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 entities Stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.
Scott Luton (00:32):
Hey, good morning, everybody. Scott Luton with supply chain now welcome to today’s show. We are continuing our coverage of the 18th annual reverse logistics Associa conference and expo right here in Vegas, which is, is the center of, uh, all things center of the universe for all things, returns management, reverse logistics and more, uh, right here. Uh, this week in Vegas, I’m joined by my newest best friend when welcome in Eric Aparicio senior director for strategic market at Yamaha corporation of America. Eric, how you doing?
Eric Aparicio (01:05):
Thank you, Scott. I’m doing great. Very happy to be here.
Scott Luton (01:07):
Great to have you here. I tell you we should have started rolling earlier, cuz I just love the story you shared a second ago. Sure. About what, what this makes, why this field, this, this aspect of industry is a passion. Your so we’ll touch on that again here. All right. You got it just a moment. But before we get there, Eric, let’s get to know you a little better. All right. So I wanna start with where you grew up. So tell us, give us some context on where you grew up.
Eric Aparicio (01:30):
Well, I am California born and raised. I’ve uh, lived in California all my life. And so by default, that means that I’m a Dodger fan, no matter what. And uh, if you’re a Dodger fan, you cannot like San Cisco teams.
Scott Luton (01:46):
So what part of California?
Eric Aparicio (01:48):
Um, Southern California. I spec I come from a little town, little working class town called ENT there in LA county.
Scott Luton (01:55):
And so you had to be a Dodgers fan growing up.
Eric Aparicio (01:57):
You had to be a Dodge fan grow.
Scott Luton (01:58):
Now don’t hate me. Don’t hate me born and raised a Braze fan Atlanta bras. I that’s. Okay. And we finally, Hey, we finally had a little, a moment in the sun first time since 1995. Yep. And we had to go through title town, which LA Dodgers. Um, I was there for game six.
Eric Aparicio (02:14):
That was a crushing defeat
Scott Luton (02:16):
Man. It was well, it hurt. I’m very humble. So I don’t mean, I don’t mean to bring it up to, uh, no it’s okay. Or salt and wounds, but I was there with my wife, a man and my three kids. I was very fortunate. A buddy of mine had tickets. Yep. And it’s one of those moments I got on, on, on my phone. It’s one of those moments that, you know, our family were a member cause we were all there together. Absolutely. For a long that’s the beauty of sports, especially in this pandemic environment right
Eric Aparicio (02:39):
Now. Right. Yep. And it was great that you could share that with your family cuz they’ll all remember that. Right, right. Share family memory.
Scott Luton (02:45):
And also don’t, I’m not too, uh, shy. I bring it up cause gosh, Dodgers have been so good for so long and lots of titles and you’ll, you’ll be right back there, you know, in the playoffs I’m sure.
Eric Aparicio (02:55):
Well, let’s hope so.
Scott Luton (02:56):
If we see baseball in 2022, let’s get these discussions done and lift the lock up and, and get to people what they want. Right. That’s
Eric Aparicio (03:04):
Right. That’s right. My, uh, friend to talk my brother into joining me for opening day, but his wife’s a bit of a germophobe and so I’m not sure
Scott Luton (03:12):
Again. Oh, okay. So she’s got, she might have a little longer of a return. Yeah.
Eric Aparicio (03:15):
That’s
Scott Luton (03:15):
Right to normal. Okay. Well let’s shift gears kinda sounds like. So Dodgers have, have been one of your favorite sports teams of all time. That’s right. What else? Any, any other team you can mention?
Eric Aparicio (03:28):
Well, you know, I used to be more actively involved in sports, but when my kids were young, it was soccer and baseball and I coached teams and then really they, uh, they got a high school band and so I was a band dad. Right. You know, moving, moving gear around
Scott Luton (03:44):
Logistics
Eric Aparicio (03:45):
Constantly. Yes. And uh, and so, and I did, and I did that continuously for literally about a decade. And so afterwards not really being around sports as much, my attention gravitated to different different hobbies.
Scott Luton (03:59):
That’s important. You flex that’s that’s right. You flex and evolve. That’s right. So what sport, one more follow up question on sports. What sport was your favorite to coach?
Eric Aparicio (04:08):
To coach? I would say soccer.
Scott Luton (04:11):
Soccer. Yes. Uh, did you play as a kid?
Eric Aparicio (04:14):
I did not play as a kid. I was never really exposed to soccer, but my daughter loved soccer. We, she, she was a little girl. We started her one season in softball and one season in soccer, ASO, and she gravitated towards the soccer. So I learned about soccer became a ref, became a coach.
Scott Luton (04:31):
Love it. Yeah. That’s all it. That’s all it takes. Right. The kids take an interest and we’re gonna support
Eric Aparicio (04:35):
That’s right. I’m not a soccer fan. I’m a Gracie fan.
Scott Luton (04:39):
All right. Final question. We’re getting to know Eric Aparicio, favorite movie or book. Give us one.
