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Supply Chain Now
Episode 844

There's no cookie-cutter approach, so you always have to adapt. Some of the HP business units only focus on monitors, while others focus on desktops. We have to be prepared to touch every single piece.

- Reid Ginzel, Remarketing Program Manager at HP

Episode Summary

This episode was recorded at the 18th annual Reverse Logistics Association Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, the center returns management, reverse logistics, and more.

Host Scott Luton was joined by Julie Ryan, Senior Manager of North America Returns and Remarketing with HP, and Reid Ginzel, Remarketing Program Manager at HP.

Their team handles forecasting, planning, and determining a strategy for the returns that are likely to come back. They also work with HP’s customers on return requests, approvals, and remarketing and selling products again with HP’s warranty.

In this conversation, Julie and Reid talk about:

  • How the HP remarketing team turned the pandemic into an opportunity to increase awareness of their brand internally
  • The strategy that goes into determining which channel refurbished goods should be placed in
  • Tracking shifts in demand and return patterns

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:03):

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

Scott Luton (00:31):

Hey, good morning by Scott Luton with supply chain. Now, welcome back to the show here today. We are broadcasting from the 18th annual reversal logistics association conference. Next, the center of the universe for all things, returns management and reverse logistics. At least this week right here in Vegas, I’m joined by a couple of fantastic featured guests. One repeat guest. We got Julie Ryan, senior manager, uh, north America returns and remarketing with HP, Julie, how you doing? Hi.

Julie Ryan (00:58):

Good. Glad to be back.

Scott Luton (00:59):

It is great to see you. I’ll tell you the world changed in the last couple years.

Julie Ryan (01:02):

A little bit,

Scott Luton (01:04):

Looking forward to revisit with you. And you brought a friend. Yes. Reid Ginzel remarketing program manager also with HP. Yes,

Reid Ginzel (01:12):

Absolutely. Great. First time here, RLA and glad to be here.

Scott Luton (01:15):

Fantastic. Welcome. Welcome. You’re amongst friends. That’s right. Great to have. We love a repeat guest. So, um, before we get down to, uh, we’ve been calling it super the day, right? Returns management, reversal logistics, as the big themes before we get there, let’s rekindle our knowledge of one Julie Ryan and our new friend re Gisel. So Julie, tell us where you grew up. Give us some context there.

Julie Ryan (01:38):

Well, I have a little bit of color here. Yeah, because, um, I was the product of a corporate America dad. Okay. So born at outside of Chicago, lived in Detroit, outside of Detroit, Iowa Fargo, North Dakota, really Fargo and landed in Texas, my senior year in high school. So I think my claim to fame is I went to three high schools in three states. Right.

Scott Luton (02:04):

So how so? Uh, so many questions, a little time of all those cities you mentioned as great cities. Yes. What was, uh, what was your most endearing one?

Julie Ryan (02:12):

Chicago. And we still try and get back every couple of years and it’s, uh, really the, the city like shore drive, but the Chicago deep dish pizza

Scott Luton (02:23):

I’m with you. I’m I

Julie Ryan (02:24):

Love fan.

Scott Luton (02:25):

I love Chicago. We’ve been a couple times in the early fall before it gets really cold. And you can sit outside and eat. Yes. At farmer festival. All this stuff. Yes. The pizza you name it. It’s such a great, great city.

Julie Ryan (02:35):

Love the city. Wouldn’t wanna go today though. No, it’s cold. I bet. I bet.

Scott Luton (02:40):

Re how about you? I think yours, it’s a little easier, more history. Is

Reid Ginzel (02:44):

That right? It’s not quite as exciting as Julie, so to speak, but I was actually born and raised, landed in Texas day one for Reed. Okay. And, uh, grew up in Cypress, Texas. It’s a Northwest suburb of Houston lived there my entire life. It’s grown massively and I’ve gotten to see that expansion. And we actually like it so much that I got married. We rooted ourselves in Cyprus and we have two kids that are hopefully going to continue to grow up in Cyprus,

Scott Luton (03:09):

Further laying down your roots. How old are your children?

Reid Ginzel (03:12):

We have a three year old and a one year old, a three year old girl and a one year old boy,

Scott Luton (03:15):

Man. Those are exciting ages.

