Supply Chain Now
Episode 1239

I like the opportunities to highlight industry, and not just for the marketing of certain companies and things, but also to show the next generation that this is what industry is all about. These are the different things you can do.

-Allison Giddens

Episode Summary

The Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12 noon 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!

In this week’s episode of The Buzz, hosts Scott Luton and Allison Giddens discuss some of the top news stories and trends in supply chain and industry today. Listen in and learn more about:

  • Frontline workers and the burden they bear
  • The allegations that management at Boeing have been placing priorities on speed of production and profits over safety and quality
  • The report that sources within US intelligence are saying that Russia is attempting to build a nuclear space weapon to take out satellites that area critical to our modern way of life
  • The intersection of supply chain, greater industry, global trade shifts and politics- and Mexico becoming the US’ top trading partner recently

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

Scott Luton (00:31):

Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be. Scott Lutton and Allison Giddens here with you on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s Live Stream, Allison, how you doing? Hi,

Allison Giddens (00:42):

Good, how are you? Happy Monday. Happy President’s Day.

Scott Luton (00:44):

It is President’s Day. That’s right. We all need to go out and buy lots of furniture, is that right?

Allison Giddens (00:49):

And mattresses

Scott Luton (00:50):

Got to keep the economy going. Well, great to have you back. Good to be back. Really have enjoyed your appearances over the years, dating back to some of our earliest chapters here at Supply Chain now. So a lot of folks out there, Allison may connect the dots, although some of our newer audience members may be unaware that you lead a manufacturing organization here in the greater Atlanta area and have deep manufacturing and industry leadership experience as well. So looking forward to your perspective here on the buzz.

Allison Giddens (01:20):

Yes, happy to be here.

Scott Luton (01:21):

So folks, we’re all happy. Allison’s here as well. So the buzz, Hey, y’all know we come at you every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time. As always, we’re going to be discussing a variety of news and developments across global business on today’s agenda, folks, Owings quality issues, potentially nefarious Russian cyber tricks. I’ve never used the word nefarious, Alison. Good word. Good

Allison Giddens (01:44):

Word.

Scott Luton (01:45):

The Mexico market, I’ll tell you, it’s amazing industry is on the move down there in Mexico for months, if not years now. So stay tuned for all of that and more. And hey, we want to hear your take throughout today’s session. So y’all drop your comments, your perspectives in the chat throughout the next hour or so. And hey, if you’re listening to this podcast replay, which we usually drop on Fridays, we encourage you to join us live so you can engage and share what you’re thinking about any of these topics every Monday, 12 noon. And Allison, one more thing. We had a great pre-show conversation. You were talking about supermarkets out there that really nail it and when companies really nail it, what do consumers do a lot of times?

Allison Giddens (02:25):

Buy a lot of things or at least their brand becomes synonymous with the thing.

Scott Luton (02:31):

Yes, we buy, we brag, we share, right? That’s where I was trying to go. Alison and all of our friends out there, if you’d like me and Alison and what we talk about throughout the next hour here on the buzz, hey, share it with a friend, share it with your network. They’ll be glad you did. Okay. By the way, as a big old aerospace nerd and Air Force nerd, I love those models and I’m going to see my eyesight could be bad, but I think that’s a F to the left to that side. Oh, it

Allison Giddens (03:01):

Was so close. Nope.

Scott Luton (03:03):

Okay. Is it newer?

Allison Giddens (03:06):

Yes.

Scott Luton (03:06):

Okay. F 22.

Allison Giddens (03:08):

Very good. Okay,

Scott Luton (03:09):

And on the far right I’m going to say that’s an F 15.

Allison Giddens (03:12):

Nope. No, it’s a little harder to see.

Scott Luton (03:15):

Okay.

Allison Giddens (03:16):

If you saw a different profile, you might be able to nail it.

Scott Luton (03:19):

I’m failing. You want me to tell you? Yes, please.

Allison Giddens (03:22):

F 35.

Scott Luton (03:23):

Oh, I should have known that. And of course in the middle C one 30, right? You

Allison Giddens (03:28):

Got it. You got it. Okay.

Scott Luton (03:30):

One of the longest running, if not the longest running military aircraft still in production some 60 years later, Alison.

Allison Giddens (03:36):

Roughly. Something like that. Yeah. Yeah, the Hercules had had its birthday not long ago.

