Enrique Alvarez (00:00:19):
Welcome to another episode of logistics with purpose. I’m your host Enrique Alvarez. And today we have an amazing guest. Uh, it’s going to be one of those conversations that I’ll basically use shut up and let my guests talk. And this person not only has an incredible trajectory when it comes to logistics, he is an expert in logistics, but he also has purpose us is one of his core values and probably the, the main driving force behind everything that he’s been doing. And so for me, it’s going to be a very exciting, very interesting conversation. And before I just introduce you to our guests today, just wanted to remind you that if you enjoy conversations like this one on the ones that we’ve had in the past, don’t forget to sign up. Uh, we’re part of Supply Chain Now this is another episode of logistics with purpose, and you can listen to our episodes in any, um, any plays that you get your podcasts from.
Enrique Alvarez (00:01:16):
We also have a YouTube channel, LinkedIn website and everything else. So once again, welcome to logistics with purpose and without further ado, let me introduce you to someone that not only is industrial engineer from Mexico. He studied a masters in Barcelona, logistics, masters in Barcelona, and then he also went to a Geneva to the center of humanitarian studies. He has a certain certifications as well from Georgia tech, and he’s a member of the special coffee association and he is currently now the country director and general manager for doctors without borders or met son’s son from Pierre. Now probably butchered my French they’re in Kampala, Uganda with us today, Diego Flores, and with us today, again, super excited and happy to introduce you to Diego Florez. Diego, how are you doing today? Good. Uh, good, uh, afternoon here in Atlanta. What, uh, what’s the time in Kampala today right now? Hi Enrique.
Diego Flores (00:02:20):
Uh, it’s 7:00 PM here. It’s almost 7:00 PM.
Enrique Alvarez (00:02:23):
Well, good afternoon to you. Good evening to you. And again, thank you so much for being here with us today. I, uh, excuse going to be a very exciting episode I’m sure. And thank you before we kind of deep dive into your professional career and trajectory and what the, uh, Oregon state your organization is doing and how much it’s helping others. I just want to say thank you on behalf of myself, the team at vector, everyone that actually listens to supply chain now, I mean, it’s just incredible to have people like yourself, caring and being very selfless about helping others and really your life to really changing or improving other people’s lives. So thank you very much and welcome.
Diego Flores (00:03:06):
Thank you. And Vic is really nice. Uh, uh, it’s in fact, it’s my first ever podcast. So quite excited to be here, to share with all of you about MSF and what we are doing around the world. Not only with COVID, but also some, a lot of folder things. Yeah.
Enrique Alvarez (00:03:22):
I kind of tried to introduce the organization’s name in French by myself, and I’m pretty sure that I did a terrible job. So before I start asking you about you and how do you pronounce it? I said medicine sounds from,
Diego Flores (00:03:34):
Well, uh, my, um, my French is not that it’s not, it’s also not the best, but, uh, it’s, [inaudible] kind of, but if we, if we have a Francophone listening, I’m sure he will make sure she will, he will make fun of my accent as well. And my pronunciation
Enrique Alvarez (00:03:51):
They’ll have all your contact information, uh, so they can reach to you afterwards and kind of comment on your French too. But no, I just want to say
Diego Flores (00:04:00):
Semi said that it’s also well in Lynn, in America and then in north America, Canada is doctors without borders. It’s also another name that,
Enrique Alvarez (00:04:09):
Yep. [inaudible] so, but before we even go into any of that, cause, uh, before you even started working with them, um, tell us a little bit more about you. Tell us a little bit about your upbringing. You’re originally from Mexico. Tell us a little bit more about you and all these different steps that YouTube that led you to where you are now, which is very exciting.
Diego Flores (00:04:32):
Okay. Thanks. Uh, so, well, um, I’m originally from the north part of Mexico from the state, which is Colquitt, what we, uh, and, uh, I grew up in a, in a CD, which is basically everything is, uh, revolving around. They, they, the industry of the steel, the steel production. Um, but then, uh, when I just finished high school, I moved to the neighbor state, which is, uh, like a lot of people in my city, uh, did back then and even nowadays, uh, and, uh, well I stood at, uh, I’m an industrial and industrial engineer. And there basically since my internship internship times, uh, I was kind of already into supply chain, into logistics, into materials handling and all that stuff, you know? Uh, so my first ever job, uh, uh, wireless, still studying, uh, in the university, uh, I was a planner buyer. So I was in charge of planning, you know, uh, all the orders for the steel, uh, coil set from different thickness and, uh, you know, all the characteristics of the steel that you need for the automotive industry, uh, in this specifically in this, uh, company, uh, steel nowadays, well, it’s called Matassa.
Diego Flores (00:05:51):
They, they produce mainly, uh, automotive, uh, frames, uh, for the France, for the back then. It was a Ram charger, mainly for Chrysler. So we were stomping all the components there, so assembling and all that, but long story short, I was in charge of the planning and buying, uh, the steel for, for the stamping area, for the production of the components of those frames. So it was my very first in measure in machining, EMR materials, requirement planning, and just in time deliveries, uh, stuff like that, you know, more putting on practice, uh, what I learned in the university
Enrique Alvarez (00:06:33):
While you were still studying, uh, uh, at the university. Right? Yeah. Then so, and before, before you jump ahead, cause I, I still want to extract a little more of your upbringing and some of the experiences that you had, because it sounds to me just by the conversation we had before the show, but then also just by looking into your LinkedIn profile and all that, that you you’ve always been very involved in giving back. I mean, for you, it sounds like it has been important for you your entire life. Could you tell us a little more, I mean, where, where do you get this promise that your, so your parents is a year someone a mentor, like, well, why do you care about what happens to other people?
