On this week’s Supply Chain Buzz, Scott & Greg welcome Jon Davis, Kara Brown, & Will Haraway to the podcast to talk about this week’s top news in 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. Good morning. How you doing? I’m doing quite well. Do you see, I came prepared today. So we’re doing well. Uh, interesting news over the last, uh, couple of weeks over the last week, I should say it’s been absolutely a busy busy week and we’ve got a jam packed episode of the buzz here today. We’re setting a record. We’ve got three featured guests, including a chief meteorologist who else brings you a chief meteorologists that know supply chain? Yeah, you can count on us, your friends at supply chain now, but it’s all about supply chain buzz. We tackle the biggest stories and, and while, while they’re important across global supply chain. So stay tuned, Greg, for what should be certainly will be an informative discussion. That’s gonna raise our audiences, supply chain, our queue.
Scott Luton (00:01:30):
I will not touch the dial. Scott. I will be right here. All right. Hey, good morning, Stephen and Sophia and Patrick Sophia loved your commentary on LinkedIn over the weekend. I’ll tell you she has been on the ball with lots of expertise and perspective. Okay. Quick programming note, Greg, before we bring on John Davis, uh, if you enjoy our lobstering episodes, be sure to check out our podcasts are John [inaudible] approved podcasts, right? Wherever you get your podcasts. For sure. So let’s say that, Greg, I say that because we love our reviews here, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s fun to see what folks are saying. It’s it’s good. I mean, whether it’s a five out of five or it’s not, it’s good to hear because we want to make sure that we’re serving our audience. We tell people this all the time, our number one priority is our community.
Scott Luton (00:02:29):
So we want to make sure that we’re hearing from folks and that we know that we are on track. Well, put as always the golden communicator, they want only Greg white, but so John had some great comments to say, we really appreciate this. So I’m going to read this off from John Bufalino who’s with op Tessa, really interesting company. It’s getting out of stealth mode as he put it on a recent podcast. So he says, quote, five out of five, listen up leaving a review is boring, but I’m to share one with you. Anyway, I’ve spent the last few weeks listening, watching, engaging with phenomenal team at supply chain. Now I try to listen, live or catch a replay at some unholy hour, Greg, where I can focus on the message being delivered in the various episodes. There’s always something to listen to interact with or share with your community to engage and enlighten with respect to the world of supply chain.
Scott Luton (00:03:24):
Keep up the amazing work in quote, John Good stuff there. If I had to be listening to more than one of our programs, boring and unholy hours tells me he’s listening to not only the mainstream supply chain now, but supply chain is boring and tequila, sunrise. That’s right. That is right. Um, well, you know, uh, appreciate that John. If we had a supply chain now, uh, gratitude kick kit, we it’d be on its way, but we’re gonna, we’re working on that now. T hats and tee shirts and whatnot. So it’s stuff there from our friend, John boy glean up. Hey, real quick. When I say a load to a variety of folks, we have Joseph Valentine, the reverse logistics guru here with us here today. We’ve got reversed. He is Valentine’s day. We have Chris Barnes, fearless leader of supply chain is boring. Amanda. Good morning. Of course, Jeff Miller, Jeffrey Miller has been owned, uh, on fire.
Scott Luton (00:04:22):
Uh, love his commentary. I told him over the weekend that, um, you know, we’d never take a day off. He goes, it’s supply chain leaders. It keeps all moving. There are no holidays or something like that. I’m paraphrasing Jeff. Good to see ya. Um, so our one quick call out before we bring on, um, John Davis with risk pulse. So Greg, you and I are on with Patrick Kelly. Yeah. The founder and host of, of the produce podcast series, right? Yeah. That are, that episode was published today. We’ve got a follow up episode coming out soon, but give a quick shout out to Patrick and what we talked about. Yeah, it was, it was a great discussion around citrus and, and the citrus, uh, supply chain. And we had, uh, I mean, we were the guests, I guess, technically, which is strange to have somebody turn the tables on you, but it was great opportunity to get to sound off on that.
Scott Luton (00:05:23):
So in my history, I worked a lot with the citrus and produce industries. Um, so it was really, really interesting discussion. We had some, I think, I hope we had some insightful questions, Patrick, but if they weren’t, I hope you edit it so that it made it sound like they were no, but that’s worth a listen because we had an industry expert, one of Patrick’s oldest friends and a, uh, uh, uh, producer of produce a Citron producer. That’s right. So Michael and Patrick were great colleagues as we worked our way through a fascinating conversation, especially with someone that’s been in an industry for quite some time. Yeah. So check that out. Our friend, Patrick Kelly has put the direct link in the show in the, uh, the comments and our team. Of course, we promoting that, uh, later today. So good stuff here. Uh, all right. Want to say a load to P air and our, and uh, good morning. Great to have both of you all here. Of course, our dog, uh, clay Phillips is here. So clay, good to see ya. Um, and, uh, Chris Barnes says Greg hotdog talks are not produce
Greg White (00:06:37):
Actually food. That’s a good point, Chris.
Scott Luton (00:06:40):
All right we are alway hitting, the, uh, the most important topics in industry here
Greg White (00:06:47):
Always serious. Right? Very, very serious here.
Scott Luton (00:06:52):
Let’s transition into on that note. One of the biggest stories here in the States at least is we’ve got two really big storms in the Gulf of Mexico, and we’re all trying to keep tabs on where they’re going and how strong they’re going to get. And we’ve got a repeat guest coming back on, and this is, this is an expert in the know John Davis, chief meteorologist with risk pulse. Hey John. Good morning. How are you doing
Greg White (00:07:21):
Good morning, guys. How are you doing great, John. Good to have you with us. Thank you. Great to be here.
Scott Luton (00:07:27):
Well, so John, I bet. Um, if you don’t have clones here lately, you wish you had several, cause I bet your, your email and your phone staying lit up. So thanks for so much for taking time out, uh, this morning here to sh to kind of get the latest updates with our audience. I think y’all had a webinar earlier today already. Um, and we’ll touch more on that here momentarily, but tell us what’s the latest when it comes to, uh, Laura and Marco?
Greg White (00:07:54):
Well, we have some good news and we have some bad news. So the good news is actually Marco and that’s what we’re looking at right here. So Marco is just off the coast of Louisiana. You can see the track that Marco took. It’s a classic, what we call African wave. So it came off of Africa was very weak when it went across the Caribbean, but gain some intensity and the Western Caribbean, and then in the Gulf of Mexico where there’s been a lot of oscillations here, it got strong for a bit yesterday, hurricane then now it’s weakening as it does go closer to the coast of Louisiana. The good news it’s in a weakening mode as a does go toward Louisiana. It looks like landfall is going to be later on this afternoon or early this evening as a relatively weak tropical storm. That does not mean there are no impacts, but the impacts are relatively moderate, some stronger winds, a minor storm surge, you know, some heavy rains.
