In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott and Greg share the Supply Chain Buzz- the top stories in supply chain for the week.  They are also joined by featured guest, Tevon Taylor, with FedEx Supply Chain.

Intro – Amanda Luton (00:00:05):

It’s time for supply chain. Now broadcasting live from the supply chain capital of the country. Atlanta, Georgia heard around the world, supply chain. Now spotlights the best in all things, supply chain, the people, the technologies, the best practices and the critical issues of the day. And now here are your hosts.

Scott Luton (00:00:29):

Hey, good morning, Scott Luton, Greg white with you here on supply chain. Now welcome to today’s live stream, Greg, how are you doing?

Greg White (00:00:36):

I’m doing great. Where exactly is it? Morning?

Scott Luton (00:00:40):

That is true. Um, I’m getting behind myself

Greg White (00:00:46):

Anywhere West of us, which is everywhere in the U S any of the Western time zones. It is still actually morning. So I just thought I’d give you some facts. Thank you for a week. So I, I hope you are well rested and prepared to dive back into it, form the world about supply chain and it’s happening.

Scott Luton (00:01:06):

Well, admittedly, I might still be on vacation between the ears a bit, but we’ve gotten a great show here on this edition. This is the supply chain buzz, uh, edition of the show here. And, you know, Greg, as always the, the buzz is all about the latest and some of the greatest developments across global supply chain, right? Yeah. And today we have got a very special guest, a repeat guest. Uh, the one and only Tevin Taylor with FedEx supply chain is going to be joining us right here on the bus. And about 20 minutes, you ready? Are you strapped in?

Greg White (00:01:41):

I hope we’re ready. I think we interview a lot of big time execs at big companies here. We don’t interview a lot who the last minute before the show starts, gets a text from their CEO saying, don’t say anything inappropriate. So that should give people an idea of who we’re about. I love Tevin. He’s got a great gift, super personable, obviously very talented, um, and obviously a great rapport with his management team.

Scott Luton (00:02:07):

And he has got his finger on the pulse, uh, you know, stay tuned to our audience for what should be a very informative discussion both with, with Tevin, but also throughout the, the buzz here today over the next hour. Yeah. Um, all right. Real quick. Want to say hello to Stephan Stephan’s tuned in from Texas as a matter of fact, Stephen. Great to see you again. I always appreciate your contributions. Our dear friend, Kathy Mario Robertson, logistics TNI. Kathy has had several full plates here lately as she, uh, uh, between writing, uh, uh, analyst articles and white papers probably probably got some keynotes stuck in between all the, all the work, but Kathy, great to have you here on the show and mirror mirror, uh, via LinkedIn. I’m not sure where mere is tuned in from, but great to have you here with us, uh, today on the bus. Okay. Hey, quick programming before we dive into, uh, the headline scan, uh, today. So if you enjoy today’s live stream, be sure to check out our podcast, wherever you get your podcasts from today, Greg, we published our latest episode of this week in business history. Do you happen to know what the main thrust of the episode was about

Greg White (00:03:21):

And who can I say? Sure. Coca Cola and the birth of the Coca Cola company. So I happened to have studied that pretty closely. So I’m going to enjoy listening to that episode later today, and I will critique you.

Scott Luton (00:03:35):

We welcome it. That’s the only way to get better, but, you know, I learned a couple of things I’ve been around the cook Cola story forever, you know, having been in the Atlanta market for, you know, 15, 20 years. Yeah. I learned, I learned some new things. Uh, so really hope you check that out. Of course, we’ve got tequila, sunrise, uh, drop it on Wednesday. We’ve got our episode with the, uh, console general of Mexico in Atlanta. Drop it on Friday where it’s all about the U S MCA. So stay tuned. We’ve got a very busy podcast schedule and you can get it and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from.

Greg White (00:04:09):

And don’t uh, just one other quick thing shot. We dropped an episode with Rick McDonald, a VP of operations at Clorox company last Friday. Um, one is there, uh, is there a comp, a single company that has had been more in the forefront of this COVID thing and too amazing leadership culture at Clorox and an amazing leader in Rick McDonald’s so listen to that one as well.

Scott Luton (00:04:36):

Yeah. Great point. Great, great episode. Got a lot of good feedback on that. Uh, Rick’s always a wonderful interview and it’s amazing to hear what Clarks has done to keep things on the shelves as, as much as humanly, it would be as possible. It’s amazing to see the levels of demand.

Greg White (00:04:53):

It was really interesting to hear the story that even with all the preparation they had, they couldn’t, I’m not trying to spoil anything here, but they couldn’t keep up even with the amount of preparation that they had and the expectations that they could. It goes a lot to explaining the why is this so hard? That right is episode as well as you know, a lot of the leadership lessons that are there.

Scott Luton (00:05:15):

Yep. Uh, I want to say hello to a few quick folks for jump, jump into the first headline. I like what pier has to say here. Good afternoon from Atlanta home, the buzz Pierre, you’re making our, our afternoon. Great to have you here on LinkedIn. Of course we have. Latiya where this Latiya Thomas who gave a great interview a couple of weeks back, uh, Keith Singleton, who always drops, quotable quotes on the bus. So Keith you’ve set, you’ve set a high bar. We’re looking forward to your contributions today. Nick Swann, Nick, I believe is in the Midwest, uh, Ohio, I believe. And he’s in supply chain. Uh, Nick, great to have you here with us. Uh, cigar is tuned in via LinkedIn from India. Great to have you. And then, um,

Greg White (00:06:02):

Your dinnertime where he is. He’s I think he’s plus nine and a half. That’s all right to us. So I think you’re right as well. Thanks for staying up late.

Scott Luton (00:06:11):

Serea also tuned in from India. Great to have you here. Okay. So let’s dive right into this first story here today, Greg. Um, and it’s been a busy July 4th did not stop, uh, global supply chain. It kept right on humming along. Uh, so a lot of, a lot of chatter last week, perhaps one of the biggest developments that got a ton of buzz last week was around the $700 million loan to Y R C worldwide. So, uh, I want to get your take on this in a minute, Greg, I’ll make sure I’ve got my seatbelt fastened before we do, but let me lay some groundwork, uh, a few background details for our audience. So, you know, look, this has been reported by a wide variety of outlets. I chose this story from the wall street journal. It’s one of our favorites. Of course, Jennifer Smith is a wonderful industry reporter there with, uh, the wall street journal.

Scott Luton (00:07:01):

So U S government is lending $700 million in Corona virus, stimulus funds to YRC and return. The U S government is going to have a seat at the table to the tune of 29.6% equity stake in the company. I wonder, who’s going to sit in that seat. Uh, the treasury department, uh, pointed to the two point $2 trillion legislation as eyes eyebrows were raised, and a lot of questions were being asked, but they pointed to the legislation that Congress passed last March, which included part of that two point 2 trillion is they had a $17 billion provision for companies deemed essential to national security. So from a sheer size standpoint, of course, YRC is a big player, 30,000 employees, uh, the fifth largest us trucking firm by 2019 revenue. But as, as pointed out by this article, which was news to me, the company YRC also works extensively with the DOD. Uh, so the CEO of the YRC worldwide says the funds are going to use primarily. I caught three main things, at least from the article number one cover, they’re going to be covering missed pension and healthcare payments. Number two, they’re going to use it for equipment and property lease payments. And then thirdly, they’re going to make capital investments into the fleet. So, Greg, what are your thoughts around this big $700 million loan?

