Dial P for Procurement
Episode 51

Many U.S. households are still struggling to find baby formula, almost a year since supplies thinned on store shelves and eight months after a nationwide recall.

- Wall Street Journal, Oct. 17, 2022

Episode Summary

Some of the stories Dial P covers during the year are so big, impactful, and educational, that they warrant revisiting long after they have faded from the headlines.

In this Dial P updated Classic, host Kelly Barner looks back at the baby formula shortage that rocked the nation earlier this year by providing a few updates to the story since we covered it in May. The most important update of all is that families, especially families with babies who have special nutritional needs, continue to struggle.

For instance:
– The baby formula shortage peaked in July – when the national average out of stock rate was 31%. As of October, out of stock rates are down, but still double what they were before the Abbott facility closed and recalled a significant volume of product.

– The Abbott plant in Sturgis, MI reopened on July first – after an additional two-week delay due to heavy flooding at the facility.

There are no signs that the WIC (Women Infants and Children) program is being reexamined for the role it played in causing this crisis by driving supply concentration with its one-provider-per-state bidding strategy.

Episode Transcript

Kelly Barner (00:00):

Hi there. This is Kelly Barner, your host for Dial P here on Supply Chain. Now, some of the stories we cover during the year are so big and impactful and educational that we try to stay on top of them even after they have faded from the mainstream media headlines in this Dial P updated classic, we are going to revisit the baby formula shortage that rocked the nation earlier this year. Here are just a few additional points to bring this story up to date. This episode was originally released in May, but the baby formula shortage would not peak until two months later in July when the national average out of stock rate was 31%. The most recent data we have is from October, and as of then we are still seeing an average out of stock rate at about 18%. Now, that’s considerably down from July, but it is still nearly double the rate recorded before the Abbott plant recall en closure.

Kelly Barner (01:04):

So while most of us have moved on from this story, families are still struggling to feed their babies. Now, speaking of that ABD plant, they did reopen on July 1st, an important event which was delayed for two weeks because of heavy flooding at the facility. Now, perhaps the most unbelievable thing about this story is actually a lack of update. I could find no evidence the Women in Infants and Children program was being reexamined for the role it played in causing this crisis by over centralizing supply. Now you know, I call for feedback, so if you’ve heard something I haven’t, please get in touch and let me know. What I do think is that once you’ve heard the full episode, you’ll be just as surprised as I am that we haven’t heard more re discussion of their role. The federal government currently seems more interested in making it easier to import baby formula from abroad than it does in increasing levels of competition here at home. That said, here is hunting for the true source of the baby formula shortage, a Dial P updated classic.

Intro/Outro (02:17):

Welcome to Dial P for procurement, A show focused on today’s biggest spin supplier and contract management related business opportunities. Dial P investigates the nuanced and constantly evolving boundary of the procurement supply chain divide with a broadcast of engaged executives, providers, and thought leaders. Give us an hour and we’ll provide you with a new perspective on supply chain value. And now it’s time to dial P for procurement.

Kelly Barner (02:47):

Hi there, and thanks for joining me for Dial P for procurement, part of the supply chain. Now family of shows. I’m Kelly Barner, a career procurement practitioner with a love for business news and most of all good ideas no matter where they come from In addition to video interviews and live streams, I’ll join you each Thursday to share my point of view on a current news story that presents an interesting twist for business leaders or a new way of looking at a common challenge. Before I dig into this week’s topic, and it’s a big one, we’re also building out dial p’s independent following. So no matter where you encounter this podcast, give us a review like share, and if you’re using a podcast app, please click as many stars as you feel so moved. To give us five is nice, thank you in advance for being an active part of our listening community.

Kelly Barner (03:47):

And now for today’s topic. By now, supply chain pros are used to our field being in the news, the latest drama baby formula. Parents all over the country are freaking out and quite understandably, I’d been watching the story you can’t have the news on and not know what’s going on, but I wasn’t overly focused on it, truth be told, I didn’t think it was ready for me to dig into it yet. Then I talked to Maureen Wilger from Vector Logistics and she encouraged me to take a closer look. So I did. I started with the obvious news stories, the horrible sadness, parents talking about bare shelves, the amazing pictures of stores just completely wiped out of stock. And in every article there was a comment about of course, supply chain problems. And the more I looked for details, what I found was that it was the pieces of information that weren’t there that were the most interesting, and that is what hooked me.

