Intro/Outro (00:03):
Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now, hello,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:32):
This is Kevin L. Jackson, and it’s a beautiful day here in Northern Virginia, where I’m excited to be presenting Digital Transformers on the Supply Chain Now with me today is Scott Luton out of Atlanta. Hey Scott, it’s going to be 80 degrees here in the nation’s Capitol, hot things down South gorgeous,
Scott Luton (00:53):
Gorgeous my foot. I’m looking right at my office studio here. Flowers are blooming. The squirrels are taking all my food, but it is gorgeous.
Kevin L. Jackson (01:01):
Wow. I mean, a spring has sprung and it’s almost some I’m looking forward to, uh, you know, everybody is getting the vaccines. We were able to get out of the home office. So, uh, wow. And, and, uh, to, uh, you know, cap it all all off. We’re going to talk today about the strategic value hidden in the cash conversion cycle with a Jeremy Deuchars of Esker. Can you believe that I can’t get much better than that got
Scott Luton (01:32):
Conversion. That’s right. That’s the X E X U X X, Y Z digital transformers right here on supply chain now.
Kevin L. Jackson (01:40):
Oh, wow. This is exactly why we do this. You know, ASCA has a cloud computing platform that uses artificial intelligence to just transformed the way customers and suppliers interact. They have found a way to serve customers better by promoting more productive and engaged employees. That that really sounds like a transformative undertaking. How do you think it can do that? Scott,
Scott Luton (02:05):
We’re going to find out today and, you know, I think we’ve got several great stories that will be universal and transferrable to what we’re all experiencing as we get through, you know, these, these crazy times that we’re experienced.
Kevin L. Jackson (02:18):
Yeah, absolutely. So maybe we can get Jeremy to expose their secrets, but, uh, but, but first I’d like to thank our sponsor Digital Names by Total Network Services. If you enjoy today’s conversation, be sure to find and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. So now drum roll, please. I would like to get Jeremy in on the conversation to tell us the secrets behind Esker’s success. Welcome Jeremy. Hey there. Good to be here. Thank you for having me. No, thank you. Thank you very much. So, uh, tell us a little bit about yourself and, and ask her, where are you from myself who doesn’t like to
Jeremy Deuchars (03:00):
Talk about themselves?
Kevin L. Jackson (03:03):
Well,
Jeremy Deuchars (03:03):
So I’m, I’m a Midwestern guy. I, uh, I I’ve grown up in Wisconsin. I live in Wisconsin here. I’ll, uh, throughout my entire life. I had, uh, a quick stop off in Italy while I was, uh, studying in college. But, you know, growing up in Milwaukee is, is very much a, a blue collar town. Good folks. Lots of factories. Lots of beer. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, it’s, uh, it’s, it’s been, uh, it’s been very, very important in my upbringing where I grew up. Um, you know, a lot of who I am today just kind of stems from being a kid and picking up all the things that I did and now using them as I, uh, I venture outside of Wisconsin and, and start talking to folks both, uh, across the U S and internationally as well.
Kevin L. Jackson (03:51):
Uh, I like your hair, some more anecdotes about your upbringing, but the first question I have is what was in your bottle? Was it beer or milk?
Jeremy Deuchars (04:01):
You know, it was kind of like a milk with a beer chaser
Scott Luton (04:06):
What’s up. So really quick, you know, uh, I believe that Harley Davidson is based in the greater Milwaukee area as is the big brand, uh, Briggs and Stratton. Uh, some, some of our listeners may not know that in Milwaukee, uh, like you said, Jeremy, a big industry town, a lot of hardworking, good folks. So I looking forward to hearing how that does impact how you do and what you do day in and day out.
Jeremy Deuchars (04:29):
Yeah, yeah. You got it. Lots of, uh, lots of big industry, lots of history. Um, you know, and some of those places have moved on to greener pastures, but there’s still a strong foundation of, uh, of those businesses, those organizations and the, the people that really make them go.
Kevin L. Jackson (04:45):
You were in Italy for a while. So is that where you got your classical art background? So tell us a little bit about that. See, I’ve been doing my research.
