Joining us for this episode of Supply Chain Now is Mike Griswold, Vice President of Research for Retail at Gartner. Here, we discuss Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024 – a list of key innovations that can help organizations accelerate towards their business goals in the fast-evolving age of AI.
Of these 10, Griswold deep dives into the three that he believes supply chain professionals and supply chain organizations need to be most aware of:
#1 – Sustainable Technology: With customers paying ever greater attention to DE&I, environmental and governance practices, one wrong step could have catastrophic consequences. So, how can technologies play a role in enhancing sustainability practices and ensuring enterprises don’t end up in the limelight for the wrong reasons?
#2 – Democratized Generative AI: Goldman Sachs reports that investment in AI globally should approach $200 billion just by 2025. So, how can everyone leverage AI to achieve more and be more successful, not just the technologists? What are the risks, and what are the opportunities?
#3 – Augmented Connected Workforce: One of the biggest challenges facing the supply chain industry is attracting and retaining top talent. So, what role can technologies play in improving competency rates, optimizing the value delivered by human staff, and keeping people excited about their jobs?
Listen to the full episode to find out more about these vital trends, how they interlink, and why they are expected to be so impactful in the supply chain profession in 2024.
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.
Scott Luton (00:32):
Hey. Hey everybody. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be. Scott Luton and special guest, Mike Griswold with you here on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s show, Mike, how you doing?
Mike Griswold (00:43):
I’m doing great, Scott. It’s great to be with you and Catherine, keeping us honest in the background.
Scott Luton (00:47):
Of course, grateful for wonderful production and facilitation talent here, but you’re in a good position, Mike, because you’re in demand. And so folks out there backed by Popular Demand, one of our longest running and most popular series here, supply chain today and tomorrow with Mike Griswold with Gartner. Mike, how’s it feel to be in demand? That’s a pretty good feeling, huh?
Mike Griswold (01:08):
It feels great. It feels good that there’s stuff that we want to talk about that people want to learn more about. And it’s great that people are interested in these things to help their supply chains get better, which is really why we’re all here, right? It’s how do we make everyone’s supply chain better?
Scott Luton (01:21):
Well said. As always, so many of y’all out there that have caught this show is going on for four or five years. I bet know that Mike serves as vice president and analyst with Gartner, right? And some of our new audience members. Hey, you’re in a great spot. These are great monthly conversations to do what just Mike just shared. Help your supply chains be more successful, help your days day in and day out be more successful. In today’s episode, we’re going to be exploring some of the most powerful technology trends out there impacting global supply chain and beyond. But Mike, before we get to that, before we get to our work that we like starting up with a fun warmup question. And over the years, as we’ve gotten to know you better and better and had tons of fun and had some great conversations, we’ve learned about your love for golf. We’ve learned about your love for basketball and coaching and military history, all the great work you’ve been doing, especially for the supply chain top 25. I’ve enjoyed those as well and so much more. But Mike, what we haven’t really dove into is where you grew up there in Perry, New York. So what’s a couple of things that are inseparable from your childhood growing up there in Perry?
Mike Griswold (02:27):
Yeah, small town, lots of snow during the winter. There’s two things. The first is it has been the home for a long time of archway cookies. So if you’ve ever been in your local supermarket and saw archway cookies, that’s where they originated. There was a big factory there. Lots of people in town worked there. And the second is we had, so Perry’s been around since the early to mid 18 hundreds, and in the late 18 hundreds, I believe, as a way to garner some tourist activity. Perry sits on a lake. They were going to create the silver lake sea serpent. So they created kind of an early version of the lochness monster. It would appear mysteriously and then not appear, and it actually was a pretty good tourist attraction until where they were storing the sea serpent caught on fire. The fire department came, and lo and behold, because what they found, they found the sea serpent, but that spurred every summer.
