There are talent shortages in nearly every industry right now, a challenge that is keenly felt in labor intensive businesses like manufacturing and logistics. Perhaps the upside of this pinch is that it is creating an opportunity to diversify the workforce by targeting and attracting communities that have been under-represented in the field.

Allison Grealis is the President of the Women in Manufacturing Association and Education Foundation and Allison Giddens is the co-President of Win-Tech and treasurer of the Georgia chapter of Women in Manufacturing. They are tireless advocates, working to bring together global opportunities in manufacturing and talented women who may not otherwise have envisioned themselves working in a manufacturing environment.

In this conversation, Allison and Allison join hosts Scott Luton and Greg White share their point of view on:
• How companies are working to replace the perception that manufacturing work is ‘dark, dirty, and dangerous’ with the reality that if offers opportunities for people with all kinds of skill sets
• The creative marketing approaches manufacturing companies are exploring to bring in workers and retain the people they already have on staff
• Tips for job candidates that want to take advantage of the current demand for their skills to land the very best position

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 opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:31):

Hey, good afternoon, Scott Luton and Greg White with you right here on supply chain. Now, welcome to today’s live stream, Gregory. How are we doing? I think

Greg White (00:39):

We’re doing pretty darn well, don’t you? I absolutely

Scott Luton (00:42):

Do. I’m I’m I’m stoked about our conversation here today. Aren’t you?

Greg White (00:45):

Yeah, I am really, of course, anytime we have one Alison on it’s astounding, but just be ready folks. We’re going to double down. So

Scott Luton (00:55):

Today we’re going to be talking about one of our favorite topics that is the manufacturing industry, right? And we’re talking with two liters to Greg’s point. That’s really powering the industry into a new era. So stay tuned as we welcome in Alison Grealis with women in manufacturing association and Alison Giddens, a repeat guest, uh that’s with Wintec and does a ton of things other than get sleep. Alison Giddens does not get any sleep, Greg. Um, yeah, I’m convinced she’s got several clones to knock out all the good work that she does.

Greg White (01:29):

Okay. But we’ll have to ask her about that. Definitely. One of those clones lunch, if I’m not mistaken and a months past due paying off. So

Scott Luton (01:39):

Like the famous taco place that y’all spoke about

Greg White (01:41):

The last time. Yes. That’s exactly what I was thinking about. So, well,

Scott Luton (01:47):

I am disappointed to hear that y’all have not had that lunch yet, so, um, but there’s still time, plenty

Greg White (01:53):

Of time. We can fix that real quick, easily.

Scott Luton (01:56):

All right. So let’s do this. Let’s uh, let’s share a couple of quick events, uh, definitely a lot of stuff going on, especially in September where Greg supply chain now gets to serve as the exclusive provider for the virtual feed of the supply chain insights global summit hosted Mayard led by the one and only Lora Cecere. Greg. Yeah. Tell us on the other day you threw the gauntlet down. So there’s a hefty registration fee for this, but you said if you can’t get your boss to approve, um, you know, ponying up [inaudible]

Greg White (02:31):

So yeah. That’s all right. That’s all right. Look, I, I think this is the kind of event where you may spend 1500 bucks to attend, but what you will bring back to your company will be more than 10 fold the value agreed. Uh, I’ve seen events like this, that when they are user-focused when they are practitioner focused and not, uh, not even fear, theoretical focused, um, you know, they are so, so powerful. And while this is a view into the supply chain of 2030, it’s also your path for how to get there. So, um, and you know, uh, you can’t be more objectively and professionally challenged as anyone who saw the show last week. Um, then, then by Lora Cecere all she cares about is improving the craft. And, um, she’s been doing it for literally a decade and I mean, pretty much solo. And, um, you know, she’s very carefully curated the message that goes into this and who, who comes to it. It’s not going to be a vendor fast. You’re not going to have to defend yourself from salespeople. You’re going to be among your peers and able to learn both from the speakers and from the sessions and from one another, right?

Scott Luton (03:49):

No sponsorships are allowed that really speaks to what Greg’s talking about. So y’all join us September 7th, eighth and ninth, just around the corner, a supply chain insights, global summit.com, or you can find the link in the show notes, also big event coming up with our webinar on August 31st, this is new. This is a new webinar with our friends from enable. And Greg, you may have seen yesterday where they announced a big round of funding, $45 million.

Greg White (04:16):

Yeah. So, uh, join if only to figure out what that was all about, but don’t ask for money. That would be tacky, right? Yeah. Learn and, you know, hear what this company is doing that is so valuable.

Scott Luton (04:33):

A data-driven approach to smarter deals, 11:30 AM, Eastern time sharp. Be there, be square August 31st and December 8th, where we are celebrating a lots of good news successes, uh, leaders and teams have been able to overcome quite a year. That 2021 has been. So we celebrate the 20, 21, uh, supply chain and procurement awards, global awards. And you can learn more at supply chain, criminal wards.com, registered, nominate, and sponsor. And if you do anything, just get involved. We got to celebrate a lot of good news and try it. Okay. So that now that we’ve gotten those program notes out of the way, a lot of good stuff there, let’s say look to a few folks, and then we’re going to bring on our two esteemed guests here today. So first up, Peter, Bolle the Peter Bolle who, uh, folks, if you love good food, he likes sharing pictures and sharing stuff about food. Check out supply chain chow on Facebook. Peter shared a delicious steak dinner last night. You see that? Great. Uh,

Greg White (05:33):

No, I didn’t see that, but I did see him promoting poutine. Yeah. Uh, the other day. And I wonder if he has a recipe, particular recipe for,

Scott Luton (05:42):

Well, you know, what prompted him. He said that, that all that stake talk with Kevin L. Jackson the other day prompted he and his family to go out. And he’s just seeing the pictures, man. Uh, but he’s, he’s also, if you see there, he’s, he’s channeling his best Robin Williams. So how we miss Robin Williams? So great. I got a warm up for that. It’s this little sinus head cold that isn’t helping me, but, uh, Peter bowler. Great to have you here as always Joe Maretta hello, Joe finds you well, and the podcast. Well, Mark Preston, the one and only mark press we’re talking manufacturing or party talk, lean and continuous improvement. Mark is quite a gurus. Great to have you here, mark. Uh, let’s see here. Mohib from where Greg, the air

Greg White (06:24):

Capital of the world, which talk Kansas state university, and go shocks.

