Supply Chain Now Radio Episode 216

Episode Summary

Scott Luton and Greg White welcome Shash Anand onto Supply Chain Now Radio at eft’s Logistics CIO Forum, a Reuter’s Event in Austin, Texas.

Episode Transcript

[00:00:05] It’s time for Supply Chain Now Radio. Broadcasting live from the 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] Hey, everybody. Scott Luton here with you. Liveline Supply Chain Now Radio. Welcome back to the show. On today’s show, we aren’t broadcasting from Atlanta, Georgia, but rather we’re broadcasting right here in Austin, Texas, home of E.F. TS Logistics CIO Forum, which is a Reuters event. You don’t say we’ve been interviewing some of the most innovative thought leaders that are doing big things across CNN Supply chain industry. Wayne, we’re gonna continue that trend right here with this interview. And really our team, as we as we’ve stated a thousand times, we’re proud to continue to partner with Nick ossoff and the E.M.T. And Reuters event team. So it’s welcome in my fearless co-host here today. You might have heard the enthusiasm a second ago. Greg White serial supply chain tech entrepreneur, kronic disruptor and trusted advisor Heda and Greg.

 

[00:01:14] I’m doing outstanding. I’m so glad to be inside right now because it is a pawn, right? It just started getting cold in Texas and keep it cold in Austin. Yeah, I guess you keep it weird and cold.

 

[00:01:25] Well, really, I’ve enjoyed that. The shows we’ve done so far, I think we’ve got six or seven under our belt and we continue that trend here with this next guest. Let’s welcome in Shosh Anon Vise President Product strategy with soda. You and. Very good. How are you guys doing? Fantastic. Great to have you here. Great to enjoy our warm up conversation, which was at lightspeed. Right. And now we’re sitting in the chair with you. We’re gonna learn more about your background and your company and what you are doing and then get your thoughts on on the industry so often. With all of that said, tell us more about yourself. Where do you grow up and what do you do before Sophie Sheer?

 

[00:02:03] So I’m basically was born in Toronto, Canada, and I’ve been there pretty much my entire life.

 

[00:02:08] My mother came from dastardly bluejays that broke the brain. Starts a couple, huh?

 

[00:02:13] You remember her? Yeah. She’s not bitter that active Valya. Yeah, we were chanting the the brave thong.

 

[00:02:23] Vollertsen Great teams. We did great things. Yes. Back to back. It’s been a while though since then, but yeah. We’ll get there. Yeah. Home of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Toronto Raptors are two thousand and nineteen. That’s right. JL Yeah, yeah. I can’t talk too much about the Leafs, but, um. But yeah. Yeah, you’re doing well.

 

[00:02:40] I’ve been born there. I went to school there. Dell Computer Engineering when I was growing up in my university days and then I joined IBM, worked for Cubby Blue, Big Blue, and I was thinking that I’d be a developer gone in to support technical support and started talking to customers and realized, man, this is a lot more fun than than actually developing and learning a little bit more about customer’s problem. Yeah. And and it was enough of a Technical kind of knowledge that I didn’t have to go and developed the fix. I just had to talk to customers and understand their problems. And I love doing that right. So much so that I wanted to get into management. And so and managing a support team and things like that, I did my MBA part time while I was at IBM. And that was pretty cool. I learned about the business side. So as an engineer, you learn a lot about tech, what you don’t learn about business. And so I’m doing an MBA allowed me to do that quite, quite well and bring that information back into IBM and and try to, you know, help help them guide them into into the next level of generation.

 

[00:03:42] So how in the world do you earn your MBA or an IBM, just like you had in French while quarterback in the Georgia Bulldogs?

 

[00:03:49] Yeah, you’re right. So doing an MBA part time, I thought would be a very big challenge. But in fact, it’s actually a lot better because you’re learning all these new things and you have the ability to apply them. So you’re not learning just theory and kind of hoping that. Okay. Yeah. You know, there’s this thing called revenue and this is profits. And this is you know what? This is why the gas prices go down. You actually have the ability to go back to the company and start actually using the the stuff that you’ve learned. And that’s kind of one of the biggest benefits of doing your MBA part time.