Kelly Barner (04:57):

So a big huge thank you, first of all to Maureen for pushing me to look into this more closely. For those of you listening in, bear with me. This is a really big story. It actually goes back timeline-wise a lot further than I expected when I started doing my research. So I’m gonna do my best to prevent you with this information in a logical order, but there’s a lot here. So if you have any questions after you’ve listened, please reach out and I will be glad to share some of my sources in the articles that I read. So first, the basics. There are four domestic producers of baby formula that make up 89% of the US market. There’s Abbott Labs. They make Similac, they represent 43% of the market wreck, Ben Kisser, they make Enfamil, they’re at 37% and then rounding that out, we have Nestle who makes Gerber and Pergo who makes the brand or private label formulas.

Kelly Barner (06:00):

So it’s just those four producers that basically are creating all of the formula that’s gonna be really important as we go through what caused the disruptions we’re seeing today. Now, at a very high level, again, knowing there are a lot of procurement and supply chain professionals in this audience, it’s not what you’re hearing about first in the news, but the Bull whip effect has been in play with baby formula since the pandemic began. So in 2020, parents started hoarding formula like toilet paper, not because there were necessarily any reported problems, but just because that’s something you don’t want to be stuck without. Therefore, in 2021, demand eased because there was so much oversupply out in the market and parents were starting to exchange locally if their child got to the point where they weren’t eating the formula anymore and and they were able to pass it off to a friend.

Kelly Barner (06:53):

And in response to that, producers eased off on their production. Now, 2022, it hasn’t been officially declared yet, but according to some sources, it looks like we may be at the start of a baby boom with a greater number of mothers than before turning to formula to feed their babies. So we’re coming off recessed production and demand is going way up. You’ve probably heard a lot about the month by month out of stock numbers. So according to the tracking site data assembly, I went back to November. That’s the month where most of these news stories are referencing In November, out of stock rates started to tick above the 10% level, which is considered not acceptable. But the point below which there’s not a panic, it was back in November of 2021, that out of stock hit 11%. So that was the very first time this hit the radar screen for most Americans.

Kelly Barner (07:57):

By December it was at 15%. Early January it was around 20%. By February it had hit mid twenties. By March it was in the thirties. Now we know as of April 24th when this story was in full swing, baby formula was running average out of stock rates between 40 and 45% in most states. But there are a handful of states, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee, those out of stock rates are over 50%. Now, a quick note on these out of stock rates, because we do facts here and not hype, what do we actually mean when we’re talking about out of stock percentages? Those are measured by SKUs, right? Sku. So it’s 40% of SKUs that are out of of stock, not 40% by volume. And part of why that’s so important is because like any other product, there are a couple of SKUs of this product across brands that run right down the middle of the road.

Kelly Barner (09:08):

They’re sort of the common case formula. A lot of the stories that we’re hearing about are parents who have infants with special nutritional or digestive needs. They might have another illness that requires them to have a specific type of formula, but when you think of out of stock rates being based on skews, think even rows in the supermarket or target or cvs, the out of stock rate is per type, not necessarily simply how many containers. The average out of stock rate, as I had mentioned over time is about 10%. And so when we saw that 11%, now keep in mind nobody was following it yet at that point. So things had started to rise before people were necessarily watching. Now we come to the other part of the story that has gotten most of the focus over the last few weeks. There was a highly publicized plant closure, right?

Kelly Barner (10:02):

This one plant in Sturgis, Michigan that produces an enormous percentage of the formula used in the us but that didn’t happen until February. We now know because we’re tracking the data. There was a problem months before that plant went down and their inventory was pulled back and there was a recall taking product out of parents’ homes. So here’s the timeline on the plant closure, and this too goes back a lot further in history than you would think to read the new stories today, you would think, okay, the plant was closed in February of 2022. Maybe there’s something going back to September of 2021 and the September part is right, but to actually get the beginning of this story, we have to go all the way back to September of 2019. The regular FDA inspection of the Sturgis Michigan plant that happened in September of 2019 noted that Abbott at that time was not testing a representative sample of the product at the final stage before distribution to discover quality issues.