Scott Luton (06:31):

You always bring a blend of really smart contributions with a nice, steady sense of humor. So you’ve set the bar, we’ll see what you can deliver today. But he says, good morning from WSU, Wichita, Kansas home of smart factory support. Deloitte. How about that? Is that the job visit that Greg,

Greg White (06:47):

We didn’t, we weren’t able to get to that. We got to virtually everything else, literally virtually everything else. We were in a virtual reality. Um, I don’t know what you call it cave, which was pretty cool. Walking through an aircraft. I’m not supposed to tell you that. Um, uh, not, it’s not a classified aircraft, but, um, yeah, it’s an amazing campus. There is a lot going on, obviously a lot going on with the aviation industry, but OIT smart factory is all about robotics and autonomous and automation. And it is, um, I mean, it is an impressive facility. So we got to talk to the people who are running it, but I couldn’t fit us to her. Well,

Scott Luton (07:27):

There’s something about virtual reality and cave that just doesn’t quite mesh and represent industry 4.0, so we’ll, we’ll run

Greg White (07:33):

That down. That’s what they called it. Maybe, maybe Mohit can tell us, I can’t remember the term that they used, but it was that that’s just their term for it. It was not actually a cave, Shaun, nowhere for a cave to be in Kansas because it’s all sand and there are no mountains. Yeah. Right. Slash as a pancake,

Scott Luton (07:53):

Hope this finds you. Well, it’s been awhile. Uh, great to have you here via LinkedIn. Welcome to today’s live stream. Of course, Amanda and Jada, Allie, clay are all behind the scenes, making the production happen. We

Greg White (08:04):

Appreciate it. Check out this next one, though. Mom is watching.

Scott Luton (08:09):

So Donna Krache, [inaudible] talk about a wonderful person. Former CNN, executive producer, and full of tons of insights and best practices and advice for folks in media and journalism. So Donna, great to have you here. And she says, I can assure you that even as a baby, Alison Giddens never slept.

Greg White (08:29):

Oh man. Don is just catching up on her sleep.

Scott Luton (08:34):

All right. Well, Hey, welcome everybody. And we could have hit everybody, but you’re, uh, have a wonderful conversation in store today. So I want to bring in Greg, are you ready? Want to bring your cheek?

Greg White (08:43):

Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. I just need a couple seconds there. Did you earn your shirt today? No, I w I, I wore, I wore ironed it. What I’ve learned is if you put on a shirt that’s not too wrinkly your body, it works it out. It works it out. Yeah.

Scott Luton (08:57):

It works out. You’re always clean. It is clean. You’re cool enough to support a non iron shirt as always. So with that said, I want to introduce our two guest speakers, our two guests today, our featured guests superstars, Allison Grealis founder, and president for the women in manufacturing association and it’s education foundation. And one of our favorites repeat guests, Allison crazy Giddens co president of Wintec and founder, currently treasurer of the Georgia chapter of women in manufacturing. There you go. Good afternoon. Allison. Allison, how are we doing?

Greg White (09:30):

So we’ve got, sorry to say anything after that opening. So I know where she lived.

Scott Luton (09:39):

We had two very fearless individuals here. Um, so I wanna, I wanna pose a couple of fun questions here in our lightning round. As we want to kind of have a little bit of fun on the front front end, we also want to make folks hungry. So, uh, I’m gonna pose this question to each of y’all. So first question in this lightning round is, is, um, it’s world humanitarian day, which is a great thing. I didn’t know that was the thing it was established by United nations in 2009. Um, so I want to ask and I’ll start with our Alison Giddens, um, with serving others in mind. What’s one of your favorite charitable organizations to support volunteer at you name it well,

Allison Giddens (10:16):

Besides whether the manufacturing, because I know I’m hoping that Alison Grealis highlight the education foundation. Um, I’m a big fan of local. So there’s a center for family resources is a Metro Atlanta, nonprofit, and they help to empower families to get out of homelessness and to help to sustain themselves, but they help kind of give them that leg up. So I’m a big fan, big fantasy at heart.

Scott Luton (10:41):

Love that. And then we got through in of course the Dave Krache foundation, one of our favorites, uh, that helps get Atlanta kids into sports with, especially for families that can’t afford those, those crazy athletic fees that have just come with the time. So great work there at Dave, uh, creates your foundation. And what’s the URL for that? Alison,

Allison Giddens (10:59):

The Dave Krache foundation is DaveKrache.com and the URL for center for family resources is the cfr.org.

Scott Luton (11:09):

Okay. All right. So over to Allison Grealis, Alison, welcome to supply chain now. Great to have you here. I want to say we rubbed elbows at one of our events a year or two ago where I think Alison Giddens may up may have stepped in for you. Um, let’s talk about your favorite. What’s one of your favorite charitable organizations you like.

Allison Grealis (11:27):

Yeah. So, you know, first and foremost, I’m a bit partial to our own education foundation. So we have a education foundation that year round works to make education and training affordable for all women in manufacturing careers. So our web address is www.winnief.org. And we do charitable things year round to raise money, to provide affordable education and training for women. It helps support some new programs like our newest that we’re launching women in manufacturing, empowering women to production program for women on the shop floor. And then locally, I am very engaged with the private directors association. So it’s a newer association that began, I think about five, six years ago with a mission specifically to help create, um, board ready individuals as well as engaged in powerful boards. And I personally am really passionate around getting more women on boards. So it’s something that, um, I work here in the local Cleveland chapter to, um, help them, uh, help women and others be board ready and help companies ideally recruit more women to their private and public boards.

Scott Luton (12:28):

Love that, love that passion and the action behind that you’re taking. So both of y’all really, um, and Greg, you know, you, you do a bunch of work, uh, a lot of times kind of under the radar for a lot of charitable efforts. What’s one of your favorites?

Greg White (12:43):

Uh, well probably my top two are McKenna farms, so Megan Timco was on the show and, uh, I joined the board of that in the last year. Um, McKenna farms is for neuro-diverse. So think along the, uh, the autism spectrum and other people, you know, who have, um, sometimes brain injuries and things like that. It’s a, it started out as, as horse therapy. Um, but it ha now they do occupational therapy and, and all, all, all brands of therapy, but always around horses, which makes it a whole lot of fun. So, um, it’s a great, you know, that’s a great one. And then of course, one I was introduced to when I started college, uh, the ALS association, Lou Gehrig’s disease, for those of you who still know the greatest baseball player of all time. Um, and, um, and, um, so ALS association, you know, just there is no cure for ALS and it’s not coming soon. So it’s a lot about supporting the families and the, those afflicted with ALS, because it is obviously it’s terribly burdensome, um, thing. So, uh, but both of those I really, really enjoy and have, and, uh, I’ve been doing ALS now for, let’s just say more than two decades. I love that.

Scott Luton (13:59):

And we’ve got to stop there. That’s all right. That’s

Greg White (14:01):

Right. Because if I’m doing the math, it’s closer to four, but yeah. More than two. All right.

