Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner, specializing in retail with a particular focus on forecasting and replenishment. He is responsible for Gartner’s annual Top 25 Supply Chain ranking and joins Supply Chain Now on a monthly basis to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.

The inspiration for this session is music – the best bands, album titles, song lyrics – even the best concert-going experience. But with Mike Griswold in attendance, every musical favorite also has a tie in to the supply chain… and Mike is always right on key.

In this episode, Mike draws on his broad musical tastes to put 2023 into context for co-hosts Scott Luton and Kelly Barner:

• Crystal Ball by Styx: What if companies had been able to see the last three years in advance? How would it have changed their preparation and approach?

• Roll With the Changes from REO Speedwagon: Operating environments, customers, and how we go to market are all different – so our supply chains need to change as well

• Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Monty Python: We may be consumed with short term challenges, but there is always a tomorrow and another chance to get things right

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 opportunities. Stay tuned to hear from Those Making Global Business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:33):

Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are, Scott Luton and Kelly Barner here with you on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s Stream, Kelly. How are we doing today?

Kelly Barner (00:42):

We’re doing great, Scott. It’s a sunny day. We’re ready to have a fun conversation. This is gonna be terrific.

Scott Luton (00:47):

Oh, this is gonna be a blast. Yeah, and you’re right. And the weather is very nice and in other parts of the country getting ice storms and in Texas and Arkansas, Josh Goody’s already weighing in Sunny and 35 degrees up in Seattle. Good to see you Josh. But folks buckle up. Cause as Kelly mentioned, we have a wonderful show here today, Kelly. We’re continuing our, one of our longest running series supply chain today and tomorrow with Mike Griswold with Gardner, one of our faves here. One of our audiences’ faves. Mike always brings a duany Kelly.

Kelly Barner (01:17):

Oh, he definitely does. That’s

Scott Luton (01:18):

Right. And today we’ve got what I’m calling a supply chain jam session. Well, almost Kelly, almost. We had so much fun a few months ago using Hollywood themes to talk through global supply chain trends that we’re doing the same thing today. But instead of movies, we’re gonna be focusing on legendary tunes. So Kelly, do you have your supply chain jukebox warmed up and ready to go?

Kelly Barner (01:45):

I do. And before anybody leaves the stream, we promise not to sing. So not that kind of a jam session. There’s no singing, there’s no instruments, <laugh>. Seriously, you don’t want that. But we are gonna have a really fun conversation about supply chain and music.

Scott Luton (01:58):

That is right. Kelly is a wonderful callout. We didn’t wanna scare anybody, so, uh,

Kelly Barner (02:03):

Please don’t go, we’re not gonna say

Scott Luton (02:04):

<laugh>. Alright, so before I share a couple programming notes, I wanna say hello to a few folks. As I mentioned, our dear friend Josh Goody, Josh enjoyed your perspective on the big tank commitments headed to Ukraine. Josh, the fellow veteran, was weighing in some things there. So Josh, hope this finds you well. Shelly Phillips, one of our faves around here. Kelly Wright.

Kelly Barner (02:22):

Hello shelling,

Scott Luton (02:24):

Great to see you up in Shelley’s, up in, uh, Colorado. So great to see you Christine, tuned in from the Bronx via LinkedIn. Great to see you, Christine. Amanda tuned in from Germany. Looks like, uh, let’s see, my eyesight, I should say Dr. Feo maybe rather than Amanda, that looks like an Air Force uniform, but my eyesight could be hurting <laugh>. But hello from Germany, Dr. From Ano, Terry Butler, tuned in from the beautiful city of Chicago. Great to see you here via at LinkedIn. Welcome everybody. And Josh says, Gibson guitars boosting, maybe, I guess Jimmy Hendrix, did he play Gibson Guitars? Do you know Kelly?

Kelly Barner (03:01):

I don’t know personally. It’s a huge name. I mean, I think, am I remembering correctly? Was it Jim Hendrix that played a right-handed guitar? Left-handed strung upside down? Oh, Josh can fact check us on that. That might have been Jimi Hendrix <laugh>.

Scott Luton (03:15):

Okay, so Josh, check that out. But hello John Perry, great to see you back with us as well. I always enjoy your sense of humor. So good afternoon everybody. And Shelly wants to make sure, oh, KB is in the house once more. So everybody, we’ve got a couple program notes and we’re gonna d dive into the conversation with Mike Griswold. So stay tuned. I wanna start though with, and first off, it’s, it is the start of Black History Month today, February 1st. So we look forward to celebrating those massive and extraordinary contributions throughout the month. So look, stay tuned for that. Also, Kelly, we wanna invite folks, we’ve been this leveraging logistics for Ukraine Initiative has been going on seven months now, I believe. And it has resulted in over 670,000 pounds of humanitarian aid that has reached families in need in Ukraine and Poland and elsewhere. Folks, thanks to all of y’all. Big thanks to our friends at Vector Global Logistics and Maureen and Enrique and Christie that have been leading the effort, but there’s always time. Join us. So Tuesday the 7th of February, 11:00 AM Eastern time is next planning session and we invite you to be a part of that. Kelly, that is a, I mean, that is a noble mission and it’s a big part of the why we do what we do, right?

