Supply Chain Now

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience! This week’s edition of The Buzz featured special guest Lilah Taha-Rippett, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at First Watch Restaurant Group. a popular daytime dining restaurant with almost 500 locations in 29 states. She shared some of the most successful sourcing practices her team uses as well as advice for building strong, mutually-beneficial relationships with suppliers. The featured news stories in this week’s livestream, discussed in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, include: • A 200 ship traffic jam building up in the Panama Canal thanks to drought-level conditions in the area • The challenging supply chain conditions that might make it hard to find Huy Fong Foods siracha hot sauce • Three key areas of the business that Walmart has targeted as part of their Artificial Intelligence strategy

Are we getting back to normal? According to the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, the level of disruptions in supply chains is moderating. While the current trend suggests lowered levels of volatility, most supply chain managers believe that some shortages and serious disruptions will continue throughout 2023. Are you prepared for what’s to come? Dan Reeve has been Esker’s Vice President of Sales North America for 10 years, maintaining responsibility for recruitment, training, and direct sales, and supporting a team of excellent sales managers. Morgan Swink is the Eunice and James L. West Chaired Professor of Supply Chain Management, and the Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Innovation at Texas Christian University. He is the former Co-Editor in Chief for the Journal of Operations Management, and he continues to serve in consulting and associate editor roles for several top journals. In this livestream-based episode, Dan and Morgan share key findings from Esker and TCU’s Working Capital Report with hosts Scott Luton and Greg White: • The tactics organizations are currently using or planning to use to improve working capital • Outcomes that companies are expecting and experiencing after improving their working capital processes • Macro-level challenges businesses are…

When covering and commenting on the dynamics at play in global supply chains, it is always valuable to understand a person’s background and personal point of view. Both play a role in how they view and discuss complex issues like modern slavery, education, and even communications. Constantine Limberakis has an MBA and a master’s degree in international relations. He has always been captivated by the innovative dynamics at work in our constantly changing world. What better way to apply his educational background and core interests than to build a career in procurement and supply chain? In this interview, host Scott Luton gives the Supply Chain Now audience an opportunity to get to know regular guest host Constantine Limberakis a bit better through the top trends he is following: • The current state of relations between China and the United States, and how geopolitical stability and operational costs are both at stake • Why continued investment in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) related initiatives is critical to a company’s ability to innovate and succeed long term • The impact that AI is having on today’s workforce in supply chain and beyond

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience! This week’s edition of The Buzz was a Digital Transformers edition, and it featured hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson. In addition to discussing recent news stories, Scott and Kevin shared their favorite business books, including “Chip War” by Chris Miller and “Quitless: The Power of Persistence in Business and Life,” an anthology of insights from some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world – including Kevin L. Jackson! In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Kevin discussed: • Why business leaders in the food industry are leaning on digital transformation to enable them to increase accountability, traceability, and visibility in the supply chain • How supply chain managers are investing in digital transformation to help them reduce risk • Why it is important to give as much thought to the information in a company’s value chain as the physical goods in its…

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a self-defense martial art and combat sport that requires years of study, intense concentration, and physical self-mastery. It is essentially high-level problem-solving, albeit with potentially dire physical consequences. That combination of characteristics means that it is not entirely unlike supply chain management, especially at the industry-leading level. Jim Brochu, is the General Manager for the supply chain division at Pivotree, a leader in frictionless commerce that designs, builds, and manages digital platforms for over 250 major retail and branded manufacturers globally. In this video interview, Jim shares his perspective on problem-solving and frictionless commerce with hosts Scott Luton and Constantine Limberakis: • What the concept of frictionless commerce means, and what it should look and feel like from the customer’s perspective • Opportunities that exist for companies to (truly) optimize their supply chain operations given what everyone has learned over the last few years • The role that technology can play in helping supply chain teams reduce friction, improve sustainability, enhance collaboration, and increase visibility

In 2022, U.S. Bank processed $46 billion in freight payments for some of the world’s largest corporations and government agencies. Those payments and the data that accompanies them are analyzed quarterly by Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank Vice President and Director of Freight Data Solutions, and his team. The FPI report includes quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year, and full-year data and analysis. In this livestream, Bobby shared six key takeaways from the Q2 2023 report, including a Freight Payment Index first: back-to-back quarters with national quarterly and yearly declines in shipments and spend. As he goes on to point out, everything is relative, but the finding is still a notable one. In this interview, Bobby was joined by Heather Shilt, Director of Global Logistics at Fortive, to share and discuss the results of the Q2 2023 report with co-hosts Scott Luton and Constantine Limberakis: • The year-over-year increase in shipments observed in the Southwest, the largest since Q1 2018 • A 27.1 percent drop in year-over-year shipments in the Northeast, the largest on record for any region dating back to Q2 2017 • Why a reduction in port volumes in the West is creating just enough extra capacity to drive spend down

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience! This week’s edition of The Buzz featured Lee Klaskow, a Senior Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, in addition to regular co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White. Lee specializes in freight transportation and logistics, including global marine shipping, air freight and logistics sectors as well as the North American trucking and railroad industries. In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Lee, Scott, and Greg discussed: • The latest news on Yellow’s bankruptcy filing, including how it will impact employees and shippers • Canadian West Coast port workers’ decision to ratify the second version of a labor agreement, and the two-month container backlog that now awaits them • Recent data from the Pew Research Center that sheds light on the roles most likely to be affected by adoption of AI • An early look at expected trends in the coming holiday shopping season from Retail Dive

Gartner’s Top 25 Supply Chain ranking was started 19 years ago to celebrate the best supply chains in the world and to raise awareness about the impact a well-run supply chain can have on the overall health and competitiveness of a business. Those companies make news all year long based on their leading practices. 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. In this episode, Mike discusses recent news stories featuring companies from this year’s top 25 supply chains ranking with co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White: • How Schneider Electric is supporting its current suppliers by investing in better relationships, contracts, and communication while also doubling down on sourcing • Steps being taken by McDonald’s in France to reduce waste in their supply chain in real time with the help of RFID technology • How Colgate-Palmolive is leading the way to a new age of supply chain analytics by investing in talent as well…

With 54 different countries, different cultures, and great diversity, the continent of Africa certainly faces its own unique set of challenges on the global supply chain stage. But with its young population and abundant natural resources, there is also great potential for growth, and supply chain can serve as a catalyst in harnessing these opportunities. In this third and final episode of our three-part series, Supply Chain Now host Scott Luton wraps up coverage from the 2023 SAPICS Annual Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. In speaking with three more supply chain leaders, Ken Titmuss, Dr. Andrew Brown, and Thobekile Nxumalo, they cover topics from the great supply chain opportunities in Africa, mass customization, improving access to quality medicines, workforce education development, leveraging technology, and so much more. Featured Guests: Ken Titmuss- SAPICS & Kent Outsourcing Services Dr. Andrew Brown- MTaPS Thobekile Nxumalo- IQbusiness