 

[00:04:20] It is a lot of work, though. You’re never thought of that perspective. That’s good. You can apply it every day. Clyde, everyday’s.

 

[00:04:25] I’m challenging our team and challenging our managers and asking them about revenue and where is it? And so you start learning and comparing with IBM versus HP and where they’re going to go. And you have you start having these broader discussions.

 

[00:04:37] So it’s pretty cool. And you know, IBM just rolled out an interesting Sterling Supply chain software suite. All right. It was an interesting development that we were put on a couple years ago. Okay.

 

[00:04:48] Ah, a couple years ago, we think three kids that were that is that far ahead. Fields month. Yes. So how long have you.

 

[00:04:59] Part of the soda team, so I joined about 10 years ago now and we were a small software company of about 40 people at that time, and I joined in as a support manager.

 

[00:05:09] So after my MBA said, OK, I want to manage a support team and through at that time I got into about seven or eight different roles in the last 10 years. I started and support grew into a professional services group because we said, hey, we’re doing all this amazing support. Why do we try to make money off this? And we created a bit of a professional services organization. Then I got into product management. I was a very vocal person on the team because there was very much, you know, passion into customers and understanding. Yeah. And bringing that passion to the product, they said, you know, you’re complaining so much. Why did you go and fix it as well?

 

[00:05:42] Like I said, you’re that guy. I’m that guy. I was that guy. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

 

[00:05:46] So that’s what you get for complaining. That’s how you get. They make you responsible for fixing it. Exactly. Yeah. Well that’s a great experience.

 

[00:05:52] Yeah. It’s been fun. So product management and then we tried to get into new products and then there was nobody to sell up these products. So I got into sales marketing. I got into business development. They said I was really good at talking to cut to our partners. So I manage things like the Samsung relationship we’re in. Sony is a software company for managing mobile devices. So mobile devices being like Samsung, IOW, Android, all these types of devices. So I started managing relationships and in our software started to form. And prior to Android and Windows sorry. To Android and ILADS, we were managing Windows devices, Donna.

 

[00:06:28] And so it continued to evolve in mobile devices have continued to evolve. And and that’s where we’ll be where we play them. The audio. You hear the buzz you’re building story. Well.

 

[00:06:38] Holy cow. First of all, I would like to point out, aside from the audience that he has drawn to us, he brought his own out. He is the first guest that we’ve had to bring an entourage that many, many have brought, handlers that don’t say the SWAT team, but he’s the first one that’s brought an entire entourage. Okay. I want to know who who’s the driver? The driver. That would be Rachelle.

 

[00:07:01] Zero female there. Yes. And definitely not the guy with the broken leg. Yeah. Yeah. Which was induced by lacrosse, I hear. Yes. Yes. Yes. The athlete. He’s a professional lacrosse player. A professional professional. That’s correct. And he injured himself while playing. And so he’s out. So now he’s in software.

 

[00:07:24] So our listener sales as well.

 

[00:07:26] Listeners benefit. He’s built like he could be offensive lineman interac Phil, so that he came over here and asked about our podcast. I have what, everyone? Yeah. Got it. Yeah. Don’t hit us. Yeah. All right. So let’s.

 

[00:07:39] You’ve kind of shed some light around Saudi talk. Give us a bit more. What kind of problems, you know. Are you helping your customers and clients solve?

 

[00:07:49] Yeah, that’s a great question. So a lot of companies are starting to starting to use mobile devices throughout their organization and for a variety of different reasons. One is if you look at, say, the white collar side of the business, they’ve got IOW, they’ve got Android devices. They might they may have other types of phones. But now think about the Logistics or the operations or the supply chain side of the business. They’re they’re using mobile technology for dedicated purpose devices to improve their operations, to say, hey, if I can give this person a device and maybe lock it down to a specific set of applications, then I can I can improve that person’s worker productivity by giving them mobility. Maybe they’re using paper and pen processes today. How do I go in and give them a mobile device to automate and give them visibility into what they’re doing? And so as companies are using mobile devices, the next logical question that comes up is how do I manage all of those devices that are out there?