Jon Davis (00:08:59):
So there will be impacts and regional areas of Louisiana Southern Mississippi portions of Texas. But the impacts are relatively minor in this does not look like an event that will tend to win pack the supply chain in a big way in that area. And then across the lower 48. So John, give us an idea of what, because I think it’s relative for the folks on the Gulf coast, what is a relatively small impact in terms of storm surge and wind and that sort of thing? Yeah. So for the specifics of a storm like Marco storm surge in general would be about one to two feet. So in some low lying areas, there will likely be some issues wins cost into 40 50 miles an hour in that zone where it does make landfall in rainfall two to five inches in general. And some of that will be a little bit further inland.
Greg White (00:09:57):
So certainly not a non event, but far from catastrophic. Yeah. That is great news to hear. Uh, cause, uh, and, and if you’re ready to move on to maybe the more troubling news out of these two storms, any, any last comments around, uh, Marco, John, uh, John? Well, I think just one comment when he announced our talking about Laura, which is the big deal, is that the situation that we’re in right now, basically two storms in the Gulf of Mexico is incredibly unusual. There have only been two times in history when there’s been two named storms in the Gulf of Mexico, one in 1933 and another in 1959, this is close to unprecedented. What we’re going through right now with two named storms moving into the Gulf of Mexico.
Scott Luton (00:10:51):
It’s it’s, uh, it’s um,
Greg White (00:10:54):
Believable that the, how this year continues to play out, right? I mean, and I,
Scott Luton (00:11:01):
And, and as sad as that’s a serious statement, as sad as that is,
Jon Davis (00:11:06):
Uh, so let’s move on though. Let’s get the latest on Laura and, uh, John, what do y’all see in there? Yeah. This is the storm we are concerned about, and this is the storm that lots of individuals and businesses and the supply chain in general should be concerned about. Laura right now is on the Southern tip of South central Cuba. This is the history of Laura as it moved across the Atlantic. And then it’s produced some pretty big floods in places like Puerto Rico and has been Yola, uh, the Dominican Republic and Haiti now across Cuba. But that land interaction has prevented it from becoming very strong. The issue we’re concerned about is the track. Once it goes in the Gulf, Mexico off the Cuban coast wood, you can see here, that’s going to be later on this afternoon, this evening, then at track forwardly, Louisiana, Texas border, per se, there’s a couple of things going on there, which really caused us some concern for one water.
Jon Davis (00:12:11):
Temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are very, very warm. Number two atmospheric conditions in that pathway between Cuba. And let’s say the Texas Louisiana border are going to become highly favorable for intensification. That was not the case with Marco yesterday. There was a lot of winds here across the region. We see windshield going to minimal levels over the next let’s say day. And then as it tracks through there tonight, tomorrow into Wednesday, we see that both oceanic and atmospheric conditions being highly favorable for intensification. We have a term that we tend to use, and we’ve used this term a lot over the last couple of years, our eye rapid intensification, there are lots of models that are predicting rapid intensification between Cuba and when it makes landfall on the us Gulf coast, certainly it is absolutely in the realm of possibilities that this becomes a major hurricane, a cat three or higher by the time that makes landfall timing of landfall late Wednesday into Wednesday night. Again, most likely somewhere near the Texas Louisiana border, but all interest in the Houston Metro area, much of Louisiana still, still new Orleans, but certainly they’re kind of on the Eastern edge there, but all of interest in that region need to watch this extremely closely, cause this could be the type of storm that has major impacts in the region. And then those ramifications then tend to, you know, spin a web across much of the lower 48. And this could be the kind of storm, you know, that we talk about for quite some time.
Greg White (00:13:55):
Hmm, wow. Greg, any commentary before move over to water temperatures yet? Well, what, one of the things I am contemplating and I, you know, I know nothing a disclaimer, I know nothing about weather. Um, but, um, I do know that when big weather moves through often it sucks a lot of the energy out of the atmosphere. And I wonder in as much as Laura is coming through the jet wash, if you will, of, uh, of Marco, if there is some chance that that could lessen the intensification there.
Jon Davis (00:14:26):
Yeah. That’s a really, really good question here, Greg. So a couple of different comments there. Typically when you have storms this close, which again, this really doesn’t happen in the Gulf of Mexico. We look at areas like the Western Pacific off the coast of China or Taiwan or Japan where this kind of thing does happen. Typically when you tend to see interaction of two storms, you tend to have one dominant storm, right? They do not coalesce. They do not intersect and become stronger. One is the dominant form and usually tends to kill off the other one. There’s a term, another term that we can use, it’s called the Fujiwara effect. So the food you are affect as a term, we use again, not in the Gulf, but mainly in the Pacific. When you have two storms, their circulations interact and they dance around each other. These storms are a little bit too far apart to have through Fujiwara effect, but usually in these situations, there is a dominant system. It looks like Laura is dominant in this case. Okay. So it would be the inverse. If Laura had come through first, it might’ve wiped out or knocked down Marco. Okay.
Scott Luton (00:15:38):
Yeah. So real quick, uh, John, before talk, water temperatures historically, uh, and Stephan ask about, um, emergency personnel, um, you getting there and getting prepared, you know, Greg was a few months back. We knew we’d be here. Not exactly, well, nothing like these two storms at once, but we knew we were getting into hurricane season in this pandemic environment. And there was a lots of concerns, uh, throughout the Southeast and throughout the Gulf from a, um, um, uh, state and local authority standpoint of exactly how to carry out, uh, prep and response operations in light of these challenges. Right. So I’m certainly hoping that, and John, have you heard, have you ever had any, um, information from the local areas will be impacted in terms of, of where their, uh, response plans, you know, what state they’re in?
Jon Davis (00:16:31):
Yeah. Well, I mean, it’s overlapping disasters that guess in this case, it’s overlapping disasters on overlapping disasters. And the difficult thing about this situation is that Marco will cause some issues, but for those issues, power outages, for example, to be rectified there’s little time for emergency managers and crews, for example, to go out and, you know, help those, help the people and get the power back on before Laura begins to move into the region late Wednesday and Wednesday night. So yes, Marco is not a huge deal, but it does tend to limit any kind of response prior to that is overall individuals and companies prepare for the big event, which has lower late Wednesday and early.
Scott Luton (00:17:23):
Hmm. All right. Well, I know we’re all, uh, hoping and praying that we don’t see that, that ROI, that rapid intensification that, um, could be likely. Um, all right. So as we wrap up here with John Davis, talk about, um, surface temperatures and, and, and how you, you already touched on it earlier, but expand a little bit on that, John.
Jon Davis (00:17:44):
So what the graph that we’re looking at here, I mean, there’s a reason why this is happening. This just doesn’t happen. But the reason this is happening is you could not have this happen. If we didn’t have a lot of fuel in the Gulf of Mexico, of course, fuel is there for storms here to intensify. This is a chart that looks Gulf of Mexico. Water temperature is what we call sea surface temperatures over the year. So of course, you know, we’re cool in the Gulf of Mexico, whereas elsewhere in the winter months in the spring, we peak out or the spring we increase, we peak out in the summer, and this is a depiction of the last 10 years on a daily basis of water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the last three or four weeks we’ve increased markedly. And the final point that you see here means that we have the warmest water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico that we’ve had on the last 10 years as of today.