Scott Luton (14:06):

So we’re going to shift gears and go on a much lighter note. We’re going to talk about one of our favorite things to talk about in these parts, and that is food and, and you know how I can say that with not even smiling is because poutine recipes are being exchanged in the comments. So

Greg White (14:20):

I saw that and rich,

Scott Luton (14:23):

Hey, rich, great to have you back via LinkedIn. He says, poutine, delicious heart attack on a plate and

Greg White (14:28):

Lion either if you’ve ever been to Montreal or particularly anywhere in Quebec, it is a staple. And you know, it’s like if you go to a Mexican restaurant in the states, instead of getting nacho chips, you get food, man. Yeah. Check this stuff out. Amanda

Scott Luton (14:44):

Loves the women in boards initiative. I agree with you. They’re precious. Hello. Great to have you here via LinkedIn. And of course, as Aleia one of our, one of our own hall of fame members here, they’re part of the supply chain. Now family. Great to see you as a layup. Okay. So let’s talk about ice cream. Yes. Ice cream on supply chain now. And there is certainly supply chain behind it, but, but today it is national soft ice cream day. Now I want to ask, I’ll start with Alison Grealis for this one. So give us your favorite, your go-to. And if you want to ask, you know, share your flavor to your go-to flavor, that’d be great. So Alison, what you got. Yeah.

Allison Grealis (15:16):

So I feel like I have a plane response, but mine is that go to McDonald’s soft serve. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I think I had one to two a day and continues to be a lover of the vanilla soft serve ice cream cone. We actually just went through the drive-through and had it last night as a treat to celebrate my son’s first day of freshmen orientation. So that’s my go-to

Scott Luton (15:38):

Awesome. Now you’re not alone. There’s so many people that love that, that there’s been an app created by someone not affiliated with McDonald’s that will track, um, which restaurants have not run out of the, um, the soft serve. Yeah, they do. Thank you. Alison gray lists. Yes, they do. How about

Allison Grealis (15:58):

That? The machine was just always broken.

Scott Luton (16:01):

That could be, but it’s spur it’s spring technology advancement. That’s how popular that answer is. So thank you for sharing Alison and congrats to your, I think it was your son that just kicked off his freshman year. Is that right? Yes. Love it. Where do you want to share? Yeah, so he

Allison Grealis (16:15):

Is we’re in Avon lake, Ohio, and he is going to Ignatius a Jesuit boys school in Cleveland. Wow. That’s a great school.

Scott Luton (16:24):

Congrats to him. I got to share it before I go to Alison manna said Chick-fil-A ice streams are the best. Uh, Matt Gideon says mic broken.com. Hello

Greg White (16:33):

Matt. Is that what it is and make broken out?

Scott Luton (16:38):

Uh, Allie says Zesto is chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles. Love that. Okay. All right. Alison Giddens, what is your good if

Allison Giddens (16:47):

We’re talking soft serve, as we soft serve right? Soft ice cream day or whatever it is. Um, sweet treats on Marietta square is delicious because they can make any ice cream, any flavor. So I’m, I kind of go to as the white chocolate mint. Ooh,

Scott Luton (17:01):

That sounds delicious. Um, and Matt is confirming what we all make broken.com will tell you which McDonald’s ice cream machines are operational. Wow, man. Thanks. Oh, he’s uh, Matt on the money there. I love that, man. That is

Greg White (17:14):

A very important use of IOT technology, right. There are people, if you’re looking for applicability of new technologies, that is a perfect one. I’m with you. All right. So Greg, you got to spill the beans. I’m I’m dairy queen. Um, honestly, as everyone learned of my ignorance on the pre-show, the people in, in the, in the box seats already know of my ignorance, I didn’t even know you could do other than vanilla flavors with, with soft serve ice cream. So I am headed to sweet treats. Um, later today I have to write it’s it’s national soft cream day. So green day. So I’m I’m going there. Um, but yeah, I didn’t even know you could, you could do other than that. So,

Scott Luton (17:58):

Uh, as Leah says, if you’re lactose intolerant, it’s gelato. So as Lee is waiting for that national gelato day and mango in Italy,

Greg White (18:09):

And then that’s not bad, either mango

Scott Luton (18:12):

Sorbet is one of her favorites. Um,

Greg White (18:16):

Right. So Greg wait, wait, wait, wait. Yes. You,

Scott Luton (18:20):

Oh, uh, well it’s not, so I’m gonna break the rules cause I can do that. The pink dipper grownup as a kid, bubblegum ice cream, uh, you know, having about 25 rock, hard pieces of bubble gum after you finished the flavored ice cream was one of my longtime traditions, but I’m also a big fan. Like Alison grainless has mentioned that soft serve McDonald’s ice cream for like a buck or something that’s tough to beat. It’s

Greg White (18:43):

Really what it is. It’s really a dollar is

Scott Luton (18:45):

Something like that. And then also like if you’ve seen the movie a founder, is that about Ray crock? Whichever one, you’re wondering, I love that story about the soft serve as part of that whole, um, that whole, uh, uh, backstory. So, all right. So you’ve got everybody hungry, Greg Alison and Alison great job, everybody. Um, as Lee is bringing up these McDonald’s French fries y’all know my position on that. So I’m gonna, I’m gonna jump right over that, but Greg, on a more serious note, are we talking next with Alison

Greg White (19:15):

Alison? Well, I think, uh, now that we know what they like in terms of ice cream and, and you know, where they put their, uh, philanthropic hours, let’s figure out what the heck they do for a living. So I, Alison Giddens, you’ve been on the show before, so some people might know. So, so we start with the surprise, um, Alison gray lists, if you wouldn’t mind, tell us a little bit about what you do about, uh, women in manufacturing and, you know, kind of, um, I dunno, how do you spend your day other than with us, which is

Allison Grealis (19:48):

Lots of fun by the way. And I’m thrilled to have been invited to chat today. So I have the great pleasure of leading the women in manufacturing association and as well it’s affiliated education foundation. And our organization is the only national association year round working to support and promote and inspire women in manufacturing, careers. And, um, we’re very focused in three different areas. So the first is on supporting a community for women in industry. So when I started the organization 10 and a half years ago, it was because we didn’t have organically a community for women in industry. You know, many women felt like they were the one of only just a few or sometimes just the only woman in their facility or their company, um, especially those small to mid-size companies. And so we wanted to create an opportunity for them to connect and to find one another.

Allison Giddens (20:34):

So we started with that impetus to create the community. And I’m happy to report that as of today, we’ve now surpassed 8,100 members and 44 states in 35 countries. And 6% of our membership is male. So we’re very inclusive as well of men getting involved as allies in the organization. Um, so community is a big focus, secondarily training and education. So helping women and companies have the right resources and accesses access to training tools that are effective. And then the third is to, to provide people access to networking education, close to home. So Alison is involved in one of our chapters. We now have 30 of them throughout the country. So again, um, especially trying to reach women at all levels, chapters are really critical to that because we know, and lots of people can’t travel out of state for training or to meet others. So our chapters have been really critical to our growth and success.

Greg White (21:27):

That’s fantastic. You know, just yesterday I read and published a little commentary on an article about, uh, about women in supply chain in general. And I have to feel like your organization’s momentum has to have had a big impact on that because it was one of the few industries where we close the pay gap for women under 40. Um, we’re seeing not only more than often more than one woman at the table in meetings around supply chain, more and more often seeing women at the head of the table. Um, and you know, and that’s been a huge boon for the industry, obviously. I mean, it’s great. It’s great that we are, um, you know, we, I think we’re making a really significant effort to be really, really inclusive as an industry. We need to do more of course, but that we’re seeing results and we’re seeing results in relatively short order, especially over the last year and a half or so, um, is impressive.

