Plenty of exciting new technologies are paving the way for the future of supply chain, from next-gen cobots to metaverse-based commerce (and hopefully fewer celebrity-obsessed founders). Equally important is honoring the past, something Kevin L. Jackson is championing through his leadership of the forthcoming Juneteenth Museum. Tune in for this week’s Digital Transformers edition of the Buzz to review the headlines of the day and get more information about this exciting new initiative.

Intro/Outro (00:00:03):

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 opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:00:30):

Hey, Hey, good morning, Scott Luton and Greg White and Kevin L. Jackson with you here on supply chain. Welcome to today is live stream, Greg, how you doing?

Greg White (00:00:37):

I’m doing quite well. Happy Juneteenth. Thank you. An official holiday. We’re all working on a holiday. That’s how dedicated we are.

Scott Luton (00:00:45):

<laugh> that is right. That is right. And Kevin, uh, Kevin, I gotta share with you the obligatory message you are on mute, sir.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:53):

I am. I am.

Greg White (00:00:58):

There

Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:58):

You go. But I share, I really appreciate your dedication and happy Juneteenth everyone from the birthplace of Juneteenth, Galveston, Texas.

Scott Luton (00:01:10):

That is awesome. Yeah. And we’re gonna touch on, um, an incredible event that you and your team, uh, had yesterday. And, and as I understand it, Kevin yesterday is official Juneteenth and today is when really most of the country and the business world is recognizing, is that right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:25):

Yeah. It’s just like every federal holiday. If the holiday actually falls on a Sunday, you get that Monday or falls on the weekend, you get that Monday off. So, um, so today is the, uh, uh, you know, official Juneteenth holiday, but, you know, gotcha. It didn’t match up.

Greg White (00:01:46):

I can tell you guys that for better or for worse, it’s being celebrated in the usual American fashion by people going to the beach and SWI beer <laugh> so, um, but much respect for Kevin for what you’ve done, what Congress did and in, uh, enacting and, and, um, and celebrating and uplifting and giving us a focal point for this thing, which like Scott said, I don’t wanna let the cat outta the bag too much. <laugh> we’ll talk about later in the show.

Scott Luton (00:02:16):

Well, uh, it’s really cool. We’re gonna talk about that in the, kind of the second, uh, half hour here today on, on the supply chain buzz, digital transformers edition. Yes. So folks, uh, Kevin and Greg, we’re gonna be talking about, uh, a wide variety of stories from, uh, top supply chain tech trends to what I’ll call an intriguing slink story. You’re not gonna miss that. <laugh>, uh, and slinking of course, the special

Kevin L. Jackson (00:02:40):

Slinking story

Greg White (00:02:43):

Someone’s gonna be slinking away after that story.

Scott Luton (00:02:46):

Uh, a big, special Juneteenth event that Kevin has team led in Galveston yesterday. You’re not gonna wanna miss, so stay tuned, buckle up and get ready because we want to hear from you as well. We already see a bunch of folks, uh, uh, chiming off in the cheap seats. We’re gonna, uh, say hello in just a second, but before we do Greg and Kevin, can we do a little, little housekeeping? Can we do a little, uh, can we pay the bills? Y’all okay with that, don’t

Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:10):

Let the light go out. Can’t do that really can’t survive without cable.

Scott Luton (00:03:16):

That’s right. Um, so first up we’ve been talking about this event, Greg, for quite some time, uh, this webinar with our friends moav and Laura, uh, and the CUPA team this Wednesday, uh, June 22nd. I can’t believe it’s hard to June 22nd at 12 in Eastern time. Yeah. And Greg folks should not get wrapped up into the notion of sovereign supply chains. Cause it’s really about what

Greg White (00:03:41):

Well, because it’s really about the fact that hardly anyone knows what the hell a sovereign supply chain is anyway, but, but it’s, if you think of sovereign supply chains as extreme, reshoring basically reassuring everything. For instance, um, a radical idea, um, mostly touted by one, one or two countries that have absolutely no chance of accomplishing it. Um, but it is somewhere between nearshoring reassuring, alternate shoring and sovereign supply chains is, uh, is the right approach for a number of companies, right? Some frankly will be stuck in, in relying on international supply chains, but, but there are, it are some opportunities. And I think we need to talk about the reality of that. Um, and, and the reality of the ranges and present it, you know, moav and Laura are great resources to present the range of possibilities out there that might be right for

Scott Luton (00:04:41):

Your company. Yeah. Well said, and folks, uh, we’re gonna be talking about not only the movement and why not just here in the us, uh, as Greg Luter to, uh, there’s movements in India and the EU and elsewhere, but more, I most importantly, we’re gonna be talking about what you must know and how it’s gonna impact some steps you can take. So join us for free this Wednesday at 12 noon Eastern time. Um, okay. And then finally, you know, uh, it’s an honor, you know, just like it’s been an honor to, um, collaborate with Kevin on some of the cool things he’s doing. In fact, we’ve got an episode that we’ll touch on being released, uh, a week from today. It’s also been a high honor, uh, for our supply chain now team to partner with our dear friends at vector global logistics, uh, and, uh, fuel these efforts of leveraging logistics for Ukraine.

Scott Luton (00:05:26):

So these weekly production meetings, you know, work facilitation meetings where we’re trying to identify vetted needs and work with, um, vetted transporters logistics firms to get, um, humanitarian aid in place, boots on ground and Poland and beyond, um, are already three or four containers have made their way across the pond to, to reach, uh, the folks that, um, are really in need. Uh, and we invite you to join us on July 12th at 11:00 AM Eastern time, uh, for the next working sessions, move to a monthly session. And folks, you don’t have to, you know, no one’s gonna put you, you know, at gunpoint and, and make you donate anything. It’s not like that. Uh, if you wanna come and

Greg White (00:06:07):

Not gunpoint Scott,

Scott Luton (00:06:14):

Greg, what was that Kevin?

Greg White (00:06:16):

Right.

Scott Luton (00:06:17):

What was that? Kevin, we’re

Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:18):

Gonna really make him feel bad for not giving though.

Greg White (00:06:21):

<laugh>

Scott Luton (00:06:21):

That’s right. You gotta, you know, of course, um, it goes back to Greg’s comment. Hey, give, give any, just give, give of any size, but just give, but regardless, even if you’re not in position, Hey, join us. Uh, as, you know, bring your kindred spirits, uh, bring your market Intel or come and, and learn more about what’s really going on on the ground. Uh, July 12th at 11:00 AM, Eastern time. And again, the link for both the webinar and the link to, uh, the July 12th, uh, session is in the comments. Okay. So Greg and Kevin, before we get into our first story, we’ve got a slew of folks that are dialed in, uh, Kevin and Kevin, just to clarify. So Greg of course is from the supply chain now headquarters and Hilton head. He’s probably tracking the index, I think was up to 29 ships waiting to get into Savannah. Yeah’s

Kevin L. Jackson (00:07:14):

A keep operational location for supply chain. Now

Scott Luton (00:07:18):

<laugh> that’s right.

