On this episode of Supply Chain Now broadcast live from the RLA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Scott and Greg interview Bruce Brown with Informission.
[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, the best practices and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.
[00:00:29] Good morning, Scott Luton. Back with you here on Supply chain. Now welcome back to the show. Today Show we’re not broadcasting life from Atlanta G-A. We’re here Las Vegas at the home of the reverse Logistics Association Conference Expo. It’s become the center of the universe. All things returns and reverse Logistics. And we’ve had an outstanding opportunity to sit down with thought leaders and supply chain leaders and technology leaders to help them make that space happen, which is incredibly and growing in its importance. And then supply chain day in and day out. So today’s episode, we are going to be continuing that trend and we’re excited about speaking with Bruce of information will introduce him just a second. But first, we’ve got to bring in my fearless co-host. Greg White Supply chain adj. serial supply chain, tech entrepreneur and trusted advisor. Greg, how you doing?
[00:01:19] I’m doing great. I’m glad to be at the center of the universe. And I’m also glad it’s in Las Vegas.
[00:01:25] Even if the weather’s been a bit I this odd is an understatement. Yes.
[00:01:30] But nevertheless, we’ve had some wonderful conversations. Look for you to have one here today. Quick programing note. You can find all of our podcasts where we get your podcast from, including Apple podcast, Spotify and YouTube. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single thing. So, Greg, this morning we are bringing all Mr. Bruce Brown, CEO of information.
[00:01:52] We’re speaking in color. Yes, Gordon Brown.
[00:01:55] That’s right. I got to keep it light. Easy for me.
[00:02:02] Bruce, we’ve enjoyed talking with you and Ken, some other folks from your booth here at the conference. But first off, we’re talking about you. Right. Right. Meeting this week.
[00:02:12] Absolutely. A bunch of people here that are here. Clearly, the leaders in their companies. Yeah. And all very focused on trying to improve things, improve things through reverse Logistics, which, you know, for years was kind of a neglected area.
[00:02:25] Yes. Tony Schroeder, the executive director. Yeah. Calls it the dark side. Yeah. But that’s changing. It’s more and more because consumers is so important to the consumer experience and the e-commerce age. It’s front and center these days almost.
[00:02:41] Yeah. We’ve had a lot of conversations with people. I think, look, consumers are more aware and they forced companies to be more aware. People want to know where their goods come from. And now they want to know where they go to. And, you know, we heard in one of our discussions the other day, it’s not end of life. It’s about new life for a lot of these products. Right. And I think that’s a good purview to have, you know, considering the environmental impacts and things like that.
[00:03:07] Agreed. So, Bruce, before we talk about information list, let’s learn more about you and your journey. So where are you from? And give us give us the skinny on on your Epuron, the skinny side.
[00:03:17] I grew up in Illinois. OK. Dad was a quality control inspector, manager, very detail oriented kind of guy.
[00:03:27] Oh, man. I bet your chores and homework, were you? No, but he was very detail oriented guy.
[00:03:35] And mom mom always had a message for us and she said, don’t be a nonentity. And I went, you because I was a little kid. I don’t know what that means. You could do something with your life, make a difference, change things. And if there’s any one thing I want to tell do reverse Logistics professionals is get out of your own little backyard yard. Do the things to make reverse Logistics better. Do the things to improve your own function, but don’t limit it to that. Think about how else you can improve the rest of the organization. What impact? What new technologies can you use? How can you change things? So that’s where to operate.
[00:04:10] Learning man. And I like that tagline. Don’t be a not. Yeah. There you go. You’re going to use it on your show. Yeah. Oh, yes. Yeah. Ryder mom. Right Mom. Yeah. You can.
[00:04:21] You can pay her. That’s right. Well let’s switch gears from from your personal side to your professional journey. CEO information kind of give us shed some light on that journey to get to this role.
