Supply Chain Now Radio
Episode 177

Episode Summary

In this interview from the SCAC AIAG Supply Chain & Quality Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, Scott, Greg, and Beau Groover of The Effective Syndicate welcomed Court Harvath of Ryder Systems Inc, to Supply Chain Now Radio.

Episode Transcript

[00:00:05] It’s time for Supply Chain Now Radio. Broadcasting live from Supply chain capital of the country. Atlanta, Georgia. Supply Chain Now Radio spotlights the best in all things supply chain the people. The technology’s the best practices and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.

 

[00:00:29] All right. Good afternoon. Welcome back to Supply Chain Now Radio Scott Luton here with you live. Welcome to the show. So we’re coming to you today as we wrap up our coverage of the AIAG SCAC Supply chain Quality Conference in North Charleston, South Carolina. This conference has been dedicated to the world of automotive. And we really enjoyed meeting and interviewing many of the leading industry thought leaders that have been participating. So we should say big thanks to our conference broadcast sponsor the Effective syndicate for making our coverage possible. In case you didn’t know, the EFFECTIVE SYNDICATE helps companies win by optimizing process and developing winning cultures. You can learn more at the effective syndicate dot com. Quick programming note like all of our series on Supply Chain Now Radio, you can find our replays on a variety of channels Apple podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, wherever else you find your podcasts. As always, we’d love to have you subscribe so you don’t miss anything. So let’s welcome in my co-hosts here today. Greg White, one of our re-occurring co-hosts of Supply Chain Now Radio. Serial Supply chain. Tech entrepreneur and pseudo trusted, not highly trusted advisor.

 

[00:01:39] How you doing, Greg? Now I am doing great. Yeah, recurring. Yeah, it’s good.

 

[00:01:46] A lot of standard serial recurring standard serial entrepreneur, you know.

 

[00:01:52] Trusted advisor. A pseudo pseudo trust that you don’t trust me. But every so. Yeah.

 

[00:01:57] Kidding aside, we’ve enjoyed our time here. The last two. It’s been a great couple days. Yeah. Great interviews, passionate leaders, folks that are involved in different components of the Indian supply chain. And I really enjoyed doing this with you and with Beau Gruver, founder president of the Effective syndicate, co-host of our Poppier Leadership Matters series here in Supply Chain Now Radio. Beau, how you doing? I’m doing great. Thanks for having me again. Good morning. You bet. I really enjoyed this. I’m not sure this is probably number 15.

 

[00:02:25] We’ve done it through that two days. Good afternoon. Yeah. Why? Larry. Hello. Misted. No, that’s not what we’re looking. We’re looking because it’s lunchtime.

 

[00:02:36] Well, you know, we’ve got a great appetizer before we move into lunch. One great episode here. Coming up, let’s welcome our featured guest, Court Harvath Senior Director Corps. How you doing? I’m doing well. So court, you serve as senior director product development with Ryder System Inc. And you’re also one of the presenters here at this at this popular conference this week. I am. And we’re gonna dive in some of the things part you shared with the audience here and get your take on a couple other things throughout the session here. But for starters, before we kind of talk about some of your business and industry insights and what your organization does, let’s talk about you and your background and kind of your journey leading to your current role.

 

[00:03:20] Jr So I’ve been with with Ryder now for close to 15 years, 20 years overall in the industry, predominately all in automotive. The last two years and I’ll go into that in a minute was spent based Bazan when I was speaking about today, which was the digital transformation and digital technology, but ran again. It started as a cross-talk representative way back in the day, was going end with the plan to do spreadsheets and analytical work, and then quickly found out that the the dockworkers tended to take a lot of time off. So got my forklift license and then learn how to drive a forklift and very quickly in the process mart. But it was a great experience, gave me an opportunity to to see how they operate and process flows, et cetera, from there. And that was with a previous company, but jumped into Ryder in 2005 and jumped in network design. So at first experience of being what they call the Logistics engineer did not have a Logistics engineering better an engineering background per say. So the actual engineers were distraught by me calling myself a Logistics engineer, but forming network design modeling software, just making sure that we had good flow is 4 0 M’s transition into our operations, did some stint working with some financial applications and then had a really good opportunity to lead one of our largest OEM automotive customers for roughly three years. And that was kind of the biggest opportunity for me to to really run the gamut from and an supply chain. We had team members that were in site at specific locations. We had drivers that we were managing network and design engineers trying to save money. So.

