Supply Chain Now Radio
Episode 262

Episode Summary

Listen as Scott and Greg welcome Gail Rutkowski to the Supply Chain Now stage at the CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable Event in Atlanta, GA.

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 welcome back to the show. Really excited about this. This final interview we’re gonna be doing if you can hear the energy in the room. We’re here. Lobb with CSC and Peatland roundtable had a great launch event. And guess what? We’ve got the keynote with us, which we’re gonna introduce in just a second. But for starters, Greg White, you’re back with us. My fearless co-host Supply chain adj. trusted advisor Hato and Greg. Great. This was great. A great session. Gail did a great job. I loved her presentation, so I loved it. Let’s talk about I did too. And yeah, let’s talk about that. Just second, give a shot. The Chris Barnes executor is her special contributor, kind of back behind the scenes. Appreciate you being here with us. Hey, Chris. So as we’ve alluded to already, our guest today is Gail Rakowski, executive director of Narced Track and Nasrat. We love her acronyms. And in the world Supply chain, that is national shippers, strategic transportation counsel. Gail, how are you doing? Good, thanks. Great to have you to be here. And your presentation day. And for our listeners, Gail spoke on a wide variety of evolving issues that are not only just just impacting transportation. Yeah, that was kind of the main thrust, but it really impacts everyone across. And in Supply chain and really the business community. Yeah, global business community. So, Gail, thanks for carving out time. And you’ve had a full day here today, a winning hit. Now, where do you hail from? Chicago. Chicago. And you’re headed back out. F9 Sharon Oh, I get ahead of the snow. What’s that? Yeah, I know that it’s that white stuff that falls of the sky.

 

[00:02:08] So for starters, before kind of talk about some of Keith things for your presentation, let’s talk more about narced track and what it does and then your role where you spend your time. Okay.

 

[00:02:18] Nasdaq is a shipper association. We’ve been around since 1952 and basically champion the policies, procedures, things involving the transportation professional within the shipper community. Our membership is pretty much equally split between a third shippers, the third carriers and a third third party logistics companies and technology companies. We have some really huge big member shippers and some smaller companies. I got my start at Nesterenko over 20 years ago when a gentleman from Johnson and Johnson called me up and said, I think you need to be part of this organization. Really? I was at Medline Industries at the time and now working as their director of transportation and we were working on an ad issue. So you’ve been there, done that. You been there, done that? Yeah. I spent a long time in the Shipard community as director grant space for Medline, ran a private fleet for the Quaker Oats Company. Then it went on. I call it the dark side. Went on to say, work, Robinson. Well, I’ve kind of been around. But then most recently, before I retired and became Nasdaq, I worked for three Patel setting up third party Logistics services on a consulting basis. So I’ve seen all parts of the industry. I love transportation. I can tell I refer myself as a transportation geek. My whole life is been in transportation and now I get to combine is executive director of Néstor at which I started five years ago. I’m able to marry my two loves politics and transportation, and not too many people will admit to loving politics nowadays. But still, there’s. When I go to D.C., there’s still an energy there that I find exciting.

 

[00:03:50] If you seek collaboration and compromise and kindred spirits and and truly move the needle, it can it can still be found, put it in the political realm or elsewhere. You’re right. Greg, before you ask Gale about some of the key things from her presentation that some some deleted within our audience need to hear should know about. I don’t know about you, but I could tell in just Gil’s delivery. She’s been there and done that. She was she was ready. Not only did she cover some topics at that, I felt as know some things in the world transportation supply chain that I know deeply. There’s plenty of other stuff that I have a surface search, surface level understanding and get walked us through a variety of issues, including I’m oh twenty twenty. Yeah. And really as a gave us a great walking around view.

 

[00:04:34] But you know, I think a couple of things.

 

[00:04:37] One I learned of Gail, since you’re an email, you better open it up because she’s going to call you straight out if you don’t.

 

[00:04:44] But even more important than that, if that if it’s possible, even more important than that is Gail and the folks at Narced Track saw the carnage that we saw in the trucking industry coming. And to me, that cemented in my. Mind why an organization like yours is so valuable? Because so many people were caught unawares by that and simply by being as engaged in the market or probably engaged in the market through your organization. But at least as engaged in the market as your organization is, they could have easily seen it coming. I mean, you know, aside from that and maybe in addition to that. But are there other aspects of your you know, your presentation that you gave today that you feel are particularly important to reiterate here?

