What has been seen cannot be unseen – that is Greg White’s theory on the spike in supply chain awareness among consumers, professional colleagues, and even politicians. Disruptions and geopolitical instability are not new, but the world’s eyes have been opened to how supply chains operate and how they contribute to macro and micro experiences.

Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner, specializing in retail with a particular focus on forecasting and replenishment. He is responsible for Gartner’s annual Top 25 Supply Chain ranking and joins Supply Chain Now on a monthly basis to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.

In this episode, Mike talks about the role that increased awareness is playing in how supply chains are viewed and managed with co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White:

• Signs that some supply chain teams are being relegated back to the ‘kiddie’ table, and how Chief Supply Chain Officers should respond

• The expanded internal and external ecosystems that most supply chain organizations are currently responsible for

• How the great supply chain awakening has forever changed the role that supply chains can play in creating an exceptional customer experience

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 (00:33):

Hey. Hey. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, Scott Luton and Greg White with you here on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s livestream, Greg, how you doing today?

Greg White (00:42):

Spectacular, Lee, how are you doing?

Scott Luton (00:45):

Doing wonderful. It is a gorgeous day in metro Atlanta. We’re back from a very quick spring break trip with the kids to our nation’s capitol. Yeah, and a wonderful time. And Greg, we get to jump back in with one of our faves here, right? You

Greg White (00:58):

Look, I’ve been missing class for the last couple weeks, right? I mean, so glad to be back. Yeah. So I’m really looking forward to this. Look, anytime we can get Mike on the show is fantastic. So, and we talk about supply chain, not just now, right? Today and tomorrow, right?

Scott Luton (01:19):

Yes, you team it well, <laugh>, you teed it up very well. Greg, one of our longest running most popular series here at Supply Chain. Now I wanna say we’re in year three of supply chain today and tomorrow with the one only Mike Griswold with Gartner. As Greg mentioned now today, Greg, today we’re talking about the modern, highly complex balancing act that supply chain leaders must manage to make their ecosystem successful. It’s a little bit of a follow up discussion from a recent event that you spoke at, is that

Greg White (01:49):

Right? Yeah, that’s right. The World Innovation Solutions Conference 2023, put on by Rob Rowan and he brought in dignitaries. I met the former ambassador of several countries. Anyway, <laugh>, Bob Pearson, and now he’s at Duke University. Asked a really poignant question, which we’ll talk about maybe later. Yeah, generals and other talented people. So it was a great session. A lot of academics. The founder of Priceline was there. Really? He was a huge Chiefs fan. Okay,

Scott Luton (02:22):

Yeah. Well, hey, I’ve reviewed a lot. I think we sent one of our team members out to capture a lot of, a lot of what was going on. A lot of your, your commentary, really good stuff and we’re gonna offer a sliver of that here today. I think we got some stuff we’re gonna be releasing Greg after the fact, but, uh, you were on fire and I’m glad we can rehash some of that here today. All right folks, so you’re in for a great conversation. Mike Griswold, Gardner’s joining us in just a second. Yeah, I wanna say hello to a few folks and then we’re gonna share a couple of opportunities for, you know, as I’m, as we shared last weekend, Hey folks, we got you back. We know the difficult situation, environment, world that we live in. A lot of old challenges, a lot, lot of new challenges. And we’re here to offer resources to help you and your teams be more successful. We’re gonna share some of those here in just a second. Do Masani tuned in via LinkedIn from Zambia. Welcome, welcome. Dja is in from India, also via LinkedIn. Welcome to you Michelle, down to Maples, Florida. Michelle, great to have you here via LinkedIn. Hassan from India, great to see you. Of course. Our dear friend Josh Goody’s back with us, Greg up from Seattle. We go take a stab at the weather. Greg up in Seattle today. Take a stab. Let me

Greg White (03:27):

Say relatively cool and rainy.

Scott Luton (03:30):

Okay <laugh>. So Josh, bring it and I look forward to your perspective throughout the hour. And Gino is back with us. Gino, pleasure up in North Alabama. I hope you’re doing well. Okay, so Greg, as promised, we’ve got a couple of resources for folks to learn and get better. Learn what, how’s it go? The DMAIC cycle. Hey, basically learn, apply, roll it out, check it. <laugh>, highly technical terms

Greg White (03:56):

Like that.

Scott Luton (03:57):

Simplify

Greg White (03:58):

It for the people in the front row.

Scott Luton (04:00):

Amen. Simple simplification is a good thing. Hey, April 6th, that is tomorrow at 12 in Eastern time. We’re gonna be talking about, not simplified, but u a unified supply chain approach. We’ve got Bryant and Rob joining us from Manhattan Associates. They’ve been with us before. They’ve been there, done that. Greg, we enjoyed these conversations, don’t we?

Greg White (04:19):

Yeah, no doubt. I mean it’s great to hear from the companies that are helping the practitioners get it done and how it’s always great tips and our audience always loves to hear what the solutions are out there in the marketplace because I know having been on both sides of the table selling solutions and being a practitioner, how hard it can be to narrow down to what you need. Because I mean, this is an unfortunate happenstance and Mike can verify this as well. A lot of the return on investment and a lot of the claims of the portions of your supply chain that get changed, they kind of roll together the, whether it’s transportation, a solution, a warehouse solution, or a planning solution. They all kind of claim the same impact on ROI and they just can’t all do it. So it’s great to create this kind of clarity when you talk to companies that either can do all things or can really specify the portions of your business that are gonna get impacted. Wow, that was a long way to say that. But <laugh>

Scott Luton (05:18):

Join us.

Greg White (05:19):

Yeah,

Scott Luton (05:20):

Greg, very eloquent and you’re spot on. Of course we’ve had lots of these conversations and we’ve done it to your point, Greg. So join us tomorrow 12 in Eastern time as we hear from Bryant and Rob. And then it gets better. We level repeat guests. Michael Conley, who knocked a home run out a month or two ago is back with us. We’re talking supply chain planning, how to go way beyond s O P, of course, sales and operations planning in 2023. That is next week, the 11th at 12 in Eastern time. So join us for that. Folks, we’re dropping the link to join in the chat as we look to make it easy today. Ask and you shall receive. For some reason that didn’t sound right today. Josh says four degrees Celsius today in Seattle, cloudy with rain and forecast. And he’s given a little tidbit here. Interesting to see how the new energy deals that just posted are going to affect India, China, and Japanese logistics and manufacturing firms. Excellent point, Josh. We’re gonna dive into that probably on the buzz on Monday. I bet. All right. So Greg, are you ready to bring on the one and only, you know, I saw, and by the way, Elvis, welcome. Good morning from Regina Saskatchewan up in Regina, Canada. Regina, did I say that? Oh, Regina, sorry, did I say that right? Saskatchewan.