 

[00:04:59] Had an opportunity to see the overall fiscal responsibility and the operations for that group prior to I actually just took on a new role. About a month ago. Granulation. Thank you very much. But before that, it’s all been related to digitalization of new products that Ryder is putting out on the market. So I was a product owner. So we’ve as we’ve been transitioning through a digital transformation. We established a an agile culture form, first ambushing new products that are coming out that are all gonna be customer facing. So a lot of what I discussed today related to the customer intimacy. Historically, a lot of supply chain companies are building efficient technology for themselves that are going to also potentially save money for the customer, but never really a customer facing solution. And when we went back and actually looked at what the digital transformation meant to us, we knew that we had to get the customer involved as opposed to assuming what they wanted. We had to figure out and actually go out and talk to them. So did a lot of discussions, a lot of travel and just understand what we’re doing, right. What we’re doing wrong is actually completely different offers on different scale for me, usually getting, you know, some tough love from the customers when you’re not performing up to the expectations. Now, I try to go out to other people’s customers on other aspects of our business and ask them what we were doing wrong so I can improve forum. So hopefully good to do that face to face conversation you got.

 

[00:06:25] Got it. Rely on email. Exactly.

 

[00:06:27] Love. It’s good to be heard. I mean, I think that’s probably why you got some love while you were here, for sure.

 

[00:06:32] Yeah. But the cool thing was is able to take that feedback and actually then build it into the product. So the whole intention was get that voice to the customer and then at the same time work with the developers to establish what was most important for the customers at the time. So did that for two years and that successfully launched at the end of last year. So we do have customers that are up and running and that is called Ryder share and it’s an excellent visibility and end solution. We’re calling it collaborative Logistics and we can talk about that maybe a little bit later on. But did that for, like I said, two years and it was just a great opportunity to to get into the I.T. world, but not necessarily get involved with development. I’m not an I.T. guy by trade by any means, but I have always had a pretty strong connection with being able to speak with customers and get the most out of them, which are important skill sets to have excellence day and age where change is just so rapid.

 

[00:07:22] All right. So let’s talk more. You’ve touched shoaling, shared some of the things. But for those for all three people that have not heard of Ryder, tell us about the organization.

 

[00:07:31] Absolutely. So Ryder is a Fortune 500 company. We deal in really three main areas. Our largest is Fleet Management services.

 

[00:07:38] So a lot of lease customers where they are leasing our equipment and we perform full maintenance for those assets, whether those tractors or trailers. That’s all the way across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. A big portion of that really is making sure that as we as we migrate from just simple maintenance and ensuring that we have proper uptime for all of our assets and equipment, but also trying to see if we can extend our services, begin to get maybe our drivers into those trucks. So we do a total cost of ownership to say, is it better to have your drivers in our operation versus our drivers? So that’s a big chunk of it. The other aspect to Supply chain solutions and that kind of runs the gamut of of Logistics design getting inside the four walls of a warehouse and actually managing those, whether there are warehouses or our customers warehouses where we have employees that are inside. And then the third piece is really the dedicated transportation where it is our drivers, our tractors, our trailers, and then we’re running the full service operation for them. So that’s predominately been, you know, the three main pillars that we’ve gone after forever. If Hamas by fire is bent, then the largest riders, one of the largest companies in the U.S. as it relates to leasing and running equipment for customers. So that alone, I think, has shaped the foundation for Ryder. And as we now progressing to the, you know, the 21st, 22nd century, we have to enhance all of that with the technology. And so that’s where, you know, as we continue to talk through this. That’s where we’re gonna be focusing a lot of our attention, knowing that we need to be able to get a good return on investment for our investors knew all three years.

 

[00:09:22] And in your new role that you’ve been in now for a month, what else would you add that where you spend your time?

 

[00:09:28] So because of the month the new allow travel, have customers all across the U.S., predominantly still all automotive. So a couple of large OEMs, it’s dedicated transportation.

 

[00:09:41] So for the first time actually leading a team that is asset management, drivers, operators, control towers that are making sure that we know exactly where our trucks are. Are they on time and in the automotive industry compared to retail, consumer packaged goods, you name it, it’s all just in time. I mean, it’s a. Media and there’s issues that there’s exceptions that need to take place, the customer needs to know about those immediately, so that didn’t change from my previous position to this new dedicated role is just in a different capacity because I would be the forefront for any issues that would come up. So it’s been a pretty cool experience to be I go out and meet some of the drivers, the operators, and understand a different set of KPI that are now being established for those customers as a result of that new piece of business that still get my feet wet drinking from a fire hose. I have at this point in time, but really enjoy it.

 

[00:10:31] So so you’re one of the presenters here. This week’s obviously that’s more the things that brought you here everyday to the Supply chain and Quality Conference. But what else? When you come out to these events, what do you look for? And then maybe as a as a that’s one one A, one B. What are some your key takeaways as you get back on the plane?

 

[00:10:49] Yeah. So unfortunately, I the Logistics of Logistics got me because I didn’t get a chance to come in until very late last night.

 

[00:10:56] So I didn’t get an opportunity to to participate yesterday. Today I was actually really interested in the conversation with with Mag. from Bosch because she was talking about Industry 4.0 and a lot of things that she touched on really resonated with where we’re heading as well. Little different as far as the industry you’re concerned. But she was talking about the digital transformation where they’re heading. And that was a kind of a big takeaway that I wanted to get out of it. And I did have quite a few conversations post my presentation just asking individuals where they think they were in that digital transformation era. Some are on the lower spectrum. Some of them have basically established the new products and feel as though they they understand their customers. But I think everybody’s kind of on this spectrum from haven’t really started yet, really need to get going vs. I think we really do have a good handle. But the Uber affects the Amazon effects. They’re hitting everybody regardless of industry and they’re definitely hitting us. Considering that the likes of Amazon right now is getting into commercial trucking and I think that scares a lot of large scale commercial trucking companies.

