Supply Chain Now Radio Episode 227

Episode Summary

“I think there’s a broad recognition that solving some of the digitization issues in the supply chain today cannot be lifted by a single player.”

– Gert Sylvest, Co-Founder of Tradeshift and General Manager of Tradeshift Frontiers

 

Tradeshift is known as a digital supply chain platform and network that connects two million companies today. It may come as a surprise, then, to hear that Gert Sylvest, Tradeshift’s Co-Founder and General Manager of Tradeshift Frontiers, gave a presentation at eft’s Logistics CIO Forum titled “It Is Not About Technology”.

 

As he points out, the factors driving supply chain digitization require that incentives have to be present, and they have to apply equally to large and small companies in the supply network.

 

In this interview, Gert speaks with Supply Chain Now Radio hosts Scott Luton and Greg White about:

  • The disruptive projects being advanced through Tradeshift Frontiers, such as making it possible for the last mile participants of commodity supply chains to connect with large brands looking for their product, and invoices that ‘settle themselves’ via blockchain.
  • The fact that 90% of what happens in the supply chain is still not digital, meaning the ramp to a fully digital supply chain is much longer and flatter than most companies expect.
  • Even the largest companies or brands in an industry can not drive digitization on their own. They will have to collaborate with other players in their supply chain.
  • His thoughts about entrepreneurship and building and scaling a new company through talent.

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, good afternoon. Scott Luton here with you, love on Supply Chain Now Radio. Once again, welcome back to the show. On today’s show, we aren’t broadcasting from Atlanta, Georgia, but rather we’re broadcasting live from Austin, Texas, home of e.t.’s Logistics CIO Forum, which is now a Reuters event. We’ve been interviewing the leading and most innovative thought leaders across the Indian Supply chain space. We’ll continue that with this episode. Well, welcome in my fearless co-host here today. Greg White Serial Supply chain tech entrepreneur, chronic disruptor and trusted advisor. Greg, how you doing? Doing great. Thank you. Good to have you back. And I think we’ve got a great interview teed up once again.

 

[00:01:08] Yeah, two good days. And I know this will continue solid. Raimy, begin again. We got to get all everything out of girds mind and send him home complete, completely mindless so he can sleep on the plane. Yes, that’s the plan. Good plan.

 

[00:01:22] So let’s welcome in our featured guests for this segment, Gurt Sylvester Co-founder, Trade Shift and general manager of Trade Shift for Frontiers. Hey, doing great. I’m doing good. Thanks. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Our pleasure. We hear you’re enjoying Austin. I am. I am. Just went on a on a ride with the lime scooter and explored the river a little bit. Did you swing by a food truck and grab something? Oh, no. Oh, no. But I came I came out into a small area that looked the full of food trucks. And they they didn’t seem to be open yet. They’re closed for the season. Well, thanks for carving out some time. We’ll look forward to learning more about you and trade shift. I understand you presented here earlier and that that was well received. You know, we like to start these segments by, you know, kind of finding out about our guest outside of the organization we’re gonna talk about today. So tell us where you’re from, where you grew up, and maybe some of the things you did prior to joining trade shift.

 

[00:02:21] Yeah, yeah, sure. So I’m basic opening our spawn a little bit north of Copenhagen, Denmark. I spent seven years of my childhood in Germany where my family relocated where abouts. So, um, it’s a little city called to see. I’m hung for it. Yeah. In Germany. Yeah. Um, well, you had the European Space Agency, so my and my dad used to work for these guys. Um, and then we went back to Copenhagen in early eighties and again. So and then I spent my childhood here and opening up Santa.

 

[00:03:00] So, you know, prior to co-founding trade shifts, what would you do at industry?

 

[00:03:06] Yeah. So when I finished my studies so I have a background in information, science and music. I joined Accenture and Accenture. I worked seven, eight years actually mostly on government projects. That’s where I met my two co-founders as well. So they work work for Danish government. And it was a lot about, you know, open access to data for four citizens. So opening up all the data silos, self-government. And then it was about electronic invoicing. We kind of moved danishes state from from paper-based invoice to to one hundred percent electronic invoicing and learn a few things on during. That’s.

 

[00:03:46] So what it seems like you’re working on some projects that were an indicator of things to come. We’re all demanding consumers demanding transparent data these days. Right. And visibility. Where did you meet your two co-founders? Yeah.