Greg White (22:22):

And I think it, it really brings light to organizations like yours and how you have affirmatively pressed for that inclusiveness. So I’m really appreciate what you guys are, are doing. And we’ve heard a little bit about what you all are doing in the past from Alison Giddens because of her role founding the, the local chapter here. Um, and also it turns out Alison might be one of those women in leadership as well. So I don’t want to give it all away, Alison, but can you share with us a little bit of, uh, of what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis?

Allison Giddens (22:54):

Sure. So yeah, I was introduced to women in manufacturing. It must have been within two years of it being born. Um, and so I, I stumbled across it. I want to say it was an in like a sky magazine or something from flying and then see opening up, you know, and figuring out that somebody had already done the cross word. Thanks. And I’m looking around and finding

Greg White (23:16):

This article,

Allison Giddens (23:18):

What’s this ad. Um, and so right next to, you know, the overpriced, uh, stuff in sky mall, uh, right over there was an ad about this industry organization. I’m pretty sure that’s where I stumbled across whim, but, um, was introduced to it by going one of the first national summits and recognizing that I was surrounded by people who thought like me, and that was really different. And I remember coming back to the office and realizing just how authentic and genuine the people seemed. So I had recognized there wasn’t anything like that in my area. I reached out to Alison Grillis Ellis and her, um, her very, uh, much smaller crew than today, um, reached out to them and said, how do I get my own chapter started? And so they helped me. They kind of guided me along that way. We had Alison what, like five people or something in the area. It was like nothing. And I mean, today, we’re, I think we’re a hundred, if not more within our chapter, but it’s been fun. It’s been fun to watch.

Greg White (24:14):

I love that. Yeah, that is that’s fantastic. And, and, uh, tell us for those who don’t know or remember, since we already mentioned it, what do you do at Wintec on kind of a day-to-day basis?

Allison Grealis (24:25):

So I, um, my business partner, John Hudson, and I own Wintec and he handles the shop floor manufacturing quoting side, and I handle operations. Um, and so we worked together on process improvements and such, uh, we make a really good team. We’ve kind of found that, um, that whatever he’s good at that I’m not, I, whenever I’m good at it, he’s not, uh, just really good, really good partners in this, but we’ve, he’s worked at Wintec for 25 plus years of its 33 year existence. And I’ve been here 15 years and we just purchased the company from our, um, our mentor and the founder of wind tech back in October of 2020. So it’s been a fun, fun first year and

Greg White (25:04):

You’re, um, he’s not watching right now. Is he

Allison Grealis (25:07):

Dennis? Probably not. He was not a fan of, shall we say anything? Computer-related he was much more, we’d rather be running parts and watching the shop floor than it was watching a webinar. Okay.

Greg White (25:19):

That’s good. And your partner is probably running the shop floor right now. So, so I think it’s safe to say that to let people know that you’re the real boss. Well,

Allison Grealis (25:30):

I just kind of make it seem like, but it’s kind of like, like when I tell you, if you go to a concert and you really want to go backstage, you wear a t-shirt that says staff on the back, you can go anywhere. Kind of all it takes here is I just make it look like I know what I’m doing. We’re good.

Greg White (25:49):

Well, we know that’s not true. So, and since that’s not true, I want to ask both of you another question, which is, okay. So I think we understand generally what you do on a day-to-day basis. Obviously both of you see a lot of what’s going on in your respective offices and businesses, but also kind of in the broader supply chain or broader in manufacturing or frankly, broader business world. So curious, what are maybe two or three things that really have your attention right now? Good, bad or indifferent, but you know, that you’ve re you’re really keeping your eye on now. So since we’ve got you, I want to call her a, I can’t even do that. I can’t say Alison G Alison Giddens, since we’ve got you on the, on the talk track already, you want to share that with us first.

Allison Giddens (26:32):

So things that I’m I’m watching in my industry, uh, workforce development is a big one. Um, that pipeline of finding, finding people to run machines, finding people to hire, um, I think the challenges, yes, the economic challenges and the job market challenges are tough, but manufacturing we’ve had, we’ve had an uphill battle for a while now. So this, this has not helped. I think, tapping into those markets that we’ve not really made an effort for before. Um, whether it’s women in the industry, whether it’s veterans, um, those kinds of communities, I don’t know that we’ve done a good enough job in, in, um, really marketing to and, and painting the picture for. So watching that for sure. Um, cyber security, it’s really, really big in manufacturing right now, especially in aerospace industries. That’s another hot one. So those are kind of the two highlights for me these days. Okay.

Greg White (27:20):

That’s really interesting because you know, more, you know, we publish articles almost every day about some topic. And, and I heard, I heard someone talking about manufacturing and why it’s difficult to get people into manufacturing is these three DS that people perceive is the marketplace. I don’t think it’s necessarily true anymore, but I’d love to get your thoughts on this dark, dirty and dangerous. You’ve actually listened to some of those shows where we’ve said that haven’t you, I mean, what’s the real truth about manufacturing these days. It seems more and more it’s electronic and automated and you know, and less physical and dangerous. And of course, less dark and dirty,

Allison Giddens (27:56):

Right. It’s different. It’s um, there are, there’s never a boring day first off. Um, there’s always something to me, it seems like there’s something for everybody. I just talked to a, a young woman who graduated a local college with mechanical engineering degree and we were having lunch together and she said, I want to find something that doesn’t mean I’m going to be in front of a computer all day. But at the same time, she said at the same time, I don’t want to be necessarily running a machine all day. And so I was kind of introducing her to the concept of their jobs out there, process improvement, um, coordinators and shop floor people that are needed to observe the way things are happening and then go back to the computer and run numbers and run programs and, and then go back to the shop floor and Lee.

Allison Giddens (28:36):

And she was fascinated by that because it was more of a, like a doer kind of role, but still using analytics. So, I mean, if you look at the past 16 months and, and the, the value, I think the perceived value of manufacturing has gone up even more when people can’t find stuff on the shelf or, um, you know, that’s the supply chain manufacturing overlap there. Um, people are starting to value the industry, I think a little bit more and seeing that, um, that those kinds of things are really important to be able to know that you’re very much going to be needed at your job. So

Greg White (29:09):

Just real quick, so people understand what is it you guys build? What is your product? What are your products at? Wintec

Allison Giddens (29:16):

Mainly aerospace, uh, precision machine parts. So a lot of ground support equipment for military and, um, things for defense contractors and such. Yeah.

