We're proud to announce that Lisa Backlin, Group Vice President of Supply Chain at Parts Town Unlimited, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Women in Supply Chain Forum™ Award, presented by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. 

This prestigious award recognizes outstanding female supply chain professionals whose accomplishments, leadership and mentorship are helping shape the future of the industry. Honorees are recognized not only for driving operational excellence and innovation, but also for creating pathways for the next generation of supply chain leaders. 

Lisa exemplifies these qualities every day. With more than 20 years of global supply chain and operations experience, she has built a career spanning finance, inventory planning, transportation, network design and large-scale distribution operations. That breadth of experience has shaped a leadership approach that brings together strategic thinking, operational expertise and a strong commitment to people. 

At Parts Town Unlimited, Lisa has helped strengthen and scale global supply chain operations by advancing flexible network design strategies, leveraging AI-powered analytics and expanding the use of robotics and automation. Her work is focused on balancing service, cost and growth while ensuring customers receive the right parts accurately and on time. Just as importantly, she empowers teams to challenge assumptions, identify opportunities and continuously improve how they work. 

A defining part of Lisa's leadership is her commitment to developing others. She actively mentors supply chain professionals and works to create opportunities for women to grow, lead and bring their perspectives to the industry. Through her board service with Supply Chain Gals, Lisa extends that commitment beyond Parts Town Unlimited, supporting a broader community focused on connection, mentorship and advancement for women in supply chain. 

Her own career journey also gives her a valuable perspective as a mentor. After beginning her career in the nonprofit sector at the Field Museum, Lisa transitioned into supply chain through a finance role at Grainger before moving into inventory planning, transportation and network design. She later made the unconventional move into field operations, leading a high-volume distribution center with more than 600 employees and 20,000 daily orders. Those varied experiences have given her firsthand insight into the value of taking on new challenges, building skills across disciplines and creating opportunities for others to do the same. 

As women continue to play an increasingly influential role in driving innovation and transforming supply chains, this recognition highlights the tremendous contributions leaders like Lisa make both professionally and personally. Her ability to pair operational excellence with mentorship and people development demonstrates the kind of leadership that creates lasting impact, not only on business performance, but on the future of the profession.