 

[00:04:00] Well, so working for a Danish public sector. Um, and they. Yeah. Doing all the ideas together. Yeah. We were so Accenture was basically one some of the tenders. So I headed up the the technical teams are implemented the staff and unbolt protocols and other stuff. That’s fun. Fun for geeks. And yeah. And that’s also why I think I learned the first few things about the industry. And that led us really to create the company. I was really scratching our heads at why everybody were exchanging documents and closed proprietary networks and why people were paying for, you know, digital stamps for sending Elektronik documents that that seemed pretty crazy back in pay for digital digital stamps. Yes. So when you looked at the invoicing industry, then you had these networks and it was typically, you know, going to large fires that would then ask all the suppliers to send.

 

[00:04:59] Electronically and supply us with by literally subscriptions of electronic invoices. Okay. Like 50 a year for certain price. Okay. And if they would only send two invoices to buy. They would still pay for the rest. So yeah. So it’s really a transaction business. Yeah. And we were like, you know, five sharing services. No console software. Right. Why don’t anyone has to pay anything to send anything over the Internet? Right.

 

[00:05:24] Yeah. So you so you have sort of usurped that model.

 

[00:05:29] Yeah. So. So somehow we sold that idea to Danish governments instead of going with some of the players in the industry. Yeah. We built our own network and there was inspired by peer-to-peer networks like file sharing services or Skype or what have you. And instead we we said, what if we have an open standard for exchanging electronic documents between government and companies? And we just share those open standards and we implemented with open source software. We give the software out to two people. And that really works. So. So we had sixty thousand companies joining in 10 months, too, into that network. Wow. And just businesses starting plugging it into their accounting packages or excel sheets or websites or what have you.

 

[00:06:10] That’s really interesting. How do you monetize it then? Yeah, well. So this was before trade. Yeah. And so we did it for the government. It will be done in other Nordic countries. You saved the government money by not having to pay for these invoices.

 

[00:06:23] Exactly. So maybe if I was not in the business, you know, I had done the same thing by the government. You could say, you know. So why would you digitize something, save the government some money just to move those money to people who, you know, made money on digital stamps? Yeah.

 

[00:06:37] Yeah. So therefore, we could talk and dove in the trade shift. You mentioned music earlier. Are you still actively a musician, a musician?

 

[00:06:46] That’s, you know, a implies you do it regularly. But but I do. I play the piano. I do electronic music whenever I have some time. I have a daughter. She’s six years. So between, you know, having a scale-up and and the family does not leave a lot.

 

[00:07:03] Not a lot of time for the game. You need a band in the company that. Yeah, that we actually do have that. Yeah.

 

[00:07:10] We made a small music room. Yeah. Actually in one of the passageways. So it’s all equipped with, you know, headphones and stuff. So you can sit up to five people at a time, play electronic drums and stuff. Great. In the breaks without disturbing anyone. Yeah, that’s that’s quite popular.

 

[00:07:24] You could make that part of the hiring process and then you’d have an excuse to do it. Yeah. Yeah. Musical skills and technical skills often go together. Yeah. Right. So you could make that part of the test. Yeah. The you would have a you know fantastic. Can you actually. Kinnear. Yes. Terrible thing. Terrible bass player. Yeah. Exactly.

 

[00:07:46] So let’s let’s talk about trade shift now. So tell us more about what the organization does. Yeah.

 

[00:07:52] So, um, we are a digital supply chain platform and network. So we connect two million companies in the network today to move a million companies. Yep.

 

[00:08:04] So we go to, you know, a Fortune 5000 segment. And then we on board their suppliers typically for starting with electronic invoicing accounts, people automation so we can do automatic payment of invoices based on matching purchase orders and goods received. But really we facilitate exchange of, you know, any any kind of collaborative transactional documents. So from electronic catalogs to quote, purchase orders, requisitions and then, uh, for the enterprise customers we sell. Um. Yeah. Cause PayPal automation software. Mm hmm. Um, procurement software. Uh uh. Digital marketplaces for their suppliers. Mm hmm. And and then we provide financial services on top of that. So, um, supply chain financing that is counting how similar products.

 

[00:08:59] Wow. And I’m sorry. How long have you been doing this?