Jon Davis (00:18:43):
That’s why we’re talking about this today is because the fuel for these storms in the Gulf of Mexico. And that’s yet the item of concern, especially for Laura. Laura is going to have the warmest water cup workers we’ve seen in 10 years and the combination of atmosphere, conditions, which look very favorable for RI or rapid intensification. So is that the incomes over Cuba, it’s going to hit warm water without, without windshear to, to degrade it, right? So it has the combination of fuel and a lack of degradation from atmospheric conditions. It has the two key variables that come into play when you’re dealing with systems here that rapidly intensified prior to landfall. That’s why we’re concerned about Laura for the middle of this week. Yes.
Greg White (00:19:37):
On the map, John is going to hit farther towards Lake Charles towards the West of Louisiana, or as of right now, a kind of center, we gotta be a little bit careful with points in situations like this, but right now the Texas Louisiana border looks like that would be the area that would be most likely, however, this is going to be a bigger storm. So as it intensifies and becomes larger, so it would not to focus on that particular area. Houston Metro area absolutely has to watch this extremely closely as does most of Louisiana. So I wouldn’t fix too much on the exact landfall cause you know, hurricanes can be very big systems at times. And so that whole region here near the Texas Louisiana coast and extended out a hundred or 150 miles, everyone in that zone needs to watch this extremely close.
Scott Luton (00:20:31):
Mm Hmm. All right. So, uh, really appreciate what you and your team are doing during these times. You’re working double overtime. It seems, uh, conducting webinars sessions each morning. And, uh, especially from a, uh, a global supply chain standpoint, which is, is, is so fascinating how weather
Greg White (00:20:48):
And global
Scott Luton (00:20:49):
Blockchain come together and someone with your background and how they can share insights and perspective that is more nuanced than a lot of other stuff out there. So tell us more about, um, these, these daily webinars that you’re offering and any other resources that the risk pulse and the resilience three 60 teams are offering industry.
Jon Davis (00:21:10):
Yes, we call this storm mode and storm mode means that when we see a significant threatening situation in this place to the supply chain, then we tend to do daily webinars until the threat has passed. That started this morning. If yesterday wasn’t Sunday, we probably would have started yesterday morning and that will continue tomorrow morning, Wednesday morning, possibly Thursday morning. And it’s there to help individuals and businesses prepare ahead of time. Number one for people, make sure your people are safe. Number two, for products, and to take contingencies as to begin to do things here, there’s about two days here, you know, until late Wednesday that you can prepare and try to mitigate some of the risks, especially for the people, you know, your workers, people in general, your families, then the product is secondary as to looking at contingencies and changing overall product within the supply chain to prepare and mitigate risks and your specific operations
Scott Luton (00:22:10):
Outstanding with John. I wish we had different set of circumstances to have you on here today. We were always enjoyed your previous appearances, but again, appreciate what you and your organizations are doing. Uh, you know, w we hope that the, the, the best case scenario is one that plays out, uh, but we’ll be back in touch again. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise and, and kind of the, the current state of things with our, with our, uh, team here. So John Davis, chief meteorologist with risk pollster,
Greg White (00:22:40):
Like so much, thank you so much. Thanks guys. Take care of John all the best. Alright, so Greg, I wish I wish
Scott Luton (00:22:50):
That was a more uplifting update, but it is what it is. And, and, uh, I really hope that, uh, that first storm, that was a good news, at least the first storm, it wasn’t going to be as much as a factor as it was initially.
Greg White (00:23:05):
Yeah. I’ll screen. John said non-issue so, I mean, not, not that there aren’t concerns around that, but look, let’s face the Gulf coast is used to this, right? The reason that the Gulf coast is such, or the reason that it’s such a target is because the Gulf Gulf of Mexico is relatively shallow body of water for a long, long distance, offshore miles and miles off shore, especially. So those storms build up a lot of fuel off that warm water. But, um, I think we just have the key here is to just keep an eye on this storm and see how it does actually intensify, because as sophisticated as those models are, we’re all forecasters in this industry.
Greg White (00:23:46):
We know that there’s the possibility that they’re wrong to the high or low side. So we’ve just got to keep a close eye. Um, one other point Stephan Mao was asking while John was talking about the stores, uh, the supply chains, ability to compensate, uh, for this, there is a, there are stores, uh, storage, uh, facilities around with plywood and other water and other materials specifically for this purpose. The question again, because in these times of this seismic societal disruption, right, whether we have the human power to, to deliver it, I think the good news is while this has been a really active storm season, they haven’t been an incredibly impactful storms for the most part. We’ve had a lot of names storms, but, um, not a lot of them making significant landfall and landfall issues. So the stores, uh, should be, uh, still in good shape and in good stead. And the recovery crews are not, uh, they’re not distracted with other recoveries, at least not right now. So like Marco is going to create some of that strain either.
Scott Luton (00:24:59):
So to our audience, we made it really easy. Uh, not only do we have a direct link, so you can connect with John on LinkedIn, but more importantly, we’ve got the direct link for you to sign up for those, those free daily webinars, which I’m sure if, if that 12 minutes we spent with John is any indication, I can only imagine how much a wealth of information they present on those webinars. So check that out.
Greg White (00:25:23):
[inaudible] dot com. Correct.
Scott Luton (00:25:24):
That’s the, that’s the URL, but there’s a specific registration link for the webinars we’ve got in the show notes that make it really easy. Okay. So, uh, moving right along, Greg, there’s been also as much buzz as there has been about these storms, uh, uh, in our neck of the woods. There’s also been a ton of buzz about peak season and it’s, uh, and, and we’re freight rates and capacity is gonna, gonna, gonna play out.
Greg White (00:25:50):
So tell us more, Greg. Yeah. So we’re going to talk in this story about long haul freight and in, in another story, the sort of last mile issues that we’re facing. But look, the fact is, um, even though the holiday season is still a few months away, obviously freight is getting started. Um, in some cases in a normal year, relatively normal year, much of the freight would be on its way or landed, but because of conditions in the freight industry, uh, even that even the shipment of goods has started lately. So to give you an idea, Eric cargo has been really volatile with, uh, prices fluctuating. I’m going to say wildly because the article says wildly, um, peaking in mid may, um, and our friends resilience three 60 associated with risk pulse, um, and, uh, and business continuity Institute found that 37% of air shippers had some sort of disruption in air transport.
Greg White (00:26:52):
And as we know, um, that market has shifted pretty dramatically. Companies are using not just the Belize, but also the seats of commercial airliners to ship goods from overseas. And, um, and the, uh, change has been significant for the marketplace. So, Oh, and additionally, a lot of, a lot of, uh, apparel gets shipped by air freight. I think my experience has been mostly that’s due to poor planning. Um, but as there is a lot of apparel that didn’t get sold this spring and, and, um, that that may or may not be occurring so that, uh, you know, that could be something that we’ll see as a change in the type of goods shipped on air freight, ocean freight, similarly volatile, 15% of shippers had their transport significantly affected. And as we know, uh, capacity was intentionally tightened, uh, earlier this year and many, many blank sailings.
