A missed delivery in a public health supply chain is never just a logistics problem. It can mean a child misses a vaccine, a patient goes without treatment, or an entire community loses trust in its healthcare system.
In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton welcomes Don Hicks, CEO of Optilogic, and Taylor Wilkerson, Executive Director of Design for Life, for a powerful conversation about using supply chain design to help more people access essential medicines. Don and Taylor explain why many public health supply chains face the same complexity as the world’s largest commercial networks, but must operate with far fewer resources, limited infrastructure, and consequences measured in human lives rather than profit. Taylor shares how outdated systems, manual processes, and limited visibility can prevent medicine from reaching the communities that need it most, while Don explains why managing the existing network is not enough. Meaningful progress requires redesigning the system itself.
The conversation explores why resilient supply chains must be built before a crisis hits. Taylor explains how better data, flexible networks, and stronger design can help healthcare systems respond to outbreaks and demand surges. He also shows how a single stockout can lead to missed care, greater health risks, and lost trust. The medicine may cost pennies. The real challenge is getting it to the right people at the right time.
Don and Taylor also talk about how AI can make advanced supply chain tools more accessible. Local health leaders could ask questions in plain language, test scenarios, and make faster decisions without relying on outside consultants. By putting planning and optimization tools in the hands of the people closest to the problem, Design for Life aims to improve healthcare access and save lives.
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Intro
(02:31) Meet Don Hicks and Taylor Wilkerson
(07:25) Taylor’s path into public health supply chains
(09:27) Don’s experience with global healthcare delivery
(13:06) The mission behind Design for Life
(17:57) Why resilient supply chains must come before crisis
(20:04) How public healthcare networks really operate
(22:02) Why managing the current system is not enough
(24:23) Turning supply chain studies into action
(27:48) Two forces reshaping global health supply chains
(30:17) How AI can democratize supply chain design
(33:15) The human cost of medicine stockouts
(37:46) Making advanced planning tools easier to use
(40:38) Why the best user interface may be none
(44:40) Empowering local experts to make decisions
(48:42) How to support Design for Life
(51:13) Finding purpose through supply chain work
Additional Links & Resources:
This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/public-health-supply-chain-redesign-bigger-band-aids-will-not-work-1621
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