From the Field to the Future: A Conversation with Gary Bobb on Service Supply Chains, AI, and Planning Innovation

During ketteQuest 2025 in Atlanta, I had the opportunity to sit down with Gary Bobb, a seasoned leader in global service operations and a valued member of our Executive Advisory Board.

What makes Gary’s perspective especially compelling is that he’s experienced ketteQ from both sides. As a customer at Carrier, he led a billion-dollar service parts business and helped spearhead the global implementation of ketteQ’s planning solution. Now, as an advisor, he brings that same operational insight to help guide our future.

In our conversation, Gary shared hard-won lessons from the front lines of the service supply chain, explored the unique planning challenges that define the service world, and explained why he believes adaptive, AI-driven systems are the key to unlocking what’s next.

Q1: Let’s start with your background. How would you describe your career in the service space?

A: I’ve spent over three decades as a global service executive, leading teams responsible for equipment repair and maintenance—everything from medical devices at GE Healthcare to industrial HVAC systems at Carrier. In this world, success comes down to one thing: having the right person at the right time with the right part. That’s the moment of truth for the customer. And getting it wrong can mean equipment downtime, lost revenue, or worse.

Q2: How is the service supply chain different from a traditional manufacturing supply chain?

A: That’s a critical distinction. Manufacturing supply chains are all about forward planning—building products, shipping them, getting them on shelves. Service supply chains, on the other hand, are reactive and unpredictable. I might need a high-value part for a 1950s-era chiller tomorrow. It’s not just about having inventory—it’s about having the right inventory where and when you need it. That takes a different mindset, better forecasting, and flexible systems.

Q3: What’s been the biggest planning challenge that shaped how you approach service operations today?

A: At Carrier, we faced a huge challenge with end-of-life parts. When manufacturing stops producing a part, but you still have to service the equipment for decades, you have to find new suppliers, forecast long-term needs, and manage complex transitions. It’s one thing to make a last-time buy; it’s another to find a reliable contractor to make that part for the next 20 years. Planning that continuity across a global service footprint was one of the toughest—and most educational—challenges I faced.

Q4: How did you end up selecting ketteQ to solve these planning issues?

A: Carrier had a $1B spare parts business—half internal, half external—and our fulfillment rate was in the 70s. That just wasn’t good enough. We evaluated SAP, Kinaxis, Blue Yonder, even a homegrown tool, but nothing had the service mindset we needed. When I met the ketteQ team, I saw something different: deep expertise in service, a flexible and fast-to-implement solution, and a willingness to truly partner with us. We started with a pilot in China and scaled to Europe and North America from there.

What stood out was how ketteQ’s Salesforce-native architecture allowed us to quickly integrate the platform into our broader ecosystem—something none of the legacy vendors could do as easily.

Q5: What was your experience working with ketteQ during those implementations?

A: IT implementations are never easy, but the ketteQ team was phenomenal. We stayed on schedule, got to value fast, and perhaps most importantly, they adapted the solution as we went. Post-go-live, we didn’t get nickel-and-dimed for every tweak or new request—which happens far too often with large vendors. ketteQ gave us not just a system, but a true support model with a formalized hypercare and VIP service approach.

Their agile methodology and responsiveness made it feel like we had a startup mentality, even at global scale.

Q6: What results did you see from adopting ketteQ globally?

A: The qualitative impact was huge—standardizing how we planned and forecasted globally. We didn’t centralize the team, but we created a virtual planning organization where everyone followed the same methodology.

Quantitatively, the results were even more impressive:
- Service parts fulfillment improved from 70% to 88%
- Inventory turns increased from 3 to 4.5
- Working capital efficiency improved
- Customer satisfaction scores rose across key service metrics

With the groundwork in place, we had a clear path toward exceeding 90% fill rates—without bloating inventory.

Q7: Now that you’re on ketteQ’s Executive Advisory Board, what excites you most about where the company is headed?

A: A few things stand out. First, the growth. ketteQ went from a small team to a global organization, and every hire is top-tier. Second, the ability to scale without losing quality. And third, the technology. The way ketteQ is integrating AI and building adaptive, learning-based systems is the future. You can’t plan for every scenario manually, but an intelligent platform that learns and adjusts? That’s a game changer.

Q8: You’ve been both a customer and an insider. How is ketteQ different from other planning platforms?

A: A lot of vendors can check the feature-function boxes. But ketteQ is different because they genuinely invest in your success. It’s consultative, yes, but more importantly, it’s personal. They own your goals like they’re their own. If your fill rate is 70%, it becomes their mission to get it to 90%. That level of partnership is rare, and it’s a big reason they stand out.

And they do it without the overhead of traditional legacy systems. The time to value is months, not years. That’s what today’s service operations need.

Q9: Do you think service supply chains will ever be fully autonomous?

A: I think we can get to 75–80% autonomy in planning, especially for predictable parts. But there's always going to be a need for human oversight—especially when product lifecycles shift, new models launch, or logistics are disrupted. Systems can’t anticipate everything, and for high-value, high-risk items, you still need a human pilot.

Q10: Looking back, what advice would you give your younger self?

A: Three things. First, partner more closely with the finished goods supply chain team instead of treating them as separate. Second, lean into new technology like ketteQ sooner. We spent too much time on spreadsheets. And third, build a great team, but also realize that a breakthrough the platform can make the team better. With ketteQ, we saw how the technology actually helped us identify talent gaps and pull the organization forward faster.

Final Thoughts

Gary Bobb’s journey from field service executive to Executive Advisory Board member offers a rare 360-degree view of the service supply chain and why it demands more than traditional planning solutions. With a unique mix of deep expertise, fast execution, and adaptive technology, ketteQ isn’t just keeping pace—it’s changing the game.

Want to go deeper?

Learn more about the Carrier success story including the global rollout, the business case for change, and the measurable impact of adopting ketteQ by reading the full case study here.