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Supply Chain Now
Episode 849

On the return side, you've gotta make it convenient for the customer. If the return process is not convenient, you're probably gonna lose the sales moving forward because you just gotta make it easy.

-John Haber

Episode Summary

If you want to talk freight, interview John Haber. So we did (again)! Reporting live from the 18th annual Reverse Logistics Association conference and expo, Scott sat down with Haber to get his POV on current trends impacting logistics, projected growth for returns, rising customer expectations and more. Tune in for his expert take and get his big, bold prediction for 2022.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:03):

Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and entities Stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain. Now,

Scott Luton (00:33):

Hey everybody, Scott Luton here with you on supply chain. Now welcome back to today’s show. As you can hear, and probably even see we’re creating content live from the 18th annual rev, reverse logistics association, conference and expo and circus and amusement park. I got one of our dear friends, this show with me here in Vegas, cause it’s a center of all things, reverse logistics and returns management center of all of that, uh, in the universe at least this week. So John Haber, one of our favorites, a repeat gas friend of the show. He is president for parcel at transportation insight, John, how you doing?

John Haber (01:08):

Doing great Scott pleasure to be here.

Scott Luton (01:10):

Great to have you back with us. This is probably your out now your 17th appearance with us mover and shaker out there. Of course, a lot of folks know spin management experts and all the good work you did there and now bigger and better with transportation insight, right?

John Haber (01:25):

Yeah. Yep. Now with transportation insight, we, uh, sold spend management to, uh, transportation insight on the last day of 2020. So last

Scott Luton (01:34):

Day of 2020

John Haber (01:35):

Last day of the year. Got it in right before the clock struck 12. Love

Scott Luton (01:41):

That love that. Well, congratulations. That’s a big as a fellow entrepreneur. That is a, uh, a big thing to celebrate, but you know what, what I admire about you is you didn’t pack it up, go home, take the kids, kayaking. It’s just the next chapter, which is what we’re gonna talk about with transportation inside, right?

John Haber (01:58):

Yeah, absolutely. Did was not able to pack it in. I packed it in for a couple days, but uh, they’re, they’re, they’re working me pretty hard these days. Scott, there’s a lot going on in supply chain, a lot of

Scott Luton (02:09):

Opportunity,

John Haber (02:10):

Right? Lots of opportunities, especially with reversal logistics.

Scott Luton (02:13):

Right? So great to have you here. And also, you know, we enjoyed, we had a heck of a dinner where we had dinner a few,

John Haber (02:18):

Uh, we went to optimist

Scott Luton (02:19):

The optimist in Atlanta,

John Haber (02:21):

If

Scott Luton (02:21):

Youre in Atlanta and you’re looking for a new, at a delicious place, there’s lots of them, but it was my first time at the optimist and man, that was some good eating. Wasn’t

John Haber (02:30):

It? Fantastic Ford fry. Great, great restaurateur.

Scott Luton (02:34):

All right. So

John Haber (02:35):

You’re making me hungry.

Scott Luton (02:36):

Well, you know, if folks can hear it is lunchtime here at the, uh, RLA conference. NPO folks are eating, uh, no lobster, uh, filet. You name it, Darren, maybe getting the plate here, but uh, let’s get to the topic of the day. Let’s do it almost. So we’re gonna talk reverse and returns management minute. Let’s get know you a little better. Everyone doesn’t have a chance to know John Haber, John, the hammer Haber like I do. Uh, let’s talk about where you grew up first shed. A little light on that. Yeah.

John Haber (03:04):

Grew up in chapel hill. Okay. North Carolina,

Scott Luton (03:06):

Home of the tar Hills, tar hill

John Haber (03:08):

Born tar hill bread be tar hill to the day I’m dead. I know you’re a big Clemson fan. So, and we’re playing you guys tonight, is it? Yes. Oh and basketball. It’s

Scott Luton (03:18):

Been a rough, rough go as of late with Clemson basketball, but so you growing up, um, in chapel hill, what was, what was barbecue for you growing up

John Haber (03:28):

In North Carolina? Barbecue. Chopped chopped vinegar based. Yes. Mustard. Not, not, not, not, not catch up based like in Memphis, the real barbecues that, uh, like to North Carolina,

Scott Luton (03:40):

Cole law, hush puppies,

John Haber (03:42):

Cole law, hush puppies. Absolutely

Scott Luton (03:44):

Whole real. The real

John Haber (03:44):

Deal. Yeah. You’re making me hungry again. Hey,

Scott Luton (03:47):

Well, you know, we love talking about food here, the supply chain now, and we love talk about a great basketball teams. Cause uh, UNCs got another one. Good, good one this year. Speaking of let’s put North Carolina side, every knows you’re a big tar hill alum and fan.

