA framework for crafting your own #UnshakenSupplyChains to thrive in these uncertain times and build your competitive moat for lifetime.

About the company: Xraised is a premier platform dedicated to providing insightful interviews and thought leadership across a wide range of industries. By connecting thought leaders, innovators, and professionals, Xraised aims to provide valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of business.

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