Supply Chain Now en Espanol
Season 3, Episode 3

En Supply Chain, tienes que tomar grandes decisiones. A veces con muy poca información, con algo de experiencia, algo de sentimiento y un poco de suerte.

-David Contreras

Resumen del Episodio

David Contreras tenía tres opciones de carrera: la iglesia, la medicina o la ingeniería. Y 22 años en una carrera de cadena de suministro, 16 de los cuales en la industria automotriz, ¡nunca ha mirado atrás de la ingeniería industrial! En este nuevo episodio de Supply Chain Now en español, escuche cómo Enrique Álvarez y el presentador invitado especial Juan Carlos Ríos le dan la bienvenida al programa a David Contreras para aprender todo sobre su trayectoria profesional, lo que él cree que se necesita para tomar decisiones importantes en la cadena de suministro y más.

Transcripción en Español

[00:00:38] Muy buenos días y bienvenidos a un nuevo episodio de Supply Chain en español. Mi nombre es Enrique Álvarez y ahora tengo el gran gusto tener no solo a un muy buen invitado, sino también a un amigo mío, Juan. ¿Qué tal Juan Carlos Ríos? ¿Cómo estás? Bienvenido.

 

[00:00:52] Muy bien, muchas gracias. ¿Y tú?

 

[00:00:54] Muy, muy bien. ¿Listo para esta buena entrevista?

 

[00:00:57] Listo estoy. La verdad, está muy interesante. Estoy muy emocionado. Entonces creo que va a estar muy, muy interesante.

 

[00:01:04] Creo que sí. ¿Qué tal? ¿Qué tal tu semana? ¿En general?

 

[00:01:06] Muy bien. Altibajos, como siempre en la logística, pero. Pero. Bien. Salimos, salimos adelante y creo que fue una semana de muchos aprendizajes para mí y para mi equipo.

 

[00:01:17] Una industria en la que sí digo nunca nos vamos a aburrir. Siempre hay algo, siempre hay algo que resolver, un problema que atacar. Entonces, muchas gracias por estar aquí con nosotros. A toda la gente que nos escucha y le gustan entrevistas como éstas, por favor, no se olviden de suscribirse a Supply Chain Out en español. Y ahora sí, sin más preámbulos. Con nosotros tenemos el día de hoy a David Contreras, actual gerente de Operaciones en cadena de suministro para Martín Rea. David. ¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo estás?

 

[00:01:48] Hola. ¿Que tal? Buenos días. Un gusto. Un placer estar aquí. Muchas gracias por la invitación y súper emocionado de participar en este gran proyecto que tiene.

 

[00:01:55] ¿Es un gusto tenerte aquí con nosotros y de donde nos acompañas el día de hoy? David.

 

[00:02:01] Querétaro. Querétaro.

 

[00:02:02] México. México. Perfecto.

 

[00:02:06] Bueno, muchas gracias primero por aceptar la invitación a nuestro podcast. ¿Y para empezar, me gustaría que nos contaras un poco sobre tu historia, de dónde viene? ¿Quién es David, eh? ¿Cómo empezó David en todo este mundo que es la cadena de suministros?

 

[00:02:25] Claro. Juan Carlos. Bueno, pues vamos a empezar por el principio. Yo nací en Tampico, Tamaulipas, México es una ciudad y puerto para los que nos están escuchando en otras partes de de México y Latinoamérica y del mundo. Es es una una ciudad y un puerto muy importante en México, localizado al sur de Tamaulipas, en la zona noroeste, lo que se le conoce como la región de la Huasteca. Rico en mucha cultura, pero también ha sido por años una una ciudad que ha traído mucho, mucho negocio, mucho comercio y está posicionado como uno de los puertos más importantes a nivel mundial. Nazco ahí. Vengo de una familia modesta, soy hijo único de este matrimonio. Mi padre es ingeniero civil, mi madre tiene carrera contable y he. Empezamos estudiando digamos este en Tampico primaria, por los diferentes trabajos de mi padre, nos movemos al norte del país, ahí termino lo que es mi escuela primaria y regreso a retomar estudios secundarios en lo que es Tampico de nuevo. ¿Y ahí es donde empiezo a ver un poquito la realidad de de de lo que es este, pues ya la vida no ya tiene un poco más de edad, empiezas a ver las cosas con un poquito más de contexto y pues me doy cuenta que en mi casa pues hace falta eh? O sea, entrada de dinero, necesitamos más recursos.

 

[00:04:03] Mi mamá retoma su trabajo a los 40 años para poder también apoyar a la casa. En ese tiempo yo estaba buscando ver la opción de de moverme también a algo que me ayudara a construir un futuro. Y tuve la oportunidad de que en una visita que tuvimos a nivel secundaria por el Tecnológico de Monterrey, llega una persona que después se convertiría en un gran mentor a ofrecerme un plan, un una promesa de vida que para el momento que yo estaba viviendo, pues significaba algo súper importante, no al momento que pensaba bueno, a termino mi secundaria hago una prepa que voy a hacer, no lo sabía para serte muy honesto, pero cuando llega este esta persona me empieza a decir tenemos el campus Tampico este. Estas son de las las oportunidades que puedes tener desarrollando de en en la preparatoria. Mi primera pregunta oye pues no tengo dinero nada nadamas este tengo buen promedio normalmente pues fui muy muy digamos disciplinado para para llevar mis materias. Llevaba en aquel tiempo un promedio de 99, entonces era muy bueno y pues me dice precisamente tenemos becas que podemos también poner a tu disposición, pasas una evaluación y claro, o sea, queremos gente como tú que traes todas las ganas, el dinero. Aquí la verdad no importa.

 

[00:05:41] ¿Que hacer, pero es una oportunidad, no? ¿Porque digo muchas veces eso es lo que falta para personas como como tú y como muchas personas que nos escuchan o alguien que el que les dé la oportunidad de de salir y de probarse no?

 

[00:05:56] Si, si. Y afortunadamente paso el proceso. Entro con una beca del 90% y empiezo mi preparatoria en Pico Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus.

 

[00:06:06] Si correcto.

 

[00:06:07] Que bien y pues de ahí me.

 

[00:06:09] Quedo, pero este y perdón que te interrumpa, pero antes de meternos ya a la parte de tu carrera que es obviamente muy exitosa y nos gusta, nos gustaría escuchar un poco más. ¿Algo más que te acuerdes de la infancia, algo más, algo, alguna historia o memoria de tu infancia? ¿Te gusta el football? Algo.