Jeremy Deuchars (04:56):
Yes, exactly. That’s uh, that, that was really the culmination of my art education. So as you can imagine, you know, kids, they don’t, uh, they don’t pick up a cran and start writing Tolstoy sworn and piece it’s more or less, uh, drawing, stick figures and whatever, uh, whatever is really their big interest. So that was, that was no different from me. Um, but I, uh, eventually dropped the crayons and started picking up some more sophisticated art media, um, and, uh, and really focused on drawing, painting, uh, and then got the opportunity to, uh, to go to Florence and, uh, and work on restoring some 16th century Italian paintings. So, you know, they, they trusted me enough to, uh, to not, uh, not do any more damage, uh, to the, to the work that was there. And, uh, you know, there’s so much art. And so it’s so old, they’ve got warehouses and churches and, and any kind of facility full of these things. So they, they, uh, they let the youngsters work on, you know, so I was 19 years old and, and shaping the restoration of these priceless paintings,
Kevin L. Jackson (06:04):
How stressful was that
Jeremy Deuchars (06:09):
Was he always had a master kind of walking around a master restore and making sure that you weren’t doing too much damage. And, but, you know, it was really an honor. And it just kinda makes you, makes you, uh, think that, uh, you know, you’re kind of a small speck in the grand scheme of, of our history as a, as a human species. It is very humbling.
Scott Luton (06:30):
So many questions, so little time on this, Kevin, um, there’s a lot of reasons I love, uh, hearing the story. It came up in our, in our pre-show conversation. You know, there’s something for everybody in global supply chain and global technology, whether you study classical art, uh, or if you come from a STEM background or whatever it is, we need all and, and, and folks, the creative thinkers, gosh, we need, we need that in, in scores to solve some old and new challenges. So I love hearing that about your background, Jeremy, one final question, before we talk your prep professional journey, do you still dabble in art, uh, beyond crayons today?
Jeremy Deuchars (07:11):
I do. I do. In fact, my, my office here at home, which is where I am, and it doubles as my art studio. So what you guys are viewing is just kind of the plain business background. If I were to flip my camera around, uh, you’d see a little bit more, a little bit more interesting, uh, images and paint supplies and art tables and things like that. So we’ll, we’ll keep it professional, but, uh, yeah, I, I do, uh, try to maintain that and yeah, I’m, I’m on a plane. Traveling for work. Sketchbook always comes with me. It’s kind of a, it’s a good way to kill two to three hours on the plane.
Kevin L. Jackson (07:48):
It didn’t need to do a lot of moods and classical art series.
Scott Luton (07:56):
However, we are going to get Jeremy to paint us a picture indeed more on the technology side, some more, more to come on that momentarily, but first Kevin let’s get a sense as we continue to kind of get a sense of Jeremy’s perspective and context and really worldview. Uh, so Jeremy professionally, talk to us before your current role. Talk to us about a couple of key positions that help shape that world.
Jeremy Deuchars (08:21):
Yeah, yeah, it’s a, it was a journey indeed, as you can imagine, there’s not a huge market out there for the starving artists. So coming out of college, I had quite a few, uh, different jobs that, uh, eventually led me into technology. Um, in, in my, uh, first big job in, uh, in technology was working with a company that provided both hardware and software solutions to companies of all sizes. And it was really focused on working with the it departments and developing their infrastructure back then it cloud was just starting get going. So I really got to see how people in these companies were, were really, uh, either gravitating toward the idea of kind of letting some of their infrastructure and their, their architecture go and, uh, and lean on some of these, uh, early cloud providers. Um, but I saw the, the flip side of it too, where people just, they don’t want to let it outside of their four walls. So they, they start to, uh, they start to close up and then ultimately it puts more burden on them as professionals in it. Uh, and it makes their, it makes their lives a lot more demanding.
Jeremy Deuchars (09:31):
That’s right. That’s right.
Scott Luton (09:33):
New term. I’m going to write that one down every time I rub elbows.
Jeremy Deuchars (09:38):
I do like that negative and positive connotation right there.
Scott Luton (09:43):
Yes, that’s right. Um, all right. So, uh, anything else you want to share about the previous position before we talk about that proverbial Eureka moment?
