Deep Domain Expertise in Service Supply Chain Planning, Recognized by Industry Leadership
Technology alone does not solve Service Supply Chain (SSC) complexity. Real results come from combining purpose-built platforms with deep domain expertise developed over decades. At Baxter Planning, that practitioner expertise is embedded into everything we do, from product design to autonomous planning outcomes.
That expertise was recently recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive. Mike Ross, Principal Product Strategist at Baxter Planning, has been named a 2026 Supply and Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know winner in the Leaders in Excellence category. This award honors professionals who demonstrate long-term leadership, innovation, and measurable impact across supply chain operations.
Mike Ross brings more than 30 years of SSC experience, including 25 years at Baxter Planning, working directly with over 100 global organizations across high-tech, medical, industrial, utilities, telecom, and aerospace industries. His career reflects the Practitioner Expertise that differentiates Baxter Planning, hands-on experience solving real-world service planning, execution, and resolution challenges.
Turning Experience Into Measurable Outcomes
Throughout his career, Mike has held nearly every critical role across the SSC lifecycle, including development, implementation, customer success, technical sales, and product strategy. That breadth gives him a unique ability to translate customer challenges into practical, scalable solutions.
One example is his leadership in designing planning capabilities for technician-held inventory. Many traditional planning tools treat technician vans like fixed warehouses, an assumption that breaks down in real service environments. By applying practitioner insight, Mike helped shape planning logic purpose-built for technician operations, enabling Baxter Planning customers to manage inventory across thousands of technicians globally.
In the past year, Mike also led a supply chain redesign initiative that helped a global customer save over $7 million annually by optimizing how shortage inventory was prioritized and deployed across the network. These results reflect what happens when experience guides optimization.
Guiding the Industry Toward Autonomous Planning
As the SSC evolves, Baxter Planning is leading the shift from manual and assisted planning to autonomous planning, powered by AI, that automatically forecasts demand, optimizes inventory, manages exceptions, and executes decisions at scale.
This evolution depends on embedding decades of planning judgment into AI models and workflows. Mike plays a key role in shaping how Baxter Planning applies AI to some of the most complex service parts challenges, including end-of-life and Last Time Buy planning.
By combining machine learning with practitioner-designed workflows, Baxter Planning enables customers to identify risk earlier, reduce write-offs, protect service levels, and improve sustainability outcomes, all while involving humans where strategy and governance matter most.
Industry Recognition That Reflects Baxter Planning’s Culture
The Supply and Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know award recognizes individual excellence, but it also reflects Baxter Planning’s broader culture. Our BaxterPredict platform and Planning as a Service model are built on the collective experience of practitioners who have spent decades navigating the Service Experience Storm and helping customers achieve a Service Experience Advantage.
Education and mentorship are central to this mission. Mike is widely recognized as an educator within Baxter Planning and across the industry, mentoring internal teams, advising customers, and presenting at leading service and supply chain forums.
“Service parts planning is one of the most complex areas of the supply chain, and the best solutions come from understanding how decisions play out in the real world. At Baxter Planning, we combine decades of practitioner expertise with purpose-built technology and AI to help organizations make better decisions automatically, while keeping humans focused on strategy and continuous improvement. While I’m honored by this recognition, I’m surrounded by an incredible team of deeply talented individuals, and I really consider this a team award.” – Mike Ross
We congratulate Mike on this well-earned recognition and thank him for 25 years of leadership and impact. His career exemplifies what sets Baxter Planning apart: deep domain expertise applied every day to deliver measurable service and financial outcomes.