Scott Luton (03:41):

That is right. Okay. Alison, let’s start with a few resources for folks out there. We’ve got four stories we’re going to be working our way through. I want to share a couple of visuals here and we’re going to start with the domestic freight market. So folks, great resource for our listeners out there that want to better understand what’s really going on in the US domestic freight market. Check out the recently released US Bank freight payment index for fourth quarter 2023. You can check out the link that we are dropping in the comments, but this comes out every quarter. My favorite things about this, Allison, is it really gives national overviews, but then they go region by region. There’s some key differences when it comes to the makeup of industry and trends and whatever. So if I like it, I bet you will too, Alison, it’s tough to kind of get a feel of what’s really going on across the freight market, huh,

Allison Giddens (04:28):

Man. Yeah, it’s kind of all over the place and I’m trying to figure things from my little microcosm of a small business and see if I have noticed some of the patterns that you can see in those charts. It’s interesting,

Scott Luton (04:38):

Man. Well, one of my favorite expressions, and I’m not sure who said this first, but it’s to understand where you’re going, it’s really important to truly understand where you’ve been. Check it out. The other favorite part is it’s free comes in every quarter. So we’re dropping the link, which we’ve just dropped in the chat. One click away, you can sign up for it and get it in your inbox every order. Okay, moving right along, Alison, let’s talk about with that said, yes. Have you ever heard me say with that said Alison?

Allison Giddens (05:05):

Yes, a couple times.

Scott Luton (05:07):

It’s one of my go-to phrases. I guess we took it and made our newsletter. Hey,

Allison Giddens (05:11):

Marketing man marketing. It’s your brand. That’s

Scott Luton (05:14):

Right. So what we shared over the weekend is we really talked about this phrase of bridge builders, and I had a eureka moment as I was crossing that bridge, which is pictured right there, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And y’all can go read it and check it out, but long and short of it is humanity and society could sure benefit from a whole bunch more bridge builders. Isn’t that right, Alison? Would you agree?

Allison Giddens (05:35):

You got that right. And it’s funny because I’m having a road trip and not I guess next week, so I’m sure Well, I’m hoping I come up with just as many epiphanies.

Scott Luton (05:44):

Okay, well I know you will as a successful humorist like Mark Twain, I love hearing your observations and experiences from your travel. And I picked up a little tip in our prep for today’s show, Alison, if it’s within a certain 10 hours, you’re going to drive it and not fly it. Is that right? You

Allison Giddens (06:02):

Got it? If it’s 10 hours, I’m road tripping it.

Scott Luton (06:05):

So I can’t wait to hear the places you see on your travels coming up. Okay, one last thing folks, I know we’re covering a lot of ground. We did include the link to with that said right there, one click away, check it out and subscribe to it. But lastly, national Supply Chain Day is back with a vengeance. Mark. Your calendars April 29th. It is led by its founder, Mary Kate Love, who’s a member of our team here at Supply Chain. Now, Mary Kate is a dynamo. I can’t wait. We’re going to take national supply chain today to incredible new heights and one of my favorite parts about this, Alison, so yeah, market calendar is April 29th. If y’all want to get involved, hey, check out Ns cd, the acronym@supplychainnow.com. One of my favorite parts about this, Alison, twofold. Number one, even though it’s national supply chain day, it’s official and been filed and all that stuff, still we’re going to lift up what’s going on coast to coast here, but also celebrate the global industry. So I love that. Nice. And then also, Alison, we’re going to talk about the frontline workers here in a minute. We’re going to put a big emphasis on uplifting the human factor, the people that make global supply chain happen. Allison, does that pull your heartstrings a little bit too?

Allison Giddens (07:18):

I like it because I’m a big fan of manufacturing day that first Friday in October. So I like the opportunities to highlight industry and not just for the marketing of certain companies and things, but also to show the next generation, like this is what industry is all about. These are the different things you can do. To your point, getting global reach for supply chain. You can’t talk about supply chain without talking global.

Scott Luton (07:39):

That’s right. Whether we like it or not, and most of us like it. We’re all in it together, Alison. We’re all in it.

Allison Giddens (07:45):

Rising tide lives all boats.

Scott Luton (07:47):

Yes, that’s right. Love it folks. April 29th. April 29th. Mark your calendar a lot more to come. And if you want to reach out to Mary Kate and the team here and find ways to get involved, hey, use that email. We just dropped N csd@supplychainnow.com. Big tip of hat to Catherine and Amanda, helping to make things happen as always here at the buzz. Okay, we got a lot of work to get into, Alison. We do.

Allison Giddens (08:11):

We

Scott Luton (08:12):

We want to start with talking about our workforce. I think I’ve got a simple graphic here. Let’s see here, because a new research report came out. So hey, as we all know and as the pandemic really showed us once again for maybe the 10000th time, we got to take care of our workforce across industry. No matter what sector you’re in, a new report here sheds more light, particularly on our frontline workers and the burden that they bear. So Alison, check this out. I’m going to unpack this and I can’t wait to get your take on this. So according to research findings from, I think I’m going to get this right, mc equilibrium.

