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Auto Supply Chain Champions

Auto Supply Chain Champions

Written by: QAD | Redzone
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We really can’t predict the future … because nobody can. What we can do, though, is help auto manufacturers recognize, prepare for, and profit from whatever comes next. Auto Supply Chain Champions gives you timely and relevant insights and best practices from industry leaders.Powered by QAD | Redzone Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • From Playing With AI to Putting It to Work: A Practical Guide for Supply Chain and IT Leaders

    From Playing With AI to Putting It to Work: A Practical Guide for Supply Chain and IT Leaders
    May 11 2026
    Most of us are playing with AI; a few are putting it to work. The gap between the two is the difference between curiosity and a competitive edge.Jan Griffiths and Tom Roberts sit down with Cheryl Thompson, founder of the Cheryl Thompson AI Adoption Advisory Practice and one of the most practical voices in AI adoption today. With over 1,400 hours of hands-on learning, Cheryl has gone deep on what works, what doesn't, and where most people get stuck.This conversation is for the supply chain and IT professional who has dabbled in ChatGPT, gotten frustrated, and walked away. Cheryl breaks down the real difference between an AI assistant, a specialist, and an AI employee in plain English. She shares the prompt structure she uses every day, the mindset shift that separates the curious from the capable, and three things every supply chain professional should do this week to move from playing around to producing results.Themes Discussed in This EpisodeWhy AI isn't going to take your job, but someone who knows AI willThe RCRQ prompt structure: Role, Context, Request, QuestionsAI assistant vs. specialist vs. AI employee, explained The Custom GPT, Claude project, and Gemini Gem comparison in plain EnglishWhy AI will lie to you confidently if you don't push backThe Parkinson's law trap: what to do with the time AI gives backPractical use cases for procurement: RFQ documentation, supplier evaluation, negotiation prepWhy human relationships still matter more than ever in supplier developmentThree things to do this week to move from playing with AI to using itThis podcast is powered by QAD RedZone.Featured GuestName: Cheryl ThompsonTitle: Founder, Cheryl Thompson AI Adoption Advisory PracticeAbout: Cheryl is on a mission to help small business owners and corporate professionals stop playing with AI and start getting real value from it. With more than 1,400 hours of dedicated AI learning and three rounds through an intensive 12-week training program, she has built a practice focused on practical adoption, not hype. Cheryl runs workshops and learning labs tailored by function, including supply chain and procurement, helping professionals build prompts, specialists, and AI workflows that fit how they actually work.Connect: LinkedInAbout Your HostsJan GriffithsJan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.Tom Roberts (Co-host)Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.Mentioned in this Episode:Henry Cloud, BoundariesDavid Allen, Getting Things DoneThe Eisenhower MatrixCheryl's upcoming Learning Lab for supply chain and procurement professionalsEpisode Highlights[03:11] The 1,400-Hour Rabbit Hole: How Cheryl’s curiosity about AI turned into an obsession and a full-scale commitment to helping people adopt AI with confidence.[08:20] The RCRQ Prompt Structure That Actually Works: Cheryl breaks down her practical framework for prompting AI effectively using role, context, request, and clarifying questions.[09:15] Custom GPT, Claude Project, Gemini Gem: Different platforms. Same concept. Cheryl explains how AI specialists and agents work behind the scenes.[12:57] AI Is the Loud, Confident Colleague Who Sometimes Makes Things Up: Why AI hallucinations happen, how people misuse AI like a search engine, and the importance of pushing back on outputs.[14:05] Parkinson’s Law Meets AI: Tom explores the real challenge companies face once AI gives employees back hours of productive time.[17:29] Only 27% of the Workday Is Real Work: Cheryl shares Asana research showing how administrative overload prevents professionals from focusing on high-value work.[18:20] Negotiation Prep Is an Ideal AI Use Case: From supplier negotiations to procurement strategy, Cheryl explains how AI can sharpen preparation and confidence.[19:37] Why Human Skills Matter More Than Ever: Jan reflects on how AI creates space for relationship-building, supplier collaboration, and the human side of supply chain leadership.[21:50] Three Practical Ways to Start Using AI This Week: Cheryl gives supply chain and IT professionals a simple roadmap for moving beyond experimentation into real AI adoption.Top Quotes[13:34] Cheryl Thompson: “AI is not going to take your job. Someone that knows AI is going to take your job.”[14:32] Tom Roberts: “Are people ready to say, okay, I've saved all this time, great. Now, what do I do?”[19:43] Cheryl Thompson...
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    27 mins
  • When the Hacker Changes a One to a Zero