Greg White (00:08:31):

My very first thought was, I wonder what Brad Jacobs, CEO of XPO logistics, a successful and well-run trucking company thinks about this. That was my first thought. Right? And, and, and, and I understand the argument that this is an essential business. You know, this goes back to some things that have happened frequent frequently. I say frequently every decade or so in 2008, 2009, 2010, we bailed out the big banks. We’ve bailed out the automotive makers in the past. It’s that too big to fail, um, you know, methodology wherein we take a, the U S government and therefore the U S taxpayer who never gets a dividend from it, by the way. But, uh, the U S government takes a position, an equity position, meaning they actually own shares in the company for a T for a temporary period to bail out these companies. I think it’s appropriate.

Greg White (00:09:37):

It’s appropriate if we’re going to loan this kind of money to this kind of company that would take an equity position, any bank would, any bank would take an equity position, probably this is warrants, meaning we can choose to take our money, or we can choose to take an in stock or something like that, or, or both often. Um, but also we do. And should I hope have a seat at the table, meaning the board to be able to vote and protect our taxpayers interest in, in this company. So personally, I don’t like it. I don’t, I don’t like the government getting involved in companies, but if they’re going to give our money or loan our money to these companies, then they absolutely need to have an equity stake wherein the us taxpayer, these a V the government can, can benefit and also protect that investment. Yep. But, you know, again, this is one of those situations where we’re propping up a company that was teetering. Um, and, uh, you know, I just don’t know at the very least it’s alone, so we should expect to get our, our money back.

Scott Luton (00:10:48):

Yep. Well, we all woke up this morning as a new shareholder part owner of YRC freight who have thought that would’ve happened. Um, here, here’s what I’m curious about. I, I love your thoughts around protecting that investment. That’s so important. Um, if it’s $7 million, uh, of, of taxpayer funds that go into, you know, uh, companies, it needs to be watched over certainly, uh, um, uh, a hundred times that, but what’s the exit plan, you know, how can, um, what’s the payback plan or is there one, how soon, how quickly can the government get that investment plus something on top, you know, get that back and, and, uh, make everybody whole, I’m not sure Greg I’ll defer to your expertise and those types of matters, but is that going to happen? And, and if you had to just pick a time frame, what do you think is, can play out in terms of once YRC, does it can give, you can be in position to get the money back, or what, what have you,

Greg White (00:11:46):

Yeah, I’m not, I’m not sure that, you know, these kind of events, they typically fairly unique terms. They may have been mandated in the provisions in the $17 billion treasury provision. Um, but you know, it will probably be a decade if this has an Eid DL, if the, um, forget what the IDL stands for, but basically a disaster loan, right. Then it’s essentially a 30 year loan. Yep. So, um, they have 30 years, they, they start paying interest early, but then they have 30 years to pay it off. So, and, and I’m sure the equity state comes down as the payoff occurs.

Scott Luton (00:12:33):

Yep. So, you know, uh, in the, in the article, a lot of folks that were watching this 17 B now provision, we’re expecting a big chunk of that go to Boeing. And of course, Boeing said, thanks, but no, thanks. We’re going to go a different route, thankfully. Yeah. So we’ll see where that goes. Hey, real quick. Want to recognize a few folks? Uh, um, let’s see here. Jaman great to have you here. He says, love it. When it works out to be able to watch one of your live shows, you know, Greg, uh, not only do we love having Jamie be part of this show, we’ve got a little secret, right? We’ve got a three part series that he’s going to be leading right now. It’s not a secret, of course not.

Greg White (00:13:14):

Yeah. I’m looking forward to that. I mean, um, you know, we need more people with expertise in transportation at supply chain now. And, um, not only, not only does Jaman have that, but he’s so up. And, um, so introspective and so studied. Um, he learned a lot in the school of hard knocks, which to me is perfect for people who study the transportation trade.

Scott Luton (00:13:40):

Absolutely. You’re not going to want to miss it, uh, will be released in timeframes and a lot more to come, but really looking forward to Jayman all about transportation and logistics, more to come there. Hey, memory is tuned in from South Africa. Yeah. Memory of it. I’ve enjoyed watching over the last few days, you had some pictures from work, uh, where you’re out while you were making it happen, trucks, your product was loaded. The love, seeing that kind of stuff and great to have you here. Memory says this Monday session is like my Monday sabbatical now. Great to hear all about the buzz topics. Great to have you here with us and Keith. Right. You know, as always, he asked a great question, Hey, who is on why our CS board that’s, that’s gonna be an interesting, uh, maybe Malcolm can look up a couple of, uh, uh, key figures on the board, but that’s a great question. And there Greg.

Greg White (00:14:31):

Well, it is. And I think, I think it is interesting to learn some of these additional provisions of this YRC thing. Look in the end, it has actually turned out to the good, um, with some of the banks and even with some of the auto makers, the government actually made money. Again, none of us ever saw any of that back, but, uh, the government actually made money on the stock in some of those companies because they were public. Right.

Scott Luton (00:14:58):

Uh, two other quick comments. So we’re gonna move on to the next story. Stephen talks about how in Germany, they’ve gotten a Volkswagen law, which allows, uh, them to weigh in on some of the major decisions. So see, it looks like a state in Germany has 20% ownership of the company. That’s an interesting observation. And then Pierre says, Hey, is there a successful precedence for the government to success, uh, successfully participating on the board of a bailout company?

Greg White (00:15:27):

You know, that’s a really, really good question. I, uh, during the financial crisis, when we bailed out the banks, I really didn’t pay enough attention to that. Cause I was trying to survive personally. Um, I didn’t pay enough attention to that, um, to know if we took board positions on those banks. Yep. But that, that’s a really good question. I mean, I think, um, the Volkswagen law in Germany is, is one. Um, and arguably, has that been successful? I don’t know. That’s one of the worst run auto makers in Europe, in my opinion, but I’m sure Saxony does not hold a majority position in that. Um, but, but successful, I mean, Volkswagen was, was teetering at one time. Some, I don’t know how that aligns with, uh, with the board position that the state took. Yes, sir.

Scott Luton (00:16:25):

A lot of great questions there. Everyone’s got questions and we’ll see how weeks and months ahead, we’ll get some of the answers to these questions and others about this, this huge loan here. Okay. So Greg and other big news last week, of course the us MCA is now the law of the land has officially replaced NAFTA. Yeah. Uh, tell us more what some of your early observations,

Greg White (00:16:48):

Let’s start with the fact that the U S MCA came in with a whimper, right? Not a bang. I mean, it wasn’t big news and Scott, you and I actually, we did an interview with Javier DSW data and own the consul general to Atlanta, um, and had some discussion about that. So that episode’s going to drop in the next week or two, correct Friday this Friday, man, listen to that. First of all, Javier is a knowledgeable person. He’s a huge fan of America and particularly the Southeast and, um, and knows all the numbers. Of course that’s his job. But anyway, one of the topics that we discussed was that this has been overshadowed by COVID and, and societal disruption and all, all of that sort of thing. So this is a big deal. It’s a replacement of NAFTA. So it entered into force last Wednesday, July 4th, July 1st, um, after about three years of, of negotiations.