Jeremy Deuchars (09:52):
Yeah. You know, as, as I, as I grew through my, uh, my career early in it, um, I really got a sense of, of what was really driving people. And, and a lot of it back then was it ruled the roost. They said, this is what you can have. This is what you can use. And there is no if ands or buts about it, but as, uh, as time went on and there were, there started to become more consumer devices out in the market, we saw a lot of, uh, C-level executives saying, you know, I have this in my personal life. This is really cool. I want to use it at work. So they, more or less went to it and said, you will put this on our network. You will support it. And that really started the boom of what I’m seeing today now is, is business is driving. And they’re really looking to their it colleagues to help support their initiative. So it’s, it’s opened up a lot of what companies are doing because it’s not so much tunnel vision, and that’s nothing against it folks, but, uh, you know, they tend to be very focused on what’s going to be stable. What’s going to be easy to support and really that can end up limiting, um, you know, what the business could be capable of if they have the right tools in place,
Scott Luton (11:10):
Consumerization of, I T really removed the blinders, so to speak to your it teams. Yeah, absolutely. Well said. Okay. So you already kind of touched on some, some critical lessons learned and in your last few comments there, but what else really sticks out as a, as a, uh, a powerful Eureka moment as part of this professional journey of yours?
Jeremy Deuchars (11:33):
What’s a tough one. This guy, I wasn’t ready for that one moment. Honestly, I don’t think there was one moment. The key for me was always just keeping my eyes and ears open and paying attention to the little things. The sum of those is really what started to hit home for me. So it was necessarily a one, you know, Hey, do you know the exact time and date now? Um, you know, it’s, it’s been a career of, you know, 15 plus years of basically trying to be a student of wherever I am. Um, you know, and some of that goes back to my art training because you really are more or less an observer, um, not so much the, the actor, but the casual person that sits and tries to learn. And, and that has led to, um, you know, where I’m at now with Esker and basically seeing what people are capable of, even when they look to scale, that kind of thing, whatever they’re trying to do out to a, a global stage
Scott Luton (12:36):
First understand. I’m not sure whoever said that first, but, you know, Jeremy, you strike me after several conversations we’ve had with you as, as a true student, whomever, whatever organization you’re trying to help go in there and understand the current state, understand the objectives and apply technology in a practical way, not, not latest bill whistle or gadget. So I bet folks appreciate that about you.
Jeremy Deuchars (12:57):
I hope so. That’s kinda what I strive for at the end of the day. It has to be their choice, not mine, and I’m merely there to lend some insights, some experience, and then put it out to them as to what they think is going to be the best move for them next.
Scott Luton (13:11):
Love it. Okay. So before I toss it back over to Kevin, of course, Esker, uh, is, uh, your organization. I want to, for the three folks that may not know about Esker, uh, I want to make sure folks understand what, what the company does because you all received gold going back here just recently, a number of different awards, uh, food logistics, 2020, uh, top 100, uh, software providers, software and technology providers, and several others here just the month of April. Um, so clearly you’re all being recognized for what you do, but what, in a nutshell, what does Esker do?
Jeremy Deuchars (13:42):
Yeah. Well, thanks for the few plugs there. I appreciate that. I’d like to say it was all me, but, um, of course [inaudible] so I get all the attention. Yeah. So, so where organizations are really leveraging the technology that we’re offering is, is on the order to cash or procure to pay, um, cycles that every company, no matter how big, how small you are, doesn’t matter your industry, you’ve got back office processes. Um, if you’re a large company, you probably have back office processes from one location to another, that look nothing alike. Um, so where folks are looking to, uh, to, to use this type of artificial intelligence process, document automation is, uh, to help, um, streamline their processes, create some consistency across the board. Um, take away a lot of the manual tasks that are involved in a day to day accounts payable, or customer service role back to it, where we’re trying to take some of the burden off of them. And that’s where people are really recognizing a lot of value is, is having, uh, you know, one platform that they can use to really drive a lot of what keeps their business going. Yeah. I hate to use the term lifeblood, but it is pretty appropriate. Um, because that’s, if you don’t have cash coming in and going out, you’re really, uh, you’re really gonna struggle for, you know, for a bit absolutely. The lifeblood, uh, whether you’re a small business, medium business or a global empire.
Kevin L. Jackson (15:17):
Um, so I like that analogy, but Kevin, yeah, yeah. I think that’s important. But one thing, you know, we were talking about how the history of business, so to speak and, uh, before the consumerization of it, I was the world. I was a world where the customer is always first. Right. And whatever the customer said, the customer’s always right. And it was employees be damned. Right. But I was really impressed by one of the earlier conversations we had where, you know, SEO is really focused on optimizing both the customer experience and employee experience, and maybe many other organizations are following your lead. And that, can you, uh, maybe talk a little bit about the customer experience versus the employee experience in order management, digital order management and how you use the cloud to optimize on both of those?
