[00:00:38] Good morning and welcome to a new episode of Supply Chain in Spanish. My name is Enrique Alvarez and now I have the great pleasure of having not only a very good guest, but also a friend of mine, Juan. How about Juan Carlos Ríos? How are you doing? Welcome.
[00:00:52] Very well, thank you very much. How about you?
[00:00:54] Very, very good. Ready for this great interview?
[00:00:57] I am ready. Actually, it is very interesting. I am very excited. So I think it’s going to be very, very interesting.
[00:01:04] I think so. How are you doing? How was your week? In general?
[00:01:06] Very good. Ups and downs, as always in logistics, but. But. Good. We came through, we came through and I think it was a week of a lot of learning for me and my team.
[00:01:17] An industry in which I say we will never get bored. There is always something, always something to solve, a problem to attack. So, thank you very much for being here with us. To all the people who listen to us and like interviews like these, please don’t forget to subscribe to Supply Chain Out in Spanish. And now, without further ado. With us today is David Contreras, currently Supply Chain Operations Manager for Martin Rea. David. How are you doing? How are you?
[00:01:48] Hello. What’s up? Good morning. A pleasure. A pleasure to be here. Thank you very much for the invitation and super excited to participate in this great project you have.
[00:01:55] Is it a pleasure to have you here with us and where are you joining us today? David.
[00:02:01] Querétaro. Querétaro.
[00:02:02] Mexico. Mexico. Perfect.
[00:02:06] Well, thank you very much first for accepting the invitation to our podcast. And to begin with, I’d like you to tell us a little bit about your story, where does it come from? Who is David, eh? How did David get started in this whole supply chain world?
[00:02:25] Of course. Juan Carlos. Well, let’s start at the beginning. I was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, a city and port for those who are listening to us in other parts of Mexico, Latin America and the world. It is a very important city and port in Mexico, located in the south of Tamaulipas, in the northwestern area, known as the Huasteca region. Rich in a lot of culture, but it has also been for years a city that has brought a lot, a lot of business, a lot of trade and is positioned as one of the most important ports worldwide. I was born there. I come from a modest family, I am the only son of this marriage. My father is a civil engineer, my mother has a career in accounting and I have. We started studying in Tampico in elementary school, but due to my father’s different jobs, we moved to the north of the country, where I finished elementary school and went back to Tampico to resume my secondary studies. And that’s where I start to see a little bit the reality of what this is, because life is a little bit older, you start to see things with a little bit more context and I realize that in my house there is a lack of it, eh? In other words, money coming in, we need more resources.
[00:04:03] My mother took up her job again at the age of 40 so she could also support the household. At that time I was looking at the option of also moving into something that would help me build a future. And I had the opportunity that in a visit we had at the high school level by the Tecnológico de Monterrey, a person who would later become a great mentor came to offer me a plan, a promise of life that for the moment I was living, it meant something very important, not at the time I thought well, when I finish my high school I do a high school, what am I going to do, I did not know it to be very honest, but when this person arrived, he started to tell me we have the Tampico campus. These are some of the opportunities that you can have while in high school. My first question is that I don’t have any money, but I have a good grade point average and I was very disciplined in my subjects. At that time I had an average of 99, so I was very good and he told me that we have scholarships that we can also make available to you, you pass an evaluation and of course, we want people like you who bring all the desire, the money. Here the truth does not matter.
[00:05:41] What to do, but it is an opportunity, isn’t it? Because I say many times that is what is missing for people like you and many people who listen to us or someone who gives them the opportunity to go out and prove themselves, right?
[00:05:56] Yes, yes. And fortunately I passed the process. I enter with a 90% scholarship and start my high school at Pico Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus.
[00:06:06] Yes, that’s right.
[00:06:07] That’s good and then from there I.
[00:06:09] I remain, but I’m sorry to interrupt you, but before we get into the part of your career, which is obviously very successful and we like it, we would like to hear a little more. Anything else you remember from childhood, anything else, anything, any stories or memories from your childhood? Do you like football? Something.
[00:06:29] Basketball, basketball. I tried to play it, I say tried because although I was part of representative teams and I liked to play on weekends with my high school buddies. I was one of those who got up early on Saturdays and Sundays, but to go to the square where we played basketball and from 07:00, I would walk, I don’t know, about an hour to get to that square, that park, and I would stay there until noon, right? And it was the, the famous West 21, the complete set. The famous “retas” with the boys from that same neighborhood and I had an incredible time, right? Those were times when there was no cobi back then it was common that you bought your two-liter coke after you had made your own.