Allison Giddens (08:44):

That sounds good. That sounds super good. I wouldn’t try it a second time. Okay,

Scott Luton (08:49):

So y’all check it out then we’ll drop the link, the name of the company in the chat there. But frontline workers kidding, frontline workers are about 61% more likely to suffer from depression, 33% more likely to suffer from anxiety than their non frontline colleagues. Now, the research mentioned a variety of factors impacting our frontline along these lines from irregular shift work to not much paid time off to a lack of autonomy in their roles and their regular interaction oftentimes with angry or frustrated customers. And that’s just a tip at iceberg, right? Interestingly enough, other research indicates get this, that frontline workers are far more capable than their non frontline colleagues in their ability to develop true resilience, which they lean on to mitigate stresses of their work environment. It’s kind of cool, but it’s kind of sad that that’s what they’ve had our frontline folks have had to do.

Allison Giddens (09:39):

What doesn’t tell you makes you stronger,

Scott Luton (09:40):

Right? That’s right. Employ assistance programs, which are meant to help the workforce deal with mental health challenges often go underused for a variety of reasons. Folks may not know about ’em. You’ve got associated stigmas related to certain resources out there. Mental health, the phrase alone, it could be stigmatized for decades or other factors out there. But one thing is inarguable, we can do better for sure. So Alison, I’d love to get you to weigh in on what’s going on out there with the workforce and what we’ve got to do better.

Allison Giddens (10:12):

Yeah, I think a lot of this resonated because you can see this with people and you can see this kind of everywhere you go when it comes to restaurants, especially, I’ve noticed this in some of the wait staff that I’ve observed in restaurants, whether it’s the manufacturing industry. I think a piece of this is I blame a lot on covid. I blame a lot on the fact that following Covid, a lot of us in manufacturing saw some attrition in workforce in general, and therefore the people that were sticking around, the people that were continuing to work worked twice as hard for essentially the same amount of outcome. And it’s not as though there’s been any relief valve. I remember over the holidays, I remember working in November and then into December, it was kind of that feeling. You get that feeling, you were in manufacturing, Scott, you get this.

(11:00):

There’s that feeling of, oh, we’re almost to a time where we can decompress for a few days. We never got that. Heck, I’m the owner, I’m the co-owner of Win Tech. It’s not like we could shut down. We were so busy. So I think that there’s a lot of reasons, like this article talks about a lot of overlapping reasons, but to the same point on employee assistance programs. We’ve got a great health insurance opportunity where we’ve got resources, a lot of 24 hour phone calls that you can make anytime of day, anytime of night. But it’s again, yeah, folks know about ’em. But I think understanding and making a decision to use the resource takes a certain amount of not only knowledge, but ability to say, okay, I think I need the help now. So I don’t know what the fix is. I’ve seen a little bit of success in my peers.

(11:48):

Shout out to a few. I don’t want to necessarily name them because I don’t know how open they want me to name them, but I know that a couple of them very purposefully go out to their shop floor and spot check people. How are you? I remember you telling me three months ago you had to put your dog down. How are you feeling? And kind of go out of your way to make those kinds of conversations happen. I think that’s humanizing people. I think a lot of times the managers too, those on the frontline are going through these same things. That’s right. I don’t know, that’s kind of my long version of the short story.

Scott Luton (12:19):

Well, we’re all humans no matter what role you play and life happens to all of us. But I love those couple of examples, including showing in a very genuine way, not just asking the questions, ask the questions, but leaning in and having those real conversations. I love that. And going back to your first point, I love that you as an organization are offering resources for your employees. A lot of folks, as a veteran, I know in the veteran community, we’re really bad at raising our hands to, Hey, I need help. And that’s a critical first step so folks can lean into resources that are out there. A lot of good stuff y’all check out. We’ve got a link to a great article about our frontline workers that are just so paramount to how everything takes place. We’ve got a level on, make sure these folks are taken care of.

(13:03):

Y’all check that out. Okay, Allison, just the tip of the iceberg. I want to move into this next story that interestingly enough is related to the first one for sure. So interesting read here from our friends at NPR where we focus on an ongoing story related to the manufacturing workforce and allegations that management at Boeing have been placing priorities on speed of production and profits over safety and quality and other things. This is not late breaking news for all of y’all out there. Y’all saw it as well as I saw it back in early January, 2024, a door plug panel blew off Midflight on an Alaska Airlines aircraft. The pictures coming out of that were remarkable as the NTSB, which stands for the National Transportation and Safety Board, if I’m not mistaken, here in the states. It continues its investigation in the Boeing 7 37 max nine aircraft. Overall concerns about quality control, well, they’re growing. A lot of folks aren’t sure if the company is prioritizing the right things. Of course, sadly, many folks will recall the two deadly crashes that involve Boeing 7 37 max eight jets in 2018 and 2019. Those two crashes sadly cost the lives of 346 people. Alison, really interested in your take here as most of our audience will know that when you’ve joined some previous shows, you’ve got tons of experience and expertise from both a manufacturing leadership perspective and an aerospace industry perspective. Your thoughts here?