 

[00:06:29] Basquetbol, básquet. Intenté jugarlo, digo intenté porque aunque sí fui parte de equipos representativos y que me gustaba echar la cáscara los fines de semana con los cuates de la secundaria. ¿Yo era de los que me levantaba temprano sábados y domingos, pero para ir a la plaza a donde jugábamos basquetbol y de ahí 07:00, me iba caminando, no sé, alrededor de una hora para llegar a esa plaza, ese parque y me quedaba ahí hasta mediodía, no? Y era el el, el famoso oeste 21, el el juego completo. ¿Llegaban las famosas retas ahí este con los chicos de esa misma colonia y pues yo me la pasaba increíble, no? Eran tiempos que no existía el cobi de entonces era común de que comprabas tu coca cola de dos litros después de haber hecho tu.

 

[00:07:26] Es el que perdía, el que perdía la pagaba.

 

[00:07:29] Y te la compartías con los amigos y todos sudados. Ya sabemos. Entonces es. Esos momentos para mi fueron muy importantes porque empecé a tener un poco de, digamos, disciplina en algo. Después intenté retomarlo en en, en la, en la preparatoria y en la universidad, en los equipos representativos, pero después me di cuenta que no estaba hecho para el deporte, no me tenía que dedicar a otra cosa este y pues bueno, me quedó como una anécdota muy muy muy muy agradable en mi vida y pues sigo siendo fan completamente de la NBA.

 

[00:08:06] ¿A quien? ¿A quien le vas? David tienes Chicago.

 

[00:08:08] ¿Bulls de Michael Jordan? Y me tocó esa época de ver los partidos. Nunca, nunca he podido ir a verlo.

 

[00:08:17] Con Dennis Rodman y Pippen, pero tenían un equipazo. Claro.

 

[00:08:22] En la última.

 

[00:08:22] Cena, todos los niños le iban a los Chicago Bulls de esa época.

 

[00:08:26] Exactamente. Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen. Cucos.

 

[00:08:30] Dennis Rodman también en su momento.

 

[00:08:32] Sí, ya en la última parte. En el último campeonato. Pero bueno, era una, digamos. Privilegio ver ese tipo de jugadores en aquella época. ¿No? ¿Ahorita siguen habiendo muy buenos, la verdad, pero ya no me quede como que siguiendo alguno o últimamente, pues los los que he visto me han agradado, pero en realidad yo creo que en ese tiempo cuando estás creciendo y que estás también buscando una imagen a quién seguir o o con quién relacionarte, yo creo que fue Michael Jordan, no me gustó mucho, intentaba hacer las jugadas y todo y pues vale, pero es parte de esa experiencia rica, no? Que te deja la la niñez entrando juventud.

 

[00:09:11] ¿Qué, padre?

 

[00:09:15] ¿Y retomando te digo en la parte de la de la preparatoria este pues decido pues ya buscar la opción para una carrera no? ¿Y ahorita antes de la de la que iniciaremos a grabar, estamos platicando acerca de la toma de decisión no? ¿Que es tan importante para para esos momentos? Yo en realidad tenía tres opciones bien sin ser trío, una era ser sacerdote, la segunda era medicina y la tercera era una ingeniería. ¿No sabía cual era, pero por por la, digamos, el ejemplo de papa que había sido es que había estudiado ingeniería civil, no? Entonces la primera más que nada porque mi mamá siempre decía tu vas a ser sacerdote y tienes a los domingos a la iglesia, etcétera. Le muy rápido descarté esa opción.

 

[00:10:06] ¿Antes realmente era un honor para las familias tener un sacerdote, no? Porque digo en mi familia te digo porque yo tengo tres sacerdotes en mi familia y era como algo súper importante para. Para las familias en en la E. ¿Pues si yo digo en ya no tanto hoy en día, pero antes sí era más importante, no?

 

[00:10:27] Si, si, si, si. En aquel tiempo este pues era. Era como tú dices, muy importante y obviamente lo descarté rápidamente. No fui sacerdote. Al contrario, fui padre de tres hijos y soy sacerdote de mi casa. Entonces, ya descartada esa opción, la siguiente fue Medicina y que tengo una anécdota muy, muy, muy padre, porque también muy rápido me di cuenta de que tampoco era bueno para esa carrera, porque en la cuando ya estaba en preparatoria, el Tecnológico tiene una clase de vocación profesional. Entonces nos invitan a que vayamos y tengamos la experiencia en vivo de cómo, por ejemplo, el médico, el ingeniero o el arquitecto está haciendo su día a día. ¿Y tienes esa oportunidad de interactuar con él en su medio, no? ¿Entonces a mí me llevan a un hospital para ver precisamente cómo trabajaban en un hospital y pues mi sorpresa fue que nos llevaron a un anfiteatro, no? ¿Entonces iban a hacer una una revisión ahí, pues para ellos de normal, de de rutina y pues que te cuento no? ¿Pues cuando abren el anfiteatro, la temperatura, el aroma y empiezan a hacer la la la actividad ahí con el cadáver que tenía en la mesa, no? Pues que ya no pude.

 

[00:11:54] A los cinco minutos dijiste.

 

[00:11:56] A los cinco minutos de despedida dije no, pues quizás llegue a ser un médico general, pero no creo poder este ser un médico cirujano no ya la lo que es es de la experiencia con la sangre, los aromas. ¿No, no, no, fue increíble ese día para mí de que no? Entonces ya descartada las dos opciones, pues me quedaba la ingeniería y me quedó fácil porque el Tec de Monterrey, Campus Tampico, en aquella época solamente ofrecía una sola carrera completa en Campus Tampico. Las demás las estaban impartiendo en Campus Monterrey, pero como les comentaba, no había el suficiente soporte económico como para pensar me voy, estudio, estoy allá rentando y me quedo como como ingeniero industrial de sistemas que es la carrera que yo al final escogí.

 

[00:12:52] Que bien o. Ate. 37.

 

[00:13:00] Se cortó.

 

[00:13:01] Se cortó un poco. Pero si quieres es en el minuto 37. Entonces lo vamos a editar. No te preocupes. Si quieres, déjame te pregunto. Yo empiezo a hablar. ¿Si quieres retomamos la plática de ahí, te parece? Sí.

 

[00:13:18] ¿En qué parte me quedé?