John Haber (04:03):

Yes, absolutely.

Scott Luton (04:04):

But who beyond them? Who’s your best favorite sports team of all time.

John Haber (04:09):

That would have to be the New York Yankees. Really?

Scott Luton (04:11):

Yeah man.

John Haber (04:12):

I’m absolutely.

Scott Luton (04:13):

You’re breaking my heart with that one. John breaking

John Haber (04:15):

My heart. First, first baseball game was the 1977 world series when Reggie Jackson hit through home runs against the Dodgers.

Scott Luton (04:21):

Mr.

John Haber (04:21):

October, Mr. October. So big Braves fan, but the Yankees, uh, Yankees got your heart that they’ve got my heart.

Scott Luton (04:29):

Well, they got, you know, they got everybody’s heart, their big fan base, their iconic franchise. Of course, they’re very well funded. Braves have been, I’ve been jealous of that of late, but Hey, Hey, Braves made it happened last year.

John Haber (04:41):

Didn’t it? The Braves and the bulldogs man.

Scott Luton (04:43):

That’s right. Tom Georgia really happy. Yeah. And we just get the, the Falcons going and we’ll have the, trife

John Haber (04:49):

Get the Falcons going and the Hawks and you never know what happens. Be crazy, crazy world. If that happens,

Scott Luton (04:55):

All the stars will align well, the Hawks tons of talent. And we’ve seen a couple stretches is here. We’ll see if they can get it together and get into the playoffs. But uh, let’s talk about movies. Shift, shift gears. One of your favorite movies or books,

John Haber (05:10):

Uh, let’s go with books. Favorite book, never eat alone,

Scott Luton (05:14):

Never eat alone.

John Haber (05:15):

It’s all about networking and networking and building relationships just like you and I having dinner. That’s right. Uh, that’s what it’s all about. So I, I loved love these trade shows. I love meeting people and love networking with folks. So that’s a fantastic book. And uh, if you haven’t read it, you should, you should never

Scott Luton (05:35):

Eat alone,

John Haber (05:36):

Never eat

Scott Luton (05:37):

Alone. Heard of it. And the other, you know, other thing you’re speaking to there is relationship and ships matter. And I think that’s one of the lessons learned that, uh, the pandemic age has certainly taught us as Greg white. Dear common friend of ours has liked to say, you can’t make new relationships, new friends in the middle of a pandemic. Right.

John Haber (05:55):

Really challenging. It’s challenging. Definitely.

Scott Luton (05:57):

So let’s talk about then in that, in that vein, let’s talk about other key Eureka moments that 2021 brought to you. They have been delivered by the truckload. It seems as of late, what’s the big Eureka moment from last year.

John Haber (06:10):

Uh, just really the, the bottlenecks and the supply chain have been a major, major problem and they don’t seem to be getting fixed. Nope. I mean, there there’s some improvement, but you look at the ports over on long beach in LA with a number of ships that are just sitting outside the ports. Right. You know, retailers can’t get inventory, it’s impacting it impacted their holiday sales and there’s, it’s gonna take a while to fix. Yeah. Uh, especially in the world of parcel, there’s just not enough. Capacity. Ups has been firing a lot of their enterprise customers because they’re focused on margin. They’re going after the SMB business. And so for a lot of our large customers, it’s very challenging cost has been escal just outta control. And so been really focused on helping try and mitigate some of these cost increases.

Scott Luton (07:04):

It’s been the wild wild west in the world freight, right.

John Haber (07:08):

It absolutely has been, uh, our brokerage, uh, business unit, uh, had a, a phenomenal year. Just, it’s just, there’s just not enough labor. Also. Uh, labor is a major issue when you talk about Eureka moments, right? There’s just people dropping outta the workforce and it’s really hard to staff up the warehouses.

Scott Luton (07:28):

The great resignation is drive. Absolutely. And then that may be driving a lot of the, maybe the, the heavily experience, but then other industries are vying for some of the same talent that fuels fulfillment that fuels eCommerce and fuel supply chain. So it really, it is a, a fight for talent these days.

John Haber (07:45):

It is a fight for talent. And you just look at the labor costs. You look at, uh, the earnings announcements and the, just the lack of labor is, uh, it’s very problematic.

Scott Luton (07:56):

So lots of your, it sounds like to me, lots of Eure mode from

John Haber (08:00):

Lots of lots of Eureka moments in 2021, but we, we had a fantastic year at transportation insight. So outstanding.