Diego Flores (00:07:11):
It’s kind of, yeah, that’s a really good question. [inaudible] okay. So I grew up seeing my parents, you know, uh, always being quite heavily involved in, you know, community helping and stuff like that. Uh, what we call the well, the lion’s club, uh, the club, the loan is in Spanish, you know, uh, which is everywhere. I mean, since I have memory until basically I graduated from, from, from university, my, my mother and father, they were heavily involved in, in this, uh, you know, in this, uh, altruistic activities and as well Caritas and stuff like that, you know? So in some way I was kind of dragged to these because I was helping my parents in, in the activities that were organized, the weekends and stuff like that, to be honest, I never, I didn’t, it was not. So obviously I, I was not really expecting to, to switch my career to become fully for the NGO, but since basically earliest, since I have memory again, uh, I was almost every weekend, uh, or quite often, you know, involved in activities like this in my city, uh, with my parents, you know, uh, then
Enrique Alvarez (00:08:33):
Do you remember anything that maybe your mom or your father or someone around those times told you that you’re like, Hey, listen, that’s just something you always have to do or any kind of a, I
Diego Flores (00:08:43):
Think, yeah, well, this is my big quite cliche because probably all the parents tell this to their children, but really stay on my, on my head. Uh, especially my mother, you know, she told me, do do your best, become a manager. You become a ski or become a director or whatever. Uh, and you know, in an industry, if you want to be an engineer and stuff like that, but it’s not about the money. My son it’s about the impact of your job, you know, on a whole is positively impacting, uh, the orders around you. And even those that you cannot see and you don’t meet. So keep in mind, whichever decision you take, whichever thing you do try to think about the impact in orders, you know, uh, and then, and then, and also do it without not trying to get recognition, just do it because we need to, we need to be like this human beings, you know, all those, the old days we did, you know, them, Mexican mother protective that they know exactly what you’re talking about and stuff like that. So, yeah,
Enrique Alvarez (00:09:50):
No, and I, I wish more, uh, more, more parents and mothers and fathers, and everyone would kind of teach that to their children because you’re right. And maybe they do. And then at some point we’re just going to grow up and forget about those things, but, but that is really powerful and impactful. And it has been a guiding principle in your life. It sounds like, and it’s just, just kind of quoting your mom. It’s not about the money, but the impact of your job. That’s, I mean, that’s very, that’s that tells a lot about kind of, uh, someone. So this is, this is great. And you, you mentioned your brother at some point as well. He was, you have a couple, you have two brothers. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I do
Diego Flores (00:10:26):
Have three brothers say we are out of the four, we are three engineers and the younger one, the youngest one’s already uh, it’s uh, it’s uh, an accountant. So we always make fun of him because of that. I respect a lot the council, by the way, uh, my older brother and they want this next to me, um, uh, some mechanical engineer and the basically also him, uh, I was following his career, you know, like since he graduated as well, he was seem to logistics and supply chain. And, uh, I was in some way, when he started to study his master degree, I was kind of asking him a lot of questions about his test, his, he was doing something related to materials, requirement, planning, MRP, and stuff like that, which back then it was the thing, you know, MRPs MRIs MRPs and stuff like, um, and I kind of human help him, you know, to, to, to research some materials, uh, to get some materials from the library, because back then, yeah, we had the internet not so much like nowadays.
Diego Flores (00:11:32):
So I was going into the library or from my campus to get some materials about the MRP and stuff like that, and just help him with his master test, his sub subject. So seeing him a, he was kind of my mentor. And even now they say, share a lot with him, you know, I, we share each, uh, experiences and problems, uh, that we are facing in, or, you know, daily, daily, daily basis. And, uh, we advise each other with totally different perspectives because now I’m on the NGO and he’s on the, still on the automotive sector.
Enrique Alvarez (00:12:10):
Right? Yeah. That’s, I mean, that sounds, uh, sounds like a great compliment to have, right. And a, and a trusted advisor as well. And it sounds like you guys are good friends too, so it’s always, always great. And I, sorry, I interrupted you, but so you were saying you had this first experience with [inaudible] and you were just hooked with supply chain. It seems like. What did you, what happened afterwards?
Diego Flores (00:12:33):
Well, well, yeah, so I spent some time working there in Tulsa first as a planner buyer, as I say it. And then, then, then I move a little bit to the projects implementation department. So I was kind of involved in the design of the materials handling equipment to calculating the transport cost, which we know in, you know, uh, how many, uh, frames we can fit into a railroad, uh, you know, car or in a flatbed and stuff like that, you know, but then after that, uh, I moved, uh, into a OEM and an original equipment manufacturer to Navistar international products. Uh, and then a specific value there. I was working in the hay in one, uh, uh, it’s the U S business unit, which is called, uh, the TSC, which is this truck specialty center. So some, some of the listeners might know that in the north of Mexico, there is this assembly plan to two assembly lines.
Diego Flores (00:13:42):
One of them is producing a significant number of, well, I don’t know nowadays, but it was producing a significant number of Prostar Navistar, uh, Prostar international model trucks. So the trucks were coming out fresh from the production line, and we were kind of even, uh, customizing those trucks according to more specific needs of the customers, mainly in the United States and also in Canada. So we were kind of, um, it’s for examples, for some trucks in the very north, we were installing the, uh, chains for the, on the tire, sort of the snow and stuff like that, but all type of customization, as far as it was making sense from business point of view, uh, and then shipping those trucks, uh, to the firm points in the continent. I spent some time working for them and international. I learned,
Enrique Alvarez (00:14:37):
Yeah, it was good. Just going to ask you that. So if, uh, the differences between one and the other, I mean, you continue to learn different things in the supply chain, not as supply chain, what are the three things that you think kind of, uh, made, uh, Navi star, such an amazing company, uh, cause they have an impressive supply chain and they have incredible processes. So w w what were the kind of three things that you thought, well, wow, this is, this is world-class.