 

[00:13:20] Bueno, entonces, David. Nos estabas contando este. Ingeniería. Entonces es lo que te quedó en el Campus Tampico. Y cuéntanos de ahí. Y antes de que llegaras a la cadena de suministro, cuéntanos qué pasó. Entonces decidiste de esas tres opciones. Ingeniería de ingeniería, me imagino. ¿Te quedaste en Tampico?

 

[00:13:40] Me quedé en Tampico. Estudio mi carrera de ingeniería industrial y después viene ya la parte donde ya terminas tu carrera, me gradúo. Yo continúo siendo becado, entonces estoy en el programa de estudio ahora, pague después. Como en broma le decimos te dan el mismo tiempo para que estudiaste la carrera, para pagarla. Entonces yo salgo ahí con una increíble deuda. En Tampico, como les comentaba, es muy rico en actividades comerciales y en aquel tiempo la industria estaba más dedicada y creo que sigue siendo a la industria química petrolera marítima portuaria este comercial Import export. Pero en el momento que yo me gradué, que fue un año complicado no solamente para la ciudad, sino para yo creo que el resto del país y del mundo en diciembre del 2000. No había mucha bolsa de trabajo y si y si encontrabas algo era con salarios que no me permitían a mi pensar que íbamos a tener un futuro. No este muy muy bueno. Afortunadamente, el TEC también te ofrece, dentro de las opciones de recién egresados, de participar en ferias de empleo, en apoyarte, en ir a empresas que solicitan recién egresados para para iniciar este experiencia laboral. Y empecé a hacer eso, a viajar para buscar esa opción. Monterrey, Puebla, Veracruz, Guadalajara. Varias veces. Y en una de esas no me tocó a mí, sino a un amigo. Me habla y me dice oye, fíjate que me acaban de contratar en Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Ah, ándale, oye, que bien, te felicito, un gran amigo, todas estamos en contacto. ¿Y me dice y qué crees? ¿Están contratando a Perfecto? ¿Oye, pues no habría chance para mí si, mándame tus papeles y vemos qué pasa, no? ¿Y luego pregunto Y de qué es? ¿De qué se trata? ¿Eh? Pues es en una maquiladora. ¿Va conociendo uno término nuevos en ese momento por maquiladora, por lo escuchado en la escuela, pero en realidad que es de que? ¿De que te ofrecieron? Pues soy supervisor de materiales, ándale materiales ok, te digo trae.

 

[00:16:16] Leña pero no digo.

 

[00:16:17] Nada en la práctica.

 

[00:16:18] Bien graduado no sabías exactamente qué es lo que.

 

[00:16:22] Correcto. Entonces hago el viaje. Este amigo me ofrece quedarme en el mismo hotel que el estaba este a él patrocinando por parte de las prestaciones y pues no, para no hacerte el aeropuerto. Inicio Mi primera experiencia laboral en la compañía Delphi. Es es este una empresa que pues yo la considero es la mejor escuela que en aquel momento pude haber tenido. Tenía seis plantas en Reynosa y otras tantas en Matamoros y el resto de la de de lo que es la frontera de México, Estados Unidos en Juárez y pues vendíamos productos para General Motors y siempre mi mi primer puesto fue de supervisor de materiales. ¿Entonces llego mi primer día de trabajo, me entregan una computadora, sabes hablar inglés? Y órale, empieza expedita material del supuesto. Ese fue.

 

[00:17:21] Tu entrenamiento en logística, que.

 

[00:17:23] Si ya después ahí tuve la dos.

 

[00:17:25] Entonces los expedidos eran todo un problema.

 

[00:17:30] Es todo un problema, pero pues no, no tenías antes el apoyo de muchas compañías para poder es de movilizarte rápidamente. A veces tenías que ser tú la llamada directamente campana alpina que a todas las diferentes sectores donde te ofrecían el servicio y era el trabajo del exportador. No tuve la suerte de contar con buenos mentores también ahí para para poder este empezar a familiarizarme con los términos. ¿Como dices tu, yo traía la teoría, pero con la práctica era lo que adolecía y pues empecé a rápidamente a ganar toda esa información, no? El que es un Hardy por ejemplo, lo escuchas en la escuela, te lo presentan ahí una diapositiva de las famosas diapositivas transparentes de antes, después el powerpoint, pero pues tenerlo en vivo. ¿Cómo funciona un MRP, eh? Oye, este un estándar Pág. ¿Cómo se lleva un inventario? ¿O sea, todo eso yo lo fui aprendiendo de 0 a 100 en la compañía Delphi y adicional pues también empecé a desarrollar más confianza cuando empecé a interactuar precisamente con los proveedores, porque pues lleva un nivel de inglés, pero pues es un inglés conversacional que es muy diferente, un nivel técnico, entonces imagínate, era un nivel de que pues tu podías ordenar algo de comer, pero pues imagínate una negociación con un proveedor o una negociación con un un carrier es es diferente, no? ¿Yo me acuerdo que escribía mis scripts y good morning y todo y pues al pié de la letra y este y así lo fui sacando, así lo fui sacando en base mucha mucha disciplina, mucha tenacidad y este hasta que ya te olvidas del papelito y lo empiezas a hablar, lo empiezas a manejar y después soy promovido y ahora veo la parte de clientes, me toca el control de producción de líneas, desde un SMT hasta un ensamble, eh? Y pues bueno, también ahí la parte donde empiezas a ver que acá con proveedores te sientes de alguna forma con cierto o cierta fuerza, pues en la parte de clientes pues ya no tienes ya.

 

[00:19:45] El si, ahora tu eres, ya.

 

[00:19:46] Eres, tu eres, se.

 

[00:19:47] Entiende.

 

[00:19:48] ¿Correcto no? Y me tocó. Te digo por ver más claramente cómo funcionaba la cadena de suministro. Em Tuve también la la oportunidad de que Delphi en aquel momento contaba con una bodega externa en Estados Unidos y pues también me empiezo a involucrar en esos, en esos, esas operaciones, en esos temas. Conocer al estar en frontera, pues en los términos de impor por el facturas, la elcliente, todo, todo lo que el argot que lleva este ese contexto también empiezas a familiarizar. En mi experiencia y pues se va haciendo todo, todo el proceso de preparación.

 

[00:20:34] Y me dijo que lo que más te gusta adelante.

 

[00:20:36] Juan No, no es todo este aprendizaje, más o menos en cuánto tiempo fue porque.