Greg White (06:30):

Saskatchewan, yeah. Okay.

Scott Luton (06:31):

All right. So

Greg White (06:33):

Lovely and scenic. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Scott Luton (06:37):

Okay. All right. Well, you know, Elvis, I’m not sure if your namesake was the iconic performance has to be, has to be. But I wish we had an Elvis like introduction for the one and only Mike Griswold. We’ll work on that next go round. Yes. Or we just got Greg Singh, but hey, y’all kidding aside, we love these conversations. We continue to hear from all of you, our listeners about these monthly conversations. We’ve got Wanna welcome in our dear friend Mike Griswold, vice President Analyst with Gardner. Mike, how

Mike Griswold (07:09):

You doing? Hey, doing. Hey, I’m doing great, thanks. How Greg, welcome back. I feel like when I was listening to you talking to, as you kicked off the show, I feel like Greg should have like, I’ll date myself. The welcome back Coter note from his mom around why Greg was absent. <laugh>, Greg was out sick, signed Greg’s mom,

Greg White (07:27):

<laugh>. Yeah,

Mike Griswold (07:28):

I didn’t need to give that to Scott to explain where you’ve been the last few episodes.

Greg White (07:32):

Greg got lost on the way class. Greg’s

Mike Griswold (07:34):

Mom, most people will probably, and I know you’re the, all of our support people, Amanda and Jennifer, and they’ll all have to Google welcome back hot cause Yes, they’re way too young to know Welcome back. Yeah,

Scott Luton (07:45):

Mr. Guys, Mr.

Greg White (07:46):

Mr.

Mike Griswold (07:47):

Kos, <laugh>.

Scott Luton (07:48):

Well, hey,

Greg White (07:49):

Puerto was my favorite song.

Scott Luton (07:50):

Yeah. Speaking of big thanks, Amanda and Katherine, Chantel, clay, all the folks that make make today’s show happen. And Mike, what a great callout. We love our, I’m the chief offender of our antiquated references and welcome back. Cotter certainly is on that list now. Yes. Great. A

Greg White (08:05):

Great show though, really. Yeah, truly a great show.

Scott Luton (08:07):

I like the teacher in that show. I can’t remember his name. I think we, he recently passed away a couple years ago, if I’m not mistaken. But he was

Mike Griswold (08:13):

A great idea. Kaplan.

Scott Luton (08:14):

Yes, I liked Gabe Kaplan. Yes. All right. So folks, stay tuned. We got a big conversation that we’re gonna dive into. But first, Greg and Mike wanna start with a fun warmup question. And Mike, we aim to please, you asked an pre-show. Okay, Scott. All right, Luton, what is today’s National Day? What is today’s national day? So it’s National Deep Dish Pizza Day. It’s National Caramel Day, it’s National Nebraska Day. Hear that, Amanda, national Nebraska

Mike Griswold (08:41):

Day,

Scott Luton (08:42):

<laugh> amongst others. Well,

Greg White (08:43):

Day for Amanda, right? She was a cheerleader at the University of

Scott Luton (08:46):

Nebraska, right? So true, Greg. I bet a few folks know that too. But where I’m gonna focus <laugh>. Yes. Where I’m gonna focus our attention here today is cause I know both y’all are Bond fans. I’m a big Bond fan as well. Of course, we’re talking about James Bond, the only bond. So Albert Rrb Broccoli, and yes, that is how he pronounce his last name. Who was nicknamed Cubby, by the way, was born on April 5th, 1909, and New York City. Now, of course most folks know he went on to become really famous for producing many of the James Bond films from the get-go. He produced the first one, Dr. No, which featured Sean Connery. So the question then, Greg and Mike, we’ll start with you. Who is your favorite actor to portray James Bond and what is your favorite bond film, Mike?

Mike Griswold (09:33):

So probably a little bit guilty of recency bias, but I’m gonna go with Daniel Craig. I think if you read some of the bond books that Ian Fleming wrote, I think he’s a little bit closer to the kind of the gritty kind of darker side of bond, which I think Daniel Craig brought to the screen. Hmm. I thought Casino Royal was the perfect way to introduce Daniel Craig as how Bond became Bond, but probably my favorite. It is actually the last one, right? No Time to Die, which if you haven’t seen it, I won’t give away the ending, but to me that is the perfect kinda wrap up of Daniel Craig is James Bond. So again, probably some recency bias, but I just like what he brought to the character compared to some of the others that were fortunate enough to play that role. It’ll be interesting to see kinda where the franchise goes next.

Scott Luton (10:29):

Agreed, agreed. Good stuff there. All right. So Greg, that’s gonna be tough to top. I know you’ve got some Hollywood experience with the Bond film and some of the movers and players there, but Greg, your favorite bond and your favorite Bond movie.

Greg White (10:42):

Yeah. Well, despite the best efforts of Richard Cohen and c e o of mgm, I’m gonna say Sean Connery is my favorite bond. And I think because the times were different, he didn’t get to show as much of the dark side. You know, the sort of notion of an anti-hero landed around the time that Daniel Craig became James Bond, which is 2004, by the way. Doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, right? But it was that long ago, and I’m gonna pick the movie that Harry Schwartzman, Harry Saltzman, sorry. And Sean Connery produced without Eon Productions, never say Never again. In 1983, which was kind of, it was a comeback movie for Sean Connery. He put a little more edge in it. He had a little bit bit more of that old statesman kind of approach, like Daniel Craig. But I gotta tell you, I love Daniel Craig movies, and I think you and Royal, anyone who saves their own life from a heart attack or heart stoppage,

Mike Griswold (11:42):

<laugh>,

Greg White (11:43):

Yes, that is all you need to see in a movie. Go. That is one tough son of a right there. So

Mike Griswold (11:49):

Yeah, Greg, I, I agree. I mean, when I, to be Daniel Craig is almost that second iteration of what Sean Connery did when he was the first James Bond. Yeah. So I, to me, the others in the middle I think were good. I think they all had their own little flair and put their own little touch on what, how they saw his personality. But to me, Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, I think are the closest to what I visualize when I read some of those FL books.

Greg White (12:20):

Yeah, I think you’re right. All

Scott Luton (12:22):

Right, so I’m gonna be the outlier and we’ll dive into it here. Today

Greg White (12:27):

I was communicating some blonde fandom forever. Yes.