Eric Aparicio (04:45):
I have favorite movies by genre. And so I, I chose to focus on, on a book and it’s not my favorite book, but it’s the book that I just finished reading. It’s called the QBQ by John Miller. Okay. The QBQ. Yeah. The QB Q stands for question beyond the question. And it’s a book about personal accountability, both personally and professionally. And, uh, the QBQ stands for the question beyond the question. And, uh, part of the book talks about how oftentimes we ask the wrong questions, right? So it talks about often questions to start with when and why are you usually the wrong questions and questions that begin with how and what are you usually better questions. So as an example, you know, the question is when are they gonna hire more people? So I don’t have to work so much. That’s kind of the wrong question, right? The right question is what can I do to help my organization be more successful so that we can hire more folks
Scott Luton (05:45):
Love that. It sounds like a, are you embracing the right mindset?
Eric Aparicio (05:48):
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Scott Luton (05:50):
Yeah. I love that. Okay. So new one for me, the question beyond the question. Yes. Right?
Eric Aparicio (05:55):
It’s a, it’s a short, easy read. It’s written very well.
Scott Luton (05:58):
Okay. All right. We’re gonna check that out. Okay. So let’s shift gears over to the year that continues teaching us all. And that’s 2021, right? Of course last couple years have taught us plenty. But when you think of key Eureka moments from last year, what’s one that comes mind.
Eric Aparicio (06:15):
I’d have to say connect activity. I think most folks didn’t really give a second thought to supply chain, right? Or give a second thought to pandemics that they had heard about happening elsewhere in the world. And the fact that a virus that originated someplace else infected the entire world and in that process, as it affected our supply chain and people didn’t understand, Hey, when the labor force for this particular manufacturing organization, when that labor force is affected and it affects production, there’s this ripple effect that goes downstream. And I, I think the big Eureka Mo moment is just about connection and that the world’s a pretty small place. And uh, whether we like it or not, we’re all in it together. Yeah.
Scott Luton (07:02):
I love that. The power of, of connectivity.
Eric Aparicio (07:04):
That’s right.
Scott Luton (07:05):
So let’s talk about, you know, everyone is familiar with Yamaha. They may, you know, everyone may not be familiar, but all the different products and all different aspects of the business. Tell us a little more about Yamaha and then your role Eric.
Eric Aparicio (07:16):
All right. Well, Yamaha is, is a really great place to work. They’re the, uh, largest musical instrument manufacturer in the world they make about everything that you can think of if you go to a concert. Yep. Whether it’s a guitar, a drum, a keyboard, a synthesizer, a digital mixer, the PA that’s hanging from the trust. They make it all. And um, yeah, they’re the largest music manufacture in the world and they’re a good, great place to work for. Yeah.
Scott Luton (07:43):
How long have you been with them?
Eric Aparicio (07:44):
I’ve been with them for just a little upwards of 25 years. Really? 25 years. Yes.
Scott Luton (07:48):
Holy cow. Was it your first job outta school?
Eric Aparicio (07:50):
No, it wasn’t. I worked for a small retailer in orange county when I first started in that company. It, it was small and I value it because it’s where I cut my teeth. But, um, they didn’t really have a mission and vision and company values and Yamaha really does.
Scott Luton (08:10):
So congratulations on almost 25 years of service to the largest, amongst other things, the largest musical instrument company manufacturing in the world. That’s right. I’ve forgotten that side of the business. And I, and I share with you, I think pre-show, I worked for a great, uh, organization learned a lot of things in, in the middle stamping industry. Right. Ages. It feels like ages ago. It’s probably like 10 years ago. Uh, but Yamaha’s one of the companies we dealt with. You’re new and Georgia facility. Yep.
Eric Aparicio (08:37):
That’s Yaha motors,
Scott Luton (08:37):
Uh, Janet and the rest of the team down there. Great people. I think the new facility, uh, as I can recall, watercraft golf carts, I believe. And, and some other and some ATV products, perhaps. Yes. But, uh, what you’re speaking to in terms of a great place to work, we saw a lot of that, uh, in our interaction with them. Right. So it seems like a pretty strong culture there at Yamaha.
Eric Aparicio (08:59):
It is, it’s a great culture. They’re, uh, very employee centric. And, um, I like there because I like working there because it resonates with me. We don’t make products that hurt people that hurt the environment. We make musical instruments so that other people can make music, which enriches everybody’s life.
Scott Luton (09:18):
Do you play any musical
Eric Aparicio (09:19):
Instruments? I don’t, no, I don’t.
Scott Luton (09:22):
There’s still time,
Eric Aparicio (09:24):
Time. There’s still time. That’s right.
Scott Luton (09:25):
All right. Let’s shift gears. Let’s get to kind of the, uh, super of the day, the topics of the day. And before we ask you about, you know, some of the things you’re focused on when it comes to returns management, reverse logistics, as, as you were just approaching the stage here, we’re getting, y’all set up. You mentioned how this is not formally part. I, I think that’s right. Formally part of your, your role, but you’re real passionate about this field. So, so let’s start there. Why are you so passionate?