Kelly Barner (11:12):

So anyone that’s in manufacturing knows that quality inspections, especially around food, are supposed to happen at multiple times in the production process, especially with something like Baby Formula. The inspections that happen closest to distribution are the most important because that’s where you’re gonna have the most control over the product that goes into stores, family homes and baby’s mouths. And the sample that they were testing was not enough in the FDA’s belief to catch potential quality issues. So that was September, 2019. In 2020, that plant was not inspected because of the pandemic. So they went a full two years from September of 2019 to September of 2021 before there was a subsequent inspection, even though there was a quality testing issue documented by the fda. Now when the FDA arrived in September of 2021 to do their inspection, they uncovered unsanitary conditions that had clearly either existed or gotten worse over the two years because there had been no inspection.

Kelly Barner (12:21):

They filed their report, but publicly not a lot happened. It wasn’t until October of 2021 that a whistleblower came forward making allegations of lax cleaning practices of the company, falsifying records of them releasing untested formula and of the company hiding information from the FDA audit. Now that is all ongoing. That is simply the report from the whistleblower that did however spur the FDA to act as well as the company. At that point, Abbott began the Similac product recall. Unfortunately, enough of the product was out there that infants had begun getting sick. In fact, the contamination led to an illness and there are allegations were being careful here that two infant deaths resulted from consuming the formula at that point. There is also a total shutdown of the Sturgis Michigan plant in early March. The scope of the recall was increased to include more batches of product.

Kelly Barner (13:30):

At this point, Abbott has denied responsibility for the infant deaths and Abbott and the FDA have yet to come to an agreement that would allow the plant to reopen. Now, what Abbott has said is that it will take two weeks to bring the plant back online and then it will take six to eight weeks beyond that for their product to actually be going on store shelves. So we’re talking about potentially a 10 week delay that’s rolling forward every day that that factory is not safe to be open. There’s a 10 week rolling delay. If you are one of those parents desperately trying to get formula, that is certainly not what you wanna hear. So now that the attention around this formula shortage has reached a fevered pitch, we read the same thing in nearly every article, some version of inventory shortages starting in November due to supply chain issues that of course was exacerbated by the recalls and plant closure and that type of news coverage makes me crazy because if we don’t get anything more specific then supply chain issues, those of us in the field know that it could mean so many different things.

Kelly Barner (14:41):

It might also in some ways have nothing to do with the supply chain itself, but with different players within the supply chain. So sometimes these things require a little bit more research. I personally like specifics, so I went back through the Wall Street Journal month by month looking for relevant stories. I didn’t go as far back as September, 2019 because we know nothing was being reported publicly at that point. What I did do is go back to September of 2021 when we know the FDA inspection happened in advance of the whistleblower and in advance of the out of stock rate hitting that 11%. That triggered people starting to be concerned, at least in the Wall Street Journal. I did not find a news story about concerns over formula being out of stock until January 12th, 2022 in an article titled Baby Formula is hard to find, brands and stores are divided over.

Kelly Barner (15:43):

Why? Now, this is maybe where some of the supply chain blame is coming from at this time. There’s not really discussion of the plant. What we read is that retailers like CVS and Walmart were blaming manufacturers and manufacturers were blaming retailers because of labor shortages of not getting the product that they had out on store shelves. Quickly enough. The Infant Nutrition Council of America, that’s an industry group representing baby formula manufacturers, blamed logistics providers and consumers, which is always a classy move. We do know that people had bought an excess of this product, but by 2022 we should have worked through that. And famil tweeted out that they were having trouble with production and shipping and claimed both on the pandemic. Abbott talked publicly about intermittent slow shipping and expected their issues to have improved in the coming months. Now that was at least four months ago and a month prior to them closing the Sturgis Michigan plan.