Jeremy Deuchars (16:19):
Yeah. So it’s, it’s pretty amazing that such a simple concept has really taken a, a while to catch on, um, you know, from my perspective, if you’re not keeping your customers happy, if you’re not keeping your vendors happy, uh, nobody’s going to want to work with you. So it, it, it, it, it really boils down to something as simple as that. And, uh, and just this year I heard a term and it was actually shared with us by, uh, the CEO of our company. It was positive, some growth, you know, it’s amazing that you talk about a Eureka moment, Scott, that that’s it for me right there. Um, I’ll say that it is really just, um, putting a name to a concept that we’ve really been trying to drive home with, uh, with people that are, are, are taking a look at this type of technology in the marketplace.
Jeremy Deuchars (17:09):
And what it boils down to is, is that there’s enough good to go around for everybody. If I’m a I’ve, if I’m running a company and I, uh, buy into a solution or bring a tool in, yes, it’s going to help my, my people that are actually using it. But what about the other departments in the, uh, in the company? You know, can they benefit? Yeah, absolutely. What about our customers externally? What about our business partners? So it’s really this whole idea of we can help one another be successful, and it doesn’t have to be solely focused on this one department or this one person. So really that’s, that’s been, uh, just a, uh, an awakening for me is that, Oh yeah. Okay. Now and now it’s catching on. Yeah. I even Googled it. I was like, Oh, is that a, is that an original or a, or did you find that somewhere?
Jeremy Deuchars (18:02):
And you Google it and you find some articles, you find some thought leadership, uh, pushing that, that term around. But I think it’s really going to catch on now because, um, you know, coming out of this pandemic that we’ve all really had to struggle with. I’d say the only way the vast majority of companies are going to survive and then start to, to flourish again, is if we are thinking about one another, you know, there, there is no monopoly when, you know, the entire economy crashes down around you, that w what are you going to monopolize? You’re going to, there’s nothing there. So I I’d say that’s, uh, uh, been a pretty big driver for people looking at these order to cash and procure to pay tools. They just may not know.
Kevin L. Jackson (18:48):
So wonder if things that, uh, we’re seeing in a business environment is the growth of the term ecosystem and that, uh, replying to the fact that you operate and a business ecosystem with customers and suppliers, and even in many, many, uh, areas with your competitors, and it’s sort of a dance of, uh, communications and data. So it, it, it seems to me that this digital order management is a way of communicating, exchanging data across your ecosystem. Is, is that in line with the way you see it?
Jeremy Deuchars (19:32):
Yeah. I think that that’s, that’s right, right in there. And, and, um, you have these platforms that, that people are really drawn to because, and I’m going to go back to my art training again. And if I’m, if I’m boring you with this, um, let me know. But you know, for myself and my own personal life, I look at my role in what I’m doing. And whatever I’m doing is, is try to be a Renaissance man, try to be an expert in as much as you can, but know that you’re never going to get there. So there’s this whole concept of, of continuous improvement. And I apply that to what I see out there in the business world, it business, it, it makes no matter what role you play in your company, you want singularity in terms of unified tools. You want consistency. So it doesn’t matter what job you perform.
Jeremy Deuchars (20:24):
You want a platform. And I think that’s why some companies do really well when they offer tools that span the entire need of an organization, not just being a one trick pony where it’s, Oh, we do this really well, because then what happens is, is companies have to buy into them. And then they got to go elsewhere, uh, to fill a gap in somewhere else within their organization. So, um, yeah, I think that, uh, really order management and digitalization of that process goes beyond just taking orders in fulfilling orders. There, there are so many other areas and so many other people that those processes touch that if you can find a way to reach them now you’ve got a secret sauce.
Kevin L. Jackson (21:11):
Yeah. It sounds like it’s all about that transparency and visibility in to the process. What do you think about that, Scott?