Reid Ginzel (03:17):

We’re in the thick of it right now.

Scott Luton (03:19):

Awesome. Uh, one quick follow up question. So Cypress, uh, you lots of growth right outside of Houston. What’s one thing that Cypress is known for beyond having, uh, the, the Genzel kids running around.

Reid Ginzel (03:32):

So little known fact is it’s actually the third largest school district in Texas, right behind Houston ID. And Dallas is it’s it’s, it’s very big school district. So

Scott Luton (03:42):

You weren’t kidding when it comes to growth?

Reid Ginzel (03:43):

No, not at all. That’s pro over 10 high schools. It’s probably closer to 12 or 13 high schools in SIFA school district. All

Scott Luton (03:50):

Right. Well, um, one other thing, little tidbit we picked up on you re uh, from our dear friend, the one only Tevin E Taylor is that you’re also a fellow Texas, a and M fan and maybe alum

Reid Ginzel (04:01):

Too. That’s correct. Graduated from Texas a and M a fourth generation Aggie. So I almost didn’t have a choice. It shows me

Scott Luton (04:09):

Fourth generation Aggie. Um, so as we’re getting around to my next question, favorite sports team Aggie’s clearly is number one, is that that’s

Reid Ginzel (04:16):

Correct. And to be specific, probably the Johnny Manzel era. I mean, I was a student during that time and there wasn’t anything more exciting than going and watching Johnny, especially as he was progressing through the season and see right. How special that was.

Scott Luton (04:28):

He was a giant killer wasn’t he? He was So well, there’s gonna be some big days coming up from what we tell that Tevin was making some, uh, broad predictions yesterday with us. They signed, I think number one class for college football. That’s you’re doing some big things. So we’ll see how that plays out. Maybe that will factor into your big, bold prediction we’re gonna get from you later in the show.

Reid Ginzel (04:49):

That’s a good call. Okay.

Scott Luton (04:50):

All

Julie Ryan (04:50):

Right. Good.

Scott Luton (04:51):

All right. So Julie, bring you back in, as we were, as we kind of wrap up this little, getting to know your section on the front end, your favorite sports team.

Julie Ryan (04:58):

So, um, I follow of sports. I enjoy sports because I had a brother and a dad who did, and I have a, what I call a sports addict, husband love sports. So I’m probably loyal to the rockets and they’re NBA champion. Yeah. He’s the rockets

Scott Luton (05:18):

Math. I think they won back to back. They did nineties. Right’s right.

Julie Ryan (05:23):

Yep. And, uh, my husband actually went to one of those games really. And then of course our Astros

Scott Luton (05:29):

Astros yeah. Series Talented, talented Astros team. Okay. Well, let’s get down to business. Uh, we’ve talked kind of home towns or home regions, Navy Julie, with yours. We’ve talked sports teams. Let’s talk about the year that keeps on. Right. We’ve learned so much as a business, as humanity. You name it beyond in 2021. It gave us Eureka moments by the truckload. Oftentimes. So, uh, back with you, uh, Reid, give me one Eureka moment that 2021 gave you,

Reid Ginzel (05:57):

I would say, increasing our brand with, inside of HP. Okay. Finding new ways to connect. Not everybody knows what our team does in returns management and revers logistics. So getting our reach out there, and that almost happened naturally with COVID because there was so much of a need for product. Right. And where do they need to turn to find it? Our team right here within HP,

Scott Luton (06:17):

Right. Everybody, uh, needed more and more equipment home offices. They, they grew, we talking about growth and, and sprawling home offices. I bet y’all are keeping up with hot demand. Huh?

Reid Ginzel (06:27):

Absolutely.

Scott Luton (06:29):

Um, alright. So how about you, Julie? When we think of U moments

Julie Ryan (06:32):

Kind of picking up of what Reed said, but with the forward team, they had short supplies. So they had some inventory just recently was the best example of that was sitting in with windows 10. Yeah. Well, Microsoft released windows 11, so they needed to rework ’em. They learned of our capabilities of our partners. So we brought them in re re, worked them, loaded them with when, um, 11 and got ’em out for a shopping network that we are all familiar with before their launch. Right. So that was a really great insight to be able to partner with them

Scott Luton (07:12):

And give the people what they want is when I’m here. Right.