Greg White (00:28:07):
So there were 30 odd blank sailings that were unbanked recently, meaning released, uh, for the ships to be fulfilled and, uh, and then shipped over here. But capacity from Asia, uh, to the West coast is low, was low, has been lower into, sorry, lower than 2019 until July. And it’s now decidedly above 2019 spot rates are well above last year. Um, trucking spot rates. Let’s talk about trucking trucking spot rates hit a low in April. I think we all know that most of the economy and most of the movement and most of the companies hit a low in April, but it was down 25% year over year, but the turnaround has been pretty dramatic with, uh, trucking spot rates up 10% year over year in July. So part of the reason that volumes are higher is catching up for goods that didn’t get shipped because of blank sailings. And of course, partially in prep for peak. Hmm.
Scott Luton (00:29:17):
Um, the news will continue. This is going to be, uh, as we all know, a very unique peak season, uh, we’ll keep our finger on the pulse of all that takes place in the freight market. Some interesting comments in the comments, Sofia says Korean air is one of the few airlines that made some profit and second quarter of 2020, because they focused on cargo. Uh, Chris Barnes said he has heard of stories of sending people with the product on commercial planes, Hey, getting creative, whatever, whatever gets there. Right. Uh, and Kevin Bell says, I think it’ll be interesting to see how traditional shipping by air or sea coincides with immediate needs and shipping of things like ingredients for drugs and supplements from other countries. That is something I have been working, dealing with his clients. So good stuff there from Kevin. Hey, the question we had in comments, Greg was where are the show notes?
Scott Luton (00:30:07):
Well, based on where, how you’re viewing this, if you only linked Dan it’s, it’s in the body of where you joined, right. The body of the post where you joined it, if you’re on YouTube. Yeah. Yes. And the body of, of, um, uh, that episode page right below the player, um, Amanda wanted to make it even easier. So she dropped the risk poles, webinar, direct link, right into the comments of this live stream. So if you still can’t find it, shoot us a note, Amanda, at supply chain now radio.com and we’ll get, we’ll make it as easy as possible. Okay. So Greg, we’re going to keep driving. No pun intended. Are you good with, yeah. So a couple of things to note here. Oh yes. Let’s keep driving.
Scott Luton (00:30:54):
Hey, it’s Monday. It is Monday and it’s been a busy time for everyone. So you know, this story here. So this comes from our friends over at the wall street journal, uh, in particular, this is Paul XEO, bro. Um, and this, this is, this is a bit of a dated article. This is back from August 7th, but some of the comments have within the article have really generated some butts. So we’re not gonna dive deep into this story cause we’ve got a couple of special guests coming up here momentarily, you know, and as new, uh, you know, new surcharges, increased surcharges, especially around peak and or especially around any of the recent times. And that’s not a big news story. It happened it’s happened quite, quite regularly, but the sheer size of these ups surcharges on larger retailers during this upcoming peak season, well, that’s turning some heads.
Scott Luton (00:31:46):
So in this article from the wall street journal ups is saying that the new fees to be as much as $3 or $4 per package now compare that to the last time ups added peak season increases just two years ago, 18, those additional increases range at bedtime from 28 cents to nine, 9 cents. So quite a big difference, but in particular, there’s two quotes in this article, Greg, that we’ve seen really turn a lot of heads, maybe turn more heads than the surcharges themselves. The first one comes from Carol [inaudible] CEO at ups, relatively new CEO. There, she says, quote, while retailers may squawk at price increases that come their way, large retailers have a way to spread that across. And nobody knows in quote, very interesting comment. And Greg, we’re going to get, we have two experts in industry communications, especially supply chain joining us just in a few minutes, but what is your quick take on Carol Temaze tone?
Greg White (00:32:52):
Callous is the word that comes immediately to mind. And it’s very bad optics, especially for someone who’s just taken over a company that is known to be callous old fashioned and inefficient. And we, I think we all hope that Carol would sort of issue the good old boy mentality of ups and have a little bit more, um, caring, empathic approach to the marketplace, but it does reflect some discussions that we had some months ago around whether these old fashioned carriers can, can make, um, changes and improvements to make last mile delivery viable. This indicates to me that not only perhaps they can’t, but maybe they aren’t even going to try to the further part of this quote that is equally as disturbing is that they appear to be sort of, um, discounting the possibility that they could make some improvements themselves. And instead are placing the responsibility on retailers and on consumers and effectively dumping the responsibility on retailers and expecting them to effectively hide these price increases, which go to the PR to the benefit and profit of one of the largest, uh, shippers on the planet and hide it from consumers. Um, when the margins, for instance, at a ups or at a manufacturing company are far higher than they are at a retailer. In the best case scenario, retailers make a three to 5% net profit manufacturers. Tenants tend to make double digits 12 and 22% net profits. And, and of course ups is flying high. So it’s disappointing. Um, frankly, as a, as a supply chain professional, I’m disappointed as a consumer. I’m angry because I am right there with John Haber on his quote on,
Scott Luton (00:34:51):
And before we read that one quick comment, you mentioned about the high flying stock prices. Ups stock are at an all time record high. So just quick, quick, a point to be made there. So Greg, you and I, John, John got some attention with his quote here. John transparently is a friend of the show is he’s based here in Atlanta area. Well known industry expert in not only supply chain, but certainly freight. Um, and he says, quote, this is devastating to retailers. It’s getting to a point where I’m starting to consider it gouging in quote. All right. So, so Greg, uh, Jeff and others in the comments really liked John’s Frank take on this. So before we pull in, uh, care, and we’ll quick response, Greg, to John’s comment,
Greg White (00:35:42):
He’s dead on. I mean, look, John used to be at ups and he tried to champion for more fair play at ups. And ultimately he had to leave the company and start a company, spend management experts whose job it is to keep ups honest on their, on their rates. So I think that says it all. Yep.
Scott Luton (00:36:04):
Agreed. A couple of quick comments here from the audience. Peer says, once you make a quote in the public eye, then everyone’s going to know,
Greg White (00:36:12):
Right?
Scott Luton (00:36:16):
Jeff says their pricing power will bite them back. And finally Barb says in all this emphasizes the reason for increased audit requests on your freight span, which is a great point there. All right, what’s no further ado. We’ve got a couple of of experts when it comes to building, um, uh, communication programs and, and, and communication tones and strategies that really hit the nail on the head. So join me, Greg and welcoming Kara Brown founder and chief revenue officer would leave coverage. And our dear friend will hair away, founder and chief
Scott Luton (00:36:53):
Officer with lead coverage.
Scott Luton (00:36:56):
Hey will. And Cara, good morning.
Greg White (00:36:59):
And I’ve got Kara, I think there we go. Hey,
Scott Luton (00:37:04):
I think we’ve got you both on mute. So, um, we’ll just make that quick adjustment there we are.
Greg White (00:37:10):
Good morning. Good morning. Well, mate, that’s what happened?
Scott Luton (00:37:14):
Well, I’ll tell you, we have, it’s a chalk Phil buzz this morning, so appreciate you rolling with the punches here. So, you know, let’s, let’s start exactly. Greg. Let’s start exactly where we left off here. Um, I mean, I’d love to get you out.