Greg White (29:25):

So, I mean, we’re not talking about, we’re not talking necessarily about stamping metal. Not that that’s not, not a great practice, Scott Luton. He can address that too. But I mean, this, you know, we’re not, we’re not talking about steel beams or coal or anything like that, which I think is kind of the view that people get, this is real technology and it’s really heavy technology driven production as well. Right. And it’s, as you said, high, high

Allison Giddens (29:49):

Precision. Oh yeah. And you’ll hear terms a lot in manufacturing, like FOD and lean things that you have to have a clean shop floor if you’re in certain industries, especially because you can’t have oil or paint flakes end up in an aircraft engine. Right. So, you know, there, there are things I think that, um, I think we’re, we’re slowly doing a better job on aisles and grill is, can speak to a lot of, this is it’s about the marketing that we do for manufacturing too. If you look at some of the corporate members with women and manufacturing, the names are so impressive that you’re like, oh yeah, the brands themselves, you say, heck yeah, I’d want, you know, that that’d be a company I’d be proud and working for. And you just kind of have a different connotation. You don’t, your brain doesn’t go to, oh, a grandfather’s garage Jersey. You know, it’s not, it’s not a line of thinking well,

Greg White (30:36):

And that’s a great segue. I don’t know how you did that because we certainly didn’t set that up. Um, but more and more we see technology, we see analytics, you know, we see planning and we see science in manufacturing. So, um, Alison realist, I’d love to understand kind of, especially since you really have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in manufacturing and across companies like wind tech and all of the other ones that you work with, I’m curious what two or three things really have, you know, have your attention, right?

Allison Grealis (31:07):

Yeah. I think some of the key things that we’re focusing on and they are related to Alison’s comments as well, really around, um, kind of two key areas first, the recruitment of talent. So we know that, uh, manufacturing companies continue to struggle with finding individuals to fill positions. And it’s not just manufacturers, as we all know in our local communities, you know, our restaurants are on wonky schedules because they can’t find people to, you know, serve and to cook and to clean. Um, so it’s not just manufacturing, but, uh, there’s a shortage of talent. And so companies have gotten really creative in how they recruit. And so we’ve tried to develop some resources to help companies, as it relates to recruitment. We’re now powering virtual career fairs. Um, we as well have a job board to help companies find talent. Um, recruit recruitment is really critical.

Allison Grealis (31:57):

And again, marketing is a huge piece of that. So we’re working with companies to share their stories of what their companies are doing because present workforce is looking not just for a great company to work for, but they want to understand, you know, how is that company, you know, fostering sustainability, how is that company giving back to their community? So we’re trying to encourage companies to do a better job of showcasing those elements as well as their culture and things. That job seekers are really, I’m citing as keenly important when they’re looking for their first job or their next job. We as well are working very closely on retention. So we talk a lot with members present day around the impact of COVID on women. In manufacturing, we launched a new network and a new community year-round support specifically that unique audience of moms in manufacturing.

Allison Grealis (32:43):

So if you look at the statistics of the number of women that have dropped out of the workforce, since the beginning, beginning of pandemic, it’s really startling. And we know that, you know, moms having challenges with, you know, trying to balance and integrate personal life and professional life, and then, you know, throw into their schools, not being open to childcare, not being opened. And how is a woman able to sustain her career and to kind of balance it all. And it was near impossible for many women, which is why we saw so many women, unfortunately leave. Um, so we started a new moms manufacturing group, uh, you know, to provide year round support for women to provide solutions and then as well to help companies find those right resources and solutions to help retain women. And we did some research last year and the two things that were cited from women when they were asked, you know, how, how can we keep you in manufacturing?

Allison Grealis (33:30):

And what’s going to be an attractor if you’re not yet in manufacturing, the two key areas were flexibility and childcare where the areas of importance and just last night watching the nightly news, which I do pretty irregularly, um, uniquely that the top story was an interview with a woman who was talking about her challenges and her industry and, um, her, her challenges with childcare and the lack of affordability for it. So no big challenge. And so we’re trying to work with our members to, um, be progressive, to be innovative as we keep working moms in manufacturing.

Greg White (34:01):

Yeah, no doubt. I mean, that’s, that’s a tough role because in manufacturing you have to be there, right? You can’t take your manufacturing home, like you can your laptop, right? So that, that poses a very, very specific challenge for everyone who can’t be on site. Yep.

Allison Grealis (34:16):

Being there is a challenge, but companies are getting creative. So we’ve heard of some manufacturing companies, who’ve created moms schedules. So they allow an individual or parent’s schedule really. Um, they allow them the opportunity to do a drop-off come into work at maybe a later start than what would be traditional and then leave before pickup time. Um, so, you know, there are tons of talented women with advanced degrees and education interests who are often sitting at home waiting for how do I get back to the workforce? So companies are, are figuring out how to tap into that talent. One of our member companies as well, just started our returnship program that they’re actually gonna share and present to our corporate member community coming up at our winter conference, but a returnship program where you’re tapping into, again, women, others who have been out of the workforce for a while to help them, um, get entered into manufacturing. That’s very cool.

Scott Luton (35:05):

I love it. I think it, uh, empathetic leadership that takes action to that. They, they are able to see all that talent sadly on the sidelines in many cases because of, of, of, uh, other priorities and other needs finding a way to get them engaged and get him involved. So I love hearing stories of that. So flexibility and childcare are two things that we need to take from this conversation. Um, okay. I wanna switch gears a bit here first. I want to say hello to a few folks. Charles Walker talk about outstanding leadership. Charles Walker is with us and he also says, um, one of y’all mentioned, uh, veteran’s a good point when marketing a veterans or making it clear to them whereby they don’t, um, uh, probably automatically assume requirements and count themselves out before applying excellent point there, Charles, uh, Dr. Rhonda bumpin does Zimmerman is back with us, Rhonda. I hope this finds you well in Arizona. It’s been fascinating to learn all the possibilities in this industry. So many opportunities to be of service and make a difference. Love that. Okay. So I want to get, go, I want to dive a little bit deeper to the women in manufacturing organization. I want to start though with some hot news, uh, Greg, do the, do the CNN BBB BBB. This is [inaudible].

Greg White (36:18):

Thank you very much.

Scott Luton (36:21):

So, uh, kidding aside, hall of fame hall of fame that the, uh, that whim created, um, when did, when did y’all found the hall of fame? Alison Grillis.

Allison Grealis (36:30):

So we created the women in manufacturing hall of fame. Last year, we had our inaugural class of 20, 20 inducted virtually. Um, but we had, um, our first class last year and this year marks our second cohort of inductees.

