In this episode, Scott Luton and Greg White welcome Corey Mabry and Garry Harris to Supply Chain Now Radio at the SC Logistics Tech Talk.

“If you live or work in a state like South Carolina, there’s such focus and emphasis on manufacturing and on growth and just logistics in general, because supply chain covers a lot of different aspects.”

-Garry Harper, FastFetch Corporation

“Technology and the generational shift have changed to such a degree that you need to be looking for those innovative solutions to see who’s coming with the next Uber. Otherwise, you’re going to miss something.”

-Corey Mabry, Continental Tire

Even when there isn’t a formal public/private partnership in place, the state a company is based in or does business in can have a significant impact on their ability to compete and grow. Infrastructure, business friendliness, tax incentives and the presence of universities all contribute to the innovative potential of a company, whether they are established or just getting started.

In a conversation recorded live at SC Logistics Tech Talk, made possible in part by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, Garry Harper and Corey Mabry discuss:

-The need to increase the efficiency of order fulfillment through a number of means
-Technological advancements such as noise reduction and the elimination of spare tires in passenger cars
-The fact that the reluctance of large, established companies to partner with startups has all but evaporated

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

[00:00:29] All right. Good morning again. Scott Luton here with you. Leive Liveline Supply Chain Now Radio. Welcome to the show. We’re not broadcasting live in Atlanta like we typically do. We are broadcasting live today from the South Carolina fall. Logistics Logistics Tech talk in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, at the Gilliard Center. Our broadcast here is conducted in partnership, the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. And this event, which has been really interesting, we’ve already had it’s on the heels of a big international trade show. And it’s really neat to see this tech talk kind of kicked off here in the next hour or so. This event highlights some of the most innovative companies and leaders are driving the Logistics industry and growth in the state of South Carolina. Like to our listeners, too, like all of our series on Supply Chain Now Radio, you can find our replays on a wide variety of channels Apple podcast, SoundCloud, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts from. As always, we libet love to have you subscribe siedel missing thing. So want to say good morning to my co-host. That’s join me once again. Greg White serial supply chain tech entrepreneur, trusted adviser and board member. Greg, how you doing? I’m doing great. Thanks, Scott. Great morning.

[00:01:38] So far, I had it sound important. And you say it like that.

[00:01:41] I really, really appreciate great Maureen and really enjoyed some our earlier interviews. And I think we are in store for one of the highlights of our interview schedule Lu we have here in this next segment.

[00:01:56] So that said, let’s welcome in our featured guest for this segment, this episode of Supply Chain Now Radio Gary Harper with Fast Fetch and Innovative, an award winning Supply chain technology firm and core Mabury with Continental tires, which Greg, as you know, opened a new plant in Sumpter, South Carolina in 2013.

[00:02:14] And here recently broke ground on what I believe is our second expansion. Right. And April of this year. So, Gary and Corey, how are you doing, gentlemen? Doing Gates. Thanks. Great to have you here. I think our audience part I heard the buzz narine as we came live on this this episode. Yeah. A lot of interesting stories and insights being shared already and we really have not that we get it. Business started for another few minutes here. Okay. So, Gary, let’s start with you and let’s talk about fast fetch.

[00:02:41] Tell us more about the company Fast, which is a privately owned company. It was actually founded by two retired Clemson University professors, which is somewhat of an irony for me personally as I’m a former South Carolina Gamecock quarterback. And so I’ve known these guys for probably 10 or 12 years now because I spent quite a bit of time with two I.T. distributors in the Greenville, South Carolina area, Cynic’s and SCAN’s Horse. And so I got to know them as customers and sitting from afar, watching them grow their business and watching their successes, getting to know them personally, you know, was always very impressed with them. And so I started my career back in 81 with IBM, spent twelve years at IBM. And so I’ve always been in technology. So I’ve just been enamored by by seeing some of the things that are out there.