 

[00:12:00] Even in Ryder. Yeah. How would you like it or not? Exactly. Yeah. So right before your session this morning, do you have a chance to hear Bridget Matthiesen talk? I did not. Oh, boy. So we had her on the show yesterday. She was talking all about trade and she’s a trade policy SMB. And what you talk about a an exciting time and exciting is probably not the right word to use.

 

[00:12:24] I think she said, anxious to put it kindly. Yeah, I think this was passive active act a lot, lots of action taking place.

 

[00:12:33] But so digital supply chain digitization a lot. What insights you are sharing you in and what I liked about how they construct this conference. So you heard a little bit it’s own this on this show through all all the interviews and of course, the speaker lineup, you heard from a lot different aspects of the Indian supply chain. That was one of my key takeaways. I love when when conferences don’t stay to the cliché topics, but they’re talking the breath. And then that’s something I’ve really enjoyed and we’ll take back with us. Absolutely. So.

 

[00:13:08] Yeah, yeah. So as you’re looking at it and you guys have got your hands and you know, a whole lot of aspects of the supply chain and trucking. What are some of the trends that you’re watching or are aware of or maybe even worried about?

 

[00:13:22] I was a prior to this previous role. I mean, it was the the rapid advancement in technology. Silicon Valley’s taking over. They really are. And whether it’s autonomous vehicles, new technology, they can put into the supply chain, they’re instantly wanting to be bought out.

 

[00:13:39] So you have to find the right partners very quickly before potentially one of your competitors does raise a billion dollars for them. You can afford them. You got it. Yeah. But I mean, there’s some really cool technology, whether it’s sensor technology, understanding where a truck is on the road or any given point in time getting closer to, you know, stronger electrification for commercial trucks, which is huge considering the diesel prices go up, go down every day. So I know that our our exacts have consistently been looking at who are the, you know, the top Silicon Valley intelligence technology companies that are that are coming out to see if we can get an upper hand on on, I guess, the competitive edge overall. Yeah. From our perspective now and we’re still dealing with the driver shortage, a capacity constraint that we’re working through a lot of what we’re doing because we are such a large lease and rental management organization. We buy a lot of trucks on a consistent basis. So what we’re buying now is is more conducive to a stronger driver experience inside the cab. There are still drivers that enjoy the stick shift. But we are getting to a point, you know, to try to bring in more than just your standard. You know, it’s a cliche truck driver that comes out getting. Individuals that are coming right out of high school, getting women within in the trucks more often and by doing that. Actually changing the style of the cab to allow easier for them to actually get in the cab and to help support the cab itself to make it more conducive for a female.

 

[00:15:15] It’s a court. We’ve got to interject for a second, because this is national truck drivers appreciation. Wait. Absolutely. And I think and going back to a quick inventory of all the 2000 upsets we’ve had. But that’s one of the first times that folks have specifically and deliberately mentioned some of the things they’re doing to get women make it easier to get women into the truck driving.

 

[00:15:38] Well, it’s one of the first times we’ve heard anybody really talk about accommodating the driver. And it’s very scary and Rod. Exactly. That’s a really good point.

 

[00:15:47] The experience does the stage of the game is it’s not just in cab any longer. And with the new the new tractors that we’re bringing in are just fantastic. I in refrigerators, air conditioner, especially for the sleeper cabs and whatnot. But Sherkin RV that holds a three foot trailer. Absolutely. There they are. But the safety aspect of them are huge as well. And some of the drivers, you know, they’re they’re taking a liking to it because it does help with their their safety awards. You know, we have truck drivers of the year million miles, you know, without any accidents, any collisions, any avoidable, et cetera. But the technology that we’re putting into those assets now is just extensive, where they can get real time sensing of whether or not they should be slowing down, they should be speeding up. But then the experience itself, there’s a lot of regulations that have changed for electronic logging that’s taking place. So how do you make that as easy as possible for them to track their hours of service, knowing that occasionally they’re gonna get pulled over for absolutely no reason? How do they make that as simple as possible for that process to take place so they can get back on the road? So we have digital technology now that’s in those cabs that are helping support that. That’s called Ryder Drive. And it gives them in turn by turn directions and given where some of the locations are. It gives them once they get to an actual destination, they can have notices. So this is a place that you pull into. It might be a little bit tight. So drivers can interact with each other on that. So it’s pretty cool stuff. Just something else that helps drive the overall experience. But the biggest thing for us is incorporating the network design piece and do we have to create driver friendly network? They love to get home as often as you acivil. And if and if they can’t do that on a consistent basis, drivers have a tendency to jump ship very quickly for and for more money. If they’re not going to be home, then I’m on my money.