Scott Luton (12:31):

Well, so I can’t separate, I was the biggest bond fan when I was a kid, right? And so I can’t separate from what I grew up knowing James Bond as, and for me, that’s Roger Moore of you to Kill. I probably watched that movie a thousand times. And I love, I mean, just how Roger Moore played the character in which persona was. So for me, it’s Roger Moore of you to Kill. But I completely won’t disagree with what both of y’all have shared. It’s really interesting to see how they’ve updated time and where they’ll go next.

Greg White (12:59):

So I don’t hate, unlike most Connery fans, I don’t hate Roger Moore. The game, the movies started to become a little bit more campy. There was a lot of of word play and, you know, and fun in the movies, which isn’t true to the books, but it was true to the times. And I think Roger Moore did a bang up job. He could be, he was a perfect straight man delivering some of those hilarious, just hilarious puns and lines and that kinda thing.

Scott Luton (13:26):

Uh, I agree with you. I agree with you. Josh. Loved Connery, uh, Sean Connery, and I don’t have this person’s name. Please drop that in there for me. Amanda Katherine, also Big Sean Connery fan. And Durga. Yes. Hey, we gotta stop and smell the roses from time to time, right? We’re about to jump right into supply chain wholeheartedly, but, uh, I

Greg White (13:44):

Like Durga. It’s gonna be worth it.

Scott Luton (13:46):

<laugh>, right? All right. So thank y’all for playing our fun warmup question here today around James Bond. We’ll see where the franchise goes next, but getting right into supply chain leadership and a whole lot more here today. I wanna tee up this thing a bit, and Greg gets you to weigh in because as we were preparing for Mike’s monthly chat with us here, long running, Mike, I wanna say year three, we might be venturing into year four territory. I don’t know, very popular conversations Mike brings up. Most folks appreciate has been there, done that in his practical way, especially the altitude that he keeps his responses in. So, as Greg and I were chatting last week, and Greg was fresh on the hills of his visit, we started thinking about some of the big themes that Greg as a keynote at this event, and as he is rubbing elbows and having not only the session topics, but also the, maybe the whiskey discussion or the coffee discussion, insert whatever word there,

Greg White (14:38):

Greg, maybe been. Yes.

Scott Luton (14:39):

Maybe both Whiskey

Greg White (14:41):

Is involved. Yes.

Scott Luton (14:42):

<laugh>. So Greg, as I clumsily tee this thing up, tell us where does today’s conversation about this modern balancing act and how folks, how supply chain leaders have to, what they’re tasked with, how did the conversation come

Greg White (14:55):

About? So what has been seen cannot be unseen. And as someone who, and probably like Mike Scott and you, who’s been to many a neighborhood or cocktail party and had someone ask you what you do for a living said supply chain, and watch their eyes glaze over, or them just slowly walk away and find someone interesting to talk to. It’s a dramatic change. And I think that aside from what is being touted in the press about disruption and geopolitical instability in a number of things, the real change in supply chain is simply awareness. Consumers are more aware. A supply chain professionals, colleagues within their own company are more aware and even morons like politicians are aware of what supply chain is and what it can mean to the industry. So my thesis is that, is all that has changed, right? We’ve had ships stuck in Sues canal before.

Greg White (15:48):

We’ve gone through many, many, many inter international geopolitical conflicts, wars, and whatnot. And, you know, and we’ve had things like the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 before as well. Now, it was the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 that ignited all this awareness because we were all at home or getting ready to go home watching television or wherever you get your news from to see what was gonna happen next. And we all became aware. And likewise, even supply chain professionals, they have seen what they can’t unsee. And that is that their supply chain is more complex, interconnected, and interdependent than they ever conceived of before. Even if they have been doing the job for decades, they’ve recognized that they’ve recognized now that the geopolitical conflict has a greater impact. And now that supply chains have frankly been weaponized by certain international parties, China and Russia and others, right?

Greg White (16:46):

There’s, there are some new dynamics there because that wild geopolitical conflict is not new. The use of geopolitical conflict or international relations has. So there’s a lot of things that have changed. Um, the awareness is so great now that we have no place to hide. And I think, frankly, in the industry, we took advantage of that a little bit while shouting from the rooftops that we wanted a seat at the table. We did benefit from being a bit obscure to the rest of the world. So now we have to recognize that there are tons of other fragility. Some of those fragility are unseen. Like if you have seven tiers of suppliers, you don’t know who all of your suppliers are, things like that. And yet now, today, because of things like e s G, you’re being, the responsibility and accountability for those are being placed on you as well. So there’s a whole new set of responsibilities at play today as well. And so the question is really, how does supply chain leaders with all this new awareness, both their awareness, their trading partner’s awareness, their company’s awareness, and their consumer’s awareness, how do they minimize the risk of an ecosystem that they can’t even see all

Scott Luton (17:53):

Of? So with that question in mind, Mike, what comes to your mind initially?

Mike Griswold (17:59):

Yeah, so I, I agree completely with Greg around the awareness piece. You know, I, when we talked to companies as we were going into the pandemic, it was really a case of, okay, be careful what you wish for around having a seat at the table. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So all of a sudden we got a seat at the table and people were looking around at each other saying, okay, now what do I do? I’m actually at the table. Now what do I do? And I think supply chains, for the most part, I would say, have benefited and their organizations have benefited from having that seat at the table. But I agree with you, Greg, around the biggest thing that’s new is this awareness that, oh, by the way, we have this supply chain and it’s pretty powerful. I will caution people though, that when I look at our data and some of our research, we just wrote a research report feature supply chain 2023, we are running the risk based on the data of people kind of pushing us back away from the table.

Mike Griswold (19:00):

And what I mean by that is going into the pandemic, when we looked at the population, you know, anywhere between 70 and 75% of respondents that were supply chain professionals say, yeah, yes, we have a seat at the table. But when we look at the data now that’s starting to look at 20, late 20, 22, 20, 23 and beyond. Yeah. What we’re seeing is more companies tell us we’re not getting that seat at the table anymore, except companies that are high performers, 73% of high performing companies still have that seat at the table. So my message to supply chain professionals is you need to make sure that you retain that seat at the table. It’s about how do you continue to make people aware around your capabilities, and how do you continue to talk about things like, how does our supply chain enable growth? How does our supply chain enable commercial innovation?