Diego Flores (00:15:05):
Yeah, well, I mean, it’s I before, meaning not as sorry. I had the experience of being on assembly lines of, uh, light, fake calls, or even, uh, big cops and SUV’s and stuff like that. But some people might think that a truck has a assembly lines for big trucks might be boring because the speed is slower, but not in one way. I mean, those trucks at the end of the day are the ones moving everything around around the United States, Mexico, the old enough to regional everywhere, you know, so, but I mean, what was so amazing for me is like, uh, I dunno if what’s quite special for me, so I dunno, some people might wonder why, but then at the end of the month, you know, all the pressure, trying to make sure that, that we were fulfilling the orders on the trucks being dispatch on time to the different, uh, distributors literally, which were hundreds, um, yeah, hundreds around a United States say around Mexico and Canada, so stain all this coordination or this oldest organization for the trucks to be dispatched in so many different directions, you know, and be there on time. That’s for the [inaudible] products, you know, but also the arrival, uh, back then, it is still nowadays, I don’t know if pants case the one Penske logistics is the one, uh, working with them, but it’s still, still no, this, uh, well back then, sorry. Uh, seeing all the components arriving, you know, into the plant and, and being put just in place in the assembly line, just in time to be one, when the sequence of the truck it’s reaching a cell in the production line and those components to be assembly on the trucks, uh,
Enrique Alvarez (00:17:02):
It feels like, yeah, it’s like that
Diego Flores (00:17:04):
It’s like an orchestra, you know, like everything’s synchronized. Yes. Once in a while they were some, uh, you know, stockouts and they had to stop the line or change their production plan, whatever, but everyone, back then, I’m sure even now this is facing those challenges, especially nobody’s probably, so
Enrique Alvarez (00:17:23):
I’d say it’s exciting. Right. And it sounds like you were challenged by that and you wanted to learn more and the more you kind of like got into supply chain and the deadlines on the pressure and all that, the happier definitely the more engaged you were as well. And so, no, I totally get it. And please go ahead after Navi star, what ha having still looking for that. And I think everyone that’s listening to this incredible interview, still looking about how did he actually go from Mattel side too, but, but we’re going to bridge that gap slowly because I think that’s where the that’s where the, uh, interesting part of this interviews comes in. So a super good guy. Yeah. So
Diego Flores (00:18:04):
I have, so back then, uh, I was still 25, 20, 26 years old. And, uh, even in fact, then I was feeling that I knew everything about supply chain. If I look backwards nowadays, it’s still, it’s still learning a lot down there. And, um, so while I decided that the, well, okay, I need to, you know, upskill myself and, uh, yeah, well the usual step that everyone at that age takes is like, oh, okay, I’m going for a master degree. So, yeah, well I was checking options in my country, in my city somewhere everywhere, but as well, I was checking off it. And then I found something appealing for me in that moment in Barcelona and in Spain. So I left, uh, Navistar international and then, uh, in October, 2010, I left, uh, I one just started my master’s degree in, uh, in, in the university of Barcelona and in logistics.
Diego Flores (00:19:10):
So yeah, it was quite interesting with a classmates from all around the world, eh, Hey, we’re really good. Uh, uh, really good professors and visitor Mr. Professors there. Eh, so yeah, it was interesting, eh, then to, well, to be honest, I just arrived to, to, to Barcelona. So I come here study to be, to learn, you know, to upskill myself, but also enjoying living in Barcelona. And then definitely I will come back to, to Mexico, to my country to continue growing in the automotive sector. It’s possible, you know, I was still so obsessed with, you know, these, uh, everything which is so appealing and, uh, stressful at the same time from the automotive sector, you know, but then in the middle of my master, some guys call MSF just suddenly publish something, uh, about any wanting the master interested on, on doing their, um, master internship, but as well as specifically helping with, uh, with the project, you know, like to conduct a research and analysis, uh, for them, uh, and then Alex is a, was kind of help us do, do, do, do, do, do, do an assessment of our current it’s African supply chain, uh, network.
Diego Flores (00:20:38):
And if possible, uh, kind of, uh, suggest a low hanging fruits, you know, like w w which improvements are already there, low fruits that we can go for to improve for efficiency, uh, for the east African circulation, uh, network of, uh, MSF back then it was the operational, uh, we were going to that, but they must have been divided into operational secretary sections and all that. So it was a Spanish Spanish section. So yeah, well definitely. Oh my God, this is something interesting. Oh, it’s different,
Enrique Alvarez (00:21:15):
Very, very different from the automotive sector. Right. And you told me that you had other potential internships as well with a German company, and then you had the, uh, uh, the Spanish company, textile and automotive. And, but this,
Diego Flores (00:21:30):
Yeah, it got tension and tension because I have to be honest before, you know, seeing that, uh, Tasman did that, the opportunity that the male, I didn’t know about them. I didn’t, it was not so clear for me. What was an NGO, you know, uh, uh, even less a humanitarian logistics, humanitarian supply chain terms back then were still new. But even for me, when those were things that I don’t remember if I even read about the tools in, in, in college or something like that, you know, so, well, anyway, I did apply for, because they did the idea of working with data and their projects from Africa, middle east in some way, but mainly Africa, east Africa was quite, um, yeah, it was quite the, uh, interesting, so, well, I got the opportunity to, uh, to start to work with them. So for six months, uh, I was, you know, having interviews with the different staff in headquarters, people, uh, in the programs in the missions, we call them in the, in the field in east Africa, people in democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, et cetera, combining that a, that as an, as an engineer that I, um, I wasn’t splitting all together, that data plane of this optimization, um, and stuff like that, but I was still having an [inaudible] sector.
Diego Flores (00:23:05):
I mean, I was not thinking to the, into the, these humanitarian medical operations and those peculiarities, those constraints, which might not be so obvious until you really experience them, you know? So yeah, it was a nice experience.
Enrique Alvarez (00:23:25):
And when you say so, cause I I’m following exactly what you’re saying and I’m an engineer as well. And then think a lot of people that are listening to us are as well. I can picture you kind of compiling this huge Excel spreadsheets with all the information when you say, so what component, I mean, and now that you’ve been with them for so long and we’ll, we’ll get into the organization and the NGO in a second, but what was kind of those things that, I mean, you now know that probably could have helped you back then during that summer internship that you’re like, oh, I never considered this or that. Or
Diego Flores (00:23:59):
Initially I was totalling assuming that the quality of the data was optimum. It was decent. You know, I was as well with the assumption that those tools being used at the last mile, you know, where those trucks, those things, those medical items were given to the patients. I was assuming that all that data was, uh, you know, being recorded online perfectly, you know, just like in the moment, like you barcodes and stuff like that. I’m not trying to say that it was not that the data was not decent enough, but there were gaps. You know, they were challenges that they were definitely discrepancies there in name, which is one of the big challenges in the humanitarian world, let’s say. Uh, but my assumption was that the data is perfect. You know, there is not bias that they come from an industry that has
Enrique Alvarez (00:24:54):
To be perfectly.
Diego Flores (00:24:56):
And then, then of course that’s for the data part. But as well, when I was starting to draft proposals or models, or, you know, coming to present to some people with already years of experience in the field, uh, solutions, they knew I was there learning, but they were kind of, you know, well, it makes sense what you’re saying, but it’s not like that on the field, like some, uh, invisible barriers when it comes to transportation. So I was, yeah. So you were saying, this is your lead time, but then I see the, on the real performance is far away wars and these why these, why you are not penalizing the, you know, the transporter with stuff like, it’s not like this, you know, like, uh, it’s different that, you know, and, uh, and I was kind of getting a little bit frustrated, but at the same time, really curious why everyone tells me, well, you, but it’s not like these unique to see it on the field.