[00:04:33] Yeah. So information is information solutions as a technology provider. So we’re a high tech company. We actually spun this out, this information which went on information solutions specifically to deal with the new RNC standard, which we’re gonna be talking about 12 N. That’s the abbreviation for. There’s actually a really long name, but twelve is good enough.
[00:04:56] Twelve and twelve enders will learn a lot more about that.
[00:04:59] Provender. Yeah. We’re going to have that new sports team, so. So technology company and. But, you know, it’s really weird that I got into this cause like in college, I started out and computer science was relatively new at that. You know, in terms of the masses learning it and I kind of got interested in it. So I got a part time job during the summer after my freshman year in college, working in a computer group right downtown Chicago, where every day trekking down there.
[00:05:30] And at the end of the summer, I told everybody, I will never work with computers. Those people are the weirdest damn people I have ever met. I don’t want anything to do with them. Keep me away from. I just don’t have anything to do with it.
[00:05:44] So. So. So that was it. That was the end of my career. Then I’ve got a business degree. And at the end of the business degree, I had to do a computer course. I went, well, you know, it’s kind of interesting, actually. Now I got back on that smart computer stuff, went to work for some pretty big company, State Farm Insurance, Apple, really several others, and did a bunch of management, but did a bunch of Technical management. So I was managing I.T. groups, Miura Standards Organization for our managed standards for state firms, 25 data centers for all the key thing. Then an apple managed a bunch of I.T. groups. Then I went off into the direct marketing portion and ran a separate business unit and ran into Logistics for our homes because it was a separate business unit. We were shipping compilers and so on and we had to send it, send out these packages, server dropship operation.
[00:06:39] And we had export control issues. We had problems with carriers, we had packaging issues. So in this little microcosm of a business within Apple, the major business, we were running into all these kinds of problems. Guess what? I’m still dealing with those kinds of problems and we enjoy solving them.
[00:06:58] And I do it solving them in new ways from what I understand. We’re gonna we’re gonna talk more about that, right?
[00:07:02] Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things that I found is as I continued through work was I liked I.T. because I got to see everything. We had to deal with sales and marketing. We had to deal with accounting. We had to deal with distribution. Logistics, everybody. So our view, you know, as an I.T. professional, you’re your view, especially as you get into management ism, isn’t just of this function or that function of the entire business. And how do I optimize that? So that’s pervaded my thinking. And then when we get into talking about twelve and a little bit, you’ll see how that affected that as well. So Gregg, let’s dove right in.
[00:07:43] Yeah. Well, I’d like to learn a little bit about your your company now information. So tell us a little bit about the business problems you solve. And particularly if someone’s walking down in the hall, down the hall in their office, what pain is going through their mind or what keywords? Right. Should they be looking out for to say, hey, this is a solution that I need?
[00:08:04] You know, I think when you have recurring pain, you sort of get numb to it. You know, you’re you’re right. You’re right, you’re right. Toe hurts. It hurt yesterday. It’s gonna hurt tomorrow. It just, you know, it’s always there. Yeah. And I think now and it’s sort of like you just sort of like, yeah, it’s written off. You just sort of deal with it. And so as a reverse Logistics professionals, a little Logistics professional, as a sales and marketing professional, you sort of get used to this is the way things are done. I send the garbage truck out, it picks up this kind of garbage but doesn’t pick up that kind of garbage. I schedule some sort of return. It’s handled in this particular way. So you get locked into this kind of thinking. And what we’re doing in information is applying this simple thing, 12+ standard, which is actually about labeling and barcodes right now. Ken Jacobson came to me as a neighbor of and he said, Intel’s got a problem. They need to get information on a label and get it on a package when they do triage on it. This is refurbishing and send it off to China for refurbishing. And and they need to get all the information I want. Well, so what? It’s a label. It’s a barcode.