Greg White (00:37:29):
Take, yeah, so, so will, and I have worked together for years and will, is an expert on supply chain marketing NPR. So I’d love to get your take on, uh, one, uh, this statement and two as a PR professional one, how do you let it get out of the house? And two, what do you do once, you know, once the horse is out of the barn here, Greg, I hope you guys can hear me. I’m having yeah, we got, yeah, we got you. Alright. Um, so I’ll answer quickly just to say, uh, you know, yes, that’s definitely not ideal, right?
Will Haraway (00:38:15):
I’ve done sort of a collaborative statement. Um, you know, that, uh, that walks back some of those comments. I mean, that’s definitely, uh, got to pay attention to who you’re putting it and definitely have a good idea of what they’re to say. Just, uh, someone in audition. That’s, that’s definitely how we would definitely try and, you know, have that answer, have that question prepared in advance. So they would have an answer that’s a little bit, uh, less inflammatory, but, uh, once the horse is out of the ball, I’m like, uh, yeah, you definitely need to go ahead and walk it back. I would say, and do it quickly. That’s the key with all this stuff, you gotta be fast. Well, that opportunity is passed because it was nine on three weeks ago that she said that at this point, so we interpret, interpreted as she meant it. Right, right. It’s exactly, exactly. It’s one thing that would mean something. And it’s another to actually say it. Right. I think there are ways that you’re very aware of that pain. Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:39:53):
Bad connection. We’re getting some feedback on your connection. I believe I’m going to bring you out of the stream. Sorry. We’ll get you back. We’ll talk soon, Kara, a great point there and Hey, Murphy’s law.
Greg White (00:40:06):
I’m going to be here. What else will, you know, what else he’s tracking drive on over we can use.
Scott Luton (00:40:14):
So Stephen’s got an interesting comment as always. And Stephan says a whole world is more and more focused on sustainability and fairness. A reputation built in decades can be lost in seconds, ask Volkswagen. They know
Greg White (00:40:29):
A great comment that ups fully believes that they are completely above it. I really do. I think that they, I mean, this statement was so callous and so unapologetic that they fully believe that they can get away with it. And they probably can. I mean, what choices do we have right now? There’s really only three players in last mile, freight, Amazon FedEx and ups. And of course, I guess we have to count the U S P S because until they go completely bankrupt, they’ll continue to drain the taxpayer’s funds to get things through our houses.
Scott Luton (00:41:05):
John, John Haber, also to your point, Greg talking about his three options, uh, John Haber over the weekend mentioned how the pandemic just delayed. Amazon’s further rollout of a lot more, uh, to be a true third option, third major option, uh, in terms of carrier. So we’ll see how that
Greg White (00:41:22):
Dominantly for, for Amazon marketplace right now, though, that is a substantial amount of last mile traffic, but you know, they have built an intensive build capacity to compete with FedEx
Scott Luton (00:41:34):
And ups. Yep. Okay. So Kara let’s, let’s, let’s move on. Let’s move on to some good news and, and some, some stories related to growth and more positivity. Uh, and on that note, Chris ask you, where is the new puppy
Kara Brown (00:41:51):
She’s downstairs in her crate? We have a, we have an eight week old visual puppy and why we thought it was a good idea to get an a, we got to be so happy the same week that a London school or a at home at homeschool started her full school started is a little crazy, but it’s been, she’s adorable.
Scott Luton (00:42:09):
It can be like pet day at class.
Kara Brown (00:42:14):
Yeah. Except this pet everywhere, which is
Scott Luton (00:42:21):
We had a great podcast. So, so moving on from the puppy, uh, chapter, which we’ll have to get, you get more updates in the coming weeks. Um, we had a great episode where you came on and, and we really talked about successful sales and marketing growth and how a lot of companies were figuring out how to crack that code in a really challenging year. So to our audience, that is Kara’s expertise. So here’s your opportunity to pose questions around all of that to Kara and get her take. But while they, while they can contemplate that care, what are some, some, some stories out there related to growth related to how other companies are tackling that, uh, and succeeding to break through the wall that has been 2020.
Kara Brown (00:43:03):
Yeah. Well, I love that you guess example because they’re the exact opposite of what we would recommend, right? They’re also a behemoth in the marketplace. And like Greg said, they almost have no competition, but most of us aren’t them, right? Most of, most of your audience and our audience is not ups or FedEx. And so one of the things that we’ve seen as a real challenge from a sales and marketing perspective in most of our clients and our audience is making the outside sales guy productive inside finish huge challenge. So I’ve been in freight my whole career. Most of what we do is done at trade shows. Most of what we do is done on the golf course, right? Like these decisions are usually not made over zoom. And, you know, I got a 65 year old dad, he’s a rockstar zoom. Like, you know what, just put that out there. So I think
Scott Luton (00:44:00):
People of what, uh, of what a trade show is,
Kara Brown (00:44:05):
Remember when we used to be in the same place and actually the last time you and I saw each other in person, we were at Modell’s over each other. Right. I remember walking through Modocs, which normally has what, 30, 40,000 people. And it was a ghost town. And I thought to myself, Holy cow, there’s an opportunity here, right. For folks that can really turn, be independent, sort of in person, rapper outside rep into someone who can be a really effective online. And it has been a real challenge for a lot of people, a lot of people,
Greg White (00:44:44):
I mean, so many companies come to us. They want that exposure that they used to get at at trade shows. Right.
Kara Brown (00:44:53):
That’s a huge challenge right now. So to answer your questions got, there’s no silver bullet. Right. But we are seeing that because everyone is at home, folks are definitely picking up the phone more than they would have been other times. Right. So it’s August, it’s going to be a little bit slow. Right. Um, but it’s definitely in, in terms of recovery pipelines, I’ve lot, a lot about recovery pipeline. So one of the things you can do right now to help your recovery pipeline, you may not close cap. X is still a little, you know, type that just like the messages from, from ups folks are sort of messing with the marketplace. But to Greg’s point, you know, OTR is off your rear. We’re seeing really significant changes in supply chain, um, planning for 2021, we believe just in the clients that we have, that we’re going to see a lot of changes in 2021, in terms of rebidding enterprise contracts being shifted, et cetera, there’s lots and lots of changing corporate sort of, uh, incentives and structures coming out from leadership. And so 2021 is going to be a huge year. And if your sales team is, is used to doing those deals on a golf course or over a steak dinner now is the time to make sure you get some folks on staff that can handle it over zoom.
Greg White (00:46:12):
Hmm. Gotta retool, uh, and clearly leave coverage is, has been blown up because of this need that y’all have identified and the solution put together, uh, and you know, own that note. Greg, we’re really pleased to be partnering on a new partnership with Kara and will and lead coverage team. You know, fortunately, you know, relationships still, uh, are perhaps more important than ever. And it’s been, it’s been really neat to rub elbows in different ways with Karen wheel through the years. Greg, you alluded to that earlier with you and will. Um, and you know, as we’re getting overwhelmed inbound, uh, to try to put our spotlight on things, we needed a great partner that could help not only manage that, but also help manage some of our, our, our outbound activity. Right, Greg. Well, we get, I mean, we have such a big inactive community, as you can see in the comment stream on five live channels right now.
