What would the digital ad supply chain look like if we restarted it from scratch?

Ad tech has developed an immense amount of scar tissue over the years, as cookies, opaque intermediaries and excessive ad requests have piled on to the industry.

Like knee surgery to remove built-up damage, we need to shave away unnecessary auction layers and misaligned incentives. This scar tissue has formed as the ecosystem has grown in complexity, yielding both opportunities and inefficiencies.

A single digital ad impression may now pass through multiple auctions and intermediaries before reaching its destination, with each layer adding costs and latency. Programmatic has unlocked scale and automation, but it’s also introduced murky fees and misaligned incentives that drive up costs without necessarily improving outcomes.

But what if we could start from scratch?

What would a digital supply chain — designed with today’s technology, trends and challenges in mind — look like?

We’re in a unique moment where we can rethink and rebuild this supply chain to forge a more direct, transparent path from publisher inventory to advertiser demand. This shift isn’t just about optimization; it’s about reclaiming transparency, improving ad performance and ensuring that more working media dollars reach quality publishers.

Why now is the right time

The digital ad supply chain has reached an inflection point. Programmatic technology has matured and enabling it can no longer be dismissed as merely “remnant.”

This evolution provides advertisers with scale and automation while requiring publishers to take greater control over their inventory. At the same time, trust in walled gardens is eroding as advertisers demand greater transparency and accountability. The shift away from cookie-based measurement and evolving identity solutions underscores the urgency of reimagining the ecosystem.

Still, even with these advances, inflated costs and complexity continue to exist. Restructuring the supply chain can eliminate these obstacles and create a more direct, transparent and effective bridge between publishers and advertisers.

Building the open garden

Reimagining the digital ad supply chain isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about fostering innovation, transparency and trust in an industry that has long struggled with all three. We must break the system down to its fundamental truths and rebuild it from there to achieve this. From my perspective, this boils down to the following three basic principles. Rethinking the system with these principles at its core enables a supply chain that is simpler, more efficient, and more equitable.

1. Direct connections drive better outcomes: When publishers and advertisers connect directly through programmatic infrastructure, media dollars flow more efficiently, reducing waste, increasing transparency and improving performance. Marketers gain greater control over placements, clearer cost visibility and higher-quality impressions that deliver real impact.
2. An open ecosystem enables control and flexibility: Unlike walled gardens that dictate the terms and limit data access, an open garden fosters interoperability and transparency. Marketers can work directly with trusted publishers and tech partners, ensuring budgets are spent more effectively and ads appear in the right environments.
3. Sophisticated software levels the playing field: The advanced ad tech tools that once made walled gardens indispensable are now widely accessible, empowering both brands and publishers to take ownership of their media strategy. This democratization enables more flexible, scalable and high-performing transactions for all stakeholders.

For marketers, this shift isn’t just a technical evolution. It’s also a business imperative. A reimagined supply chain enables them to allocate budgets more efficiently, measure success more accurately and ensure ads reach real audiences in premium environments. They see an opportunity to cut through the noise, reclaim transparency and drive better results.

The path forward requires collaboration across the industry. Advertisers, publishers and technology providers must be willing to embrace change. The rewards — a more transparent, efficient and impactful digital advertising landscape — are well worth the effort. Let’s help the open garden grow.

This op-ed represents the views and opinions of the author and not of The Current, a division of The Trade Desk, or The Trade Desk. The appearance of the op-ed on The Current does not constitute an endorsement by The Current or The Trade Desk.