 

[00:20:42] Digo del corazón si claro, no del FA. Yo estuve como tres años y medio aproximadamente. Sí, y bueno, después de ahí he. Como todos buscando también mayor ingreso. Y Reynosa no les platiqué. Reynosa es también una ciudad muy importante fronteriza del norte de Tamaulipas, donde al final me quedé 18 años trabajando con diferentes compañías. A Hay, había y hay todavía una. Pero impresionante presencia de compañías internacionales donde existía. Este es abundancia de trabajo, no en aquel momento. Entonces los siguientes mucho automotriz también. Todo ese corredor automotriz austríaco. Sí, sí, sí, sí. Correcto. También hay este por. Por lo mismo de ser frontera. También hay muchas este compañías que se dedican al forward in y y pues todos hablamos ese idioma. No allá en el. En la industria maquiladora, como la llamamos. Después de Delphi tuve la oportunidad de participar en en otros proyectos con otras compañías. Le comentaba Juan Carlos en entrevista previa Llevo 22 años en la industria automotriz, de las cuales, perdóname 22 años como una experiencia en cadena de suministro, de las cuales 16 he estado enfocado en industria automotriz y en los otros, los otros años que nos restan. He estado en industrial, he estado en en aeronáutica, aeroespacial, estado, en hasta en la industria, entretenimiento. Así le llamo. Yo tuve la oportunidad de estar en una compañía que hacíamos bolas de boliche y este me tocó ahí de precisamente tener mi primera gerencia de materiales. ¿Pero pues es es todo, todo muy diferente, no? Porque tus tus clientes pues son los los bowling shops localizados en Alemania, Canadá, Japón, China, que son los principales consumidores de de estos productos. Y pues las pruebas de calidad era este líneas donde probarlas, las bolas de alto desempeño para campeonatos no me imagino.

 

[00:23:03] Que es muy bueno. Entonces vamos al boliche y nos das tres vueltas.

 

[00:23:08] Pues fíjate que sí, ya llegué, llegué a comprar hasta hasta una bola de boliche. El tiempo fue, fue muy corto para practicar porque pues nos la pasábamos fabricando. Pero sí, sí tuvimos ahí. Incluso yo pertenezco A11 club que luego te platico cuando este me movía a Nogales, Sonora es de ahí. Ahí sí abrimos un un club de publicistas. Íbamos, no me acuerdo si los miércoles o los viernes por las noches y pues ahí acompañado con 1,1 este grupo del trabajo este, compartíamos anécdotas y jugábamos boliche. Es muy padre el deporte.

 

[00:23:45] Y bueno, y toda esta experiencia que nos estás compartiendo y todos estos pasos con 22 años en la cadena de suministro varios 16 en automotriz. ¿Llegas finalmente a Martín Rea, me imagino, después de varias etapas, llegas a la a tu puesto actual o cómo logras llegar a donde estás ahora?

 

[00:24:07] Pues me falta la parte donde me acabé de graduar, que fue la compañía Eaton. Ahí yo estoy diez años de esos que te platico y ahí empiezo. Después de haber tenido una experiencia como gerente de materiales en el primer año hay recorte de personal. Me toca salir y empiezo mi búsqueda laboral y tengo la fortuna, la suerte de entrar en una empresa que también como ella menciona, súper comprometida con el medio ambiente, súper comprometida con las personas. Es un Great place to work desde hace años y empiezo como Consumer Service. Después me promueven como gerente de Customer service, gerente de logística y estoy siete años todavía con ellos en Planta Reynosa atendiendo a diferentes clientes, ya con con este almacén y planeación a cargo y después me muevo tres años a Nogales, Sonora, con una planta que había sido recientemente adquirida por Britton. Ahí es donde conozco el lado industrial, aeroespacial y pues yo creo que te digo que fue mi graduación porque ahí depure todo lo que fui aprendiendo en las experiencias previas y sobre todo por la cultura de trabajo. Ese es algo que sí quiero recalcar en la Las empresas cuando invierten en una, en un talento, obviamente te dan todas las bases para que tú puedas ser exitoso y que tengas una toma de decisiones efectiva en el futuro. Esta empresa me ayudó bastante porque a pesar de que yo fui gerente en la primera oportunidad con 27 años, pues no traía realmente todo el bagaje, sí podía tener la experiencia.

 

[00:25:59] Muy joven, muy joven para para ese puesto, obviamente.

 

[00:26:03] Correcto, pero por el ímpetu, las ganas y por todo lo demás tuve esa promoción y después, cuando estoy fuera y me dicen te ofrecemos esto, pero para que te la lleves escalonada, te vamos a enseñar a ser un buen gerente. Cursos, entrenamientos internos externos, proyectos, experiencias con clientes, experiencias con proveedores, viajes Todo eso me llevó a poder tener ya ese fortalecimiento en mi carácter y a la vez también en mis habilidades gerenciales, en mis habilidades técnicas y blandas. Y yo creo que eso me me dejó en la parte más rica en mi experiencia automotriz. Después, aparte, llegando al punto de martingala, todavía hay un par de compañías más que me ofrecen la oportunidad de conocer el Bajío. Mi familia por parte de mi papá vive aquí en cerca de Querétaro. Entonces me ofrecen una superintendencia para manejar en un campus tres plantas y pues nos movemos no con toda la familia. Después de estar te digo 18 años en Reynosa crecen en Nogales, Sonora. Me muevo a la ciudad de Querétaro, donde actualmente ya ya llevamos aproximadamente cinco años, pero mi trabajo estaba en Celaya. Esta compañía es que caen y pues también una experiencia muy padre, pero lo que le comentaba a Juan Carlos lamentablemente y no por hacerme la promoción en el equipo de ciudad, es es es muy rica también en lo que es, es de negocios, mucha mucha presencia de de este también empresas nacionales e internacionales.