Kelly Barner (04:22):

It is, and truthfully, kudos to the Vector Global Logistics team because this was not sort of an initially enthusiastic effort to maintain something like this for as long as they’ve been doing it. Not that we would question that, but their hearts and their minds and their energy are clearly behind to this effort. So huge compliment to them for not just being sort of flash in the pan, but for sticking the mission out.

Scott Luton (04:44):

That is right. Deeds not words. Mm-hmm. And Enrique and Maureen and Christian all and the whole, they’ve built an ecosystem that’s really driven it and they’re committed to keeping on going even when you don’t see it on the headlines. That’s right. So, and of course thoughts and prayers for cooler heads, you know, it’s a scary thing what we’re seeing there. Alright, on much lighter notes, Josh is Wayne back in? Correct? They didn’t make left-handed Gibson guitars, so he just flipped it on its side and let it go, let it sing as he says that is. I had no idea. Good stuff, Josh.

Kelly Barner (05:11):

The things you learn here, right?

Scott Luton (05:13):

<laugh>, things you learn. So folks, again, it’s gonna be all about global supply chain themes, but we’re gonna communicate it via music in tune. So get your own ones ready. Cause we’re gonna be pulling some of those from Kelly and from Mike, but also from our audience. Two other quick things that hit before we, uh, bring Mike on. And by the way, that was Lieutenant colonel. So Dr. I wanna bring that back in. Dr. Fao as a Lieutenant Colonel fao and in the United States Air Force. So thank you for all that you do and your service, and great to have you here today. All right, so speaking of service to country, I want to mention two quick things. So last weekend, Saturday, sadly, was the 37th anniversary of the Space shuttle Challenger Disaster. Kelly, you and I have created some, I had some great conversations around this. Yeah. Kristen Boston area, but we focused our, with that said, our monthly LinkedIn newsletter and dove into the backstory of each of the seven astronauts. So a terrible tragedy, but you know, they continue their lives continue to inspire us all. Your quick comment here, Kelly.

Kelly Barner (06:13):

Yeah, I mean, Kristen McCauliffe was a public school teacher just over the border from Massachusetts into New Hampshire. Um, and so all of New England kind of embraced certainly the mission that she was on, and then felt her loss collectively. So this time of year, it’s a pretty big deal around here, but just, just absolutely devastating. It’s important that we remember these things every year.

Scott Luton (06:33):

That’s right. Well said. So remembering all of them, and you know, today is also the, the anniversary. Gosh, we’re doubling down on tragedy today, but hey, we should remember these folks, especially to Columbia. Back on February 1st, 2003. We lost seven astronauts as the shuttle broke up, uh, reentering coming them back from orbit. So, hey, their lives continue to inspire us all their lives continue to innovate, not just space industry, but there’s, uh, tons of innovations that have been applied in industry from all the space missions, right? And of course the private sector is a whole different space game now, but we all do wanna take just a moment and remember their sacrifices. Okay, so on a much lighter note, thank you for your kind comments there and contributions. We’ve got a great show teed up with the one only Mike Griswold, are you ready, Kelly, to crank it up a bit in our supply chain jam session

Kelly Barner (07:24):

<laugh>. I am ready.

Scott Luton (07:25):

All right. And as Kelly has promised, no singing today, but

Kelly Barner (07:29):

With, yes, and I’m actually saying that so that you can’t make us sing <laugh>. I’m kind of involving the audience in this. We are not singing <laugh>.

Scott Luton (07:35):

Oh, that’s preemptive. I see. It’s preemptive. Okay, well, with all of that said, I wanna welcome in our dear friend, the one and only Mike Griswold, vice President Analyst with Gartner. Hey Mike, how are you doing?

Mike Griswold (07:50):

Hey, I’m doing very well. Thanks Kelly. Thank you for the preemptive strike on no singing. I, I

Kelly Barner (07:55):

Get you back, Mike,

Mike Griswold (07:56):

With you on that. We should put a big disclaimer on here. There will be no singing

Scott Luton (08:00):

<laugh>. Yeah,

Mike Griswold (08:02):

That was great, Kelly, on your, I didn’t think of that when we were talking before the show, but yeah, the wording I think is very well done.

Scott Luton (08:09):

Agreed. Agreed. And she beat me to the punch. I had that buried somewhere to ask y’all to sing your tunes that you’re gonna mention. But hey, she beat me to the punch. Okay, so let’s start. Do this. You know, I’d like to start with a fun warmup question and a couple of, in this case musical history notes. So did you know Kelly and Mike that born today back in 1948 in Buffalo, New York was one. James Ambrose Johnson Jr. Better known as Rick James. How about that? And also Born today back in 1994. So a little bit younger in Redditch, England was Harry Styles, who my kids say is kind of a big deal. I’m still piecing my knowledge about styles together, <laugh>. So with that as a a backdrop, I’d like to ask both of y’all with this musically themed livestream here today. What was your favorite? And Mike, we’ll start with you. What is one of your favorites all-time in-person music, concert, or overall experience?

Mike Griswold (09:08):

So I was just listening to the radio. This the event was in December of 2021. My wife had a milestone birthday and I was listening to Sirius XM and they said, Hey, we’re gonna have, there’ll be a short run in Vegas of journey with an orchestra. Oh. So for her milestone birthday, we went to Vegas, saw a journey with an orchestra. It was fantastic. So that’s at the top of the list.