(03:21):
There was a huge sea serpent week parades. The local high school had a miss sea serpent. We had huge softball tournaments. So the town for a long time was associated with the sea serpent. It’s kind of the unofficial mascot of the town. So archway cookies and a sea serpent. Those are the two claim to fames for Perry. I guess a third one, which actually is probably more relevant for people maybe than the archway cookies is in the eighties and nineties, there was a big athletic apparel company called Champion. So at the time, they made a lot of sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts, they did some NFL jerseys, literally right across the lake from my house was the big champion factory. So cookies, clothes, and sea spets.
Scott Luton (04:10):
I love that. I bet having a factory right there where you pass by every single day and seeing those good people going to work, making good quality clothes, which I’ve had plenty of champion gear over the years. I bet that had a big impact on your worldview, even as a small kid, huh?
Mike Griswold (04:26):
It was mean. It was my first real experience to this idea from a retail perspective of an outlet at the one end of town as you’re heading out of town, there was a big champion outlet where some of the misprinted stuff, some of the stuff that wasn’t quite a hundred percent you could get. That’s the first place where I went in and got a T-shirt with my name put on the back. I mean, it was huge. It was a big deal.
Scott Luton (04:50):
Cookies, clothes, and serpents. Oh my. Yes. That might be the title of today’s episode. We’ll see. Okay, we got to get to work. Mike, I appreciate you. I bet there’s a lot more stories there, but today we’re going to dive into this list that Gartner published not too long ago, the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends 2024. So what we want to do first, Mike, is I’m going to roll through, just name ’em all 10, right? So folks kind have a sense of the full list. We’ll include maybe a link to go download that in the show notes so folks can check that out. It’s a good little read. And then we’re going to have you pick your three that you’re tracking the most, I’ll call it. Okay? Yes. So here’s the full list. If you’re tracking with us at home AI Trust, risk and Security Management, AKA AI trism, a new acronym of sorts, continuous Threat Exposure Management, also known as CTEM, sustainable technology comes in number three, platform engineering, ai, augmented development industry, cloud platforms, intelligent applications.
(05:48):
This is one of my favorites. I think we’re going to talk more about democratized generative ai. I love that. And augmented connected workforce comes in number nine and number 10 machine customers. Now, Mike, if you remember a few months back, you created quite a stir. Folks. Were loving some of your perspective around machine customers because that’s not something of the future. It’s already here, perhaps, right? So of that list of 10, I think the three that we’re going to dive into, the first one is sustainable technology. So Mike Gartner broke all 10 of these trends into three categories. Some of ’em were in just one, some of ’em were in all three. And those three categories were rise of the builders, protect your investment and deliver the value. And if I’m not mistaken, sustainable technology was in all three. Is that right?
Mike Griswold (06:33):
Yes, it is. Yeah. When people take a look at the graphic, it’s kind of an interesting graphic, right? It’s kind of a Venn diagram on steroids where you’ve got these three areas that you talked about, protect your investment, rise of the builders and delivering value. And some of these that we talk about actually do slide into multiple of these three categories. But I think the big takeaway maybe before we jump into those three, is that overall framework around how do you think about your technology investments in terms of protecting what you’ve invested in, thinking about where’s the most pragmatic way to invest and where to invest. And really, we’ve talked about this a lot, being very clear on what problem are you trying to solve? And then lastly, which I think is becoming probably one of the more important dimensions, is this idea of delivery value.
(07:24):
I think both for supply chain organizations and their partnerships with it, there’s going to be a lot more pressure on what’s the value. I think as we talk about some of these, the challenge is going to be how do we demonstrate the value? How do we capture it, how do we quantify it? How do we distill and discern between quantitative benefits and qualitative benefits, particularly when we talk a little bit about things like the augmented workforce, some of those benefits are going to be more qualitative. How do you value those? How do you convince your CFO that there’s as much value with qualitative benefits as there is with quantitative? So thinking about these through those kind of three lenses I think is going to be important.
Scott Luton (08:06):
Agreed. And just before we dive more into sustainable technology, so folks, again, we’ve shared all 10, so explore that list. Let us know what you’re tracking the most maybe. And then we’ve also covered those three categories. That Venn diagram on steroids, as Mike put, it kind of looks like a serpent a little bit, maybe Mike.
Mike Griswold (08:23):
Yes.