[00:03:34] I kind of jokingly tell people I sold a two million dollar IBM 30 90 computer 38 years ago. And my my iPhone now is more power than think. We had a much easier to fit in your pocket. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Or you air conditioning required high water. Right. And so anyway, it got to know these guys and it just you know, from a personal standpoint, it got to a point where they had been talking to me about coming to work for them.

[00:04:00] But you know, the risk associated with it, the fears of going with a small private company kind of held me back. But two years ago, two and half years ago, I decided I was going to make the move. And I’ll tell you, it’s the most fun I’ve had in 38 years. There is a lot of excitement. So the company was founded by Jack Peck and Ed Page two retired Klumps university professors. But it started as a deblois a mess company called Foxfire still in business today in Greenville. And so, Jack, as a visionary, solve the whole e-commerce coming forward. And I knew that order fulfillment was probably 70, 75 percent of the activity in a warehouse or distribution center and just had the foresight to pull the order fulfillment piece out of Foxfire. He sold Foxfire in and 05/06 timeframe and started fast fetch. And, you know, since then, again, the. Black and neckers and the snap on tools and by seasons, these companies, you know, started hearing, you know, in the rumor mill out there that there was a company out there that had a wonderful filament system. It’s a pick to light like system, but it’s not picked a light, so to speak, because it’s very innovative and so fast that it is all about innovation and so much so that recently, as you guys are aware, we engaged in a an awards process with CSC and in Anaheim with SNAP on tools, and that is a shipping cost optimization solution, which we’ll talk about later. But you know, just with the increase in shipping costs, we found a way to help customers, you know, reduce the amount of air that they’re shipping.

[00:05:50] Yeah. So and shipping costs continue to rise. And we just to conduct the session with a great firm out of Atlanta that helps companies manage and mitigate shipping costs. Yeah. FedEx announced their increases. U.P.S. is right around the corner. DHL is I mean, this the air we live in.

[00:06:07] Yeah. Yeah. Season is now like 11 weeks longer than it was.

[00:06:10] Yeah. Righto, surcharges are bigger. And also for our listeners, you probably I’m sure you’ve heard us reference CSC, NPRM previous episodes. But if you’re new to that group, is the Council of Supply chain Management Professionals, a great group based in Chicago, I believe. But with chapters everywhere organizations, we’re gonna be broadcasting live the CSC MPE Atlanta roundtable in January. But they’ve got coming up with an asterisk. But that is a business and that’s one of the moving and shaking organizations that supports that in the end, supply chain industry. So the award you mentioned, you alluded to. I understand. Can I hand through some back channels that there are there are some big names that finished second, third and fourth and fifth following his lead.

[00:06:55] Yeah, companies like until have a little larger marketing budget.

[00:06:58] Yeah. And thespeech. Yes.

[00:07:00] But yeah, I mean last year in 2018 we were a finalist. Right. For the innovation award just based on our cart based picking solution. And you know, that was exciting for us. I mean, out of thousands of applications and submissions, you know, we were one of six. And of course, Intel won it last year, hints at in-fill on our sites. But we felt really good about the innovation of reducing shipping costs with the increase in shipping costs and with the growth of e-commerce. It’s it’s an area that is very high visibility.

[00:07:39] So let’s talk about what made your solution that won this innovation award from CSC and what made it stand out. There’s a couple of things that that the judges, the criteria have to.

[00:07:50] I really think what stood out the most was not just Fast Fett standing up there presenting a solution and doing a PowerPoint presentation, putting together a case study, I think at the conference itself. What really stood help was you’ve got a representative from SNAP on tools that standing up there talking about 30 person savings and Dunwich, 20 percent savings in the core, getting material five percent, you know, in shipping costs, which when all said and done, you know, probably are like 10 or 15 percent. But, you know, depending on the size of the company and the amount of shipping that you’re doing, I mean, it could be over a million dollars. They get back a year. So it gets a significant impact. And so, you know, I think what stood out was the use of artificial intelligence. You know, the fact that the end customer was actually standing up there, you know, singing the praises. Yes, the praise, but basically just validating the savings that they had incurred.

