Supply Chain Management Review

AI infrastructure is often described as a GPU shortage. That description is incomplete. A deployable AI cluster requires far more than accelerators. It depends on advanced packaging, high-bandwidth memory, servers, racks, networking, storage, liquid-cooling equipment, power capacity, grid interconnection, land, permits, skilled labor, and commissioning. A GPU is not usable capacity until it is integrated into that larger physical system.

First Shift is Supply Chain Management Review’s daily briefing on the supply chain developments executives need to know. Each edition identifies the most consequential news in logistics, procurement, planning, manufacturing, technology and global trade. Today is Monday, Sept. 14. Drone damage shut Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a critical bypass around the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk that limited Red Sea export inventories could tighten fuel supply and transportation markets.

Vendors, consultants and internal transformation teams routinely propose goods-to-person systems, automated storage and retrieval, robotic picking and AI-driven planning tools to operations under throughput pressure. Some of these investments create real value. Others absorb capital and management attention while the underlying operational problems persist untouched, automated but not fixed.

First Shift is Supply Chain Management Review’s daily briefing on the supply chain developments executives need to know. Each edition identifies the most consequential news in logistics, procurement, planning, manufacturing, technology and global trade. Today is Friday, Sept. 11. Dell says shortages now extend from memory, storage and processors to rack-level cooling, networking and power components, prompting major customers to order earlier and share forecasts through collaborative planning tools.

In concert with the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Commerce and Treasury, the Trump Administration is creating a bold initiative to hold both domestic and foreign companies to a higher standard on their imports into the United States. CBP is raising the bar and tightening up on several key areas to ensure an even playing field in global trade.

First Shift is Supply Chain Management Review’s daily briefing on the supply chain developments executives need to know. Each edition identifies the most consequential news in logistics, procurement, planning, manufacturing, technology and global trade. Today is Thursday, Sept. 10. Brent settled above $100 as attacks involving Iran and the United States intensified, deepening disruption near the Strait of Hormuz and raising fuel, freight and inflation risks for global supply chains.

We spend enormous effort trying to build trust across the supply chain. The joint S&OP offsite where sales and operations finally shake hands over one plan. The shared dashboard everyone agreed to. The “one number” the whole organization signed up to last quarter. And most of us have watched it relax back within a quarter—the handshake fades, the defensive forecast padding returns, the planner quietly starts haircutting sales’ numbers again.

First Shift is Supply Chain Management Review’s daily briefing on the supply chain developments executives need to know. Each edition identifies the most consequential news in logistics, procurement, planning, manufacturing, technology and global trade. Today is Tuesday, Sept. 9. Iran and the United States struck multiple tankers near the Strait of Hormuz as the conflict intensified, further constraining a corridor that normally carries about one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Early-bird registration for the 2026 NextGen Supply Chain Conference will end Monday, Sept. 14, marking the final opportunity for attendees to take advantage of this special discounted-registration price for the Oct. 21–23 event at the W Nashville. Registration includes access to the conference’s keynotes, awards presentations, featured presentations and interactive Small Group Sessions.

First Shift is Supply Chain Management Review’s daily briefing on the supply chain developments executives need to know. Each edition identifies the most consequential news in logistics, procurement, planning, manufacturing, technology and global trade—with concise context and links to the original reporting.