    When the Hacker Changes a One to a Zero
    Apr 27 2026
    The real cyber threat isn't someone stealing your data. It's someone quietly changing a one to a zero on your shop floor, and you not noticing until something breaks.Cybersecurity used to be the topic everyone talked about. Then it went quiet. Now, with AI accelerating attack capability and quantum computing on the horizon, it's more urgent than ever, and most automotive manufacturers are not ready.In this episode, Jan Griffiths and co-host Tom Roberts sit down with Klint Walker, co-founder of Rule of Three Security and a 20-year veteran of federal cyber leadership. Klint has spent his career protecting critical infrastructure across the southeast, and he knows exactly where the holes are in manufacturing operations.This conversation goes beyond the headlines. The flashy denial-of-service stories get the press, but the real risk is the integrity attack, the quiet manipulation that changes a value, degrades a part, or corrupts a backup. In a world where OT, IT, and IoT have all converged, the attack surface is bigger than most C-suites realize.Themes Discussed in This EpisodeWhy integrity attacks, not data breaches, are the threat manufacturers should fear mostHow OT systems built for standalone operation became cyber liabilities the moment they got connectedWhy "convenience is the opposite of security" and what that means for your shop floorConfidentiality, availability, and integrity: the three pillars and why you can't optimize for all three at onceAI as a force multiplier for both defenders and attackers, and why only AI can defend against AIThe quantum computing arms race and why your encryption catalog matters nowWhy 70% of cybersecurity is policy, process, and people, not technologyThe disconnect between the C-suite and the front line on what actually needs protectingWhy containerizing AI matters: the cautionary tale of an AI that exposed CEO downsizing memosTabletop exercises: making the hard decisions before you are in crisisThis podcast is powered by QAD RedZone.Featured GuestName: Klint WalkerTitle: Co-Founder, Rule of Three SecurityAbout: Klint has 20 years of experience spanning federal, DOD, and private industry cybersecurity leadership. He has protected critical infrastructure across the southeast United States and holds a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Homeland Security and Defense. At Rule of Three Security, he helps organizations build cybersecurity programs grounded in the three pillars of the field: confidentiality, availability, and integrity.Connect: LinkedInAbout Your HostsJan GriffithsJan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.Tom Roberts (Co-host)Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.Episode Highlights[00:03:21] What is cybersecurity, really? Klint opens with the question every C-suite should be able to answer but rarely can. It comes down to three pillars: confidentiality, availability, and integrity, and what those mean is different for every organization.[00:07:30] The integrity attack nobody is talking about. Threat actors changing a one to a zero. Manipulating a girder spec. Degrading a part. The attacks that don't make the news but can quietly compromise everything you ship.[00:10:00] The bank ransomware integrity story. Klint walks through how attackers can poison backups so that when you restore, you restore their fraudulent accounts as trusted data. Now apply that to a manufacturing BOM, a quality record, or a contract.[00:12:43] AI as the new attacker advantage. Reconnaissance that used to take weeks now takes 15 minutes. Threat actors are using AI to map employees, build social engineering campaigns, and stay undetected once inside.[00:16:50] The quantum arms race. Most organizations cannot tell you where they are using encryption, let alone whether it is quantum-ready. That cataloging exercise has to start now.[00:19:45] The five things a manufacturing C-suite should do. It starts with one question: have you defined cybersecurity for your organization? Most boards have never been briefed on the state of their own program.[00:21:30] The bank teller test. From the teller to the C-suite, every level of a bank gives a different answer to "what is the most important thing this business does?" If your front line is protecting the wrong thing, your cybersecurity program is broken before it starts.[00:24:22] The AI containment ...
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    33 mins
  • Q1 Is Done. What Did It Teach Us and What's Coming Next?