Greg White (00:47:05):
But we have had so many companies come to us, wanting access, wanting to be able to communicate their message, to present their value proposition. Like they used to on the golf course or at trade shows or at a steak dinner or whatever. And, um, and the additional thing that companies want and need these days is accountability for marketing. I can empathize with that because as a founder, it was always frustrating to me to go to a magazine or a trade rag or something like that, and have them tell me they get this much reach, but you know, I don’t know. I, at first you couldn’t even account for if you got a lead, whether it came from them. So one of the things, because we have gotten both of those requests, one, we need voice, right? And two, if you’re going to give us voice, we want accountability for you to be able to do it.
Greg White (00:48:01):
So sort of like Forbes has their brand voice type offering. We’ve combined with lead coverage to create this supply chain. Now lead coverage tool set, where we actually will conduct a webinar on your behalf. Of course, a lot of our community attends that or has interest in it, or we can provide it to you to provide to, to your potential prospects. And then Kara and her team work with our team to get access to those people who registered for, or attended the webinar and reach out to them and translate that into meetings where you actually have the opportunity. Kara actually have the opportunity to talk to people as, as Stephan, Stephan mal just created a T shirt is we used to be, I think every one of your phone calls should open with that era.
Kara Brown (00:48:57):
Yeah. To talk to each other in person and give me, we had a, we had an in person retreat don’t judge. It was awesome. We took our temperature before we went, everyone was safe. Uh, but we talked a lot about owners square, right? We are showing up the way we used to show up to a steak dinner or to a presentation or to some sort of RFP review online. We’re showing up in our square. So what does that look like? How does it feel, right? How do you make someone feel really comfortable with you over zoom? How do you make them laugh? Right. Neither one of you are sorority girls, but I will share with you something that we did at our retreat, which is super fun. So,
Greg White (00:49:35):
And the set of stages, any organization can, we’re kind of talking about our relationship, but this is universal.
Kara Brown (00:49:42):
Yes. So what happens when, and you guys are online all the time, every day. So you’re introducing people you’re saying welcome. We were just talking about this. This is actually an awkward thing for someone to do. You ever joined a zoom call and someone’s like, mid-last and you don’t know exactly what they’re laughing at. And it feels really awkward. You don’t want to ask, so you just like, sort of work, but you’re definitely on the zoom call, like super awkward. We use the sorority rush bump group, ask your daughters they’ll know, um, in terms of like, Oh, Krissy, this is Sarah. Sarah has a dog named Willow. Right. And how to like make these transitions feel more normal online. And it’s really hard. It’s really hard. Especially if you’re needed native application, anyone over 40 is not online. Right? Like we didn’t grow. Like I’m almost there. We didn’t grow up, you know, online the way they are. So it’s a hard transition for a lot of people to make
Scott Luton (00:50:38):
Agreed. Well, and the challenge remains the same, despite how more, how the environment’s changed. We got to drive revenue, you got to serve the customer. You’ve got to serve more and more customers. You got to figure out that growth formula. So, um, it’s, it’s, it’s really interesting to think about sales and marketing, especially from a, from a supply chain logistics, manufacturing standpoint. Uh, and, and not always just in that kind of that retail, uh, vein, right? Uh, so care, what else, uh, sticking with this universal theme, is there another tip or trick or something you might could share with our audience that regardless of their position or sector that, um, might be something neat to try to apply and experiment with?
Kara Brown (00:51:22):
Yeah. We have a very simple formula. The formula is share good news. I E get on supply chain now. Right? Share your good news, your specific good news, whatever that is to track, who’s interested and three follow up. And what it seems to be really hard for people is the track. Who’s interested piece of back to Greg’s question earlier. I used to be VP of sales and I never got marketing to tell me, like, who actually showed up for something. Was there really ROI? So what should we spend? $200,000 on? Like, I’ve been there done that. So the democratization of these technology tools, in addition to the zoom of the world, HubSpot, uh, lead forensics, um, crystal knows like so many tools that your teams could be using to track exactly who’s interested. So inside sales.com and Harvard did a study in 2017 that said, if you can talk to a human within five minutes of them showing you a buying signal, you have a 900% chance better, but opportunity to close that deal.
Kara Brown (00:52:27):
And if you wait 10 minutes, wow. I mean the link it’s amazing. And so we focus on that first five minutes. So what does that mean track? Who’s interested. You can use any number of technology tools. We like HubSpot’s almost free and it’s really easy and then follow up, right? Like we were talking about earlier, we used to follow up in person. We used to set a meeting for coffee. We was just set a meeting for lunch or get on an airplane and fly to someone and that’s not happening anymore. So following up within five minutes with an actual phone call, right. And picking up the phone these days is so important. And it’s so hard for so many people and making that first call can feel really, um, invasive. It can feel like, Oh, I don’t like to make cold calls. Well, these aren’t cold calls anymore.
Kara Brown (00:53:11):
Right? The cold call essentially should be dead. Everyone should be talking to should be someone who has watched your podcast and supply chain. Now they’ve come to the webinar. They’ve told you, they’re interested. If someone has given you a buying signal, they’re asking for you to follow up. There are so many opportunities for people to get touched nowadays, digitally that if someone’s reacting to something, you’re sending them, you’re clearly hitting a nerve number one, good job. Cause it’s really rare. Number two, be sure to take advantage of it. So we’re super excited to help the supply chain. Now audience with that follow up touch right. And follow up.
Scott Luton (00:53:50):
Alright, you got to, uh, before we let you go, you got to share your quote, your, your famous quote has come out of some of your recent interviews. Who’s Tom who’s. Tom, is it?
Kara Brown (00:54:01):
Oh, this is supply chains moment and supply chains moment. Okay. So you guys were talking about Forbes earlier. So fortune who has never given an iota of care about supply chain has never cared before is doing their whole supply chain symposium thing. Right. And they want to charge a bazillion dollars for it. And they’re really excited about it, but they don’t know anything about it. They have not spent the last 15 or 20 years talking about supply chain because it hasn’t been a thing. So I’m super excited about this being supplied to me at the moment. I think there’s so much change. That’s going to happen in the space between now and 2025. I think we’re going to see the democratization of software for the space free tech is taking off. Right? My friends mastered and cool stuff. Like there’s so much cool stuff happening in the space. And we’re finally sort of getting light shine on us.