Scott Luton (36:43):

So it was just released, I think, uh, either yesterday or this morning and, you know, inducted, I think nine people, but one of them Peggy Goolik has been with us a couple of times. I think she’s one of our collective favorites. Um, the last time she was with us talking to manufacturing, she really talked about the practical, uh, intentional, successful approach. Innovation, not the buzz word you hear about, right. Not just brainy, uh, not, um, just bar, uh, brainstorming or talking to ideas, but making it happen enterprise wide. So she is fascinating, but T tell us who else was part of this class or a couple of folks. Yes. And we inducted

Allison Grealis (37:16):

Nine individuals yesterday or yesterday. We announced their induction, which will happen virtually on October 6th at the final and enclosure of our women in manufacturing annual summit. And this class is so very impressive. You know, the hall of fame was set and designed to recognize women who have had a long career in manufacturing. So many years of service. These are usually women who are at the tail end of their career, or kind of that, that, that latter stage, um, and where they’ve had significant impact on both changing the culture and the climate and the success of their companies, as well as, um, the pathway leading the pathways, um, for women to be successful in manufacturing. So our class of nine is outstanding. Um, most have been in industry for the bulk of their professional career. And, um, many were innovators of policies and programs that are long lasting and will affect future generations.

Allison Grealis (38:10):

So, and we’ve got women who are heads of diversity and inclusion, um, women who were involved, um, for many years in automotive and then new this year, we’ve created a male ally program or a male ally award, um, for someone who really helped women in manufacturing get started. Um, the, the award is named after bill Gaskin, who is the former president president emeritus of the precision metal forming association, where I had the luxury of working for many years of my professional career. And he was my mentor. And without him, we would not have been able to start women in manufacturing association. Um, he helped incubate us and give us that resources and lots of industry guidance to start an association. Um, so our award is named after bill. It’s sponsored by Zurich manufacturing out of Mount Kisco, New York. And, um, bill will be the first recipient and then each year thereafter we will celebrate, uh, another male ally in manufacturing. Wonderful

Scott Luton (39:03):

Love that, congrats to all. And, um, we’ll look forward to celebrating their official in duct in duct, duct mint, maybe in October. I don’t know if that’s the right word. Um, but the, the big toy. Now, the question for you, Alison Graylock is does it come with a, um, an NFL like golden jacket, yellow jacket, any jackets or hats? W w what are we bespoke? The

Greg White (39:27):

Trophy? Yeah. You make a, like a bronze of their

Scott Luton (39:30):

Head, or, oh, man. Even better. I don’t

Allison Grealis (39:33):

Have a cool, colorful yet jacket or blazer. Um, so we don’t have that yet. We do have an amazing, a word that is hand-crafted by a local, um, wood manufacturer. So the artisan’s name is Susie Frazier, she’s out of the Cleveland area, and she does some beautiful awards that each of our individual recipients will get, um, to take home and to be able to kind of be reminded of that special day and their induction. Um, so we have that and we’ll in the future. Look at maybe some apparel or clothing.

Scott Luton (40:04):

Well, I love books. That’s a wonderful, I love that. So Susie, great work wherever you are. Uh, I love how y’all have incorporated that. And Charles, I agree with you. That is good news and something we’ll have to celebrate this week. Uh, Mohib says, well done, Alison gray lists, soon enough, we would need your experience to lead us in human, in manufacturing. Are we not desperately working ourselves out of physical jobs in manufacturing, signed him up? He says, now we’ll save that for another show. There are several sides of that, uh, that discussion. Um, Charles Walker makes a great point. You know, there’s also many veterans with advanced degrees and experience on the sideline as well. Excellent. And while seeing welcome to the livestream, be LinkedIn from Bangladesh. Great to have you here. Okay. So let’s switch over to the educations. We talked about hall of fame. Let’s talk, well, hang on a sec. Alison Giddens weigh in on that hall of fame. How cool is that? Or talk, let’s say good things about

Allison Giddens (40:55):

At least one of us together. Yes. So there’s, um, what I’ve really liked this year, where I’ve been excited about is the fact that this national conference is coming up the national summit for whim last year. Um, it was a virtual for obvious reasons, uh, this year, um, because it’s, uh, it’s a hybrid and I’m going in person because I’m desperate to see people in person in life. And, um, the hall of fame thing, there’s a gala happening the last night of summit. And so for anyone interested, and I’m sure that show notes we’ll have the links and stuff like that, but, um, on women and manufacturing’s website, there’s a way to sign up for summit, but there’s also, you can to the gala and Alison correct me if I’m wrong, but you can go to like the summit and the gala, or you can just go to the gala.

Allison Giddens (41:38):

So yeah, there are lots of options. And actually this year, too, for the first time fingers crossed, it goes, well, we are live streaming the whole conference, as well as the hall of fame gala. So again, we don’t want to create barriers for people to be able to celebrate and get connected with our member community. Um, and you know, again, we’re seeing very attuned and aware of CDC guidelines and we’re going to keep people safe to the best of our ability here in Cleveland. Um, but we hope that we’ll have a very large virtual audience as well, helping to celebrate and applaud the people who get inducted this year, as well as to be part of our sessions. We have 30 educational sessions this year at summit, and real-life streaming them all and we’ll be actually feeding similar to today’s session, um, live questions from our virtual community. That’s listening live with us in each of the sessions. Outstanding. Wow. Okay. Silent auction. Oh, sound. I love sound really dangerous. I love

Scott Luton (42:31):

Auctions that are silent. Love that. Um, let’s, let’s make sure we put that link in the comments too. So folks can find out a lot more about women in manufacturing for the sake of time. I want to skip right ahead to, um, Alison and, uh, Giddens and your backstory here, because a lot of folks may not know, have no clue that you’re a founder of the Georgia chapter where you now serve as treasurer. So tell us that story if you would.

Allison Giddens (42:56):

So, yeah, so we, uh, after I got back from the summit, the national summit and touched base with Alison Grillis and her crew up in Ohio, I said, I, you know, I’d love to do something like that in Georgia. And it was really uncharted territory at the time. There were a couple of other chapters that existed, but they were primarily in areas that were very heavy manufacturing areas. I mean, geographically, they were Midwest, it was a no-brainer to be able to reach out and, you know, you could throw a rock without hitting somebody in manufacturing. And if you did that, you should probably be arrested. But in Georgia, there were there’s a lot of us, but we’re spread out. And so it was a little bit more challenging to get started, but, um, there were a handful of people that have been with the chapter, the local chapter here in Georgia since day one, there’s, um, Suzanne Lauder, who was a rockstar and AGCO and Duluth. Um, and so she kind of headed up, but a good portion of that part of the state. We’ve got, um, a handful of people out in Savannah, uh, Gulf stream, the area there’s all kinds of, uh, like I said, spread out all over the state. Um, but we’ve had a really good time now being able to, um, be here for newer chapters. So when South Carolina started their chapter, we partnered with them kind of a joint event across the border there. Yes. Talk slower

Scott Luton (44:09):

For folks from South Carolina and Hey, disclaimer, I’m from South Carolina so I can pick on

Allison Giddens (44:12):

Up. Um, but no, they were, they were so much fun. And then we have, uh, Wim, Tennessee, uh, is fairly new. So once COVID gets done with whatever it wants to, you know, just continue ruining things for, uh, we will reach out to them to hopefully pair up on some stuff. We’ve talked about, same thing with Alabama. So there were all these different partnerships and all these different groups that as local, as things are for manufacturing, it, it helps to kind of create a lot of, a lot of additional other fun bowls. I love it.