 

[00:17:33] Yeah. Yeah. And you know, like all of us and this in this economy where we’re getting squeezed in so many different ways, you know, I think. But beyond car, beyond comfort and beyond advancement opportunities. It it’s tough to to maintain your workforce. And but I love to hear the amount of thought and planning and engineering you are putting into that, because that’s not something we’ve heard. We’ve heard a lot of different takes on the truck driver shortage and some of the different related issues. So that’s really cool to hear. All right. So we’re going to peak around the corner here on crack.

 

[00:18:12] I got to ask this. I have a feeling you’re going to have some insights. No pressure. OK. Here we go. It’s 6:00. So we’ve been. Yeah, we’ve been challenging. Very good. No, we’ve it challenging people all week to to, you know, give us some kind of crystal ball predictions.

 

[00:18:30] So if you look at 2020 or beyond, pick a pick a window. Tell us something bold you think is going to change or happen in our boy.

 

[00:18:41] You know, I thought about this question when you guys send it out there, meaning last couple of people what their thoughts were. And I don’t want to just jump back to the cliche of technology. I know that technology is going to move forward. But I think you’re going to get to a point where it is going to be 100 percent collaborative Logistics. There will be platforms that will be out there that almost everybody will have or ever you will expect to have. Then they can connect with all of their stakeholders across the board, whether it’s the steamship lines, whether it’s the ports, whether it’s the customs agents, you name it, they will all be in one system. It’s such a hodgepodge right now to get either material or the paperwork associated with that. Yeah. And A, to point B, that’s just starting right now. But we’re still struggling with getting stuff, you know, through the ports, over the borders. And I think that’s going to have a dramatic change. And I think that’s going to come a little bit from the efforts that are taking place in Silicon Valley. But I think that there’s going to be individuals that are going to be left behind in the process, whether that’s third party logistics providers, trucking companies that can adapt to that technology. There’s article said there’s a you know, because of the ELCA mandate itself, we’re starting to see smaller carriers started to move out because they just can’t afford the technology that is required to hit the.

 

[00:19:58] Hours of service, L.D. mandates. Now, you take that one step further and you jump in to some of the technology that would be involved for them to connect into the likes of a Volvo or a General Motors to make sure that we know exactly where you’re freights at in any given point in time. If they can’t provide that, they’re gonna be out of the network as well, which means this can constrain capacity even further. So I see more constraint taking place within the industry, which is, you know, good for organizations that are spending a lot of money to make that happen and stay ahead of it. But I think the the bolder prediction is I think the the Amazons and even the Uber France are going to continue with, let’s say, their prominence in assuming every single time they go into an industry, it seems like they kind of take it over. But I think there is and definitely some nerves that are involved with the Amazon getting significantly involved in commercial trucking and what they can do it out to really upset the Supply chain. So I’m not sure those are extremely bold. I’ll tell you right now that I’ll take it. The lions are not going to win the Super Bowl this year old.

 

[00:20:59] Bold prediction there, but that’s about it, sir. First week, isn’t it? Sorry, but you’re right.

 

[00:21:10] The constraints we’ve heard as well as women’s a couple of times now, Suzanne Dickerson with the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness has talked about how in the state of South Carolina alone, alone, by 2040, the need for Logistics and transportation to clean up 60 percent based on growth and in some of continued challenges you’ve spoken to already. Yeah, no wonder. While the industry is not being disrupted based on the challenge alone of the constraints and capacity and truck driving and really not just keeping truck drivers, but getting new folks into that pipeline. And and part of that challenge, as we all know, is correcting the perception around not just a truck driving profession, but also then in Supply chain profession. You know, there’s lots of opportunity. And this industry is, as we’ve heard about it, at event after event after event. This industry is competing for the top talent, unlike not taking anything away from folks who’ve come through Supply chain previous decades, but from the technology demand, from the critical thinking, analytics, data management, problem solving, you know, any role you’re in supply chain, whether you’re driving a truck or you’re managing NBC or you’re you’re running an up production line. The modern needs that places own a professional and practitioner are creating this this competition. We’re competing gets folks from financial services. We’re competing for folks against technology, you name it. But we’ve got to fix some of the bad perceptions out.

 

[00:22:44] There are bad perceptions. And I think some of the laggard type execution. I mean, let’s face it, a lot of the technology we’re talking about has existed. It just is it just hasn’t permeated the physical transportation industry.