 

[00:08:43] And that’s where Sony comes in. We are kind of considered a mobile device management solution, super connector, super connector to connect all your devices. But don’t just think about phones and tablets. Think about rugged devices. Think about RFID devices, dishwashers. I mean, what is it? What does it communicate these exactly. And so you’re getting into what they call IATA, right. Internet of Things. Right. So these are connected devices. They don’t necessarily have like a rich operating system like Android is or Eyeless, but they’re connected. And so how do I manage all of those devices? So we’re trying to give you a single pane of glass to manage all different types of devices. And that what that means is how do I configure them all? How do I set up security for them? How do I get visibility on how they’re doing? How does how many dishes is my dishwasher washing it at any given moment of time? How much Kaskade is it using? Exactly. And when does that cascade run out? Yeah, I’d be alerted so I can use my Amazon to order more like an engineer. I love that. So you touch on security and we talked battlement earlier episode. What I find pretty interesting, I saw it Apple commercial the other day and it focused on just one thing. Okay. It started kind of panned out to a city and it kind of zoomed to camera, zoomed in on it like an apartment.

 

[00:09:59] Someone used her phone and then it moved to like a animation where it was a play on the Apple logo that showed like a lock and it was laser focused that Apple is secure in security and is really the first time I could think of that. All the commercials you have and mobile devices these days. It was the first time I’d seen it focused that simply and that laser focused on just security. Absolutely. I bet that is a huge hit. Is that aspect of the conversations you’re having, right? You’re absolutely right. I don’t know if you guys have heard of. In Europe, there’s something called global data privacy. Joe Hurley are regulations. This is the at a very high level. It’s kind of like, hey, this is a device or this is this. This company is holding some personal information about me. I want the right to be forgotten. Yes. I don’t want this information to be tracked. I don’t want to be tracked all throughout when I’m doing so as a personal person. Yeah. You have that right to say I don’t want. I have the right to be forgotten. I want you to be able to remove me from your system completely. And so technology wasn’t kind of designed earlier on to really not not track you, to just turn you off and and maybe anonymize you in a nice stems.

 

[00:11:12] So what’s happened is there’s a lot of legislation that’s come out. You know, even the Googles and the Microsofts and the Facebooks of the world have been kind of being attacked around these areas where they need to have software that allows them to anonymous is that data to to actually remove those people from the systems. So same thing with Sony. We have to go in and make sure that our software is extremely secure. And when you’re thinking about managing mobile devices. Right. I have so much potential information about you as a person and how you’re using your mobile applications, where you go, where you’re going.

 

[00:11:44] I can assure you. Yeah. Yeah. Some people call it Big Brother. But yeah, if if I if I leave that organization, I want to be completely kind of removed from your entire system. You can’t track me. And so that’s what disappearence to make sure. Exactly. So that’s one area of security. There’s tons of other areas. You know, we’re kicking off a new partnership with a big company. The 37 page contract they sent over, I swear four or five pages dealt with how we would deal with their date data. Right. From definitions laying out the regulations. Right. And it really as we read through that review and it really this is a whole new year. This isn’t about putting a file through a shredding machine. You’re darn right. That’s right. It’s really a it’s as exciting as it is. There still there’s new risks and threats and what have you.

 

[00:12:31] Well, and you have to be very, very careful because you are holding someone else’s identity in your hands. Technical. I mean, you know, that’s not the technical term. But that’s effectively what’s happening.

 

[00:12:42] You’re right. And there’s also other areas around that. Right. Right. Data that’s on the device. It has to be encrypted. If if I’m looking at new applications that I’m downloading, I’ve got to make sure that they’re not extracting the data as well. That’s right. So you’ve got to make sure that these mobile devices are secure. That data doesn’t go out. We have to get down to the router level even to say where’s this data actually going? So we manage the information that’s going from your mobile device out through the access points. Right. And where are they going? Are they going to China? Is this their data being sent over there? So we need to kind of understand the flow and be able to allow the I.T. organization to control that those types of flows.