 

[00:05:31] I think the biggest thing just in general is that the impact that regulation and legislation has on not only transportation, but the supply chain in general. There are so many things that that if you’re a supply chain person, that the eighty five California regulation about co employment, that issue in and of itself could have a huge impact on the decisions you make and how you staff here, especially here in California, higher staffing. And if you’re not aware, then what’s going on, you could really be impact. Yeah. You get caught.

 

[00:06:02] You can get caught on the back foot for sure.

 

[00:06:05] So if we think about kind of the the executive summary of your presentation, if you’re thinking about two or three key items that it is important to Sheer and make sure it’s between folks two years. What else? What else, what kind of on your presentation?

 

[00:06:20] I think number one and we joke about e-mails, but stay informed. Aside from Patrick, there’s a lot of other ways out there that you can keep up on these issues through industry magazines and periodicals and in some of the e-mails that you get. But obviously, we have a Web site in the fast lane content hub where we post things that let our members know what’s going on in this legislation. Things have happened, particularly beginning of the year, know that January is a great time for a lot of things to go into effect until 2020. 85 was just rolled on January 10th, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse on January 6th. And all of these things are just happening now and have the capacity to really impact the decisions that you’re going to make as you develop your transportation and supply chain strategy throughout 2020.

 

[00:07:05] So I don’t ask you a bit about Iamso 2020. So I was home with my family through the holidays and we started Daryl study and you started studying.

 

[00:07:15] I’m 022 and actually started to Brantly was a big fan. This is my extended family, my wife’s uncle, Uncle George.

 

[00:07:23] Who who who knows? Maybe. Listen, he was asking me about the the authority behind IIM-A 2020. Is it? Who’s behind mandating that? That’s driving the needle.

 

[00:07:34] That is the HMO of the AMA was the International Maritime Organization. It is a worldwide organization comprised of steamship companies and a lot of other international transportation groups that get involved in this and mandated this back in 2016.

 

[00:07:51] Is it a self regulatory organization? Is it an industry it regulatory regulatory organs? So it’s not it’s non-governmental anyway, right?

 

[00:07:59] It is not governmental in any way. However, it casts a pretty big shadow, obviously, and in the fact that most steamship lines are not American flagships. So I think one left. Yeah. Steamship line, that is American flag. So a lot of people in the U.S. really didn’t pay attention to particularly the refineries, but so they grew the refineries.

 

[00:08:18] You needed to make the fuel to make the fuel. Right.

 

[00:08:21] So this this group of foot there, there’s significant influence where this regulation and this industry change has teeth. Yes. Yeah, OK. So.

 

[00:08:30] So the heart of ammo is low. So for sulfur fuels, because heavy fuels, full sulfur. What I sell her high sulfur fuels, I think they’re much more polluted than these low. So for sulfur fuels, it’s hard for me to say.

 

[00:08:48] I know. Right. Yeah. Acronym. It hurts. It hurts. Yeah, you’re right. I saw the one you had on your presentation, not living below the letter stand. Couple of Patel as you could say. You got to go. I will hit the bar.

 

[00:09:01] But but I think the important thing for our listeners to understand is, is that the goal here and and because this is an industry organization, I think particularly to be applauded. But the goal is to reduce pollution. Right. Because these ships produce a tremendous amount of pollution. They’re usually diesel driven. Correct. And with that heavy fuel, they create a lot of pollution.

 

[00:09:23] I actually saw the fuel itself. It looks like tar drastically is what’s left when the refineries every find everything else they needed. It’s what it’s at the bottom of the barrel that they use to to move these ships. Wow.

 

[00:09:34] Well, you know what’s interesting, I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal a few months back and it pointed out that the supply chain behind the new fuel made may hit some challenges there, because right now you can get the correct fuel in any port. Right. Prevalent. Right. And as as as these ships move towards new fuel, that supply chain getting that to every port. So that really sticks. Is it gonna be a challenge? And then some of the new technologies that this article. As I recall, really pointed out in Asia, specifically Japan, how they’re looking at alternative fuels, you know, from the cook, the not cooking old, but some sort of oles and and batteries even, and they just have not haven’t not arrived at something that is is as robust as a crown.

 

[00:10:17] Well, in that and then in addition to all this, the steamship lines tried to use this as an opportunity to raise their pricing, which has been pretty depressed for a while. And that didn’t work so well. Yeah, the market didn’t exactly did it? Except it now. Capacity is pretty plentiful right now. So Ryazan drive those kind of increases, they were asking for that.

