Dr. Mahmoud Barraj

Today, podcasts rival streaming television programming in terms of the number and variety of offerings. Perhaps that’s because podcasts are the ideal vehicle for businesses to deliver thought leadership and expand brand visibility. Professionally produced and informative supply chain podcasts provide companies and industry experts a way to engage with targeted audiences and build credibility and trust with customers and business stakeholders. Podcasts Represent a Growing Trend in a Dynamic Media Landscape “Podcasting is no longer a niche medium,” according to Statista, which said nearly 70 million people in the United States listened to podcasts in 2023. The audience for podcasts is expected to continue to grow and is forecast to reach 110 million listeners by 2029. And there’s room for more supply chain-focused businesses to invest in supply chain podcasts to share their messaging and build brand authority. Three Reasons Businesses Invest in Supply Chain Podcasts “Podcasts are often viewed as a relatively easy way for anyone to tell a story. But actually getting an audience for that storytelling is more difficult, and podcast producers use several means to grow and connect with their audiences. Most of the top-ranked podcasts studied are available on four major listing sites –…

Special Guest Blog Post written by Bernadine Henderson Ms. Henderson, senior director of procurement at Protolabs, lifts the lid on buying in manufacturing and why relationships are central to it.   Simply put, the job of a buyer is really about buying the right thing at the right time for the right price. It sounds simple, but it really is very complicated because everything that’s going on in the world impacts the timing, the availability, and the price of the product. This means that buying has recently got a lot more complicated. World events have very real consequences on global supply chains. Just one example is the way in which buyers have responded to tariffs in the U.S. by re-routing sourcing locations. It takes a certain amount of agility to be a buyer in 2025, and this quick responsiveness is helped along by one key ingredient, and that is strong relationships with suppliers. Relationships Built on Trust A widely held misconception is that buyers are only interested in getting to the lowest price possible. In fact, the most important thing to a buyer is for suppliers to bring solutions that deliver overall value. In my experience, a really strong supplier…