 

[00:09:03] Yeah, we started 2010. Okay. So that’s when we decided, you know, we did some interesting learnings and. Yeah. Public sector, we saw we found a model that kind of changed the dynamics a little bit. Yeah. You saw how we could drive a little bit faster digitization. Yeah. Um, because we thought we’re not gonna make money on these transactions. You know, we want to give people who, uh, great software that actually allows them to participate in the digital supply chain no matter if they are, you know, mom and pop shop or. Right. Or a big Fortune 500. So they all get the same software essentially. Yeah, but supply chain for the people. Yeah. Supply chain for the people. That’s why I like that.

 

[00:09:40] Democratization quote the great Daryl. Lu. Yeah. Right. That’s right. The de Lu. You might be listening. I d Lu. That’s right. So co-founder trades. Yeah. Let’s talk about trade shift frontiers. What aspect of the business is that where you serve as GM?

 

[00:09:54] Sure. So, uh, two years ago we started Frontier. So you could say it’s that digital innovation. And what we do is looking at technology trends that we think in the next three to five years they will have a significant impact on digitization of supply chains and on on electronic trade. Just ahead on that. And then we work as an incubator as well. So and so we work a lot with with partners. So both commercial technology partners and see if we can take some of that technology potential and turn it into actual value proposition. And some of the stuff we’re working on right now, that’s, for example, with an NGO partner, we are seeing if could we actually go to last mile and commodities supply chains onboard and farmers that work in cocoa and palm oil so that we can connect these directly with these big brands and impact investors, because right now these people don’t have identity and big brands have no idea what they are investing in. Right. And when they are trying to move these guys from, let’s say, to organic produce, for example. Yeah. Yeah. And other stuff is financial services. So some of the stuff we looked into is invoices that settle themselves on the blockchain that you can also tokenized turn into invoice tokens. And in order to sell off to to finance financiers. So let’s say to make it easier for small companies to get paid on day one instead of day 60.

 

[00:11:24] I like that. I really like that. Yeah. We’ll sign up lots of companies like that after. Yeah.

 

[00:11:30] And if it eliminates a lot, I would imagine that eliminates a lot of leakage in the in that process. Right. Where company thinks they’ve paid it. They haven’t. Or they’ve mis paid it or under or even overpaid it.

 

[00:11:42] Yeah I know it is absolutely true. So the idea is as soon as you have, you know, a purchase order, you can match against the invoice. You can turn it into this kind of digital asset. Well, when it’s matched and and approved. And today we do that. That’s what we do all the day. But we never took the step and said then could we treat it as a digital asset that can be valuable to to all the companies involved that they can sell off if they wish to do so, too. So how did they do that? Yeah, well, it’s it’s very simple, really. So the first concept we build around that, you know, today, they they do send electronic invoices. If I’m a seller, it’s literally just going in. People pick out the invoices that you want to sell off, share them with a marketplace of financiers. And then and then you get a bit by back on this thing you send back during, if you will. Is it facilitating that? Exactly. It works like factoring, except instead of selling off your whole books for except sign yourself up for six to twelve month, you can literally do it. Do it on a particular site.

 

[00:12:45] Which ones you want. Yeah. And then if you issue if you don’t want to collect on your $50 invoices you want to collect on your $50 million invoice maybe.

 

[00:12:54] Yeah that might be. But the point is you shouldn’t really care about it. You should care about what you know. What was my cashflow need right now? And then see what’s the most competitive price I can I can get for that instead of signing off to some, you know, a long term program and.

 

[00:13:10] Right. Exorbitant rates and that sort of thing. Factoring is very tricky business. Right.

 

[00:13:14] Exactly. Super tricky. And the key here is it’s expensive because nobody has insight into what is actually happening in the trade. Right. You know, as a biologist. Have you sold the invoice of four times before? Is it accepted by the buyer? Does by intend to pay? All right. And today, we have insight into all those those signals.

 

[00:13:33] Wow. So that reduces a tremendous amount of risk. Exactly. Should reduce the cost down, even factoring. Wow. That’s fantastic. Mm hmm.

 

[00:13:41] So now where do you where do you spend your time? You clearly are involved in a lot of things. Where do you spend your time? And a second. That’s one A. One B is what you enjoy most about your role.