Julie Ryan (07:15):

And when they want it and we have the supply and the

Scott Luton (07:18):

Yes. Uh, and, and now folks are more aware per your, what you were shared earlier. Read. They’re more aware of what HP can do in that brand brand awareness. Um, let’s talk about what you do more specifically at HP. So Julie, let’s start with you. What, in your role, uh, as senior manager, north America returns and remarketing, where do you spend your time?

Julie Ryan (07:36):

So I lead the end-to-end team, Canada and us that we begin with the forecasting and the planning, the strategy of what the returns are gonna come back. We work with our customers on their return requests, approvals in the middle, the operations includes crediting remanufacturing, and then the tail end of remarketing and selling it back with the HP warranty. Man,

Scott Luton (08:00):

That’s like three full plates. Julie,

Julie Ryan (08:02):

It’s a good end to end team because we’re, we’re small, but mighty and can work fast. Yeah. And we’re really like a business within a big business, so it’s nice,

Scott Luton (08:13):

Good, old planning and forecasting. We love, we love that when it comes to supply

Julie Ryan (08:17):

Chain. Right. And that has been quite a challenge and an interest with this whole pandemic.

Scott Luton (08:22):

I bet. So that we could probably produce a whole series. Oh, totally. On that. Let’s go round. Yeah. Um, alright. So re what about you in your role?

Reid Ginzel (08:28):

So on the tail end of what Julie’s describing, there would be the re remarketing strategy. So once we have figured out Julie’s team done the planning, the forecasting, the operational piece, the refurbishment, once we have items that have come back to us, we have to figure out where in the channel, if we want to put it in the channel, what do we want to do with that product? So we have a team under Julie that manages that entire strategy, and we execute on that strategy of, do we wanna put it here in the channel? Do we have other alternatives that we can utilize for that product? So that’s what we, we’re always trying to look for increasing HP market share by what we do with the return side of the business.

Scott Luton (09:03):

I gotcha. Sounds like you’re, uh, executing smart business where you know, where the demand is, is one of things y’all look at, right. And

Reid Ginzel (09:08):

That’s exactly what we have to look at is where’s the demand, where’s the best place for us to put that product.

Scott Luton (09:13):

And it, it changes do y’all do, y’all find it changes regularly. Is there, is there, uh, a couple of hallmark things you can lean on and then the rest speak to the change in channels? Well,

Reid Ginzel (09:22):

There’s never a cookie cutter approach, so you always have to adapt and we touch everything. That’s something that’s unique about our organization is that some of the business units, they only focus on monitors. They might focus on desktops. We have to be, be prepared to touch every single piece of it.

Scott Luton (09:36):

Wow. Okay. Uh, so you don’t get any sleep at night. It sounds like me. I mean, I can only,

Reid Ginzel (09:42):

For me, that’s due to kids, not so much.

Julie Ryan (09:45):

All

Scott Luton (09:45):

Right. So let’s, we’ve talked about your roles. Let’s kind of broaden things out when it comes to reverse logistics, returns management, you know, while we’re here this week in our universe for that space is right here in Vegas at early conference expo. What’s one thing or two things that you’re focused on in that space right now, Julie.

Julie Ryan (10:05):

Well, one of the big things is hybrid workers, right? Not only are we HP employees working from home, but the world is all of us. Yeah. The world is, so what pro are, can we target from a development and a design, but in particular for us, it has shifted who we’re selling to and the demand for that. So making sure we’re on top of supplying and pricing and putting intentionally putting notebooks, docking stations, the monitors, the product that our customers need in their homes to equip their employees,

Scott Luton (10:41):

Man. So we, we sat here, I wanna say February 20, was it 20, 20? Right. Last time we were actually on another side of, uh, exhibition hall and little, did we know just a few weeks later, two weeks later? Yeah. A few weeks later, because really X, which followed this conference just by a few weeks, as I recall, and two years everything’s changed. Right. But that was our last in-person event for prob for probably 18 months. Wow. You know, and kind of some of the changes y’all are speaking to yep. The changes that your teams and HPS had to react to, and then put a plan together to meet people and consumers where they want to be.

Julie Ryan (11:18):

Yeah. And our, in our corporate customers, right? Yeah. That’s been the big demand. They they’ve gotta have product for their employees to work.