Scott Luton (00:54:52):
Love that. I love that comment. Hey right. One last thing. We’re kind of talking tips and tricks, sales and growth. I’m gonna throw a, uh, recent, uh, tip. I came across more from an entrepreneurial standpoint that I bet is going to resonate with you and Greg. And over the weekend, it was an article from Pat Flynn in a publication called fast company, which I really have dug for years. Uh, he’s talking about this 20% itch rule and it really resonated with me. He says, quote, delegate 10 to 20% of your time per week to scratch that itch. You know, free thinking is so important when it comes to creativity and innovation in quote, sister, it’s really talking about just stopping no action, no emails, don’t know more zooms and just contemplating the business and given that ideation and, and, and that opportunity to contemplate, you know, the, the model and what you’re doing. And, and, uh, that, that really stuck out to me. Uh, I want to get your quick take and then Greg followed by your
Kara Brown (00:55:52):
Gotcha. I have a very similar one. Have I told you about the $10,000 hour? So theory is you have 10, 100, 1000 and $10,000 hours. And as a leader, it is your responsibility to free yourself up for the $10,000 hour. So every time I do something like, I don’t know, set my own schedule or pay my own bills or buy my own lunch. I am essentially stealing from my company because I am using time, which shouldn’t be $10,000 time for a $10 task. And I love it. And I love sharing it with new entrepreneurs specifically because a lot of times we get into myopic of like, Oh, I have to make sure this logo is perfect. And it’s like, Oh, I’m curious what your logo. So I love the idea of freeing yourself up for the $10,000 hour
Greg White (00:56:40):
I do too. Alright, Greg, quick take, before we let Cara go and, uh, give our audience a few final announcements, 10% is a bare minimum. Um, and 20% is a lot of time think about that. If you work only five days a week, which is rare for, for an entrepreneurship for an entrepreneur, I’m sorry, it’s a whole day, a whole work day. So figure it’s 10 hours of your 50 that you’re probably really working. If you’re, if you’re an entrepreneur commitment, though, it is definitely worthwhile. Yeah. Right. Free mine time. If you think about it, Velcro was invented while walking through a field, right? Not while working on science, sending that 70th email of the day and only 10th zoom at 3:00 PM and probably at many, many more country companies now who get paid to stare out a window and think of ideas. Yep. That’s their $10,000 hour. Of course, that old adage work smarter. Not harder. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that I’ll get power. Um, alright. So Kara last $10,000 question. How can folks connect with you?
Kara Brown (00:57:53):
Yeah. They can conduct the best through reaching out to you all. I’m super excited about a partnership, not wait to get started on everything. Um, and then we are@leastcoverage.com will and I worked together together for gosh. We were just talking last week, been working together since 2012, which yeah. Feels like a really long time.
Greg White (00:58:13):
That was a whole crisis ago,
Kara Brown (00:58:16):
Other crisis. So we covered.com. Kara Lee covers.com.
Greg White (00:58:20):
Awesome. Hey, thanks so much care. I really appreciate what you do and your thought leadership in the industry. Right. Uh, and folks with, we have to give folks the link back to her last dedicated interview with us. We’ll see if Amanda can do that, but Cara Brown founder and chief revenue officer with lead coverage care, we’ll talk with you soon. Thanks Kara. All right. I got to share this Greg from our friend AA and the air capital of the world, Wichita, Kansas. He says, I like the new normal. My takeaway is building your relationship and social media webinar podcast. A podcast is placing cold calls in their freezer. I like that. You know, it’s really interesting because we’ve sort of reluctantly gone this direction, right? We have tried to be all all about content, all about the community and we still will continue to be, but there are companies that need to get their voice heard and because events don’t exist anymore.
Greg White (00:59:22):
This is our way of doing it. We’ve heard from the folks that want to be heard in our community, that they want this accountability. And the combination of we put together these campaigns. So if you’re interested, you can reach out to us or reach out to Amanda. But, um, we put these campaigns together to get people recognized, to let, let our listeners who might be interested in a particular service to do their research before they have to talk to anybody, which is the way people want to do it these days. But at the same time, we’ve worked really hard and carefully construct this thing to allow that, to allow the access, to be at the pace and desire of, of the recipient rather than this than the selling organization, but also to enable some accountability. So the selling organization knows whether they’re making connections or not. That is so critical to people in that was the last sort of linchpin to this thing. That’s really allowed us to launch this. So, I mean, if it’s something that you’re interested in, if you are a service provider, particularly, and you feel like you’re not getting voice, then you know, talk to us and we’ll help you figure out a way to make it happen. Yep. Well put advertising, don’t you think?
Scott Luton (01:00:39):
Well, you know, we’re all everyone here that is in the comments that tuned in wherever they are, we’re all trying to figure out how to crack the code and grow whatever that means in your business, your organization, you know, you name it. Uh, what would I like, what and how I’m taking your comments is how that can let us serve as the voice for more, more people, more practitioners, you know,
Greg White (01:01:06):
Right. I mean, we get the best, right? Our, our motto is highlighting the best in all things, supply chain, the Sandra McQuillan who, by the way, wished you happy birthday yesterday. Gotcha. And, um, and you know, and Rick McDonald and, and even people like tan Drea, the good people from ups and, and other other professionals in, in the marketplace. Right? So that’s our primary goal. That’s right. Same time. We do feel this obligation for these companies and for our listeners and for community to know what the heck is out there, because it’s as hard to know what’s out there nowadays, as it is to present. If you are out there, because again, the live events, Hey, it wasn’t just vendors who went to those live events. People went seeking solutions, and now it’s really hard to get access to those. So we just want to create that connection as all that’s right.
Scott Luton (01:02:04):
Create a connection, serve the industry and amplify the voice of the industry with all the great people. I mean, from Stephan to Sophia, uh, Mark Preston, I see you. Thanks for that comment there, you know, the world and the supply chain industry needs to hear from these incredibly sharp individuals that are part of our community. So, uh, we’re trying to build the biggest spotlight possible and blast it from shore to shore. So, um, on that note, you’re talking events, we’ve got a new event that we’re really pleased to be involved with. And that is the flow 2020. That is the future of logistics, operations, and warehousing. So Greg gets the six river systems. User conference is taking place September 16th and 17th. It’s free to attend you. And I have talked about how the, how these groups and associations or companies are taking the hit and just absorbing the cost to provide opportunities for folks to network and connect and learn, right? Yeah. Big value there, big, big gap in the market there. Right?
Greg White (01:03:09):
We’ve seen so many companies. I mean, again, AIG the automotive industry action group, they pivoted instantaneously and opened up there. First of all, went online from a physical event and then opened it up to the whole marketplace. SAP did the same thing with Sapphire. Lots of companies are opening it up to the whole marketplace. There’s such a huge opportunity for learning and to get your message out in this regard. And by the way, six river systems has been around for awhile, but they also got bought by Shopify. So this is a heavy hitter player. And if you think about, uh, e-commerce and fulfillment and last mile delivery, these are people who should know. So to say,
Scott Luton (01:03:59):
Listen up. That’s right. Uh, all right. So couple of keynotes, as, as we’ve got shit, we’re showing there, Craig Miller, the chief product officer at, as Greg said, Shopify and Jean Michelle Lemieux, the chief tech. What’s that?