Greg White (00:07:19):

It is 34 as of this morning. Wow. Getting worth really fast.

Scott Luton (00:07:26):

Yeah. And Kevin is on the road. I think he’s been on the road some 22 days in a row. He is still in Galveston, right? Kevin? Yeah.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:07:33):

I’m still in Galveston. Um, my underwear is, is the third turn,

Scott Luton (00:07:47):

Michael, as Michael said,

Greg White (00:07:47):

You gotta use this thing,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:07:49):

Kevin, come on.

Greg White (00:07:50):

<laugh> all right. Like all guys do.

Scott Luton (00:07:53):

So moving, moving right along, uh, no more Haynes talk or fruit of the Rolo or whatever your preference is. Let’s, let’s dive into some folks that are here with us here today. Eric is back with us via LinkedIn from Ecuador. Eric, looking forward to your takes here today. Reese is tuned in via LinkedIn. Hey Reese, let us know what part of the world you’re tuned in from of course, Katherine and Chantel and Amanda, uh, the production team is helping to make things happen here today. Thanks for what you do. Katherine Kon is back with us, Greg and Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:27):

Yeah. Wow.

Greg White (00:08:28):

Uh, outstanding

Scott Luton (00:08:29):

Dialed in from Toran Iran, uh, via LinkedIn, right? Uh, the, the author, uh, who coined, uh, the PhD who coined the phrase, the new abnormal. So kaon great to see you here today. Hey Philip, let everybody know where Jean is from there, Greg.

Greg White (00:08:48):

Uh, he’s from NA yes. Northern Alabama. <laugh> that’s right. So

Scott Luton (00:08:53):

That is right. Jean hope. This finds you well, yeah. Uh, he’s not

Greg White (00:08:56):

LA not lower

Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:59):

Mean versus LA Northern Alabama. Right. You know? Yes. Keep that stuff straight.

Greg White (00:09:03):

Yeah,

Scott Luton (00:09:04):

That is right. Uh, not to be confused, uh, those two places, but gene, great to see you here. Um, Ola is tuned tuned in via LinkedIn Ola. Let us know where you’re tuned in from, um, Eric, Hey, just like here in the states in Ecuador, it was all also father’s day. So Eric, let us know what you did to celebrate, uh, the day. Yeah. Dr.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:25):

Ronda, both of you.

Scott Luton (00:09:27):

Oh and well, to you. Thank

Greg White (00:09:29):

You. And you,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:30):

You know, yeah. I had to pleasure actually yesterday, my father was at the celebration. Really? Yeah.

Greg White (00:09:38):

Wow. So I

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:39):

Was that’s outstanding. I was able to, uh, honor him, uh, which was really special for me.

Scott Luton (00:09:46):

I bet. Uh, and where’s your father live?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:48):

So he actually lives in just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Right. And, uh, he was, um, uh, visiting, um, down here in Texas and, uh, not actually in Galveston, but we decided to take a little side trip. <laugh> really?

Scott Luton (00:10:07):

Yeah.

Greg White (00:10:07):

Yeah. Nice.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:08):

So

Scott Luton (00:10:09):

That’s, that’s special. That’s awesome. Yeah. Very special. Yeah. Well, um, uh, we’ll have to, we sit down interview you, uh, Mr. Jackson, senior, I guess, uh, get the goods on what, how bad of a, of a, a youngen that Kevin was back in the day.

Greg White (00:10:25):

That’s how wound

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:27):

Like that.

Greg White (00:10:28):

<laugh>

Scott Luton (00:10:30):

Uh, let’s see here. Well, speaking of fathers, uh, my dad is tuned in, uh, Mr. Terry, Don, or Don Terry Luton from akin, South Carolina. Great to see you, uh, dad happy father’s day. It’s good to see you this weekend. Uh, a Hey, uh, Mr. Mohe is with us from

Greg White (00:10:47):

Also a father and a really good one,

Scott Luton (00:10:49):

Uh, in Wichita, sunny today, Kevin in Wichita, Kansas. And he says, happy Juneteenth. There’s

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:56):

There’s more here in Galveston, Wichita.

Scott Luton (00:11:04):

And they got a few extra degrees. Yeah. In Galveston degrees, I can, uh, Shinara is with us here via LinkedIn. Like let us know where you’re dialed in from. Great to have you here today. Re obliged. He said he is watching live from sunny St. Pete St. Petersburg, uh, Florida. Great to have you here today. Uh, Mary Jane tuned in from Ontario via LinkedIn. Great to see you. And Sheara says, I hope I’m saying that, right. Sheara Sheara let us know, uh, from sunny, California. I bet it’s gorgeous there. Huh?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:11:35):

You know, some people from the team here, uh, off from California, right? They got off the plane. It, it couldn’t last like 20 seconds. <laugh> the heat and the, uh, humidity, you know, it’s a lot different, uh, heat in Sacramento. Sacramento is different than heat in Texas.

Scott Luton (00:11:59):

<laugh> I believe it. That’s true. I believe it. Well, Hey,

Greg White (00:12:02):

It’s true. You can sweat without moving in, in Galveston.

Scott Luton (00:12:06):

Right? Speaking of Texas, uh, Dennis Laroche from Neville, Texas is tuned in via LinkedIn. Great to see you.

Greg White (00:12:13):

I don’t know what part of the state that is. Do you guys

Scott Luton (00:12:15):

Let us know? Is that, uh, you have to Google, is that yeah, we need to Google Neville, Texas. Okay. Well folks, we gotta get to work. Uh, and, and to everyone watching in the comments, regardless what platform you’re on, we’d love to get your take on what we talk about here today. And we’ll be sprinkling. We’ll be sprinkling that in throughout the hour. But, uh, Greg and Kevin, are you all ready to get to work?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:12:37):

No,

Greg White (00:12:38):

Let’s do it.

Scott Luton (00:12:39):

Let <laugh>, Kevin’s been working all weekend, which we can, we can relate.

Greg White (00:12:47):

Yeah. Right.

Scott Luton (00:12:50):

So

Greg White (00:12:51):

Only 50 more minutes, Kevin, and then you’re free for the rest of the day. Right.

Scott Luton (00:12:55):

Uh, alright. So diving into our first story where Dan BEO, uh, ber, I’m gonna go with, I’m gonna go berm. Yeah. Thank you. Ber. So Dan Berti at chain store age is offering up the top supply chain technology trends thus far this year, at least according to our friends at Gartner and their analysis. So Greg and Kevin, I’m gonna name a few here from the article. Yeah. It’s a good read. Y’all check it out. We’ll be dropping the link in the comments. Hyper automation, 2.0. A lot of folks will, will probably need to know what that means. Well, the current state, yeah. As y’all might ex expect anything, automation leans heavily on AI and machine learning, but where the 2.0 comes in, it’s supposed to lead to more of, uh, things like remote fulfillment, uh, networks and, and the like, um, next generation robots. What sets them apart from the current generation?