Greg White (00:17:53):

So it’s a replacement of NAFTA, particularly to address the dynamics in today’s commerce, those things being digital trade, uh, some specific addressing of labor and environmental considerations, which weren’t really thought about, uh, during the NAFTA years and those all three of those things. Um, well, digital trade didn’t even exist back then. Um, and labor and environmental, middle considerations, weren’t nearly at the top of the list, uh, way back then, but the, you know, the changes in, in, um, things like rules of origin mean that it’s more complex and more stringent to declare a product made in America or made in North America. Right. Um, I think it’s important for everyone because since we have people listening all around the world, there are only three countries in North America, Mexico, us and Canada. So we have one of the easiest environments to create a free trade zone in the entire world, right?

Greg White (00:18:58):

At least from a continental standpoint and ambassador, uh, Diaz weighed in on that, the unique environment we have here, the unique opportunity. And he’s really excited about to your point what the U S MCA is going to do to build on the success of NAFTA. And I think we should all be pretty excited because Mexico is a far different player in the world economy now than it was then. So we’ll talk about that a little bit too, but, but for instance, on the made in North America, so now a vehicle, and I’m just going to pick probably the most common and controversial parts, steel and aluminum for a car to be considered made in North America. 75% of the steel and aluminum has to, has to originate from North America, meaning us Mexico or Canada, right. Um, instead of 62.5% and all of the other complimentary parts have higher requirements as well.

Greg White (00:19:57):

And what that does is that forces companies to make the decision, to bring business back to the States or to pay the import tariffs and taxes that they would, uh, for even some of their, uh, second, third, fourth tier, uh, supply chain partners who might be in Europe or Canada or Europe or China or other areas around the world. Right? Yep. So the purpose of this also was to reduce some of the barriers for cross border traffic cross border flow. Um, and it’s taken away some of the strict governmental burdensome regulations, but also it’s, it’s taken away a, um, a singular format form. So the shippers and carriers are responsible for identifying that this item can be certified as U S MCA compliant. That is a dual edged sword because, you know, companies, some carriers define the form one way and some carriers or even shippers might define it another way.

Greg White (00:20:59):

I can see there being some sort of consortium needing to be produced there, to do it, you know, to make sure that that is, um, easier to comply with right. More standard practice. But at least it’s not government standard practice, which is always burdensome. So look, I think in short, if I can be short, this brings this trade agreement to a new level. It brings us, brings us into the new century. It considers things like digital trade. Um, and, and it also, um, impacts environment and labor, uh, for instance, is for, uh, labor costs. If at the right rate can be considered a portion of sourcing in North America. For instance, if you pay someone more than $16 an hour, then their labor counts as sourcing, uh, in, in North America, if you pay them less than that than it does not. So this will actually enforce good labor practice in North America as well.

Scott Luton (00:22:03):

Agreed. Okay. So we’ve, we’ve picked two stories that we could probably dedicate several hours to on the front end, but for the sake of time, we’re going to move right along. We’re going to say hello to a few folks, Benjamin gold clang. Once again is at England. That’s all right back from his run on LinkedIn. Great to have you here with us. Benjamin Joseph Valentine every day is Valentine’s day. Great to have you with us here, Joseph, uh, arrow seeing is with us own LinkedIn. Great to have you here. It’s his first time. So Aero great to have you. Uh, let’s see. Patrick Kelly is back the produce podcast, looking forward to some collaboration with Patrick and his team, uh, and Victor and Robert appreciate the comments they are. We’re not going to get to that cause we’re going to move right along to our, our, our featured guests here. But thanks so much, uh, Victor, by the way, Greg was, was curious about how many other companies are, uh, playing along with that 70% rule that you had mentioned in terms of makeup. We’ll we’ll circle back on that stuff. Okay. So we’re going to drop the slot out of the stream. Cause Greg, we’re really excited about this repeat guests here today. We’ve enjoyed some, some prep conversations, uh, with mr. Tevin Taylor managing director sales with FedEx supply chain. Let’s bring him on it. Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:23:24):

Hey Devin. Good Mo good afternoon. How are you doing

Greg White (00:23:27):

Good. Good morning here in Texas. Yeah, that’s right.

Scott Luton (00:23:33):

That’s right. Easy time conversion. You’re an hour behind us. So great to have you back. Hey, you know, it’s been a while we were together last Greg with Tevin last February at the one only reverse logistics association, a yearly conference in Vegas really enjoy the episode Tevin. And it’s always great to have you back real quick on the front end. We’re going to dive into some, some, some of the things you’ve been managing and leading through here since that time, but let’s refresh everybody’s memory. You know, what does FedEx supply chain do? Cause I think a lot of folks are gonna make assumptions and we’ve got to correct them.

Tevon Taylor (00:24:07):

Absolutely. So I’m glad you hit that right in the start. So FedEx supply chain is one of the many opcos for FedEx corporation. We have about 12,000 employees worldwide. We’re doing all the warehousing inventory management, Ford logistics, reverse logistics as part of the overall corporation. So think about, you know, everything that’s within four walls is within FedEx supply chain.

Scott Luton (00:24:32):

Mm whew. So how many plates are you running Tevin?

Tevon Taylor (00:24:37):

Correct. What’s ahead. Does that include last mile that they, that includes transportation management on the parcel LTL side is FedEx freight, FedEx ground FedEx express.

Scott Luton (00:24:50):

Hmm. So you are the facility, the fulfillment and distribution facilities feeding those vehicles

Tevon Taylor (00:24:57):

Deliver, correct? Yep. That’s correct. We like to call it the force multiplier. So if you have the warehouse and you have the distribution and the transportation, you kind of have that end to end look and you have the inbound transportation, you can kind of put the whole supply chain together.

Scott Luton (00:25:14):

Got it. Love it. Uh, all right. So shifting gears a little bit here, of course, the pandemic environment we’ve all been fighting through for months. Now, tell us about some of the, some of the cool things that FedEx supply chain has jumped in, in, uh, in, in the global fight against COVID-19.

Tevon Taylor (00:25:33):

Sure, sure. Well, quite simply, you know, a guys I’m really fortunate to be part of a dedicated and quality driven global team of about 500,000 committed employees that are really delivering the FedEx purple promise, which is making every FedEx experience outstanding. So our people have been and remain on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. So helping deliver relief, supplies, medical supplies, test kits, uh, some of the things we’ve done since the beginning of 2020, which ironically, when we met in Vegas, we talked about COVID, but back then it was disrupting the supply chain from a manufacturing standpoint. I don’t think anybody ever put a dream that this thing would blow up like it has. But since that early time we transported over 1600 humanitarian aid shipments over 6 million masks, but 1.5 million shipments of PPE set up medical shelters, know 200,000 boxes to food banks and much more, um, you look at the network and what we’ve had to do is I don’t want to say reconfigure, but the best approach is just to, to the changing needs of what’s going on in the supply chain.

