From the Director's Desk October 2025

Welcome to the third edition of Supply Chain Link for 2025. Covering agriculture to retail and trade, we trust this edition proves both interesting and valuable to your consideration of supply chain practice and research. 

In our first article Professor Ismail Golgeci, recently appointed Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Auckland, provides insight into what’s going on in global supply chains, and how we should be responding.   We then have an article by Joe Schmieg discussing how Sales and Operations Planning can assist in on-line and retailing.

The final three articles relate to New Zealand agricultural supply chains. 
Dr Spring Zhou outlines the benefits of agricultural co-ops and contracts in improving sustainability.  Dr Mohammad Umar then challenges thinking around agility, including in the dairy industry.  And Dr Maryam Mirzaei reports the results of a recent study on technology in perishable supply chains, focusing on seafood.

Finally, a note about the Centre’s Advisory Group which provides guidance as we seek to build supply chain research and capability in New Zealand. This year we’ve welcomed eight new members:

Darren Porteous (GM, Supply Chain, Briscoe Group), Hamish Jackson (Head of Supply Chain, Placemakers), Commodore Maxine Lawes (Commander Logistics, Defence Logistics Command, NZ Defence Force), Richard Marshall (GM Supply Chain, Air New Zealand), Santiago Aon (Director, Global Supply Chain, Fonterra), Sebastian Doelle (Manager, Trade and Supply Chains, MBIE), Tessa Auelia (GM, Container Operations, Planning and Engineering, Port of Auckland), and Professor Tom Goldsby (Dee and Jimmy Haslam Chair of Logistics, and Professor of Supply Chain Management, Haslam College of Business, and Co-executive Director, Global Supply Chain Institute, University of Tennessee – Knoxville).

Do let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback on this issue. 

David Robb
Acting Director, CSCM