Scott Luton (08:24):
Yes. Rise again. Those three were rise of the builders protect your investment and deliver to value, which certainly the so what, right? Rather than chasing the latest, greatest technology, what’s the impact it can have on the business certainly is becoming bigger conversations in boardrooms. So sustainable technology. That’s going to be the first one we dive a little deeper on. So tell me, Mike, why did it make the list and what impact do you see it having now and in the future?
Mike Griswold (08:47):
Yeah, it’s interesting. When we were thinking about the list for today, and I was taking a look at it, I was trying to focus it really on those things that are most likely to be of interest and or impact the supply chain. There’s certainly things in there around cybersecurity and platforms and all those types of things that certainly Greg is well versed in from a technology perspective. But the three that I honed in on are really ones that I think supply chain professionals and supply chain organizations need to be aware of. And the first one is really around sustainability. We have a practice within the supply chain that looks at sustainability for supply chains. But what we’re also seeing, and the reason that I picked it is we’re also seeing other areas of Gartner talking more and more about supply chain. That could be the manufacturing folks, certainly the IT folks are becoming much more interested in sustainability, particularly in areas around data centers.
(09:47):
But why I think supply chain folks need to be interested in this is this sustainable technology. When you look at the note really is around three facets. It’s around social, so things like de and i, human rights, it’s around the environmental, which people tend to think of when we talk about sustainability, water, energy, biodiversity and so on. But there’s also a third element to this, which is governance, and that’s everything from compliance reporting, all those types of things. As we talk to chief supply chain officers, I think there’s kind of two things going on. There is external pressure being put on chief supply chain officers to understand what does it mean to have a sustainable supply chain. But we’re also seeing this start to drift a little bit out of the top priorities for CEOs, which I think is a risk because of some of these elements that we talked about.
(10:43):
All you need is one de and I misstep, right? And your organization is going to be on the front page of the paper for all the wrong reasons and one human rights violation. We saw that with some apparel retailers several years ago. So I encourage chief supply chain officers to find ways to continue to educate your CEO around why this needs to remain a top priority. Certainly things like geopolitical concerns and risk concerns and inflation concerns. Those certainly can and should stay top of mind, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that there are extremely interested external constituents, not the least of which are customers and suppliers that pay attention to what you do in this area and needs to be a focus. And we’re starting to see technology play a role in helping this, both in creating a utilization of technology to make you more sustainable, but also technology that’s helping on the governance and reporting side. So those are some of the reasons, Scott, that this landed for me at least out of the 10 was the one that I thought we wanted to spend some time on today. Love it. And going back to what you said
Scott Luton (11:52):
About halfway through your response there, I know everyone wants the limelight, everybody wants the spotlight, but you don’t want it for the wrong reasons. And exactly as we’ve talked about before, when you don’t see global supply chains and their leadership on the front pages, a lot of times that’s a good thing. It means things are working. Exactly. All right, so that’s just the first one. Sustainable technology folks, y’all check that out there. The second one, I can’t wait to get your take on. I just love how we phrase this. We’ve been talking about democratization for years. It’s one of my favorite movements in supply chain and in business in humanity for that matter. So democratized generative AI folks, Goldman Sachs reports that investment in AI globally should approach $200 billion just by 2025. That’s just around the corner. But one of the big questions that’s growing out there, and we just kind of touched on a little bit, a version of it a minute ago, one of the big questions that’s really growing and you’re hearing more is getting amplified across the globe is how can everyone leverage AI to achieve more and be more successful, not just the technologists and the technically oriented people I guess I’ll call it.
(12:52):
That’s one of the questions of our time. So Mike, why did it make the list or why are you tracking and what impact are we going to learn more about here now and moving forward?
Mike Griswold (13:01):
If you have any lists and it doesn’t include AI in some form or fashion, people are probably going to dismiss the list because it is such a hot topic and it’s making its way into all facets of the organization. I think the democratization is really happening for three reasons. The first is there has become a pretty low, if any, even existing barrier to entry pretty much anyone can create and compose literally anything using AI chat, GBT and so on digitally. So it’s available to everyone. It’s starting to provide the opportunity for things like cost reduction, improving experiences and productivity. I think the watch out though is there can be a sense in an organization that AI becomes kind of the wild wild west where you’ve got lots of different people doing lots of different things and what we suggest and what we’re starting to see organizations do is have a deliberate and purposeful approach around how do they want to approach this.