Diego Flores (00:25:53):
You, you need to be on the field to understand it so well while in this internship, um, eh, yeah, I had to pportunity to visit, uh, Cameroon and then Kenya have to visit the pores of Delilah. And I always saw my strategic, uh, uh, Hey locations are, but still, what’s not enough a couple of weeks here and a couple of weeks in the other site. So when I finished, uh, these, uh, internship and the one, I just deliver something, uh, to my mind, I, here I say, well, I just graduated from, uh, to finish my master degree if possible. I would like to join the pool of, uh, supply chain, uh, professionals of, uh, myself and go to one of your missions. And it’s what I did, uh, straight from Barcelona. My back then, my parents were not kind of happy after my little bit more than one year waiting for me back in Mexico. I told them, I’m applying back to Mexico, I’m going to South Sudan. And that’s also done back then. So someone was just recently declare a new conference. So it was the youngest country in the world. Yeah. Anyway, so that was my question of my mother for my first two missions.
Enrique Alvarez (00:27:07):
That must’ve been a very interesting conversation with your mom and it’s, it’s an amazing thing, right? The way that your life kind of like slowly kind of, uh, move towards that. And, uh, and, and we have a lot of listeners that are younger and they’re graduating. I mean, if they, if they would like to learn a little bit more, how to quickly understand what they want to do or want to be in life. And I know that this changes every day, it still happens to me. And what would be those kinds of, I guess, suggestions that you would have for, for people that are listening to us, that, that don’t necessarily know what they want to do. They might have an idea. Maybe they want to be in the automotive sector, like you mentioned, and then you completely one and two completely different. What, what has someone that’s still figuring out things, uh, need to need to do to, to just make it easier or, or more meaningful
Diego Flores (00:27:57):
Or well, supply chain is quite a wide, no one then obviously nowadays in this, this, this future, current supply chain professionals experience, not experience even about to be to graduate. Yeah. Well, we want to grow where you knowing an organization, but don’t measure your growth only by the title of the world, your paycheck every month, you know? Yes. And again, this is a quite T-shaped piece of advice. Yeah. It’s not only about the money. Yes. We still need to pay our bills. Of course, we, we kind of need to be, to keep an eye on that. You know what, at the end of the day, if, if, why Lewin something, which is giving you a huge bite pay check, but you are not feeling that here, you know, that satisfaction, uh, in your chest at the end of the day, that what you are doing again is having a positive impact in what, in a direct way or not.
Diego Flores (00:28:54):
So direct way the communities, you know, in your community, in your, in your state, in your country, in your continent, wherever in that small group of people. Well, personally for me, I think this, this, all these, what we are leaving this [inaudible], uh, reality where living nowadays is teaching us that, yeah, we need to keep, continue running the supply, the global supply chains to feeding the business and all that. But you have seen in coal and all the different platforms who were talking about more, uh, uh, circle our economy, sustainability. Well, there, there is a big as well opportunity in the humanitarian logistics. So anyway, we’ll, I advise to the young is like, yeah, definitely have an ambition of growing an organization, but, but in the equation of what will be that your ideal career path, you know, like, like not, don’t only take into account your paycheck and your you’re stuck to this, you know, uh, and the bonuses that you will get, but also that satisfaction you will feel, and that positive impact you will do in, you know, in this world, eh, we really need that. And then I think we, you and me, we, we will try to do our best, but it’s for the new generations, uh, to continue, you know, to, to restoring the, you know, to, to doing something better for, for, for, for this planet that unfortunately we didn’t do our best doughy was not so bad, but anyway, I don’t know. No, I,
Enrique Alvarez (00:30:37):
I, this is very, I mean, very wise advice, right. And then just not, not just measure your growth by the size of the paycheck, just there has to be something more. And I think that the new generations to your point, I think actually understand it more. And I think they’re going to start calling like really demanding that companies and organizations out there really have something else in that equation. Right. And I think it’s coming in a thing you ride. And I think, uh, it’s a great piece of advice. Not only for people that are just graduating, but for anyone that’s out there, uh, working out there. And even if it’s not in supply chain, I feel like this, this, cause this is applicable to anyone everywhere in the world, regardless of age or profession, if at the end of the day, you just don’t have that satisfaction, then just think about it. Right. And, and that, that’s something that led you from, uh, uh, I guess [inaudible] to Barcelona, to that conversation with your mom and going to South Sudan, which I’m pretty sure it was the, the last part of the world that she imagined you were going to.
Diego Flores (00:31:44):
Well, that, that, that the first, yeah, that was the first, last part of the, once you will get much
Enrique Alvarez (00:31:51):
Another piece of advice, it sounds like she was very, uh, supportive though. I mean, the little things that you have said about your mom, I’m guessing that conversation was a surprise because of course, like any other mom or, or, or parents, they want to have us close, but, but, but I’m guessing she was
Diego Flores (00:32:12):
Right. Yeah. I think for me, it was kind of on deliver until the very last day. She was really supportive and proud of what I was, uh, what I’m doing. And, um, uh, she was the last couple of years of her life. She was remarking, uh, HOAs. She realized, say, you know, at the beginning she didn’t understand why I was not following the same career path. Then my brothers, which I admire the career of my matric rollers, they have amazing, uh, you know, they are amazing and they are amazing what they do, but she never understood why me was doing this totally different thing, you know, and, uh, uh, why I was not saving for a big house, nice car every couple of years, you know, to change it or every year even. And, uh, but then when I was coming back from every mission and catching up with her, or by coming calls with her, and I was sharing with her, just spending out, you know, if I have a stressful day or something, then she started to understand why I was on this. Even if it sometimes was draining a lot of my energy or, you know, so yeah, that that’s, that was really nice. Those are nice in
Enrique Alvarez (00:33:37):
The mornings. No. And, um, for, for whatever it’s worth, I’m pretty sure that your mom is incredibly proud of you and your parents and your brothers. And, and again, I, as I mentioned before the interview, I just, it’s, uh, it’s very inspiring to talk to people like, like you, and thank you once again for everything you’re doing. And then also thank you for sharing it so openly with, with everyone here at logistics, with a purpose after South Sudan. And well, actually tell us a little bit about South Sudan. I’ve never been to South Sudan, but then you also started moving rapidly throughout not only the continent, but the, but the organization.
