Breaking Barriers: How Women Are Innovating Supply Chain

Recently, supply chain leaders and experts from the U.S., Canada and Mexico gathered at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, for the annual NASCO 2025 Continental Reunion. A tri-national network, NASCO is the leading organization focused on the competitiveness of the North American supply chain and is at the forefront of promoting collaboration among North American governments, businesses, and educational institutions for 30 years.

Our very own Lusine Atayan, Director of Logistics and Distribution spoke on a panel titled Seamless Synergy: The Building Blocks Of An Integrated Supply Chain. She offered valuable insight to companies and entrepreneurs seeking actionable leadership strategies to build integrated, resilient supply chain teams. She emphasized the vital role the supply chain industry plays in supporting the global and local economies by ensuring swift and efficient delivery of products to support female-owned businesses and entrepreneurs around the globe.

We sat with Lusine to learn more about her global role at Mary Kay innovating supply chain while navigating challenges with agility and confidence.  

Q1: How do you manage logistics at Mary Kay, and what does your role entail?

• At Mary Kay, our mission is to empower women around the world. We do business in more than 40 markets and support millions of female entrepreneurs who sell our beloved brand of beauty and skin care products. Therefore, we have a global responsibility to create the most efficient and agile transportation solutions to fulfill the product orders they depend on to maintain and grow their independent businesses.
• Every day, our team tackles daily challenges by leveraging innovative strategies, maintaining agility, and fostering collaboration across borders to put products into customers' hands worldwide. We continuously explore new logistics platforms, ports, and near-shoring opportunities.
• At the end of the day business ALWAYS finds a way to do business. 

Q2: Tell us how you embrace innovation in transportation: 

• Over the past two years, Mary Kay Transportation has been implementing a new transportation management system (TMS). This system aids in better understanding routing and consolidating loads more effectively. We now consolidate multiple shipments into a single container or truck, rather than making multiple runs with smaller or half-empty vehicles. The system also provides estimated routes and mileage, facilitating more efficient planning. It tells us what transportation mode and delivery speed level to use in order to deliver our goods on time and in the best condition, ensuring uninterrupted supply despite market disruptions.
• In its supply chain, Mary Kay utilizes real-time GPS trackers to track the loads, as well as a visibility platform that allows us to see the route, estimate the times of arrival as well as track our carbon footprint.
• Mary Kay was recognized by the Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Top Supply Chain Projects” award for our work on a shipment visibility solution in partnership with Tive, a leading provider of real-time supply chain visibility solutions. This innovative solution consolidates all real-time shipment data into one easy-to-use cloud platform allowing Mary Kay to receive and customize alerts for shipments in route. And it resulted in up to 50% reduction of outbound lead times for certain destinations in our planning systems in 2023 and 2024! 

Q3: In an environment revolutionized by AI and machine learning, what resources are essential to stay resilient in supply chain management?

• It’s all about the people, having the right teams, the right mindset, and the right processes. In supply chain management we focus on attracting a diverse group of people with highly developed soft skills: communication, collaboration, leadership, agility, problem-solving, and time management.
• We have created a unique “Transformation Team” whose sole task is to proactively look at business problems from various angles and find solutions. It’s a remarkably diverse and open-minded team, consisting of 50% women and 50% of men. They meet, learn, conduct research (both internally and externally), and regroup with agile solutions.  
• What motivates us is knowing that what we do truly makes a difference in the lives of millions of women and their customers daily. It helps us keep our priorities in order and puts a smile of satisfaction on our faces at the end of the day.

Q4: What advice would you give to someone starting or leading a business in today’s environment? What mindset helps you stay resilient?

• I’m fortunate to work in a company where our leaders invest in me and other women in our company. I have been a speaker at several supply chain conferences during the past several years, and it’s been a journey of growth and empowerment.
• At Mary Kay, it is all about serving women and empowering our independent beauty consultants. We must stay on course, and do not let disruptions get us off track. I recommend surrounding yourself with people who have an open mind and are hungry for learning, growing, and are not afraid of challenges.
• In the words of Mary Kay Ash, our founder: “There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.” My advice to you all is to choose which one you want to be.

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About Mary Kay
One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her dream beauty brand in Texas in 1963 with one goal: to enrich women’s lives. Learn more at marykayglobal.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or follow us on X.

About NASCO
Founded in 1994, North American Strategy for Competitiveness (NASCO) is the only tri-national network of North American governments, business, and educational institutions, driven by a common interest in collaboration along commercial corridors and trade networks. Learn more at nasconetwork.com. 

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