[00:09:13] It’s boring, right? Yeah, it’s boring. And then he kept nagging me about it and we got into it more and more and we started going like women. What if we could change that from just being a label that solves a problem for Intel to a label that makes it easier for people to buy products at retail? What if that same label could be used to make it easier to register the product for the warranty? So instead of having, you know, one to eight percent registration on your product, this is a huge thing to marketing people, right? Right. Right. Because how do you keep in touch? What if we could do something to make that happen? To what if we could do subtlely make it easier to deal with technical support? What if we could change the paradigm?
[00:09:56] So let me ask you about one and I may have this apple. Patient long, so feel free to correct me. Jerai it’s happened all week. So you go into a big box store, maybe a big box store that isn’t known for its customer service. My appointee went out, but it got I don’t know who you mean it or where. There’s no not many folks on the floor. And you try to find one specific item and it’s in, you know, across this huge, massive store. I think if I understand you correctly, if you’ve got a helpful QR code.
[00:10:26] So let’s look at this great example. Let me give you let me expand on that a little bit. Let’s say you go into your favorite big box store and now you’ve got it. So we’re not going to use the name that I usually use. It starts with a W.. But when you go into your favorite big box store and they’re, you know, they’re common. Yeah. And they’re a big retailer. They’re selling a lot of different kinds of products. You are interested in buying a big screen television because you’re going to watch some sporting game. Right. And you get there and there’s 20 different, you know, seventy five inch monitors or TV or whatever. And you can kind of narrow down to a couple.
[00:11:01] But you got some technical questions. Who are you going to ask?
[00:11:06] Right. Yeah. For those of you who are just listening, hit his head, just spun around 360 degrees right here in the chair.
[00:11:11] All right. So it’s better to hide it. Yes. That’s great.
[00:11:17] So so that’s exactly it. You know, they’re probably not consumer electronics specialists there. You know, is that especially for TV? Right. So it’s hard not to find customer service specialists. Right. But there’s a lot of stuff.
[00:11:30] I guarantee you, they don’t know enough about the television for a guy whose dad was in charge of quality control.
[00:11:36] There you go. There you go. But even for people who weren’t. And, you know, if you’re going to lay down a bunch of bucks and you really, really want to see the best possible image of that football game, you might have a couple of questions. So you don’t get narrowed down to a couple of TV’s. Well, what if one of them has his. He’s twelve and QR codes. They do. And you scan it and then it gives you a couple of options. One of the options is specifications. So you can kind of like look at that and go like, oh yeah, this has the kind of screen or that. Then you see another brightness is pre-sales support. Pre-Sale support rings the phone. You’re online talking to the manufacturers. Pre-Sale support right there in the store right there. While you’re standing there in the store, you’re talking to pre-sale support. And they are the product specialists. They know about their product. They know about this model versus that model. Now, this ad, if you have this is it for manufacturers. They’ve never been able to affect retail sales in that way because they don’t have any connection with the customer. Right. Right. They just ship the thing and hope it sells. Right. And maybe put up some displays. So so that’s where the journey starts. Now, let’s say you you go and you you select a TV, you buy it, you bring it home.
[00:12:53] Now you go in as you’re taking out of the box. You scan another label, similar 12+ QR label. Hope we’re not getting too much of that background noise. Typically, we like the background noise. We’re in the thick of things. But they have got a super volume yet. Why does radio voice booming? Yes. OK. I got a rate of let’s do so. So now you get the product home? Yes. As you’re opening it up, I’m packing it. There’s another twelve and QR code. You scan this one this time, you know. So it’s an app on my phone. So you see a series of buttons and one button says, register, register my product. Right. So we’re talking about that before you touch that button, once your products are registered. You’re done. You don’t have to fill out any cards. You don’t have to go to a website. One click. Your product is registered. SALES and marketing is suddenly loving. UPS. Right. And the next thing is you maybe want set up instructions, you touch a button and maybe takes you to a video for that particular product. That’s completely up to date. Let’s say you get the whole thing set up and you still have a question or something isn’t working. There’s a button for tech support. So tech support can open a chat. It can open a phone call.