Scott Luton (00:13:47):

One of the things is, is how much they communicate amongst themselves. That’s pretty cool. Uh, the security mesh, which we were talking about pre-show, you know, it it’s, um, you know, a mesh is a good word for, it’s like a blanket that covers all aspects of your global supply chain to ensure there’s no weak links. And we all know the value that that’s gonna pose as more bad actors, try to, you know, shut things down for, uh, monetary gains and whatnot. But Greg, that was three to things out the out of the list of, I don’t know, 10 or 12, that, that stood out to me. Some of your thoughts here.

Greg White (00:14:19):

Yeah. I was surprised that nobody, uh, as long as we’re using, uh, what should I say? Um, descriptive terms was surprised nobody used the term tra radical transparency, which is, I mean, maybe we feel like that’s already been done, but a lot of these are nece necessary outgrowths of the fact that we’ve had a, uh, at least 5% unemployment rate just in supply chain since 2019. And so many more jobs or needs have been recognized and created. And technology has had to take the four in these things as people stay away from supply chain and drove. So, uh, I think it it’s inevitable that some of these things happen. I work, uh, have worked with a company Dr. Co YK, um, Yaku, um, at a company called Cosmico that does that, um, allows robots for instance, to work with and coordinate with one another, even if they’re different brands on different operating systems, all of that sort of thing.

Greg White (00:15:23):

So you don’t have to be tied to a particular brand of, of, uh, robot let’s say, or operating system, just to give you an idea of, of the applicability of this. And of course, yes. Taking technology beyond AI and ML into other technologies is really important. Autonomous, uh, also mentioned in the article, I think is, is very, very important because so many of these little Beasties, the robots and whatnot, um, are gonna be necessary. Right. I, you know, my opinion is that we will never solve the driver’s shortage for instance, in, in ground transportation. Um, and so we must depend on that. And frankly, I think, you know, in, in some cases it’s, it actually creates a greater safety, not a con, not a concern for safety. So in any case, we’ll be, we’ll see a lot of, of transformations though. One of the things we have to acknowledge is that suddenly innovative technology companies are suddenly under the microscope to produce profit or at least build a pathway to profit, which will by its nature, slow the progress of innovation and disruption because that’s expensive, right. Um, and companies can’t get away with advancing at, you know, advancement and innovation at any price anymore. So it’s gonna be an interesting, um, you know, it’s an interesting development over the years.

Scott Luton (00:16:49):

Agreed, Kevin, I’m coming. You just a second. I wanna, I wanna pull this in from the comments first off, Dennis, uh, Neville, Texas, about hour from Galveston, right. Were

Kevin L. Jackson (00:17:00):

You here yesterday?

Scott Luton (00:17:02):

<laugh> wait, let us know, Dennis. We at the event yesterday, UHS is with us, uh, great to see you here, let us know where you’re tuned in from. Uh, and then finally Rami, uh, is tuned in from Ottawa, which is of course Canada’s capital, uh, all via LinkedIn. So great to see you here today. Okay. So Kevin, what we’re talking about here are some of the top supply chain technology trends here in 2022. I bet for you, it’s like, uh, waking up Christmas morning because <laugh> a lot of, it’s all about digital transformation, right? Yes.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:17:32):

It’s all about digital transformation. But one thing that we can’t forget, and I’ve said there’s many, many, you can’t forget and upset this many, many times, you can’t forget about humans and the digital transformation. And I was kind of, uh, disappointed that they didn’t say anything a, about the humans, uh, in this automation thing. Okay. Uh, for instance, yeah, everybody knows about robots. Everybody’s scared of robots, but what about cobots? Right? The robots that are designed to work in tandem with humans, uh, that is a, a big area of automation and very important area of automation that people really need to think about. Um, you know, as great as Greg said that the robots could talk to one another, but the humans need to be able to talk to the robots and, and the, the humans need to be able to understand what the robots need and want.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:18:26):

I mean, they’re the coworkers. It’s not like you can’t ignore your human coworker, so you can’t ignore your robotic coworker either. And, and, and the other thing that it’s really, um, uh, that I guess, um, yes, um, not nascent, but sort of, uh, hidden that people really don’t think about, uh, is a pile of artificial intelligence and how it is affecting robotic process, um, automation or RPA. And this is really getting into the blending of AI with the internet of things like every, uh, the, the robots themselves are part of the internet of things. And you think about SCADA. Uh, these are the, um, uh, uh, uh, pieces of equipment, um, that are being, uh, run and managed. And they all are connected to the internet and they all have to communicate with one another. And these SCADA, um, uh, is providing huge amounts of data and analytics, and those analytics are being sent to their robots. And if they’re managing the robotic process, automation and RPA, uh, so all this is, you know, creating a, a new environment where, where humans have to fit in. Okay. Uh, so don’t be afraid of it. You have to explore it, understand it, right. Blend it, but more important management. Can’t forget the human, don’t forget the people when it comes to automation,

Scott Luton (00:20:19):

Love that. And, and while SCADA, I thought your, uh, some Texas swang was working at, uh, swang <laugh> some Texas swang was working its way into your, uh, your lexicon. You know, I thought we’re talking Tony hall and, uh, Rob deer deck or something with SCADA. Uh, but you’re talking about a te technology. Good reference. <laugh> um, Hey, I try, we try, um, alright, really quick.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:20:45):

Somebody saying, well, SCADA, supervisory control and data acquisition, right? This is, this is, um, software applications that control industrial processes. All the industrial processes are, are controlled by these, um, components, uh, that gather data in real time from remote locations in order to control the equipment and to manage the equipment based upon the conditions, the real time conditions that the, um, equipment are in.

Scott Luton (00:21:23):

Okay. New acronym. We love new acronyms right here. This <laugh> that’s right. This is Shawn. I think Shawn chanter goes by Shawn. So Shawn welcome. Uh, she, she totally agrees to the points, uh, that you were making earlier when digitizing supply chains companies need the most help stretching their budgets, but having the right talent and the right tech are issues as well. Excellent point there. Uh, I believe this is Richard from Waco, Texas. Richard joins us occasion here, here, uh, uh, every so often. Great to see you here today. Uh, clearly part of Evan’s dispatching logistics, supply distribution, uh, Waco, Texas. So great to see you. Um, alright, so Greg and Kevin, uh, I wanna move right along because in this next story, oh boy, folks, get your popcorn and diet Coke ready, because we’re, we’re about to dive in, uh, we’re gonna follow Greg’s lead here about to dive into this, this slink story that hit the headlines Friday or Saturday. I don’t know, but, but Greg and clay and Amanda and I, and a few others were all together this weekend and we started sharing and talking about it, and gosh, the deeper you go, <laugh> almost the worst it gets.

