‘Supply Chains Run the World’ & Other Expert Insights From Simon Croom
Simon Croom, a speaker at the upcoming ASI Power Summit, discusses how to build agile supply chains, navigate tariffs and cost challenges, and why sustainability can’t be an afterthought.
Simon Croom, a professor of supply chain management at the University of San Diego, began his career in England, working for Jaguar Cars. He later founded several successful retail businesses before entering academia. That winding career path gives Croom a unique perspective, which he’ll bring to the ASI Power Summit in Scottsdale, AZ, Oct. 12 to 14.
In this episode of Promo Insiders, ASI Media’s Theresa Hegel chats with Croom about the importance of supply chains and the impact globalization and tariffs are having on them.
“Supply chain is the story of everything – it’s absolutely critical,” Croom says. “Supply chains run the world, and if we stop thinking about economies on national boundaries, and start to think about economies around supply chains, it completely transforms the way we see the economic system.”
Key Takeaways
• Simon Croom says his unconventional journey from Jaguar to retail entrepreneur to academic informs his ability to blend real-world business experience with research and consulting.
• Croom says supply chain resilience depends on agility, with companies needing to accept that yesterday’s strategies often won’t work tomorrow.
• Smaller firms can pivot faster but often lack resources to fully grasp supply chain risks, while larger firms benefit from broader visibility despite being slower to change.
• Croom notes that tariffs are unpredictable, but firms should look beyond sticker price and analyze broader cost drivers like supplier capacity, demand shifts and total cost management.
• He stresses that sustainability is a supply chain issue, from sourcing renewable materials to minimizing waste, and warns climate change is already reshaping global supply routes.
• Industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT, robotics and additive manufacturing will bring new transparency to supply chains, though Croom cautions that more information doesn’t always mean better decisions.
• He argues that supply chains, not national borders, are the real engines of the global economy – and that rethinking economics through this lens could shift how businesses and policymakers operate.