(14:05):
I think the democratization is kind of one of those kind of good news, bad news types of ideas around generative AI in particular. One of the risks is because we democratized it whether we want to or not, there’s the risk of can I potentially put some confidential information into chat GBT? I want it to give me a better answer. Well, now that’s out there available for anyone. You’ve got chat GBT just generating bad answers. These things I think they refer to as hallucination, which is interesting because it’s not really a person, but yet it’s somehow is elucidating. So I don’t know where that came from, but you’ve got that. You’ve got just the mystery of the black box. Now the good news or the positive to this that happens out of democratization is we definitely see productivity in the workforce. We start to expand the skillset both by accident and on purpose.
(15:01):
People start as you use this type of technology more, you become more familiar with it, your skills tend to grow. It’s an opportunity for innovation within a broader ecosystem. So the democratization I think in general is a really good thing for us, but we have to go into it with our eyes wide open around some of these risks and pitfalls and figure out how do we take advantage of this within some structure. You have to have some structure around this, and I think where organizations I think are starting to move is from a place where let everyone kind of play around with it and see what it could do to let’s let everyone play around it so we understand what it can and could do, but now let’s kind of harness it within some structure, some governance, and let’s deploy it much more tactically and surgically. And it’s that piece I think that we’re still working through frankly around what are the best use cases for this. If we think about those three lenses, where is this going to deliver value? Those are things I think everyone is still kind of working through, but we’re now from a point where it’s not just the data scientists that we’re working on this, the general population is now thinking about
Scott Luton (16:15):
This. That’s like a certification in the last few minutes there folks. Hopefully y’all enjoyed as much as I have, but Michael, I want to get you to respond to something. Inevitably, there’s some folks out there, maybe they’re at organizations that hasn’t jumped on and are doing all of those things you described with ai, given the golden opportunity that there is. This might scare a few folks, I don’t know, but there’s a lot of folks out there, analysts, leaders, technologists that are already pointing to, even in this golden heyday of AI that’s becoming commoditized and it’s no longer enough just to have it. It’s how you use it, which is you’re describing using it very purposefully to then create that competitive advantage. Respond to that a little bit there, Mike.
Mike Griswold (16:53):
This is probably a great analogy, and I’m sure if Greg was on, he would have a better analogy that I’m going to give. But to me, this looks and feels a little bit like the early stages of the internet where we had this vast wealth of data that we were able to now access and everyone could access it, but also everyone could kind use it the way they wanted and they could in some ways kind alter the output to kind of fit whatever narrative or whatever story they were looking to tell. And I think it wasn’t until we started to be able to fact check the data, be able to ensure that we had more accurate data within this thing we called the internet that we really started to see how can we use this. If you think about early days of the internet was tell me stuff right now the internet is like, I want to sell stuff, I want to buy stuff, I want to do all kinds of other things.
(17:53):
It’s like a natural kind of evolution. And I think we’re going to see the same thing around this topic. I think there’s still a lot of searching and playing and trying to maybe see what do the outer limits of this look like? How far can we push the envelope around this? And then realize, okay, now we need to reel ourselves in and think about the practical applications. We went through the same thing with the internet, and now I think we’ve gotten really, really good at the practical applications of the internet with things like transactions and buying and selling commerce, that kind of stuff.
Scott Luton (18:30):
Agreed.
Mike Griswold (18:30):
I think we will be at the same place at some point with this whole idea of generative ai. My sense though is there is so much more power in generative AI generally than we had with the internet that I think it’s going to take us longer to go through that learning curve. It’s going to take us longer. And frankly because it’s more powerful and it’s been more democratized, frankly, I think it’s going to be more painful than the internet because potentially, right, if we respond to say a hallucination like I described, that could be bad if we have copyright issues or we put data out there that we didn’t intend to, I think the learning curve is going to be a little bit more painful than maybe our learning curve around the internet.