Mike Griswold (20:00):

Those are the things that will keep you at the seat at the table. If you rest on what you were able to do during the pandemic, you will not have a seat at the table. And that’s, I think as I look at our research, that’s what concerns me is, you know, many organizations and many others as C-Suite, you know, with all due respect, have relatively short attention spans. And it’s very easy for that group to kind of forget about the supply chain when things are running fairly well. Right? And kinda relegate us back to the little kids’ table where we were pre covid.

Scott Luton (20:38):

All right, Greg, I bet you’re chomping at the bit. Mike laid out a lot there, and I love that final thought that he, he wrapped on about being back at the kids’ table, <laugh>. So Greg, your response, Mike’s initial answer,

Greg White (20:50):

Enlightening and stunning. Frankly, I, I’m surprised, one, how fast it’s happened that we’ve been relegated to the kids’ table again, and two, that after all the and moaning we’ve done for decades to get to that adult table, that we would just allow ourselves to be relegated back to that. And, but it is true. I mean, you know, time heals all wounds, right? So everyone is hoping for that new normal. And we all, every one of us, Mike Scott, you all of us, discussed that this could happen, right? That people are seeking the new normal, and by normal they meant the way things used to be. But the one thing that isn’t the way it’s used to be, and the one thing that will impact companies forever is not the changes in geopolitical dynamics or all of these other things that we’ve promoted, but it is the awareness because consumers will not cease to be aware that you have one job, whatever your brand or whatever your company is, you have one job and that’s deliver.

Greg White (21:51):

Now, there are lots of qualifications to that, but basically deliver means I want it, I order it, I go to buy it, I get it, questions asked, no problem, no delays. Right? And now they know that there is multiple levels of culpability. If they don’t get it, they don’t just blame Target. If Target is out, they know that that’s on Proctor and Gambler Gamble or whoever else if they can’t get their product right, they understand consumers understand enough about supply chain that it, it impacts a multitude of companies brand identity by failing. And I hear it every day, consumers switching brands because yeah, they’re going where it’s reliable. Yeah. The only real difference is they’re saying it more often and they know it’s because of supply chain. So now they’re actually starting to understand a company’s supply chain and making their decision to select or remain loyal to a brand cause of that, the effectiveness of that supply chain.

Scott Luton (22:49):

Alright, so Mike, I’m gonna come back to you in just a second and we’ll kind of figure out what El what else you see based on research, based on what you’re seeing companies do to strike this balance that really meets all layers and players of the ecosystem that Gregs who eloquently spoke about. I wanna share a couple quick comments here though. Gino’s got the best one, maybe. Wow. Short memories. <laugh> Chino. Yeah. Dead on the money. You’re so right.

Greg White (23:15):

It’s so true. I mean, if we, if ever we needed to, if any of us ever needed a reminder of that, it is absolutely true. And it’s, and it so often, especially in American business, unlike the Japanese who plan for decades and centuries or the Chinese, we plan for the next five years and often get caught up in all of the, all of the fires that are caused during that timeframe and get distracted.

Scott Luton (23:40):

Yes. Well, and, and I wanna pick back up there and I got some other comments I’ll get, I’ll try to get to later T squared. Great to see you there and DGA asking about India, we’ll try to get those too. But Michael, I’ll come back to you based on what Greg just shared there and what Gino said, short memories, I think a key part of your response earlier are the questions that supply chain leaders and supply chain organization has to answer, right? How do we help grow? How do we help drive innovation? How do we help optimize customer experience? How, you know, never sitting on those laurels causes gen points out. Business leaders in other parts of the organization can have really short memories. We’ve gotta, we’ve gotta demonstrate just like them how the market always asks you day in, day out. That’s great, but what have you done for me lately? We’ve gotta answer that question seems like on the hour these days. But Mike, your response there and then we’ll just lead into what else you think supply chain leaders must do to strike and maintain this balance.

Mike Griswold (24:33):

Yeah, I’m, I’m gonna pick up on some of our supply chain top 25 research and last year what we identified, and we’re still working through the 2023 trends, but I think what we observed in 2022 is gonna be consistent for this year. One of the macro trends we had that got a lot of people talking was this idea of chief supply chain officers evolving into chief ecosystem officers, CEOs, and Greg already a couple of times has mentioned this idea of an ecosystem. And we see for the leading companies that ecosystem manifests itself in two ways. There’s one ecosystem, which is your internal ecosystem, which is okay, what is the span of control of a supply chain? And I think during the pandemic, when we got the seat at the table, the organization was basically saying, fix this. I don’t care how you fix it, but you need to fix this.

Mike Griswold (25:33):

And supply chain said, great, well give me responsibility for manufacturing. Give me responsibility for procurement. Let me own demand and supply. Mm-hmm <affirmative> spending control group, right? When I look at our top 25 companies, 75% of them are now responsible for the customer experience, which never would’ve happened years ago. Almost 60% of them are responsible for E S G and sustainability. So there’s that internal ecosystem which is broadening and to to great. Your earlier comment. We as supply chain leaders need to not let anyone take what we’ve built as our starting and stopping point. You can’t let people take that away, right? You can’t let someone now put procurement someplace else if it’s lived in the supply chain. You don’t wanna move sustainability someplace else if it’s been living in the supply chain, right? So there’s that internal ecosystem that is definitely broadening in leading organizations.

Mike Griswold (26:28):

But then there’s the external ecosystem, which is what you were getting to Greg around, you know, your suppliers, suppliers, partnering with NGOs, partnering with government agencies around how do we start to shape the ecosystem within which our supply chain operates? And for many chief supply chain officers, that is a relatively new skillset. If I go back to Greg’s example around politicians and morons, which I think are relatively synonymous, like if I’m a chief supply chain officer, I might now have to insert myself in some of those discussions around things like legislation, particularly if I am the Walmarts, the Krogers, the Amazons, those companies that have global massive supply chains that can actually influence some of these outside agencies and entities. So to me, part of our challenge around the overall discussion of awareness is being aware of these two ecosystems and how are you gonna play you as a supply chain leader, how are you gonna play an active role in both of those ecosystems? Because you can’t be passive. If you’re passive, one of two things will happen. Both are bad, you will lose some of the gain you’ve made around your Hispanic control and you’ll have things done to you versus shaping how you want things to happen moving forward.

Scott Luton (27:57):

Both, you’re right, both those things are bad. Greg <laugh> weigh in on the dangers of acting passively in other things Mike should just

Greg White (28:05):

Shared. Well, I mean, first think we have to acknowledge that we as supply chain professionals, just like all the other professionals in our respective companies, let out a collective sigh that things have calmed down quite a bit and we’ve let our guard down just like everyone else in the company has. And historically too, we have had very short memories. So we’re not immune to this. We’re not above the rest of the executive team. We’re more aware of this element of the business, of course, but no more or less likely to hope for status quo. Right? So that said, I think we have to recognize that it’s not a them versus us, it’s also a them versus it’s an us versus us too. We have to be more diligent about this and seek that control. And now that we understand particularly that the consumer understands the dynamics of supply chain, we have to aim at that.