 

[00:10:36] So at the EFT, after your presentation, one of the questions you got asked you to speak on autonomous trucking and just this past week, I believe companies is plus that a. Oh, I could have that wrong. Anyway, this company, which is an autonomous trucking industry, was talking about how by the end of 2020 it will be prepared to run autonomous trucking in all the lower 48. However deeper in an article, what Greg White would you expect? What would be involved in the cabs of this truck? What would be involved in the cab of these truck that these autonomous trucks? Co-driver a driver and Ranzie Driver. Yes. So, you know, we see these predictions almost weekly, right, from different companies. And while we applaud certainly the innovation, I think that Tom’s I’ll get your your you weigh in on the scale. It can kind of be disingenuous in terms of what truly is a Thomas Trucking and and what that’s going to do with the market. You know, I’d love you to weigh in again, kind of as you address it in the Q&A.

 

[00:11:40] And I think, as I said, I think the biggest impact on this will be public perception. If you’re sitting there in your you know, your family’s suburban and you’ve got an eighty thousand pound vehicle bearing down real highway and you look and notice that there’s no driver there. There’s a perception there now about being unsafe with the car driving public, even though it has been proven to be relatively safe. They have been experimenting with platoons. Right. There’s things that are going on out there. But I think what we’re going to see and what we are seeing is more computerization within the tractor itself or computer assist in terms of accident assistance and braking and all that kind of stuff to make the driver more aware. So I think the driver it’s going to be more of an education for the drivers, become more technology proficient. Yes, we can utilize.

 

[00:12:26] You mentioned that in your presentation. And I was I have to admit, I was pretty surprised that the things that we have in cars or that you have even in some of the smaller vans. Right. The sprinter’s and the transit for trans advance. Right. You know, it’s surprising to me that in an industry with such an emphasis on safety that those don’t already exist. Why do you think it doesn’t?

 

[00:12:47] Well, some of it has existed in various formats. One of the issues that they struggle with and in fact, I just read an article recently, is the driver getting too distracted. So right now, if you go into a tractor nowadays, it looks like you’re in front of a computer yard. It looks like an aircraft coming. You want the driver to look? Yeah. Now, a pilot can go on autopilot.

 

[00:13:06] The truck can’t be also a pilot is alone by right, Miles? Right.

 

[00:13:11] So, yeah, he’s not sitting in downtown for so. So I think those issues kind of make it a little more difficult. Yeah. But I think the carriers have come a long way and I know that great. Some of the cool things that they’re doing with it with the truck tractor manufacturers is really interesting.

 

[00:13:25] Yeah. And we’re hoping we’d talk about this during National Truck Driver Week. How truck drivers are becoming technologists. Yeah. And hopefully that leads to more of the appeal. And one of things you touch on your presentation was the path that the talk of lowering the aged 18. There some obstacles and challenges there. I love how you put it, especially if you’re the parent of a teenager. Yeah, that might sound changing insurance for them. Exactly. You know, trying to get creative and do things differently to get around some of the challenges we have in the trucking industry.

 

[00:14:01] Right? Right. The one thing I didn’t mention, too, is that there is a big push to get more women behind the wheel.

 

[00:14:06] Yes. Yeah. There’s some great groups that we’ve rubbed elbows with over the years. Women in training. Ellen Voiceprint. Yeah. She came in and she spoke on a panel at the last mutex. It was here in Atlanta, 2018 eighteen. But that’s important. And you know, we need we need not just in trucking, but really across Supply chain. We’ve all read plenty of statistics and and background coloring behind some of the challenges there, but that that’s a welcome movement and hopefully continues to grow more Lix. All right. So let’s shift gears a bit. No pun intended. Let’s talk about twenty nineteen is January. Thanks for the courtesy. Yeah. So we look back to it looking back at twenty nineteen. What what’s gonna stick out in your mind. Let’s say it’s twenty twenty nine and the end you’re thinking about ten years ago. What are a couple of things. This. Last year. That are really going to stick with you.

