Jan van Niekerk

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now. We started our week off by publishing a Digital Transformers episode hosted by Kevin L. Jackson. This week he welcomes special guest Trina Limpert with RizeNext. On This Week in Business History, Scott shares a special story that is near and dear to his heart. This episode highlights Scott’s grandfather Dick Rutland. Scott highlights his grandfather’s experiences with Winn-Dixie and Kimberly Clark. On Tuesday, we released an episode of TEKTOK with hosts Scott Luton and Karin Bursa. These two had the amazing opportunity to interview Matthew Harding SVP of Data Science & Engineering, and Ben Cubitt, SVP of Consulting and Network Services at Transplace. For this episode of Supply Chain Now Scott and Greg had the opportunity to interview two important UPS figures: Daniel Gagnon, Vice President of Global UPS Healthcare Marketing and Strategy, and Tim Fosnough, Senior Director of UPS Global Freight Forwarding. During this conversation, UPS responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed. On Thursday, we also released another episode of the Supply Chain Buzz featuring Aaron Meredith from Verusen. Scott, Greg, and Aaron covered all the…

Supply chain technology is a hot commodity. Venture capital investments in supply chain tech and technology-based logistics companies have totaled an estimated $15.4 billion in 2024, and more than 150 supply chain startups have been acquired in the last two years as logistics companies work to leverage cutting-edge technology to improve their services. According to a Kearney report, the biggest capital infusions have been in delivery technology, warehouse automation, and supply chain digitization and artificial intelligence (AI), and the investments are paying off. “Quite simply, the more you invest, the better you get at monetizing breakthrough innovation.” Freight brokerages, in particular, are looking to technology to help set them apart – or stay in business. Brush Pass Research reported there are 17.5% fewer active freight brokerages today than there were two years ago. Three Supply Chain Startups to Know StartUs Insights identified the top nine supply chain innovations and trends for 2025: AI Internet of Things (IoT) Flexible supply chains Big data and analytics Robotics Supply chain sustainability Supply chain traceability Last-mile delivery Cybersecurity   “The supply chain has several variables that hinder its efficiency, including globalization, government regulations, pandemics, international transportation costs, increasing competition, and more,” StartUs said of…