Scott Luton (00:22:36):

So, but we should quick shout out before Greg kind of lay it out. Uh, Emma, Kosgrow one of the best in the business. She’s now a business insider. She’s the one that is, is leading the reporting of this SL story. So with all that said, Greg unpack this thing for us. Tell us more.

Greg White (00:22:54):

So Emma, uh, received these reports from people who had been working at slink, um, and recently felt compelled to resign because they hadn’t been paid. So even though this company, um, and Scott, I think initially I may have misquoted the valuation. Let’s, let’s just call it somewhere in the 250 to 500 million valuation range when they receive funding in of 60 million in February of 2021 appears to have difficulty making payroll. So, um, but their CEO, uh, Chris ner has no difficulty in bidding for a 40 million, um, English champion, which is their first minor league, uh, soccer team. Uh, they, they are a sponsor of the Dallas stars though. They’re $800,000 behind in their payments for that sponsorship. They have somewhere in the neighborhood of seven, five or seven, uh, PGA European tour, and L PGA brand ambassadors who wear, if you ever have watched a golf tournament in the last year or two, several have slink IO, Justin Rose, right, is one of them.

Greg White (00:24:12):

Mark Leashman is another, uh, and there are several others, but, um, they’re sponsoring that they sponsor an indie car team, uh, of which, uh, Kirchner claims Kirchner auto sport is, is also a partner or I, he at least alludes to the fact that he’s a partner with Michael Andrei, Andrei Autosport, one of the biggest indie car teams on the, uh, planet. And I’m sure I’m missing something. I’m sure that I’m missing something, but clearly that 60 million has not been spent wisely if people are not getting paid. And now, now the sponsors are not getting paid. And I just learned though, I think this happened a few days ago that, uh, Chris unfortunately had to rescind his bid for the soccer team as funding. He couldn’t wrangle funding, uh, for that. So, uh, but look, this, this isn’t about the money. I mean, the money is just a symptom of the problem.

Greg White (00:25:13):

This is a I, and I talked to a number. I, I, it’s kind of a round table of other founders and investors that I talk to frequently in this weekend, we talked about this culture of self-aggrandizing CEL, uh, celebrity founders. They’re more enthralled with the celebrity than they really care about growing companies. This, in my opinion appears to be another one of those cases, much like Adam, what’s his face from WeWork <laugh>, um, and, and others, others who have been self enriching and self aggrandizing individuals at the expense of their companies. And in this case, at the expense of their people’s paychecks, which I simply cannot live with. So I was compelled to share, uh, some of this information and, um, and also share what a good founder should really care about, right. Results is the first thing, second thing is results. And the third thing I bet you can guess is more results <laugh> um, and, and also where, where a, an, an entrepreneur or founder should place themselves selves in the order of things, in terms of their importance, first team, then customers, then investors, then humankind, family, friends, et cetera, then a whole slew of other people, trading partners, blah, blah, blah, go down another five or six layers.

Greg White (00:26:40):

And then maybe, maybe start thinking about yourself, but traipsing around the world, getting your picture taken with famous people. That’s not leadership

Scott Luton (00:26:49):

Agreed, agreed. And Kevin, I’m gonna get you to comment here in just a second mm-hmm <affirmative>, but a Dr. Rhonda, it is, it is very disheartening, especially with the folks, you know, that are going without the, the, uh, wherewithal, they need to pay their own bills, uh, as this is taking place. Sylvia. Great to see you here today. Yes. PJ 2021 was on Kiawa island in the Charleston area. And, uh, she also says, yes, Greg white, you nailed it. And I agree. Um, and one last point here and Kevin loved you to weigh in. Yeah, I saw Justin Rose. It was, it was really strange as I’m watching the final round of the us open yesterday. And you know, of course this story’s already out there. I see Justin Rose, but he’s in a, I think it was a credit card commercial, but he had his golf apparel and big old slink. I, uh, logo was on it. So it’s AMA it’s, it’s amazing all the cross pollination that goes on, but Kevin, your thoughts here, as we’re talking about slink and, um, and clearly, uh, failing priorities, I’ll call it

Kevin L. Jackson (00:27:45):

<laugh> well, to be honest, it sounds a lot like this other, um, multi-billion dollar organization that had a C C that, um, really liked to be an limelight. Um, uh, I think his name was, uh, DDI. <laugh> the celebrity Don <laugh> right. Oh yeah. Okay. And, and so, um, so I don’t know if people may not know, but, uh, he was an American Einstein boss of the, uh, Gambino, cram family in New York city. Right. Uh, and, uh, he was top, I guess, in his crafts, but he liked to be in front of the, uh, TV and in, in, uh, the, uh, papers. And he liked, you know, the, uh, uh, people to be writing articles about him and, and it didn’t do well for the mafia. Right. I mean, they got, they, they, the, the, the mafia famously, um, really lost a lot of his power because he was just trying to look good. He was so out there. Right. So, um, you know, it, it’s not good for anyone if the, uh, the, the, the CEO only cares about themselves. And when he cares about B and C, um, I mean, marketing is important to business, but marketing isn’t business

Scott Luton (00:29:18):

<laugh>. Mm. Well, all right. Lots of t-shirts here. I want you a couple quick comments, and I’m gonna circle back on a key question from a tool here. Uh, but Sylvia says, Hey, never Le never let greed overcome. You wise words from her mentor, Fred chatty, uh gulli is part agrees with what both of y’all are saying, and a tool here, Greg, I, I want you to weigh in here cause you, you, you touch on this, um, in your supply chain commentary mm-hmm <affirmative> that we’ve already dropped a link in. So a tool asks, what do you think impact of such news on valuations of similar companies in this space, Greg?

Greg White (00:29:54):

Yeah. Well, similar companies would be these companies that call themselves digital brokerages, right. Um, which are really mostly just brokerages, but have been getting technology valuations. And I think it does not bode well, frankly, for those companies. And it, it, it will probably accelerate the recognition of the realities of that business model, frankly, but it, it’s not gonna help any founder. And that’s one of the things that I opened with was, you know, founders, this is one of the last, this is the last thing that founders need. Founders of technology companies are already being challenged to get eyes on profitability or, or get to profitability. Uh, the money that they so freely got at slink has completely dried up that’s called growth equity. Mm. That money has, has dried up in large measures. So, um, it’s difficult to get, and you have to build an incredibly, incredibly credible case, um, to be able to get that level of funding.

Greg White (00:31:00):

Now, I can’t tell you the number of, of founders and executives, who who’ve said, whew, I’m glad we closed on that round before all this happened. Um, and, um, thi you know, this is dangerous because this will, uh, to the, um, listener’s point will cause people to look a scant at other founders, right. Recently, Ryan, what’s his face, another celebrity founder from Flexport, he was removed. Um, I’m sorry. He chose I’m sure to, uh, exit the CEO seat and become executive chairman. Um, other, uh, executives are, you know, well known and celebrity executives have been, have been given the opportunity to seek career advancement elsewhere, um, or other roles within the company. Um, and, and, and, you know, this happens when there’s a lot of fraud in the market. People fall in love with the story, right? They fall in love with the founder. Masi Yoshi son from some soft bank is well known to have done that 45 minute meeting with the founder of WeWork, who I will contend is a total scam artist, um, and gave him a billion dollars.