 

[00:22:58] Greg White I would ex-sen.. So AIG has been doing a fantastic job. And you’ve been on board been on the board for three years now, but they’ve they’ve connected with multiple colleges across the U.S. The one close to me is Wayne State University, where they’ve developed the future automotive experts. And the sole intention is to ensure that we’re getting some of the top talent to truly consider the automotive industry as a a strong industry and to be a part of because of where the technology is heading, because of the dynamic of how they’re producing vehicles now, they are getting into the digital world. So it’s not as much throwing out, you know, a thousand white cars all at the same time just for a fleet order for Hertz any longer brining. They are getting down directly to mass customization. You got it? Yeah, absolutely. So they need the type of talent that’s coming out of college to do that. So not only are they working directly with them, but then also changing the courses within college to help support that. Some colleges, like the University of Michigan are actually doing big data classes and you can actually get a major in big data now, which is greening and they’ve never had and back in the day. So I like that. And we’re trying to do the same thing. We’re trying to build from internally for a certain extent. But we have to make a decision on a certain point, whether we we had the ability internally to to build the talent that we have or just buy the right resources and prescriptive analytics descriptive. You get a good way from reporting. You need specific type of of talent that can understand it and be a true data scientist to be able to understand how you take some of this stuff to the next level.

 

[00:24:28] Yeah, no doubt. WELNA You see a lot of companies that have the kind of struggle with, as I call it, the tyranny of the or are we going to build it ourselves or are we going to buy something? Right. But there’s I mean, there are other alternatives, you see. And I think you all have some sort of a nurturing program where you can identify a company that has potential and invest or or give them business early on and help them shape that product. So we work with a group in. That’s based in Atlanta, but is Supply chain wide called Point A? And what that’s what they do, these big companies, they participate to take really difficult problems like you’re describing. Give them to early stage companies and let them solve the problem, because the truth is, you can’t disrupt your own industry. If you’re a leader in your industry, you cannot disrupt it. You will be the disrupted or you will facilitate the disruptor. But you’re too embedded at this level of performance to be able to take the risk to look at it from a naive perspective.

 

[00:25:28] A you’re at aresome fun. Just go. All right, guys, I want to hear some bold predictions for 2020 from both Bo Groover and from Greg White. So we’ve been asking all of our feature guests, but I’ve yet to turn the tables on. Why? Wanted to let him turn it on? OK.

 

[00:25:43] You can ask this gentleman. I got a question for you. I mean, what are you bold prediction sign for 2020 and beyond?

 

[00:25:50] I mean, I haven’t heard it from you guys yet. So I’m just wondering what your thoughts on that six.

 

[00:25:58] Good answer.

 

[00:26:01] Not so bold as think Clemson or Alabama will win the college national championship.

 

[00:26:08] Go, go in there.

 

[00:26:11] No, I think I don’t know if it’s 2020, but I think the the dynamic landscape, when you consider A.I., you consider the data, you consider the autonomous things that are happening in Google appear. I mean, scuse me, Amazon appears to be willing and more than capable to just go in any direction. And so, you know, there’s so many industries and consulting is certainly one of them. Right. They’ve got Supply chain continuous improvement experts, probably dozens, if not hundreds of them, if they just decide to do that. You know, so I think every industry right now is just kind of watching and saying, all right, how do I either partner up with them or create some kind of firewall to protect myself against that? And I just I don’t know. I think it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. If they decide to come to figure out you wanna sleep with them or do you want to run away and move to another country. So it’s going to happen.

 

[00:27:08] Yeah. So before I give you my bold prediction, let me address that really quickly. So a couple of quick stories. I go around and do speeches at various things. I was at a HBC concert or concert concert APICS.

 

[00:27:20] Yeah. And I think there’s like a bunch of air. It was mostly mostly percussion people banging on air conditioner.

 

[00:27:28] That’s hard. Rod conference.

 

[00:27:30] I think it was Hardi H.A. RTI in Phoenix and a room. You know, it’s not nowlin like the room we’re in here. A fellow stood up in the back and said, I can’t conceive a world where Amazon could do what we do, where they could provide the warranty service that we do. And and I could not hold back. I said you’re a year from a 50 million dollar company. And the precise problem that we have today is that companies can’t conceive a world where Amazon could do what you do if they wanted to do what you do. Precisely. They would just buy you. You don’t think they have enough capital market change? And I think I think that companies that that was a year or so ago. But I think companies, they’ve come to recognize that that there are no boundaries for this company. Right. At the same time, I think when companies like Ryder, who people do fear as well in various ways. Right. And and Amazon, I think when companies like that decide to do something, they create an opportunity for a smaller company that they might work with. Right. They they do create openings because they have to go a direction in the marketplace that inevitably creates a niche that a small company can fill. So my bold prediction, right.

 

[00:28:50] This is my brilliant or maybe just standard segment, my regular recurring recurring segment, serial segment.

 

[00:29:01] My my bold prediction is that as companies, big companies start to dominate various aspects of business, that smaller companies will continue to slide in there. I’m a firm believer in small beats big. You start by solving the problem that Ryder has, by solving it for somebody who lives next door to you with two trucks. Right. And then that person tells another person and they’ve got six trucks. And you continue to evolve that product to a level of maturity where somebody with the sophistication of Ryder or Amazon looks at it and goes, could you do that for us? We know it’s going to take some extra work on that product, but could you evolve that product to do the work for us? I think we’re gonna see a lot more of that. A good precise example is what I’m calling Edge Logistics, where companies are are buying or leasing small fractions of warehouses in some cases, just a few shelves in warehouses. And they are they are providing space for for direct to consumer or retail or even brands direct to the consumer. From these small fractional spaces. So there’s a company, Atlantic called Stored Naturally, like every technology company, you have to spell your name wrong, S.T.A.R.

