“The question became one of who owned the streets. Today we think of streets as a place for cars. Back then, however, ownership was in transition at best – if anything – the streets belonged to pedestrians.”
– Kelly Barner, Dial P for Procurement
In this edition of This Week in Business History, Kelly Barner remembers key innovations, inventions, and firsts that took place between August 2nd and the 6th. In our main story, we learn about the installation of the first electric traffic light and how the road went from being the domain of pedestrians to a throughway for cars. We’ll also learn about the release of the TRS-80 personal computer by Radio Shack and the establishment of the first Federal income tax.
More Podcast Episodes
demand
Podcast
March 13, 2024
Supply Chain Leadership Across Africa: Are drones the key to broadening access to healthcare in Africa?
Our Supply Chain Leadership Across Africa series continues in earnest with a fascinating discussion around the proposition of using drone technology for social good. In this episode, hosts Scott Luton welcomes Prashant Yadav to the show, a globally recognized expert in healthcare supply chains and affiliate professor at global business school INSEAD, where he leads the Africa Initiative. Prashant is something of a media virtuoso, having appeared in prominent publications such as The Economist and Financial Times to share his expertise. Sitting alongside Prashant is Olivier Defawe of VillageReach, a global nonprofit that transforms healthcare delivery to reach everyone by working with partners to build responsive primary healthcare systems that deliver health products and services to the most under-reached. A key priority for both guests centers around realizing the immense potential for drones to unlock healthcare access, supply chain optimization, and socioeconomic development across the African continent. During the discussion, they touch on a number of pertinent questions: What are the major challenges to scaling and sustaining drone transport operations in Africa? How can we ultimately ensure drone transport is more cost-effective for public health supply chains? What can stakeholders do on the supply and demand side to increase adoption…
distribution
Podcast
January 24, 2024
Talking Technological Transformations with Exotec and Accenture
Rewind the clock to the turn of the century and the technological landscape within warehousing and logistics was a lot less crowded. Today, companies are often faced with an overwhelming choice of solutions, making it more difficult than ever to determine the right tech stack to invest in. It is against this backdrop that Andy Williams and Steve Osburn join the Supply Chain Now podcast, the pair holding vast experience in the field of logistics. As Executive Vice President of Sales for warehouse robotics firm Exotec, Williams draws on two decades of knowledge gained from working in international supply chains and logistics technology. Osburn, meanwhile, brings 25 years of all-round supply chain experience to his role as Managing Director of Accenture’s system automation division. Both experts discuss how their current positions are all about providing answers to complex problems. For Williams, this involves sitting down with organizations and seeing how Exotec can integrate various robotics and technological solutions, including those from third parties, into their warehousing setups. Osburn also enjoys the challenge of negotiating unique logistics scenarios, helping clients take ideas from concept through to implementation. Discussions also center around the impact of the pandemic on retail and warehousing, how…