Ilse De Bruin, Managing Partner at Trade Exchange, joins host Mudassar Malik on Behind the Growth to break down how logistics and supply chain leaders are navigating a world where volatility is no longer episodic, but constant. Drawing from real operating environments, Ilse explains why today’s disruptions, like tariffs, trade policy shifts, and capacity constraints, are forcing enterprises to rethink how decisions get made, not just how systems are built. 

The conversation reframes logistics from asset orchestration to decision orchestration. Ilse explains why owning infrastructure matters less than the ability to interpret signals, simulate trade-offs, and act quickly under pressure. She makes a clear distinction between digitization and intelligence, outlining why visibility alone doesn’t move the needle unless systems can surface impact, prioritize action, and support judgment in real time. 

At the ground level, Ilse gets practical about where customer experience breaks down. She describes how unclear ownership, fragmented handoffs, and slow exception handling force customers to chase answers. Offering a solution, she details how leading organizations reduce friction by standardizing decision thresholds, aligning teams around shared context, and embedding decision support directly into daily workflows. An example of airline disruption management shows what consequence-aware operations look like when done well. 

The episode closes with a grounded take on AI as Ilse cuts through the hype around full autonomy to explain where AI is actually creating value today, and why context, interoperability, and human judgment still matter. For enterprise leaders, Ilse offers a clear-eyed look at how to modernize complex operations without losing control, trust, or accountability. 

Ilse also shares her views on:
- Why volatility in supply chain never settles
- Owning assets is no longer the advantage
- How digitization quietly fails
- Why customers chase clarity
- The limits of AI autonomy

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