Reid Ginzel

It’s been an exciting week here at Supply Chain Now! Catch up on all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here for all the hottest supply chain news! On Monday, we launched Dial P for Procurement with program co-hosts Kelly Barner & Scott Luton who welcomed two professionals who have put their procurement and supply chain experience to work in the service of others: Anna McGovern, Chief Supply Chain Officer at the Food Bank for New York City, and Kathy Fulton, Executive Director of the American Logistics Aid Network.   On Tuesday, Laura Cyrus with Truckers Against Trafficking joined host Enrique Alvarez to share how supply chain & trucking workers are uniquely positioned to combat human trafficking.   On Wednesday, we launched our new Digital Transformers series in partnership with Total Network Service. Check out our first episode as Scott Luton, Kevin L. Jackson, and special host Thomas Carter welcome Dave Stehlin and Chris Poli to the show.   On Thursday, we released The Supply Chain Buzz with Kevin L. Jackson, Greg White, & Scott Luton who discuss leading stories from global supply chain and global business, including the skyrocketing costs of medical supplies, the impact of IoT…

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…