[00:07:26] It is the one who lost, the one who lost paid for it.
[00:07:29] And you shared it with your friends and all sweaty. We already know. Then it is. Those moments for me were very important because I started to have a little bit of, let’s say, discipline in something. Then I tried to take it up again in, in, in high school and in college, in the representative teams, but then I realized that I was not made for sports, I had to dedicate myself to something else and well, it remained as a very very very very very very nice anecdote in my life and I am still a fan of the NBA.
[00:08:06] To whom? Who are you going to? David you have Chicago.
[00:08:08] Michael Jordan’s Bulls? And I had that time of watching the games. I have never, ever been able to go see it.
[00:08:17] With Dennis Rodman and Pippen, but they had a great team. Of course.
[00:08:22] In the last one.
[00:08:22] Dinner, all the kids were going to the Chicago Bulls at the time.
[00:08:26] Exactly. Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen. Cuckoos.
[00:08:30] Dennis Rodman also at the time.
[00:08:32] Yes, already in the last part. In the last championship. But well, it was one, let’s say. It was a privilege to see such players at that time. No? Nowadays there are still some very good ones, to be honest, but I don’t really follow any of them or lately, the ones I’ve seen I’ve liked, but in reality I think that at that time when you are growing up and you are also looking for an image to follow or to relate to, I think it was Michael Jordan, I didn’t like him very much, he was trying to make the plays and everything, but it’s part of that rich experience, isn’t it? That leaves you childhood entering youth.
[00:09:11] What, Father?
[00:09:15] And going back to the part of the high school, I decide to look for a career option, right? And now before we start recording, we are talking about the decision making, right? What is so important for those moments? I actually had three options well without being a trio, one was to be a priest, the second was medicine and the third was an engineer. I didn’t know which one it was, but because of the, let’s say, the example of dad that he had been is that he had studied civil engineering, right? So the first one more than anything else because my mother always said you are going to be a priest and you have to go to church on Sundays, etcetera. I quickly discarded that option.
[00:10:06] In the past it was really an honor for families to have a priest, wasn’t it? Because I say in my family, I tell you because I have three priests in my family and it was something very important for me. For families in the E. Well, I mean, not so much nowadays, but it was more important before, wasn’t it?
[00:10:27] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. At that time it was. It was as you say, very important and obviously I quickly discarded it. I was not a priest. On the contrary, I was the father of three children and I am the priest of my house. So, once I discarded that option, the next one was Medicine, and I have a very, very, very cool anecdote, because I also quickly realized that I was not good for that career, because when I was already in high school, the Tecnológico has a professional vocational class. Then they invite us to come and have the live experience of how, for example, the doctor, the engineer or the architect is doing his day to day. And you have that opportunity to interact with him in his environment, right? So they took me to a hospital to see precisely how they worked in a hospital and my surprise was that they took us to an amphitheater, right? So they were going to do a check-up there, because for them it was a normal, routine check-up and so what can I tell you? So when they open the amphitheater, the temperature, the aroma and start doing the activity there with the corpse that was on the table, right? Well, I couldn’t anymore.
[00:11:54] Within five minutes you said.
[00:11:56] After five minutes of farewell I said no, because maybe I will become a general practitioner, but I don’t think I can be a surgeon, because what I have is the experience with blood, the aromas. No, no, no, no, it was amazing that day for me wasn’t it? So once I discarded the two options, I was left with engineering and it was easy for me because the Tec de Monterrey, Campus Tampico, at that time only offered one complete career at Campus Tampico. The others were being taught at Campus Monterrey, but as I was saying, there was not enough economic support to think: I go, I study, I’m there renting and I stay as an industrial systems engineer, which is the career that I chose in the end.
[00:12:52] How well o. Ate. 37.
[00:13:00] It was cut.
[00:13:01] It was cut a little. But if you want it is in the 37th minute. Then we will edit it. Don’t worry. If you want, let me ask you. I start talking. If you want to pick up the conversation from there, shall we? Yes.
[00:13:18] Where did I leave off?
[00:13:20] Well, then, David. You were telling us about this one. Engineering. So that’s what you have left at the Tampico Campus. And tell us about it. And before you got to the supply chain, tell us what happened. So you decided from those three options. Engineering engineering, I imagine. Did you stay in Tampico?