 

[00:27:53] Hay de hecho armadoras, pero los últimos años ha estado muy golpeada, no por la violencia. Entonces aquí viene la parte donde hay una un quiebre en mi carrera, porque sufro un atentado EM, un intento de asalto en en, en carretera y pues bueno, esto hace que este después de. Pues tener ahí una rehabilitación de cuatro meses porque recibí un impacto de bala este en la cabeza. Qué horror! Entonces regresé, pero pues para decirles muchas gracias, está súper buena la oportunidad, pero este no regreso. Y fue ya cuando me quedo en Querétaro. Desde un principio habíamos fijado nuestra residencia aquí en Querétaro y yo era el que viajaba, iba y venía una distancia aproximadamente de 50 kilómetros. Después de ahí me me quedo en otra compañía y al final pues bueno, ya después de como para llegar al punto que me están mencionando este, estoy en esta compañía otros dos años grandes de México Automotive y también muy excelente experiencia, excelente compañerismo, grande aprendizaje, conozco este más de otros clientes como es BMW u este y pues tengo más también oportunidad de refinar todo lo que es el aspecto gerencial y logístico, el aprendizaje logístico y llega la oportunidad con Martín Urrea.

 

[00:29:25] Actualmente estoy laborando ahí como gerente de operaciones en cadena de suministro y pues te digo, ha sido una experiencia que te lo platiqué, yo creo que ahorita en media hora, pero pues son 22 años bien vividos. Yo creo que una de las cosas que he aprendido en esta carrera y pues las partes buenas y partes malas es es el manejo de las prioridades. ¿No me queda ahora muy claro, cosa que no tenía claro el día 1 cuando les platiqué del Delphi, pero hoy en día sí estoy muy muy consciente de que pues todos los días yo doy gracias a Dios, todos los días doy gracias por mi familia y hasta en un tercer lugar ya doy gracias por un trabajo porque todo lo puedes perder en un segundo y pues nos pasamos 24 siete como bien decimos los los suplicantes, verdad? Pero en realidad este hay que recordar porque estamos allá afuera buscando esta oportunidad y generando esa es experiencia. Y la respuesta la tenemos en casa y la tenemos también aquí dentro, que es lo que nos mueve. Y pues bueno, eso es lo que yo creo define mi experiencia en mi background.

 

[00:30:33] Es un es una. Sería una experiencia muy, muy rica, no solo de manera profesional, sino humanamente hablando. Así es que pues bueno, muchísimas gracias por compartirlo con nosotros y con todos nuestros nuestra audiencia. Juan yo sé que tienes ahí varias preguntas, veo que está listo para adelante.

 

[00:30:53] ¿No? Y digo esto es una carrera increíble y son 22 años de muchas experiencias y bueno, pues lamento que la última no haya sido tan buena. ¿Eso no, eso es algo que no la no habla muy bien, pero esperemos que se mejore pronto, no? ¿Y bueno, digo desde tu punto de vista y con 22 años en la industria, cómo has visto la evolución de la cadena de suministros? ¿Como qué ha cambiado? ¿Que veas que ha sido para bien, que ha sido para mal, o sea, desde desde tu punto de vista, que qué opinas?

 

[00:31:29] Pues fíjate que sí ha cambiado bastante cuando cuando te digo yo empecé todavía. Yo creo que lo que ha cambiado ha evolucionado, es más hacia una una era de de que de hacer más la cadena de suministro digital. Antes era muy común esto de las tablitas todo manual. Hacías un pedido. Largos, largos periodos de entrega del producto. Ya existían obviamente las exportaciones y todo, pero siento que ha venido desde un lento a un rápido en un periodo que ahorita pues ya lo que sumamos son 20 años, pero ahora yo lo que veo es. También ha cambiado mucho lo que pide el consumidor. Si ahora las nuevas generaciones y hasta nosotros mismos, que somos de otra generación, pero ya nos estamos adaptando a un ritmo más rápido, no queremos las cosas, las quiero ya, las quiero en este color, la quiero con estas especificaciones. Entonces la calidad de y tiempo, el servicio es sí, creo que ha sido más exigido en en mejorar y sobre todo que en paralelo ha habido tecnologías que han acompañado a la cadena de suministro para poder llegar a ese nivel de entrega. No, yo creo que vamos en un camino donde si antes era rápida la toma de decisiones, que era lo mejor, no sé, un gerente de hace 20 o 30 años decía bueno, tengo chance, tengo una semana para ver esto, ahorita ya tenemos a lo mejor días o quizá ahora no para poder tomar una decisión. Y yo creo que siempre ha sido una un punto súper importante en esto. ¿El gerente de cadena de suministro que tiene que tomar decisiones ante la incertidumbre, con poca información, a veces con un buen feeling, pero también con un buen desarrollo de pronóstico, no? ¿Que viene cómo se ha comportado?

 

[00:33:43] Sí, ha sido realmente exponencial el cambio que hemos visto en la en lo rápido que se tiene que tomar decisiones, en lo rápido que los consumidores quieren el producto, en las especificaciones han cambiado mucho. Y bueno, como tú bien dices, la tecnología, la velocidad al tomar decisiones ha sido clave. Y algo de lo que hace la diferencia entre una cadena de suministro y otra y y lo que hace que una empresa sea exitosa contra otra. Pero cuanto tenías.

 

[00:34:13] ¿Y algo no? Algo muy importante. ¿Y complementando lo que dices, Enrique, es lo que se ha de que tienes que tomar las decisiones, a veces con muy poca información, con algo de experiencia, algo de feeling y un poquito de suerte, porque realmente desafortunadamente en esta industria, sobre todo la la expedita, la automotrices es mucho de eso, no? Y pasándonos un poco a.

 

[00:34:42] No te comentaba así.

 

[00:34:44] ¿Y pues pasándonos un poco a la parte automotriz, qué retos has encontrado o se te han presentado en los procesos de la cadena de suministro específicamente para México?

 

[00:34:57] Yo creo que ahorita la parte de la que te puedo platicar más ha sido en la época que vivimos la la época antes del Cobi y después del gobierno. Este principalmente los los costos no que se han ido por los cielos. Hablando de movimiento contenedores en la que es la parte de Asia hacia acá que hoy por hoy movemos mucho material para poder soportar la industria automotriz de nuestros diferentes clientes, sobre todo Estados Unidos, y nos impactó bastante. No nos impactó bastante puesto que amanecimos un marzo de 2019 y después todo cambió. No me van a dejar mentir, ustedes son expertos, pero todo el mundo después.

 

[00:35:44] Un parteaguas muy claro, digamos muy claro.