Allison Giddens (14:29):

So full disclosure, we don’t make any parts for Boeing. So what I’m about to say, take this with a grain of salt. I do have some colleagues that work with Boeing, some professional colleagues and industry groups, and they are some of the hardest working people I think I’ve ever met. They’re really good people. They’ve got their hearts in the right places. Granted, they’re not over quality lines on the floor, so can’t speak to that. But I do know that this is not an easy thing for leadership or people who are responsible on the front lines. Going back to the frontline workers, again, I think you have the exhaustion layer. I think we’ve assumed a lot. We’ve put a lot on the shoulder of people that we assumed we’re always going to be doing what they should have been doing all along. Also, there was something that, I don’t remember if it was this article or another article, but something that I was reminded, remember during the pandemic when a lot of planes sat

(15:17):

And they were talking about how engine wise, that was not a good thing. It’s not a good thing for planes to sit because that is a quality concern and all of that. So long story short, in my eyes, this is kind of a, you said it earlier, to understand where we’re going, we need to understand where we’ve been. I don’t know that any of this is surprising and honestly, I think it’s a matter of time before we start recognizing and realizing other brands or other big names start having quality issues. And we’re all going to go, well, where did this come from? I’ll tell you where it came from for the same reasons.

Scott Luton (15:47):

And that’s where it ties directly back to that first story. Because as challenging as it is here, at least in the states to find great talent and to keep great talent, unfortunately to your earlier points, we put a lot of pressure on the talent we do have to make things happen and to meet goals and objectives. They all kind of feed each other in many ways in terms of the pressure. And then of course you’ve got leadership. At least it’s been alleged that leadership begins to look more at the bottom line rather than safe and quality production. And to that end, I’ll just add this, Alison, you may have seen this documentary as well. I want to say I saw on YouTube, it’s probably about a year or so ago. It’s a couple years old, came out not long after those earlier disasters that we talked about earlier that cost so many lives. And I think it was a Wall Street Journal, it could have been a different publication, the documentary on kind of how Boeing has gone through a variety of changes. And one of the findings that they seemed to point to was that the company culture at Boeing, when they moved the headquarters from Washington state to I think Chicago, between that and some other changes within the company, that the culture moved from a highly engineering focused culture to more of a financial and bottom line.

Allison Giddens (16:57):

Oh, interesting.

Scott Luton (16:57):

Driven culture. So y’all check that out. Maybe Catherine, Amanda can find that documentary. I’m pretty sure the Walter Journal did a great job there. But Alison, your final thoughts about Boeing.

Allison Giddens (17:07):

I really think that it’s hard to be everything to everyone. And it’s the other cliche, when everything’s a priority, nothing is a priority. I think that if ultimately if there’s a company that is saying, whether it’s Delta or Southwest or whoever is saying, Hey, I need 10 of these and I need ’em yesterday, you start looking at the, what do they call it? The three legged stool, right? Right. Delivery, quality and price. You can only get two. You can only have two. Which two do you want?

Scott Luton (17:35):

That’s right.

Allison Giddens (17:36):

It’s tough.

Scott Luton (17:37):

It is tough. I know you’re in a manufacturing environment now. I’ve certainly spent time in industry meeting those demands working with automotive and other really challenging industries, and God, our manufacturing workforce and industry, and they’ve got such a tough job, but they tend to deliver day in and day out.

Allison Giddens (17:57):

I don’t want to predict bad things. That’s not something I want to do. But I’m curious to know what the tough situation that a lot of automotive manufacturers have been in lately. Are we going to start seeing something from the automotive side? Maybe not necessarily as egregious as doors coming off, but at the same time, if you think about it, if you’re always more likely to experience an accident on the road than you are in the air, the quality defects from an automotive perspective, the quality defects that have a pattern, that has much more potential to be severe. And I’m not just talking about recalls because your air conditioning doesn’t work, right?

Scott Luton (18:38):

Steering components, brake components we’re big safety components. That’s an excellent point, Alison. I’ll throw it out there to our audience. What do y’all think? Any predictions when it comes to either aerospace or Boeing or the fallout from a lot of the challenges and dynamics that the automotive industry has been going through in recent years? Let us know. Okay, so Alison with story number three, now this is going to test at least the bounds of my knowledge and expertise here, but I want to share this because we’re talking space. We are talking space. Third story here from our friends at CNN. It’s being reported by sources within US intelligence that Russia is attempting to build a nuclear space weapon to take out tons of satellites that are critical to our modern way of life. Okay, so Alison, tell us more here. What’s going on? Oh

Allison Giddens (19:30):

Man. So this all kind of, the news broke. The timing is not suspect. The timing is interesting because it happened last week right around the time that Congress is really pushing hard to get more funding out to Ukraine. And of course as our politicians politic, there’s lots of infighting and all of that. And then all of a sudden somebody comes out and with the White House and they say, Hey, by the way, we’ve got some really important thing we want to tell you about the Russians are doing. Now, of course, if I’m a politician and I’m on the fence of voting for Ukraine funding or not, I’m hearing this and I’m like, oh my gosh, here, nuclear, take all the money. Take all the money, please. And so it was a very interesting timing about the announcement, but have you seen the show The Diplomat?