[00:13:40] I stayed in Tampico. I study industrial engineering and then comes the part where you finish your career, I graduate. I continue to be on scholarship, so I am in the study program now, pay later. As we jokingly say, they give you the same amount of time for which you studied your degree, to pay for it. So I go out there with an incredible debt. In Tampico, as I was saying, it is very rich in commercial activities and at that time the industry was more dedicated and I believe it is still dedicated to the chemical, oil, maritime, port and import-export chemical industry. But at the time I graduated, which was a complicated year not only for the city, but for the rest of the country and the world in December 2000. There wasn’t much of a job market and if you found something it was with salaries that didn’t allow me to think that we were going to have a future. Not this very good. Fortunately, TEC also offers you, within the options for recent graduates, to participate in job fairs, to support you, to go to companies that are looking for recent graduates to start this work experience. And I started to do that, to travel to look for that option. Monterrey, Puebla, Veracruz, Guadalajara. Several times. And one of those times it wasn’t me, but a friend. He talks to me and says hey, I just got hired in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Ah, come on, hey, that’s great, congratulations, a great friend, we are all in touch. And what do you think? Are you hiring Perfecto? Hey, there would be no chance for me if, send me your papers and we’ll see what happens, right? And then I ask And what is it from? What is it about? Huh? Well, it’s in a maquiladora. You are getting to know a new term at that time by maquiladora, by what you heard in school, but in reality it is from what? What did they offer you? Well, I am a materials supervisor, let’s go materials ok, I’ll tell you what to bring.
[00:16:16] Firewood but I don’t say.
[00:16:17] Nothing in practice.
[00:16:18] Well graduated you did not know exactly what is what.
[00:16:22] Correct. Then I make the trip. This friend offered me to stay in the same hotel that he was sponsoring him for the benefits and so I didn’t, so as not to make you the airport. Home My first work experience at Delphi. This is a company that I consider to be the best school I could have had at that time. I had six plants in Reynosa and another six in Matamoros and the rest of the U.S.-Mexico border in Juarez, and we sold products for General Motors, and my first position was always as a materials supervisor. So I get my first day on the job, I get a computer, can you speak English? And, of course, the material starts expeditiously. That was.
[00:17:21] Your training in logistics, which.
[00:17:23] Yes, then I had the two.
[00:17:25] Then the expedited ones were quite a problem.
[00:17:30] It’s quite a problem, but no, you didn’t have the support of many companies to be able to mobilize quickly. Sometimes you had to be the one directly called the alpine bell to all the different sectors where you were offered the service and it was the exporter’s job. I was not fortunate enough to have good mentors there as well so that I could begin to familiarize myself with the terms. As you say, I had the theory, but the practice was what I was lacking, so I started to quickly gain all that information, right? The one that is a Hardy for example, you listen to it at school, they present it to you on a slide of the famous transparent slides from before, then the powerpoint, but to have it live. How does an MRP work, eh? Hey, this is a Pág standard. How is an inventory kept? I mean, I learned all that from 0 to 100 at Delphi and additionally I also started to develop more confidence when I started to interact with suppliers, because it takes a level of English, but it is a conversational English that is very different, a technical level, so imagine, it was a level that you could order something to eat, but imagine a negotiation with a supplier or a negotiation with a carrier is different, right? I remember that I used to write my scripts and good morning and everything and then I wrote them to the letter and that’s how I got it, that’s how I got it, based on a lot of discipline, a lot of tenacity and that is until you forget about the paper and you start to talk about it, you start to manage it and then I am promoted and now I see the customer side, I am in charge of the production control of lines, from an SMT to an assembly, eh? And well, there is also the part where you begin to see that here with suppliers you feel somehow with certain or certain strength, because in the part of customers you no longer have any more.
[00:19:45] The yes, now you are, already.
[00:19:46] You are, you are, I know.
[00:19:47] Understands.
[00:19:48] Correct, isn’t it? And he touched me. I’m telling you to see more clearly how the supply chain worked. I also had the opportunity that Delphi at that time had an external warehouse in the United States and I also started to get involved in those, in those, in those operations, in those issues. Being at the border, in the terms of impor by the invoices, the customer, everything, all the slang that this context carries, you also start to become familiar with. In my experience, everything is being done, the whole preparation process.
[00:20:34] And he told me what you like the most go ahead.
[00:20:36] John No, it’s not all this learning, about how long it was because.