 

[00:35:47] ¿Sí, o sea, el tú estabas acostumbrado proyectar un costo de un buque a un precio X y ahora pagas a cinco, no? ¿Y pues esto que que que trajo? Pues el cambio en los presupuestos, el cambio en la estrategia. Actualmente ya en un 20 22. ¿Yo creo que hemos estado buscando nuevas estrategias, sobre todo en la parte de inventarios, trabajando con nuestro las relaciones con los proveedores, buscando más el Saime, buscando el new sharing para que nuestros proveedores estén cerca, para que los inventarios no los tengamos nosotros los tenemos compartidos con ellos, pero veo, veo la gran diferencia de que ahora nos estamos cuidando unos a otros cliente proveedor para poder enfrentar lo que está allá afuera, no? ¿Que es este la gran demanda del consumo? No creo que todavía veamos terminar este situación del de la del COBIT próximamente, pero creo sí que estamos mejor preparados psicológicamente, anímicamente en enfrentar los retos que vienen y que se están presentando día a día. Porque si tu siguiente pregunta es cómo ve el futuro, yo lo veo de aquí a un año porque ya no puedo ver más, no tengo mi bola de cristal para decirte esto va a desaparecer, van a bajar los precios, la inflación, etcétera No, yo creo que es es un día a día.

 

[00:37:10] Juan, es este paso, seguro das el otro y vas avanzando conforme los retos van llegando. Pero la parte como te decía de la el poder de la información que tienes acerca de tu cliente, el poder de información que tienes y relación con tus proveedores y sobre todo que empiezas a ser una una operación flexible en la que te permites también bajar, disminuir tus inventarios a cierto nivel para que no te impacte en tu en tu nivel de presupuesto, pero a la vez que es suficiente para poder cumplir. ¿Satisfacer a tu cliente es una gran estrategia, no? Que hoy por hoy todos los días lo hacemos. Y créeme que yo creo que no hay nadie en el mercado que te pueda vaticinar que va a pasar en los próximos cinco años. ¿Yo creo que el contrario lo único que nos van a decir es siguen los retos muchachos, prepárense, sigan este adquiriendo todo, esa es experiencia del día a día y creo que lo más importante es es pensar en qué vamos a poder compartir con las generaciones, no?

 

[00:38:19] Totalmente.

 

[00:38:21] Es una gran lección y el nos deja todo eso que no hay nada seguro y todo se te puede acabar en un mes. ¿Qué fue lo que nos pasó?

 

[00:38:29] Bueno, David, todo lo que nos estás diciendo obviamente impacta el futuro de las cadenas de suministro e impacta de manera grande como las empresas entienden y tienen su estrategia hacia el futuro en Martín. ¿Cuál es tu función? ¿Cuál es tu día a día? ¿Qué es lo que haces ahora y cuáles son tus retos más importantes? Ya ahora, no sólo en la industria en la que participas, sino en general, en lo que hace tu empresa.

 

[00:38:58] Sí, soy responsable de todas las operaciones de cadena de suministro clientes, proveedores, compras directas e indirectas. ¿Tenemos almacenes, recibos, embarques toda la hora, así que la cadena completa no? Y me da la oportunidad de ver todas las oportunidades y también conocer todo lo que. Lo que manejamos adentro y hacia fuera. Yo creo que la clave. La clave es conocer nuestro proceso, conocer los procesos de nuestros proveedores para poder estar preparados ante la demanda de nuestros clientes. No nos dedicamos a la fundición de aluminio para la fabricación de mono, bloques y otra experiencia más. Yo nunca había estado en empresa, sí en automotriz, pero no en fundición. Y yo creo que aquí voy a hacer mi doctorado porque hay bastante, bastante información muy rica en aprendizaje. Yo creo que los principales retos que ahorita tenemos es control de nuestro inventario, ser más efectivos comprando este a precios competitivos en el mercado para poder.

 

[00:40:11] Como David no estás diciendo que los retos más importantes ves la parte del inventario que es muy importante y los precios no el costo, aunque empezamos a ver que ya está bajando, a diferencia de cuando estábamos con el Corona Virus en su apogeo, todavía están mucho más elevados de lo que estaban antes del Corona. ¿Virus, no?

 

[00:40:35] Sí, correcto. Y te mencionaba también parte de la estrategia de la administración del inventario y buscar satisfacer a nuestros clientes no de la mejor manera para que sigan continuando con nosotros. Y principal reto, como tú dices, el movimiento marítimo hacia México también. Este lo que es es de muchas partes y.

 

[00:40:54] En particular de algún país, ves que pueda ser más problemático que de otro o.

 

[00:41:00] Ahorita. ¿Yo creo que por motivos que todos conocemos en Europa, la situación de esta guerra o posible guerra yo creo que es la que ahorita nos está manteniendo más atentos, no la parte asiática, porque de alguna forma ya llevamos dos o tres años con esta situación y de alguna forma ya lo ya lo vemos o ya lo estamos manejando, no? Pero sí estamos ante la expectativa de que puede suceder con este impacto. Sí, puede ser muchos cambios, sobre todo no solamente para la industria automotriz, sino para muchas industrias tradicionales. Y pues nada, tenemos que estar atentos para ver cómo manejamos eso. Digo, lo que estamos también observando es tener a nuestros proveedores cerca, hacer mejores relaciones comerciales con ellos, buscar el ganar, ganar mutuo para que podamos hacerle frente a las situaciones que vienen.

 

[00:41:54] Yo pienso que todo esto es como un virus. También lo que nos dejó como positivo, porque no creo que todo pueda ser negativo, pero es unas mejores alianzas entre proveedor cliente de lo que está funcionando o cómo enfrentamos juntos en diferentes áreas de materiales directos indirectos para poder sobrellevar la crisis. Esto es algo, tal vez una buena lección que nos dejó esta pandemia.

 

[00:42:19] Sí, fíjate que ese es un punto muy importante, Juan, porque nos acordamos en esta pandemia de nuestro lado humano. Independientemente la industria con la que trabajes. Yo. En ser empáticos. Yo creo que esa es la palabra que usaría clave. Sí, este. Ya nos preocupamos más por la otra persona, Buscamos tener ese aprendizaje mutuo ante las situaciones.

 

[00:42:51] Mejor trabajo en equipo correcto. El realmente siempre hemos hablado, no en cadenas de suministro, en la importancia que tienen que ser el integrarse cada cada paso. Pero creo que el Corona Virus nos dio a entender aún más lo importante que es esto, el el estar sumamente integrado con tus proveedores pero también con tus clientes y el tratar de tener una estrategia global. Cambiando un poco David, este el ritmo de la entrevista, porque poco a poco vamos a tener que cerrar este. Nuevamente muchas gracias por compartir todo lo que has compartido con nosotros, pero si pudieras regresar en el tiempo y darte un consejo a ti mismo, digamos cuando tenías 18 años. Hay mucha gente joven que nos que nos escucha ahora. ¿Qué consejo te darías al David Contreras de de 18 años?