Diego Flores (00:34:14):
So I spent a little bit, a little bit of time there in South Sudan. It was quite challenging. Maybe it was a new country, uh, you know, the projects running there and even now today. So Sudan is one of the most challenging, uh, programs where we have operations. Uh, I move around. So in 2000 late, 2013, early 2013, sorry. Uh, I’m, I’m when to, uh, Syria, when the conflict was just starting and, uh, we were struggling to, to open, uh, you know, these emergency programs, eh, through the whole country and even more struggling to, to get the, all those goods we needed to run these medical programs. So I was in charge of, you know, uh, the reception of it was a little, it was crazy at the beginning because we were receiving tons and tons of, eh, medical. I tend to say in the south part of third key. And then from there, uh, eh, crossing the border into Syria and distributing all around the different warehouses we had in a country, which was in the peak of war. Uh, then that was a really tough mission. I have a mission for me, and it was my first full war conflict, uh, mission, uh, FINI after finishing there, uh, I took up, right.
Enrique Alvarez (00:35:45):
I will not be doing my, my job if I didn’t ask you. So how, how do you do that? How do you, how do you transport products efficiently into a country that’s at war? I mean, what, it’s
Diego Flores (00:35:57):
All about networking and it’s about the, you know, identifying the key stakeholders, which not only will, uh, you know, uh, for example, the customs, uh, in, in, in all that, but as well, even the, the different sites, uh, on the conflict that, eh, trying to advocate with them that you cargoes, uh, are to help people, regardless, we, we MSF, we are neutral. So regardless of size, regardless, uh, you know, the flag they are waving. Uh, so I, in telling them that these foods are for humanitarian relief. So of course back then I was not, it was not directly me doing this. It was people expert on these negotiations and security management, stuff like that, but I was working quite close along them. And then morning state days or nights to make sure that these cargoes that we were receiving from Monday to Sunday were literally as soon as possible, landed in the airport, transported and distributed around in the, in the programs. And in Syria, in the, in, inside the, in Syria,
Enrique Alvarez (00:37:06):
I’m guessing this is done only negotiating with both sides of the conflict, but then you also have all these different stakeholders and, uh, as does the UN can be involved and do they provide some kind of support
Enrique Alvarez (00:37:20):
Or protection or,
Diego Flores (00:37:22):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, more than protection, if there you try to coordinate, you know, we try to be as transparent as possible. Always say to avoid misunderstandings, as well as you identify stakeholders and stakeholders are not the only people in the conflict, but as you say, older actors, like UN bodies, ICRC and stuff like that. Sorry, in organizations like that. Um, a so, yeah, so it’s a constant negotiation and that solution that you might find today, my state for a couple of days, for weeks, but then it’s constantly, you know, uh, monitoring if those deals, those agreements still in place, you know, because it’s a, it’s a war, it’s an, it’s, the conflict is evolving, you know, more so, uh, so yeah, that was intense, um, in terms as well. I mean, I remember quite, uh, quite, I’m quite proud of my, all my medical colleagues, uh, Syrian, medical colleagues, uh, all the directional colleagues and nurses, surgeons, uh, doctors, which were there literally treating the people, you know, uh, uh, saving the lives of people. So it was quite an emotional mission. Um, the, uh,
Enrique Alvarez (00:38:38):
Admiration that you have, I think it kind of goes after w w what we’re leaving with the pandemic and all that. I mean, the big, big thanks, and, uh, applause go Stu the medical community, nurses, doctors, people that are risking their lives to help others. I mean, that’s
Diego Flores (00:38:56):
Frontline, man. That’s,
Enrique Alvarez (00:38:58):
That is a frontline and definitely a worth recognizing them. And, yeah, so that must have been an incredible experience that then led you to the last couple of steps. Then just start talking in full about the, your organization and what you guys are doing and what the future will look like. Um, you briefly went back to Mexico. I see. Uh, and you were working, uh, tell us a little bit.
Enrique Alvarez (00:39:23):
Yeah, well,
Diego Flores (00:39:26):
You know, as I said, this is WhatsApp, quite intense experience for me. I say, you know, that, that, I am going back to a normal life. So I found that job. Uh, so I went back to Mexico and saying, I’m going to start to search for it for a job, a normal job, but, you know, it’s supply chain. And, uh, well, th th there was this job in Guadalajara, Mexico in Dr. Port Dr. Peppers, basically
Enrique Alvarez (00:39:52):
Snapple. And, uh,
Diego Flores (00:39:55):
It was only for six months. And, uh, it was my first time working for, you know, for a beverage company, you know, like, I mean, quite interesting that the, the big volume that I was in the transport transportation part and, uh, uh, uh, negotiate negotiating with the negotiation of all the, you know, the, the transport fees for all the distribution in date and Mexico and the numbers, I mean, mostly the same, the number of trucks. And then, then, you know, they’ve been the number of different truck, uh, companies that I had to do to deal with the negotiate and negotiate with, uh, and, you know, uh, yeah, I mean, it was, it was okay. Dough, you mentioned so
Enrique Alvarez (00:40:42):
That the listeners kind of have a little bit more context around the numbers that you’re talking about. Cause you mentioned that as well as like a budget of around 21 million euros and 42,500 frames per year. I mean, it does on mind-boggling and it must have been a completely different set of challenges, right. Compared to all your previous, um,
Diego Flores (00:41:06):
It was completely different than the UN it was a different planet. Not better, not worse. It was a different experience. That’s great. But I have to admit that after a few months, I was, again, you know, I want to, I want to go back to the self. I want to go back to the field and, you know, so I say, thank you to Snapple due to Dr. Peppers. It was nice. I learned a lot of things here, but I don’t fit here anymore and don’t take it wrong. It’s just, it’s not me. It’s you, it’s not, you it’s me, you know? No. Well, I mean, in
Enrique Alvarez (00:41:44):
Your case, it kind of like seems logical, right? I mean, after you, at what you have lived for the last couple of years and how intensely you have actually seen conflict and helping people, and yeah, it sounds like just kind of boring at the end, right? Yeah.