[00:08:52] And, of course, snap owners in their small company. Yes, no doubt. I mean, that’s a big impact for a big company, any company. So, hey, I’m interested in you said you’d kind of separated the the fulfillment aspect of the toolset from W-M s and from traditional you’d mentioned put to like type picking methodologies so you can eat for our listeners. Can you kind of break it down a little bit? When you say fulfillment solution at its core, how does that differ from a traditional w_ mass or picking type solution?

[00:09:24] I mean, just about every manufacturer or distributor. I mean, they’ve got some form of warehouse management system. Right. And so, you know, one of the key components of that, obviously, is order fulfillment. It’s the process of receiving orders and getting those orders into the hands of pickers. In today’s world, people like to talk fancy and talk about robotics, but we won’t go there. It has its place, but not necessarily the best, most efficient way within the concept of, you know, picking orders and getting. Out the door as quickly as possible, and it depends a lot on volume.

[00:10:02] When you’re talking about robotics, it talks about you have to think about the intricacy of the product and the volume and pace in the operations.

[00:10:10] You know, how organizations function. I mean, you talk about the Amazons of the world and you know, there there’s a place for it. Conveyor systems are out there. You know, there’s a lot of ways to pick product and pick it efficiently. But with a warehouse management system, you know, we we take the waving data out of that and basically their orders. And then we put it into our database. And that’s where the magic sauce occurs with our algorithms, which are genetic based algorithms, you know, that are patented by us. And so we’re able to do it differently in terms of the processing of the the orders that come through, get that into the packing stations so they can get the orders in the cards. You know, we can just depending on, you know, if it’s if it’s sheet music, like a book of books, you know, it’s it’s very thin. So you can have a lot of orders. ipse out of Saidto Creek, Logistics, you know, three b.l.. You know, again, they’re they’re shipping little bags with makeup in it to the club participants. And so but didn’t you have snap on tools, for example, you know that much larger. So anyway, we’re able to take all of the dimensions with the able to take the orders themselves in terms of the priority those orders and do all the processing and get those orders that moved as quickly as possible.

[00:11:28] Sounds like a very versatile technology platform that can work with all sizes of companies and variety needs in lots of growth. So on that note, I want to segway over to Continental Tire. Corey Mabury then cottonelle tire story is being built and adding chapters since 2013 is a pretty impressive success story beyond this year plan expansion. You’ve also been awarded as as a best place to work in the state of South Carolina. So tell us more before we can’t talk about kind on time. Tell us more about yourself.

[00:11:58] Yeah, so. So Corey Mabury, head of Logistics for Continental Tire. So been, you know, in the industry about twenty seven years now. So I actually started coming out of Clemson in Greenville, South Carolina. I actually started in electronics manufacturing. So I was building printed wiring boards, Rod from the old digital plant that evolved into select Tron. And so that’s where I got my start. And then, you know, as the dot com bubble happened in the early 2000s and companies like Nortel and those guys went under, then I was looking for another career. And that’s really where I made the shift into Supply chain. So a transition to work for Frito Lay under the PepsiCo umbrella and so spent 14 years in FMC G with them all in Supply chain and done work here in the U.S. starting out with them. But my last role was a global role, which I worked with a lot of European of our subsidiaries and division Sciarrotta so traveled quite a bit my last four years and worked in a lot of different countries. Got to meet a lot of great people across the Supply chain and then found a great opportunity at Continental. So I’ve been with Continental all about three years now and our Fort Mill U.S. headquarters and. Yeah. So I enjoyed that a lot and it’s a great, great place to work and a great challenge.

[00:13:19] It seems like it. But back to Frito-Lay. I know that in the state of Georgia, there’s a there’s a plant in Perry, Georgia. Yeah. Is that where you were based out?

[00:13:28] I was not in Perry, Georgia, believe it or not. I was actually located in the heart of Coca-Cola. Okay. So I was in Atlanta. Okay. And I actually built two distribution centers for Frito-Lay while I was there before moving on to the to the headquarters office.

[00:13:42] But I still resided in Atlanta while I was working for PepsiCo.