 

[00:13:19] So what brings you here to the Logistics CIO forum? What do you look forward to in an event like this online? Yeah. Speaking on a panel or whatnot?

 

[00:13:26] Yes. Yeah. So we are speaking. So we do a lot of work with Logistics organizations that are using mobile devices. And this is the first time we’re actually coming into this type of conference. We are realizing that we’re. You know, this is a great audience for CEOs, for the sea levels to understand from them what are their biggest pain points and around Logistics, around mobility and where where can we help solve problems. And so we’re hearing from all of these other speakers about what are their challenges. And a lot of the you know, the terminology comes up about robotics, about artificial intelligence, about business intelligence, about mobility, the challenges around building apps, managing all of these I.T. end points and the security around them. So we’re hearing about all these things. And soda is a great tool. We’ve got a whole wide set of a Swiss Army knife of tools that allow you to help you accelerate your business. And so you can embrace all of these different challenges. You don’t to worry about security because we’ve got a tool that allows you to address those things.

 

[00:14:30] All right. So perfect Segway. OK, let’s talk about some of the things are keeping leaders up at night or switching gears. You know, what are some of the things that that some of supply chain trends or issues or or challenges that you’re tracking more than others here lately?

 

[00:14:45] Yeah. So I think that what we’re seeing is, is there’s a variety of companies that are at the forefront and also at the back of of kind of trying to implement technology to help them accelerate their business. You’ve got companies like U.P.S.. Talking about drone technology and how you can get a drone to be shipping last mile deliveries while you are driving your truck, right. And having two things going on at the same time. Wonderful. They’re ahead of the curve in this kind of cool technology. There are other companies in the same in the same slot that are still using paper and pen processes. And so you’re seeing this wide variety of folks and you you start understanding kind of what is it that they’re they’re doing? Why are some of them not able to move as fast as others? Some of it is talking about the culture. These are very big companies. They have an older generation of staff changes slower for some reason. They don’t adopt technology as fast as they can. So the culture is one thing where companies that are showing that they are able to accelerate.

 

[00:15:49] It’s a culture of change. They understand that we’re not just going to buy this one technology and use it throughout for years and years to come. Now it’s about, you know, having the ability to integrate all these technologies together. How do I integrate them? How did they all talk to each other? How do I start automating my business? So automation becomes this huge term that applies to so many different areas. But just a simple example is just paper and pen process. How do I build a mobile app out of that perception has been that this takes months. This takes it doesn’t. It does not. It takes minutes. And so there’s tools out there that allow you to say, hey, you’re using a form today in a matter of a couple of minutes without any code required. I can move that form to a mobile app. And those are the kind of tools that we’re showing people, as is how do you accelerate what you’re doing today and bring it in because it doesn’t take that long. And so that’s the realization that we’re trying to jerai trying to showcase here.

 

[00:16:43] Mm hmm. So as as technology continues to put up proliferate. Easy for you to say more inexpensively. But what I’m hearing you say, it’s also despite how complex and some of the complex challenges that technology is solving in enabling it across in its supply chain, it really has gotten kind of on the flip side, easier in some cases.

 

[00:17:05] That’s correct. Yeah, you’re right, Scott. So. So that’s what we’re kind of giving, is that there are tools out there that allow you to really simplify your operations, turn a device on. It’s already got all the apps, all the content. It’s already set up for security. You don’t have to do anything anymore. It’s a touchless experience. I can’t manage 100000 devices out there because it’s it’s very hard for me to tell everybody, hey, can you go download this app? And you oh, you’re on AOS. OK, go to the app store. Oh, you’re on you’re on Android. Go to the play store, download this version. And now as an I.T. organization, I’ve got to keep up with all of the new technologies that are out there. It’s not easy, but if you have the right tools in place, it becomes extremely easy. And you can go even further. And if you have tools that allow you to keep accelerating. It’s not a one time, you know, one size fits all. It’s you have to have the right tools in place. You have to have the hammer and screwdriver to be able to do all the different things that you want to do it.