Scott Luton (08:06):

Why am I not surprised? So speaking of transportation insight, tell us what the company does.

John Haber (08:12):

Uh, we’re one of the largest three PLS in the, uh, in the us top 10, we do about $5 billion in gross revenue. We’ve got about, uh, 2,500 employees, uh, three business units. We’ve got a brokerage business unit yep. Managed transportation, which is more focused on LTL and truckload and then the parcel business unit. And I’m the president of the parcel business unit.

Scott Luton (08:36):

So for let’s, let’s say for our listeners, that may be not real familiar with the transportation industry. So in your role as president of parcel, what do you do?

John Haber (08:47):

Uh, we are really, uh, an extension of our clients. We’re there to add bandwidth. We’re helping them provide them visibility, uh, on their shipment information. We’re, uh, helping them optimize contracts. We’re doing a lot of consulting work. We’re helping them optimize their distribution, helping them optimize their networks, uh, helping with site location. So we’re really in extension our clients adding bandwidth to their logistics teams and their sourcing teams to drive efficiencies across the supply chain. It’s critical because what we try to do is give our clients a competitive advantage and the supply chain, because the supply chain is just so critical these days, especially for large shippers,

Scott Luton (09:31):

Right? It’s not, uh, it’s no longer relegated just to blocking and tackling supply chain is a, a massive competitive advantage. And some of the things that you just described there, it sounds like they’re really leveraging your strategic experience to look at footprints and, and, and some of the strategies that drive competitive advantage.

John Haber (09:47):

Yeah. I mean, Amazon has changed the paradigm. Customers expect their goods today, right. They, some of ’em expect it to be delivered in an that’s. Right. And unfortunately, I

Scott Luton (09:58):

Had a Yankees poster I’m waiting from Amazon. I had delivered to freight. I was bringing it just for you ma signed by Mr. October, Hey

John Haber (10:05):

Man, it’s

Scott Luton (10:06):

Late.

John Haber (10:06):

Goodness gracious.

Scott Luton (10:08):

So, but, but

Scott Luton (10:09):

To illustrate your boy, folks do want, want what they want when they want it at the price saying, and we, we, we’ve kind of gotten spoiled a little bit. Right?

John Haber (10:17):

Yeah. And, uh, and I tell you, we’re here at the reverse logistics conference. When you look at retailers, some of our retail clients, 50% of what is purchased online is returned. Customers expect free returns, right? There’s no such thing. It’s free shipping Scott. Nope. It’s very, very Def to compete with Amazon because, you know, they’ve, they’ve got a lot of, they’ve got a lot of, lot of funding. They’ve got a cloud business that can subsidize their transportation business.

Scott Luton (10:47):

So, you know, who’s driving the large majority of those returns. She happens to be sitting just over your left shoulder. Yes. I don’t think she can hear us. Uh

John Haber (10:55):

I’ve I’ve got one of those as well. Scott, I just got off the phone with mine back in Atlanta. She, she is very active when it comes to e-commerce deliveries,

Scott Luton (11:05):

But you know, as Tony Schroder, like to say, if retailers are gonna allow and make it easy for folks to return stuff, all of us, all consumers, don’t be surprised when customers return stuff. That’s the air we live

John Haber (11:17):

In. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Scott Luton (11:20):

Uh, so it sounds like, especially as it relates to, uh, reverse logistics that you are helping customers on that side of their strategy, not just Ford.

John Haber (11:29):

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, talking to a lot of vendors here on their, uh, return strategies, a lot of great technology, a lot of inventory, man management, you know, with the returns, just, uh, dealing with the inventory and reselling it is a huge, that’s a huge obstacle, right? And so there’s a lot of great providers that we’ve been talking to here that we wanna help partner with our clients,

Scott Luton (11:52):

Obstacle and opportunity,

John Haber (11:53):

Absolutely obstacle and opportunity.

Scott Luton (11:56):

So let’s keep going on that path. I wanna ask you about hags in a minute. Y’all your team in the last couple years had some really cool social media, not commercials, but little snippets. We’ll talk about it in a minute. And if you’re, if you’re an office fan the office, NBC sitcom, we’ll have to, to share some links, but let’s keep going down this returns and reverse logistics path. So much opportunity. So many obstacles as you’re laying out. What, when you think of returns and you think of reverse logistics, what’s a couple of things, couple topics that come to mind that you’re really you and the transportation insight team are really laser focused on right now.