Tevon Taylor (00:26:46):

So the flights that used to carry cargo beneath for passenger airlines started disappearing. So charter flight with FedEx logistics have started taking that capacity. Um, so we’re the airline industry is suffering. Our charter industry is actually starting to see quite an uplift, but then we’ve seen changes in deliveries to retail and business as well. So quite a bit of change with COVID-19, but just proud of our 500,000 teammates that are supporting the industry and supporting our customers and each other. Uh, it’s, it’s a terrible thing going on with the pandemic and look forward to the day. We don’t have to talk about it, right?

Greg White (00:27:25):

Yeah, no doubt.

Scott Luton (00:27:26):

Absolutely. Hey, real quick before Greg’s ask you a question about e-commerce, but real quick observation, I think over the weekend, I was reading a piece. You mentioned, uh, uh, aviation, the whole industry, um, the seven 47 is rumored to be being phased out in short order. And one, one of the, uh, big issues that’s delaying that is air cargo and how they’re leveraging those platforms during these, these, uh, unique times. So I know you’re a bit of a aviation buff, aren’t you Tevin?

Tevon Taylor (00:27:57):

I am seven 47. Wasn’t my favorite thing. It’s like the 1970s Caprice, you know, it’s a big death guzzling airplane. The first one I ever went into was that ups was a cargo handler at DFW in the late nineties when I was in high school. And I remember climbing up to the cockpit and just looking out and seeing a high I was, but those four engines in that size aircraft, uh, I see them phasing those out in short order for sure.

Scott Luton (00:28:24):

That’s right. That was the, this article

Greg White (00:28:26):

Part of the reason that they can afford it is because rate rates are up, right. Because I mean, the reason there’s nothing wrong with the air frame of a seven 47, it’s just that it’s got old gas guzzling engines. It’s a lot of aircraft to move through the air. Right. Yeah. Well, so, um, tell us a little bit about what you guys are doing, and I appreciate your, first of all, your participation in helping to get necessary supplies and PPE and medical supplies and that sort of thing around the world, not just in the States. I think at least in the States we think of FedEx is our right, our freight company, but really you guys are of course global, but tell us a little bit about anything you’re doing because eCommerce is changing so dramatically Tevin and the volume is up so much. How are you guys adapting to that? And what kind of things have you done to, you know, enable and increase capacity or whatever there?

Tevon Taylor (00:29:26):

Yeah, that’s a great question. Um, yeah, one of the greatest opportunities in front of the transportation and logistics industry is really how you successfully manage the growth of eCommerce. And that was before the pandemic e-commerce was already becoming, um, you know, quite the source of growth for many companies. Um, we unfortunately had to flip the switch faster than I think everyone wanted it. And I’ll say the companies that are not omni-channel in, not in the eCommerce space, they’re suffering, if they didn’t get a head start on it. Um, but from our standpoint, you know, online shopping has grown to enormous pace. You know, we’re expecting the parcel volume to double from 50 million to a hundred million packages per day in the next six years. So think about that. You’re going to double the amount in the next six years. And I don’t know about you.

Tevon Taylor (00:30:15):

I, I really, I still love going to retail. I’m just a creature of habit and, uh, you know, like to go see, touch, feel the product. Um, but you know what, when you’re locked away at home and you’re working from home and you don’t have access to retail, a lot of us that turns e-commerce. And I actually think that number is going to exceed a hundred million packages per day. Um, you’re seeing that that’s just the option is retail has to adjust and you’re seeing a lot of retail stores, unfortunately, with the strain of pandemic have, uh, have gone down. I see the number going up. So the benefit with FedEx and FedEx logistics, which FedEx logistics is really the, the operating company, FedEx supply chain sits underneath. We came up with FedEx fulfillment, which is an all-in-one e-commerce logistics solution. So we have the full bundle for our small and mid sized customers that don’t need that dedicated warehouse.

Tevon Taylor (00:31:09):

We have warehousing fulfillment, order management, transportation management, and returns all in one warehouse, all for the small and midsize clients. So the ones that didn’t get on board with omni-channel now have that opportunity. They just talked to FedEx. We work with them, we inventory their product, we set up a interface with it, their orders come to us, we drop them. You know, they go to the, you know, I go online to a smaller mid sized company that really doesn’t have access to big warehouses. And now they can do all that within one package with FedEx.

Greg White (00:31:43):

Hmm. That’s a great option. Option. Look. So many companies they think singularly, right? They think that they have to be engaged with Amazon to do that thing. But even if you use Amazon as a marketplace companies, like what you’re doing at FedEx and other companies give companies the option to be able to, to handle more of it themselves, or to handle it outside of that ecosystem and SIM and, and I think limit their exposure. Right. I think we’ve seen some of the things that Amazon has done in the last few years. We all know that they’re copying their customers goods and things like that. So there are, and I’m sure you’ve seen this to have actually, I’d ask you if you, if you’ve seen this, there are lots of brands leaving or at least looking for alternatives so that they’re not completely beholden to a single marketplace or a single, uh, logistics provider. Is that what you’re seeing out there? Yeah. I’ve never heard of the company you’re talking about, but it’s something that most people haven’t let me explain.

Tevon Taylor (00:32:45):

They might take advantage of having information and data on a customer and trying to create products and services to go acquire customers. Our goal at FedEx is not to consume the customer’s business, but to help them and compliment what they do best right. Create a product or a service, right. It’s, it’s our job to be their partner and to be their solution in the logistics space and transportation. Um, and to your point, we are definitely helping to compete against that company. You, you mentioned earlier,

Greg White (00:33:16):

Love it. Hey, real quick, Greg, speaking of partnerships, I know there’s a big one. Brewing has been brewing at FedEx. We’re gonna talk about, but, but I want to recognize a few folks, Kyle van art’s in his first time here with us, Kyle. Great to have you here, uh, looking forward to your input in the, in the weeks ahead. Uh, Mohib we’re talking aviation a minute ago, Mohit fester. Mohib that’s right at Wichita state university, the air capital of the world. They’re being Wichita, Kansas. Great to have him with us here as well. All right, Greg, let’s talk about this big news. Yeah. So a couple of weeks ago we heard about this and we’ve had the opportunity to talk to you a little bit offline about this Tevin, but tell us about FedEx and Microsoft joining forces. What is that mean? What is it? And you know, what, how does, how do you think it benefits the marketplace

Tevon Taylor (00:34:06):

That actually is continuously looking for and seeking out partnerships that give us the opportunity, offer flexibility and agility to our, for our customers. So not only just for their supply chain, but also tracking shipments and making fast and informed decisions. Um, so the example with FedEx and Microsoft that was announced in may, um, you might have seen Fred Smith’s interview with Microsoft CEO, but we announced the partnership. And the first role offering is something called FedEx surround. So FedEx round is that multi-year collaboration to transform how commerce happens. And it’s combining the two networks. So global digital logistics network of FedEx with the power of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud. So you put those two things together and it’s going to allow businesses to enhance visibility into their supply chain by leveraging data, uh, artificial intelligence and providing real time analytics in the shipping and tracking. So you got to think like the knowledge of that package and where it’s moving.