Scott Luton (21:18):
I think it’s a table stakes doing business these days. Uh, you know, not only do business leaders and employees and team members demand it, but perhaps even more importantly, consumers demand it. So I love, I love your take, uh, what you’re sharing here, Jeremy, and we’ll talk as much classical art as you like. Kevin’s middle, middle name is Leonardo. You may not know that there are
Kevin L. Jackson (21:45):
Mean
Scott Luton (21:46):
It is. It really is fascinating because we’ve gotten to be so creative in how we design and how we engage and how we meet the consumer, where they are and how they want to conduct business. And, and, and, Oh, by the way, there are so many great challenges. Um, again, those that have persisted forever, uh, that we still can’t quite solve or, or not even come close. And then those that pop up, like so many new ones that popped up, uh, as, as we’ve shifted to remote work, or as we’ve shifted to, um, you know, the fight against COVID-19 or whatever it is, and then whatever it’ll be in 2022, you know, the curve balls, the only guarantee is that they keep coming. You’re just not sure exactly in what form or fashion. So I, I love we’ll, we’ll, we’ll keep talking to this classical art angle because there’s so many important transferrable lessons learned to, uh, digital transformation and supply chain.
Jeremy Deuchars (22:38):
I was just going to, I like the fact that you used the term creativity, um, because it, it, it’s extremely relevant. And I think if you can look at things in different ways, that’s where you come up with business solutions that are really going to help drive to your bigger picture goals, exceeding revenue goals, margin goals, um, you know, driving cash flow and things like that, that yeah. Leaders, they, they, they wanted, they have to be focused on that, but there’s so much more that falls underneath it. And I think the only way to get to those, um, to those apexes is, is really to think about how can we do it different? How can we not settle in? So kudos to you? That’s a good word.
Scott Luton (23:20):
Well said. So Kevin, I think we’re going to, um, there’s a couple and Jeremy has kind of touched on a couple of different examples when it comes to, uh, CX and ex right. Customer experience and the employee experience. But is that where we want to go next? Kind of share some, some deeper examples?
Kevin L. Jackson (23:37):
Well, one of the things I was thinking, I really liked the term, uh, he called herself a Renaissance man. Right. You know? Um, and, and, and in your, in your role, as you are working with your customers, um, you know, do you lead them through a Renaissance? How does, how does ESCA help its customers and re-inventing their own process?
Jeremy Deuchars (24:04):
Yeah. I’m going to clarify one thing though. Kevin is, I’m trying to be a Renaissance, man. I think that, uh, that’s just kind of a lifelong journey that, uh, you know, yeah, exactly. So, but yeah, absolutely. That’s, that’s what, um, that’s the way I approach working with people. And I’ll tell you a quick story of a customer that, uh, manufacturing industry at a, a pretty decent size group of customer service reps. So, you know, up in the mid twenties and my first visit on sites, I’m talking to the director of that group and he says, look, I, uh, I told everybody, you were, come in, you’re going to be doing some observation, give us your insight at the end of the day, but I didn’t tell them, I told them you were from a paperless company, not an automation company because they hear automation and they go, the robots are going to take a and, uh, you know, it’s okay.
Jeremy Deuchars (25:03):
All right. You know, and, and that’s where I think that that was a big miss on that individual’s part in trying to socialize that automation is, is creativity. It’s, it’s changed, but it, it can really be good change. Um, but he used it more of a, well, we’re going to Dodge that, and then drop a bomb on him later. If we decide to go with you and let them know, Hey, this is what we’re doing. So, yeah, I think, um, if you don’t get people starting to think about change in a positive way, cause nobody likes it. We have heard that over and over, but if you can get them to start realizing that, ah, you know, if we just shift our perspective a little bit, it’s gonna be good for me. It’s gonna be good for my coworkers and my customers. And, and really that that’s the whole goal. If, if you’re really going to invest thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars in technology, you want it to reach and not just impact one person. So really it’s, um, you know, just kind of opening, opening your mind if you will. And with, with spring and full bloom, I think that’s a great parallel and, uh, you know, something that we can all relate to at this point.
Kevin L. Jackson (26:13):
No, I think it’s always about getting humans to do what humans are good at and that’s using their mind using their brain, using their imagination, striving to become that Renaissance person, as opposed to the drudgery of what robots do. You know. I always think of it. Think of it that way I team releases the human to do human things. Powerful visual. Yeah.
Jeremy Deuchars (26:44):
Yeah. It’s a, it’s a great, it’s a great way to think about it. And I, I, I tend to do that myself. So yeah. I mean, let the robots do what they’re good at. Let the people do what they’re good at. And it’s really so much more than what the robots are good at, you know, give it 20 years and maybe the robots will catch up, but I, I still doubt it.
Kevin L. Jackson (27:02):
So let’s talk about remote working and the impact that can have on businesses. I think you’ve had a lot of experiences there and you see that regularly with your customers, right?