[00:13:48] So let’s talk about Continental Tire. I mean, where the news broke and we’re doing a lot of work in the Columbia area. Of course, sometimes it is dark. Twenty five miles away, right? Roughly a Columbia El Station. Shaw Air Force Base in 96 and 97 a long time ago. So tell us more about what what made that site stick out and why you broke ground there, which I’ll see.

[00:14:15] Yeah. So, first of all, just the talk about the site itself. So Sumpter is the first greenfield in the U.S. So we had a another manufacturing facility in Mount Vernon, but this was another plant that we took over because we do sell under the Continental in general tire brands. Right. So this was our first greenfield in the U.S.. And so if you look at the competition, right, you’ve got the the port of Charleston that gives you global access as a global company. You know, this was important in terms of a port consideration, but really looking to the state of South Carolina, what it offers in terms of competitiveness is just a really stable business environment, pro-business attitude. Right. A manufacturing base state. So a lot of.

[00:14:59] Technical college infrastructure provides that pathway to get manufacturing employees and, you know, great Logistics infrastructure as well, really support from the state itself. And you know, if you look at the I chart earlier today at the International Trade Conference, if you see the diversity of all the different countries, that South Carolina is truly an international location for companies. Yeah.

[00:15:28] Which is really important. Really important, especially in this era of global supply chain. You’re working whatever you’re doing, you’re working with a variety of folks at Ryder cultures var. countries of a variety of geographic locales, you name it.

[00:15:45] Well, you’re an OEM provider to BMW as well. Correct? Yes, I do. And I’ll also to Mercedes still or.

[00:15:52] Yeah. So we do know Mercedes and actually here to South Carolina trade show, if you’ll take a look at the nouse. Volvo is 60, as we did last year. So it has gotten old tires only Trident started. But they had the battery.

[00:16:03] Yeah, well we heard that was Suzanne Dickerson parking’s we thought pretty much her car. Yeah. Well, hey, let’s talk about the technology. We’re talking preshow about some of the technologies that are really driving demand for some of your products. In the first one that caught my attention was the noise reduction. Yeah. You know, we drove in from Atlanta and the goodo train Derrion’s, which makes our life a lot easier. First, early stages of our business. We’re sticking everything in a Honda Accord. It didn’t go far. But, you know, you will you drive on a variety of roads. Right. And so, I mean, to tell us more about the technology that was going into that and how that stripped spike in demand.

[00:16:45] Yeah. So the different ones is. So we’re bringing Cill Solit, you know, that’s come into the Sempra plant as a manufacturing capability. So, you know, as the automotive industry is trending is really no more no more spare tires. So you you can’t replace that with a seal. Solid evolution in terms of that technology, low rolling resistance, have eco tires on some of our lines that give you a better gas mileage. So those are kind of technologies that are coming in or manufacturer or Sumpter location really important.

[00:17:16] And also limiting the blowouts Ryder did that the endurance of these new products are pretty impressive.

[00:17:22] I think, you know, in the past, owning a BMW have run flat tires by default. Right. In the past, that’s been a very heavy and stiff sti Rod. Yeah. And now they’re just there’s so much more lie. more they. And I am tired. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean I think that’s really meaningful. Absolutely. And people will opt for those now because they do ride so nice.

[00:17:46] Well. And the proof is in demand. Yeah. Clearly something’s driving expansion in the continental power plant. Sumpter and probably across the enterprise before we bring Gary back in is willing to get both the auto weigh in here in a second.

[00:17:59] But before we do, Corie, speak to the impact that the investment, the kind of tire investment in Sumpter is having on the state and beyond.