Scott Luton (09:32):

It’s gotta be. I and I, I love when these bands that had big major tunes, they reinvent it and they let you hear a tune a different way. You know, Eric Clapton and his unplugged back in 1994 where he played a lot of his old stuff but reinvented it acoustically. What a wonderful series. All right, so Kelly, that’s gonna be tough to talk journey with a classical orchestra, sounds like. So Kelly, what about you?

Kelly Barner (09:55):

Okay, so I’m going experience as opposed to seeing the band live, the Museum of Science in Boston does these laser planetarium shows and there is no beating laser planetarium, Metallica. Oh my gosh, that is the best. It doesn’t get any more fun any rowdier than that, except you’re perfectly safe because you’re at the Museum of Science in Boston. But that was an amazing experience.

Scott Luton (10:18):

I bet, man. Okay, I’m not sure if I can top either one of those. I did catch r e m in concert as part of their monster tour back in 1994. That was a really cool one. And locally here in Atlanta, big fan of the Sundogs, good old preacher Will Haraway and his brother and his band mates, they put on some great music and they have a Tom Petty tribute show each year. And that’s certainly not to be missed. But look here, gene Pledger saw Paul McCartney live. That’s pretty cool. That’s cool Gino. And by the way, Gino also is a drummer. We’ll have to bring him on for our next jam session. Josh says, save all the singing for the next supply chain convention. I’m with you Josh. Yep. And Marvin, great to have you back from Dublin. Uh, hope this finds you well.

Scott Luton (11:00):

It’s been a while. All right, so Mike and Kelly, with that backdrop, we’re gonna dive into kind of our core conversation here today, right? Using music and some of the tunes we love, all love and know as a means of conveying some of the things going on in global supply chain. So I’m gonna warm things up just so the audience knows kind of what we’re doing here. I know this isn’t rocket science, but I wanna have a little fun myself with a couple. So I’m gonna start with who doesn’t like Motown? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I bet you didn’t know Kelly and Mike that the Jackson five, what they were talking about with their song I Want You Back, was 2020 Consumer Goods Pricing Pre Inflation. I bet y’all didn’t know that, did you? <laugh>? Very true. <laugh>

Kelly Barner (11:42):

Like

Scott Luton (11:42):

Time travel. Yes. Our Cracker Jack research team came up with this. And then secondly, if you remember the iconic Paul Abdul hit in the early nineties, uh, straight up, man, those video music videos on VH1 were playing nonstop. Well, who would’ve thk? She was singing about critical frankness and transparency in supply chain communications with that hit straight up. So if y’all can’t tell, we’re gonna have a little fun with music here today. So Mike, let’s start with you. What is your first tune that really conveys what’s going on in global supply chain?

Mike Griswold (12:15):

Yeah, I think I’ll date myself with probably both of these, but I’m gonna take us back to the late seventies, early eighties. The first one is a crystal ball from sticks. I think as we think about the last, probably two years, 2019, I’m sure we all wish we had a crystal ball and saw what was coming. When I think about how we talk to companies, right, as part of the re the relationship they had with Gartner, there’s always questions about, you know, what do you think is gonna happen next? If you had a crystal ball, what would you see in it? And so on. And I think what I see in leading organizations, it is not so much wishing they had a crystal ball. It’s what can we do? What skills and capabilities can we acquire that whatever happens in that crystal ball, we’re in good shape. Right? So if I think about our supply chain top 25, and being able to handle disruptions and being resilient and being agile as an example, and thinking about where you invest in your tech, your technology dollars in terms of enabling those capabilities. If you have those three capabilities, right? If you can handle disruption, if you’re resilient and you’re agile, then regardless of what shows up in the crystal ball, you’ll still be in pretty good shape.

Scott Luton (13:29):

Yep. I, I love that Kelly. Speaking of what Mike was sharing, your thoughts there.

Kelly Barner (13:36):

So, you know, it’s funny, when we look back to 2019, I’ve actually said many times I am thankful that I did not know what was gonna be happening, at least on a personal level, just let me sort of wander through in shock trying to get through one day at a time. But certainly if you’re running a large organization, if you’re managing a supply chain, I can completely appreciate that desire to have a crystal ball. And you wonder where people would actually focus. So if you look at that crystal ball and let’s face it, and you shake it up a little bit, it’s mayhem in there. What would people choose to address first? Because so many things were all going wrong, sort of at the same time. Even having that crystal ball, man, what a complicated couple of years we’ve

Scott Luton (14:18):

Had. You’re so right. And there’s a phrase, and we’re gonna try to get Mike back then we’ve had a little frozen connection. But there’s a phrase that I learned in the middle stamping business, right? And I’ll forever after, after spending time in that business, I’ll be forever grateful for simple problems, right? Simple problems. A, there’s a phrase I learned from a colleague named Jim and it was focused on eat your frogs first. Right? So your toughest challenges,

Kelly Barner (14:44):

Or not at all,

Scott Luton (14:45):

<laugh>, or maybe not at all, but I forgot the story behind that. But basically ta tackle those toughest up problems on the first part of your day. Cause they’ll get easier from there. Mike, we got you back. We are just talking about your first tune there, your final work.