John Haber (12:30):

Yeah. I mean, it’s all about convenience. Uh, on the return side, you’ve gotta make it convenient for the customer. If the return process is not convenient, you’re probably gonna lose the sales moving forward because, uh, you just gotta make it easy folks.

Scott Luton (12:46):

Aren’t gonna go to 22 click

John Haber (12:48):

Brow. They’re not, they’re not, they want convenience. They want, you know, to have it pick the, you know, have the returns picked up and they want it to be free. Yeah. And so it’s a challenge.

Scott Luton (12:59):

Someone’s gonna pay for it

John Haber (13:00):

Though. Right. Somebody’s gotta pay for it.

Scott Luton (13:03):

So what else, what, what wide world? This is, this is as Tony, she wrote, looks like we’re interviewing him too. Tony likes to call reverse side the dark side of supply chain. Yep. It’s never gotten as

John Haber (13:14):

Much. It just doesn’t get the attention. Right. Yeah.

Scott Luton (13:16):

Now that, that we believe here at supply chain now is we really, and, and other plenty of other, uh, publications, it’s getting a lot more attention because I think consumers which are smart and savvy as ever before, just like they’re realizing Ford supply chain, how they can enjoy all these things, uh, very conveniently over to them. They’re starting to kind of piece together how the reverse side works. Yeah. And how you can, you know, put a, put a, uh, the wrong product back in its package, leave it on your doorstep. It’s picked up, it’s, uh, added back to your account. So convenient,

John Haber (13:49):

So convenient. So

Scott Luton (13:50):

A lot more visibility, a lot more importance. What else are you tracking on this side? Well,

John Haber (13:54):

I mean, if you look at eCommerce with the pandemic, the eCommerce sales, uh, what, uh, the economists projected, uh, volumes to be in 2025, we’re already realizing those now

Scott Luton (14:09):

Returns, volume

John Haber (14:10):

Returns, returns, volume, and just e-commerce outbound and turns. So

Scott Luton (14:16):

Massive opportunity.

John Haber (14:17):

Massive opportunity. If you look at like ups and FedEx and the post office peak season has actually extended. It doesn’t end at the end of December, it goes into mid-January because there’s so many returns that are bogging down the parcel networks from the returns. And so peak season really lasts until mid-January these days.

Scott Luton (14:40):

Unbelievable, intriguing times we live in. Right.

John Haber (14:43):

Very, very intriguing. Now the weather has been crazy as well, which has not helped the, the parcel networks

Scott Luton (14:50):

Either. We haven’t caught a break. It’s been one thing after another. All right. So let’s make sure folks well, before we do that, it’s hay logistics.

John Haber (14:58):

Heys yes.

Scott Luton (14:59):

Uh, Twitter account, uh, your, uh, of course you’re in all. I mean, all the major publications come when they wanna talk freight, they come interview John Haber, but your team had a really cool stretch there. Back before you joined the transportation insight team where y’all were having little plays on the office, the sitcom we did, what idea was that

John Haber (15:19):

That would be, uh, Kim MC Wilkin and Jenny Willis came up with the idea. And really, we were just trying to have some fun, uh, right in the middle of COVID and people just were stressed, stressed. And so we, we tried to provide de you know, some good information, but also add a little humor to the mix as well. I loved. And, uh, so we put about, uh, 11, 12 episodes of heys, uh, combining information with some humor and, uh, tips of the day. So it’s, you haven’t seen, Habers check it out.

Scott Luton (15:54):

We will have to, uh, if Amanda can hear me, we gotta make sure we add the Habers links to the show notes of this episode. Uh, and especially if you like a big fan of the office, like, like we are, but you know, the greater point there, uh, John is one of my Eureka moments is being able to maintain in a sense of humor during these really challenging last couple years where, you know, the hits kept coming, you know, whether it’s COVID or supply chain or just business, you know, your teams are going through some, some challenging times maintaining that sense of humor. So you can, it’s

John Haber (16:26):

Critical. Yeah, it is. You gotta, you’ve gotta maintain a sense of humor because there’s just so much craziness going on in world today, especially in the supply chain. So being able to laugh and, uh, blow off a little steams, really critical. Yep. Especially during these stressful times, Scott agreed.

Scott Luton (16:42):

Hey logistics. Hey logistics. All right. So how can folks connect with you and the transportation insight team? Yeah.

John Haber (16:48):

You can connect with us@transportationinsight.com. You can reach me J Haber T insight.com. You can reach me on LinkedIn. You can reach me on Twitter at ha logistics at

Scott Luton (17:02):

Yankees game.