Scott Luton (20:16):

No, I thought you were going to say the Americans. Amanda, I have not watched that either. Amanda’s high on the Americans, but I have not seen the diplomat.

Allison Giddens (20:22):

The diplomat’s very good. It’s interesting because there’s, and I don’t know how true any of this could be in real life, but in some circumstances the main character wants to communicate something to a country that is not known it being friendly to the us, but she has an insider who is friendly and wants peace and wants good things. So she figures out ways to make things public through news, to communicate things to that person. And then in turn, that person communicates to a third party and then information gets back to her. So you wonder if any of this has anything to do with those kind of backend channels. Because if I’m somebody in the national security of the United States and I’m reading this article, I’m like, don’t tell them that we know. Don’t tell them that we know these things. So again, the espionage and all that stuff, I don’t know how any of that’s true, but all of this stuff to me, and I think Amanda jokingly said this in the green room beforehand, was just adds to my existential dread. You wake up and you’re like, what else do we have to worry about?

Scott Luton (21:28):

Seriously?

Allison Giddens (21:29):

I think ultimately this just means I tell my mother-in-Law, and I tell my mother this regularly, these days when it comes to the disaster prep, I would just prepare like you’re always thinking a snowstorm is coming. Just make sure you have medications, replenished, canned good. Make sure you love a bunch of canned goods. Don’t go crazy. But at the same time, this stuff, who the heck knows, man,

Scott Luton (21:52):

Who knows? We’re going to talk a little bit more about the intersection of politics and industry and supply chain and the next story, but I love how you started that. The timing is always suspect right now. Andy, Andy Soer, great to have you. Andy, if you leaked in, says, the nuclear space weapon from Russia is stupid from so many different angles. He says, so Russia is very likely going to do it. Well

Allison Giddens (22:15):

That solidifies it. Yeah.

Scott Luton (22:17):

Oh, good stuff, Andy. All right, so let me give you some good news here related to this story and we’ll see. We’ll keep our finger on the pulse. We all know how critically important so many satellites in space are to our modern way of life. And as I was talking with my dear friend Kevin L. Jackson who worked at NASA in recent weeks, there’s some fascinating stuff going on when it comes to space, medical breakthroughs, manufacturing and space because of certain things, science stuff we can take advantage of. And of course all that’s going to require, yes, a space supply chain. So a lot more Stay tuned. We’ve got to show we’re about to launch, no pun intended.

Allison Giddens (22:53):

We could possibly go wrong.

Scott Luton (22:54):

What could? So, alright, here’s some good news related to this story. So this weapon folks has not been launched, it’s not an orbit yet. Let’s settle down a little bit.

Allison Giddens (23:05):

That’s what they want you to think

Scott Luton (23:06):

Probably. So analysts view this as a last ditch weapon because if used, it wouldn’t just destroy a American satellites if the technology works, but it also would destroy Russian satellites and any others in the orbits of where he was detonated. So this would be, that’s good news to my mind at least. Last ditch weapon. Lastly, hey, if used at least we’d have quite a solid excuse for not paying our mortgages, right? Because of course the financial system is probably underpinned by satellite technology and a lot more stuff. You’d still

Allison Giddens (23:34):

Get phone calls from people wanting you to extend your car warranty. Guarantee you.

Scott Luton (23:38):

Yeah,

Allison Giddens (23:39):

They will find you.

Scott Luton (23:41):

Well folks, we’re going to keep our finger on the pulse of this. And Alison, I appreciate your perspective. Nuclear space weapons, goodness gracious. Come on Mr. Putin. We ain’t got any time for that this week, right? We’ve got other fires

Allison Giddens (23:53):

Today. I got things to do. I got, yeah, serious. I got customer orders to fulfill. Just chill, man.

Scott Luton (23:58):

Oh man. Alright, so moving into our last story here, fourth and final story. This is an interesting, there’s so many different reads and takes and analyses on what’s going on in Mexico. It’s fascinating. So we want to talk here as we get into our last story about the intersection of supply chain, greater industry, global trade shifts and politics. So interesting story from Al Jazeera as it relates to Mexico becoming the United States top trading partner. Recently, you may have heard as data from the US Census Bureau now indicates that Mexico has surged past Canada and China to be the United States top trading partner. I get this Alison, a couple of interesting nuggets of factoids here about US trade in 2023. So overall US trade fell by about 3.85% last year to 5.1 trillion with a T bucks. Now, this might surprise some folks, but when you think about it, it won’t.