Eric Aparicio (09:50):
Well, I’m so passionate about it because I grew up in a lower or middle class household and, uh, we didn’t waste anything and, uh, it just wasn’t an option. And so I grew up with that mindset and our, our president, Tom Sumner, he used to be the general manager of a mass market division. And, um, he was my manager and our division was losing money. It was losing money is we didn’t have a good solution for returns. And we were just simply liquidating them and it was an unsustainable practice. And so Tom gave me the task of trying to figure out a better way and working with a bunch of people, way smarter than me, we figured out a way to basically out the really great product that was resellable, that was B and C stock. And for the stuff that really wasn’t sellable, we found a, uh, qualified, responsible recycler to do their best with it.
Scott Luton (10:49):
I love that. So going back to the culture of the company, sounds like leadership empowers you to kind of pursue where you can, uh, add more to the equation, even outside of your formal job description.
Eric Aparicio (11:01):
That would be a correct description of Yamaha.
Scott Luton (11:03):
Okay. All right. So then let’s get to, you know, again here at the RLA conference, NPO, the center of the universe for all things returns, right? Returns management, reverse logistics. What’s a couple things that you’re tracking in this space and focused on more than others right now,
Eric Aparicio (11:20):
Right now, for me, it’s the message of circularity and the circular economy. And I think that that’s, that’s a message that cannot get enough attention. The idea that we live in a world with finite resources, and we need to find a way to better utilize those resources. And so in the case of Yamaha, their products are made well enough to have a secondary tertiary life. And so let’s find a way to put that, put those products back into the hands of someone else that values having that product. And so I love that message of circularity.
Scott Luton (11:55):
Yeah. Agreed. And there’s so much more we can do when it comes to circularity, especially as you move it upstream into, I think, as you mentioned it, uh, product design. Yes. You know, and how can we really design products so that, you know, recycling and, and getting them reused into the next product that’s right. There can be more there. We can avoid the landfall altogether that’s landfill altogether. Right. Absolutely. All right. Anything else before we get into a big, bold prediction and I, I’m looking forward to your answer there, uh, to our based on our pre-show conversation, anything else when, when it comes to this space and how you’re benchmarking and you’re, you’re gathering data, sounds like you’re having a lot of interesting conversations with other that, you know, are, are, are finding new ways of doing things like you are anything else really stick out in your mind,
Eric Aparicio (12:39):
You know, for anybody else that is thinking about reverse logistics and helping to take your company into that next stage. You know, it’s really important to understand, and to identify the cost of reverse logistics, because it’s not, it’s not as visible to your C-suite executives as other elements of the P and L might be, right. So for, for a P and L you know, right away what your margin is, it’s right there, front and center. But, uh, the concept of, you know, what are my reverse logistics costing me and what is my asset recovery? It’s, it’s, it’s much further down that you really have to dig to find it
Scott Luton (13:22):
Excellent point. And we all know if you can’t see it, it becomes really tough to manage you.
Eric Aparicio (13:27):
Right. That’s that’s right.
Scott Luton (13:28):
Okay. On that note, skip to big, bad, bold prediction mode with Eric, uh, Aparicio. So talk to us any, any bold prediction you wanna make for the rest of 2022, what we’re gonna see?
Eric Aparicio (13:42):
Well, I like to preface this by saying I’m driven by data, so I’m not given to big, bold predictions, but, uh, just for this one time, I really think that with the, this will awareness of supply chain that COVID has created and this sense of connectivity that we all have now, I really think that the idea of circularity and the idea of reusing products, it, to me, it, it used to seem like kind of a fundamental, fundamental American value. And maybe that’s gotten lost because we’ve become a, a culture of disposal. You know, you know, let’s not fix the TV anymore. Let’s go buy a new one. It’s complacent. Yes. And I really think that the idea of circularity is gonna come roaring back and people are gonna understand it and see it for what it is.
Scott Luton (14:33):
I love that answer, Eric. So thank you for indulging the us.
Eric Aparicio (14:36):
Thank you very much. All
Scott Luton (14:37):
Right. So how can Vos connect with you in Yamaha? Eric?
Eric Aparicio (14:40):
You can reach me at, um, my profile on LinkedIn under my name, Eric Opio, or you can reach me at, uh, E aparicio@yamaha.com.
Scott Luton (14:52):
Okay. It’s just that easy. And of course, easy. We’ll have that in the, uh, show notes of the episode page. So I, we encourage y’all to connect with Eric. I love your passion. I love your, your fact finding and your data, uh, centric disposition. That’s important these days. Isn’t it? Absolutely.
Eric Aparicio (15:08):
Absolutely. Let’s make that’s how we make good decisions. That’s
Scott Luton (15:10):
Right. Uh, good decisions fast. All right. Big, thanks to, uh, joining us today. Eric, Ricio senior director of strategic marketing at Yamaha corporation of America. Hey, folks, stay tuned as we continue our coverage here in Vegas at the 20 C 2022 reverse logistics association conference and expo the 18th annual event, where folks are they’re on the move, trying to find better solutions to old and new problems. Absolutely. So, Hey, signing off for our supply chain now team, this is Scott Luton, challenging you do good. Give forward, be the change that’s needed on that note. We see next time, right back here at supply chain now. Thanks everybody.
Intro/Outro (15:50):
Thanks for being 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.