[00:14:09] The thing that every company at this show has loved the most is the simplest thing in the world for us to do a troubleshooting button. Now, you know what happens if your computer, let’s say, isn’t working?
[00:14:24] Oh, God. I know that never happened. Sorry. What am I saying? But if you just found my pain. Just just just for you, nobody else has a problem. Right.
[00:14:32] But your computer isn’t working. The biggest problem that these larger companies have, all of them, is that people pick up the phone and they call tech support. Instead of going to the Web site and finding the page, which has got all those same exact steps they want him to do. Really nice, condensed. Know that the reason they don’t do that is because all these websites are so big and take so long to navigate. People are bored.
[00:14:55] We don’t do it that way. You touch the troubleshoot button.
[00:14:59] The app, you know, when it displays, takes you directly to the troubleshooting steps for your product. Probably cutting off a good percentage of the calls that would otherwise be tying up the lines with doubt. Yeah. OK. And getting you to that information that much quicker. So you were asking for paines, right? Yeah. Now, the thing is, I think people live with the pain of they have a high call volume eating up their 800 numbers because that’s just the way it is. Yeah. Because tech support or customer or tech support. Customer support. I think they live with the pain of they can’t affect retail sales in any meaningful way. Yeah. Because that’s just the way it is. Well, we’re changing the way it is. We’re giving them a different way to operate so that they can affect their sales so they can reduce their costs. Yes. All right. So.
[00:15:48] So for the second time, I’ll move a little bit ahead, because I think I love the practical application. We don’t have three hours that we can make that happen. But I love it.
[00:16:01] I love the practical examples you use it most everyday consumers can relate to. So let’s talk about twelve and in particular. Charles, this is this is not my forte. What is what is was a twelve in. There’s a longer.
[00:16:13] So is that first. So though Ken heard about this problem with Intel, OK? Kinison part of it. Ken Jacobsen’s is part of the standards committee. And he fought to help form the standards committee here to come up with a way to solve this problem that Intel was talking about with the products coming in, tree out here, refurbished overseas information, not moving what the product in the correct way. There’s a whole lot of detail to that which we can skip over. But we got got together. And as we started talking about it and as we started here, getting more and more input from different companies about the problems that they were facing from especially in reverse Logistics, but also these other functions, we put together a data format, a way of structuring the data, and in particular we started focusing on these. Q early was because they can hope, like you said, 4000 characters. So it’s not just the old barcode with 100 characters, it’s a it’s 4000 characters. And so so let me give you an example. We’re doing a proof of concept with FedEx. Now for one of their business units and we’ve got a label over in the booth. And if you scan that label, it’s got information for that particular thing. It’s diagnostics on a.
[00:17:30] Well, when you look, we’re using euros EFT software. In that example, when you have euros off system in2 to scan the p.c, it provides a whole bunch of information about every disk drive, the c_p_u_, every component. Right. Right. I don’t care about that particularly, but repair people do. Right. So on this one label, we’ve got probably 90 fields of information on one QR code with all the little details of that, which is important to repair people so that when it moves along to the next step, they’ve got all that information, especially if it’s being shipped from one location to the other, you know, eliminates some of the guessing. Right. And saves a ton of time and helps diagnose and fix it. Hey, look, if you’re getting in, the worst thing is as a repair person. If a computer is coming back over and over again and you don’t know that that’s happening and you don’t have any history. So now what they’re going to use these codes for is putting it back in siring inside there. And it’s the history of all the problems that we found. What we did about it is the same computer. Let’s use that simple example keeps coming back and they keep changing the disk drive on it.
[00:18:36] Maybe it’s not the distressed Rod real problem, right? Right.
[00:18:39] But they wouldn’t know that if they didn’t have the history in the world of refurbishing, using computers or the example. Manufacturers use multiple refurbishes around the world. So when a computer comes back, there’s no guarantee it’s going to go back to the same place. And even if it does, there’s no guarantee that that place is going to have any record of it. It’s like going to different doctors office 10 times and write it.