Scott Luton (44:42):

I love the benchmarking. That’s important for industry it’s important for associations it’s important for, you know, founders, entrepreneurs, Greg, speak to that a second for our circle back to Alison gray lists.

Greg White (44:52):

Well, I mean, I think that, um, I was just looking at the event page and also the chapter list, which is substantial, uh, 44 states. I can’t off the top of my head identify which ones are missing, but I do notice that Kansas is missing, but that would probably have to be women in farming. But, um, I mean, I don’t know how much manufacturing actually occurs in Kansas. Right. But, um, I think you covered the vast majority of states and I think Alison gray lists, you said 35 countries, is that right? That

Allison Grealis (45:24):

Is correct. We’ve got members in 35 countries. We don’t yet have an international chapter, but we’re working on it. So our intention is in 2022 to do a networking kind of launch investigatory exploratory event in conjunction with Euro black in Germany and Hanover. So we know that we have many members that have exhibits at that very large industrial trade show and, um, hope to test the waters there. But, you know, virtualization has been good for us this year. You know, we were worried at first, as we had to make the transition to virtual programming, but our chapters were rockstars. They delivered more than 211 programs last year, all in a virtual way, which is crazy and amazing. So they did an excellent job of keeping members, community, our member, community connected and supported. And then, um, we found as well, we had international people starting to join all of our events, both locally produced and our national events, um, because they could do so for the first time, pretty easily and affordably because it was all virtual

Scott Luton (46:21):

Love that, um, you know, so much potential, so much potential for engaging and providing resources and encouragement and mentoring. And, uh, th and it’s going to power as we talk to on the front end, this efforts, initiatives, leadership, like this does power industry into the next era. So I love what you are doing here. I wish we had a second hour to, to talk more, but, um, but you know, one of the things Greg and I get a lot in a whole team here, all the different hosts and production team is we get questions around, Hey, how can I find a job? How can I break into manufacturing or supply chain and what have you, and then how, how do I progress? So, um, after I share this, uh, had no idea Mohib nickname was slow. Mo how about that? I love that. Thanks for sharing. So I’ve,

Greg White (47:05):

I’ve talked with Mohave in person, and let me tell you, he talks pretty fast.

Scott Luton (47:09):

Well, he, he enjoyed that, that little, uh, uh, thrown a stone. I threw to my, uh, my family and friends in South Carolina. Anyway, kidding aside. So folks breaking into manufacturing, breaking in the industry, right. Um, let’s assume. And I’ll start with Alison Giddings here. Let’s, let’s paint a picture you’re keynoting, uh, to a huge, massive ballroom in the nation’s Capitol. There’s thousands and thousands of folks that are all sitting on those sidelines that we talked about earlier, folks that want to break in and hadn’t had that job yet. I hadn’t had an opportunity yet in the manufacturing industry. So what’s a couple of pieces of practical advice that you would share.

Allison Giddens (47:44):

I would say first off, don’t sell yourself short. Um, I’m seeing that there are a lot of, um, friends and friends of friends that are coming to me with the resumes and they’re selling themselves short. The resumes are a much blander than their personalities that I know. Um, I would say that, um, to, to get their foot in the door, I’d say, take this in two different ways. Um, highlight certain things on your resume that set you apart. And if that is that you are a, you graduated from a university with underwear under water basket, weaving as a minor, put that on there, because something put, puts what makes you, you on your resume. And then that second part of the equation is fine. Just that one person who can help say your name when you’re not in the room. So whether it’s a man or a woman, then find that person who’s going to have their ear to the ground for you.

Allison Giddens (48:34):

And sometimes all it takes is that one and have them send you ideas, sit down with them, stay in touch, um, send the thank you note, um, things like that. But ultimately I would say, make sure you don’t, don’t sell yourself short on your resume. Your resume. Doesn’t have to be boring. If somebody has got 50 on them, on their debt, on a desk, the one, the person that I’m going to call as the person that looks most interesting, to be honest, the person that yes, has the skills that I’m looking for, but the person who I can say, okay, this person’s going to, I think they’re going to have a good time at this office. I think this person’s a good culture fit.

Scott Luton (49:07):

I love that. Uh, I want to share what Megan’s sharing in general. She says, congratulations on starting the international chapter, such an exciting time for manufacturing and more specifically for women in manufacturing. I agree with you, Megan. Thanks so much for joining in via LinkedIn here today. Okay. Alison gray, LIS, same question. And Greg, you’re not getting that as question either. I’m going to ask you to ask the U2, um, Alison gray list. If you had that same opportunity, the stage is yours. What, what are a couple of things you choose?

Allison Grealis (49:33):

So I think I’d echo some of what Alison said and, you know, just a shout out to those who have joined us on our podcast. So women in manufacturing now hosts a podcast called hear her story. And our closing question on each episode of hear her story is what advice would you give to future generations of women in the workforce and women in manufacturing? And I think closely to what Alison cited is something we hear time and time again, which is to be authentic. So don’t hide who you are as a person, bring your whole self to work into your position, into your resume. Um, because that is really when people want authentic individuals as part of their organizations. So I would encourage women to be themselves, um, secondarily to know that they’re supported. So one of the reasons that we started the organization, as I mentioned is that we didn’t want people to feel alone.

Allison Grealis (50:19):

You know, there are 1.5 million women in manufacturing, and we are here as a sisterhood to support one another, to, to provide opportunities and advice and resources. And then my third recommendation would be is leveraged relationships. So relationships have hugely impacted my career. I’m sure they’ve impacted Allison’s career as well, but relationships, both personal and professional are critical. And you need to find those people to Allison’s point to be your advocate, to be your sponsors, to kind of share your story to others when you’re not in the room when you’re not at that conference. Um, because we know hiring decisions happen from often managers, many of which are male managers. Um, so you’ve got to figure out how to find mentors in your organization, both men and women who, um, be that ally for you.

Scott Luton (51:03):

Love that. And I think what it looks, it looks like we’re dropping the link to hear her story, the podcast in the comments as well. So I appreciate you sharing that. And by the way, uh, precious says rooting for you all. And we’ll join from Nigeria. I love that. Um, and Melissa, she’s been speaking of, uh, Alison gins to your point, she’s been talking about y’all without y’all in the room. So I love

Allison Giddens (51:23):

That another Alison CLL is taking over.

Scott Luton (51:28):

All right. So Greg quickly, in a nutshell, what would be your advice?

Greg White (51:32):

I think, I think to understand that, um, men are not the benchmark, right? I mean, this is something that I’ve taught my daughters. I’ve I’ve always said, you’re good enough. Or you have, you can do anything. I don’t add that with you’re you’re as good as a man or, or you can do anything a man can do. I don’t think men are the benchmark. And I think when I think specifically about women in the workplace, the gifts that they have are different sometimes substantially different, but they’re just every bit as valuable and, um, take that qualifier out. Don’t even aim for that because most of you know, a man, hopefully you’re your father, but even, even that is a flawed individual and not the benchmark, you know, for anyone you can be better than anyone before you, whether that was a man or a woman. So I love that. That’s that qualification just needs to cease completely.