 

[00:15:02] Honestly, the first thing that came to mind when you started talking, you mentioned the question is it was like the year, the exhale. You know, it was a chance for people to catch their breath and look about look at what happened and how they’re going to respond to it. As I mentioned, a lot of my network folks, we have been talking about this for a while. And even though it may not have taken them by total surprise, it was still a huge impact to their budgets to see it actually. How to explain to your sea level what happened when you have one hundred and forty eight companies mentioning transportation is having the biggest impact of their earnings history. You know, on Wall Street, that’s huge. Yeah. And while you’d like to think that any press is good press, it really didn’t help their transportation person sitting down there, having to explain to the sea level why they took a 20 percent increase in their freight budget this year. So I think I think 2019 should have been. Maybe it has been for some smart shippers a chance for introspection. Look back, see where our plan went awry. What are we gonna do to change and how are we going to make transportation a strategic part of our overall supply chain Kisha? How do we give transportation a seat at the table instead of waiting till something happen? I mean, 30 years of transportation, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they actually get involved in a project before it went to hell, before it went to heck.

 

[00:16:19] You could say hell, you can’t say how sorry I was 20 years tracking.

 

[00:16:23] It’s funny because, you know, I was in I was in retail. Right. And I was really insulated from transportation to me. I press the magic button. The p0 was created. It went to Union Carbide or whoever. We had people, strange, strange people in this dark room in the corporate office who dealt with the freight forwarders and the carriers and that sort of thing. And I only had to yell at one person, right. If my shipment didn’t show up or I didn’t look like he was gonna show up on time. I went to that dark office and you were nice about that. Never set my foot inside the door. But I leaned in the door and I would say, fix it. Right. And, you know, and I have to admit that even after decades and decades, I’m not gonna say the third decade. Decades and decades of being in the industry. I was not aware of some of the issues that I would have considered. You know, I don’t know some of the issues that exist in this industry. Yeah.

 

[00:17:20] And I think I think it’s hell.

 

[00:17:21] I think a lot of companies are insulated from. Yeah. From what goes on in transportation. And I truth truly think we talk a lot about transparency in Supply chain. I think the transparency to how transportation works is critical to understanding your ability to perform at the level that your consumers and customers need. Right now you just can’t and you just can’t sweep it under the rug.

 

[00:17:44] Well, as in Michigan, through technology behind that, and that’s gone a long way to increasing visibility within transportation. There’s a human component in transportation that I don’t think will ever go away. And I think there’s there’s a part of transportation that when push comes to shove and you need somebody to help you, you’re not going to get the help a dylon up the computer or go into a computer. You’re going to get it by contacting your carrier, who you established a partnership with, who you’ve established strategic relationship with. Say, I need your help.

 

[00:18:12] And that’s never gonna go away, especially the problem solving related to the things we define as you have to put out every day. Exactly.

 

[00:18:21] Yeah. You can’t you can only use artificial intelligence for so much and then you need actual intelligence to exact. Right. The other way. So far. I see.

 

[00:18:30] All right. So I want to as we kind of worn down interview, doesn’t want to get you to weigh in on that. What’s the value to professionals for participating in groups like NASCAR Track and groups like CSC, NDP and other industry groups where you think folks stand to benefit the most?

 

[00:18:48] I think it’s so on two levels. It’s so important for people in the industry to be able to get influences from all over, from not just your company or not from your media colleagues, but it’s important to hear I’ve learned things in my interactions with associations from my colleagues that I could never figured out on my own to be able to call up a colleague at Johnson and Johnson or CBS or one of our other members and say, hey, I’m struggling with this issue. Can you help me? Yeah. Is is has been so invaluable in my career. And I know even it’s the same thing for SEUS MP when you’re dealing with these kinds of issues to be able to know that someone else is in that foxhole with you. You know, misery loves company and transportation, so it really works out really well. I think the other issue, too, it’s a value. I think that people that belong to the associations need to learn how to sell that value within their companies. And I think that’s where we’re failing right now. I don’t think we’re giving our members enough ammunition to go to their sea level and say, this is why I belong to see SCDP. This is why it’s important. Here’s why. I’m going to Washington, D.C. with Nasdaq. Yes. Here’s what it means to you and our supply chain. We need we need is an asset. Station to educate our folks about the agreed.

 

[00:20:02] I think one of the challenges, just from what I’ve seen them and my experience have been associations is twofold. Companies don’t invest. Some companies don’t invest enough into professional development and networking associations because what you what what you just said there in terms of the benchmarking, the best practice sharing and the kind of problem solving across the different four walls, that is invaluable. So companies need to figure out, hey, it’s not just about acquiring talent and keeping talent develop. They develop the talent.

