Zheng Sui, PhD

Supply chain organizations have never lacked data. What they have often lacked is the ability to connect it, normalize it, trust it, and turn it into better decisions. That was one of the central themes in a recent conversation between Scott Luton and Matt McKinney, Co-Founder and CEO of Loop. Drawing on his experience helping build Uber Freight and now leading a logistics technology company, McKinney offered a clear-eyed view of where AI is already creating value, as well as why the data foundation still matters more than the model itself. The Real Problem Is Not Data Volume McKinney traces Loop’s origins back to a recurring problem he and his co-founder (Shaosu Liu) saw at Uber Freight: rapid growth on the revenue side paired with a back office still dependent on people manually reconciling invoices, contracts, proofs of delivery, and surcharges. The bigger realization was that this was not unique to Uber. “The thing people miss is that the value isn’t in the quantity of data, it’s in the utility of it,” McKinney explained. “Most companies have plenty of data. What they don’t have is data that connects.” That disconnect is especially painful in logistics, where data is scattered across…

The late Steve Jobs demonstrated how to create a podcast using Apple’s audio editing software during a developers conference in 2006. Today, Apple hosts nearly 2.7 million podcasts devoted to everything from AI to zoology. There’s obviously a lot of noise in every industry, including supply chain, and not all supply chain podcasts are the same. Your time is valuable. You should get your supply chain industry insights from proven leaders, not self-proclaimed freight and logistics experts pontificating from their basements. The Power of Supply Chain Podcasts: Standing Out in a Crowded Industry Broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite was known as the most trusted man in America. You’ve got to wonder what he would have thought about the proliferation of social media influencers disseminating “news” on TikTok videos filmed with cellphones and flattering glow lights. Like other smart people with limited time, Cronkite probably would have skipped the fluff and gone for the substance — truly informative programming presented by industry thought leaders. The American people trusted that what newsman Cronkite said was accurate. Listeners of supply chain podcasts deserve the same — accurate, straightforward information delivered by a person who really knows what he or she is talking about. Why…