 

[00:18:00] You’ve got Shosh on speed dial. Gates. Really?

 

[00:18:03] Well, then he gives you somebody. He’s got on. Yeah. But even in this world of bring your own device. Yes. It can be that simple. Correct. I mean is that what you’re saying?

 

[00:18:14] Absolutely. In the world to bring your own device. What we’re what we’re seeing is, is that yeah, there there are apps that you want to use as an end user, but you don’t want to have the corporate the corporation own that device. You want to have your own personal device, but still have work apps available to you. So, yes, you can build these apps that take minutes to build and help you automate your process, your business. Simple example give you if he is our secretary, she is using a paper and pen process so that when shipments come in from four, four or variety, different reason shipments of boxes come in. She writes down on a piece of paper who the key, who it came from, who it’s going to when it arrived, and then as as, say, Scott has to come in and pick up his shipment. Scott’s going to say, yep, I received it, here’s my name, here’s my signature. But it’s a paper and pen process. You have no visibility. What if you didn’t get your box? So she went in and created a little mobile app using our tools and she can create an app in a few minutes. And now that whole thing is digitized. I know exactly when that person’s coming. I get an alert on my phone. You come in, you say, okay, I have an electronic signature capture. And now everything is kind of all digitized and they have visibility. I understand I can track all it and costs and it has as down.

 

[00:19:27] Yes. And the streets can work on other things now. Yes. Maureen. It’s not months. Yeah. And that all in past months. That’s good. That’s. Yeah. I think that on a three on one of the previous episodes you just say thank you.

 

[00:19:38] Well it’s just a dollar per license.

 

[00:19:45] All right. So let’s agree. We talked about this one the previous episodes, the new Amazon drop boxes because it as you were explaining that a second ago, that is like the physical illustration of making life easy. Especially from the chain of communication that you had to have. Right. To just the ability to you know, we we came in to Austin couple days ago and we ordered a couple pieces of equipment that we couldn’t get home before we had to leave. OK. I hadn’t tried it in these Amazon drop boxes yet. Greg has because he is all things technology that I had. Oh, OK. Let’s still have those. We still have the Pony Express out in Walton County, Georgia, where we live.

 

[00:20:25] But anyway, so we’d. And we also wanted to avoid the front desk at the hotel because you never know who’s going to be there and somebody’s going to be there if they’re going in there. Yeah. So we say, you know what? We’re going to it’s a $40 purchase. Let’s just travel these drop boxes. OK. We could pick a drop box at the 7-Eleven, a three block street. Yeah, it’s a classic from the hotel. When we arrived, the same location we got gas. I say was probably not there yet. Know exactly what I needed. Yeah. It’s intercommunication could’ve walked over there. You beat that thing in and I said, OK. Which switch? Which door do you want to open first. Yeah. Two doors. You click that and it’s just like poof. And you get it in the whole system. I don’t know why. Maybe I come across a bit as a simpleton. But it made it so much easier for the Logistics of what I needed to get where I needed it.

 

[00:21:16] When we’re on the road and all of that while a Slurpee and the other half. Yeah. I mean, that’s the best part of it. Yeah. I’m a secret. I always talk about my butt in a different way.

 

[00:21:29] Yeah. There are elements to that experience I just had in the scrub. They are providing to your customers.

 

[00:21:35] Yeah. That’s exactly it. So. So. So our companies are trying to make that same experience happen in their retail environment and their Logistics environments. They’re trying to make it so that everything can be done from a mobile app, from the mobile device. And if I can do that with one button or even automate that whole process for you so that as soon as you press that one button, everything happens, I can get visibility. I know exactly where you are. I know exactly what the devices are. That is where people are going. That’s kind of the trend that we’re seeing as they’re trying to leverage IAPT devices so that when I, for example, walk into my warehouse, maybe the lights turn on automatically. Maybe the fridges turn on automatically. Maybe the printers are all set up to the right settings for me because they know who I am. It’s kind of like when you go into your home and you have a smart home. Same idea with the business. I want a smart business kind of idea. I love it. Yeah.