Diego Flores (00:41:59):
Kind of faith. I didn’t want it didn’t want to say that, but yeah. But, uh, so back then, uh, when contacting back in the safe, uh, they were looking for a team to help them to roll out a new ERP system, uh, while around the missions in the world. And, uh, eh, well, I did, yeah, I got that opportunity. So we were kind of fee plus a new year fee, which now this, we are now using everywhere. It’s, it’s a homemade ERP is an open source ERP, um, school uni fields. And, uh, so I was part of this team, uh, first piloting, uh, this ERP system. So in my case, we were piloting in different places around the world. And in my case, I was piloting the CRP system together with the operations team in Lebanon. So I spent some time in, in, in Beirut, uh, deploying, uh, this ERP system, uh, there, which was also quite interesting experience, you know, uh, bringing in a new system to an organization, used to work in an emergency mindset for decades already. So it was also a challenge, even if I knew already quite well, the organization. So just to move from deserved. So rolling this RPA had the opportunity to be in Lebanon, uh, target Stan, which is in central Asia, uh, Buganda where I am right now, uh, as a country director, I came here back then for a couple of, uh, you know, weeks, uh, and Kenya, you
Enrique Alvarez (00:43:29):
Have visited multiple, multiple countries. Uh, the last part you kind of spend time in Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, um, and just tell us a little bit about the organization itself before you kind of continue your trajectory. What is it then for all those people are there, I’m sure that a lot already have, are familiar with MSF, but, uh, doctors without medicine, but for some of those that might not w what is this non NGO. Okay.
Diego Flores (00:43:59):
Yeah. So we’ll MSF. In fact, then now in 2021, uh, starting 50, 50 years ago, it was founded 50 years ago in France. Uh, so it’s basically an international nongovernmental organization, uh, with the main objective purpose mission of, uh, relief suffering of those people, or for anyone in the middle of, uh, uh, human-made or nature, uh, emergency and not totally emergency. Uh, now, now the operations, uh, we have presence in more than 75, uh, countries around the war, in all the continents and these, uh, presence, operational presence, eh, all, all in medical is medical nature. So we go from, uh, in some countries, we have, uh, clinics where we treat, uh, tuberculosis or HIV, or we also work with neglected what we call neglected diseases, which means not a lot of people, you know, it’s paying attention to those, like the, uh, slipping, slipping sickness or stuff like that. You know, uh, we, we have big hospitals running in, in Nigeria or in Afghanistan, for example, uh, where we have all the different departments, like the Marines, your room maternity by the Atrix new Nate, uh, uh, IPV, your PD and all those, you know, uh, so we have Breslin’s worldwide. And, uh, I have to admit that right now for this podcast, I don’t have the latest number of, of people working in the field for us. Well, I
Enrique Alvarez (00:45:54):
Don’t worry about it. We cannot all those details afterwards. So let
Enrique Alvarez (00:45:57):
People know exactly what you guys,
Diego Flores (00:45:59):
They say as the name is saying doctors without borders. We are not only about doctors, I’m not a doctor. So doctors, uh, they need all these different support, uh, departments to make the pressures to run, run smarter, smoothly. Uh, we have, uh, finance professionals, experts. We have human resources. We have art architects. We have lawyers, we have, uh, the mechanic, uh, uh, and of course, supply chain professionals. We have five operational centers, uh, when it comes to operations, uh, there currently, uh, five of them based in Europe, but in order to operate, a, some operational centers are popping up in Latin America and the west Africa and Maura coming, uh, right now, for example, with the biggest, eh, emergency affecting all of us Kobe, we have, we are in the frontline in India, in Brazil, eh, in, in Southeast Asia, uh, we were even active in, in United States.
Diego Flores (00:47:06):
Uh, we are quite active in Mexico with all the migrants, uh, coming from central south and central America. Uh, we even have a board so operating in the Mediterranean sea and search and rescue operations of all those people trying to reach, uh, Europe. So, which is a quite dangerous, uh, trip, uh, rescue in them and bringing them to safe grounds and getting the medical treatment. They, the surf I have right too. So, uh, yeah, the nature of operation for operation is always, we are an emergency organization though. We work in what we call as well in protracted emergencies, which are long term emergencies. You know, like it’s not only about right now in the peak of the emergency, but what is coming after is that a
Enrique Alvarez (00:47:57):
COVID could be kind of considered one of those. Well, I’m
Diego Flores (00:48:01):
Not the person, I’m not the adopter and epidemiologist about it. Definitely the impact might have on the health systems worldwide. And that you got to know what will come after like, uh, the mental health issues, because we also have mental health programs or malnutrition in some countries will, which will come for the lack of labor in the fields to produce enough food for, you know, the population definitely will have an impact the whole global, uh, community. So definitely we will be there for
Enrique Alvarez (00:48:32):
That and now diving into the operation supply chain aspects of it. And if you can just give us a little more information about that. So what kind of, I mean, how does a day look like in your life, right? I mean, what, what kind of shipping logistical challenges you’re coordinating and, and then, and then we’ll just go in Uganda, as
Diego Flores (00:48:52):
You can, as you can imagine. Um, when we have a big portfolio of different medical, especially for example, when you have a hospital with a TV war and then [inaudible] and maternity and all that, each of those departments have a medical standard list and assortment of drugs that you must always have there for whenever those drugs and materials, medical materials are needed. So in most of the countries that we operate, we cannot find all those drugs that according to who standards are needed to treat properly patient, you know, so we have to bring those goods from different countries, from different places abroad, but we have a specifically for us nowadays, we have three, uh, supply centers. We call them European. So we call them European supply centers because the three of them are in Europe, in Amsterdam, Brussels, assembles loin in, in, in, in France. And, uh, there, we consolidate big part of most of the orders that we dispatch later to the field, eh, by the different transport, um, uh, waste even by sea or air or even someplace that we can reach like road. Like you can go by road, for example, from, uh, Europe all the way to [inaudible].
Diego Flores (00:50:17):
So, uh, and depends
Enrique Alvarez (00:50:19):
On the day and you also need to receive them and unpack them. I mean, you take care of everything until the last mile until you put those.
Diego Flores (00:50:30):
We do all this too. I mean, with supply chain people, supply chain is not only about people with supply on title, but, uh, all together with the, or medical or pharmaceutical and medical colleagues, uh, which are in charge. You know, they are the quality assurance people. They are the ones that know about trucks, but they are part of the supply chain. So yes, the reception quality assurance let’s keep on mind. Sometimes we transport most of the times, we transport as well, cold chain items, which require call chain. So while in Europe and in north America, while cold chain is not an issue, while in the global south, it can be a challenge, you know, like, uh, uh, bringing the goods all the way, eh, not to the port of entry only, or the airport where we will receive this, this goods, but then keeping those items in there when, you know, with a good temperature to don’t spoil them and to be ready for the patients.
