JP Wiggins

Another great week here at Supply Chain Now! Did you catch all the episodes? If not, you can check them all out here: We kicked off the week with This Week in Business History, where Scott looks back at some of the biggest historical events in business history for the week ahead, including the birth of the Coca-Cola Company.   Supply Chain Now · “This Week in Business History for July 6th: The Birth of the Coca-Cola Company”     Then on Tuesday, Scott and Greg welcomed John Buglino with Optessa to the podcast to discuss simplifying and streamlining operations.   Supply Chain Now · “Simplifying & Streamlining Operations: John Buglino with Optessa”     On Wednesday we published the Supply Chain Buzz, where Greg and Scott discussed the top supply chain news of the week, and were joined by special guest Tevon Taylor, with FedEx Supply Chain.   Supply Chain Now · “Supply Chain Buzz for July 6th: Featuring Tevon Taylor with FedEx Supply Chain”   On Thursday, we continued our new series, TECHquila Sunrise with Greg White, where Greg shares the latest investments, acquisitions, innovations, and glorious implosions in Supply Chain Tech every week.   Supply Chain Now…

Inside the reverse logistics education gap and the economic blind spot keeping it invisible Special Guest Blog Post written by Deborah Dull   Tony Sciarrotta has been asking the same question at industry conferences for years. As the Senior Director of Circularity and Reverse Logistics at the National Retail Federation, he knows what answer he’s going to get. But he keeps asking anyway. “Anybody in here go to school for returns management, reverse logistics, circularity? Any degrees in those fields the room?” It’s rare that anyone raises their hand. “That’s what’s wrong with our industry,” Sciarrotta told me at NRF Rev this January, the first conference under NRF’s new reverse logistics banner. “We still need to fix it.”   The Numbers That Should Make Headlines Here’s what makes reverse logistics so fascinating: the scale is staggering, but the infrastructure to support it needs to be stronger. According to the National Retail Federation, American retailers processed approximately $890 billion in returns in 2024 which is roughly 17% of all retail sales – and it’s higher for ecommerce. But that number almost certainly understates reality. “We have a fragmented industry,” Sciarrotta explained. “Where are all those returns going? It has to be…