Greg White (28:58):

So many manufacturers stop when they get their goods, their supply chain ends when their goods get to their distributor or retailer. But, you know, I’m gonna say this, I do, the consumer is the beginning and the end of the supply chain. There is no supply necessary without demand. And I will contest that till the day that I die. And there are plenty of people who disagree with that. The days of, you know, mad men being able to tell you are a man because the kind of cigarettes you smoke, that’s over. People are defining themselves more and more and they’re requesting or seeking or even getting customization of products that fit their lifestyle and lifestyle choices. So we have to recognize that’s more true than ever. And the other is that we have to identify the outdated approaches that status quo represents the way that we forecast, right?

Greg White (29:49):

Presuming a lack of robust data is just one example. But there are so many other things that we do that create unintentional or intentional inefficiencies and obfuscations in the supply chain. We have to get past that, right? And Mike, for so long you have said supply chain has been about rewarding the arsonist, right? We fail to see all of the depths and interdependencies and interconnectivity in our ecosystem and we don’t search for them and we don’t try to eliminate those fragility. And by doing that, we create fires that, but then we congratulate not intentionally create fires, but our negligence creates fires that then we congratulate ourselves for solving, right? Putting out. So there, I mean there’s a lot of dynamics that we have to recognize, stay diligent about and continue to evolve supply chain practice to avoid what now we can’t hide from, right? Yes.

Greg White (30:48):

When you said supply chain professionals can’t unsee what they’ve seen, neither can consumers, they won’t cease to recognize again that supply chain is this complex ecosystem and that you guys, we guys are all getting paid to reconcile all that complexity and just make it work. They’re gonna expect the same from us as they expect from accountants. They don’t know enough, they don’t, people don’t know if they’re like me. They don’t know a lot about accounting, but they sure as hell don’t want ’em making ’em go to jail for doing their taxes wrong. And they expect, and we are not similar in that.

Scott Luton (31:23):

I’m fortunate to have made it this far in life learning only enough about accounting, which allowed me to pass that accounting one and counting two class in college and never open that book again. Thankfully, cuz I was not born <laugh> here to do anything remote, anything related to accounting. Mike, Greg just shared a ton of good news. And of course he mentioned one of the things that you’re famous for saying about rewarding the arsonist that we’ve talked about here numerous times. But he also mentioned things like breaking the status quo and throwing out the window and reinventing. And also how we’ve got to, as he wrapped on, you know, folks, if they’re gonna pigeonhole you about what you’re gonna deliver day in and day out and take that for granted, you’ve gotta shock that process and shock that assumption from time to time for the better, I would argue for the better of supply chain, for the better of the business. But your reaction to what Greg said, and I wanna work this, Josh, I see you there, I’m gonna work your comment in just a second. But Mike rec what Greg shared and again, about striking and maintaining this ever challenging balance.

Mike Griswold (32:26):

Yeah, I’m, I’m gonna piggyback Greg’s comment to my earlier comment around the number of leading supply chain organizations that own the customer experience. Yep. Because I think, think what Greg said around the customer at the beginning and the end of the supply chain, I couldn’t agree with that more. That’s a hundred percent true. And at least in my book, Greg, I agree with you completely What we’re learning through our research around the supply chain and it, and I think it aligns exactly what with what Greg just said, is customers, however you define it, your customers are changing, their requirements are changing, their service requirements are changing, their service expectations are changing. And as a supply chain, we have to understand that we have to find some way to potentially anticipate that so that we have the capabilities that deliver what our customer wants, kinda when they want it.

Mike Griswold (33:30):

One of the things we have to recognize that some of the things our customers want are is now information. It’s not a physical product. I saw someone at one point talked about having, you know, a supply chain that delivers physical stuff and a supply chain that delivers data, right? Delivers non-physical things that you can actually wrap your hands around. Yep. A couple of Gartner analysts wrote a book, it’s on Amazon, I apologize for the shameless plug for Gartner analysts <laugh>, but it’s, and I don’t have the exact title, but it’s basically th their book is written around how machines are gonna be your new customer. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, think about how HP has set up printers that you can basically defer all ink ordering to your printer. You basically say, Hey printer, when you think I’m outta Ink, send a order to HP and I’ll wake up some morning and there’s now ink cartridge is on my front door.

Mike Griswold (34:37):

So if I’m hp, my customer is now a printer, it’s not necessarily me going to HP and ordering, you know, cartridges. So that’s what I mean by we really have to step up our thinking around what is a customer. Because at some point customers are certainly gonna be people, but they’re also gonna be machines. And how is our supply chain configured, enabled from a people process and technology perspective? Our supply chains designed to have machines as customers? Yes. Probably not. I think Greg and I, you and I talk a lot about kind of what we do as humans to really mess up the demand signal, right? We get passionate about a product, so we go buy tons of toilet paper as an example. Think about a machine as a customer that doesn’t happen. You’re gonna get a very predictable, reliable demand signal because machines don’t have that emotion, right?

Mike Griswold (35:42):

They’re looking at data, they know when to order how much to order. So in some ways, if I’m a supply chain person, it’s like, okay, how do I get more machines as customers and less people as customers because I have less volatility, right? So those types of things, you know, around the customer I think are gonna be that differentiating capability. Those people, those supply chain organizations or organizations with good supply chains that recognize kind of the changing dynamics of what a customer wants and how we actually define a customer. Yes, those are gonna, the people that, that win in the long run, in my opinion.

Scott Luton (36:22):

Alright. Oh, I wish, I really wish I had a graphic of Johnny five from short circuit from the eighties that so we can help everyone picture who their future customers are. Be because the machines aren’t gonna be as understanding maybe as many human customers are today.

Greg White (36:37):

So formative, I mean, first of all, I think we, I’d like to like acknowledge how, what revolutionary level of thinking that is. That the machines effectively become the customer. And that’s something that supply chains need to be digitized, digitalized, whichever it is to accommodate. But also think about this, humans are fickle and unpredictable machines are very predictable. And because lead times are a huge part of fulfilling service level, not only can that printer tell you, Hey, we are ordering more, it can start to tell you, Hey, I’m getting low, I predict that I’ll be ordering more at this point and continually update you so that you have preemptive capability to produce right? And package and pr and position the goods so that when that printer inevitably and ultimately orders, you’re right there. That’s huge. That is huge in closing some of the efficiency gaps that we just talked about earlier in supply chain.