Mike Griswold (14:59):

Yeah, I think Kelly is spot on. I think even if we had a crystal ball in 2019 and we looked in it, no one would’ve liked what they saw. Yeah. And most organizations in some form or fashion would’ve potentially been paralyzed from the standpoint of there’s so much stuff that’s coming our way. Where do we start? Like you said, eat your frogs first. Where do we start and how do we sequence this? So, you know, on, on the one hand, having a crystal ball can be good, but on the other hand, you know, if you have one, you can’t let it paralyze you. Right? You, you have to make decisions and you have to move forward.

Scott Luton (15:31):

That’s right. Paralysis by analysis is very real. Yeah. And you know, Kelly, in the startup world, man, making decisions constantly everywhere in business, but in particular in the startup world, man, you’re making decisions every day and you gotta make ’em. You gotta make ’em. There’re not all gonna be right. Yeah. But that’s a great point Mike brought up, huh?

Kelly Barner (15:51):

Yes. And actually, so disclaimer, this is not one of my songs, but it does have a song connection. Okay? Anybody out there that saw Frozen two, there was actually a line from a song in Frozen two, which was literally what got me through the pandemic. And it was Anna Stuck All Sad in that little frozen cave <laugh> Do the next Right Thing, right? So one step at a time, do the next Right Thing. I don’t even remember the music that goes with it anymore, but Little Pearl of Wisdom in that, in that kid’s cartoon movie.

Scott Luton (16:23):

Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, so Mike, I’m gonna come back for your second tune in just a second. I wanna share a couple. Josh. Josh, that’s a great one. I almost brought in. Heard it through the grapevine and as Amanda put in the private chat here come the dad jokes. Heard it through the blockchain or something like that. <laugh> credence ccr. Really good, great band

Kelly Barner (16:43):

With the raisins or without like, yeah. California raisins or California raisins. Just straight ccr.

Scott Luton (16:49):

Yeah, both. I like both versions of course. And Nerf nerfs this, he says this Comment for you Kelly Frog Skin is delicious. Fresh out the pond. <laugh> Nerf

Kelly Barner (17:02):

Hard pass. Thanks Nerf. The hard pass. Yeah.

Scott Luton (17:05):

And Shelly says, I saw Frozen too, so thanks for calling that out. That line. That’s a really good one, Shelly. I agree with you. All right, y’all keep it coming. Keep it coming. Like Josh, y’all drop your fa some of your favorite tunes in the chat and if you wanna take a a leap in terms of how it applies in global supply chain, we’re all yours. Okay. Mike, what is your second tune here today?

Mike Griswold (17:26):

Yeah, same timeframe. One of my favorite album titles. You can tune a piano but you can’t tune a fish. AIO Speedway can roll with the changes. <laugh>, if there was ever a requirement for supply chains over the last two, two to three years, it’s been that we have to be able to roll with the changes. Yeah. Things are gonna be different. Our operating environments are different, our customers are different. How we go to market is different and our supply chains need to be able to adapt and need to be able to roll with the changes. So yeah, that one to me resonated really well. And I just love the album title. I love the for, again, there’s a lot of people probably Googling now the album cover, but the, the Fish with the tuning fork coming out of its mind, it’s one of my all time favorite album covers and I think one of my all time favorite album names

Scott Luton (18:16):

I am with and, and gosh, every, all of us were nodding our heads cause we That’s such a, a great call out. Kelly, your thoughts?

Kelly Barner (18:24):

No, I think it’s excellent. And the fact of the matter is, I think most of us have given up on the idea of going back to normal or back to the way things were. Mm-hmm <affirmative> even next normal now. Like who has time to stop and define that <laugh>. So if you roll with the changes, just keep on rolling and hopefully it’s a little bit downhill for you.

Scott Luton (18:41):

I love that. You know, speaking of this, and I love this topic and I gotta give credit to Mike, Mike thought of it. Cause there’s it, we could be talking for hours about different tunes that we love and how they apply, but it’s the end of the world as I know it. And I feel fine by r e m that almost went with that one because what happened pre pandemic is, you know, so much of that’s not coming back. So a and to be fair, there’s some good parts of that, right? That’s part of the silver lining of how industry is changing and hopefully we’re making strides on becoming less fragile.

Mike Griswold (19:12):

Okay. I will add just one thing Scott, before we transition to Kelly. It’s like every day when I listen to Sirius xm, all these groups that I grew up on are now in like their 50th anniversary tour. And I feel so old <laugh> or they’re or foreigners on their farewell tour. It’s like, oh my gosh, I feel ancient.

Scott Luton (19:32):

Well, but

Mike Griswold (19:33):

Yeah, it’s

Scott Luton (19:34):

<laugh> music,

Kelly Barner (19:35):

But they do the test of time. Mike, you’ve got some great band. You talked about journey, you talked about foreigner, ao, Speedwagon, you know what, standing the test of time, there’s something to be said for supply chain fundamentals, right? If I can attempt to there is to pull that back. Some of this stuff, it worked,

Scott Luton (19:50):

Agreed. There is agree, but there’s also a place in all music history for those one hit wonders, right? There’s room at the table for everybody. Guy Ross says a good one. Talking heads once in a lifetime. God, that’s a great one. It’s a great tune too. Alright, so Kelly, what about your thoughts? What’s your first tune?