 

[00:13:51] Yeah. Sure. So I mean the frontiers is is my. Well I can’t say 100 percent focus but 90 percent focus as a co-founder. I’m also in both of course in the management group. And and overall, where are we heading. What what’s the strategy. We are setting but fantasies is my main focus. And the way we work is is basically, you know, we are an ad platform. So everything we build ourselves, we build as if we were search parties to the platform. And that’s very nice for a unit like Fence’s because that means we can do these, you know, concept cars and we can put them live on the platform, but still operate as if we were tiny. You start up company. So, you know, a small team, we just grew to 13 people. And that means we can work really, really fast with these kind of things. We can be very agile in working with partners and actually trying to get stuff life outstanding go. And that’s also what I enjoy. You know, I like the small the small format.

 

[00:14:50] And, you know, being in the startup mode and definitely it’s kind of a skunkworks project, really. I mean, you’re out there trying to find the next big thing or the next.

 

[00:14:59] Most impactful thing, yeah, that without frontiers does, I think it’s fair to say, because obviously when you’re delivering to a large enterprise clients, it’s it’s like 80 percent of, you know, your resources as a company is tied up to serving these customer. Right. You have road maps, you need to mature your products and so on. So I think it makes sense to have and we have frontiers is not the only unit, but have a few units that actually takes the liberty to just look ahead. Yeah. And say, you know, that we invest in this infrastructure. What else can be used for?

 

[00:15:33] Well, and clearly you’ve got a good understanding of what these kind of products this kind of solution can be used for. So it’s a shame to kind of cage that vision into everyday development. Right. I mean, I think it’s a great use of your skills to be able to continue to visually envision what what’s coming in the future.

 

[00:15:51] Yeah, that’s that’s what I hope we can do. All right. So what brings you here beyond your speaking presentation earlier? What brings you here to the forum?

 

[00:16:01] Yeah. So I think that a few reasons for it. So, first of all, if I look at the customers we have, we have most of the major tene else on the platform today. So ask customers and that means all of their suppliers. But to some extent we we are treating them as as customers from any other industry. And that’s one of the things we have been thinking about. That is how to actually leverage the synergy, sir. Um, so so we have a big focus on seeing the things we have done for financial supply chain, which is, you know, all the reconciliation, procurement, you know, payment and financing. How could we actually connect better into the physical supply chain? And so that’s one of our agendas.

 

[00:16:46] Codenamed Pulse, and that is feel about how we can also include all the the the events about what’s happening on the physical supply chain once you’ve, you know, made that order and it’s been agreed. Things start moving so bright. Can we also make that available to to people on the platform?

 

[00:17:03] So you’re Sheer in your codenames with us? I feel like we’re honorary members of the trade ship Time. Right? Pulse. I love that. Can we can we have a secret handshake or something and keep a secret not to get into the offices?

 

[00:17:17] So again, you founded the company that you and your two partners in 2010. Yeah, right. Right. That’s. I’ve grown to a team of 13 now. Right. So the frontier team. So the company. The company is twelve hundred people now. Holy cow. So. Yeah, okay. That makes that the two main customers makes a lot more sense now. Yeah. Too many companies you representing. Let’s talk about what did you present on earlier. The form.

 

[00:17:44] Yeah. So um, the TARP was called. It’s not about technology. Um. And it was really about, you know, what is it that drives digitization of supply chain? And, you know, the reason we started the company was really because we saw, you know, most of what is being exchanged in Supply chain. It’s paper based, especially if you look towards, you know, medium sized companies, smaller companies. And if it’s not paper, it’s still an e-mail RPF and people are retyping everything. And while we learn when we you know, before Trichet, then the Danish government was that if you actually lower some of the barriers, you know, drop the whole idea about making money and moving electronic documents, you could get a much wider participation.

 

[00:18:25] And what was interesting, I think that happened in that process, what we saw that came this ecosystem that started plugging this infrastructure in so that there, you know, small business accounting packages, excel sheets and whatnot. So it actually meant that even very small companies could stop participating in these kind of electronic activities. And that was really the idea. And that was also the subject of the talk. It’s like if you don’t give people strong incentives to digitize their will, just ask you, what the heck is this guy, you know, knocking on my door, right. Why would I? Because I need to change my processes. Maybe my systems that aren’t up to par. Maybe the data can deliver is not quite what it sounds like comfortable.

 

[00:19:06] I mean, there is there is an element of discomfort whenever a change comes through. Right. And as bad as my process might be today, I’m comfortable in an experiment.