Scott Luton (19:22):
I think that’s a great analogy, right? A great analogy, and especially where you ended towards the end of it. If we think about the internet and we think about all the different ways it grew in practical and powerful usage, but at the same time, we all are familiar, I don’t have to share anyone out there, the rise of bad actors, leveraging, of course, all things technology for cybersecurity attacks and everything else, the dark side of ai, and I mean, we’re already seeing it. We’re already seeing bad actors leverage modern technology, ai, gen, ai, you name it, to do bad things. So I think that’s a great analogy with the rise of the internet. So Mike, hallucinations, hallucinations, technology, have hallucinations. I can’t get over that. The third one today. Hang on sec, one more thought though, because folks, y’all should check out this full list because they’re all interconnected.
(20:06):
And before I leave ai, I want again point out that AI trust risk and security management, that AI trism we talked about. Y’all, check it out, Google it, learn a lot more as we look to mitigate, you’ll leverage and harness the power and then mitigate all the risks that come with it. Okay, number three, Mike, augmented connected workforce. The summer theme to our last trend, power to the people unleashing the human factor. Some of my favorite things to talk about, the Gartner piece points out that Merck has seen big time gains leveraging this, and in this area reportedly redirecting 70% of subject matter expert time from non-value added work to creating real value. Now, as we all know, once you waste time, you ain’t ever ever getting it back. It’s gone, right? So tell us, in your view, Mike, why is augmented connected workforce on your radar and what’s the impact it’s having today moving forward?
Mike Griswold (20:57):
Yeah. The other thing, if I kind of jump to the end of the story first real quickly in that same, you mentioned Merck, there’s also in that report, a great writeup on Home Depot for our retailers out there. Home Depot is doing some great things around bringing technology out to the sales floor, both from this idea of task management, but also from an e-learning perspective. And it’s pretty cool some of the stuff that Home Depot is doing. But I think this topic, and the reason I picked this is we’ve had numerous conversations around the general topic of talent and supply chain talent, the challenges that we’re having in terms of bringing people into the supply chain as a career, once we get them challenges in retaining them. And I think part of this augmented connected workforce is really this convergence of technology, some of what we just talked about around chat GBT and generative AI in general, but also the fact that we have to figure out how do we continually enhance the experiences, whether that’s people in a manufacturing plant, people in a warehouse, or people even in an office.
(22:04):
And one of the things that we’re finding with this idea of augmentation and connection is an acceleration of skills that are required regardless of job. So some of those generative AI skills, some of those other kind of practical hands-on skills are now starting to come together. And the other thing we’re finding, when I mentioned earlier this idea, the priorities of CEOs and chief supply chain officers, part of their challenge is how do I get those people that I’ve managed to attract and retain in my organization? How do I get them up to speed more quickly? And we’re finding this augmentation and this connectivity that we can give people is actually producing people at higher competency rates for their particular jobs more quickly. And we’ve also seen just the advances that are happening in not only workplace automation, so through virtual reality and augmented reality, but also through ai.