Greg White (00:32:14):

So, um, this will cause increased scrutiny on even the most legitimate of founders. And I, I think it’s, it’s unfair for the scam artists to reap the benefits of fame and maybe fortune. Although if you look at what people estimate, this is, this is the good side of this guys. Wow. If you look at what people estimate, Chris’s, uh, net worth to be for a company that he runs that is worth, let’s just say 350 million, his net worth is 5.2 million, which means he owns just over 1% of the company. Am I doing that right? Yes. 1% of the company. So, and, and that’s a problem also because when a founder owns that little of the company, then they are much, much less engaged in the success of the company. So that’s also a mistake of the investors to allow that, or, or cause that right, maybe in their own greed for that to happen and then to take their eye off the ball and let, let this guy, um, run rough shot over the people in the, in the business and, and, and in danger, their investment as well. I, I just don’t understand it on a lot of ways when

Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:28):

You’re talking about all the sponsors, uh, not getting paid, you know, it reminds me of another business model called Ponzi scheme.

Scott Luton (00:33:38):

<laugh> that’s right.

Greg White (00:33:40):

Maybe.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:41):

I mean,

Greg White (00:33:42):

It could be, I mean, it’s, you know, you know, these, I mean, these investors, there are MBAs at some of the best schools, many of them Warton, university of Pennsylvania, the best business school in the world, the best

Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:54):

Business school doesn’t mean you learn anything,

Greg White (00:33:57):

But, and it’s hard to get over on them, but you’re right. Sometimes even they get caught up in, you know, in the ether as I call it that, right. They get high on the phone or, or FOMO, right.

Scott Luton (00:34:10):

Fear of us now you’re missing out. Right. So, uh, a couple quick comments here. Uh, a tool also says growth at all. Cost is out we’re back to growing with fiscal responsibility. Nice. Just said there, uh, T squared, great to have you here back, uh, with us here today, the mafia metaphor and the greed was on the mark. <laugh> makes me think of Bernard Evers,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:34:34):

MCI ECI.

Scott Luton (00:34:36):

Yeah. Uh, greed and cheapness on Roys will take a company out. Ts scored says, uh, also you heard

Greg White (00:34:43):

There was a substance involved, I would guess, but I doubt it was Roys.

Scott Luton (00:34:47):

<laugh> Sylvia says I have been accused to act like I own the company by a former employer. My response was if you would, if you would act like you own the company, I wouldn’t have to, uh, I quit shorter there actor. So <laugh>, um,

Greg White (00:35:03):

Don’t anger. So

Scott Luton (00:35:04):

Sylvia. Yeah. Don’t mess with Sylvia, Judy. Hey, um, Greg also mentioned the phrase a Scots that’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone use that phrase, um, in per, in a conversation with me, I had to look it up and what that means

Greg White (00:35:19):

Today. It’s known as the side

Scott Luton (00:35:20):

Eye. Yes. The side eye. So if, if you look, um, you, if you look a SCOs at folks, you’re looking with them with an attitude or look in suspicion or disapproval a S K a N C. Very nice, Greg, thank you for expanding our vocabularies <laugh>, uh, between you and Kevin, between you and Kevin. Hey man. I’m I’m gonna finally <laugh> move on to the next level, uh, pass English also. Yeah. Pass English finally. Um, do y’all know the first name and maybe the general timeframe y’all uh, Kevin mentioned Ponzi. Yes. Who, where did that start with any guesses here, Greg or Kevin?

Greg White (00:35:59):

I’ve read about it, but I don’t

Scott Luton (00:36:01):

Remember, uh, no Googling, Kevin, no Googling.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:36:04):

That’s a Google point. <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:36:07):

Charles Charles Ponzi. And in the 19, uh, nineteens and 1920s, um, I think in the Boston area was where, uh, Charles Ponzi was from, I believe. Um, so anyway, um, alright, so we gotta move on and of course y’all check out the story. Don’t take our word for it. Y’all check, check it out via in the cost growth and the business insider. That is the CEO that Greg references in the middle there as they’re out at, at some game or what have you, but y’all check that out and let us know what you think. Okay. So Greg and Kevin moving em right along, I wanna talk about

Greg White (00:36:45):

Are those union? I, they

Scott Luton (00:36:46):

Are. Thank you, Eagle. I Eagle I Greg, so, okay. Kevin Long I’ve long said Greg never misses a thing. It’s so true. You can’t get anything passing. Don’t get

Kevin L. Jackson (00:36:59):

It. Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:37:01):

So I am, um, my grasp

Greg White (00:37:03):

For the obvious is incredible.

Scott Luton (00:37:05):

Right. Uh, and Amanda points out, thank you, Amanda. Charles Ponzi was a Italian immigrant. Uh, so he, maybe he just lived in Boston. It’s a good point. Um, but talking shoes. So Greg and Kevin I’ve long time, long time since college mm-hmm <affirmative> 20, some years ago, been a new balance customer. In fact, the only tennis shoes I’ve been per I’ve purchased since college have all been new balance for various reasons. Um, so I, I decided, uh, after seeing, um, uh, some of the styles and, and just trying to wanna shake it up a little bit, to become a Nike customer again. Okay. So this next article, by the way, I’m very pleased. I didn’t go the digital route and get it designed. And all, I went to my local, uh, Dick sporting goods, I believe, and, and I’ve been really happy with them, but Elizabeth, Nick, uh, Mixon, sorry, Elizabeth Mixon, and the intelligent automation network are reporting on how the company is winning big from its digital transformation effort.

Scott Luton (00:38:01):

So here’s a couple highlights and of course, Greg and Kevin, I’m gonna get y’all’s take care. Uh, so digital channels now account for some 26% of Nike revenues and they’re growing considerably. So Nike of course, has made a variety of investments over the last few years to be in position, to meet the customer where they want to be met. So launching mobile apps, launching chat bots in partnership with a group called Le I believe L a I Y E uh, they’ve acquired dialogue last year, which is a data integration startup platform, which helps, uh, power Nike’s data, immense data science efforts. Along those lines, you might recall that Nike acquired two predictive analytics tools, uh, one by the name of Zodiac. And Greg you’ll like this one by the name of select, but with a C cause as you always said, technology firms have to get created with their spelling. So Jodi and select in recent years were required by Nike. What

Kevin L. Jackson (00:38:59):

Type of example are we setting for the children?