 

[00:30:18] D dot com and you have to take out a letter somewhere. Right. Because all of the spelled right words are taken. Are taken. Right. But there are companies like that I think. I can’t remember the name. It’s simple something, but there are lots of companies doing that thing. And I think there are those kind of niches created even when a dominant player comes into place. And one of the reasons that that niche is created is because people don’t want to do business with Amazon. They fear Amazon. Home Depot fears Amazon so much that they won’t do business with anyone who’s doing business with Amazon. So, I mean, Home Depot has a lot of them have a lot of sway. They’ve got some got some power. Right. Right. So I think there will always be openings for small companies. And that’s, you know, the they will evolve. They’ll move into a niche that is abandoned because big companies take a particular direction. And, you know, the world will shift. I’m glad we’re on camera because I’m using my hands. If you’re only listening to this on a podcast.

 

[00:31:25] I don’t know what to do with mine. There are some bold predictions.

 

[00:31:29] I just make one point on an Baze’s, though. As we were doing our research for digital transformation, one of the things we kept seeing on a consistent basis was he was almost the founder of the transition for for the digital landscape. But he was the one that made the connection between digital and customer centricity. So he wanted to obsess about the customer. Yeah. And the transition from books to where it is today was all about just his, you know, going out and talking to the customers and trying. Can you do more? Why not? Let’s go. Right. And now it’s all it is, is about the customer centricity.

 

[00:32:03] Yeah, well, voice of the customer sounds like a new concept to people, but people have have desired that for a long time. Somebody finally did it, finally listened and employed technology to do so at a rapid pace and with a tremendous amount of efficient. Right. And a trillion dollars later, still growing.

 

[00:32:21] Yes. Yes. Yeah. All right. So I’m going to I’m way in here as we wrap up and offer some of my bold predictions, some bold and not so B, Scott. Yeah. Do you have any bold predictions for 2020? I do, but I’m not giving you rationale behind any of these. So I’m just going to I a checklist here refuses to be held against the power of the microphone. So first off, there’s going to be continued pressure on pay rates. We’ve already seen a lot, you know, these distribution and fulfillment centers. That’s what drives me, the retail e-commerce era. And that we’ve we’ve seen certain components of the Indian supply chain, certain traditional sectors try to cling to 1992 or 1987 pay rates and we wonder why we struggle to attract talent. So there’s gonna be continued pressure on pay rates, paying folks more of a living wage. You know, we’ve seen we’ve had folks come on the survey are come on our webinars that have been doing studies all especially in our own distribution workforces for four years. And in recent years, they’ve had as many as 35000 data points to input from these workforces. And almost half of these very valuable members of the Supply chain community have worked two jobs at times the pay make make ends meet. And that’s best that that is. It’s a travesty that goes home, but it’s going to continue to be a lot of pressure on Owen, on keeping talent, especially talent that makes even with with all the automation is taking place. We’ve talked about some of the advantages of having humans solving problems and proactive and proactively managing other other aspects of supply chain manager.

 

[00:34:01] So increased pressure on pay rates. Number two, I think we’re gonna have a trade breakthrough as it relates to tariffs. We have a trade deal with China. There’s way too much money that and wait. The world will turn upside down for so many people. There’s too much pressure. We’re going have a trade deal. I don’t think U.S., the U.S., MCI thinks in a pass based on a lot of political forces, unless there’s a big upheaval, we’ll see what takes place in November not to get political. But, you know, if there is a huge transformation there, then then I think the USMC looks a lot more likely. But I don’t think it can pass as it stands today. Good news. So moving from that and really getting a trade deal would be good for everybody. Right. The Supply chain managed only one of our co-host that likes to talk about how when you hear certain politicians say the word supply chain management, you know that we’ve really hit mainstream, right? That’s cool to see. I mean, you know, supply chain manja programs are now.

 

[00:34:58] Over 500 campuses and schools throughout the country predict for 2020 US can continue to proliferate. The main demand is too great to deliberate execute on the global business environment that we are in. Number four, I don’t have six have five. OK. Korten Good. I don’t want to fall below the court standard. Daryl. Number five is Georgia is going to be named while south clowns maybe be top 10, maybe top five. Georgia is going to be named the number one state new business in for a record seven years in a row by site selection magazine that really set coming in November. They just were named number the number of state B business in four to six year in a row by the other big, big magazine, which I cannot remember. That name is Malcolm will help me out. We’ll ask Malcolm. Yeah. But site selection, they’ve been named six years running as normal state new business. And I will predict they’re going to hit number seven years in a row. Ric Flair territory. Come November.