(23:01):
And one of the byproducts that we’re seeing out of AI is we are potentially asking people to make harder decisions, more complex decisions, and we want them to make them faster. So we’re going to need this augmentation from things like machine learning and AI to help our associates do that. So really what we’re seeing is we start to look at this idea of associate engagement and how do we keep people excited about their job is really this connection between the digital and the physical world and how does that manifest itself in worker experience? And that’s everything from some of the stuff that Home Depot is doing, which is bringing technology right out to the sales floor to automation and different things like that. So what we’re talking to chief supply chain officers about is a couple of things. One, it’s the requirement to embrace technology as a way to help people make better decisions faster, but also as a way to enhance their experience with things like virtual reality, augmented reality. So people say, don’t have to go maybe to a manufacturing plant to learn how to run a piece of equipment. They can do that virtually. But we’re also finding that there is these emerging generations of workers that have grown up on iPads and iPhones, smart devices, they’ve grown up interacting with those devices and they don’t see or don’t feel there should be any disruption between using those devices in their personal life and using those devices in their work environment. You everything
Scott Luton (24:39):
Seamless,
Mike Griswold (24:40):
Right? Seamless. If I can ask Siri for a recipe, why can’t I ask Siri for what are the five most important purchase orders I have to work on today, right? It’s those types or Alexa, I don’t want to offend any Amazon people. Those types of conversational types of activities that happen all the time. Think about the navigation within your car. I need to go to point A, tell me how to get, there could be no different than a virtual experience for someone picking things in a warehouse. So it’s this connection and this convergence of technology. And if I think about other industries, other industries don’t have this dichotomy of people that have to do physical stuff, warehouse people and people that live in an office environment. If I have a bank, everyone is in an office or maybe I have people that are tellers, but I don’t have someone picking cases all day and another person trying to do demand planning. So it’s our industries, the consumer products industry, the retail industry, the healthcare industry where we’re going to see these convergences happen and people just have to figure out how we’re going to make that work.
Scott Luton (25:56):
Man, I love the picture you’re painting and going back to the beginning of your, really the theme throughout your response there, and I love your focus for years from all of our conversations on talent and corollary to that is your focus on the the associate, the team member experience that unfortunately still, I think we’ve made some gains in getting leadership and the C-suite to really focus on that more and how important it is, but we still got some ways to go to reach everybody. So I love that big part of your answer there. Okay, Mike, you’ve kind of inserted this into I think all of your responses, and that’s all your conversations you’ve got with supply chain leaders around the globe, and that’s where we want to start to wrap today’s conversation. So it’s been about a month or so since you joined us last time, as you’ve chatted with those movers and shakers and makers out there across globe, what’s been a cool key takeaway from a recent private sidebar, I’ll call it discussion.
Mike Griswold (26:48):
I might’ve touched on this last time when we were together, and if I did,
Scott Luton (26:51):
We’ll double down.
Mike Griswold (26:53):
We’ll double down. We had some research from a month or so ago that we published around this idea of turnover. And I think it does come back to this democratization and it comes back to this augmented connected workforce, but I think there has been a school of thought that says people are going to leave and there’s nothing I can do about it, and I’m going to do everything I can to kind of keep people to stay so I don’t have to worry about turnover. What our research tells us is that’s a losing proposition. People are going to leave for lots of different reasons. We have this idea of regretted and non regretted people leaving the organization. And I think what our research tells us is you’re going to have regretted turnover. You need to figure out how to embrace that. How do you create a culture where that’s going to happen?
(27:39):
And it’s okay, but how do you create a culture for what some organizations call alumnis? What we at Gartner call boomerangs, right? How do you create an environment so that when that person leaves to go on and kind of grow their career, that coming back is an option, right? And coming back should be something that that person should be thinking about. Maybe I need to leave the organization for three to five years to gather some more experiences with an eye towards coming back to my organization at a different level and having more to offer potentially. And what we’re finding, the reason I put that, Scott, is kind of the preamble, is we’re starting to get traction with that research. We’re starting to get people to say, you know what? I am going to stop banging my head against the wall and trying to get people to leave, and I’m going to reframe how I think about turnover.
(28:24):
I’m going to reframe it from the standpoint that it’s going to happen. Yes, I want to try to minimize it, but when it does happen, we’re going to figure out why. And if there’s some systemic challenges in the organization that are encouraging people to lead, then obviously we need to address that. But you’re also going to have just high performing people that want a new experience, and it’s nothing that you did. They’re not running from something, they’re running towards something, which I think is a big difference, and people moving towards stuff. In some ways, that’s what you want. You want people to grow, and then ideally they can come back with that growth and provide even more value for your organization. So that’s one of the things that’s been a really hot topic for us the last month or so.
Scott Luton (29:06):
I love it. The phrase that comes to my mind is talent management for the future and not talent management. Like it’s 1987. Not to pick on that year, but you know what I’m saying there, Mike? Yes. Because we’re not going back to that. These shifts have taken place on a variety of different ways as you’re alluding to, let’s lean into it, right? Give the people in many cases what they want.