Kelly Barner (20:07):

Okay, Mike, feel free to stick your fingers in your ears if you want. Well you were backstage and Mike said, just don’t give a song by one of these two bands. And I was like, sorry Mike <laugh>, I’m out of time to think of new ideas. So the first song that comes to mind for me is Money by Pink Floyd. And especially if you think about that little marching beat at the beginning and you actually hear the cash register drawer bang shut and those coins jingle inside there. I think a company’s not only cash position, but access to capital. As we continue to deal with high interest rates, we’re sort of all waiting, are they ever gonna get around to declaring a recession? I think cash position position is gonna be incredibly important, both because it’s gonna free companies up to seize opportunities to make more independent decisions, but just simply even to finance their own supply chains. So having money on hand is gonna make an enormous difference for those companies that spent wisely put money up for Rain Day because that rainy day is just about here,

Scott Luton (21:09):

Man. And Kelly, that’s a great call out. You know, much like Queen, which was legendary in how they found musical tracks and contributions to songs from the craziest different methods. I love the front end of that Pink Floyd song, but Mike, even though it’s Pink Floyd, your thoughts here?

Mike Griswold (21:27):

No, it’s, it is a great, a great example I’m thinking about when we did our supply chain of the future research, one of the things that we highlighted in terms of re reinventions for the supply chain is this idea of moving from operational excellence to being able to support commercial innovation. Yeah. And I think that ties into Kelly’s observation around money, right? How do leading organizations use their supply chain to drive innovation, to drive commercial growth, to put more money in the coffers? I think what we saw during the pandemic is the supply chain is a great vehicle for doing that. It’s a great vehicle for driving the top side revenue, new markets, new products. It’s also been historically really good at driving cost out, which is gonna put more cash and more money in the, uh, into the reserves for organizations. So despite it, bing, bing, Floyd, it’s a great example. And then Greg, to your comment, speaking of Queen, I’m thinking the, I won’t say the title, but the one with the bicycle horn and they’ve got the bicycle horn in it. So that’s another great example of kind of finding, you know, sound effects in, in different places. But Kelly, it’s a great example.

Scott Luton (22:36):

It is. And you gotta admit whether you’re an entrepreneur or if you’re in sales or whatever. Yeah man, when you close business and you hear that cash register, Jing, you feel like dancing. Isn’t that right Kelly? Right

Kelly Barner (22:48):

To your heart. Right? That’s stability ringing in your ears. That’s future opportunity ringing in your

Scott Luton (22:52):

Ears. That’s so true. Okay, I’m gonna, before I get your second with Kelly, we got some great comments here. First, Gino gets the age thing, <laugh> for those farewell tours, I would just add that oftentimes that’s a bit of a gimmick. I’ve seen some bands and some solo artists have like 10 farewell tours. Cause it, it makes those cast registers pop,

Kelly Barner (23:11):

Right? Oh, like Tom Brady,

Scott Luton (23:12):

Right? That’s <laugh>.

Kelly Barner (23:13):

He’s retired again.

Scott Luton (23:14):

That’s right. Gino also says, with My Nightmare by Alice Cooper. That’s a good one. Yes. Josh says, pretty sure everyone in supply chains, the theme song was Stuck in the Middle with You by Steelers. Will. That’s a good one, Josh. Let’s see here. Christine says, call back to journey. Don’t stop believing in your knowledge, your teams, your process, your data stability is an asset. Christine, that is poetic. Uh, gorgeous. Uh, now Shelly also liked the Steelers, will I stuck in the middle with you? And then here, money by Pink Floyd and Voodoo Child by Hendrix to test any new speakers or a headset. Josh, that’s a good tip.

Kelly Barner (23:50):

Excellent.

Scott Luton (23:52):

All right, so a lot of folks are playing along. Y’all keep the tunes coming. So Kelly, as we round out our top four here, between you and Mike, what’s your second tune?

Kelly Barner (24:00):

Okay, so my second tune, first of all, this is a long distance dedication in the spirit of all this. And I wanted to finish this light. So I was brainstorming through with the Art of Procurement team yesterday, and boom, right off the bat, Phil Eidson had it always look on the bright side of life from Monty Python’s life of Brian. These have been hard years and we may still find ourselves in a bad situation as those guys are, as they’re singing that song. But the fact of the matter is there’s always something positive. There’s always a tomorrow. And especially where we’re trying to balance things like risk mitigation and operational efficiency with very important visionary long-term programs, all, most of which fall under the E S G umbrella, we have to hold out that hope that there’s a brighter future, even if that complexity continues.

Scott Luton (24:50):

Yeah, Kelly well said Mike. Love to get your response, sir.

Mike Griswold (24:53):

Yeah, agree comp completely. Kelly, that’s a great one. I mean I think we, we’ve learned a lot during the pandemic Yeah. Around what our supply chains can do. I think many organizations learned a lot more about their supply chains than maybe they knew beforehand. Supply chains continue to innovate and continue to grow. And I think we’re continuing to push the limits around what our supply ca chain can do every day. And there’s lots of silver linings that we’re finding, you know, every day in our supply chain. Whether it’s, you know, new skills and new capabilities that are emerging that we didn’t know we had. Whether it’s new associates that are rising to the top and being able to take on more than maybe we thought they could in delivering, you know, excellent results. So there is, I think it, it’s good for us as supply chain professionals to the best of our ability to be optimists because it is super easy to be a pessimist, particularly over the last couple of years. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I think the more that we can be optimists and look for those silver linings, I think the better we’ll all be, both kind of personally, but also as supply chain professionals.