Tevon Taylor (00:35:12):

I don’t know if you’ll remember 20 years ago when it was so cool just to track a package. And then like, you know, years later it became just normal. I mean, you see the Domino’s truck and you can, like, you can order a pizza, know where your pizza is in the cycle, right? That was revolutionary in the shipping business 20 years ago. Now it’s table stakes, which we all know this takes it a further step. It takes it down the path of understanding conditions within the supply chain. You know, whether they’re severe weather, natural disasters, a COVID crisis, right? Mechanical delays, Clarence delays, all the things you see that happen now can, can really help you as a customer, look into your supply chain and make decisions, quick decisions. So not two days later, you find out something’s on back order. Not two days later, you find out the product was damaged or it wasn’t really an inventory. It’s going to be real time data. That’s going to allow supply chains to adapt. Um, so the partnership is brand new. Uh, there’s a lot more information coming out, uh, in the coming weeks and months. I know we’re doing some pilots here in late summer, so probably next month, you’ll hear more information on it. I’m so excited about what we’re going to do with Microsoft, because it’s, it’s game changing activity in supply chain that will really make a difference.

Scott Luton (00:36:32):

Love it. Uh, it helps you continue connecting people and possibilities, right? And that’s a big theme of what you and your team does to fulfill that purple promise. I forgot about that phrase, uh, from our time in FA and February. And

Tevon Taylor (00:36:45):

You also noted that you’re wearing a purple polo, I assume. Logo. Okay. Very nice. Very nice.

Scott Luton (00:36:52):

Yep. Alright, so we’ve got colors. Purple is one of my favorite that’s right. Alright, so let’s keep right. Well, no, recognize a few of our comments. Uh, we got a comment from Twitch, Sam Cox. He’s talking about how Omni channel is really solid right now, clearly, especially with all the brick and mortar challenges we’re seeing, uh, folks, if they haven’t already figured out their omnichannel strategy, they’re behind the eight ball. For sure. So great to have you with this own Twitch Sam, um, let’s see here also Sylvia, Judy, so you got a little bit of a fan in Charleston, uh, Tevin, Sylvia, Judea, a regular live stream, or participant with us here, greetings from Charleston, FedEx supply chain has the right idea, enhance your portfolio and be inclusive with new solutions. Uh, good stuff there from Sylvia. Okay. So, and, and some of the folks we can’t get to all your comments and questions for the sake of time. We really appreciate it. What we’ll circle back as we’ve got time for. Um, I’ve got a question here, you know, speaking of connecting the world and connecting people and possibilities and what have you, um, share some more examples of, of how you’re doing just that at FedEx supply chain Tevin?

Tevon Taylor (00:38:01):

Sure, sure. So, so the FedEx logistics operating company, our mere existence is innovative in its approach and the fact that we’re creating value for our customers across the enterprise, right? So we are called the FedEx force multiplier because what we offer is a portfolio of specialized logistics solutions that really enable customers to reach commercial and business destinations anywhere in the world. Um, so what that means is you have the FedEx logistics arm of the company that provides supply chain, customs, clearance, freight forwarding, all the things that are really specialized, what they do is they compliment transportation services offered by FedEx express, FedEx, ground and FedEx freight. So you look at the transportation and all we’re doing is we’re adding the force multiplier by strength, strengthening those offerings and reaching new markets. Some of the things we’ve done lately, you might’ve seen, um, you, I don’t know if you’ve seen this or not, but you know, on the late show, we actually debuted our same day bot, which is called rock. So it’s an autonomous delivery vehicle and we start testing it in different markets. We actually tested it, delivering pizza just to see how people reacted. Um, internationally, you know, some markets were stronger than others.

Tevon Taylor (00:39:21):

I have not seen a picture of a Tevin picture. It’s, you know, it stands about three and a half feet tall. It’s a box it’s branded FedEx and it actually has eyes and sensing, um, sensors all around it. So you can detect, you know, if it’s on the sidewalk, you can detect if someone’s in it’s way. Um, if it follows all traffic laws, which are good, but, um, the greatest thing about this delivery bot is going to be it’s, it’s going to be an urban areas, same day deliveries, FedEx office, um, you know, just like all delivery aspects and last mile and different markets are going to have to adapt to how it, how it operates and how it works. So it was kind of, it was invented by the segway and vendor, believe it or not. Um, so it’s, it’s, it’s actually being tested. I’ll send y’all some information. Maybe it’s something we can talk about it for our viewers, if you’re interested.

Scott Luton (00:40:13):

So you, it debuted on the late show, does it have this rock? So have a sense of humor, Tevin

Tevon Taylor (00:40:20):

Almost, almost as good as Greg’s almost

Scott Luton (00:40:25):

Well, all right. Uh, so, you know, I want to shift gears, but was there any other, you know, really a compelling example you wanted to share in terms of how you’re helping companies make these connections? Or can I move up, move right along to the, uh, go ahead, Greg.

Greg White (00:40:42):

I just want to go back to one, cause I saw one question come through the stream and the question was could, uh, by Stephan, um, also in Texas, by the way, um, can you essentially open an eCommerce site and, and have all of the fulfillment warehousing receiving and shipping done by FedEx? I think that’s essentially, that’s not everything you do, but I think that’s essentially what you’re describing to Evan. Is that correct? Is that a fair estimation?

Tevon Taylor (00:41:13):

We do that for many customers today. Um, if we’re opening a site, a dedicated warehouse, that’s going to be a larger customer. So when you have a 300,000 square foot warehouse with 600 employees, uh, operating in a pick pack and ship environment, and usually, you know, nowadays the new warehouses are fully automated, right? But that warehouse, I’ll just say for some retailers where we run their e-commerce branch, that is a dedicated site, the FedEx fulfillment warehouses, I’m talking about where we have them strategically located within the country. That is a multi-client facility. So you have thousands of small and midsize businesses that have inventory in that warehouse where we’re picking and packing and shipping every day. So their orders might be only 50 to a hundred orders a day. But when you mix that with all the other small and mid sized businesses, it makes for a warehouse, um,

Scott Luton (00:42:08):

And you got to get enough economies of scale by cumulating all those companies to make it affordable for those smaller e-commerce providers.

Tevon Taylor (00:42:16):

Wow. We make it affordable and very competitive as well. And think about it. It’s all in one. Remember? So it’s transportation and the warehousing all put together.

Scott Luton (00:42:24):

Yep. Okay. Got it. Alright. One last major question before we make sure folks know how to connect with you Tevin, and I believe we included your LinkedIn profile in the show notes here today and make it easy for folks. Um, you know, challenging time undoubtedly is, and you know, it’s it, as we all know, it’s gonna be different for months and in some cases permanently different. Um, let’s talk about people. Let’s talk about you. And FedEx is commitment to the people involved across the world of supply chain and beyond, you know, what are some of the things you are doing there?