Kelly Barner (16:49):

Even beyond the involvement of the fda, the government is very heavily involved in infant formula, and this was something that I didn’t previously know. So if you are familiar with wic, WIC is the Federal Women Infants and Children Assistance Program. I used to work in a supermarket. I remember when the checks would come through. It’s a very detailed process for redeeming these pro, these vouchers for food. Here’s the interesting thing, WIC is federally funded, but it’s administered at the state level. Relevant here is that 60% of all US BABY Formula is bought through the WIC program, which is run by the Department of Agriculture, and it has led over time to market concentration. So here’s how it works. Each state individually bids out their contract for their entire WIC voucher volume. Now, once the contract is signed, the vouchers that go out specify brand and container size, Abbot that makes Similac is currently the supplier for over half of the agencies administering wic.

Kelly Barner (18:02):

So if 60% of all formula purchased in the US is associated with the WIC program, half of that is associated with Abbott based on those state level contracts. Now, the Biden administration has called for states to loosen the requirements, meaning if you have a voucher and you live in a state and it says that you’re entitled to X ounces of Similac, but the store only has Enfamil, they’re trying to work out a way for that to happen. But these are legally binding contracts that are in place and we know how quickly contracts are changed. Unfortunately, all of this has led to panic buying, hoarding, and worst of all price gouging. A 12 and a half ounce container of formula makes about 15 bottles depending on the age and size of the infant. That’s just a few days. And of course, the other story that we’ve all been following is inflation.

Kelly Barner (18:59):

The average cost of the most popular baby formula products is up by about 18% over the last 12 months. So where does the supply chain come into this? Now we can think about it from the perspective of key ingredients, the sort of typical average. One of the mill baby formula consists mostly of dehydrated cow’s, milk, vitamins and lots of sugar. So it’s relatively simple products, but they have to be available in the right quantity and at the right quality level to be fed to infants. Some articles did mention packaging, so maybe the ingredients are available to make the formula, but the liner for the jar or the lid or the seal or the label isn’t. And so it’s holding up production. We of course know that labor shortages are an issue and that can affect multiple points in the supply chain. Now due to the news stories starting to begin in January, we know that Enfamil, the primary competitor to Similac was seeing an 18% surge in demand as parents started switching away from Similac.

Kelly Barner (20:10):

And the hard thing is there are only so many options for what we can actually do. Abbott is currently shipping inventory in from their FDA cleared plant in Ireland, and they’re trying to increase production at a second facility in Ohio. Pergo, that’s the company sort of fourth on the list volume-wise that I mentioned at the beginning of this podcast. They make the private label formula for Walmart and Target. They have stated publicly that they expect these shortages to last through the rest of 2022 and Infamil is increasing production as much as they can, but they’ve already been dealing with a surge. Now, the other thing that we’ve all been following, although it hasn’t come up specifically in a while, was the 100 day review of supply chains that the Biden administration kicked off immediately after coming into office. The initial report was released in June of 2021.

Kelly Barner (21:03):

Five months before that out of stock rate started to tick upwards to 11% in November. There is no mention of baby formula in that initial report that came out. Even above and beyond that subsequent reports were ordered. And so on March 9th, 2022, we get the sectoral assessment, the U S D A, agricultural commodities and food products ecosystem report. There was also no mention of formula in that. In fact, in that report, the only mention of infants was in a discussion of the WIC Farmer’s market initiative. Formula was still not on the radar screen. From the federal government’s perspective, drugstore chains like Walgreens and cvs as well as stores like Target in April, they started putting limits on how many baby formula products consumers could purchase at a time. And one of the retailers specifically mentioned that they did this at the request of the fda. The FDA asked them to ration product to five containers per customer per day.

Kelly Barner (22:10):

And very quickly, many retailers actually ratcheted down further than that limiting purchases to three containers. So what on earth are we supposed to do with this situation? So in the short term, and if you are a parent, the best you can, right? You reach out to family, you reach out to friends, you drive. If you have to, you call your pediatrician, please do not attempt to make your own formula. That is the number one thing. Every article agreed on. The danger if that is not worth the associated risk. But longer term for us as procurement and supply chain professionals, this is an acute and cautionary tale that we’ve at least we should have been able to see it coming for years resulting from the over concentration of markets. We talk about this in procurement all the time. In the past, all that mattered was leveraging the maximum volume or demand so that you could price, leverage and drive down prices as much as possible.