 

[00:43:42] Em. He pensado mucho de esa pregunta. De hecho, es una pregunta detonante, yo creo, porque. Regresar con la experiencia que tienes ahora y con el ímpetu que teníamos en esa edad. ¿Yo creo que sería una combinación excelente, no? Yo creo que lo que le aconsejaría sería ten paciencia, las cosas van a llegar a su debido tiempo. Dios tiene un plan ya trazado y te va a sorprender todos los días en las experiencias tan ricas, no solamente a nivel profesional, sino también a nivel familiar, que le diría no desaproveches, haz un balance de vida y carrera. Conoce, conoce de Dios, conoce de las cosas buenas que te da la vida. Disfrútalas y no te quedes nada más en el trabajo. No es. Es una experiencia increíble. Estos 22 años no me puedo quejar, pero sí haría quizá un cambio en el en la forma como balance y dedicaría ese tiempo a estar con mi familia, ver crecer, ver crecer a mis hijos y sobre todo, que no me mueva, porque quizá, como es muy clásico, no te mueves por 5 $. 10 $. Dale tiempo al proceso, madura tus ideas, conoce, date el tiempo de conocer a las compañías, conoce a fondo los procesos y hazte experto no solamente en la industria automotriz, sino en la filosofía de la vida. No es respetarse unos a otros, ser empático. No te esperes a la pandemia para reconocer a tu vecino. Le voy a decir eso, ni tampoco para dar las gracias ni decir por favor. No, yo creo que ese respeto últimamente se ha perdido, pero yo le voy a hacer una recomendación a mi yo de 18 años de que no pierdas esos valores, mantente firme, van a venir muy buenas tormentas, pero la barca está bien construida y pues estás acompañado de la mano de Dios para que dirija ese timón. Yo le diría eso, le daría una palabra de confianza, no le no le advertiría acerca de lo que viene, sino que mantenga su enfoque como lo está haciendo. Yo creo que él va a ser capaz de tomar sus decisiones muy bien.

 

[00:46:00] Muy, muy profundo. Y paciencia, que normalmente eso es lo que nos falta a todos. O sea, tienes toda la razón, dijiste ahí dale tiempo al proceso. Conoce hasta experto no solo en la cadena de suministro en la vida. Y luego dijiste dos cosas que me llamaron mucho la atención. Da gracias y di por favor qué es lo que hemos estado escuchando desde que teníamos tres años con nuestras mamás. Yo creo y. Y sigue siendo un consejo válido y poderoso a cualquier edad.

 

[00:46:33] Claro.

 

[00:46:34] Muchas gracias, Juan. Yo sé que también tenías ahí.

 

[00:46:39] Sí, digo. Primero que nada, agradecerte por tu tiempo Ha sido. Nos. Nos conocimos antes y fue una, la verdad, muy enriquecedor, el poder platicar contigo, ver tu trayectoria es increíble y me llevo muchas lecciones y muchas notas, como te mencioné. Pero también me gustaría poder compartir esa información con más gente. ¿Entonces, si alguien se quiere conectar contigo o aprender más de ti, con quién? ¿Cómo? ¿Cómo? ¿Cómo te pueden contactar?

 

[00:47:09] Sí, claro. Soy muy activo en LinkedIn. ¿Me pueden encontrar como David Contreras? Em Normalmente estoy publicando de 2 a 3 veces por semana y de hecho lo acabo de empezar a hacer de forma más frecuente hace unos cuatro meses. Tenía muy abandonada esta esta red social, pero el día de hoy estoy compartiendo, además de temas de mi marca profesional como experto en cadena de suministro en nivel automotriz, en lo que es el área automotriz. También estoy dándome el espacio para escribir acerca de experiencias, compartir consejos, compartir enseñanzas que yo he tenido a lo largo de mi carrera y que sin duda pueden ser enriquecedoras para cualquier persona. Y los invito a que visiten mi perfil con todo gusto. ¿Por ahí empezamos el networking y pues a la orden no? Para también empezar a interactuar con con cualquiera que necesite ahorita o consejo que está apenas iniciando este camino en cadena de suministro o por qué no, también los experimentados. ¿Digo, a veces necesitamos ese acompañamiento de mentoría o de coaching y pues para eso estamos, no para brindar el mejor apoyo posible, también para para todo el que se acerque, no?

 

[00:48:25] David Pues muchísimas gracias. Muchas, muchas gracias, Juan. Una gran entrevista. ¿Con qué te quedas, Juan? Cuál será tu. De todo lo que obviamente David nos compartió y obviamente sé que hay mucho, pero. ¿Qué es lo que más te gustó de esta entrevista antes de despedir el programa?

 

[00:48:46] Pues la verdad, conocer de la historia la e lo que es vino, paciencia, cree en el proceso. Eso tal vez. A veces nos hace falta mucho porque queremos llegar al final sin haber pasado los obstáculos. Y bueno, también lo de la parte de disfruta de la familia man, ten un buen balance en la vida. Creo que es algo que para las generaciones o digamos que la vida moderna nos hace falta, entonces me lo llevo de tarea.

 

[00:49:16] Totalmente de acuerdo. Bueno, ya vieron este para todos los que nos están escuchando, si les gusta este tipo de entrevistas, si disfrutan este entender y conocer un poco más las experiencias de gente como David Contreras. Y bueno, realmente una experiencia para para escribir un libro o una película en algún momento. Estoy con altibajos muy marcados, pero David, nuevamente muchísimas gracias a todos los que nos escuchan. Nuevamente mi nombre es Enrique Álvarez, gracias por participar. Esto es otro episodio de Supply Chain Now en español. Que tengan un buen día y hasta la próxima.

Episode Summary

David Contreras had three options for a career – the church, medicine, or engineering.  And 22 years into a supply chain career, 16 of which being in the automotive industry, he has never looked back from industrial engineering!  In this new Supply Chain Now en Espanol episode, listen as Enrique Alvarez and special guest host Juan Carlos Rios welcome David Contreras to the show to learn all about his career journey, what he thinks it takes to make big supply chain decisions, and more.