Tevon Taylor (00:42:56):

Uh, yeah, that’s, that’s very pertinent at this time. Um, yeah, I never thought this would be a question ever on an interview, but right now it’s important for people, Stan, how companies are treating individuals and, you know, our company was founded Fred Smith. When he founded the company, he was, he made sure we had a people first philosophy. As a matter of fact, our, the philosophy started with was called PSP people, service profit. And the first P is taking care of your people. If you take care of your people, you lead them, you coach them, you mentor them, you train them, they offer great service, excellent service, which is the purple promise. And then you profit in the end profits. Last, you don’t focus a little profit. You focus on the people and we respect for everyone in how they operate. So our diverse workforce and supplier base, uh, supports that culture.

Tevon Taylor (00:43:49):

Um, you know, we believe in investing in our people in diversity programs, which would definitely make us stronger as a company. Um, one thing I’ve learned throughout my career is that the most important aspect of any leader’s job, it’s the people. So you gotta take care of your people and, you know, helping others be their best, providing the support and information they need to do their jobs. Um, so it’s, it’s one of the many reasons FedEx is, is named one of the top 10 most admired companies in the world by fortune magazine. Uh, it also helps us with attracting talent in retaining talent for that matter. So I’m proud to be a FedEx or a it’s great what we do for our people, but now is definitely the time as leaders. We need to make sure we’re taking care of the workforce and taking care of other and showing dignity and respect to the people.

Scott Luton (00:44:34):

Hmm. Well put, well put, okay. I know you’ve got a big meeting at the top of the hour, so w gotta let you go here, but, but real quick, what’s the best way for folks to connect with some of the cool things you all are doing at FedEx and connect with you, Kevin,

Tevon Taylor (00:44:49):

Uh, you can go to my LinkedIn profile obviously, or you can email me@tevindottayloratfedex.com.

Scott Luton (00:44:56):

That’s that easy writing that down,

Tevon Taylor (00:45:00):

Unless you’re a city chiefs fan, you can, you can email Greg and Greg will send it to me. That’s right. Oh boy. Am I supposed to talk about Kansas city,

Scott Luton (00:45:13):

A little background for our listeners? So there’s a, there’s a healthy little rivalry rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas city chiefs. Of course, that’s Greg and Tevin, uh, their loyalties lie there. So, alright, well, Kevin, that’s our hand Aggies Tevin, always a pleasure. I appreciate what you and FedEx are doing during these incredibly challenging times for everybody. And looking forward to reconnecting with you, uh, down the road here just a little bit. Thanks guys. Alright,

Greg White (00:45:40):

Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Scott Luton (00:45:45):

All right. And just like that, Tevin Taylor managing director sales with FedEx supply chain is a Baton work, right? I’m sure they’ve got it.

Greg White (00:45:54):

No dude bleeds. Purple. I got to tell you that that whole con construction that they have, we’ve had a lot of questions in the, in the feed here, but that whole construct that they’ve created enables companies to virtually be what they, what I think a good retailer is. And that is a good brand manager, a good underst you know, gaining a good understanding of your customer base, servicing them well, and then having the back office of the logistics be handled by the pros. Yup. Um, and I think more and more of these retailers, whether they are well, they’re all going to have to be e-commerce right. You’re going to have to have some e-commerce. But what that solution that he’s talking about is also valuable for retailers that have bricks and mortar stores as well.

Scott Luton (00:46:45):

Yup. Agreed. You know, I, I’m simple minded. I love the PSP, right. People first profit last that really, I mean, out of all the things he shared there and I love how serious they are about connecting and, and creating opportunities that really stood out, um, memory loves PSP as well. Uh, we’re kindred spirits. They’re a memory Keith Singleton, uh, says for stakeholders, owners, vendors, customers, employees, they’re equal partners well said there, Keith. Um, and I think that’s all the comments for now. So Greg, we are running hard and fast here today on, on was, uh, you ready to jump back into our last two headlines for the,

Greg White (00:47:25):

Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s get back to the news.

Scott Luton (00:47:28):

Alright. Back to the news, but really

Greg White (00:47:30):

Loved Tevin a perspective he shared here today on the bus. All right. So now we are talking about a food manufacturer, still trying to play catch up, um, while preparing for a possible second way. We won’t be optimistic around here. Uh, but who knows? We’re seeing a variety of numbers. So in this story from Andy, [inaudible] over at the wall street journal, uh, can aggravate Canambra brands easy for you to say how demand for grocery goods isn’t going away. So the company continues to invest more and more into increasing its manufacturing capacity. We saw similar, uh, stories come out of the McCormick, uh, company McCormick, uh, spice company. I think they talked last week about, uh, basically bringing online in terms of capacity, a whole another plant without building a plant. So a lot of comfort companies are trying to figure out any which way they can add capacity.

Greg White (00:48:28):

So a lot of folks, uh, Greg, I know you’re familiar with some of these Canambra product lines, Hunt’s tomatoes, healthy choice meals, birds, eye, frozen vegetables. And that’s just a few of them. Yeah. Um, sales of its products in the quarter to end May 31st across all across the whole portfolio up 22%. So Canambra CEO, Sean Conley says, quote, we are doing everything in our power to add additional capacity, but it’s going to be strained. Demand remains elevated and it remains challenging to play catch up on base inventory levels, much less build safety stock in quote. Yeah. So the article stated that food companies see a once in a generation chance for them to gain market share. And specifically it’s an opportunity to win back consumers that may have defected to quote niche trendy brands in recent years. All right. So I’m going to tell them myself a little bit here.

Greg White (00:49:30):

So it appears that ConAgra is making the most of the opportunity in the latest quarter retail sales Rose 62% for chef Boyardee pasta. Greg, I don’t know if you like mini ravioli. That’s kind of my, one of my guilty pleasures, but 62%, Holy cow, 62% across chef Boyardee, uh, it’s up 39% for it’s Hebrew national meets. First of all, those were some of the best, best hot dogs you will ever eat. This is not a paid endorsement. Right. I’m surprised that there’s that much room upward in, for instance, in, in Hebrew national, I guess I thought everybody knew about this brand, right? Yep. Um, but it is interesting. What I think we’re seeing here is that the big companies with big and sophisticated supply chains who are able to either stay in stock or rapidly and communicate effectively with the marketplace, they’re starting to see the payoff of that in the marketplace.

Scott Luton (00:50:34):

Yes. Sage wisdom as always from Greg white. So here’s the trillion dollar question though. Will the food giants retain and keep these old and new consumers? Once we get into the real post pandemic environment, that’s going to be the, you know, they’re gonna be clawing to keep them, uh, all right. So here, here we go. Greg, a question for you, all the rage and all the talk, all the talking heads have been talking about resilient supply chains, and we know why that’s gonna be important. Always has been, maybe it just gains a little extra luster here, but maybe it’s time we talk about the resilience of this record breaking demand. That is persisting. What’s your take here, Greg?

Greg White (00:51:18):

Yeah. I’m glad you gave me a little bit of time to think about that. I got the question before the show. So I appreciate that. Um, I think we’ll see that carry for some time to come. As it turns out it was driving out of my neighborhood yesterday and I saw one of my neighbors had gotten a new television, left the box out by the dumpster because the garbage was coming and it was a Sony television. And I thought is Sony even still in business. I mean, I think, and the reason I say that is of course they are incredible quality. They basically invented the quality electronic design supply chain, retail marketplace. But, um, I think these companies have to remain in contact with their customers and continue to create value in the brand because I think consumers will, they’ll overtime, they’ll trend back towards whatever the trend is.

