# Aleks Sidorecs

> Re-thinking operating models for the moment operations meet the algorithm. Two decades running global supply chains, now applied to how physical operations, business architecture and AI get designed together.

## What this is

The personal site of Aleks Sidorecs, supply chain, operations and technology transformation leader. The subject is the redesign of operating models for the moment operations meet the algorithm: how physical operations, business architecture and AI get designed together. It is written from two decades of running global supply chains and published as series - the first is Heuristics, one-page rules a practitioner can use. The lab where the same thinking gets built into tools is Automatiqa Lab at https://www.automatiqa.io, a separate entity founded by the same person.

## Retrieving this site

Every page is also served as clean Markdown: append `.md` to the URL, e.g. https://www.sidorecs.com/about.md. The whole site in one file is at https://www.sidorecs.com/llms-full.txt. Sitemap: https://www.sidorecs.com/sitemap.xml. Feed: https://www.sidorecs.com/rss.xml.

## Glossary

- https://www.sidorecs.com/glossary/ - the terms coined in the writing here, one sentence each, each linked to its source page; also as markdown at https://www.sidorecs.com/glossary.md. Terms: Asymmetric supply chain, Contractual flow, Ecosystem calibration, Four-flow orchestration, Heuristics, Hybrid supply chain, Idealised Supply Chain Design, Outside Variance Ratio (OVR), Requisite variety in supply chain, Supply chain orchestration, Symmetric supply chain, Variety Shortfall Test, Zero-shot model.

## Archive

- https://www.sidorecs.com/archive/ - everything published here, newest first. Combined feed: https://www.sidorecs.com/rss.xml.

## Insights

- https://www.sidorecs.com/insights/ - articles written for this site, and articles, talks and interviews published elsewhere, newest first.
- Article: What does supply chain orchestration actually orchestrate? - https://www.sidorecs.com/insights/supply-chain-orchestration/ (2026-10-04) - Orchestrate inside the walls, but calibrate beyond them. Markdown: https://www.sidorecs.com/insights/supply-chain-orchestration.md

## Notebooks

- https://www.sidorecs.com/notebooks/ - technical studies written chapter by chapter.
- Zero-shot models in supply chain - https://www.sidorecs.com/notebooks/zero-shot-models-in-supply-chain/ - Any supply chain operator logs in, defines the columns to predict, and gets results with certain confidence intervals.
  - Chapter 01: Problem statement: what I'm solving - https://www.sidorecs.com/notebooks/zero-shot-models-in-supply-chain/01-problem-statement/ - Markdown: https://www.sidorecs.com/notebooks/zero-shot-models-in-supply-chain/01-problem-statement.md

## Events

- https://www.sidorecs.com/events/ - every event, newest first; also as markdown at https://www.sidorecs.com/events.md.
- 2026-10-02: 17th SCTA Forum & Dinner, 2m2c - Montreux Music & Convention Centre, Montreux (panellist). I joined the logistics panel at the Swiss Coffee Trade Association's 17th Forum in Montreux with Dany Barkha of Sucafina, José Luis Pérez of Commodity Supplies AG, Mirja Nibbe of CMA CGM and Christian Jacob Hansen of the Global Maritime Forum, moderated by Dean Sanders of Etymos. The question was how coffee moves beyond reactive crisis management to connected flow across ports, shipping, data and forecasting. Event page: https://www.sc-ta.ch/events/17th-forum-dinner-2026/ Reflections: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alxsidr_two-days-in-montreux-with-700-coffee-ugcPost-7512457499749490688-R9cT/
- 2026-09-28: AI-enabled Negotiation Preparation, online on Zoom (panellist). I joined the expert panel at the CIPS Denmark webinar with Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence of CatalystProcurement and Dr. Charlotte de Brabandt of ZF Group. After start-ups showcased their AI tools for negotiation preparation, we stress-tested them with our own questions, then took the audience's live. Event page: https://events.cips.org/AIEnabledNegotiationPreparation
- 2026-06-18: The Invisible Chain, Ambassador House, Zurich (co-host). As a CIPS Switzerland committee member, I co-hosted The Invisible Chain with Martin Weis of Capgemini - an evening in Zurich on how AI-driven operating models reshape margins across procurement, supply chain and finance. Event page: https://www.capgemini.com/ch-en/news/events/the-invisible-chain/ Reflections: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/invisible-chain-event-ai-supply-biggest-lever-aleks-sidorecs-fuvie/

## About

- https://www.sidorecs.com/about/ - Aleks Sidorecs is a supply chain, operations and technology transformation leader based in Switzerland, with two decades running global supply chains at Procter & Gamble, Zeppelin, Johnson & Johnson, Holcim, Olam and ED&F Man Commodities, now Head of Supply Chain & Digital Transformation at Volcafe. He writes about re-thinking operating models for the moment operations meet the algorithm, and founded Automatiqa Lab to build the tools that test that thinking.
- Also known as Aleksandrs Sidorecs, Alex Sidorecs, Alecs Sidorec. The person is one entity across this site, Automatiqa Lab, LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alxsidr/), GitHub (https://github.com/alxsidr) and Wikidata (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q140796815); the Lab is his project, not a separate author.

## Heuristics

Heuristics are one-page rules for operations and supply chain, from a practitioner who keeps learning and applying them.
Index: https://www.sidorecs.com/heuristics/ - feed https://www.sidorecs.com/heuristics/rss.xml - URL pattern https://www.sidorecs.com/heuristics/{slug}/

- Heuristic 02: Asymmetric supply chain physics - https://www.sidorecs.com/heuristics/02-asymmetric-supply-chain-physics/ - Symmetric vs asymmetric supply chains, and the Outside Variance Ratio that tells you which one you're in. Maxim: "Diagnose the shape before you prescribe the cure." (published 2026-09-16, updated 2026-09-21)
- Heuristic 01: Requisite variety in supply chain - https://www.sidorecs.com/heuristics/01-requisite-variety-in-supply-chain/ - Any operation can absorb only as much variation as it has responses for. The Variety Shortfall Test finds where it loses. Maxim: "Match the variety or pay for the difference." (published 2026-09-08, updated 2026-09-21)

In the drawer: 03. Assess the loop, not the company; 04. Dissolve the problem, don't optimise the supply chain.

## License

- Heuristics: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Mirrored as markdown at https://github.com/alxsidr/heuristics.
- Everything else: copyright Aleks Sidorecs. All rights reserved. Short quotations with attribution and a link are welcome; republication and derivative versions are not.

## Contact

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alxsidr/