[00:19:01] It no have all the information of the history that they’re not. They’re kind of diagnosing in the blind little bit. You’ve been there, so.
[00:19:08] So 12 N is the standard twelve. Is it for data driven?
[00:19:13] It’s the standard for how the data is laid out. It’s fairly complicated because once again we wanted to do something where it would have the biggest possible impact. If you’re a big corporation, do you operate only in the United States?
[00:19:27] No. Quick. OK, probably not. Right. You thought about that for a while, didn’t you? I was thinking what? How cool would it be to be a big corporation as me and only use the big Rod? Sorry. Yeah. So. So let’s say you’re big delusions of grandeur. I know. I know.
[00:19:44] But we’re going to help you with that. Because? Because what we included in the standard was each one of the fields can be in any language, any currency, in a unit of measure, grams, pounds, inches, you know. Writers, whatever. Euros, yeah, dollars, euros. All of those in each field. So if you’re a multinational company, you can have on that same label stuff in English stuff in German. Stuff in French. Pounds Deutschemarks with whatever have you. And then we got into thinking about it and go like.
[00:20:19] You know, you might want to have some information that you don’t want to share with the public, like where it was manufactured or anything. Revision number. Anything sensitive. So we put in three different ways of hiding data on the label where it’s encrypted and only authorized people can ever even know it’s on there. So once again, we’re trying to sell not just the little problem, not just the single problem of one one organization. So go back to mine. Don’t be a non-entity. Your new tag line. Right? You know, I have a new tagline if you’re reverse Logistics professional. Figure out what to do to, you know, in this case to use 12- in to help leverage up your organization to make it more efficient, to make things happen better. There’s so many problems and reverse Logistics now and then go over to the sales and marketing guys and get to know them and say like, hey, I got this way of doing this thing. But I can also, while I’m making that label, I could stick a button on there for you, too.
[00:21:14] I love it. All right. So before we leave information and Sherkin, it kind of broaden back out and we’ll talk about where listeners can and can find more information. But any last detail before we kind of brought it back out and get your thoughts on this race.
[00:21:29] So, yeah, so information’s role in all this as we make the systems to make all this happen. We make the systems that so 12-tone is the data format. And so but we make the app, there’s free up to 11 QR on all the app stores and then we make all the systems to facilitate this. So if they click that register button, the information gets back to the right company. And if they click. Tech support and so on.
[00:21:50] And so we keep it all up to date. Change world. I love this idea. Yeah. All right. So let’s broaden back out from what you’re doing and the teams doing the information that want to get your thoughts as a as a as a supply chain leader and technology leader. What are what are one or two trends or issues or developments when you think of the global Indian supply chain or the circular economy? What are you intrigued you the most right now?
[00:22:15] I had a great conversation yesterday as your timing’s good and I it opened my eyes and I just happened. I sat down at lunch and a lady I know works for one of the biggest waste management companies. And another person was a recycler dealing with textiles fabrics and started talking about the problems of getting materials, picking things up, getting them sorted in the right way. The expense of all of this. The troubles of Logistics, the problems of moving so many trucks around in cities and you can’t perkier any place and you’re gassing up the streets and garbage being on the street. And then flip side was delivering products to houses. I mean, we have an incredibly messed up infrastructure now. There’s no efficient way to pick up stuff from the house. Drop stuff off at the house and do it without it costing you a fortune. Right. So so I look at that and I love I love a lot of a lot of disciplines, but I’m looking at some of these problems and going like we have to start thinking in different ways about how we deal with transportation, getting things to the house in part of that.