 

[00:19:16] And then I think in the industry, we’ve been very much in the mindset of, let’s say, the Lach bias in large companies here. And, you know, defining themselves as the center of the universe and trying to apply the stakes of supplies. You know, you have to deliver these electronic documents, whereas clearly most of the, you know, efficiency advantages have been with the large buyers. And as a senator, you’re also seeing that, you know, after the first buy, it’s the next buyer knocking on the door. And they will have slipped slightly different requirements. They will have a different portal. So. So the talk was really about, you know, it’s more about the economy on the economic model around it. So how do you give people in, say. Just so that they will want to join that digitization, because we are in a state where it’s 90 percent of what’s happening in the Supply chain. It’s just not digital. And we started in in early 70s. So it’s not gonna happen in our lifetime that we are going to realize, you know, digital supply chain if we keep going at this pace. And, you know, that has means, you know, all the transparence who we are looking for in the food supply chains. It’s not going to happen because it’s not scalable today. Yep. And access to finance, access to market, all these things that are really hard for small business. Right. You know, we talked about factoring. Right. Why is that so, so hard is because companies are opaque. Yeah. You need to look at paper to estimate the risk. And that’s why it’s so expensive. That’s why finances so inaccessible. But if you can drive digitization between, you know, what are you buying? What are you ordering, what are you delivering, what the quality of your services? That becomes a whole different game.

 

[00:20:56] Absolutely. Wow. So that’s a good insight into what transparency really means and what it really delivers. You know, transparency is one of those buzzwords like blockchain. I pick them, right? Yeah. Yeah. But that’s a good insight into what transparency means. Right. It’s the impact off of transport. Yeah. Right. Right. I mean it gives companies opportunities that they that they would not otherwise have access to because of their current opaqueness. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good point.

 

[00:21:22] Absolutely. So let’s go broader now. Let’s go. You’ve got to you’ve got a fascinating model. We could we could be hours of podcasting that dove in deeper. But looking at the industry, the end to end supply chain industry. What what are some of the trends or developments or innovations, what have you that are on your radar more than others right now?

 

[00:21:42] Mm hmm. Yeah, that’s that’s a good question. I think there are a few things. So. So, um, for one, we have been looking into the transport logistics industry. And I think one of the things that characterises that industry is that I think there’s a broad recognition that that’s solving some of the digitization issues today in the Supply chain cannot be lifted by a single player. I think that’s an old realization. So ever since in try and probably time before people have gone together and and look whether they could solve some of these challenges together by creating some shared infrastructure, I think trade lends is another good example of that. And there is some work also happening on onset on standardization. I forgot the name. I think it’s called it D.C.s. She’s something like this digital anyway.

 

[00:22:34] Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. Detailed DLT. D.

 

[00:22:39] I don’t know if it’s gonna D. We got the D. I only got the pretty right. I’m pretty sure about that. Yeah.

 

[00:22:44] Anyway so. So that’s one of the areas we’re looking into and say see you know, um, it seems that there could be a play for for a little bit more of an industry neutral platform to come by and see if that could help connect some of the parties. Because it seems if you just look inside of the industry, it seems some problems that are very hard to solve. Right. Cause there’s always gonna be this one or two major players that don’t want to participate in a shack governance setup and that that has been a bands for for a long time. Mm hmm. So that’s one of the things we’re looking into. Um, I think the other one is, um, when we speak to large brands, um, it’s a little bit along the same lines that they seem to realize that, for example, the transparency if we look at the food supply chains, that also this is not something that can be solved by a single company. So the whole idea about starting to share information between each other inside the industries that can be in terms of certifications off of salaries and or sharing information with with impact investors also between brands. I think that’s a growing kind of openness to to considering these kinds of things. Mm hmm. Yeah.

 

[00:23:58] So let me ask you this. So twelve hundred folks as an organization.

 

[00:24:02] Twelve hundred 113. Yes. Right. Juvera and 13. I was really maybe. That’s right. Yeah. Fairly your math here in less than 10 years.

 

[00:24:11] Impressive growth. And I believe that’s took a peek at Yale’s job or I believe your hiring. Right. As most growing technology firms are. What. Any insights you can share? Anything. Any experience I bring that that amount of people on over the last 10 years. What have you all learned as a management team, as as entrepreneurs in doing that?