Diego Flores (00:51:25):
So it’s dealing with all these attributes of all the more than, uh, 10,000 different items in the catalog of medical items that we are using the different programs in the field. Some of them come with a short shelf life. So we bring, we need to bring enough quantity, you know, for the order cycle. But at the same time, we cannot bring a good switch, which will expire before we consume them, because then we need to deal with expired drugs and property, you know, like dispose the properly. It’s not that just report the law. Then, you know, we will report this in our, in our system, but there is a whole process for that. Then of course, we don’t want to waste those resources.
Enrique Alvarez (00:52:13):
It sounds like an incredibly complex, uh, operation. And it must be amazing what you guys are doing and, uh, jumping a little bit ahead because you’ve been, you’ve been everywhere. Basically. It seems like you’ve actually learned a lot of different things. You were also an advisor in answer them, and then you, uh, went on to become an officer in Brussels. Uh, and then you had some other roles and finally you reached to where you are now. And so tell us, tell us where you are now. Why did you do and what your title is? And then, uh, just the more specific situation that you’re dealing with in Kampala Uganda.
Diego Flores (00:52:54):
So a now here in hearing the country director and the general manager of the support unit Kampala, so I’m wearing 2, 2, 2, 2 cap speakers. One is when it’s about all, you know, like, uh, uh, approaching the authorities diplomacy and stuff like that, the contract director, but day-to-day the general manager of the support unit Kampala. So we are regional hub and here we are, or main goal is to support emergency. So whenever, for example, we have a small area, we have Ebola, a old breaks. We have a, uh, response, uh, kids here in our warehouse that we dispatch in less than 48 hours, whatever in the east African region, they need it regardless if it’s in most of the times in the last year. So that’s been always in DRC, in democratic Republic of Congo. So we are dispatching all those kits, uh, which are basically providing the medical teams on the ground and north materials and infrastructure to open a cooler, a treatment, sorry, our Nebula treatment center. We also have kits for Kohler. So whenever there’s a Kohler outbreak, we dispatch these kids in less than 48 hours, uh, eh, for their medical teams to have all these that they need to set proper treatment centers and to star their emergency intervention. So our main scope here, uh, is emergency response, eh, and you cover,
Enrique Alvarez (00:54:36):
You said DRC, but is it also South Sudan, Kenya? I mean, how broad is the, we, we,
Diego Flores (00:54:43):
Sometimes we even go as far as west Africa, but mainly the conference that we mainly support from here, ourselves done and DRC. Uh, but that also lately we have been supporting, uh, Tanzania, Tanzania mission, uh, because as well, we have a, what we call a regional, uh, worship. And so we’re, you know, you will see in the videos of MSF, we have these all-terrain vehicles, the land cruisers Toyota land cruisers that after being a significant time on the roads in the roads here, uh, they, you know, they need, besides their service, a service fee, they need their specialized service. So we have a big fleet of vehicles that they come from, the neighboring countries for their specialized services. So like that we extend the life of the vehicles to be in optimal conditions. Uh, uh, in the missions, you were part
Enrique Alvarez (00:55:39):
Of the operations, not only for the medical sides of things, but I’m guessing all the spare parts and keeping the tr that’s all still on there, your responsibility and the operations
Diego Flores (00:55:48):
Group. That’s correct. So we have to do so we’re talking
Enrique Alvarez (00:55:51):
About, I didn’t even think about any of that, but it goes, yeah, so
Diego Flores (00:55:55):
We have super specialized mechanics, uh, here in gearboxes and stuff like that. But of course the supply chain component of it is that we, we need to get, of course, uh, let legit your expert brokers, for example, uh, to, to be installing to these vehicles that later will be continued to be used in the, in the field. You know, so these guys in the worship we have here are quite busy every day, you know, they know what they’re doing.
Enrique Alvarez (00:56:25):
I know, I, I imagine, so tell us a little more about Uganda then. How long have you been in Uganda? What’s a couple of things that you can tell us about the, the country and the city of Kampala for people that are, I mean, I haven’t been to Uganda yet, but for people that are listening to us,
Diego Flores (00:56:42):
Quite the, um, nice countries in the quarter, if you take a look right now in Google maps, uh, you know, uh, uh, before being hit by COVID, uh, you know, uh, tourism, uh, was one of the biggest sources of income, you know, like, uh, you have the queen, Elizabeth, national art, more and falls and disorders. You have all the big five animals and that you can go and take a look on them that the lions and elephants and all that, it’s super green, it’s green, everywhere. And, you know, like it’s so crazy, like all year round, it’s green fruits everywhere, like crazy. I mean, if there’s a thing in Uganda, it’s like, people love, you know, taking care of the soil and then, you know, uh, harvesting in, you know, producing their own food. Uh it’s, it’s located, it’s in the middle, you know, so it’s a landlocked country, obviously next to Kenya and next to between Kenya, DRC, uh, Tanzania, Rwanda, and, uh, well,
Enrique Alvarez (00:57:51):
Just Google it. And it looks beautiful because you have also the mountains in the north and you have lake Victoria in the south. Yeah. You don’t
Diego Flores (00:57:58):
Have that local lake Victoria. You have the Mt. Elgon you have, uh, restoring Montana’s, uh, if you’re a coffee lover like me, I mean, you have really good coffee here. Uh, so yeah, it’s going to, I think thirsting I’m here with, with my family, with my wife and my toddlers on the three year old son, and they are having a good time. Uh, we are Muslim was here. So I’m assuming is basically a foreigner. So, so we’re enjoying normal senior life, uh, here, uh, in, in, in
Enrique Alvarez (00:58:33):
No that’s and thanks for sharing all this. And, um, I, you mentioned coffee and I was going to ask you actually about you’re part of a you’re member of, um, what’s similar these coffee association. I used
Diego Flores (00:58:44):
Not to member, uh, uh, it’s a specialty coffee association, which they have quite interesting podcasts. I mean, if we have any specialty coffee lover listening to right now, I mean, they’re, they know what we’re talking about and that I had the opportunity to be a volunteer in this event, the wall of coffee they’re organized in 2019 and Berlin, Berlin. Uh, I was a volunteer there helping the virus, testing their comments to prepare their gear for their competition. Uh, you know, serving a lot of nice coffee from there. So getting caffeinated, eh, I was supposed to be voluntary again in the next year in which was supposed to be in Warsaw in Poland, but then, but yeah, coffee is my thing. Uh, like we’ve been from Mexico having amazing coffee as well. Uh, sure. Listeners listeners in the United States, they, everyone knows what is specialty coffee about. And, uh, so if there is a heavy component of supply chain there even more to do to compliment this hobby, let’s say so.