Scott Luton (37:41):

So, so what I’m hearing you say, Greg, I think the good news there is <laugh> for what you, for what the machines may lack from an emotional intelligence standpoint, they’re gonna be, they’re gonna offer perfect planning and forecasting intelligence to give your, their human suppliers clarity to act day in and day out.

Greg White (38:01):

Perfect. Is just above where I would say, because remember, humans are still using the device, which is causing the demand, right? Or the indication of demand. But yeah, it’s, it’s much, much more informative for sure than just a human saying time to order <laugh>. Because if we’re monitoring that machine for that signal that says time to order, we can also monitor that machine for, you know, this in is down to here and this in is down to here. We expect to be ordering in the next week or three months or whatever it is. And the efficiencies that can be provided all the way back to production and sourcing by that is, I’m gonna say game changing. Yep. Everybody check that off on your VSP

Scott Luton (38:42):

<laugh>. I knew it was a matter of time before we’d all be working for robots for sure. But kidding aside, kidding aside. All right, so Greg and Mike, what I’m gonna do for the sake of time, give y’all a heads up. I know that this conversation of course, deserves much more than an hour, but unfortunately we have less than that here today with Mike’s time. So I’m gonna share a couple comments and then Mike, we’re gonna circle back you with you and Greg and get your final key takeaway that folks have to leave this conversation with in mind. Okay? Cause we’ve covered a lot of ground, some of it, high level, some of it, you know, kind of down into planning details, right? So one key takeaway from you both, and then of course we’ll make sure folks know what’s coming up from our friends at Gartner. I gotta, I’m just tickled to have Laia Thomas Laia, Thomas <laugh>.

Greg White (39:24):

Oh, that, that’s crazy. And also I empathize and completely agree with that Senti.

Scott Luton (39:28):

So let me share that for our listeners that may be listening to this replay. So Laia, of course, we’ve interviewed her before here, uh, met her at, at a Deka conference three or four years ago. She’s doing big things in supply chain. Laia, hope you’re well, she says Accounting one and two will always be the villains in my story. Laia. Amen. I’m with you. Yeah. And then I was gonna share, Josh’s and Josh we’re opening up a can here. Josh says Supply chain is the greatest way to show how connected everything is and the law of unintended consequences. But then he says this afterthought now it’s the great shortage of Girl Scout cookies 2023, Josh, oh man, thinking of thin mints. My brain is gone now. So, and thank y’all for being here. Thanks for your comments. And then I’m gonna assure Gino’s here, totally agree.

Scott Luton (40:11):

What forward looking thoughts, visibility across the chain. Think we’ve heard that a time or two, huh? Okay, so Mike Griswold a supply chain to today and tomorrow. We’ve enjoyed these discussions. This, it’s fascinating. This conversation alone is fascinating in terms of not where we’re going, elements that are already here, right? Right. That are challenging our supply, fellow supply chain practitioners and leaders and really business leaders. So Mike first shoot, uh, if folks forget everything else you and Greg both have shared here today, what’s the one key takeaway that they’ve gotta keep front and center as they depart this lobster

Mike Griswold (40:50):

Other than Daniel Craig is the best James Bond. Yes.

Scott Luton (40:53):

Other than,

Mike Griswold (40:53):

Other than that slug. I’m good. Yes. I’m gonna go back to, to what our recurring theme here has been, which is around awareness. And when I look at, you know, some of our technology research and where people are putting their technology dollars, and I align that with this idea of awareness. It’s things around this idea of control tower, right? And control towers have evolved. You know, if you think about control towers a few years ago, it was really designed around physical assets. Where are my trucks? Where are my ships? Where are my planes? That kinda thing. What we’re seeing now though, and I think it plays into Greg’s comment around awareness in providing visibility to Geno’s comment, is we’re u we’re using control towers for much more than just physical assets. We’re using it for my earlier comment around data. Where are my orders? Where are my customers?

Mike Griswold (41:43):

How are things flowing between facilities? How are things flowing between a facility and a customer? To me, one of the keys to being able to do some of the things that Greg and I have been talking about is visibility to data and control towers are emerging as the vehicle and the mechanism to do that. Now that puts some pressure on chief supply chain officers who don’t always have, you know, a strong IT background. One of the things we’re seeing though, is about 50% of our top 25 companies, chief supply chain officers have IT responsibilities. So we’re starting to see it responsibilities get folded into the chief supply chain officer role, which I think is a great way to explore this idea of control towers and how can that give us the awareness we need around our organization, both physically as well as from a, a data perspective.

Scott Luton (42:39):

Mike, I really appreciate that as succinctly as you put it as well. Mike, Greg. See, I, I’m, both of y’all are, it’s like a supply chain tennis match, right? Uh, it’s almost interchangeable. I love what y’all have been sharing here today. So Greg, if you had to boil it down to some of our listeners, whether they’re with us here live or they’re listening to the podcast replay, beyond what Mike just shared it there, what’s one thing that they’ve got to wrap their head around and keep front and center?

Greg White (43:04):

Yeah, man, to me that’s, if we wanna maintain our seat at the table, we have to innovate. We have to continue to grow and not go back to the way thing, you know, to the status quo of how we operated the supply chain. Or we’re gonna go back to the status quo of us being at the kitty table. We have to order, offer more to an enterprise than we offered in the past. We have to offer greater data awareness and availability. These control towers are a great example of that. But we also have to a offer new ways to use that data to preempt problems in the supply chain and respond more rapidly to problems in the supply chain than we ever have before. And if we want to maintain our status in the C-suite and at the big kids table in the C-suite, then we’re gonna have to change the way we do things. We can’t go back to doing things the way we have since the seventies or eighties or nineties or even naughties. We have to start to do things the way technology, data, business and awareness both allow and require us.

Scott Luton (44:10):

Well said Greg. Uh, completely agree. And folks, if you’re listening to this, especially if you’re earlier in your career, raise your hand and volunteer. Have new experiences that will allow you to connect upstream and downstream the enterprise level. It’ll open up new understandings, it’ll open up new challenges, also open up new solutions and give you the experiences to think differently like Greg and Mike are both speaking to. Cause as a profession, we have to, there’s no nice to do this. Nice to that we must. Okay, so Mike, uh, really appreciate as always your time with us. First Wednesday of each month. I think I’ve got that right supply chain today and tomorrow. Mike, what, what’s one cool thing coming up at Gartner to foot more folks should know about?