 

[00:22:25] All right. So simple UI is absolutely critical these days. You’re absolutely right. It’s, you know, the coming generations, millennials and genze, they absolutely require it for the current generations. Many of. I think the two predominant generations of boomers and Gen X era in the workplace today, they’ve always wanted it. They didn’t even know to ask for it. And now that you see, I mean, I can I can tell you that I’m a faster adopter of technology than my kids are. Except for Instagram.

 

[00:22:55] I love you.

 

[00:23:00] But, you know, you’ve always wanted it to just happen. Yeah. Right. Right. I can I can tell you that I have experienced that frustration. And I think a lot of people have it now that they’ve seen the door open, they’ve seen the light now more and more people of every generation are going. It ought to be that easy. It ought to be that easy. Exactly. And it’s an it’s it’s table stakes now for technology.

 

[00:23:20] You’re right. And and if I can add onto that, there is this reliance now as we start adopting all these technologies, there’s a reliance that they’re going to be working all the time. Yes. And there’s a reliance. And you kind of start anticipating that every single thing I’m doing is going to. So. So but what happens is what if that technology starts breaking? What happens in those scenarios if I’m down? Now, all of a sudden, I’m thinking about my raii and I’m like, wow, I can’t use this technology. Then you only it’s only then when you realize that, yes. Downtime becomes this massive discussion point. And so Sony has tools for that as well. We’ve got the ability to remotely support and users in real time. I can see the end users device. I can go in and fix problems in real time. That’s that’s also a very important point that some people are thinking about as an afterthought. We have never thought, you know, yes, you want to be proactive, but you need to be reactive when those times of technology feeling, you need that as well. Yeah. So you need the whole gambit.

 

[00:24:14] You had know once you have it’s a technology paradox. Once you have technology, you expect it to take care of everything. Yeah. And just always. That’s exactly right. And then you need technology to fix the Technical. Right. And you become unbelievably frustrated. I don’t know if you do. Let me just speak to myself. You go unbelievably frustrated and my technology ceases to work. I mean, I know that my wife is hearing me utter profanities from my office in my house when anything goes wrong with any of my devices. You’re right. You’re right. So, you know, you become really reliant on it. I mean, this elder thing, you know, the. Yes. The E.O.D. Glitch that occurred with these truck drivers. I am so glad we’re not recording everything going on in the cabs get. Because that had to be an incredible frustration for them.

 

[00:25:01] Maureen got to have the whole enchilada. You got to have you. Devin White, you’ve got to have you, Joe Carter. You’ve got John Rood. Wow. Pat tenjin, Roberto Alomar, Brad O. Henken said to our listeners, if you’re not connecting the dots, we’re naming off some of the legendary figures of that, those back to back teams. Yeah. That were very smart. And the Phillies hearts and the Phillies are, remember, hard or hit the walk off. Yes. Remember the pitcher you walk on? Yes. He was wild thing was this wild thing. Mitch Williams. Mitch Williams. I do remember odd. Is there remember that moment in time I was in my basement and we were jumping up and down. Well, if he was a crazy pitcher, I loved him. Joe Carter from Wichita State University. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, gosh. There are some some awesome teams that forgot Roberto Alomar, Roberto L-E and Dave Molinar from Milwaukee. Yeah. That’s right. To that.

 

[00:25:55] Ok. So let’s really appreciate your time here today. And there’s no shortage of passion that these interviews have headed. And I really mean that.

 

[00:26:05] It’s more than that. Right. I mean, it’s it’s it’s more than passion. You can sense the obsession. And to be really great solving a problem. Passion is not sufficient. It requires obsession.

 

[00:26:14] Wow. I like that. And it is a twofer. And I’m full of snippets, moments down. Yeah, well, with an execution.

 

[00:26:24] And I think the thing the conversion that you all have made is, is you have created the ability to execute. Next, I got to tell you, I’m sitting once we get off here, because I don’t want this to turn Pinchy. But once we get up. I mean, have you guys figure out how to help me with some of these?