Jeremy Deuchars (27:12):
Yeah. Yeah. You know, for a lot of companies, they were, they were thrown into the, into the lions and when, when CDC and whoever else in public authority and health said, you can’t go into offices and work, so you gotta be home. And there were some people that had set themselves up for remote working, leveraging cloud tools, as many as you can, that’s a great way to do it. Um, but there were some companies that were, you know, they lost days, some even weeks of productivity because they didn’t have the, it infrastructure built up for their employees to work at home. Now, once they did and then factoring in the people that were set up right away, everybody I’ve talked to is said, you know, they’re thriving, they’re, they’re working. Maybe their hours are a little off, you know, because they’re not eight to five strictly, but they’re productive.
Jeremy Deuchars (28:02):
They’re getting what they need to do during the day. But then they’re spending a little time on their own unprompted, um, you know, taking time away from their personal life, their families, their friends, and doing a little bit of work just because they have the ability to do that at home. So, you know, even before this, we scratched the surface with work from home hours that the teams had to earn, you know, it was like a gift. It was, you know, a privilege. Um, and you know, with what happened over the past year, it was a necessity. And I think people are finding that it’s definitely possible. And it’s with the help of certain technologies out there that offer that work from home experience. It’s, it’s really been a good thing for business.
Kevin L. Jackson (28:45):
Well, you’re, you’re talking once again about the employee experience, do you think that is here to stay? How, how, how should people look at this post COVID world? Or are we going back to co no normal? Or is this a work come home thing now?
Jeremy Deuchars (29:03):
Yeah, I think that’s a, a pretty interesting tight rope to walk because while you’ve got, having people able to work from home, if you’re in a bigger city, you’re cutting out in your commute, you’re able to spend more time with friends, family, because you don’t have that hour or two hour long drive. But I think the risk is you, you might start to sacrifice or see a degradation of teamwork. You know, we’ve got webcams, we’ve got good audio devices, but looking at a two dimensional screen, um, and, and, you know, try to relate to your coworkers or share ideas. It doesn’t always work because you can’t talk, you can’t interrupt. You know, everybody’s kind of, uh, well let me talk, pause, and then somebody else can talk. Uh, I know we’ve all done the zoom happy hours and, and they’re fine if that’s your only option, but I think once offices can start opening up, we’ll see, uh, uh, a small Exodus of people out of their homes back into the office. And I think that’s a good thing, uh, because I, I definitely don’t want to see everybody, you know, in their sweats, working from home and, uh, and, and losing that team vibe that is really important. And depending on what your role is at your company, um, it’s really a key thing that, that shouldn’t be overlooked in my opinion.
Scott Luton (30:24):
So, you know, Kevin mentioned earlier about at T is unleashing the beast and letting you know, humans really explore the art of the possible essentially. However, kind of like, kind of, not exactly the opposite, but not on a different foot. How can we take some of the pressure off a T’s plate because they’ve got, you know, the, it pros, the technologist is smart. People like, like Kevin and Jeremy here, they’re there they’re powering so much right now. Right? Uh, you gotta, you gotta huddle in your servers, as Kevin said earlier, because everyone’s depending on how Jeremy, how have you seen, um, uh, companies and business leaders and solutions take some of that pressure off these, these, uh, these artsy plates?
Jeremy Deuchars (31:04):
I think people are being really smart, really careful about how they migrate into cloud applications. And you’ve got the big well-known companies out there that are offering platforms, um, for their workers. And it’s almost a no-brainer to invest in those different types of technologies. But, um, what I see is people going into this journey with a thought process of this is a big change. We’re not going to enter into it lightly. We’re really going to do our research on what’s available in the market, but ultimately it is going to come down to who’s a solid player. Who’s got industry experience, who’s got connectivity and strong platforms that are going to be able to help me. And just more than one area of my business. And those are the players that are really going to get a good look from companies out there. So, yeah, I’ve, I’ve seen it where even, even, uh, companies that I had been working with for years, they’re always taking a look.
Jeremy Deuchars (32:02):
They’re always curious as to what else is out there. And, and they should, they should do that because they may find something that’s a better fit for them. But, um, because that’s happening, I think a lot of the companies that started off saying, you know, we’re going to offer this one tool. That’s going to help you in this one little facet of your company, um, start to say to themselves internally, what else, what else are we going to do? And, and I, uh, I, I had a, an executive, uh, in it leadership, um, come into a company. She was brand new and she wanted to talk with me about, um, you know, all right, what if my colleagues, and one of my predecessors really talking to you about what about this, this order automation process that they’re looking at? So we had a nice chat and I said, well, this is what’s been looked at. And after that, she, she said, what else can you do?