[00:18:07] Yes. So if we talk about that, we talked when we broke ground a little bit earlier, there’s about a 500 million dollar investment, a million square feet under manufacturing production we’ve gone through now through second phase. But maybe just think about the economic impact of the Sumpter and the and the local area. So that’s about a little over thirteen hundred forty employees, 20 ex-pats that work at the location split between 20, 28 percent female, 73 percent male. So, you know, certainly having raw materials come in the local connections with companies like GMP Trucking and local South Carolina businesses. In fact, we else we had we had Mr. Pickup to our Sumpter plant from Las Vegas. And so we’ve been looking at a way to see is there a way for that technology to work in our warehouse breaks even outside e-commerce. We do have a WME, but to see if there if there’s any player, any way to, you know, increase efficiency. So it’s not that high peak velocity requirement. It’s not that need. But there still a need to go from, you know, maybe a traditional RF or even at the right, the paper-based picking solutions that are out there today. So we’re also looking at these types of technologies. And, you know, we got introduced as a result of the relationship we have with the South Carolina Council and Logistics competitiveness, which is, you know, we’re participants in. And I’m on the board this year. That group so really brings a lot of local South Carolina businesses that come to light that some somehow, you know, you wouldn’t see it. Maybe some of the bigger supply chain shows like Moto X or Pro Mat that come around, kind of those bigger shows and the big show in Europe. So that gives us an opportunity. Also bring business and do business with folks that are also evolving in the state of South Carolina. So we’re always looking for those opportunities to do business within the state.

[00:19:56] So what I love is would you talk about the impact? Of course, huge jobs numbers, huge dollars in terms of plant investment were not. But also what I heard you talk about is your involvement. Right. Your involvement in local industry and also your deliberate intent of working with companies based here, whether they’re established companies or companies on the move. Like fast fetches. That’s really admire companies with that in their DNA.

[00:20:23] The other thing I, you know, point out as well as we have a great partnership with the University of South Carolina. So I spoke on the panel a bit this morning about that partnership where they have a strong Supply chain program and we work with the university as well and the university system to also take advantage of the the knowledge and academia, but also for recruiting as well.

[00:20:43] Name the game. All right.

[00:20:45] Finally, South Carolina is mentioned of Gary Harper. That’s right. Former quarterback. Yeah, South Carolina. Oh, he looks like still those touchdown passes. Oh, good. Yeah. All right. Well, one.

[00:21:02] So before we talk, Logistics, you know, kind of a growth question for you both. Satmar here. What we have noticed and I think this event that the tech talk event kind of illustrates like this. You know, when I when I first came into the industry 15 years ago, there was a lot more reluctance with the biggest salvage companies to use startups or early, early stage companies or Yanna companies. All that’s changed. And we had we not only here this year, we hear this almost in every episode where we have an entrepreneurial element to the conversation.

[00:21:36] And so you get a tech talk. This event here where they’ve got a great mix, you’re going to hear from large Starbucks growing companies and younger startup non startups. But there’s an early career. And now I think that really speaks to how more more companies love to hear your way in are open to finding new solutions regardless if if it’s startup stage or not.

[00:21:58] I think there’s more of a willingness. But, you know, it’s Eric choirs, some validity. I mean, you know, yet the evidence, some customers that are installed and have had it spiritually, that it’s a positive thing. But I’ll tell you, you know, with it Magi and with CSC, MPE, with Supply Chain Now Radio, they are radio now in some of these other means of getting the word out. Because when I came on board two years ago, I’m I’ve worked for manufacturers like IBM, distributors, I.T. distributors like senex and SCAN’s Source, a rugged Tallaght manufacturer like Zebra. You know, eBay knows about them. Sure. For us, it’s a it’s an issue of brand awareness. And, you know, we’ve been able over the last two years to get that brand out there and back it up. And so we find ourselves now, you know, just trying to manage the growth. But it’s very positive. I mean, you know, you live in a state work in a state like South Carolina, where there’s such focus and emphasis on manufacturing and on growth and just Logistics in general, because Supply chain covers a lot of different, as does a man. And I’m just I’m proud of the fact that that we as a state with the Council on Competitiveness, you know, they’ve did a study recently looking at fifteen different states, comparing ourselves against them and how we’re doing.