 

[00:26:42] So one last note. So 10 years ago when you joined. Yeah. You said you’re about a team of 40. Correct. Heard that, right? That’s right. Give us a sense of how how much of your growth today were.

 

[00:26:53] We’re over 100 employees now. Wow. So the growth has been phenomenal. We’re growing at about 35 percent year over year revenue. We’ve got about 4000 partners around the world. We’re in that 12 different offices. It’s a global organization. And the majority of our revenue kind of comes from outside of Canada. As he connects back to the U.S. is a big influence there of that as well in Europe as well. But yeah, the the growth has been phenomenal. And it’s mainly because companies are starting to embrace mobile technology. And so they’re using Linux devices they’re using. So don’t you think I use an Android, but there’s Windows, there’s Sherkin, there’s there’s watches, the wearables. How do I manage my watch? I’m so and there’s lights. And so all of these devices are becoming great for Saudi because we met at all those years ago. So that’s kind of our business model is to to charge on a per device basis. So it’s it’s phenomenal.

 

[00:27:43] So let’s make sure how can our listeners learn more about you or about the company? How can they connect?

 

[00:27:49] Yes. Great. Great question. So I would say visit w w w dot Sony dot net. And there you’ll learn a lot about kind of what what is the industry doing in terms of Logistics? What are the challenges that companies are facing and what are the tools that they can use to help them accelerate their business?

 

[00:28:05] And for our listeners, that is s o s Saudi s o t i dot net. And Shosh, I look forward.

 

[00:28:13] You need to be in front of a lot of microphones along the lines of what Greg White Sheer. And it’s really neat to hear what you are doing, but it’s also better yet, much better yet is kind of the person is sharing the story and I think I hope our listeners enjoy it as much as we did. Yeah. So I’m glad that we were able to make this connection so big thanks to our speaker. Shosh, a non vise president product strategy with soda. Thanks so much. Thank you, Scott. Stop a bass thinks since I have one sec. Thanks. You. And to our listeners, stay tuned as we continue our coverage of the EAFE Logistics CIO Forum, a Reuters event, right, Greg? It is indeed right here in Austin. Have a great time meeting the movers and shakers across the in Supply chain space. And also, be sure to check out our upcoming events, replays of our interviews, other resources at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com. You can find us from Apple podcast, SoundCloud Greg White. Where else can they find us? Probably. Let me think.

 

[00:29:08] Youtube us west. Greg’s favorite that Instagram He’s-He’s and he’s becoming a A-G super user. But we’ll save that for another show.

 

[00:29:18] But wherever else you find your podcast from, we’d invite you to connect with us. And of course, subscribers. You’ll miss anything on behalf of the entire team here. Scott Luton wishing you all a wonderful week ahead. And we will see you next time on Supply Chain Now Radio. Thanks.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Watch Scott and Greg as they interview Shash Anand for SCNR Episode 216 at eft’s Logistics CIO Forum, a Reuter’s Event, in Austin, Texas.

Featured Guests

Shash Anand serves as Vice President of Product Strategy for SOTI, a proven leader at creating innovative solutions that reduce the cost and complexity of business-critical mobility and the IoT. Thousands of companies around the world depend on SOTI to secure, manage and support their mobile operations. SOTI’s two decades of success has built strong partnerships with leading mobile platform providers and device manufacturers. These relationships give the company an unparalleled insight into new technology and industry trends before they happen. SOTI helps businesses take mobility to endless possibilities. Learn more here: https://www.soti.net/

Hosts

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

Greg White

Principal & Host

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Day One Recap of the eft Logistics CIO Forum

Day Two Recap of the eft Logistics CIO Forum

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SCNR to Broadcast Live at MODEX 2020

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2020 Atlanta Supply Chain Awards

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Kim Reuter

Host

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

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

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

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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).

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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

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

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Allison Giddens

Host

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

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

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Billy Taylor

Host

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Tandreia Bellamy

Host

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

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Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

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Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

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Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team

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Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

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Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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Greg White

Principal & Host

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include CiscoMicrosoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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