Scott Luton (52:26):

Yep. I’m with ya. I’m with ya. Um, all right. So 1.5 million women in manufacturing, let’s double that let’s double that next month. And, uh, as, as Alison talked about, be right, go big and go home. And let’s also double double that in the board rooms, right? At the C level, which we know is one of the biggest gaps we have. Let’s let’s make sure all voices are heard. So I love what y’all are doing. Let’s make sure folks, I hate you blink. And it’s 1256. I hate that. Um, Alison gray lists, how can folks connect with you

Allison Grealis (53:00):

So they can connect with us through our website, which is women in manufacturing.org. They can also listen to our podcast. We’d love to have you folks listened to the episodes. We’ve had some great guests and we’re looking for future guests. So if people want to share their story, they can find that anywhere you listen to podcasts. And then the foundation that Alison mentioned is Wim edf.org. And we will have our silent auction going live the second week in October. And we’ll have some amazing gifts that people can bid on. And all of those generous gifts and donations go to support our education.

Scott Luton (53:32):

I love that. I’m honored to meet you, Alison gray. Thanks so much for your time. Alison Giddens. How can folks connect with you other than being a part of a couple of cool interviews that, that you’re facilitating on supply chain now its behalf with folk leaders from Mattel and Peloton and others. So that’s gonna be really cool, but how can folks connect with you?

Allison Giddens (53:52):

Um, definitely find me on LinkedIn. Um, I’m on it quite often, so we’d love to connect with folks there and if you’re in manufacturing and you’re watching this, and even if you are not local, get in touch with me and I’d love to connect you to your local chapter because I promise you there’s stuff going on. Uh,

Scott Luton (54:09):

I promise you to, and also promise you that you will benefit greatly by having Alison gins in your network. It’s what she, a there’s no lips, lip service leadership with both of these leaders, but, but I know firsthand from collaborating with Alison Giddens for a long time. So it’s a treasure and a pleasure to have you right here at supply chain now. Okay. So big, thanks to you both. I hate to let you all go, but we’ll talk about you once you go into the green room. So we have a few minutes there. Now. I want to stick around Allison gray lists with women in manufacturing association and be sure to check out it’s education foundation. And of course, Alison creature Giddens co-present with wind tech, founder of the Georgia chapter and leader of the day, your foundation. So thanks to you both. Thanks for having me. Thank you. Thanks, Greg. How cool is that? I completely expected, uh, the hour to fly by. We’re talking one of our favorite topics with some of our favorite people. What’s what was your favorite thing they shared here today? Um,

Greg White (55:08):

You know, I think the, probably the biggest thing is kind of the drive, the duty, the, I don’t know that the commitment right that they have and that, and the progress that they’ve seen, it’s fortuitous, maybe serendipitous, whatever that just yesterday I read that article about how supply chain, how women in supply chain have progressed and in some cases at a greater rate than in other industries. And I think that’s largely due to initiatives like this, right? And, um, just making people aware that the issue is out there, that the industry is out there. Um, and manufacturing as, as a subset of the industry. I think Alison Giddens really made a great point that it’s not staff. You know, it’s not sorry, man. It’s not stamping metal. It’s not, you know, running a drill press, right? It’s computerized technology often. It is analytics. It is the combination of all of those things.

Greg White (56:02):

It’s observing and improving process and manufacturing is not what you, you know, what you saw in the Rocky movies or whatever, right. It’s a totally different game than it used to be. Um, and it’s, there’s science and technology involved there just like there isn’t any other business, but you’re also physically making something. And I got to tell you as someone who has really only ever sold things in retail as a practitioner or built technology that virtualized everything, there’s a lot of satisfaction in using technology to physically build something that you can see someone put in their hands on their aircraft and you know, into practice. Um, there’s a lot of, um, I don’t know, goodness that that comes to you by, by doing that as well, actually building something

Scott Luton (56:48):

Agreed, but you know, I’m not going back to your earliest point. I’m not surprised that our industry, the supply chain industry, meaning, you know, end to end supply chain, industry manufacturing, procurement, you name, it has made big strides. Look, we’re, we’re filled with practitioners that are driven by action, right? That’s uh, it is the global supply chain is gonna get us into the post pandemic area. It’s global supply chains can help us address these inequities and these other long standing challenges. And it’s testimony it’s being led by folks like Alison Alison, right? Folks of action. There’s not

Greg White (57:21):

Deeds not works. So, uh,

Scott Luton (57:23):

We stand with these efforts. We are doing our best to spotlight these efforts. In fact, I’m really cool. Now this afternoon, I think I shared a pre-show, uh, I’m going to sit down with kind of the cutting edge generation, uh, Rachel Clark, who is president of Howard university’s student supply chain association. So I’m looking forward to taking about 17 pages of notes, kind of in that reverse mentoring, uh, fashion. Right? So that’s going to be really neat, but uh, lots of comments here, Meghan loved your advice. Uh, as we’ve mentioned, we dropped the, hear her story podcast in the comments and with you Mohit girls rock my karate kid trained to take down three boys and less than a minute, man, don’t

Greg White (58:01):

Mess, dude. Hey, no pictures. If it didn’t happen, if there are no pictures, right? So I want to see like a 15 second video of that, right. Uh, Sylvia. Awesome. It is

Scott Luton (58:11):

Awesome. Sylvia hated to miss it. Uh, but she’s in the port of Charleston working on it.

Greg White (58:17):

You know, we’re talking about the east coast ports, the way we have been talking about the west coast ports for a year now. I mean, this disruption in the supply chain has hit every single port in the, in the states. That’s why we’re probably in the world, but definitely in the states, the gift that

Scott Luton (58:33):

Keeps on giving for sure. But Sylvia, I enjoyed the, uh, the dinner special dinner. You drop in supply chain channel on Facebook. So, uh, all the best you and your family, uh, it was, it was, it was a, uh, like a traditional German, uh, meal. I can’t remember the German name for it, but, uh, kind of mother

Greg White (58:51):

[inaudible]. Um, no, I don’t think that depends on what part of Germany she’s from also. Sure.

Scott Luton (58:57):

Well, regardless a big, thanks everybody. Thanks everybody that joined us here today on supply chain. Now what an outstanding hour with our friends, from women in manufacturing and wind tech and a lot more today, create your foundation big. Thanks to Jayda clay, Amanda and Allie, all behind the scenes making production happen. Greg. Excellent. Excellent work here today. Big, thanks to our guests. Hey, if you take anything, do good gift forward. Be the change that’s needed. Beat just like Alison Alison, hold that note. Sorry. That was quick, man. We’ll see you next time on spotting now. Thanks.

Intro/Outro (59:34):

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