 

[00:24:34] Mm hmm. Um, yeah, a lot. I think every time you hire, you know, you increase your size by, I don’t know, 20 percent or something like this. You basically have to reconsider most of the structures in the company, like how the teams organize, you know, how do you set a direction for people? How do you keep people aligned? What’s the kind of objectives? How do set objectives for people? Beginning, you know, you attend people, you can be in a room. Everybody understands where the business is going. Um, and, you know, what’s the direction that you try going? But as we grow bigger, I think, you know, even products start turning into separate revenue lines and they begin almost reassembling companies within the company. So I think that’s that that whole transition of just saying how can we stay efficient, nimble, agile while actually growing to the size and not ending up in a situation where it’s just twenty five cats or twelve hundred cats. All right. Each going to different directions.

 

[00:25:40] Different directions, genders. Yeah. You will weigh in on that. Greg White period. I mean, periodically a company hits the ceiling. Right. I mean, you have to change how you manage the company at 100 hundred at pick a number one hundred to fifty five hundred thousand, whatever it is. And and you have to revamp as you’re talking about at those sort of thresholds. But the interesting thing is that threshold is not the same for every company and it’s not the same for every management structures. But you have to be constantly reevaluating that so that you maintain. All right, you’re herding cats. Yeah. All right. You know, constantly. And when you’re growing a company, hiring is the most important thing that you do. Mm hmm. Right. Yeah. You make or break the culture of your company by how you hire and how you retain now.

 

[00:26:26] Right. I think that’s a good point. And I think we’re in a way we are fortunate that we start in 2010 and 11. We moved headquarters to to San Francisco and we made a decision at that time to say that they are kind of twin offices. So they have, you know, a fully functioning it’s not like a development was in Copenhagen and commercial was in San Francisco, but we actually had every function in both offices. So we had to start talking about then how do we, you know, become one company, keeping one company and not split out in two call culture. So we started very early on speaking about, you know, what are actually our values? You know, what is it that we value in people? And I think what you’re seeing, it’s about hiring. That’s really true. It’s like DNA. If if if you have a piece of DNA and it degrades by 5 percent and you keep, you know, reproducing, reproducing, hiring in new people, then very suddenly, you know, you’ve lost 50 percent of your DNA in a German telephone game.

 

[00:27:24] You’ve got to keep right. You’ve got to keep the original message communicated by the original people throughout the entire Endi. And you’ve got to reinforce it constantly. Nobody hears what you say. I a wise business guide. Tell me once. Nobody hears what you say until you’ve said it seven times. Yeah. So you it feels redundant. Yeah. To you. I mean you’ve probably had to do this in your company. Oh I have. Absolutely. But nobody hears it until the seventh time you say. It’s not unlike marketing. Right. The nine impressions that we all learned about in marketing class or whatever. Right.

 

[00:27:56] So my wife says she’s got tell me some 20 times. So maybe I’m the outlier there. I don’t know. It’s different when it’s your wife. Yeah. So good. Is it?

 

[00:28:06] Uh, you’re hiring globally. I mean, from China to Brazil to San Francisco to New York to throughout Europe. Holy cow. You must have an army of folks looking for the talent you’ll need that continue to serve the industry and your customers and grow.

 

[00:28:21] Yeah. So it’s actually a quite small team. But but we got some really senior experienced people also from, you know, some of the best tech companies in the world. That has helped us shaped that program. Mm hmm. Um. So I think we’ve we’ve managed that quite well. I think a few of the hops like, uh, Copenhagen, it has turned out that it’s actually relatively easy. Liz, let’s say compared to San Francisco to to attract talent, to, you know, to the lifestyle there and there and so we can attract people from all over the world. And then we also decided for international cultures like which is a little bit unusual in Copenhagen. You know, Danish is still mostly what you speak at at at company, sir. But that meant we could get, you know, international talent pretty quickly, that where the competition wasn’t as hard in Copenhagen. So there are a few things. And then also we were just opportunistic. We didn’t say, you know, all development has to be in San Francisco or in Bucharest or in China. But we basically saw where can we now grow the fastest? And that has a little bit determined the distribution of wealth for our people. Mm hmm.

 

[00:29:37] So outstanding. Lots of opportunities. Okay. So how can our listeners tune in and find out more about trade shift or, uh, check you out? You might have some upcoming events or social media, what have you.