Mike Griswold (44:49):

Yeah, I’m actually gonna sneak in too. So our symposium is coming up May 8th, ninth and 10th. I believe it’s that first full week in May. But we also have, and I know we’ll talk about at the time, it’ll be great for June. We have our big supply chain top 25 reveal on May 24th, 10:00 AM Eastern. So would love to have people pop on that, see who we think are the top 25 supply chains, our masters learn some of the things that they’ve been wrestling with and it would be great to have people join us around that. Hopefully we can do a recap of that in our June session. Absolutely.

Scott Luton (45:20):

I love that. And you know what, Greg, as, and Mike you may or may not, may or may not know this, we have been interviewing many supply chain programs, undergraduate programs, but we’ve been interviewing lots of, uh, the top 25 supply chain universities as ranked by Gartner. And those have been some of our favorite conversations, Greg. Those events are always good. The list is offers up, man, so many great benchmarking and practical use case setting opportunities. And then some your favorite parts about some of the things that Gartner do does.

Greg White (45:51):

Well, this right here, first of all, I mean, I don’t know if everybody realizes what a great service this is. I don’t know what the price is now, but an hour of, of a <laugh> a consult or of an, um, analyst time is like five grand, right? So you people got the kind, I mean, you’re getting the kind of insights that people pay big, big money for and I don’t wanna minimize that. And Mike is one of the best. So I think it’s, IM important to understand that right here in this moment. But otherwise, I think you have to look at Gartner as the organization that they are, which is the premier technology and I would argue supply chain, an analyst group in the world. I mean, there as neutral can be. There’s, they’re as knowledgeable as anyone you will ever see. We don’t just deal with Mike and I have not always just dealt with Mike, um, though I’ve only ever had my whipped in golf by

Mike Griswold (46:45):

<laugh>,

Scott Luton (46:47):

But he’s really good.

Greg White (46:48):

Yeah, yeah, I’m serious. No blame for money. But I think, you know, we have a, the value that we bring is not dissimilar to the value, not nearly to the level of course. Yeah, but not similar to the value that Gartner brings. These are practitioners, people who have been there, they’ve done it, they’ve done it well. They’ve changed companies, they’ve changed their futures, they’ve changed their processes, they’ve changed their operations, they’ve changed their trajectory, and now they’re available to basically every company who is either a practitioner company or a service provider to practitioners. And the information and value that you can gain from that is incredible. So agreed. I am giving you a shameless plug, Mike, and that’s a hundred percent thank you. I’ve been a client, I’ve experienced it. The knowledge that is available to you is incredible and I think we all owe Scott a big thank you hug for yes, for getting Mike to spend this time with us every single month. Do not underestimate the value of what you’re getting right here.

Scott Luton (47:47):

Absolutely, Greg. Well said. And I agree with every syllable. We’ve been fortunate to know Mike for a long time. While I’ve never been a client, it, I feel like I’ve gotten an a degree over the last three plus years from learning from Mike each month. So I can only imagine the value that he presents organizations you work with. But Mike, hey, you know that we love you around here. We love your perspective. It’s very popular programming here at Supply Chain. Now, how can folks, last question for you, Mike. How can folks connect with

Mike Griswold (48:17):

LinkedIn and email? Probably the best ways. I don’t do any of the other like realtime stuff. So LinkedIn and email probably the best. And I appreciate the kind words, Greg. It’s, this is the highlight of my month is getting to spend an hour with all of you folks and the people that that really appreciate other people, especially around the world that take time out either late in their evening, early in their morning to spend an hour with us. Really appreciate and hopefully people can, you know, get something out of our time together.

Scott Luton (48:42):

Absolutely. Thank you for that. Thank you for your time. Thank you for all that you do to move in as forward. And with that said, I want to thank again, Mike Griswold, vice President Analyst with Gartner. Thanks Mike.

Mike Griswold (48:53):

Thanks everyone. Bye-bye.

Greg White (48:54):

Thanks Mike.

Scott Luton (48:55):

All right. You almost saw his cape get ready as he was taking off to his next big important game changing conversation. But Greg, I really appreciate your thoughts there because we’ve been spoiled. I mean, you know, we’ve been able to have a lot of these conversations kind of behind the scenes. So to be able to bring a lot of that into, you know, front and center so folks can catch us on LinkedIn or Twitter or the replay after the fact. I mean, this is really good stuff and hey, really appreciate the kind from Michelle, appreciate the feedback Michelle and Michael, and I think this is Savita. Really appreciate that Laia is owning up. Sh it was her that bought all the thin mints. <laugh>. Well we know where to go now. That’s right. Coming to your house, Laia. Let’s see here. I wanna share just a couple quick things, Greg, before we wrap here today.

Scott Luton (49:39):

Sure. I want you to think of, while I’m sharing a couple of these announcements, Greg, if Durga is still with us, I’d love to get you to speak to his question here. So I wanna pose this with you. He’s talking about India’s supply chain ecosystem and what we think there as it relates to the international stage. Greg, you and I, of course, we know about efforts to move a ton of production to India, efforts to create much stronger relationship, not just in the US but really globally and tap into the immense talent and knowhow. And, uh, so I’m gonna get you to weigh in on that in just a second. And Durga, if you’re still with us, stay tuned. But speaking of the international scene folks, I wanna share this opportunity for you. You know, we talked about volunteering a second ago and how that can benefit on so many different ways, including benefit, what you do day in and day out for your organization.

Scott Luton (50:24):

This is a wonderful program. We have been been supporting this program for a year or so, leveraging logistics for Ukraine. It’s all focused on getting humanitarian aid to vetted families in need in Ukraine, Poland, and elsewhere. And this program, which has resulted, I gotta get updated figures. These figures are just as antiquated maybe as my references Greg, but over 600,000 pounds of, you know, hey, tell us what you need and we’re gonna get it. 600 pounds thousand pounds of that stuff of what they need has made it across the Atlantic to Ukraine, Poland and elsewhere. So talking about outcome, all that’s powered by these monthly sessions. So if you missed one, you got the next one coming up May 9th at 11:00 AM Eastern time. This whole program is led by our friends at Vector Global Logistics. Although Greg, I know if Enrique, Maureen, Christie, Elisa, you name, if all those folks were here from Vector with us today, you know, they’d say no, it’s, it takes a village and it, it’s a wide variety of people from around the world. And that’s true, but it still takes leaders to make it happen. Yeah. And martial resources and organize, right? Yeah. So folks, we drop a link to that in the chat. Greg, your quick comment about this precious, truly precious and impactful program that we’ve been just honored to help support.