Mike Griswold (29:24):
Yeah. The last point I’ll make because there’s been a lot of this in the news recently, is one of the things that we’re finding around this idea of embracing turnover is to not be shooting yourself in the foot with things like your return to work policy. There has been a ton of press around now that covid is in the rear view mirror, more and more organizations reverting to, you have to be in the office and mandating that and all I can tell anyone that’s going to watch this, that is not a good idea. It is counter to all of our advice, and it’s counter to all of our research, this idea of hybrid workforce, flexible location, figuring out what works best in a collaborative in-person environment, and be very mindful around doing that, versus, I need you to be in the office four days a week because I said so, because I said, so. Doesn’t work when you’re a parent. For me, it doesn’t work when I’m a grandparent, so it’s not going to work for you as an employer, so let’s not shoot ourselves in the feet.
Scott Luton (30:24):
I love that. And folks, that’s not opinion, as Mike mentioned, that’s data-driven, research driven. So take that to heart. Okay, Mike, each time you join us every month, we showed just a tip of the iceberg in terms of the great value that you and the Gartner team deliver and have been delivering for a long time. Two part question, what’s coming up next at Gartner and how can folks connect with you and the team?
Mike Griswold (30:44):
Let’s do the easy one first. LinkedIn or email, those are the easiest. And the other one’s not hard, but our two flagship symposium events are not that far away there. First week of May, first week in June, Orlando and Barcelona Respectably would encourage everyone to see about joining us there. We set records every year in terms of the number of people, and I think it’s because we have really, really good content. We have an exciting keynote plan this year around what’s on the horizon for supply chain as we look at the next two to five years. So encourage anyone with any interest, this is the marketing speaks. Alright. Catherine will love this, right? The world’s greatest gathering of supply chain professionals, but it is, I hope people know I try to be objective when we are together, but it’s hard to be objective around that because it is the world’s largest staff, supply chain professionals,
Scott Luton (31:30):
Been there, done it. It’s very accurate. And folks, tremendous value. If you decide to carve out the time, make the investment, be there, you’ll connect with folks, you’re going to hear ideas and not just stuff that global supply chain, global business talks about for years and years. New ideas, especially from companies and leaders that are doing it that can answer the so what. Okay, so Mike, always a pleasure. Really have enjoyed this chat, man. I’ve got my 17 pages of notes, as always, when we sit down with you. Big thanks for you joining us once again, Mike Griswold, vice President Analyst with Gartner. I look forward to next month. Mike.
Mike Griswold (32:03):
Me too. Thanks for having me.
Scott Luton (32:05):
You bet. Okay, folks, the on is now on you. We’ve gotten several truckloads of brilliance once again from Mike who joins us every month. I tell you what, tremendous value. But now the owner is on you to take something. Take one thing he said, put it into action. Hey, maybe it’s time to revisit your back to work strategies, right? And lean into the research and the data and where we are today, not where we’ve been 10 years ago, but whatever you do, Hey, I challenge you on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain. Now, do good, give forward, be the change that’s needed. And with that said, we’ll see you next time, right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.
Intro/Outro (32:41):
Thanks for being a part of our supply chain now, community. Check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to Supply Chain now, anywhere you listen to podcasts. And follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on Supply Chain. Now.
Mike Griswold serves as Vice President Analyst with Gartner’s Consumer Value Chain team, focusing on the retail supply chain. He is responsible for assisting supply leaders in understanding and implementing demand-driven supply chain principles that improve the performance of their supply chain. Mr. Griswold joined Gartner through the company’s acquisition of AMR. Previous roles include helping line-of-business users align corporate strategy with their supply chain process and technology initiatives. One recent study published by a team of Gartner analysts, including Mike Griswold is Retail Supply Chain Outlook 2019: Elevating the Consumer’s Shopping Experience. Mr. Griswold holds a BS in Business Management from Canisius College and an MBA from the Whittemore School of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about Gartner here: www.gartner.com
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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.