Enrique Alvarez (00:59:52):
No. So again, um, the AOA it’s been a, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you very much for sharing all this. Uh, how do you see the, the future? Not only of the organization, but, uh, Uganda, the pandemic. I mean, there’s so many variables. Um, you mentioned that Latin America might be interesting and that you guys are going to grow and do those regions. Where, where do you see the future from your perspective? Uh, speaking, I guess more specifically about the supply chain and, and the impact that own the pandemic, but your experience has, I think that in the leg,
Diego Flores (01:00:25):
Like everywhere in MSF in the organization, COVID to help in some way to bring fully to the table, that strategic role of supply chain, uh, everyone knew that supply chain was important, but not everyone knew, uh, whole strategical, one semi whole food animal, or the global supply chains that we were part of were on to something like this. And especially for us, you know, a pandemic like this, we, we are supposed to responsibly, which we did, but we were struggling, you know, like, like to form, to find the material, that personal protection, equipment materials, stuff like that. We were working like crazy. We were still working like crazy, not to assure that this Smoot supply for, or operational stand for, or doctors to have everything. So anyway, the fact that COVID is now on the table, a pro for executives, uh, you know, or directors, uh, more and more, uh, we’re talking about, you know, upgrading or, or current model, you know, investing in new technology and bringing more skills in tour, uh, you know, uh, programs, projects, and, uh, headquarters, uh, w w we need to, to, to, to, to be stronger, to respond even faster to the emergencies coming.
Diego Flores (01:01:48):
Uh, so we are now, you know, also not only that, that we want to be more continue being a child, but as well, we are starting to be more conscious about our carbon footprint. Yes, we are not, we are big. Maybe we are not the worst, but we still moving a lot of, uh, metric tones around and loaf, you know, and that is coming with a carbon footprint, you know? So we, we are really reflecting about what can we do to still respond in the fastest in the shortest time to emergencies, but at the same time being conscious about our carbon footprint also sustainable or programs are, uh, the social impact. So we are reflecting more and more about that. That’s
Enrique Alvarez (01:02:31):
Incredible. And, uh, yeah, I saw like a video, uh, I think that you posted on your LinkedIn profile about this, uh, carbon footprint and the sustainability, and that’s basic. That is a big, uh, a big, um, project that, uh, doctors without borders is having, which is refreshing because you’re not only helping people while you’re wanting to do it in a very sustainable way, which that’s just amazing. Right? I had a lot of co a lot of companies out there, a lot of organizations out there, um, should be paying attention to what you guys are doing. And, and you also mentioned that you need more people you need. And so if you could now kind of give, give, give it a, give it a pitch, do everyone that’s listening to this that wants to do something different. That, that, that have been as inspired as I have with your, with your life story. And they want to join. They want to join not only in helping you with your projects and donations and support, but they actually literally want to join doctors without borders. They don’t need to be a doctor, which is something that I many people me included probably thought was somewhat needed. But, um, go ahead. If you had to,
Diego Flores (01:03:41):
Well, did you say it, we, we, we need to, we need more supply chain professionals. I mean, uh, we’re handling here quite complex supply chains in all aspects from the analytics side to the, you know, international transport, uh, part, we need to all type of professionals in this place, Sharon, from procurement experts to, uh, again, the, the, the distribution arts. So recently I have seen more and more interest from, from the supply chain community people really, really, you know, asking questions and even kalemia, for example, getting paying more attention to the Humanitas blockchain stuff, three nights still not enough. So I promise everyone who liked tools try this. And, uh, it’s a life experience that probably, maybe you won’t do it your whole life, or maybe yes, I say myself, I will try it. Only. I told to myself, 10 years ago, I will do it maybe for three years.
Diego Flores (01:04:42):
It’s already 10 years and I still here, uh, who knows, but you can try and it’s going to be a life experience and while doing so be sure that you will be helping a lot of people, a such experience with such experience. So, so again, I invite everyone to take a look in our websites and there is always there, uh, you know, all their requirements. They, I mean, to, to apply for a pool of supply chain experts, and then being there as waiting to be called for that first mission, uh, which can be nowadays everywhere. And, uh, so yeah, please sit there. You there, you
Enrique Alvarez (01:05:23):
Have it. It’s, um, it’s a very compelling pitch. I think that, uh, the story that you have told us and shared with us today actually makes it even more compelling. And I’m pretty sure that a lot of our listeners will, uh, not only go into the website, but hopefully apply. And go ahead. It sounds to me like not only an incredible, challenging, interesting opportunity, but it gives you the opportunity to help others. It gives you the opportunity to grow. It gives you the opportunity to learn and, uh, and it gives you opportunity to get to know other cultures and countries and regions of this world. And, uh, I think it’s, I, it sounds exciting. Um, so thank you so much Diego, for, for, uh, for sharing that with us, where can people get connect to you if there’s any questions and, and we’re going to try to do some another one, right? Cause I had so many different things that I still wanted to ask you, but, uh, we’ll have to do at least a couple of others and follow you in the next couple of months and follow, um, doctors without borders, for sure. But where can people reach out to you? What’s the best way of getting in touch with you
Diego Flores (01:06:28):
Lincolnton? Uh, so basically in these look for me, they go Flores MSF. I w I think I’m the only one. [inaudible] the only Diego flirts in MSF. So you will find me immediately and I’m quite active there. Uh, you can send me a message, a friend request, and a contact request. And, uh, yeah, I can answer all your questions. Your, if you’re curious about that holds the life in the field, I mean, a whole difficult will be, or any, any practical question you might have for any advice I’m happy to share with any of you?
Enrique Alvarez (01:07:03):
Well, once again, Diego, Florida’s MSF doctors without borders. Thank you so much. I know it’s late in Uganda. Thank you so much for taking this, uh, video call and thank you so much for everything that you and your team are doing and the entire medical community, the entire first respondents. Thank you, everyone. Have a great, great day and rest of your weeks. And of course, if you enjoy this conversation, please, don’t, don’t, uh, don’t miss following in logistics with purpose, uh, supply chain. Now, thank you so much and drink Alvarez, and I’ll see you guys next time with another interest.