(24:54):

Port Laredo in Texas, falled to the top of the list in terms of busiest ports with this volume driven largely by our growing trade with Mexico. The top US export in 2023 was oil. The top US import last year was passenger vehicles and $789 billion. That’s the amount in trade between the US and Mexico in 2023. Now, anyone that has tuned into any of our shows or a fellow practitioner out there that knows what’s going on, nearshoring is a big factor here. Note, I don’t like the fringe shoring term, although that folks talk about that as well. It’s a little different than Nearshoring, but in terms of Mexico and the us, nearshoring is critical. Companies continue to look for ways to bring parts of their supply chains closer. Mexico has benefited greatly here. Now, this was one of my favorite lines from this read, Alison, I’m going to get your take one. Industry veteran in this article suggests that a manufacturing explosion and expansion taking place in Mexico right now is what happened in China 30 or 40 years ago. Alright, so Alison, I’m going to get your take in two different ways. Firstly, let’s start with Mexico and these trading trends, your thoughts. First

Allison Giddens (26:03):

Thing, when I read the article, I thought it kind of seemed like a no brainer to me. Like you said, the whole nearshoring makes a lot of sense. If you think about it, the communication between the countries seems a lot more streamlined, a lot more people in the US that speak Spanish than do Mandarin or Cantonese or what. You have a lot of that. There are many more people out there that speak our language as opposed to the other way around.

Scott Luton (26:26):

Yeah, I’m still learning my English, by the way, Alison, I still struggle.

Allison Giddens (26:29):

No kidding. I before E. And I think that there’s also a benefit to the fact that generally they’re a lot closer in time zone. So in having conversations or having calls with them and oh, you’ll have these in three weeks. Okay, well that probably means three weeks and not three weeks and four days or three weeks plus the time that it takes to cross the Pacific, things like that. That makes a lot of sense to me. It was a fascinating piece that you mentioned about the manufacturing explosion, kind of reminiscent of what happened in China 30 to 40 years ago. I think that Mexico’s been preparing for this too, and it seems like a lot of the groundwork has been laid. And the other kind of piece, the politics piece in my head is no matter what side of the aisle you’re on with the immigration conversations, you wonder if trade is not a piece of those kind of peace deals, so to speak, where it’s very much a, Hey look, if we don’t allow X number of people to come in here freely, then we will offset that with X amount of dollars spent with your country.

(27:32):

Obviously I don’t think that that’s being put to paper quite like that, but I wonder if those kinds of conversations are taking place as well because I think both countries do have such rich resources in different ways that they’d be smart to play off each other for it.

Scott Luton (27:48):

Yes, well said. So much to look at here. We’re not going to be able to do it justice in the five minutes we talk about this. But to your point where you started, this has been a long time coming and there’s so many different tailwinds that have helped Mexico and their industry get here. I mean to name just a couple of y’all know the U-S-M-C-A, right? Which updated NAFTA and really created one of the most, if not the most unique trading region in the world between Canada, the US and Mexico. You got that at play, of course you got Covid where we lost so much or we gained maybe new heights of fragility in our global supply chains. Of course it makes, to your point, Alison, it brings perfect sense to mitigate some of that risk by bringing things in the same continent, right? Right.

(28:32):

Workforce, we already touched on, everybody out there listening or watching knows the workforce challenges we’ve got and the great resources they’ve got in Mexico costs. And then of course, and this is a longer list, but just to pull a couple, the trade war between us and China and how that also factored into the emergence and the incredible tailwinds that is tell you the country of Mexico, they’re on the move. And also, I’ll be remiss mentioning one other thing, the infrastructure gains and investments that are making, helping products not just get made, but flexibility in terms of how we move and distribute and just get stuff to different places. It is remarkable. Allison, your thoughts.

Allison Giddens (29:11):

Yep. That, and also I wonder how if the similarities just in general culture because of the two countries we’re a lot more similar I think than a lot of Asian countries in the US and perhaps that there’s, I understand that just because product is coming out of Mexico doesn’t mean the product is Mexican. I get that, but there’s still pieces of cultures that happen. To your point with Boeing that went from Washington state to Chicago. Anytime you have the existence or presence of a product or a company somewhere, that kind of culture resonates and that kind of culture bleeds over into the product or services that are supplied. So you wonder too, if the success of the partnership of the two countries perhaps is likely to explode in good ways because there’s a copacetic, you kind of get each other, so to speak. Yes.

Scott Luton (30:03):

And Mexico’s not building nuclear space weapons.

Allison Giddens (30:06):

That kind of

Scott Luton (30:07):

Helps.