[00:23:29] I mean, you know, with my little 12-inch tilt here is if we can have better labeling, even if it’s on stuff that eventually ends up in recycling, we can have that label printed. There’s ways of printing it where you don’t even see it, right, by the way, and that if that can help the sorting process and get it handled more efficiently. Yes. If they can help the recycling process, we got to be perfect. And when we worked on the 12+ standard, we have these field we call field indicators now came up with field indicators for the recycling industry. So at end of life, the customer so when they scan that label and it’s getting towards in the life, they can touch a button and it will tell them for this product, return it here. Yes. Or traded in here. You know, we got to start thinking about the environment. The economy. Yes. And, you know, doing things in a way that makes sense. That makes it. It all happened. So, you know. Greg, when I’m hearing the labeling does not do it justice.
[00:24:22] What Bruces tell you, our code doesn’t do it justice yet. Now. Well, now she’s talking about is better information when it’s data gathering. Yeah. ID here in the moment now. I mean labeling kind of belittles it a little bit because to your point you said labeling Maureen. I said barcodes especially. But I like get my same idea.
[00:24:42] Imagine a scenario where all of these products come in. Everything in your garbage. Let’s just start on this. War on terror comes in on a conveyor. And those barcodes or not barcodes, the QR codes or whatever the label is, is scanned and it’s sorted Ryder based on based on what the scan reads. That is that could be a virtually foolproof sorting system to assure that not only is it a plastic, but it’s this type of plastic. So it goes here. It’s that type of plastic. So it goes there. Right. Right. This can be incinerated. Now, this shouldn’t be incinerated. Right. All of those sorts of things are potential there. I was thinking of as I’m prone to do. I was thinking of of the incredibly complex regulations in the cannabis industry in both Canada and the states. And they use RFID codes and those are expensive. Right. So literally, every single plant in the cannabis industry has an RFID tag hanging on it. But if they could make that something more cost effective with more data information on it, that that would be game changing from a regulatory standpoint. And and I think that would greatly reduce cost and burden of both government and producers in that. And that’s just one other industry example. There are often lots of ways you could see this thing being.
[00:26:06] And this is great because this is typical when we start talking about this and you start. Right. People come back with more ideas of how it can be used.
[00:26:13] That’s how you know, you’re onto something. I know. You know that I you worked hard. All right. Now, that’s how you know, you’re on to something is when you are going down a path with the product you’ve developed and somebody goes, hey, could it be used for this or that or the other thing absolute. That’s when you know you’re onto something. So I think you’re onto something. And then.
[00:26:30] Thank you. Thank you so much. And that happens all the time. I mean, people use their own creativity because they’ve got their own problems. They’ve got their own things that they think about in the back of their head. Maybe it’s a little bit, you know, subterranean, a little bit under the surface, because it’s just they’ve lived with that problem so long. Yeah, but then they start seeing this. They go, oh, wait a minute, maybe I could solve my problem. Maybe I could do something in a better way.
[00:26:51] All right. So Bruce, as we as was talking close the interview here and let’s make sure folks know where they can learn more information. But information Sheer as well as connect with youth.
[00:27:00] Jerai. So you can go to information. It’s like three words i n f0r am isis i–when information dot com. And there’s a tab on there. There’s something about I cause about labels or about something like that 10 or about twelve. And there’s many, many tons of use cases on there. Kind of expand your thinking about how you can use this for manufacturing using rakhi hate. These are for reverse Logistics. So many different disciplines. Just ideas to get you started. Yeah. There’s links in there. To get you to more information, RLA site also has detailed information about the standard and to get in touch with me is simple. Bruce Scott Brown, B-R you see E Debbie Rowe w-when real simple yet infour mission? No.
[00:27:46] I have to I have to ask this question. Yeah. I mean, this is usually we wouldn’t even ask this question at this point. But think about it. How are you monetizing this?
[00:27:54] I mean, how do people pay you?
[00:27:57] I mean, how do you guys make money it and so so there’s no charge to consumers. Okay. We provide all the apps, keep everything free for manufacturers. There’s a small charge for interfacing to our systems to produce the labels correctly, to adhere to the standard and then also for the additional services like registration of products and things like that.