Scott Luton (11:26):

That’s right. Employee experience. Okay. Read. How about you, when you, when your survey again, reverse logistics, it’s returns management, uh, I’m not gonna throw you all in there. I’m a big nerd for this kind of stuff. So you y’all might conjoin me in my fandom, but one or two of the things that you’re tracking.

Reid Ginzel (11:42):

Well, kinda like you’re talking about fandom. We are seeing the resurgence of PC gaming in the industry, and I have a passion for that. So I can relate to that. And what we saw early on was there was PC gaming was very prominent in the early phases of gaming now, or later on, it got into console gaming. Right. And we had the Xbox, all those different brands. And then now we’re seeing everything is shifting back to the PC gaming. And we’ve seen very rapidly the amount of PC console or PC that have gone out PC gaming that have on out. And as we can see on the macro side of, of the trend, where as those shipments on the Ford side increase, we’re going to naturally get more returns back. Right. And so understanding that market being able to tap into the right places within that market is something that we’re highly interested in following. And as a avid gamer, uh, it, it have passion

Scott Luton (12:31):

For it. Right. Okay. I got, gotta follow up with a question there, right? Yeah. I grew up with a Sega Genesis, uh, and then a PlayStation and, and now my son is, uh, a Nintendo switch. Thank you very much. That’s his, that’s his, that’s his passion and he’s discovered Fortnite. And to hear him strategize with his friends, his Fortnite game, it is, is awesome. But it it’s, it’s blown up to your

Reid Ginzel (12:55):

Point and what’s great about the gaming is it’s a, like you mentioned, you can connect with your friends virtually, which is something that happened a lot during COVID. You couldn’t always get out and play with your friends outside. So what did you do? You connected with them virtually? Yes. And gaming allows people to do that. And it’s not something that everybody understands. They think you need to connect via social media gaming is another great outlet for that.

Scott Luton (13:14):

Okay. One more follow up question to this. Your, your favorite game read

Reid Ginzel (13:19):

Probably probably call the duty war zone. Okay. The good battle. Royal I’ll call a duty franchise. It’s great. So that would be my answer for that, but there’s a lot of games that I like to participate in.

Scott Luton (13:28):

Awesome. Awesome. We’ll see about your, your kids. They may follow right in your footsteps who knows. Might have competitions and tournaments in the Genzel. I could household. Okay. We’ve run the gamut here, but anything else based on both of y’all shared anything else before we get into a bold fearless prediction. Okay. All right. So re um, break out your mighty mighty crystal ball and give us a big bold prediction for 2022. So, as

Reid Ginzel (13:53):

We talked about in the Eureka moment, one of the things that we have to do within HP is get brand recognition within HP. What we do, and we’re seeing as we have supply constraints, as well as the whole entire shift in products with HP is now not so much as a device, but as a service. And as we’re seeing that HP’s rolling out more service based programs have to in returns, be able to adapt to that as well. And I think we’ve had a lot of opportunities to be able to, to collaborate with different business units and take returns and be able to remanufacture them with those same service requirements that they have on the new side, which then also allows the new side to tap into our products. Cuz it’s the same offering.

Scott Luton (14:34):

Hmm. Love that, that. So we’re gonna see a lot more of it. Right,

Reid Ginzel (14:37):

Exactly. Right. So you’re gonna see, as we’ve seen throughout, COVID more reliance on our team. You’re gonna see, I think a big increase in that within the next year.

Scott Luton (14:46):

I love that. Ask you a quick follow up question. Yeah. Clearly HP has invested in the talent and the operations to be able to handle and process returns and get ’em back out in the marketplace. We need more companies to kind of follow HP’s lead. There would, I mean, easy softball question, but would you agree?

Julie Ryan (15:03):

Oh totally. Yeah. I, and I think more and more companies and industries are recognizing the importance to invest in a reverse team because of the margin and the, the loss and the opportunity with sustainability. Yes. Circularity, whatever the word you wanna use within your company. It’s really, really important.