Allison Giddens (30:07):

That’s super nice of them

Scott Luton (30:09):

Too. Hitting aside, one of the things I’m watching, and this is nothing new. This has been the works for years, also part of the near shoring, but also regionalization of supply chains that’s been taking place. The great gains in Mexico, there’ll be a spillover effect into central and South America. That’s one of the big reasons why China’s making massive investments in South America. There’s lots of ’em, but so how else can we create more business, good business for all parties by looking not just in Mexico, but looking in Latin or in Central and South America. So we’ll see probably some topics we’ll be exploring. It’d be

Allison Giddens (30:45):

Really interesting to see some of the crime that is happening and some of the strife that’s happening in certain South American countries that bleed up into Central America. It’ll be interesting to see what other parties do to mitigate those risks along the way.

Scott Luton (31:02):

That’s right. And create opportunities for all good jobs and good livings for all. Right. So important. Yep. So stay tuned. Keep your eye, not just on Mexico, but especially central and South America as the US and China compete for influence and relationships, but also as industry continues to emerge and evolve and again create opportunities for everyone out there. Larry Klein says, Hey, think of how strong our continent would be economically if just the US Canada and Mexico could get on the same page. China or the eu, he says, wouldn’t stand a chance and we could negotiate from a position of strength. That would

Allison Giddens (31:38):

Be wild.

Scott Luton (31:38):

It would be. And I really think that back to the U-S-M-C-A, I’m not an attorney or a lobbyist or a policy crafter, but generally speaking that was part of the aim to be able to make trade easier and not to create one country from three, so to speak, but really legislate our commonalities that you are speaking to Alison to make it a more frictionless trading environment. But we’ll see where we go next. Larry, great comment. Okay, Alison, as always, we’re very efficient when you join us here on the buzz. It must be that manufacturing background of yours and got our T time studies going right. But kidding aside, one of my favorite things we’re going to talk about as we start to wrap today’s buzz is what you’re doing apart from manufacturing supply chain, that is helping other people, helping other humans, helping families in need, helping kids be kids. So let’s remind folks what you and your team are doing at the Dave Creche Foundation. Tell us more.

Allison Giddens (32:36):

So it’s a fun little side project. For the past, I guess, I don’t know, 13 years now, Dave Creche Foundation pays for kids to play sports when their families can’t afford the fees or otherwise, we’re based in local metro Atlanta area and yeah, we’ve got a great active board. We’re a hundred percent volunteer run and a good group of local leaders.

Scott Luton (32:56):

I love it. And folks, we want you to check the Dave Creche Foundation out, whether you’re in Atlanta or wherever you are in the world, maybe something you can stand up in your local community because we need to support kids and families and give these opportunities to them. So check out Dave creche.com. Dave Creche being your father, Alison, y’all founded a charitable and its mission in honor of, right?

Allison Giddens (33:18):

Yes. You got. It was a sports fanatic. So yeah, we carried that over. He was always wanting to make sure that if you had the power to help somebody, it was your moral obligation to do it.

Scott Luton (33:29):

I love that. And one final thing because folks, it may be in your blind spot, me and Amanda, we got three children and they play a mix of sports and some other things. And gosh, all of them are pretty expensive, right? But Allison, you shared something pre-show with me and with us and Catherine and Amanda that I thinks eye opening. And so it might, some of our audience out there may not have connected the dots. Maybe football helmets, right? You think football helmets, when you look at football helmets, you may be thinking 20 bucks, 30 bucks, whatever, $300 for modern contact proof football helmets, 300 bucks. Alison, what family in the world has 300 bucks sitting around on top

Allison Giddens (34:09):

Of registration fees and your practice gear and your shoes that are only going to be good for six months because growing. So you’re going to have to buy new shoes.

Scott Luton (34:19):

Yeah, Alison, I really appreciate what you do. So folks, if you can help out, if you can help kids be kids and pick up some of these fees that go along with the outstanding leadership, human, the growth opportunities that organized sports provide, hey, check out Dave crate you.com and if you can get involved or if you can support, that would be wonderful. And if you’re in some other neck of the woods and you’re interested maybe in talking shop with Alison about maybe starting something similar in your hometown, Hey, I bet Alison, I bet you’d welcome conversations like that, huh?

Allison Giddens (34:51):

Absolutely. And our website is super transparent, so we tell anybody, if you’re in another city or town and you want to take, take the stuff off our website, copy it, use it for you for sure.

Scott Luton (35:02):

I love that. A big thanks to you, Alison and Donna Creche and your board of directors and everyone that gets involved and helps to help others. Okay, so Alison, we’ve run the gamut here. We’ve talked about some things we’ve talked about here before. We’ve talked about some new things like space nukes, goodness gracious, and some of the messaging related to that. But if folks, you do a lot of mc and you do keynotes, you’re a very active in industry, especially supporting the manufacturing industry. Of course we’ve talked about the Dave Creche Foundation and we didn’t even touch on Win Tech and all the great things you’re doing to make stuff for aerospace, other sectors. How can folks connect with you, Alison, in case they want to have a conversation with you?