Kevin L. Jackson (32:53):
Yeah. What else you got for me? Well, as a us leading the industry, how do you deal with change, uh, with, with, with your customers? What are you, how are you answering that question? You know, what have you done for me lately?
Jeremy Deuchars (33:12):
Yeah, exactly. I think that the core of it comes down to really understanding what our customers and what prospective customers are really looking for. You know, we don’t do anything in R and D development without getting real world feedback from our customers or, or other people that are just taking a look at us. And I always tell people, Hey, you’re, you’re taking a look at us. My sales cap is off. I just want to listen. And you tell me, are we, are we driving down the right lane? Here? Are we, are we starting to hit the Mark with what you would really need in a real world situation? And, uh, and that it’s nice. It, it really, it gets them engaged and it, it starts to be a free flowing conversation of ideas rather than just, uh, a sales pitch and a prayer for a sale. So, um, you know, that, that’s where we really focus on is just listening to what, what those folks are saying, and then keeping up on, you know, just market publications, listening to what Gartner and the other big industry analysts, um, you know, that really is our, our spirit guide when we’re, when we’re, uh, trying to, uh, to figure out, well, how do we, how do we develop, or how do we better our solutions, um, to meet these real-world needs
Scott Luton (34:27):
Well said. Okay. So we’ve talked a lot about, uh, different illustrations, uh, as, uh, that you’re seeing as it relates to, you know, the CX, the edX, the UX, you name it. Um, especially from that, that order man digital order management standpoint, let’s go a little bit broader here as we start to wind down on the conversation. What else have we not talked about here today that you’re really tracking and got your finger on the pulse of when it comes to global business?
Jeremy Deuchars (34:55):
Well, you know, I, I, what I see is a big miss and opportunity with a lot of people is, is getting that change agent, uh, to, to step in and say, okay, globally, what are we doing? And, um, you know, it’s almost a little bit like a culture war you see from one region of the world to another, they’ve got their processes, they’ve got the companies they like working with, and you never liked to be the guy that comes in and boots out a solution or over a vendor or a partner that, that is really doing some good work, but in service of trying to unify organizations globally, or even looking at the SMB space with smaller type companies, you want to set those folks up a good and growth because as you scale, um, it, it’s easy to say, well, we’ve been doing it this way for 10 years and we’ve been successful.
Jeremy Deuchars (35:46):
So I think that that’s something that a lot of, uh forward-thinkers but then it’s, it’s hard to find those in some cases, to be honest. Um, they’re, they’re looking at things in that way, but that’s where I see a lot of, uh, well, you hit it. Scott went with X as the common denominator experience, you know, do you want people to have the same experience just as they have for years and years and years? Or do you want to maybe push the envelope a little, little bit and say, we’re going to try something new and it’s going to change your experience, but, you know, we’ll find out if it’s, if it was worth, uh, you know, worth the endeavor. So I think that that’s a big thing, but then also I’d mentioned earlier, um, taking a look at a process like sales order processing, what else is happening in that department?
Jeremy Deuchars (36:38):
Customer service account management. They’re not just placing orders, they’re taking quote requests, they’re tracking, they are trying to up sell. So I think where, where the, uh, the leaders in technology offerings, when it comes to automation are really doubling down. Is that whole, what else? Attitude, what else can we do? What else do people need? Um, and I think that’s, that’s, uh, definitely, um, something I’m expecting to see more and more is people asking, well, what else can it do? Because yeah, you may be solving my current problem, but how are you going to help me track toward this bigger vision that I have because, you know, things are gonna go wrong in the future. You know, things are good. You’re going to get those curve balls. It’s inevitable. But if you’ve got your mind positioned for, well, okay, I know it’s coming. So what can we do to prepare I, those are the ones that are going to succeed now for the next 10 years before something happens.