Scott Luton (26:00):

Well said Mike, man, you and Kelly a heck of one two punch. All right, couple last comments here and then we’re gonna start to kind of make that final turn around the corner. Nerf sa <laugh>, Nerf says, his song is Supply Chain is Steve Urkel from Family Matters to Remix. Did I do that? I love that. Yes. Good stuff there. Yes. Very good guys. A big Monty Python fan and Shelly excellent says awesome love Monty Python. We always need hope Shelly. Absolutely. And here <laugh> John says, fun fact. Ozzy Osborne’s crazy train is actually about the base intermodal Princess

Mike Griswold (26:37):

<laugh>. Nice John. Very good.

Scott Luton (26:39):

Oh, John. Yeah man, he is on the money with that. Okay, so I, I want a quick sidebar. So Mike and Kelly, surprise question here, I’m gonna mention something we’re doing tomorrow. Mike, I wanna get your take on NCAA basketball. And Kelly, I’m gonna get your take on the NASCAR seasons coming up. Nice. But before I do that, supply chain nerds talk sports backed by popular demand. It’s probably been eight months since we did this. We’re going live Thursday the second, that’s tomorrow at 4:00 PM Eastern time. Now folks, unlike today where we got Kelly and Mike’s supply chain management expertise, procurement expertise, you name it. Tomorrow it’s all sports. Now moving forward, we may bring in some sports apparel company supply chain leaders to, you know, kind of open our eyes with a couple comments. But tomorrow we’re talking about the big, big game coming up with the nfl. I don’t think I can say what SB stands for, but that and a lot more. So y’all join us at 4:00 PM Eastern time. Now really quick aside, Mike, if you had to create a short list of some teams that look really good for the NCAAs, as we’re kind of moving into the last third of the season, what’s a couple teams that really stand out to you?

Mike Griswold (27:45):

Well, there’s a couple in your neck of the woods, right? Alabama is, I think, surprising people in terms of how good they are. Everyone obviously knows them as a football school, but they’ve got a really good basketball program I think that they’re one to keep an eye on. I think you know that you’ve got some of the perennials, like Kansas has been up and down, but I think they will land, you know, pretty solidly in the top, you know, five, if I look, cuz I’ve actually been spending more time on the women’s side. If you look at the women’s side, it, it’s interesting cuz you’ve got South Carolina who everyone knows about. You’ve got Connecticut lurking in the wings at five, but you’ve got schools like Ohio St. Like Ohio State was in the top five. They dropped a little with some losses. Iowa’s really good.

Mike Griswold (28:26):

Indiana is really good. So if you’re looking for some names of schools that maybe you haven’t paid as close attention to, you really wanna look at the women’s game because there are schools there that have fantastic women’s programs and fantastic athletes. Connecticut, I have a super soft spot for Connecticut. They have been decimated by injuries. They basically play seven girls. Wow. And their starters play about 40 minutes out of a 40 minute, but they’re ranked number five and they’re climbing. So yeah, it’s a great time. This is the time really other, when the football game is over with next weekend or two weeks, I guess that’s when everyone tends to now focus on both men and women. And there’s a lot going on in both.

Scott Luton (29:05):

There is. And if y’all can’t tell, not only is Mike a volunteer coach in basketball, but he’s very passionate about the game. So y’all take that expertise to the bank and look forward to seeing how the season ends up. Now Kelly, switching gears to you. Uh, I believe you and your, uh, significant other are big NASCAR fans. Yes. If, tell me your favorite car or tell me who you think’s gonna win your pick. I know nothing about the sport.

Kelly Barner (29:28):

Okay. Cars wicked fast. Woo. Right <laugh>. And also if you ain’t first or last. Yeah. We’re huge NASCAR fans, not something people typically associate with me probably, but we go up to New Hampshire every year. We’ve traveled to some, some of the other tracks my favorite. I’m an 18 Kyle Bush. I know, I can hear the booing. Everybody hates us. You know, NASCAR is interesting because over the last few years there’s been quite a few really storied drivers who have finally got to the end of their careers and retired. Some of them are on TV now. Some of them have gone on to do different things or to be team owners. And then this whole fresh crew of drivers kind of coming up a new generation. So I actually suspect that this year you guys can check me. Is the Super Bowl late? Is it like a little bit late this year, later than usual? Or is it right on schedule?

Mike Griswold (30:19):

It’s pretty close to being on a schedule. Yeah.

Kelly Barner (30:21):

Is it? Okay? Yeah, because usually we spend Valentine’s Day in my house, super romantic <laugh> having dinner watching. I think they’re called the Budweiser dues now. It was like the week before they officially kick off the season. Okay. Usually falls right around Valentine’s Day and then we go on to Talladega Nights from there. But the most interesting thing about any beginning NASCAR season is not even who’s sitting in what car and which sponsors returned. It’s the new rules. Talk about an intricately regulated sport. Rules for cars, rules for on the track, new tires. Wow. All of these different things that change. And it takes a little while as you get into the season, especially if you’ve been watching for a while. Right. You’ll see somebody get flagged and you’re thinking, what would it even do wrong? That looked fine. And you know, there’s something about how far down up the shoulder you can go at whatever track it is. So figuring out all those new roles. Also a little bit like supply chain and business, figuring out the new lay of the land, what’s going on. Very excited in just a couple of weeks that NASCAR’s gonna start back up.