[00:20:42] I mean from the heart, of course, but not from the FA. I was there for about three and a half years. Yes, and well, after that I have. Like everyone else, they are also looking for more income. And Reynosa I did not tell you about. Reynosa is also a very important border city in northern Tamaulipas, where I ended up staying for 18 years working with different companies. A Hay, there was and still is one. But impressive presence of international companies where it existed. This is an abundance of work, not at that time. Then the following ones a lot automotive as well. The entire Austrian automotive corridor. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Correct. There is also this one for. For the same reason of being a border. There are also many companies that are dedicated to forward in and we all speak that language. Not there in the. In the maquiladora industry, as we call it. After Delphi I had the opportunity to participate in other projects with other companies. I have been in the automotive industry for 22 years, of which, forgive me, 22 years as a supply chain experience, of which 16 have been focused on the automotive industry and the rest, the remaining years. I’ve been in industrial, I’ve been in aeronautics, aerospace, state, even in industry, entertainment. That’s what I call it. I had the opportunity to be in a company that made bowling balls and it was my turn to have my first materials management. But that’s it, it’s all very different, isn’t it? Because your customers are the bowling shops located in Germany, Canada, Japan, China, which are the main consumers of these products. And then the quality tests were this line where to test them, the high performance balls for championships I can’t imagine.
[00:23:03] Which is very good. Then we go to the bowling alley and you give us three laps.
[00:23:08] I even bought a bowling ball. The time was, it was very short to practice because we spent a lot of time making. But yes, we did have there. I even belong to the A11 club that I will tell you about when I moved to Nogales, Sonora. That’s when we opened an advertising club. We would go, I don’t remember if it was on Wednesday or Friday nights, and we would go with this work group, share anecdotes and play bowling. The sport is very cool.
[00:23:45] And well, and all this experience that you are sharing with us and all these steps with 22 years in the supply chain and 16 years in automotive. Did you finally arrive at Martin Rea, I imagine, after several stages, did you get to your current position or how did you get to where you are now?
[00:24:07] Well, I’m missing the part where I just graduated, which was the Eaton Company. There I am ten years of those I am telling you about and that’s where I start. After having had experience as a materials manager in the first year there is downsizing. It was my turn to leave and I started my job search and I had the good fortune, the luck to join a company that also, as she mentions, is very committed to the environment, very committed to people. It has been a Great place to work for years and I started as a Consumer Service. Then I was promoted to Customer Service Manager, Logistics Manager, and I was still with them for seven years at the Reynosa Plant serving different customers, already with this warehouse and planning in charge, and then I moved three years to Nogales, Sonora, with a plant that had recently been acquired by Britton. That is where I got to know the industrial side, aerospace, and I think I can tell you that it was my graduation because that is where I refined everything I had learned from my previous experiences and above all because of the work culture. When companies invest in you, in a talent, they obviously give you all the bases so that you can be successful and make effective decisions in the future. This company helped me a lot because even though I was a manager at the first opportunity when I was 27 years old, I didn’t really have all the background, but I did have the experience.
[00:25:59] Too young, too young for that position, obviously.
[00:26:03] Right, but because of the momentum, the desire and everything else I got that promotion and then, when I am out and they tell me we offer you this, but for you to take it in stages, we are going to teach you how to be a good manager. Courses, internal and external trainings, projects, experiences with clients, experiences with suppliers, trips. All this led me to be able to strengthen my character and at the same time my management skills, my technical and soft skills. And I think that left me at the richest part of my automotive experience. Then, apart from that, reaching the martingale point, there are still a couple of other companies that offer me the opportunity to get to know the Bajio. My family on my dad’s side lives here in nearby Querétaro. Then I was offered a superintendency to manage a three-story campus and we moved around, not with the whole family. After 18 years in Reynosa, they grew up in Nogales, Sonora. I moved to the city of Querétaro, where we have been working for approximately five years now, but my job was in Celaya. This company is that they fall and well also a very cool experience, but what I was saying to Juan Carlos unfortunately and not to make me the promotion in the city team, is that it is also very rich in what is, is business, a lot of a lot of presence of this also national and international companies.