Greg White (51:45):

Yeah, well for, I mean for those of you who wonder how much that is, that’s over, it’s almost 300,000 kilograms for those of you in the civilized world who use the metric system. So that, I think that’s important to, to recognize. And also that this is not, there’s not a lot of complexity here. A hundred percent of what you give goes to those in need. And that’s rare to say the donation here of time, effort and relationships, business and personal relationships by the folks, that vector cannot be overstated or underestimated. Overestimated. It’s an incredible initiative by Enrique and the team and so worthwhile, unfortunately, so long lasting. But it has been hugely impactful and thanks to those on the ground, predominantly in Poland who are helping land and identify need and that sort of thing. But yeah, I mean it’s just, it’s so necessary. Yep. And it’s, you know, I don’t know. I don’t know what else to say except it’s not that formal, right? Even if you just want to sit in and just listen, A lot of people who have listened in have wound up finding a way to help. So

Scott Luton (52:56):

That’s right. And that’s probably the really important, I’m Greg, Greg, I’m glad you brought that up, folks. You don’t have to give to be a part. You don’t have to say anything to be a part. Yeah, just join this event, listen in and piece together. All that’s going on to help people. It’s just that simple to help people. So check that out Tuesday, May 9th at 11:00 AM Okay, Greg, we’re gonna hit on one other thing before we call today. So with that said, who, who’s that guy right there? I was hesitant to put this graphic up, but I took it from the top of our LinkedIn newsletter. With that said, which goes out, it’s our LinkedIn newsletter. It goes out once a week typically, usually Saturday mornings. We’ve got almost 21,000 subscribers. So thank y’all for all y’all folks that sign up and engage in this content.

Scott Luton (53:37):

We try to make this content differently. So to use this recent example, you know, Greg, couple weeks ago, as you know, we hit on your, your supply chain commentaries. Man, that is like, as good as Mike was here, your supply chain commentaries are equally as golden. And we kind of gave folks a summary of a lot of your recent ones. Make sure they know, hey, this isn’t one off, this gets delivered with regularity and it’s so convenient. Well, in a similar fashion, my good news, which we’re very passionate about here, creating good news for those, you know, as we, we kind of shared on the front end, you know, it’s good to stop and smell the roses from time to time and gain that perspective far beyond what you do. There’s no such thing as eight to five these days. But man, being really having more context, having more perspective about what’s going on, I think that’s a big part of the good news and mean to call time out and really acknowledge that stuff.

Scott Luton (54:28):

Cause I’ll tell you life, Greg, what about you life, whether it’s in the form of your kids, my kids, whether it’s in the form of who you work with, whether it’s in the form of all sorts of other forces out there, it teaches you lessons, critical business lessons, leadership lessons learned. If you stop and soak it in and allow it to. And that’s what forms a lot of the good news. So y’all check that out. We’re dropping a link to the most recent, with that said, which came out I think Sunday this time cause of our travel. Y’all check that out and let us know what you think. We’d welcome your comments there. Uh, Greg, your thoughts around whether you wanna pick up on the, with that said, or you wanna pick back up on your supply chain commentaries or, you know, I think, I think kind of what I was sharing there is in this day and age mm-hmm.

Scott Luton (55:14):

<affirmative>, where we, where no matter you can turn your email off, it’s gonna hit you on your phone, you can turn your phone off and it’s gonna hit you on Twitter or so. But there’s always an opportunity to keep doing and keep doing. And I would argue just, I would argue, cause I believe it to my core that we owe it to ourselves, our companies, our work families, our home families to call time out with regularity and learn and reflect on what we’re doing. You know, the good decision, the good stuff, the bad stuff. And I’ll points in between. But Greg, your final thoughts here before we call the show?

Greg White (55:48):

You know, I would say we’re in this world, we are prompted, compelled, frankly, to do so much so fast. Take some time as Scott’s talking about, to do less better. Right? Take the time to really put significant depth and effort into the research or the work or the understanding of a few things. And that will make the world feel a lot less complex and compelling and overwhelming to you. And don’t fail. You know, don’t fail to drop out of social every once in a while. Give yourself some time. I mean, I have millennial and two Gen Z kids and they are so much happier every time they drop off or reduce their, you know, their footprint or access to social. It’s just so incredible because the world seems less overwhelming. You’re less impacted by things. You can’t have any control. And I just think it makes your life better. Right? I mean, Stephen Covey always talked about the sphere of awareness and the sphere of influence. Yes. And it’s better to keep your sphere of awareness closer to your sphere of influence. If you can’t do anything about it, it’s hopeless and counterproductive to worry about it.

Scott Luton (57:05):

That’s right. Let go. As the old saying goes, let go or be dragged. Let go or be dragged. All right. So Greg, what a great stopping point for today’s live stream. I think we jammed a lot in the last hour. Really enjoyed you and Mike and what y’all brought to the table today. Hey folks, thanks for all the comments. I know we couldn’t hit all of them. We’re kind of out of time here today. Loved some of the questions we got. That was great to see. Laia Thomas made an appearance. Yeah, after quite some time. I can’t wait to catch up with her.

Greg White (57:33):

Fun. She may have been there all along. She just felt really compelled by accounting to sound out

Scott Luton (57:38):

<laugh>. Well I,

Greg White (57:39):

That’s how that is. How, how much conation accounting clauses. So some

Scott Luton (57:44):

<laugh>. That’s right. Me too. Well folks, hey, thank y’all for being a part of this journey. We’re on. Thank y’all for leading into these conversations. That, and then the resources and tools that hopefully are making impact in your day in, day out and in the bigger picture, which is equally as important. Greg, always a pleasure to knock out these conversations with you.

Greg White (58:04):

Yeah, I like those. I’m glad to be back. I’m not sure I’ll be more diligent at being present for this particular thing because it’s so much fun.

Scott Luton (58:12):

It is a blast. It is a blast. And I’ve got 18 pages of notes sitting here to my right from you both in some of the other comments. But folks, none of this matters in many ways. If you don’t soak it, take it in and take action, right? Deeds not words. You know, you can have the best lip service in the world, but if you don’t do anything about it, what’s it really worth? So with that said, on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain now, on behalf of Greg and Catherine and Amanda, all the folks behind the scenes, hey Scott Lutton challenging you to do good, to give forward and to be the change that’s needed. And we’ll see you next time right back here at SAP Pacha now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (58:54):

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.