 

[00:29:49] I can focus on more. Yeah. So they can go into trade if dot com. They can check out the block, um, for my team. So the frontiers. They can go to Froome to stop trade if dot com and we have a lot of material blocks and whenever something happens, you know, we’ll we’ll write stories about it there. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So. So that’s a good way of doing it. They can reach out to me, connect on LinkedIn, you know. Always happy to connect with people. And I’ll share a lot of stuff though.

 

[00:30:20] Outstanding. Why are you arguing with you about city are going to a bunch different directions. I don’t want to say that after what the Sheer. That’s right. But you aren’t. You’re touching a lot of the Indian supply chain industry. And I love how you’re like the work you’re doing is opening up doors for a lot of companies or entrepreneurs or leaders or teams that otherwise would not be open. Mm hmm. So you’re on quite a noble mission.

 

[00:30:47] Mm hmm. Yeah, I think I think that’s what what makes us wake up and be happy and energized every day. That’s that’s the idea that we can change something about, you know, the fundamental rules of how do companies play together. And I think that really is that opportunity. See, we’ve we’ve seen it in our private lives. And B, to see that when that digitization started to happen, it has changed everything. You know, it has changed the fabric of society. And then seeing in the B2B space, that hasn’t even really started yet. If he was just like a tremendous opportunity. Yep. And it’s gonna change so many things. We we can’t even imagine it in the next five to ten industry that you’re in really needs it.

 

[00:31:29] So, yeah. Congratulations and thank you for making that happen. Absolutely.

 

[00:31:35] Absolutely. Thanks for your time. Really appreciate it. Stick around. We wrap up here. We’ve been talking with Gert Sylvestre, co-founder, trade shift and general manager of trade Shift Frontiers. And as he mentioned, you can’t learn more about the overall enterprise at trade shift dot com. And you can learn more about frontiers at frontiers dot trade ship dot com. Is that right? That’s right. Okay. Perfect. Greg, another outstanding interview as we’re we’re getting close to wrapping up part time here, 9 for 10 so far.

 

[00:32:07] Greene. So the number that we’ve done, whatever the number is, we are X 4 X 2.

 

[00:32:12] Our listeners stay tuned as we continue our coverage of the EFC Logistics CIO forum, which is now what, Greg, a Reuters event right here in Austin, Texas. And also be sure to check out our other upcoming events and replays of our interviews, other resources at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com, including some recent blog articles with Vector Global Logistics Young and Roadrunner Roadrunner Freight Rate Roadrunner Greg White. Yeah, and where can they find us?

 

[00:32:39] They can find us wherever they find their podcast. Spotify. Apple podcasts. Google podcasts. SoundCloud cast.

 

[00:32:48] Pick one yet. Stitcher and YouTube. When you’re and your. I was getting there. Yeah. I was getting there. Yeah. And I’m glad that you did it. That’s right. Good. I’ve trained you well. That’s right. Young Jedi. But no.

 

[00:33:00] The great interview. Thanks so much for your time. Gerst, to our listeners on behalf of the entire team, Scott Luton here wishing you a wonderful week ahead and we will see you next time on. So much in our radio. Thanks for indeed.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Watch Scott and Greg as they interview Gert Sylvest for SCNR Episode 227.

Featured Guests

Gert Sylvest is Co-Founder of Tradeshift, a company that drives supply chain innovation for the digitally connected economy. As the leader in supply chain payments and marketplaces, Tradeshift helps buyers and suppliers digitize all their trade transactions, collaborate on every process, and connect with any supply chain app. More than 1.5 million companies across 190 countries trust Tradeshift to process over half a trillion USD in transaction value, making it the largest global business network for buying and selling. Tradeshift is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Copenhagen, New York, London, Paris, Suzhou, Sydney, Oslo, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Bucharest, Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, Tokyo and Munich. Gert also serves as GM for Tradeshift Frontiers, which is Tradeshift’s R&D and incubation arm covering emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI/ML and IIoT, and commercial agendas including physical supply chain and the future of financial services. Learn more about Tradeshift here: https://tradeshift.com/

Hosts

Greg White

Principal & Host

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

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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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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

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

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

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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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Kim Reuter

Host, The Freight Insider

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

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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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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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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

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

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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, Logistics with Purpose

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

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

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

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

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

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

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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Greg White

Principal & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

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

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

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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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