[00:27:53] There are indeed assembly plants, but in recent years it has been hit hard, not because of the violence. So here comes the part where there is a break in my career, because I suffer an EM attack, an attempted robbery in, on the road and well, this makes this after. Well, I had a four-month rehabilitation period because I was hit in the head by a bullet. What a horror! So I came back, but to say thank you very much, it was a great opportunity, but I am not coming back. And that’s when I stayed in Querétaro. From the beginning we had established our residence here in Querétaro and I was the one who traveled, going back and forth a distance of approximately 50 kilometers. After that, I stayed in another company and in the end, well, after that, I stayed in this company for another two great years in Mexico Automotive and also very excellent experience, excellent companionship, great learning, I know more about other clients such as BMW or this one and I also have the opportunity to refine everything that is the managerial and logistical aspect, the logistical learning and the opportunity with Martin Urrea arrives.
[00:29:25] I am currently working there as operations manager in the supply chain and well, I can tell you, it has been an experience that I told you about in half an hour, but it has been 22 years well lived. I think that one of the things I have learned in this career and the good and bad parts of it is the management of priorities. It is not very clear to me now, something that was not clear to me on day 1 when I told you about Delphi, but today I am very conscious that every day I give thanks to God, every day I give thanks for my family and even in a third place I give thanks for a job because everything can be lost in a second and we spend 24 seven as we, the supplicants, say, right? But in reality this is one to remember because we are out there looking for this opportunity and generating that experience. And we have the answer at home and we also have it here inside, which is what moves us. And well, that’s what I think defines my experience in my background.
[00:30:33] It is a is a. It would be a very, very rich experience, not only professionally, but humanly speaking. So, well, thank you very much for sharing it with us and with all our audience. Juan I know you have several questions there, I see you are ready to go.
[00:30:53] No? And I say this is an incredible career and it’s 22 years of many experiences and well, I’m sorry that the last one was not so good. No, that’s something that doesn’t speak very well, but let’s hope it gets better soon, right? And well, I mean from your point of view and with 22 years in the industry, how have you seen the evolution of the supply chain? How has it changed? What do you think, from your point of view, what do you think?
[00:31:29] Well, notice that it has changed a lot when I tell you that I still started. I think what has changed has evolved, it’s more towards an era of than making the supply chain more digital. It used to be very common to have all manual boards. You would place an order. Long, long product delivery times. Obviously there were already exports and everything, but I feel that it has gone from slow to fast in a period that now totals 20 years, but now what I see is. Consumer demands have also changed a lot. If now the new generations and even we ourselves, who are from another generation, but we are already adapting at a faster pace, we don’t want things, I want them now, I want them in this color, I want them with these specifications. So the quality of and time, the service is yes, I think it has been more demanded in improving and especially that in parallel there have been technologies that have accompanied the supply chain to reach that level of delivery. No, I believe that we are on a path where if before the decision making process was fast, which was the best, I don’t know, a manager 20 or 30 years ago would say well, I have a chance, I have a week to see this, now we have maybe days or maybe not now to be able to make a decision. And I think that has always been a very important point in this. The supply chain manager who has to make decisions in the face of uncertainty, with little information, sometimes with a good feeling, but also with a good forecast development, right? What’s next, how did it behave?
[00:33:43] Yes, it’s been really exponential the change we’ve seen in how fast you have to make decisions, how fast consumers want the product, in the specifications have changed a lot. And well, as you rightly say, technology, the speed of decision making has been key. And some of what makes the difference between one supply chain and another and what makes one company successful versus another. But how much you had.
[00:34:13] What about something else? Something very important. And complementing what you say, Enrique, is that you have to make decisions, sometimes with very little information, with some experience, some feeling and a little bit of luck, because unfortunately in this industry, especially in the expedited industry, the automotive industry is a lot of that, isn’t it? And moving on a bit to.
[00:34:42] I wasn’t commenting like that.
[00:34:44] So, moving on to the automotive side, what challenges have you encountered or have you encountered in the supply chain processes specifically for Mexico?
[00:34:57] I think that right now the part I can tell you more about has been in the time we lived in, the time before the Cobi and after the government. This is mainly because the costs have not gone through the roof. Talking about the movement of containers from Asia to here, which today we move a lot of material to support the automotive industry of our different customers, especially the United States, and it had a great impact on us. It didn’t shock us enough since we dawned a March 2019 and then everything changed. You’re not going to let me lie, you guys are experts, but everyone after that.
[00:35:44] A very clear, let’s say very clear, watershed.
