THE SUPPLY CHAIN INTERVIEW
Real-time visibility through technology Jabil’ s digital transformation journey spans approximately a decade, though Frank is adamant this transformation will never truly end. Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace – and supply chain systems must evolve with it to maintain competitive advantage and operational resilience.
The company’ s primary focus is achieving end-to-end supply chain ecosystem visibility that provides actionable intelligence rather than mere data.
This capability enables rapid reaction to disruptions anywhere in the world. Given Jabil’ s global footprint spanning multiple continents, speed is absolutely essential to maintaining customer production schedules.
“ If there’ s an earthquake in Japan, for example, we have the ability to understand in real time the impacts of that earthquake and how many suppliers could potentially be affected,” explains Frank.
“ We can then take steps to go and readdress that supply chain. Once we’ ve checked the supplier and made sure everybody’ s okay, we can then make decisions around ensuring we keep our customers in production.”
Ultimately, the goal is to maintain production, even during significant disruptions that would previously have caused major interruptions.
“WE’ VE HAD TO REALLY SHIFT OUR SUPPLY CHAIN TO AVOID AND MINIMISE THE DISRUPTION TARIFFS ARE BRINGING”
Frank McKay, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Jabil
Sustainability as a shared responsibility Sustainability has become central to Jabil’ s operations as environmental considerations become increasingly important to customers and regulators alike.
The company serves a host of technologically-advanced OEMs which have their own environmental commitments and targets.
“ They’ re looking for Jabil to help them with their own sustainability goals,” Frank continues.“ Pretty much every boardroom – certainly those at publiclytraded businesses – has goals these days. And we play a large part in understanding carbon footprint, for example.”
Of course, truly understanding carbon footprints is a matter that extends deep into multi-tier supply networks – essential to customers pursuing ambitious targets.
32 December 2025