Scott Luton (31:22):

You can’t make any assumptions. Mm-hmm. Can’t make any assumptions. Micah think you

Mike Griswold (31:26):

Were about to add something. Yeah, it’s fantastic. We get a Monty Python reference. We get a Talladega Knights reference. If you’re not first year last. I mean, there are so many life lessons in Talladega Nights. It’s amazing. I I mean, as someone who’s, you know, NASCAR’s, uh, would, would not be high on my list, but just from a spectator sport, it seems like a great event. You know, hu couple hundred thousand people at every event. It’s certainly action-packed. You talk about the intricacies of the equipment and the rural changes. The, I think NASCAR is also benefiting from not only this influx of new people that you talk about, Kelly, but they’re also getting more diversity in the actual drivers themselves. People that weren’t necessarily attracted to racing are now getting into racing. Both from an ethnicity perspective, but also from a gender perspective. It’s becoming a much more inclusive sport. It’s fun to watch. I mean, who doesn’t like, you know, fast cars, you know, ripping around a track. I mean, it’s a great, it’s a great experience to watch. I have some friends who go to Vegas, right? Cause where I live in Idaho, it’s easy. Go to Vegas and they take in the big event in Vegas every year. And speaking of Vegas, yeah. I, I think Kelly, to your point though, the super Super Bowl, I, I think we added a week to the season. I think there’s an extra

Scott Luton (32:42):

Game.

Kelly Barner (32:43):

Thank you

Scott Luton (32:43):

For that, Mike.

Mike Griswold (32:44):

Thank you. Which push it back a little bit, but for those keeping score, if you’re interested in the big football game and also an exciting golf event. The Waste Management Open is, which is in Phoenix all the time at the TPC Scottsdale with a stadium course. Yes. That is, that is Super Bowl weekend. And it’s in Phoenix. The Super Bowls in Phoenix, the golf event. Wow. If you wanna go to Phoenix that weekend, I would suggest you don’t Yep. <laugh> uh, it’s gonna be a zoo for lots of different reasons. But yeah, I mean there’s a lot of really cool sporting events on the horizon.

Scott Luton (33:18):

Yeah. That is probably as close as the PGA experience gets to a NASCAR experience as that, that Phoenix Yes. Golf tournament. Kelly, you’re about to say something. Yes,

Kelly Barner (33:28):

I was just gonna say, you know, we were talking about all of these songs that symbolize right, the year that we have ahead. And since we’re talking about football, can we just acknowledge DeMar Hamlin, right? Yes. You know, we’re joking about how difficult things are. We’re joking about what you have to overcome. Talk about a situation now my, my son Tim is an enormous Buffalo Bills fan. He has been for a really long time. We had a brutal time getting him a DeMar Hamlin shirt. It came yesterday, sent him right off to school in it today. Nice in New England, Patriots country. But if we, even if it’s just as a supply chain community, all of these challenges that we’re going through, I really do think the community as a whole is better, smarter, stronger for it. And I think DeMar Hamlin and the way his team and the way the Bengals behaved and the way he’s just conducted himself and the outpouring of unity and support for his charity, if nothing can give us hope at the beginning of 2023. I think his example and the way that those very scary events turned out for the best. I mean, that is talk about always looking on the bright side of life.

Mike Griswold (34:33):

Yeah. Yeah. Mial, it’s, it’s a great example At, at a time when we seem to find more things that we disagree on, having something like DeMar Hamlin where everyone can rally around. We can all agree on helping him and his foundation and everyone collectively hoping that he gets, you know, continues to, to progress and get well. It’s those types of things that you look forward to seeing on the news versus the vast majority of stuff. Absolutely. Which is just not super

Scott Luton (35:03):

Positive. All right, so both of y’all are illustrating perfectly and somewhat unexpectedly why we gotta have a sports show because supply chain folks, we see parallels and everything and a lot of us are very passionate sports fans in one way or shape or form. So we’re gonna have Kelly and Mike join us. Maybe not Mar but some point soon. Kelly, we’re gonna definitely need a NASCAR correspondent and analyst so Oh yeah,

Kelly Barner (35:26):

I can be na NASCAR rep.

Scott Luton (35:27):

We’ll call your agent and try to set something up, <laugh>. But I wanna wrap with a couple quick things here. I know Mike and Kelly both have some hard stops, but really quick, uh, I think this is Amanda behind the scenes says that Johnny Cash was a big supply chain critic with his hits loving her, was easier than working in supply chain <laugh>. And there ain’t no good supply chain gang <laugh>. So I love that. Hello Peter Bole all night and all day. Happy Hump day to you as well. And I wanna point out one other thing. So if I’m not mistaken, and Amanda and Catherine, y’all check me when Mike and Kelly were asking me about the credence, Clearwater Revival c r I believe Marvin Gaye was the first to sing. I heard it through the grapevine and then CCR did the remix. But I could have that backwards and maybe it wasn’t Marvin Gaye, but if y’all could check me on that really quick, cause it’s gonna drive me crazy and I wanna make sure I get my Motown right. For sure. Okay, so Kelly and Mike, as we start to wind the show down, Mike Gardner, you keep turning out the hits as we’ve talked about before. I was fortunate to attend a couple of y’all’s events, uh, last year. Hope to do it again this year. What’s next for the Gartner team?