[00:23:23] We’re doing very well. When you think about there’s some areas of growth, but, you know, with most of these states, there’s that there’s a red category. We know where they’re really struggling. We’re at least a Greene or a yellow, you know, a positive in every one of those those particular areas. And so, again, getting back to that from an entrepreneurial standpoint, it’s it’s a matter of staying the course, believing. Like I said, this is the most fun I’ve had in 40 years because of the innovation, because of the ability and the experience of having installs that are successful and actually experiencing a very real R-N.Y. Return on that investment. So I see it growing a lot. I mean, there’s just as a sidebar again, you know, there’s organization in a vision where they give out innovation awards. There’s a company out of the Jersey, South Carolina Van Robotics, and they’re in the educational space helping kids to learn through robotics. So, again, that’s coming out of South Carolina. Yeah. So it’s exciting, but a lot of neat stuff here.

[00:24:26] And of course, with your big blue background, interesting news with IBM launching the Stirling Supply chain Suite blockchain product. We’ll see how that goes to Cory. If you could weigh in on, you know, I mean, especially in your previous global roles, you know, how do you see these large established companies looking for new solutions regardless of the stage?

[00:24:47] Yeah, I think to Gary’s point, it’s certainly opened up to the niche player in the more entrepreneurial because at the end of the day, who thought Uber was going to take off. How disruptive was that to that industry? Who? So now people. Like, who is the next Uber, so. Right. They started this this move, and so I think the consideration technology and the generational shift has changed to such a degree that you need to be looking for those innovative solutions to see who’s coming with the next Luber. Otherwise, you’re gonna miss something in. And there’s a certain you know, as Gary alluded to, there’s a certain safety. If you go with the IBM or the Intels of the world and you go with these established zebra’s, etc., which that’s a fairly, fairly safe bet. But if you’re not also weighing kind of the risk reward on the other side, looking at the entrepreneurs, startups are looking at the new innovation. While you may not be positioned as a larger company to immediately consider and say, oh, I’m gonna go put a million dollars into this thing. Proof is in the pudding. To Gary’s point, you have to be able to prove that from a marketing standpoint and you need to break you need to bring somebody that’s got some experience and says, hey, we can kind of vouch for that. And then that word of mouth really travels and then somehow it’s an easier comfort level to go that path or give somebody a shot to say, okay, well, we’re gonna do a pilot.

[00:26:06] We’re at least gonna try, because not only is it probably more cost effective, it’s probably more technology oriented. And you change the role of how the inner user is now where they’re clicking the button. Well, let somebody let something else click the button, find the exception, and then you go train somebody to use a different skill set to then. Okay, how do I go fix that or how do I build a better intelligence? So, you know, even the even the low justiciable role is is really changing to more of. Yeah, I’m running the I’m running the transportation tendering. Well yeah I can I can kind of automate that today. Sure. So then how do I go educate and change their role to be more of what was my rate changing like this. Okay. I need to go do something with purchasing. I need to go and act another action. So it’s, you know, managing the exceptions versus managing the day to day that can somehow be realized either through machine learning or artificial intelligence platforms that are coming online. And then another part that I would point to in transportation, which is fairly exciting, is you now have freight platforms that don’t own a single truck. Right. But they broker a plethora of plethora and and hundreds of millions of dollars.

[00:27:20] So then your question is, well, okay, if I plug in this platform, where does my legal come into that, how I’m up, how am I protected if I go put a freight platform and I plug them in? They may have the best A.I. and give me a right back like this. But how do I feel? Confident. Who are they pick? Are gonna meet my codes of conduct so that I can conduct business in a very professional way and dress. I’ll manage. Andrews Yeah, that’s exactly right. Risk manager. So those new technologies popping up on the transportation platform is okay. Oh, how? Freight platforms. And they’re saying, I’ve got to go. I’ve got to get plugged in. Okay. He’s probably still more caution on approaching how your full transportation strategy plays out in that particular arena in Logistics.