Kelly Barner (23:12):

And that has led to concentration in a lot of markets because companies and suppliers were looking for efficiencies of scale. Once you have a supplier in an industry like this that represents 43% of national production, you have a critical item and you are basically asking for trouble at that point. You are expecting supply chain failure. Now, government oversight of the mind that we shouldn’t be necessarily looking to the government for solutions. But from an inspection standpoint, I think it’s fair to ask, ask why it took so long for news to become public, why follow ups were not done, why two years worth of infants were consuming formula from a factory that the government knew was not properly quality testing. So unfortunately, the government, the way it is structured is slow to respond and it proved to be ineffective when it came to preventing issues as professionals.

Kelly Barner (24:10):

Therefore, we need to have a new way of looking at and determining what’s an essential product. I have three kids. My heart breaks for parents with young children trying to feed their babies. It really puts the toilet paper shortages that we now sort of joke about into perspective. We need to be aware of the intent behind quality testing. We need to take a broader perspective on what should be produced by how many companies. I mean, we’re looking at this from a corporate standpoint now. How much of a company’s demand do we want dependent on one supplier at the first tier, and we’re starting to investigate at the second tier. Clearly, that same kind of thing needs to be done with infant formula being a very sad example. Now, that’s my point of view and that’s the research I did on what has proven to be an incredibly difficult story.

Kelly Barner (25:06):

We’re still watching it play out, and based on what producers and retailers are saying, I don’t think we can expect this story to go away anytime soon, but we will continue to follow it because there are both additional developments that are yet to break and additional lessons for us to learn whether we work in supply chain procurement, retail, manufacturing, distribution, there are lessons we need to learn from what has happened here. That’s my point of view anyway, but if you have feedback on any part of what I’ve shared today, please don’t sit silent and just listen. Join the conversation. All voices are welcome. Until then, thank you for listening to this audio episode of Dial o p for procurement. Please join the conversation and let me know what you think on this topic or others. Let’s work together to figure out the best solution. Until next time, this is Kelly Barner for Dial o p for procurement on supply chain. Now have a great rest of your day.

Intro/Outro (26:08):

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Dial P four procurement and for being an active part of the supply chain now community. Please check out all of our shows and events@supplychainnow.com. Make sure you follow Dial P four procurement on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to catch all the latest programming details. We’ll see you soon for the next episode of Dial P four, procurement.

Hosts

Kelly Barner

Host, Dial P for Procurement

You May Also Like

Click to view other episodes in this program

Additional Links & Resources

Learn more about Dial P for Procurement

Subscribe to Dial P for Procurement

Check Out Our Sponsors

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

The founder of Logistics Executive Group, Kim Winter delivers 40 years of executive leadership experience spanning Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Corporate Advisory, Motivational Speaking, Trade Facilitation and across the Supply Chain, Logistics, 3PL, E-commerce, Life Science, Cold Chain, FMCG, Retail, Maritime, Defence, Aviation, Resources, and Industrial sectors. Operating from the company’s global offices, he is a regular contributor of thought leadership to industry and media, is a professional Master of Ceremonies, and is frequently invited to chair international events.

He is a Board member of over a dozen companies throughout APAC, India, and the Middle East, a New Zealand citizen, he holds formal resident status in Australia and the UAE, and is the Australia & New Zealand representative for the UAE Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), the Middle East’s largest Economic Free Zone.

A triathlete and ex-professional rugby player, Kim is a qualified (IECL Sydney) executive coach and the Founder / Chairman of the successful not for profit humanitarian organization, Oasis Africa (www. oasisafrica.org.au), which has provided freedom from poverty through education to over 8000 mainly orphaned children in East Africa’s slums. Kim holds an MBA and BA from Massey & Victoria Universities (NZ).

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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’.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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!

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :

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.

Connect on :