 

[00:20:33] Right. You’ve got to nurture the knowledge base. But I’ve got to tell you, I got to augment your answer. I have to Sheer because your foresight, your organization’s research capabilities to have the foresight to see 2019 coming. You don’t need another reason than that to be associated to a group than that. You can’t have that kind of insight in that kind of market research inside your organization when your job is to create the products that are moved or to move the freight. You need somebody who’s taken that step back from operating to overseeing the practices in the industry and to advocating and analyzing what’s going on in the industry. I mean, you are so no one should ever get caught like companies did in 2019. And knowing and I have to tell you, obviously, I’m a little slow on the uptake, but obviously I just put it together right when you started your presentation that that what you all had available. Everyone else should have been accessing. Right.

 

[00:21:33] If they had known that, you know, if they had known or been a party to your organization, they could have had that same access to that information and not got caught on back foot. It could have saved companies. Right. Could help them mitigate a lot of that. I mean, the number of jobs, the number of jobs that were lost based on just the few companies that you listed on your presentation were substantial. And it could have saved jobs, it could have saved companies. It could save millions, maybe billions of dollars. You like to think so? You had that. That’s a business case, isn’t it? I mean, if you think about it, transportation is so transactional by nature. Yeah. That it’s very difficult for transportation people to get out of that foxhole, as you described it, and become strategic and make that look. So this is what Nasdaq’s mission is. And that’s why strategic is. I make jokes about it. That’s why it’s in our acronym that we need to teach transportation people how to be strategic. Yep. Yes, no doubt.

 

[00:22:21] Ok, so as we wrap up here, I know that you share some of the events and you had a great well-received webinar series, I think it was called The Maureen Storm. Perfect Stars When. All right. That was Storm and that’s the next one. Yeah.

 

[00:22:33] Well, we’re right in the middle of our next series called Breaking Down the Silos. We’ve already had two installments. One is transportation and finance, how to break down that silo. We had transportation and procurement. The next one’s coming up February 6th. And it’s with sales of those sales group.

 

[00:22:50] One point at me and say, what does everybody think on the sales? Just like a sales Miura idea.

 

[00:22:55] But I think it’s important for transportation to learn how to relate to these folks and understand how they can work together. So that’s some really great panelists who’ve already done some programs internally to improve that relationship. And you also will be at CSICOP Edge. We will be at edge. district as a track. Our spring meeting will be April 26 to 28 in Washington, D.C., where you can get like a full day of just transportation, education on some of the topics we talked about today. Terrific.

 

[00:23:21] Well, I really wish we had more several ARod with you. The things you spoke about in a great Reader’s Digest version and any short change of topics, you just kind of Sheer the most relevant and and pertinent information. So I enjoyed it today and that presentation is gonna be available, I think.

 

[00:23:37] So why don’t we make that available in the show notes here in case or any of our listeners wanna okay with my skills.

 

[00:23:44] And so last question, where can folks come out to learn more about Maastricht?

 

[00:23:48] Sheer a nice that org and a SS TR A-C dot org. Click on that organization. You can get information on the strategic shipper program. You’ll need information about our event and and you can get right to SC Competes page from there as well.

 

[00:24:02] Outstanding. Okay. Well, thanks so much. Big thanks to go. Rakowski with the with Nasserite. That’s ex-director nice track. Fascinating. Love what you do. I love your approach doing it. Yeah. So no nonsense.

 

[00:24:14] Matter of fact. Yeah. And funny. I mean, you have a good sense of humor. Open those emails. Yeah. What a pleasure.

 

[00:24:22] Thanks so much for being here with us, Gail. Thank you. Safe travels back to Chicago. And we’ll talk more with you. Thank you. So to our listeners. Thanks for checking us out here today. I hope you enjoyed the conversation with Gayle and Kendra and Caitlin as much as we did with CSC and Peatlands roundtable, kind of as our backdrop on the house.

 

[00:24:41] And if you think about our internal episode. Big thanks.

 

[00:24:48] Greg’s gonna break my legs here. Big thanks to both Chris Barnes executive producer and special contributor extraordinaire and my co-host, Greg White. Check us out. Find where we get your. Gas from you can also go to supply chain now radio dot com. And on behalf HULTINE, thanks for joining us. And we’ll see you next time on Supply chain. Now thinks about.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Watch Scott and Greg as they welcome Gail Rutkowski to the Supply Chain Now booth at the CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable Event.