Allison Giddens (35:42):

Absolutely. Reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’m pretty active there. So Alison Giddens on LinkedIn, shoot me a message and if you do connect with me, throw a note in there saying that you saw us here. I get a lot of spam on there and I don’t want to decline you because I don’t know who you are. So say hello,

Scott Luton (36:00):

No spam nom, no spam. Hey, reach out to Alison, your network and your journeys will be better with her involved. I can assure you, you’re too kind. Well, I really enjoy our collaboration goes back a long time. It does. And I really always enjoy and benefit from your expertise and perspective you share here. So Alison Giddens, thanks for being here.

Allison Giddens (36:22):

Thanks for including me. It’s fun.

Scott Luton (36:23):

Alright folks. Hope you have a wonderful start to your week. The challenge remains the same, right? It’s all about deeds, not words. Take one thing you learned here today and me and Allison’s chat or any of the comments that came in into the links, news, stories, resources. Hey, take one thing and put it in action. Make your team’s lives a little bit easier. They sure will appreciate it. And on that note, with that said, on behalf the entire team here at Supply Chain now, Scott Ludden challenging you to first off, remember April 29th, national Supply Chain Day, more information coming, but more importantly, do good, give forward and be the change that’s needed. And we’ll see you next time. Right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (37:02):

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.

 

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Founder, CEO, & Host

Allison Giddens

Host, Supply Chain Now

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Joshua Miranda

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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

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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

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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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Kim Reuter

Host, The Freight Insider

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Demo Perez started his career in 1997 in the industry by chance when a relative asked him for help for two just weeks putting together an operation for FedEx Express at the Colon Free Zone, an area where he was never been but accepted the challenge. Worked in all roles possible from a truck driver to currier to a sales representative, helped the brand introduction, market share growth and recognition in the Colon Free Zone, at the end of 1999 had the chance to meet and have a chat with Fred Smith ( FedEx CEO), joined another company in 2018 who took over the FedEx operations as Operations and sales manager, in 2004 accepted the challenge from his company to leave the FedEx operations and business to take over the operation and business of DHL Express, his major competitor and rival so couldn’t say no, by changing completely its operation model in the Free Zone. In 2005 started his first entrepreneurial journey by quitting his job and joining two friends to start a Freight Forwarding company. After 8 months was recruited back by his company LSP with the General Manager role with the challenge of growing the company and make it fully capable warehousing 3PL. By 2009 joined CSCMP and WERC and started his journey of learning and growing his international network and high-level learning. In 2012 for the first time joined a local association ( the Panama Maritime Chamber) and worked in the country’s first Logistics Strategy plan, joined and lead other associations ending as president of the Panama Logistics Council in 2017. By finishing his professional mission at LSP with a company that was 8 times the size it was when accepted the role as GM with so many jobs generated and several young professionals coached, having great financial results, took the decision to move forward and start his own business from scratch by the end of 2019. with a friend and colleague co-founded IPL Group a company that started as a boutique 3PL and now is gearing up for the post-Covid era by moving to the big leagues.

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

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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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kevin Brown is the Director of Business Development for Vector Global Logistics.  He has a dedicated interest in Major Account Management, Enterprise Sales, and Corporate Leadership. He offers 25 years of exceptional experience and superior performance in the sales of Logistics, Supply Chain, and Transportation Management. Kevin is a dynamic, high-impact, sales executive and corporate leader who has consistently exceeded corporate goals. He effectively coordinates multiple resources to solution sell large complex opportunities while focusing on corporate level contacts across the enterprise. His specialties include targeting and securing key accounts by analyzing customer’s current business processes and developing solutions to meet their corporate goals. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Jose Manuel Irarrazaval es parte del equipo de Vector Global Logistics Chile. José Manuel es un gerente experimentado con experiencia en finanzas corporativas, fusiones y adquisiciones, financiamiento y reestructuración, inversión directa y financiera, tanto en Chile como en el exterior. José Manuel tiene su MBA de la Universidad de Pennsylvania- The Wharton School. Conéctese con Jose Manuel en LinkedIn.

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Nick Roemer has had a very diverse and extensive career within design and sales over the last 15 years stretching from China, Dubai, Germany, Holland, UK, and the USA. In the last 5 years, Nick has developed a hawk's eye for sustainable tech and the human-centric marketing and sales procedures that come with it. With his far-reaching and strong network within the logistics industry, Nick has been able to open new avenues and routes to market within major industries in the USA and the UAE. Nick lives by the ethos, “Give more than you take." His professional mission is to make the logistics industry leaner, cleaner and greener.

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.

She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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, Supply Chain Now

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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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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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 & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

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 CiscoMicrosoft, 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 UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier 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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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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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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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

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

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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