[00:28:05] Just to piggyback, if I could. I mean, the key, you know, cottonelle tires is a user of all of these technologies and solutions are out there as a provider solution provider. You know, the critical thing is partnering because one company can’t do it all. There’s the IBMs and the zebra’s. These are large companies and I’ve worked for both of them. But they they they’re large companies that they try to do it all. The entrepreneur has the ability to be flexible in the partner. We partner with ship where, you know, out of California, San Diego, because they collaborate, we collaborate. And we are able to get to work in such a way where their strengths are weaknesses. We come together and it’s one. So partnering is key. Yeah, there’s flexibility. I mean, just to be able to go and find out what the real issues, pain points, problems are and, you know, be able to adjust to meet those needs. Larger companies have a difficult time doing that. They’ve got the solution. Here it is. Install it versus let’s understand not just what your problems are, but what are your operations on how you function and fit in within that. So I apologize for that. No, it’s Greene over here.

[00:29:15] I think that’s an important viewpoint looked at in this day and age. You are either disrupting or being disruptive. Yes, right. I mean, you can’t do both. And we’ve had extensive conversations with large companies who are very good at what they do. And they have a lot of investment in what they do. Yet to dilute that investment into something they want to do is difficult. And it and it is easier, more cost effective, less risky even to go with a relatively new company in early stage or startup. Look, I might be biased because I work with almost solely startups and early stage companies nowadays. But it it it it’s even if they take the risk and that little company goes out of business, they’ve still only lost a. Million dollars, not a hundred million dollars. They’ve had to put into changing their infrastructure. Right. And those changes come from new companies. Even Sterling Commerce, which is the platform for I-beams, new Supply chain. That was a startup that they bought. I mean, it was a relatively early stage company. I mean, they’d gotten good size, but at some point they they were a startup and they were much, much smaller than IBM. And that I mean, even companies like IBM are doing things like that. Yeah.

[00:30:26] So so kind of bringing it back to the 46 counties that make up, say, South Carolina and the Logistics, the business market here. Any other observations with what you’re seeing in landscape related, the growth related to innovation, related to, you know, some of what we find here that’s fueling those things?

[00:30:44] I don’t think we have enough time to talk about it. He says that when you think about rail, you think about air, when you think about the ports. When you think about supply chain in general, there is a trend that we see going toward the move from the large distribution centers to much smaller distribution centers that are set regionally. Yeah, and we feel very good about our position within that. But South Carolina is suited perfectly. You know, for the transportation, logistics, for the distribution center warehousing capabilities that we have, the air, the ports. I mean, we’ve got the airports. We’ve got the ports. So it’s exciting. I mean, it’s it’s amazing. I always look at the Council on Competitiveness and what our Department of Commerce is doing and blown away with the fact that a state of this size can be so understanding and focused on such a critical area, because prior to getting into Supply chain Logistics for me, I had no clue you biproduct than it at your door.

[00:31:49] Well, and most consumers, even though it’s shifting because what we’re seeing is more and more consumers are better understanding why you can get something two days or two hours in some cases. And so there’s a. Beyond that and beyond all the dollars going into supply chain marketing that folks are making more those connections. And the impact that’s having is it’s impacting the talent pipeline, which is so important. We’re seeing over 500 programs, universities, tech schools, you name it, that offer some sort of curriculum or degree on supply chain management, which is so important. And on that note, I do want to I believe Cotton was involved and if there weren’t, you were different workloads. SC The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness that that we both are. I think we all are big fans up. We’re driving it. The lemonade game that was going in the schools to talk to students about it talked splotchy with students. That is such a powerful. Are you involved in those early efforts?

[00:32:46] So not only the early efforts, but I’m going to my first one down in Georgetown and then we’re going to you know, we’re looking to sponsor two programs and Sumpter, as well as the Fort Mill, where we have our local school involvement. So loved. So that’s expanding, you know, within the state, through the council itself.

[00:33:02] And that is so important because, you know, some of what you’re just talking about, you know what you know.

[00:33:07] Right. But 14 years on a school board in Spartanburg, Gates is critical that we get into the schools. Yeah. Yeah. Well-put.