Scott Luton (00:39:03):

<laugh> that’s right. That’s right. With our bad grammar, everybody’s gonna be spelling and speaking like me, Kevin. Um, but, and Kevin you’re like this they’ve Nike has entered the metaverse, uh, last fall, they call it Nike land. Yeah. And it’s hosted by Roblox 7 million visitors just since November, 2021 when they, when they launched it. So they ain’t messing around. In fact, uh, I thought this was a Nike commercial, that what I’m about to say, but it actually, it goes back to a Reebok commercial back in the day, featuring Shaq. Uh, I’ll say Nike, ain’t faking the funk on a nasty dunk with their digital transformation supply chain promise. So last comment here, Greg and Kevin what’s the, so what, and what is the, so what, well, from a supply chain perspective as an article and, and, and, and clearly, uh, as the story is pointing out, one of the things that this digital transformation immense massive digital transformation has allowed for in the physical world is Nike is better able to preposition its products in the right places at the right times.

Scott Luton (00:40:08):

So it’s customers can get the right stuff at the right price at the right time and be happy much, like much like their newest, one of their newest customers in Scott Lu. Right. I don’t like talking about myself third person, but, um, you know, y’all get it to what I’m saying, you know, to have this product that I would’ve bought in my hometown store. I imagine there’s just a little bit of data science, uh, involved there. Yeah. So fascinating to see what Nike’s doing, Greg and Kevin and Kevin will get your take first here. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, uh, I think Nike was recognized by Gartner. I think they’re one of the top 25, um, top supply chains in the globe. So, um, you know, doing some really cool things, but Kevin, what sticks out to you?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:47):

So I’m gonna start off with that, that metaverse part, uh, because you know, we, we’re gonna talk more about what I’m doing here in Galveston and with the, uh, June 19th museum, but we actually have a digital twin, uh, of the June 19th museum. And, uh, while we won’t be launching the museum until, uh, next year, Juneteenth 2023, we are going to use the digital twin to actually design the museum and we’re gonna have multiple versions and we’re going to interact with the public to get their vote, what we should be doing, what we should not be doing. And we are leveraging the, the metaverses to improve our communications and our interaction with real people. So we can improve our relationship with the community, the global community. So, um, the, the metaverse is a real thing. It’s a real valuable thing. Um, and this is one way we are like digitally transforming the whole museum experience. The, the second thing I want to, uh, point out is if you go read the article under the supply chain transformation, they say that Nike has expanded the use of cobots, um, to collaborative robots. Um, and they are, as we’ve talked about in the first article, these, uh, they’re using demand, sensing technology and inventory optimization platforms to increase the speed of order processing. So, um, this, this automation or this hyper automation is, is, is everywhere. So don’t ignore it.

Scott Luton (00:42:29):

That’s right. Can’t ignore it, Greg. I’m coming to you. But before I do, I wanna, Marie hears is with us and Marie is a supply chain rock and roll star. I was able to sit down one on one with Marie a few weeks back. So great to have you, uh, with us here today. She says, Nike has done significant work to protect their brand against devaluing note that they’ve grown their capabilities so that they could cool that they could pull their product back into their own control, avoiding coupons and discounting that retails retailers love the toss about well said there, uh, Marie, and thanks for being here. All right. So Greg, we’re talking about the digital transformation, the massive digital transformation that Nike has been persevering through your thoughts.

Greg White (00:43:10):

Yeah, well, they just made 31 million selling virtual shoes. Didn’t they <laugh>, um,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:16):

Right.

Greg White (00:43:17):

20, 20,000 pairs of NFT shoes. Wow. That don’t exist. They

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:23):

Exist

Greg White (00:43:24):

30, I mean, 31 billion <laugh> right.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:28):

A virtual.

Greg White (00:43:30):

Um, but that doesn’t devalue the metaphors, right? That I NFT is a, there’s a whole different, there, there is a great practical business usage, but like many things we have to go through the, whatever you wanna call it early solid days of, of technologies before we find what the, what the actual valuable use is. Um, they are creating value for some people, but not really value beyond that. Um, but in, in any case, um, I think this whole notion of digital twins is genius. What have I always said in supply chain, we predict the wrong thing. We keep predicting items. We keep saying, this is how this pair of shoes sold. This is how this pair of shoes has a season, or is growing, or is trending down or whatever. But the truth is that’s not what’s happening at all. Look at any of the items surrounding you right now, right where you are, what are they doing?

Greg White (00:44:28):

Nothing. <laugh> what we need to predict in supply chain is the, the shopper and the ability of the me that the metaverse gives us just like Kevin you’re experiencing. It allows us to create a product that is more marketable or a combination of products that are more marketable by allowing people to virtually try it on or, or test their lifestyle with these products or in, in the case of Kevin, in the Juneteenth museum to, to present it in a way that will attract more people to the museum and to continue to iterate that and, and continue to learn on, learn that what are we doing? We are predicting the actions of our consumers in order to be able to provide them with something they truly value and that they will give us money for. So finally, I think this is a transition to predicting the consumer mm-hmm <affirmative> right, and, and understanding influence on the consumer, what influences the consumer to buy our product or visit our museum or whatever. Um, so it’s, it’s a genius, um, usage of the metaverse yes. From that standpoint,

Scott Luton (00:45:36):

Well said, and Kevin, I’m gonna get your last comment before I do, uh, if we can, Amanda Chan and Catherine, again, thanks for all that y’all do. If we could drop, um, Marie’s Hearst episode, uh, that link in the comments that’d be great. Um, and then secondly, Greg, amongst the things, and one of the things that Marie’s talking about, um, is, you know, a couple years ago, Nike left Amazon, um, and you know, there, there, we could say we could have a whole series dedicated to all of that. Uh, but it’s really interesting, uh, the changes that these, uh, iconic brands have been making to persevere through, uh, you know, these times were in, um, Kevin, uh, your final thought or first off, uh, are you a Nike customer as well?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:46:21):

Am I a Nike customer? Yes, I actually, Nike customer, I like that always, always doing the swoosh. Right. <laugh> Hey, we got the swoosh here. So <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:46:33):

That’s right. We have our own version of the swoosh. That is right. That’s right. And that’s for the army of lawyers at Nike. Uh, it, it does not look anything like swoosh that you can find, let me clarify, say the louder

Kevin L. Jackson (00:46:46):

Too far there. Right. <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:46:48):

But Kevin, I love as we’ve talked, you know, on this digital transformers version of the supply chain buzz, I love your emphasis on the human factor, right. Even as big of a supply chain or as big of a digital transf, uh, transformation guru that you are, you emphasize always the human factor. So I’m gonna give your, your final thought here on this Nike story.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:47:09):

So, um, we, we’ve learned over the past two years that, uh, using the past to predict the future never works. <laugh> right. You know, looking at your equation to what happened and how, how it happened last year, don’t help you tomorrow. But with the metaverse is happening, what’s happening in the metaverse is that you, the, um, uh, companies are establishing two-way communication with their customers, right. Real time interaction. So they don’t need to predict, they just ask, what do you want today? What do you want tomorrow? How do you feel? You know? Um, and, uh, that’s where that’s the present, not the future. That’s the present?