Kevin L. Jackson (37:42):
Sounds like you need some more digital transformers on your team
Scott Luton (37:49):
That it sounds like that. And it also sounds, um, you w w we’re reaching the holistic our, of the information age, and, and as Jeremy’s pointing to, rather than, than this tiny solution that helps these three people here or this tonight in this bill and whistle that helps this department here, we’ve got to really embrace and, and, and view the system at the systems level. Right. Um, upstream and downstream. What, what’s the holistic solution? That’s going to answer that question. Well, what else you got? So, Jeremy, I love hearing your perspective, but Kevin, that’s just some of my, what I’m hearing Jeremy say. What, what else are you hearing? Uh, Jeremy?
Kevin L. Jackson (38:25):
Well, you know, he was talking about the experience and also the communication up and down the chain. I think the consumer experience and the employee experience, they both depend upon, uh, a communications channel. That’s established a clear communications channel established between the two and no matter what product or service that you’re delivering, uh, giving both sides, uh, visibility and transparency in what’s going on with respect to the, uh, supply chain and delivery processes. Um, you know, where the products are coming from, where they’re going. I think it’s in the end. It’s all about that communication. And when you have a service offering, uh, that, uh, um, the big equities like cloud the cloud services at S-curves delivering, I think that that’s where the world needs to go.
Scott Luton (39:22):
Mm. Yeah. It’s becoming table stakes, undoubtedly. Uh, okay. So Jeremy, I, uh, I’m sure, especially y’all too, uh, Jeremy and Kevin could talk digital transformation for, for hours to come, but we’ve got to kind of, uh, uh, pull up for now, but let’s make sure folks know how to connect with you and the escrow team, Jeremy. So how can, how can folks compare notes with you?
Jeremy Deuchars (39:43):
Yeah, I, I, uh, Esker a website is a great way. Um, you know, there’s always that lovely contact us form, um, that we’d love to have folks go and visit and, uh, put their info out there. There’s also a lot of good information on the website. It’s esker.com E S K E r.com. It’s a good way to get in touch with us. It’s also a good way to do a little bit of research on your own. Um, it’s so big with folks now. They don’t necessarily want you involved in that, that first phase or first step of the process, which is fine. So there’s an opportunity to do that with all kinds of goodies and downloads and things like that. Um, so I’d say that main way. Um, eventually you might get routed to me and if you do, then, uh, I’ll be happy to talk to you. Otherwise, I’ve got many, many capable of coworkers that are also chomping at the bit to, uh, to learn and, and, and talk to folks out there and see what their experiences and see how, uh, how they could use our help.
Kevin L. Jackson (40:38):
Is that a Renaissance man at ESCOs that [inaudible] thank you for that, Jeremy.
Scott Luton (40:50):
Absolutely. Well, so we’re going to make it easy. Kevin, we’re gonna make it really easy. So of course, escrow.com is the site that, that Jeremy is talking to. We’re gonna drop a lot of links in the show notes. So folks have that one click to connect. Uh, also Kevin, we’ve got an awesome webinar coming up in July health, and do you hear awesome webinars in the same sentence, but, uh, but this is really going to be, you know, the cloud space and, and, um, uh, order order to cash and all the things that makes that happen in this current era, there’s a ton of, uh, thought leadership and best practices. We’re going to dive in deeper in a webinar the last week in July, and we’re gonna make it easy. We’re gonna put a link to that webinar to sign up for free in the show notes of this podcast episode
Kevin L. Jackson (41:34):
As well. So, uh, Jeremy, it has been a pleasure to have you here on digital transformers with, with, uh, our fearless leader, Kevin L. Jackson, here at supply chain now, and really appreciate your perspective. One final question for a toss it back over to Kevin. How are the brewers are going to finish up this year? Well, I think we’ve got a full season, 162 games that that’ll take us to the world series. So I’m calling it right here, man. Oh, go and bold. I like that nipping at the heels of a, of those playoffs in tenders. So I think this year could be the year. I’m going to write that down and we’re going to have you back to sea port call a butter burger on that prediction there. Jeremy, we’ll save that for next time. All right, Jeremy deuchars with Esker. Thanks so much, Kevin. We seem to be, uh, out of time. So, uh, I’d like to thank and invite everyone to check out a wide variety of industry thought leadership@supplychainnow.com where you can find this and other podcasts, please, wherever you subscribe on your podcast, please click that a supply chain now.com and don’t forget digital transformers. So on behalf of the entire team here at supply chain now, and this is Kevin Jackson and Scott Luton wishing all of our listeners a bright and transformational future. We’ll see you next time on digital transforming.
Intro/Outro (43:15):
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