Featured Guests

Gail Rutkowski is Executive Director of the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC). A veteran of more than 30 years in the transportation industry, Gail has experienced both sides of the industry, from shipper to carrier, from small shipments to truckloads, from domestic to international. Gail’s experience runs the gamut from private fleet management with Quaker Oats and Belden Wire and Cable, to truckload sales with C. H. Robinson, to transportation management with Thomas & Betts and Medline Industries. She started and ran the logistics services division at AIMS Logistics before leaving to start Wabash Worldwide Logistics, helping clients expand their 3PL service offerings, and manage their truckload services. Gail is past president of NASSTRAC and a member of their Executive Committee. Selected as NASSTRAC Member of the Year in 2001, 2005, and 2012, Gail became Executive Director in 2014. She has been a frequent speaker at a number of industry conferences and has published articles in Traffic World and LQ Magazine. In 2005, Gail was named one of the top 50 people in Logistics by World Trade Magazine. Learn more about NASSTRAC here: https://www.nasstrac.org/

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Scott W. Luton

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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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Ben Harris

Host

Ben Harris is the Director of Supply Chain Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Ben comes to the Metro Atlanta Chamber after serving as Senior Manager, Market Development for Manhattan Associates. There, Ben was responsible for developing Manhattan’s sales pipeline and overall Americas supply chain marketing strategy. Ben oversaw market positioning, messaging and campaign execution to build awareness and drive new pipeline growth. Prior to joining Manhattan, Ben spent four years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Center of Innovation for Logistics where he played a key role in establishing the Center as a go-to industry resource for information, support, partnership building, and investment development. Additionally, he became a key SME for all logistics and supply chain-focused projects. Ben began his career at Page International, Inc. where he drove continuous improvement in complex global supply chain operations for a wide variety of businesses and Fortune 500 companies. An APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Ben holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) and bachelor’s degree in International Business (BBA) from the Terry College at the University of Georgia.

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Page Siplon

Host, The Freight Insider

Prior to joining TeamOne Logistics, Page Siplon served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, the State’s leading consulting resource for fueling logistics industry growth and global competitiveness. For over a decade, he directly assisted hundreds of companies to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities related to the movement of freight. During this time, Siplon was also appointed to concurrently serve the State of Georgia as Director of the larger Centers of Innovation Program, in which he provided executive leadership and vision for all six strategic industry-focused Centers. As a frequently requested keynote speaker, Siplon is called upon to address a range of audiences on unique aspects of technology, workforce, and logistics. This often includes topics of global and domestic logistics trends, supply chain visibility, collaboration, and strategic planning. He has also been quoted as an industry expert in publications such as Forbes, Journal of Commerce, Fortune, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, American Express, DC Velocity, Area Development Magazine, Site Selection Magazine, Inbound Logistics, Modern Material Handling, and is frequently a live special guest on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Radio Show. Siplon is an active industry participant, recognized by DC Velocity Magazine as a “2012 Logistics Rainmaker” which annually identifies the top-ten logistics professionals in the Nation; and named a “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Executive Magazine in 2014. Siplon was also selected by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Georgians” for 2013, 2014, and 2015. He also serves various industry leadership roles at both the State and Federal level. Governor Nathan Deal nominated Siplon to represent Georgia on a National Supply Chain Competitiveness Advisory Committee, where he was appointed to a two-year term by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was then appointed to serve as its vice-chairman. At the State level, he was selected by then-Governor Sonny Perdue to serve as lead consultant on the Commission for New Georgia’s Freight and Logistics Task Force. In this effort, Siplon led a Private Sector Advisory Committee with invited executives from a range of private sector stakeholders including UPS, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Delta Airlines, Georgia Pacific, CSX, and Norfolk Southern. Siplon honorably served a combined 12 years in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force. During this time, he led the integration of encryption techniques and deployed cryptographic devices for tactically secure voice and data platforms in critical ground-to-air communication systems. This service included support for all branches of the Department of Defense, multiple federal security agencies, and aiding NASA with multiple Space Shuttle launches. Originally from New York, Siplon received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering with a focus on digital signal processing from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned an associate’s degree in advanced electronic systems from the Air Force College and completed multiple military leadership academies in both the Marines and Air Force. Siplon currently lives in Cumming, Georgia (north of Atlanta), with his wife Jan, and two children Thomas (19) and Lily (15).

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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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