Greg White (01:04:14):
Joel, Michelle. Sorry. Thank you. I’m working on my French. I promised her I’m working on your French,
Scott Luton (01:04:23):
The chief technology officer at Shopify, two of the keynotes that will be there. Uh, I think we’ve got the direct link in the show notes, making it easy and you can check out all the different breakout sessions. I think you can plan your own, uh, you know, um, uh, journey throughout the conference and certainly connect with all the other attendees. So good stuff there. All right. So, uh, this, this has been a super charged addition to tackling a wide range of things, uh, here on the buzz from the, the troubling developments we’ve got from a weather standpoint and the golf and beyond to some troubling developments when it comes to corporate communication. And we’ll see how, what, what is next shoe to drop there to really more of an uplifting session and an educational session with care Brown, right?
Greg White (01:05:15):
Word out, man, you got to get the word out it’s that’s right. It’s critical now. Um, and we’ve heard it over and over again from companies that want to do it, and it’s not as easy as it used to be. It’s dramatically different. So yeah,
Scott Luton (01:05:27):
That’s a great observation on her part. Yes. Agreed. So in the comments, it looks like Mark Preston is, is, uh, is obligating me to cover drinks for folks, these conferences, Hey, uh, I’ll cover all the drinks in Walton County. So it we’ll see, we’ll see
Greg White (01:05:46):
That’s right.
Scott Luton (01:05:47):
You didn’t get a hole in one. He doesn’t know where everyone
Greg White (01:05:51):
Right.
Scott Luton (01:05:53):
Professor Mohib says he’s inspired by Benji. Mughal claimed that makes two of us. And probably three of us with Greg, Benjamin’s a sharp guy. He is been owned livestreams streams with us sharing some of his observations. So I am to AA. Uh, one quick comment. So audience, we’re here for you, you know, we’re, we’re building this platform to get your voice out there. Thanks so much for participating and really leaning in and engaging. We got a ton of feedback on last week’s webinar. I know there’s a thousand webinars a day these days, but the webinar we had with rod Scherchen and Kelly Barner on a common topic, which is post COVID-19 supply chain, was that landscape look like, but they hit it out of the park, especially from a procurement standpoint, did a great job. I mean, the feedback continues to come in and across social media.
Scott Luton (01:06:38):
So you can check that out for free on our YouTube channel. And you can find that if you go to supply chain or radio.com, and if there’s anything that we’ve talked about today, resources, or you name it that you can’t find, shoot, Amanda note, hardworking CMO at supply chain. Now here, shoot her a note@amandaatsupplychainnowradio.com. And we appreciate all that she does while leading the Luton Academy. I’m here at supply chain now. Okay. Luton education Academy. That’s right. And, and for those that may not, we have three small kids learning from home at school, started back. So that, that has become the de facto Luton Academy.
Greg White (01:07:16):
How long have you been back in school? Scott? Two or three weeks.
Scott Luton (01:07:19):
We’ve been back since like August 2nd or third. I want to say, wow. Um, so it’s been, but you know what they’re doing great. They’re doing absolutely fantastic. Um, and that all that is, is to do how smart they are and how smart their mom is. So, um, I’m really, really appreciative that we’re all making. Do we all have our own choices to make, as we get navigate through these times, but, um, I’m really proud of that. All right. So Greg, before I sign off here, when you think of one or two key takeaways from today’s session, what would that be?
Greg White (01:07:54):
Don’t be like Carol Tomi. And me think about what you’re going to say before you say it. Um, no, seriously. Let’s, let’s, that is a little bit serious, but look, let’s have some empathy. Let’s not expect though, big companies to empathy. Um, but wherever you can do your part, it’s important, particularly in these times it’s important, uh, for people. Um, and it’s important to remember those who were unempathic when times get better as well. Believe me, their companies from the last economic crisis that I don’t do business with because of how unempathic they were. And when you have the freedom, I think somebody in here it was a lot of minutes ago, said it could come back to bite you if you are unempathic right. Be a good corporate citizen all the time. Not just when it’s opportunistic, but maybe even when it’s a little bit painful.
Greg White (01:08:55):
Yeah. Love that. We need a lot more empathy right now, regardless of what storm you’re weathering. So that’s a great note to end on. Really appreciate all the great comments, all the great participation. I love these live streams. I love hearing from the audience and of course the guests bring it. I mean, we had three home run guests, a new supply chain buds record, even if we’ll switch and we’ll have we’ll back on old Hollywood hair way. Um, he never, he never ventures too far away from our programming here. So Hey to our audience, check out resources, chain now radio.com, fondness and subscribe. Wherever you get your podcasts from, Hey, be like Greg, do good, give forward and be the change that’s needed. Help someone out this week. And with that in mind, we’ll see you next time here on supply chain now. Thanks for reminding
Jon Davis is based in Barcelona, Spain. Jon brings over 35 years of experience and is widely considered one of the foremost experts on the impact of weather and climate on global commodities (energy and agriculture) and supply chain logistics. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in meteorology, he spent 18 years on Wall Street in the commodity divisions within Citigroup focusing on risk management in agriculture, energy, and the financial sectors. At the end of Jon’s tenure, he was Chief Meteorologist at Citigroup. At Citigroup, he was recruited by Chesapeake Energy in 2003 and spent 10 years as Chief Meteorologist responsible for monitoring global weather/climate and its impact on energy and agriculture. Since 2014, Jon has been Chief Meteorologist at Riskpulse. In 2015, Jon was given the prestigious Award for the Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology at the national AMS (American Meteorological Society) meeting for a distinguished career in applying meteorological and climatological knowledge to the energy, industrial, and agricultural sectors. In 2017, Jon was awarded the Kenneth C. Spengler Award for outstanding vision to advance to role of meteorology in the new energy economy and outstanding leadership of the AMS Energy Committee and its conference. Jon was founding member and first chair of the AMS Energy Committee starting in 2004.
Kara Brown was one of the first employees at Echo Global Logistics. Echo grew quickly in three years and her name is on the company’s 2009 IPO press release [NYSE: ECHO]. At a Nashville-based supply chain management company Kara weathered a major communications crisis with almost no market exposure before moving home to Chicago to start a family. Kara arrived in Atlanta in 2016 and started SmithBrown Marketing with no network. SmithBrown marketing is a team of marketing and sales enablement consultants specializing in all the pieces of the B2B conversion cycle: mar-tech stack building (CRM/Automation), sales/marketing operations and enablement, inbound/outbound content, SEO/SEM, social conversion, and measurement. Less than two years later, she has a team of four full-time employees and a client list that includes Atlanta heavyweights. Kara is also an active force in cultivating Atlanta’s female economy, being a Co-Founder of CloseHer, a community for women in sales. In 2017, Kara joined forces with Will Haraway to kickoff LeadCoverage, a PR and lead generation consultancy focused on supply chain, heavy industrial and tech. Learn more about Lead Coverage here: https://leadcoverage.com/
Will Haraway is the Chief Content Officer for Lead Coverage and the Founder & Lead Evangelist at Backbeat Marketing. Will has 20 years of executive experience in B2B Technology Marketing. Will is a certified analyst relations practitioner by the Knowledge Capital Group and has helped companies including Manhattan Associates, Aptos, Atlantix Global Systems, American Software and Rubicon Global improve their brand reputations with marketing results that help increase sales. Will also serves as a member of the APICS Atlanta Executive Advisory Board.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
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
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, 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.
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
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.