 

[00:36:00] Q And then finally, the Braves.

 

[00:36:03] Ma My beloved Braves are going to win a World Series in 2020. I would love to say wow. I’d love to see that. I’d love to see that happen just in the next 40, 55 days. However, I think next year they’re going to have another offseason to bolster the team. They’ve got an incredible core nucleus and they’ve got and there’s a little bit of pressure from ownership to make a few more investment dollars because they’ve had a record revenue year at SunTrust Park. And we’re gonna see some acquisitions that that puts together the Breast Best Braves team we’ve seen in over a decade. So those are my bold and fearless predictions. Some may come to pass. Others may not. But that’s what we’re saying. No love for the Tigers. I know Detroit well. You know, the Troy has won a World Series since the Braves last won in 95. I want to say it. Don’t say Detroit that they win. They went. They lost. Well, yeah, a lot of joy out there, though. So I grew up in that. And Cecil Fielder days when he was hitting home runs on the top of Tiger Stadium. Right. And Jack. And no, that’s. I always mix the White Sox and the Tigers, but causing uniforms. But there were some incredible tight Detroit Tigers win seasons in the late 80s, early 90s. We’ll see. I think we did his course. Lawyers, folks of our Hall of Famers now. Whitaker when he plays second base. Whitaker, Lemon Rammell play and yes, short. Or third shortstop. Shortstop Trammell. Of course, Cecil Fielder, whose son now is hitting a bunch of homers. Sprints. Yeah. Prince Fielder. That’s right. Okay. Man, we’re having a guy toits session here, but now we’d love to see that the Tigers back in it. I hope they sweep the American League and just, you know, could be 20, 30 Rock.

 

[00:37:55] A bold prediction. That is the old way out there. Yeah. All right.

 

[00:38:00] So with that one, I’m caught. So how can folks. There’s some cool things that rodders up to these days. Yeah. How can folks learn more?

 

[00:38:09] Very easy on the Web site. It’s just Ryder dot com to our IBRD dot com. We’re also on social media across the board. So we have a link. Dan, I got to do is type in just Ryder System ink or Ryder integrator Logistics or just Ryder and you’ll find us there on LinkedIn. And then we have all of our social media. Any any driver appreciation, any of our awards that take place, anything that’s happening, new products, et cetera, is going to be on Facebook as well. And just simply type in Ryder systems and you can get it on Facebook. I can’t tell you whether we have a Twitter or not. I have my big Twitter guy myself. I don’t tweet, but fires those three. Those are the easiest ways to to get in contact with us.

 

[00:38:47] Cool. Fantastic. And Malcolm says you do have a Twitter at Ryder. Ah, why TR System Inc. Is your Twitter profile. Thanks for that. Tom, when this timely factoid. Malcolm. Yeah. Okay. And he’d just shot us not to. Area Development is the magazine that just named Georgia. There you go. The number one state do business in here just recently. So you got every development. And then you got site selection, which will announce in a couple months here. Man, he’s on it. Okay. Thanks again. Court Harvath Senior Director, Product Development, Ryder System Inc. Really enjoyed our wrap up conversation. Our cleanup hitter you hit.

 

[00:39:28] We had a couple out of the park at their job. I appreciate it.

 

[00:39:30] Yeah, safe travels back. Thank you very much. All right. So stick around just for a second here as we wrap up on some of the upcoming events we’ve got on our calendar. Bo, we’ve talked about this event in about a week extensively. We’re looking forward to our executive roundtable session next Friday in Atlanta. Tell us about it.

 

[00:39:47] Absolutely. So myself and an Emory professor named Robert CCA’s engine are going to co keynote a conversation by invitation only. But if you’re interested. Please reach out. We’re going to be talking about strategy and execution. And if you’ve got the elements of both of those, you’re probably going to have a bright future. Mm hmm. Completely great.

 

[00:40:06] Can I get an invitation to your standard invite? Wherever I am. Greg, you’re invited to be there as the standard. Right. To see. What happens when you when you lead a podcast is your co-host. Make fun of all the slips you’ve had over the last excellent thirty seven days on daily basis. Oh, my God. Where you just do it on the air. I just thank your lucky stars. You’re not on. It’s documented for posterity. That’s right. All right.

 

[00:40:33] All right. So if you’re interested, learn more about that event in a week. We’re looking forward to that. You can shoot us a note to connect at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com and we’ll make sure you get more information. And then October 9th. Greg, what is going on in Atlanta?

 

[00:40:45] Yes, the Georgia Manufacturing Summit brought to you by our friend Jason Moss and his brother, Pete Froome, the Georgia manufacturing alliance.

 

[00:40:56] So one thousand attendees. Are we up to a thousand yet? Alex I. 1000 attendees representing 10000 Georgia manufacturers sharing ideas at the Cobb Galleria. Keynotes from Kisha keynotes from PMG. We got two panels going. Fantastic panel. More than two 4 8 guys are only counted here to go over to the count. Yeah, that’s right. Who you’re going to throwing down the gauntlet on everyone. So you’re gonna be able, Greg, to talk about these these bold predictions we made. You’re gonna be interviewing a couple of foreign trade MEPs to foreign trade ministers. I predict that based on my behavior, I will be escorted out by their respective secret services. Yes, I will be conducting interviews. Yeah. We’ll be live.