Greg White (00:52:21):

It may not be niche products, but I’m feeling that it will. I mean, the, you know, our society is more customized, more personalized every single day, right? So it’s, it’s going to be difficult for these brands to do that. But what I do see happening in terms of demand is I see a shift. I can tell you this it’s hit us squarely in the pot pocketbook from a positive standpoint. And also it’s hit me personally in the waistline from a positive standpoint to not be eating in restaurants all the time. I have dropped like eight, nine pounds and I’ve been able to keep it off by not eating and rest. I’m certain, that’s what it is. And um, and I think people are going to see the results of that and it will sustain for some period of time. Now, ultimately, look, we’re just human beings. We’re going to forget those things. And we’re going to go back, think about, think about how we thought the world had changed after the last financial crisis, right. In 2008 to 2013, and look at how quickly we forgot all of that. We’re really good or old ways, right? Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:53:28):

We’re really good at we’re we’re like a great close or a major league baseball. You got to quickly forget about the last blown save and keep on moving. So, uh, we’ll see. We’ll see what sticks is this go around. I want to read a couple of comments before we get to our last headline here, Mohit professor Mohit, uh, he’s going back to the FedEx segment. He says, wow, this is innovative FedEx sharing warehouses for businesses. This is very competitive, right, Amazon, but more with four PL impressive, uh, good stuff there from the professor. Our buddy Fred Tolbert says I feel the buzz all the way down to my toes. It’s a great time to be in supply chain. I agree. Fred, looking forward to reconnecting back with you again real soon here, um, by the way, arrow, you had some great questions. Uh, we had some, we had some guidelines in terms of what we could ask Kevin about what we couldn’t.

Scott Luton (00:54:20):

Uh, we’ll try to connect you with Tevin and get, uh, maybe his perspective on your questions you’ve asked. Uh, let’s see here, Stephan shes, um, uh, professor Mohib. I agree, and businesses do not have to worry about finding the right warehouse. And in addition to working from home, companies can choose their headquarters or local offices on related to best location, great comments there from Stephen, the one and only Kerryn bursts that weighs in as well. Current, hopefully this finds you well this morning combination of great digital planning and physical execution, many have narrowed their sort mints talking about, uh, food companies, whatnot, to run with greater efficiency and resiliency. We’ll put Korean and looking forward. Can we let, can we let that secret out of the bag? Yeah, let’s do it. We’re going to kick it off a new technology supply chain technology focused series, a they kind of compliment tequila, sunrise, but new series featuring, uh, Kerryn and really Greg and probably some guests talking about some of the latest and greatest developments in the space. So Korean is a subject matter expert, uh, which most, most of the market already understands that already. So looking forward to the new series.

Greg White (00:55:31):

So, well, one of the things we want to do there just real quick is we want to, so tequila, sunrise is about investment and, um, and, and, uh, deals and growth, and even implosions in supply chain. This, this series is going to be about, um, it’s going to be about what technology can do for you. And we’ve had a series of questions. So we’ll talk about all of the naturals planning, execution, responsiveness. I’m sure we’ll talk about all of the keywords, a I O T blockchain, all of those things. And what Kerryn wants to do is to put a really practical spin on it. Here’s what it is, here’s what it does. And here’s what it means for you and how to, hopefully we can close the gap for how do you employ that in your business?

Scott Luton (00:56:20):

Excellent clarification. That was not in my notes today. So thank you for weighing in the notes as usual. That’s an important distinction because, you know, great, there’s a reason why Greg leads that series tequila, sunrise, because of his wealth of experience in that investment and M and a, and an entrepreneurial and startup and, and you name it that whole space. And it’s re it’s a very hot space for all things, supply chain, which is why this is one of the best times to be in the industry. And then of course, uh, to be able to, to, to, uh, have Greg and Korean and guests weigh in on the constant evolution and innovation in supply chain technology, that’s going to be a really cool series coming online. So Korean, thanks for joining me here today. Looking forward to that series, kicking off. Okay. Uh, one last comment we’re going to have to dive real quick. We may run a few minutes over here. Memory asset. Interesting question. As in, has anyone been to a bank during lockdown banks need to change how they operate? Uh, it looks like she stood in a queue for two hours for services. They still insist can’t be done over the phone or internet interesting memory. I wonder if everyone else has similar experiences, we’ve been banking remote since, um, you know, mid-March,

Greg White (00:57:38):

So memory is in South Africa and in Northern Africa, where many people have never been banked in the traditional way. They have completely issued traditional banking. And a lot of the banking is done using applications on phones and things like that. So memory that’s really a holdover that we largely have in the States as well, too, and probably a propping up of old banking methodologies. But I feel like that will and continues to need to change. One of the cruel ironies is in Atlanta. The joke is on every street corner, there’s two banks and two drug stores, right? So, so now, uh, on one of the corners near my house, they tore down one of the drugstores and now it’s going to be three banks, three physical banks, and one drug store on a corner. I can’t imagine why anyone is building banks right now, physical banks.

Scott Luton (00:58:32):

Well, on that note, speaking of bank, Stephan says our local branch is closed and we have to drive 30 minutes to get cash deposited, uh, that will change undoubtedly or those banks won’t be around. So we’ll see how th th th this continues to evolve, uh, Korean ways in talk, going back to that series, she says, can’t wait to explore how technology plays a pivotal role in accelerating supply chain and business success well said, Korea

Greg White (00:59:00):

Concisely set by the marketing expert.

Scott Luton (00:59:03):

That’s right. And Keith’s key Singleton. You’ve got a comment here where you think the virus will force this discipline, Hey, weigh in, let me know which discipline you’re referring to and would love to hear that thought through. Okay. So, you know, this story also

Greg White (00:59:21):

Came up last week and Greg wants you to walk us through this. Uh, this is all about the us government’s plan to crack down on some potential human rights abuses in global supply chain. Tell us more, uh, yeah, not potential well-documented, uh, human rights abuses and ongoing, and actually increasing in the last year, which is a bit of a travesty. If anyone knows me, you know, what a Hawk I am for ethical supply chain, be that sourcing of goods or fair trade, or obviously human rights. Um, and this harken back to a discussion Scott and I had some weeks ago, um, about this shin Jong, uh, province in China, where the department of Homeland security and other us government agencies took the position. This is a strong statement, took the position of assuming that companies that operate in this region were conducting unethical. And in fact, forced labor trade practices, unless they could certify otherwise.

Greg White (01:00:23):

And to date, no company has been certified. Otherwise, just to be clear, this is a backdrop for this story, but just recently, a department of Homeland security said, they’re going to, they’re going to take on increased enforcement action against active. And they are actively investigating companies and corporate officials who knowingly benefit from forced labor and other human rights abuses in this province. That includes the companies that are, maybe that are operating here, but also the companies that benefit from it. So those companies might be three or four tiers up the supply chain companies like Apple and Nike and others have about 85. Others have been, um, identified as benefiting from this type of supply chain in the way that wow, some, some of them to be fair to Apple and Nike, particularly because we named them, they have initiatives to try and uncover and eradicate this, or at least uncover it.