    Q1 Is Done. What Did It Teach Us and What's Coming Next?
    Apr 13 2026
    The rear view mirror exists for a reason. Q1 is done. Jan Griffiths and co-host Tom Roberts look back at what Q1 revealed and look ahead at what Q2 demands. Tariff volatility. AI embedded in every executive's day. The domain knowledge gap that's quietly killing AI ROI. And a Q2 lineup built to help automotive leaders stop reacting and start acting.Over a year of tariff chaos has tested every supply chain in this industry. The companies that survived didn't just get lucky. They had data at their fingertips, not buried in spreadsheets or locked in someone's head. The ones still struggling? Still chasing Billy to find Susie's spreadsheet.And then there's AI. It's no longer theoretical. It's in everyone's day. But domain knowledge is the gap nobody's talking about. Commodity codes, customer master records, plant-level data inconsistencies. AI doesn't figure that out on its own. The humans who know the business have to be in the loop.In Q2, Jan and Tom are bringing in the guests who can help close those gaps. Cheryl Thompson on making AI practically useful for the average automotive professional. Klint Walker on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities hiding in plain sight on the shop floor. And a CIO whose entire focus is putting data in the hands of the people, and the culture shift that demands.Themes Discussed in This EpisodeSurviving a year of tariff chaos and what it exposedWhy "at your fingertips" data is the real competitive edgeThe volatility problem: it's not tariffs, it's the constant changeWhy the old automotive playbook no longer worksAgentic AI: the promise, the pitfalls, and the domain knowledge gapBreaking down silos between function and IT for AI to drive valueQ1 guest highlights: Marty Rathsburg, Dr. Bryan Reimer, Zack from RedZoneQ2 preview: Cheryl Thompson on practical AI, Klint Walker on cybersecurity, and a CIO on a data-first journeyThis podcast is powered by QAD RedZone.About Your HostsJan GriffithsJan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.Tom Roberts (Co-host)Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.Mentioned in the Episode:The Gap in the Gain by Dr. Benjamin Hardy Agentic AI Isn’t the Future. It’s the Line Between Winners and Laggards with Sanjay Brahmawar and Bryan ReimerThe First 90 Days: How to Take Over a Purchasing Organization and Win with Marty RathsburgBeyond Dashboards: Building a Connected Workforce with Zack SosebeeEpisode Highlights[00:01:10] Q1 in Review: Stop and Look at the Gain: Jan frames the episode around Dr. Benjamin Hardy's concept of the Gap and the Gain. The industry rarely stops to measure what it's actually achieved.[00:02:39] Data at Your Fingertips, or Not: Tariff disruption exposed the visibility gap. Tom describes the reality for most companies: chasing data across systems, people, and spreadsheets instead of having it ready when it matters.[00:04:16] The Old Playbook Is Broken: The way automotive operates, in silos and reactively, isn't built for a world where tariffs, geopolitics, and disruption arrive simultaneously and without warning.[00:08:11] Agentic AI: Not a Light Switch: Jan pushes back on the idea that AI eliminates headcount overnight. It requires intention, training, human-in-the-loop thinking, and a deliberate build-out of trust.[00:08:45] Domain Knowledge Is the AI Gap No One Talks About: The real barrier to AI delivering value isn't the technology. It's understanding the data structures, commodity codes, and business logic the AI has to work with, and that requires people who know the domain.[00:12:08] Q2 Preview: What's Coming: Cheryl Thompson on making AI practically useful. Klint Walker on cybersecurity blind spots in manufacturing. And a CIO focused on putting data in the hands of the people and the culture shift that requires.[00:19:34] Systems of Record to Systems of Action: Jan and Tom land on the core challenge: automotive must change how it makes decisions, breaks down silos, and uses data, or the disruption will keep winning.Top Quotes[00:05:45] Jan Griffiths: "The world that we lived in before, it's gone. You might as well forget it. The key now is to adapt to the world that we're in."[00:06:09] Tom Roberts: "Where you have your customs folks maybe buried in supply chain somewhere and they're kind of a, back, back, back, back office function. You can't do that. You can't do that with that process or the ...
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    22 mins
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