[00:28:19] Everything averagely a clearinghouse for the 12 in standard. Right. I mean, you’re know, we’re.
[00:28:24] Yeah. And the 12-tone standards. A public standard. Right. You can go and write your own code. Right. We’ve already gone off and written our own code, but we’ve written our own code in a way to make a generalized and attacking most useful across multiple industries, multiple countries. And, you know, so. So we’re we’re providing ideas based on the standard that we helped create. Because we think these are things in addition to just the bare bones, it’s a standard that everybody is going to need. I like it.
[00:28:53] Liers is a company that deserves to make money at this. I mean, this is this is a service as much.
[00:28:58] I’m ready for your channel. I’m ready for your tech right now. I’m not allowed to use the checkbook for my wife. Oh, yeah. She’s nodding up and down. I see. Okay.
[00:29:09] So we’ve been chatting with Bruce Brown, CEO. Information will make sure that that provides links to show that she can learn more about the company. Bruce, really appreciate you cut carbon some time out. Sheer really pleasure. David, Davinder, your story. More on a yelp and exhibiting here throughout the conference and clearly open having some Fassett conversation. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Thanks so much for your time. My pleasure. Sit tight. One seconds. We wrap up here, Greg. Another great conversation. The hits keep coming. A major Hurley. Right. Yeah. All right. So we’re gonna wrap up. So, you know, we usually invite our audience to come check us out in person where we’re gonna be in similar broadcasts like we’re here today. But Greg, we’re gonna explode. A version of that is go to our events tab at Supply Chain Now Radio dot com. You can check us out at Moad X 2020’s, you A-G.
[00:29:55] We’re trying to preserve our voices here to play the Sheer Automotive Industry Action Group, which had two events there.
[00:30:01] And of course, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, we’ve got their event come up. May all find out more information on that. Find out more information on our stand up and Soundoff Global Interactive form, all on the events tab or the webinar tab at Supplychainrealestate.com. Greg, where can they find our podcast? For folks, I’ve heard this conversation and they want to know more.
[00:30:22] They’re going to want to know more on this one in particular, but they can go to Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify. Those are the most popular or even YouTube. If you really, really want to look at us.
[00:30:36] But thanks for joining us here today. Stay tuned for our continuing coverage here of the worst Logistics comp reverse Logistics Association conference and expo right here from beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you next time. Supply chain.
Bruce Brown is the CEO for Informission Solutions, LLC. Following various Business Unit and IT management positions, including running a Distribution Center, at Apple and other Fortune 500 companies, Bruce formed InforMission Solutions, Inc. (a spin out of InforMission Management Consultants) to develop systems that support the ANSI MH10.8.2.12N (aka “12N”) labeling standard – created by the Reverse Logistics Association’s Standards Committee. InforMission has been a key contributor to the standard having created nearly all of the technical specifications. Bruce serves as a member of the team that manages the standard for ANSI. Bruce’s vision for 12N is summarized in their tagline – One Label Does It All! He sees the 12N label as being capable of handling the labeling needs of all industries around the world while helping to increase sales and decrease costs! Bruce has helped develop solutions that simultaneously address the needs of professionals in logistics, sales and marketing, customer / technical support, and distribution. He is passionately involved in discussions to use 12N to solve significant worldwide issues in logistics and recycling.
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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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Host
Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.
She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.
Host
Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.
An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.
A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.
A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning. He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.
Host
Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.
Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.
Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.
Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).
Host
Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.
Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.
Marketing Coordinator
Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!
Host
An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.
Host
Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.
Host, Logistics with Purpose
Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.
Host, Logistics with Purpose
Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.
Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol
Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021.
Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe.
Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team.
Host
Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist.
Host
Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.
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.
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.
Principal & Host
When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.
Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.
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.
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!
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 Cisco, Microsoft, 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 University, O’Reilly Media, LinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight. Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Carrier 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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Director, Customer Experience
Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.
Chief of Staff & Host
Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.
Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Host
From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.
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.
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.
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.