Greg White (01:01:25):

Um, but other companies are disavowing knowledge app, um, and, and using that as sort of a buffer against their culpability here, obfuscation right. Escaping. That’s a very good term. Thank you. So the specific, the specific issue here is some of you may have heard about this there’s about 1.5 million weekers. So that’s a tribe of, of Muslims and then other minorities in this province that are forced into labor camps under the guise of education or reeducation, if you’ve ever read any George Orwell novels or any Marxist, um, any Marxist doctrine, um, they’re they are involved heavily in the electronics and apparel industries. So on a, in response to that also on June 17th, president Trump signed a law authorizing sanctions against Chinese officials. So the commitment is definitely there by the U S government. And as you can see, they’re going to not just enforce against Chinese companies, which is virtually impossible, but also against the companies that benefit that bring the goods into the States.

Greg White (01:02:42):

Unfortunately, as late as October, 2019, we saw an increase in goods, brought into U S supply chains based on, um, the labor, the forced labor of these Oregon of these, uh, people. So, you know, the point of this is that there is, there is the ability and the U S government, the department of labor has a comply chain comply chain site, and a comply chain initiative that allows companies to investigate their suppliers and determine whether they are in areas of that, where they could be using unethical or even forced labor practices. This is not a unique problem to China. It’s just, it’s finally starting to come to the fore. And I think congratulations to the U S government for not only holding China, but also companies that do business in the States and also disavowing this op or disallowing, this obfuscation and lack of culpability by the companies that try to separate themselves by two or three layers in the supply chain.

Scott Luton (01:03:47):

Yes, it’s a shame is 2020. And we’re, we’re, we’re talking about taking advantage of human rights abuses yeah. Slavery that’s right. I mean, that’s, that’s what it is.

Greg White (01:03:56):

Yeah. There’s no other way to say it really. Yeah. Yep.

Scott Luton (01:03:58):

Good point. Stephan says, uh, even though the whole economy is changing to better environmental and humanitarian views, the government has to put pressure on companies worldwide. The change is too slow.

Greg White (01:04:12):

Amen. Well put stuff and China’s not even the biggest, I mean, they’re not even the biggest, um, slave trade organ, uh, country in the world. India has a much bigger problem. It’s just that India has been taking a much, much more active role in reducing slave labor.

Scott Luton (01:04:32):

Mm. So Keith weighs in cheap labor is the bane of democracy. It is a plague worse than COVID-19. So we got to get Keith on another show. We had him on a few months as well. It’s been a part of a year ago now we’ve got to have him back on. Um, all right. So what we wanted to do, so Greg, good stuff here as always, I want to point out, you know, you know, we’re fans of supply chain dive and, and, and, and, you know, we’re not paid to promote anybody. They’re a great news source, right. To, to covering global supply chain, by the way, Meghan Ford, both at articles, what were Megan’s or this go around Morgan Morgan, I’m sorry, Morgan, for my eye

Greg White (01:05:15):

Chance.

Scott Luton (01:05:16):

That’s right. Morgan Ford.

Greg White (01:05:19):

Um, so who knows doing good work there, y’all check out supply chain dive and Morgan’s reporting. Okay. So, uh, Greg, we are about five minutes over, but I do want to share you’re doing pretty good this week, right. Um, so in recent weeks, you know, uh, especially in, in, and I’ll speak for myself here, but really trying to, uh, uh, get out there and learn from others and understand perspective, especially with the blind spots I’ve got that we all have in our perspective, looking forward to this event, July 15th, we’re going to have a Frank conversation and we’re going to lots of learning and sharing all that race and industry. And, um, it’s been interesting Greg to see some of the comments and some of social media, uh, uh, conversations we’ve been having. I’ve been trying to invite those folks, uh, whether it’s it’s similar sentiment or completely different sentiment, Hey, come together.

Greg White (01:06:18):

Let’s have these, these Frank conversations, July 15th. We’re very pleased to help facilitate, uh, between the panel we we’ve gathered, which is a home run panel. And of course getting the, uh, perspective and insights from our global audience. It should be a very compelling event on July 15th, right? No doubt. It’s, you know, it’s a conversation that needs to be had. Um, one of the conversations we’ve had, or I’ve seen is, is there such a thing as unconscious bias, be it unconscious or subconscious, let’s not mince words. There is undoubtedly bias. Everybody has bias, right? I mean, everybody has bias, regardless of what it’s about. You have a point of view and you have that point of view based on either knowledge or ignorance. And all, all this is about is trying to get people to recognize and acknowledge, and frankly, to just come together and talk about it and figure out how to resolve it. As we’ve said before, this is a difficult conversation, but the difficult conversations should be the ones that cause this conversation to need to be, had to begin with those conversations that, that, um, offend or, um, or be little or, you know, or, you know, out, out and out, whatever you want to call it, classify people, right? Those conversations are the dangerous ones.

Scott Luton (01:07:43):

Agreed. Um, all right. So all you got to bring is an open mind and a willingness to learn, and I promise you you’re going to be enlightened. Um, I’m looking forward. I’ve been looking for it since we had it scheduled two months ago, roughly, uh, between Tangerine and David and DC, just their perspective. And then what the audience is going to weigh in on their observations and experiences. It’s going to be a special event, July 15th, go to supply chain, not radio.com to sign up and own that note, Greg, um, you know, whether you’re gonna check out our podcast or live streams, you know, sign up for some of our events, you name it, a variety of resources, [inaudible] dot com. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, Greg, we usually point folks to Amanda, right? Yeah.

Greg White (01:08:30):

Right. Our, our chief marketing officer, amanda@supplychainnow.com, Amanda Auer, and Amanda and clay, the dog are our marketing heroes who by the way, have got us a new URL that we’re going to start to roll out. We don’t know exactly when, because Scott and I are, aren’t allowed to

Scott Luton (01:08:47):

No, that yeah,

Greg White (01:08:51):

Digital kills the radio star and it will just be supply chain now.com. So thanks to the team for securing that somehow miraculously, it was held by somebody else for a long, long time. But, uh, thanks for introducing this new generation of supply chain now to the world.

Scott Luton (01:09:09):

Absolutely. Really appreciate all the comments and questions here today. Sorry. Big, big Monday, everybody was raring to go after the holiday. Really appreciate the participation, uh, apologies for not being able to get to all of the comments. We’ll try to, we’ll try to connect folks via social media and LinkedIn. Hey, if you didn’t get to, uh, share or ask a question or, um, you know, weigh in, join our supply chain. Now insider’s group, especially on LinkedIn and let’s move, let’s move discussion there. I saw some, what I love Greg is when we see participants on the buzz kind of connect with each other and in conversation in the comments, Hey, bring all that over to our insider’s group. We’d love to be able to help foster much like FedEx, help foster a community and help make connections as best we can. So on that note, Greg pleasure, uh, you know, sorry, we went 10 minutes over. We’re breaking all records here today. Great buzz. A pleasure to do it with you, Greg white to our audience. Welcome back. You bet to our audience, the challenge that that continues and persists do good give forward, but be the change that’s needed to hear today. And on that note, we’ll see you next time here on supply chain. Now. Thanks for buying.