Scott Luton (00:47:56):

Mm well said. Um, finally. Yep. Uh, you know, Nike, I don’t know about y’all, but I went through a bunch of Nikes as a kid, you know, back when Bo Jackson rolled out the cross trainer back in the eighties, if y’all remember that, of course the iconic, um, uh, Jordans, but the spike Lee commercials, uh, you know, all that good stuff, but gotta be

Kevin L. Jackson (00:48:16):

The shoes.

Scott Luton (00:48:18):

Yes. Little penny, of course. But you know,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:48:22):

Now that’s true. <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:48:26):

Yeah, well that we should, we should check it out, but, you know, I always thought Nikes would run small. I, I usually bought half a size under what I did with other brands. That’s from, at least from my perspective folks, that’s not the case anymore. They don’t run small anymore. So, but fascinating to see what they’re do, digital transformation standpoint, we gotta leave it. There let’s move right along. And by the way, Peter Bole all night and all day. Great to have you here. Congrats on all, all the cool things you’re up to now. You’ll, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll let, uh, I’ll leave it up to you if you wanna share, uh, in the comments, but I hope this find Joel, and we also have dropped the interview with Marie hue in the comments. Y’all check that out. Uh, fascinating. I could chat, uh, with, um, an intrigued and supply chain leader. Okay. So, uh, Greg and Kevin, I love to chat so far. We’re gonna switch gears, uh, on the front end, even though Greg didn’t let it outta the bag. I just knew you were going to, um, we were talking about what, uh, what Kevin and his team and, and lots of other folks ball accounts spent their Juneteenth Sunday, yesterday doing, and Kevin, we got something special. We’re gonna show share visually when we get to that part, but tell us first. Yeah. Uh, what what’s going on in Galveston yesterday.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:49:38):

So, yes. So, um, as many of you know, um, I am, uh, uh, working with June, uh, June 19 museum incorporated. Um, um, I’m actually the president of the June 19 museum corporation. And we are, uh, we’ve been working over the past year, uh, to launch a, uh, Juneteenth museum here in Galveston, Texas. Um, so Galveston was the site of the final battle of the, uh, civil war in the United States, the us civil war and as many, uh, no, or, uh, the, um, slave there was the civil war actually was not fought initially to end slavery. Um, uh, president, uh, Lincoln famously said, you know, he basically said, I don’t care if they have slaves or don’t have slaves, I’m trying to save the country. Um, and right.

Greg White (00:50:40):

It was because of the se succession of the Southern states ultimately went back to slavery and, and, and a lot of other things. Yeah,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:50:48):

Right. So he just wanted to keep the country together. Uh, but, um, he had, it would turned out to be a, a wonderful strategy. Actually, he decided to, uh, release the emancipation proclamation. And what’s little known is that, uh, the methation proclamation did not free all slaves. It only freed slaves in states that had succeeded from the union and that it was, it was economic warfare. All of the states in the south depended on slaves for, to run their economy. So he was basically cutting their legs out from under room. Although, you know, president Lincoln, AOR slavery, he was acting on behalf as the president, uh, and trying to save right, uh, the country. But so he released emancipation proclamation in 1863, but you know, if you’re in the south and you’re a slave owner, you’re not gonna go out and tell all your slaves, you’re now freed.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:52:01):

<laugh> right. So none of being slaved, people even heard or knew about the imagination proclamation until a, a union force would enter and liberate the city. So Galveston, Texas was the very last city to be liberated in the us, um, civil war and a general Granger led the union force that took over the city. So the enslaved, uh, um, population, uh, heard due to a general order cause now general Granger was, um, the Marshall in charge of the region here. And he released was known as general order, number three, uh, in Galveston, which was a restatement of the emancipation proclamation and it all slaves for free. So these were the very last enslaved persons in the United States to become free. And that happened, uh, over two and a half years after the original emancipation proclamation in 1865 here in Galveston, Texas on June 19th. So that is the original, the origination of June 19th.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:53:35):

So we’re gonna put a, uh, uh, we Kristen, uh, a building here, which is a custom house. So in 1861, just prior to the civil war, the United States built a custom house and courthouse here in Galveston, Texas. It was the very first federal building to be built in Texas by the us government. And it’s, I don’t know what to call it ironic or what, but, you know, customs is where you go pay taxes when you are doing basically international trade. So you would basically, you would come to the custom house to pay taxes on the humans that you are buying from the middle passage. Um, but we are transforming this location into a museum that will be dedicated to inclusion, um, and diversity and the elimination of the modern slavery or human trafficking. And, uh, in fact, in 1865 at the, when, uh, Juneteenth was born, there were approximately 20,000 slaves in the world today.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:55:11):

There are over 40,000 slaves in the world. So we are really excited. We had the, uh, we had the mayor of Galveston here. We had the, um, uh, dis uh, um, council member, Sharon, um, Lewis, who our museum will is, is located in the district here. Um, we will be, we christened the building. We will be renovating for the next year and opening the museum in Juneteenth 2023, but we were also honored to have, uh, address, uh, council, I mean, um, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson, Lee of the, uh, 18th district, our congressional district here in, in, uh, Texas. And, uh, we were entered in the congressional record, uh, for our work and the christening of the June 19th museum,

Scott Luton (00:56:16):

Man. Uh, that is unbelievable, uh, in many ways, uh, going back to a data point cause Kevin, I bet when you said 20,000, 40,000, I bet I wish it was that, but I bet it was 20 million and 40 million, uh, Kevin, is that right? Yeah.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:56:34):

<laugh> yeah. Millions back then 40 million today

Scott Luton (00:56:39):

Globally. So, so, and as, as our friends, Greg, Tim Nelson and hope for justice have, have educated us along with Kevin on just how much modern slavery and global trafficking, not only how much is it growing and sadly it’s a vibrant underground economy, but it, it, I think $150 million economy Greg here in the states attributed to, uh, trafficking, uh, alone. Greg, your, your thoughts on what, uh, Kevin has shared here today.

Greg White (00:57:10):

Um, it’s about time. Um, I mean, I think, honestly that was one that was one of the aspects of, uh, civil war, I guess, whatever you call it, history that I was never taught. I never knew that that that ever happened until, uh, maybe a year or two ago, you know, when Kevin started describing that to us. So, um, fascinating, not surprising, but interesting. I mean, in the times of information then, um, though I’m sure that the, whoever was in control at that time just simply ignored the, the executive order by president Lincoln. Um, not surprising that you could get away with that. Um, but, um, certainly time that that was rectified and, and I can’t think of anyone better to represent and help, um, you know, uplift something so important in American history. So Kevin, I’m proud to know you. Yes. Just proud to know you and thanks to you and everyone else who, who, uh, has made this happen. Agreed, definitely.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:15):

Brian,

Scott Luton (00:58:16):

It’s gonna be a, a, a destination, uh, certainly in Galveston for more and more folks to come out, learn more about some of these things that Greg just was, was speaking about that he didn’t learn in that many folks didn’t learn in their history classes. Um, uh, I mentioned hope for justice. Uh, I think I’ve seen, uh,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:35):

New hope for justice, actually.