[00:35:47] Yes, that is, you were used to projecting the cost of a vessel at X price and now you pay five, right? So what did this bring? The change in budgets, the change in strategy. Currently already at 20 22. I think we have been looking for new strategies, especially in the inventory part, working with our supplier relations, looking for more Saime, looking for new sharing so that our suppliers are close, so that we do not have the inventories we have them shared with them, but I see, I see the big difference that now we are taking care of each other, client-supplier, to be able to face what is out there, right? What is this great consumer demand? I do not believe that we will see the end of the COBIT situation in the near future, but I do believe that we are better prepared psychologically and emotionally to face the challenges that are coming and that are presenting themselves day by day. Because if your next question is how do you see the future, I see it a year from now because I can’t see anymore, I don’t have my crystal ball to tell you this is going to disappear, prices are going to go down, inflation, etc. No, I think it’s day by day.
[00:37:10] Juan, it’s this step, you’re sure to take the next one and move forward as the challenges come. But as I was saying, the power of the information you have about your customer, the power of the information you have and the relationship with your suppliers and above all that you start to be a flexible operation in which you can also lower your inventories to a certain level so that it does not impact your budget level, but at the same time it is enough to be able to comply. Satisfying your customer is a great strategy, isn’t it? Which we do every day nowadays. And believe me, I don’t think there is anyone in the market who can predict what is going to happen in the next five years. I believe that the only thing they are going to tell us is to follow the challenges, guys, get ready, keep on acquiring everything, this is day to day experience and I believe that the most important thing is to think about what we are going to be able to share with the future generations, right?
[00:38:19] Totally.
[00:38:21] It’s a great lesson and he leaves us all with the fact that nothing is certain and everything can be over in a month. What happened to us?
[00:38:29] Well, David, everything you’re telling us obviously impacts the future of supply chains and impacts in a big way how companies understand and have their strategy going forward in Martin. What is your role? What is your day to day life? What are you doing now and what are your most important challenges? Already now, not only in the industry in which you participate, but in general, in what your company does.
[00:38:58] Yes, I am responsible for all supply chain operations customers, suppliers, direct and indirect purchases. We have warehouses, receipts, shipments all the time, so the whole chain doesn’t? And it gives me the opportunity to see all the opportunities and also to know everything that. What we manage inside and out. I think the key. The key is to know our process, to know our suppliers’ processes in order to be prepared for our customers’ demands. We are not engaged in aluminum smelting for the manufacture of mono, blocks and other expertise. I had never been in a company before, yes in automotive, but not in foundry. And I think I am going to do my doctorate here because there is a lot, a lot of information very rich in learning. I think the main challenges we have right now is to control our inventory, to be more effective in purchasing it at competitive prices in the market so that we can.
[00:40:11] As David you are not saying that the most important challenges you see the inventory part which is very important and the prices not the cost, although we are starting to see that it is already coming down, unlike when we were with Corona Virus at its peak, they are still much higher than they were before Corona. Virus, right?
[00:40:35] Yes, that’s right. And I mentioned to you also part of the strategy of inventory management and seeking to satisfy our customers in the best way to keep them coming back to us. And main challenge, as you say, the maritime movement to Mexico as well. This what it is is from many parts and.
[00:40:54] Particularly of some country, you see that it may be more problematic than another or.
[00:41:00] Now. I think that for reasons that we all know in Europe, the situation of this war or possible war is the one that is keeping us more attentive right now, not the Asian part, because somehow we have been dealing with this situation for two or three years and somehow we already see it or we are already handling it, right? But we do have the expectation of what can happen with this impact. Yes, it can be a lot of changes, especially not only for the automotive industry, but for many traditional industries. And so nothing, we have to be attentive to see how we handle that. I mean, what we are also looking at is to have our suppliers close to us, to have better commercial relations with them, to look for a win-win situation so that we can face the situations that are coming.
[00:41:54] I think all this is like a virus. Also what it left us as a positive, because I do not think that everything can be negative, but it is better alliances between customer supplier of what is working or how we face together in different areas of direct indirect materials to be able to overcome the crisis. This is something, perhaps a good lesson that this pandemic has taught us.
[00:42:19] Yes, that is a very important point, Juan, because we remember our human side in this pandemic. Regardless of the industry you work with. Me. In being empathetic. I think that’s the key word I would use. Yes, this one. We care more about the other person, we seek to have that mutual learning in the face of situations.