John Haber (17:03):

You can catch me at a Yankee game tar

Scott Luton (17:05):

Hill with a beat Clemson tigers, that tar

John Haber (17:07):

Heels game. Those at the UY duke game last Saturday did not turn out very well for the tars. Unfortunate. I

Scott Luton (17:14):

Skipped over a question just, and we can make these mid course corrections, right. That’s what we do in supply chain. All right. I did not ask you so now that we know folks know how to connect with John, the hammer Haber big bold prediction for 2022. I skipped right over that. And I know you, you want to bring it and challenge folks at what we see more of in 2022. So what do you, what can you look deep into your crystal ball and share with us?

John Haber (17:41):

It will be very interesting to see, uh, how the supply chain bottlenecks are hopefully fixed in 2022. Uh, we’re seeing, uh, some easing, we’re seeing a little bit of capacity open up, but the labor, uh, issues are still a major problem. So we’d love to see, uh, less boats parked outside the ports. We’d love to see cargo moving faster. We’d love to see some of the costs come down, especially on the truckload side, on the Dray side and, and really just cleaning up. You know, we, we need to see some build out of infrastructure just on the, in the us highways. You know, our infrastructure has not been prepared. And, uh, and it’s, it’s impacting

Scott Luton (18:30):

When the president was up there in Pennsylvania and, and like, same day that bridge collapsed.

John Haber (18:35):

Holy cow. It’s crazy. We just have not, we’re not, we were not prepared. We have not invested enough. And the us infrastructure combined us and it’s hurt enough. Yeah,

Scott Luton (18:44):

Yeah. Good stuff there. So, you know, we come a long way and it’s it, it’s an extraordinary time to be in supply chain the last few years, but a lot more heavy lifting to do infrastructure and otherwise, uh, to get back to doing what we do best, which is serving the consumer, serving the customer, what they want when they want it at the right price.

John Haber (19:04):

Yeah. I mean, we really need to be evaluating where your inventory is. If you’re reliant on I goods, uh, and you can’t get ’em into the us, that’s not a good plan. You need to have, uh, risk management strategies. You need to have contingency plans. You need to have a backup plan, or you’re gonna be in trouble in trouble. And that’s what we’ve seen with a lot of companies. They’re, they’ve been in trouble because they did not have proper risk management strategies

Scott Luton (19:29):

Of the CRE in the kayak with no, with no paddle. Right?

John Haber (19:34):

Yeah. When, when you look at it, I mean, everyone is, you do a cost analysis. Yeah. The labor is cheaper in Asia, but what happens when you can’t get your goods into the us, right? What’s the cost of that? How does that impact your sales and your brand? People have not really been looked at that as seriously as they should. Mm,

Scott Luton (19:53):

Well, it sounds like give John Haber a call and the team

John Haber (19:57):

We can help you.

Scott Luton (19:58):

We can help. All right. Folks, we’ve been chatting with John Haber again, president for parcel at transportation insight. John, thanks so much for joining us, but don’t take off just yet. We’re gonna sign off folks. We’re continue our coverage here of the 18th annual reverse logistics association conference expo. Stay tuned for a lot more episodes and maybe some audio difficulties who knows, but Hey, Scott Luton signing off for the team here. Challenge you to do good, give forward, be change needed. And on that note, see next time, right back here at supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (20:32):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now, community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.

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Featured Guests

John Haber With over 25 years of supply chain experience, John Haber has helped some of the world’s leading brands drive greater efficiencies through their supply chain operations while reducing transportation, distribution and fulfillment costs. John began his career in Atlanta at UPS where he held executive-level positions in corporate finance and corporate strategy, and he was instrumental in developing profitability and costing models. He also managed the carrier’s National Accounts Profitability Group where he audited the pricing and profitability of UPS’ top customers. After his successful UPS career, John founded Spend Management Experts, now part of Transportation Insight. He uses his finance background combined with decades of experience working with high-volume shippers to offer unique insights on strategic supply chain planning including distribution model optimization, transportation cost analysis, and carrier contract optimization and compliance. John is frequently quoted in national business and trade publications and contributes a bi-monthly column in PARCEL magazine. John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Connect with John on LinkedIn.

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Scott W. Luton

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Host

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

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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Tandreia Bellamy

Host

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

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Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

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Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

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Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021. 

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe. 

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team. 

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Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

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Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

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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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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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Greg White

Principal & Host

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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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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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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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 Cisco, Microsoft, 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 University, O’Reilly Media, LinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Carrier 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

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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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

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

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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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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