Mike Griswold (36:35):

Yeah, I, we’re gearing up for the two symposium that we have first week in May in Orlando, first week in June in Barcelona. We already have, I just saw an email yesterday. We’ve already got 1500 people registered for Orlando. And here we’re sitting the 1st of February. So really looking forward to that event. And then we’re going to have a, I think I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s coming closer now. October and November, we’re gonna have two planning summits. So those are a little bit smaller events, but they’re geared for people that either do planning, own planning, you know, or investing in planning. One’s in October, one’s in November, in Phoenix and in London. For our get together in March. I’ll have more specifics about what is where and all that. But yeah, those are the two things that are up and coming. And then, and if I was a betting person, I would say in 2024 we’re gonna be expanding that offering of summits into maybe procurement, into logistics potentially. But yeah, planning is our focus for 2023.

Scott Luton (37:37):

Love it. Hey, we need double doses, triple doses of planning expertise. Yeah. And sharing of best practices there. Especially as the craft has changed, a lot of common themes remain, but still plan, the planning game has changed a good bit here for sure. Recent years. Kelly, get your quick comment on that and then we’re gonna make sure folks can connect with you both. Kelly, what’s up if it’s not a Gartner event, any events circled on your calendar, know you and Phil that you mentioned earlier. Yep. Y’all got some outstanding vents. What’s coming up for you?

Kelly Barner (38:04):

So literally in 19 minutes we have a webinar doing predictions for 2023 and then on February 15th and 16th, art of procurement, digital outcomes. You know, we’ve got our own sporting things. We actually have somebody who’s working to climb the vertical height of Everest. It’s this Everest 29 29 project. It’s, that’s the vertical feat. And he’s gonna bring his inspiring story and tell us how it applies to digital transformation and procurement, believe it or not. So, so check that event out as well. And you know, both of them being virtual.

Scott Luton (38:35):

Awesome. Well, Kelly and Mike, love all that y’all shared here today. Don’t go anywhere. We’re gonna make sure folks can connect with you. I gotta just share a couple more quick comments, I promise. So get this. So John was responding. I think Shelly mentioned that. Let me back up a minute. <laugh>. So Shelly mentioned that Ozzy Osborne canceled his tour coming up, right? And then John says, sad to hear, but hey, I’m 20 years younger than him and I need a week to recover from one trade show <laugh>. And he’s like, those things are exhausting. Yeah. Yes. Um, so Josh, also Josh and by the way, ca and man and Catherine, thank y’all for your comments. So well, so Norman Whitfield, I guess saying, I heard it through the grape fun first and then Marvin Gaye made him famous. Cause he did a famous and a popular remix. And then CCR R was, as Josh says, the cover of the cover. Love that. Thank you very much. And Christine get this, she hates to say this, but a theme for global supply chain, chain of fooled by the one only Aretha Franklin. Love that. Sometimes that’s what you get. All right folks, thank y’all so much for playing along, man. What a great time. Final question, Mike, how can folks connect with you and Gartner?

Mike Griswold (39:42):

Yeah, LinkedIn and email probably the best. Mike dot griswold gardner.com. gardner.com if you’re interested in what we’ve been researching and writing about.

Scott Luton (39:50):

Perfect. It’s just that simple mic, as he always says, he is getting better at LinkedIn, but y’all check out trying to <laugh> check him out. It’s one of the smartest folks, him and Kelly, two of the smartest folks I know. Kelly, how can folks connect with you?

Kelly Barner (40:03):

I would say LinkedIn for me as well. I know it defaults towards follow. Please connect, drop me a note, let me know. This is where you found me. I’d love to hear from people that join these live streams and listen in to the podcast and watch the shows on demand. So say hi and let me know this is where you found me.

Scott Luton (40:17):

Awesome. Love that Kelly and Mike and folks beyond the outstanding conversation we had here. Make sure you connect with Mike Griswold, make sure you connect with Kelly Barner. Hey, make sure you, if you love talking sports, join us tomorrow. We got the link there. 4:00 PM Eastern time. We’ll be talking no supply chain, but all sports bring your hot takes. But folks, whatever you do, hey, beyond connected with Mike and Kelly as we’ve spoken to and had a good time with, but there’s a lot of truth behind the tunes we’ve shared here today. And today. Today’s supply chain jam session. Next time we’re singing Kelly and Mike holding y’all to that. But <laugh>, whatever

Kelly Barner (40:52):

<laugh> we’re eating, frogs be no singing and there’ll be no eating frogs. Just like, yes, you can bring Greg back for that. Greg will send up. Yes,

Mike Griswold (40:59):

<laugh>. Yeah, I’m with Kelly on

Scott Luton (41:00):

That. Oh gosh. Well whatever you do though, whatever you do a act on something you learned today, man. Deeds not words. Take that first step, right? So many folks can use some real non lip service leadership out there at industry. But, uh, on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain now, Scott Luton, on behalf of Kelly and Mike, challenging y’all to do good, to give forward and to be the chains. We’ll see you next time, right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (41:28):

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.