[00:33:13] Yeah. But having done this in Georgia, it’s so interesting to see that the light bulb goes. You can see it in their in their faces, Rya. So sometimes they realize that if they’re folks or parents work in Supply chain or their connect the other dots. And, you know, in our efforts, we’ve always look, we’re very practical. And it’s not like we’re gonna win a student class. 25 folks are going to have 25 folks going supply chain. However, you know how I got through my entire education through college, never having set foot manufacturing and I later spent 15 years. I’m out, although I’ve always been curious if someone had planned that seed upstream, specially in the great school.

[00:33:58] What other doors with that open as you kind of walk through those through to your education, career and early career decisions you make. So appreciate what the efforts that that cottonelle thaat are doing to support those critical programs that move the needle.

[00:34:15] And so the first one you’re participating in will be that. Georgetown. Georgetown. Yeah.

[00:34:20] About two weeks. OK, good deal. It’s a rewarding experience. You’re going to level. I’ll be a lot of fun. Yeah.

[00:34:26] Holiday stuff like that. Every time we’ve done one of those, it’s been a blast. Yes. It’s you know, you can’t give these kids enough credit for how rapidly how they pick it up. Intelligent they are to pick it up so quickly.

[00:34:42] So really give a big shout out to Suzanne Dickerson for 4. Send that program up here. And of course, the companies get behind it. And for anyone who we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the Council on Competitiveness, you can learn more at SC Competes dot org. They’re doing a lot of great work. Helped fuel business in the state of South Carolina. OK, so we want to make sure our listeners can learn more about both of both of your respective organizations. So, Gary, how can folks learn more about fast fetch?

[00:35:11] Well, let me just start by saying. Nobody can pick product faster and get it out the door and put it on a continental tire. Debbie, Debbie, Debbie. That fast fetch that bids it. All right. The word fast. The word fits like a dog fetches a bone fast. Fetch dot B, EIsie, we’ve got a lot of information out there in terms of brochures and videos and that kind of thing. Feel free to e-mail me at Harper HAARP E.R. at fast fetch dot biz. And we’re also you can check out our LinkedIn page and our Facebook page. We’ve got a lot of information out there.

[00:35:48] Outstanding. Really appreciate. Congratulations on all the success. We look forward to having you back on and seeing what else is new in the fast Fitch neighborhood. Sounds good. OK. Corey, have it yourself.

[00:35:59] Yes. So far for Continental. You can find us on fitt. Find us on our Facebook. So Continental Sumpter oconnell tires, Sumpter plant. If you go on Facebook ing fossil and linked in Siplon great programs just around Continental, not only the tire division, but we’re we’re five divisions, the second largest automotive spa in the world, which a lot of people don’t know. But so it’s across five, five total divisions. So really you’ve got to kind of A-G Google that and find a Southwire if you want to get a good look at a continental tire or go to a BMW dealership near you.

[00:36:33] Although Ringo’s wagon. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you.

[00:36:38] Tiggy gear. You said it, right. We can’t get to another so much going on. And we’ve tried our best to tackle some of the key developments. But two really fascinating success stories here, kind of from different, you know, totally aspects of the spectrum. But look for thanks again, Corey Corb Maybury with cottonelle tires, Garry Harper with Fast Fetch. Thanks for carbon time out. Sit down with us here on Supply Chain Now Radio. Thank you, Scott. All right. You so, Greg. For Tusa Farra.

[00:37:11] It’s pretty good. Yeah. These guys are pretty entertaining. I know a little something about Supply chain, as it turns out.

[00:37:18] Oh, wow. No kidding. All right. So to our listeners, stay tuned as we continue our coverage of the 2019 South Carolina fall just tech talk event. And be sure to check us out. Apple podcast, SoundCloud, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts from. Of course, find us at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com to find us the variety of events. Right. We talked about Moto X here today. We talked about the E.F. T Logistics CIO forum in Austin.

[00:37:46] Coming up, got reversal Logistics Association coming up in Vegas.

[00:37:49] Vegas of all places. Yeah, yeah. You can find us on the advanced +b Supply Chain Now Radio dot com for Greg White and the entire Supply Chain Now Radio gang. This is Scott Luton. Wish you a wonderful day and we will see you next time on Supply Chain Now Radio. Thanks for writing.