Scott Luton (15:28):

Agree. And consumers demand it more and more. Yeah. Right. Okay. Wait, it’s been so cool to check back in with you after a couple years, re nice to meet you. I mean that, uh, sounds like HP got another great team member and uh, the PR sous, Texas, let’s make sure folks can connect with both of you all though. So Julie, you first, how can they connect

Julie Ryan (15:47):

With you? So best way to connect is LinkedIn. Okay.

Scott Luton (15:50):

All it’s easy

Julie Ryan (15:51):

To lead out Ryan.

Scott Luton (15:52):

Yeah. Yeah. I’m so jealous of Microsoft. I’m so

Julie Ryan (15:54):

Pretty jealous.

Scott Luton (15:55):

All right. How about you re

Reid Ginzel (15:56):

Same thing with me? You can find me on LinkedIn Reed Goel. There’s probably not too many of them out there, but if there are look for the guy with red hair

Scott Luton (16:03):

Awesome. And the a and M alum

Reid Ginzel (16:05):

  1. Exactly right. Awesome.

Scott Luton (16:07):

Okay. Well big, thanks to Reed Goel remarketing program manager and Julie Ryan senior manager for north America returns and remarketing. Both with HP. Great conversation. We’ll we’ll do, let’s do it again. Let’s let’s not wait two years next time.

Julie Ryan (16:21):

I, I like that. Awesome. I like that. Awesome.

Scott Luton (16:23):

Y’all enjoy the rest of, for having us us. Hey listeners. Hopefully you enjoy the conversations as much as I have. Make sure you connect with Reed and Julie on LinkedIn and elsewhere. We’ll have the links, the show notes of the episode page. I hopefully enjoy the conversation. Hey, make sure you find supply chain now wherever you get your podcast from most importantly, Hey Scott Luton, challenging to do good to give forward. Be the change that’s needed on that note. Next time. Right back here at supply chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (16:49):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now 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.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Featured Guests

Reid Ginzel has been in the Reverse Logistics portion of HP’s supply chain for five years. Currently, he is the Remarketing Program Manager at HP, where he manages the returned product flow, as well as leads the sales strategies and execution for all PC and Print product returns in North America. Connect with Reid on LinkedIn.

Hosts

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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Billy Taylor

Host

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Tandreia Bellamy

Host

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

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

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

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

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Marty Parker

Host

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

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

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

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

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Jake Barr

Host

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

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Marcia Williams

Host

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

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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

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

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Karin Bursa

Host

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

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Vin Vashishta

Host

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

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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Greg White

Principal & Host

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include Cisco, Microsoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane University, O’Reilly Media, LinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Carrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

Joshua is a student from Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Communication and Digital Media. His experience ranges from Plug and Play México, DearDoc, and Nissan México creating unique social media marketing campaigns and graphics design. Joshua helps to amplify the voice of supply chain here at Supply Chain Now by assisting in graphic design, content creation, asset logistics, and more.  In his free time he likes to read and write short stories as well as watch movies and television series.

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

Donna Krache is a former CNN executive producer who has won several awards in journalism and communication, including three Peabodys.  She has 30 years’ experience in broadcast and digital journalism. She led the first production team at CNN to convert its show to a digital platform. She has authored many articles for CNN and other media outlets. She taught digital journalism at Georgia State University and Arizona State University. Krache holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. She is a serious sports fan who loves the Braves. She is president of the Dave Krache Foundation. Named in honor of her late husband, this non-profit pays fees for kids who want to play sports but whose parents are facing economic challenges.

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Vicki White

Controller

Vicki has a long history of rising to challenges and keeping things up and running. First, she supported her family’s multi-million dollar business as controller for 12 years, beginning at the age of 17. Then, she worked as an office manager and controller for a wholesale food broker. But her biggest feat? Serving as the chief executive officer of her household, while her entrepreneur husband travelled the world extensively. She fed, nurtured, chaperoned, and chauffeured three daughters all while running a newsletter publishing business and remaining active in her community as a Stephen’s Minister, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer, licensed realtor and POA Board president (a title she holds to this day). A force to be reckoned with in the office, you might think twice before you meet Vicki on the tennis court! When she’s not keeping the books balanced at Supply Chain Now or playing tennis matches, you can find Vicki spending time with her husband Greg, her 4 fur babies, gardening, cleaning (yes, she loves to clean!) and learning new things.

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Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

Katherine Hintz, MBA is a marketing professional who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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