Scott Luton (00:58:38):

That is wonderful. Uh, that’s, they’re the most powerful nonprofit in the world fighting to eliminate and eradicate, uh, human slavery and modern trafficking. Uh, Richard, I think this is Richard. Richard says he visits Galveston six, seven times a year. So you got a new place to visit. Oh, right. Uh, when you’re down in Galveston, Sylvia says, uh, back on eman emancipation proclamation, uh, is actually one of the hundred questions in the naturalization test that folks that wanna be citizens have to pass, uh, that is really cool.

Greg White (00:59:08):

New emancipation, emancipation pro proclamation thing, right? Yes. Not the June team.

Scott Luton (00:59:13):

No, no emancipation proclamation. That’s right, right. Um, yeah. All right. So Kevin, if folks wanna learn more and we touched on this, uh, this certificate of congressional recognition, which is really cool. Folks can, uh, y’all can check out the replay. We’ve dropped the replay to yesterday’s, um, events in the comments. Y’all check that out. But Kevin, if folks wanna learn more about what you and your team are doing there in Galveston, where can they go?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:59:38):

So I would go to June 19 museum.com and you can, uh, um, also actually learn about our NF.

Scott Luton (00:59:57):

We got, we got it. We’re gonna have to have,

Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:00):

Get membership in

Greg White (01:00:01):

Museum. Can I get, can I get a, can I get a real copy?

Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:06):

Kidding. <laugh>

Scott Luton (01:00:07):

We’re gonna have a NFT discussion between Greg and Kevin and we’re gonna sell tickets to it. Um, but Kevin, uh, that URL again was

Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:17):

Yeah. June nine museum do com um, you out follow

Greg White (01:00:24):

Nice looking

Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:24):

Sight. Great. Thank you. Thank you. You also follow me on this little show called digital transformers chain. Now

Scott Luton (01:00:34):

You say little, it is blowing up. It is blowing up. Uh, you know, we launched that show. I wanna say, uh, what late last year. Yeah. Kevin, does that sound about right? Yes. And it is shooting up. Uh, it is shooting up the, uh, the podcast charts. I wanna say it was top 200. Yes. Uh, Kevin,

Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:55):

Actually, we broke. We were like, well, we were 86 in, in India. Uh, we got like 102 in the United States at one time. So we we’re man, you know,

Scott Luton (01:01:06):

Is wonderful, wonderful news. We look forward to more big things coming out of, uh, the offices of Kevin L. Jackson. I’ll put it <laugh>. Um, alright, so really appreciate your, your take here today, but Greg, um, I loved your supply chain commentary going back on the slink story. Um, uh, I love kind of how you laid it out there. Um, tell me, when do y’all, when do you publish, how often do you publish that?

Greg White (01:01:33):

Yeah, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday today. Uh, that was actually an article that I had chosen separate from my newsletter, which, uh, you can subscribe to also your day in supply chain. Um, again, I need to be better about getting the, the link out there, but it’s, it’s, uh, it comes out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday also, and has some of the top supply chain news on it. So I’ll try to be more diligent in LinkedIn, if you wanna follow me on LinkedIn in LinkedIn to, um, promote that, that newsletter. So folks can subscribe to it. Yeah,

Scott Luton (01:02:07):

You got to, and you, you don’t need to just subscribe folks, jump in there and you gotta follow or connect with Greg to do it, but jump in there and, and share your comment. Greg usually responds just about every comment, you know,

Kevin L. Jackson (01:02:21):

Though, I tell when you, the things you write about are SoCo and so important. Um, I find myself reading them multiple times.

Greg White (01:02:38):

Yeah, no. Yeah. Well, I really appreciate that Kevin, because I mean, I, um, I put a lot of thought into what I’m going to say. And sometimes as you’ve seen mm-hmm <affirmative>, if you’ve read it, it’s sometimes it’s specifically on the topic. Somebody, sometimes it is what some trigger point in, in the original article makes me think about or remains unsaid or, or perhaps misrepresented inadvertently misrepresented in the article or not completely represented,

Kevin L. Jackson (01:03:08):

Not in,

Greg White (01:03:08):

So, um, thank you. Yeah. I mean, I there’s so much that we need to know. I believe in complete and total, every single word of the truth as if, as, as people who know me know, and if you’ve read these things, you’ll see. Um, and I think that’s important particularly today for us to expose the entirety of the truth and help people understand in a lot of cases, the context of, of some of these discussions that we’re having well said. So, yeah. Thanks man.

Scott Luton (01:03:40):

Well said. Uh, alright, so one final word, going back to shoes. I’m surprised we can get more chatter about folks, favorite shoes, but who said, uh, and great to see you, Julio, great things for being here. It’s important to physically try the shoes from the customer point of view that that’s right. No one wants to buy it and have to return it. So, but Hey, these leading shoe companies are coming up with new ways of sizing it, uh, if you buy were to buy digitally. So, uh, and in the store, we still have the tried and true thumb. At least if you’re still growing with the kids, if y’all bought kids, as long as <laugh>, we just bought bid and some shoes, my youngest, and as long as you’ve got a good thumb between his, his, uh, big toe and the end of the shoe that’s been around for, I don’t know, decades, it’s still works.

Scott Luton (01:04:24):

Evidently it’s still the scientific approach to making sure it’s a big enough shoot. Um, <laugh> love it. Okay. All right. Folks, make sure to connect with Greg and with Kevin. Uh, I agree with both of them. I mean, you’re gonna learn so much by following connecting with, you know, uh, diving and leaning into their, uh, their point of view and their expertise. So check out, uh, supply chain comp, uh, commentaries with Greg. And of course, uh, you wanna follow him and Kevin for all things, digital transformers as well, uh, transformation as well as June 19 museum.com. I get that right, Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:01):

Okay. June 19 museum.com. Thank you very much.

Scott Luton (01:05:05):

Y’all check that out and folks, whatever you do, Hey, we gotta act on these things that we learn, right? We gotta take, we gotta, uh, walk through the windows and doors. No walk through the doors of opportunity. Don’t walk through the windows of opportunity. Walk through the doors,

Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:19):

Climb through the, you walk through the door, leap through the window, through the window,

Scott Luton (01:05:27):

But regardless it’s Monday regardless, it’s all about deeds, not words. So on behalf of our entire team here, Scott Luton challenging you, Dave, do good to give forward and to be the change that’s needed. And on that note, we’ll see you next time, right back here on supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (01:05:43):

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.