[00:42:51] Better teamwork is the right thing to do. We’ve really always talked, not in supply chains, about the importance of integrating at every step. But I think the Corona Virus made us understand even more how important this is, to be highly integrated with your suppliers but also with your customers and to try to have a global strategy. Changing a little bit David, this the rhythm of the interview, because little by little we are going to have to close this one. Again thank you so much for sharing everything you have shared with us, but if you could go back in time and give some advice to yourself, let’s say when you were 18 years old. There are many young people who listen to us now. What advice would you give to the 18-year-old David Contreras?
[00:43:42] Em. I’ve thought a lot about that question. In fact, it’s a trigger question, I think, because. To come back with the experience you have now and with the momentum we had at that age. I think it would be an excellent combination, don’t you? I think what I would advise you would be to be patient, things will come in due time. God has a plan already laid out and He will surprise you every day with rich experiences, not only on a professional level, but also on a family level, which I would say do not waste, make a balance between life and career. Know, know about God, know about the good things that life gives you. Enjoy them and don’t stay at work any longer. It is not. It is an incredible experience. I can’t complain about these 22 years, but maybe I would make a change in the way I balance and dedicate that time to be with my family, watch my children grow, and above all, not move, because maybe, as it is very classic, you don’t move for 5 $. 10 $. Give time to the process, mature your ideas, get to know, take the time to get to know the companies, get to know the processes in depth and become an expert not only in the automotive industry, but in the philosophy of life. It is not respecting each other, being empathetic. Don’t wait for the pandemic to recognize your neighbor. I am going to tell you that, neither to say thank you nor to say please. No, I think that respect has been lost lately, but I am going to make a recommendation to my 18 year old self that you do not lose those values, stay firm, there are going to be very good storms, but the boat is well built and you are accompanied by the hand of God to steer the rudder. I would tell him that, I would give him a word of confidence, not warn him about what is coming, but to keep his focus as he is doing. I think he will be able to make his decisions very well.
[00:46:00] Very, very deep. And patience, which is usually what we all lack. I mean, you’re absolutely right, you said there give the process time. He knows up to expert not only in the supply chain in life. And then you said two things that really caught my attention. Give thanks and please say what we have been hearing since we were three years old with our moms. I believe and. And it remains valid and powerful advice at any age.
[00:46:33] Of course.
[00:46:34] Thank you very much, Juan. I know you had there too.
[00:46:39] Yes, I mean. First of all, thank you for your time. Nos. We met before and it was a very enriching experience, to be able to talk to you, to see your trajectory is incredible and I took away many lessons and many notes, as I mentioned. But I would also like to be able to share this information with more people. So, if someone wants to connect with you or learn more about you, with whom? How? How? How can you be contacted?
[00:47:09] Yes, of course. I am very active on LinkedIn. Can you find me as David Contreras? Em I’m usually posting 2 to 3 times a week and in fact I just started doing it more frequently about four months ago. I had very neglected this social network, but today I am sharing, in addition to my professional brand as an expert in automotive supply chain, in the automotive area. I am also giving myself the space to write about experiences, share advice, share teachings that I have had throughout my career and that undoubtedly can be enriching for anyone. And I invite you to visit my profile with pleasure. That’s where we start networking and then we’re ready to go, right? To also start interacting with anyone who needs now or needs advice who is just starting this path in supply chain or why not, also the experienced ones. I mean, sometimes we need that mentoring or coaching and that’s what we are there for, not only to provide the best possible support, but also for anyone who approaches us, right?
[00:48:25] David Well, thank you very much. Thank you very, very much, Juan. A great interview. What’s your choice, Juan? What will be your. From everything that David obviously shared with us and obviously I know there’s a lot, but. What did you like the most about this interview before the end of the program?
[00:48:46] Well the truth, knowing the history of wine, patience, believe in the process. Maybe so. Sometimes we miss a lot because we want to get to the end without having passed the hurdles. And well, also the enjoy family part man, have a good balance in life. I think it’s something that for the generations or let’s say modern life we need, so I’ll take it as homework.
[00:49:16] Totally agree. Well, you have already seen this one for all of you who are listening to us, if you like this kind of interviews, if you enjoy understanding and knowing a little more about the experiences of people like David Contreras. And well, really an experience to write a book or a movie at some point. I’m having very marked ups and downs, but David, again thank you so much to everyone who listens to us. Again my name is Enrique Alvarez, thank you for participating. This is another episode of Supply Chain Now in Spanish. Have a nice day and see you next time.