 

[00:41:40] That’s right. October 29th. And one of the last note about that, we talk about this a lot. You know, so Jason Morse, the CEO of the Georgia manufacturing alliance, has freed up 50 seats free for veterans. No strings attached. And we’ve talked about on this show very passion about certain veteran community. We’ve talked about the challenges that veterans have had and certainly coming out of the service combat active duty and and connecting and building a network in the private sector or in their first role in the private sector. You know, building that network that they can they can generate deals from and and gain market intel from what have you. So this events like we’re at today and events like this not on October night are great opportunities to make that happen. So if you’re a veteran listening to this podcast, you can go to Georgia manufacturing alliance dot com. You can use the promo code USA vet and you get a free seat as long as they last. Now, I don’t know, they might already be gone. He eat. This is an offer he kicked off late last week. We need to get him to update us. Yeah, we do. Let’s call him later. What a great, great gesture. Credos, Jason and Jimmy for making that happen. And then a couple of upcoming events, of course, you can find on the events tab at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com. We’re gonna be in Austin, Texas at the lead just 7 0 0 0 forum hosted by our friends at EAFE. We’re gonna be at the reverse Logistics SCAC in February 2020 in Vegas and then I bet will see and other folks rorter and no-tax any twinning in my gonnabe Dan Solla.

 

[00:43:10] I don’t know if I love me.

 

[00:43:10] I know that right be absolutely Rod will be looking forward to rubbing elbows with some of your colleagues early. motets also is hosting our 2020 Atlanta Supply chain Awards. You can learn more and register for that show for free at Modoc X show dot com. Okay. Finally, be sure to our listeners. Check out other upcoming events, replays of our interviews, other resources at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com. You can find us again on Apple podcast, soundcloud. All the leading sites or podcast can be found. Be sure to subscribe to no missing thing on behalf of the entire Supply Chain Now Radio team. Scott Luton here wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead and we will see you next time on Supply Chain Now Radio. Thanks, everybody.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Watch Scott, Greg, and Beau as they interview Court Harvath for SCNR Episode 177 at the AIAG SCAC Supply Chain and Quality Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

Featured Guests

Courtney W. (Court) Harvath is Senior Director, Customer Logistics at Ryder System, Inc., a FORTUNE 500® commercial fleet management and supply chain solutions company. In this role, Mr. Harvath is responsible for the management, operations and financial performance for an extensive portfolio of Ryder’s automotive customers within Ryder’s Supply Chain Solutions division. He leads a network of drivers, vehicles, operators and control towers that support end-to-end logistics. Mr. Harvath also serves on the Board of Directors for the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). Previously, Court was Senior Director, Product Development, where he was responsible for leading an innovation product team that was focused on enhanced end-to-end visibility of the digital supply chain. Prior to that, Court was responsible for the leadership, operations, and the financial performance of Ryder’s strategic lead logistics partnership with a large automotive OEM. His experience includes strategic network optimization, operational implementation, dedicated transportation support, transformational leadership, and LEAN process integration, for both domestic and intercontinental supply chains. Court joined Ryder in 2005 as a Logistics Engineer and has since served in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility, which include Logistics Project Management, Director of Supply Chain Solutions, supporting Ryder’s Supply Chain Solutions Automotive Vertical and Sr. Director, Supply Chain Excellence. Learn more about Ryder System Inc here: https://ryder.com/

Beau Groover is Founder and President of The Effective Syndicate. He has been working with manufacturing and operations-focused organizations for over 20 years, primarily focused on developing bullet-proof processes and teams that are built to win.  Beau has helped organizations save millions of dollars while also improving those companies’ customer experiences and building high-performing teams that continue to drive the business forward.  He has developed his approach and strategy over years of working with some of the biggest companies in multiple levels within the organizations, including The Coca-Cola Company, Nordson Corporation, and Westrock (formerly RockTenn). Just prior to launching The Effective Syndicate in 2015, Beau served as the Director of Lean Supply Chain at Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC. Connect with Beau Groover on LinkedIn and learn more about The Effective Syndicate here: https://www.theeffectivesyndicate.com/

Hosts

Greg White

Principal & Host

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

You May Also Like

Click to view other episodes in this program

Additional Links & Resources

Help with Hurricane Dorian Relief

Connect with Court on LinkedIn

Connect with Beau on LinkedIn

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Georgia Manufacturing Summit on October 9th

SCNR to Broadcast Live at SC Logistics 2019 Fall Tech Talk

eft Logistics CIO Forum in Austin, TX

Reverse Logistics Association Conference & Expo

SCNR to Broadcast Live at MODEX 2020

SCNR on YouTube

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 :