Episode Transcript

[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.

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Featured Guests

David Contreras is a Supply Chain Operations Manager. He is an experienced supply chain manager with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. Expert in root cause analysis, management, and continuous improvement. Consultant and Mentor. Connect with David on LinkedIn. 

Hosts

Enrique Alvarez

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Demo Perez started his career in 1997 in the industry by chance when a relative asked him for help for two just weeks putting together an operation for FedEx Express at the Colon Free Zone, an area where he was never been but accepted the challenge. Worked in all roles possible from a truck driver to currier to a sales representative, helped the brand introduction, market share growth and recognition in the Colon Free Zone, at the end of 1999 had the chance to meet and have a chat with Fred Smith ( FedEx CEO), joined another company in 2018 who took over the FedEx operations as Operations and sales manager, in 2004 accepted the challenge from his company to leave the FedEx operations and business to take over the operation and business of DHL Express, his major competitor and rival so couldn’t say no, by changing completely its operation model in the Free Zone. In 2005 started his first entrepreneurial journey by quitting his job and joining two friends to start a Freight Forwarding company. After 8 months was recruited back by his company LSP with the General Manager role with the challenge of growing the company and make it fully capable warehousing 3PL. By 2009 joined CSCMP and WERC and started his journey of learning and growing his international network and high-level learning. In 2012 for the first time joined a local association ( the Panama Maritime Chamber) and worked in the country’s first Logistics Strategy plan, joined and lead other associations ending as president of the Panama Logistics Council in 2017. By finishing his professional mission at LSP with a company that was 8 times the size it was when accepted the role as GM with so many jobs generated and several young professionals coached, having great financial results, took the decision to move forward and start his own business from scratch by the end of 2019. with a friend and colleague co-founded IPL Group a company that started as a boutique 3PL and now is gearing up for the post-Covid era by moving to the big leagues.

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

Joshua is a student from Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Communication and Digital Media. His experience ranges from Plug and Play México, DearDoc, and Nissan México creating unique social media marketing campaigns and graphics design. Joshua helps to amplify the voice of supply chain here at Supply Chain Now by assisting in graphic design, content creation, asset logistics, and more.  In his free time he likes to read and write short stories as well as watch movies and television series.

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

Donna Krache is a former CNN executive producer who has won several awards in journalism and communication, including three Peabodys.  She has 30 years’ experience in broadcast and digital journalism. She led the first production team at CNN to convert its show to a digital platform. She has authored many articles for CNN and other media outlets. She taught digital journalism at Georgia State University and Arizona State University. Krache holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. She is a serious sports fan who loves the Braves. She is president of the Dave Krache Foundation. Named in honor of her late husband, this non-profit pays fees for kids who want to play sports but whose parents are facing economic challenges.

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Vicki White

Controller

Vicki has a long history of rising to challenges and keeping things up and running. First, she supported her family’s multi-million dollar business as controller for 12 years, beginning at the age of 17. Then, she worked as an office manager and controller for a wholesale food broker. But her biggest feat? Serving as the chief executive officer of her household, while her entrepreneur husband travelled the world extensively. She fed, nurtured, chaperoned, and chauffeured three daughters all while running a newsletter publishing business and remaining active in her community as a Stephen’s Minister, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer, licensed realtor and POA Board president (a title she holds to this day). A force to be reckoned with in the office, you might think twice before you meet Vicki on the tennis court! When she’s not keeping the books balanced at Supply Chain Now or playing tennis matches, you can find Vicki spending time with her husband Greg, her 4 fur babies, gardening, cleaning (yes, she loves to clean!) and learning new things.

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Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

Katherine Hintz, MBA is a marketing professional who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Kim Reuter

Host, The Freight Insider

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.

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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

The founder of Logistics Executive Group, Kim Winter delivers 40 years of executive leadership experience spanning Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Corporate Advisory, Motivational Speaking, Trade Facilitation and across the Supply Chain, Logistics, 3PL, E-commerce, Life Science, Cold Chain, FMCG, Retail, Maritime, Defence, Aviation, Resources, and Industrial sectors. Operating from the company’s global offices, he is a regular contributor of thought leadership to industry and media, is a professional Master of Ceremonies, and is frequently invited to chair international events.

He is a Board member of over a dozen companies throughout APAC, India, and the Middle East, a New Zealand citizen, he holds formal resident status in Australia and the UAE, and is the Australia & New Zealand representative for the UAE Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), the Middle East’s largest Economic Free Zone.

A triathlete and ex-professional rugby player, Kim is a qualified (IECL Sydney) executive coach and the Founder / Chairman of the successful not for profit humanitarian organization, Oasis Africa (www. oasisafrica.org.au), which has provided freedom from poverty through education to over 8000 mainly orphaned children in East Africa’s slums. Kim holds an MBA and BA from Massey & Victoria Universities (NZ).

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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kevin Brown is the Director of Business Development for Vector Global Logistics.  He has a dedicated interest in Major Account Management, Enterprise Sales, and Corporate Leadership. He offers 25 years of exceptional experience and superior performance in the sales of Logistics, Supply Chain, and Transportation Management. Kevin is a dynamic, high-impact, sales executive and corporate leader who has consistently exceeded corporate goals. He effectively coordinates multiple resources to solution sell large complex opportunities while focusing on corporate level contacts across the enterprise. His specialties include targeting and securing key accounts by analyzing customer’s current business processes and developing solutions to meet their corporate goals. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Jose Manuel Irarrazaval es parte del equipo de Vector Global Logistics Chile. José Manuel es un gerente experimentado con experiencia en finanzas corporativas, fusiones y adquisiciones, financiamiento y reestructuración, inversión directa y financiera, tanto en Chile como en el exterior. José Manuel tiene su MBA de la Universidad de Pennsylvania- The Wharton School. Conéctese con Jose Manuel en LinkedIn.

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Nick Roemer has had a very diverse and extensive career within design and sales over the last 15 years stretching from China, Dubai, Germany, Holland, UK, and the USA. In the last 5 years, Nick has developed a hawk's eye for sustainable tech and the human-centric marketing and sales procedures that come with it. With his far-reaching and strong network within the logistics industry, Nick has been able to open new avenues and routes to market within major industries in the USA and the UAE. Nick lives by the ethos, “Give more than you take." His professional mission is to make the logistics industry leaner, cleaner and greener.

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.

She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include CiscoMicrosoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Greg White

Principal & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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