Supply Chain Now
Episode 1212

Practicing a little PTK everyday is a good practice. Patience, tolerance, and kindness. You never know what the person serving you coffee or your colleague is going through, especially during the holidays and going into the new year.

-Scott Luton

Episode Summary

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12 noon ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!

In this last Buzz of 2023, hosts Scott Luton and Greg White discuss some of the top news stories and trends in supply chain and industry today. Listen in and learn more about:

  • The trouble in the Red Sea, and how shipping firms are avoiding the Suez Canal
  • Macy’s and if they’re doomed to the same fate as Sears and Bed, Bath, & Beyond
  • The US Manufacturing output for November and what it means for industry
  • Nacho Cheese booze for your New Year’s Eve toasts?
  • And more!

Episode Transcript

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 (00:32):

Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are, Scott Luton, Greg White with you here on Supply Chain. Now welcome to today’s live stream, Gregory. How you doing today?

Greg White (00:42):

I’m doing well. How are you?

Scott Luton (00:43):

I’m doing wonderful. It feels like it’s holiday weather out there, so it’s got a little crisp in the air.

Greg White (00:49):

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Scott Luton (00:52):

There you go. Mad. That is nice. Nice.

Greg White (00:54):

All that’s all you get.

Scott Luton (00:56):

All right. Well maybe the follow on concert this Friday. Maybe it’s 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Come join Greg White live in concert. But hey, things are going good though. Big show here today, Greg. Today is the last buzz of the year. What a crazy year, huh?

Greg White (01:09):

For you maybe <laugh>.

Scott Luton (01:11):

Oh,

Greg White (01:12):

The last Long Air Buzz.

Scott Luton (01:14):

Well, <laugh>. Well, folks, you’re in the right place if you have been joining us regularly here on Mondays at 12 in Eastern Time. Thank you. And if you’re new to the buzz and all that we cover here today, welcome. And we want to hear from you throughout the show. So we’re gonna be talking about a variety of news and developments across global business. And Greg, if anyone out there is listening to our replay, which we usually drop on Fridays, what would you encourage ’em to do? Greg,

Greg White (01:41):

Hit that bell and hit that subscribe button on YouTube or follow us on your favorite podcasting channel device, whatever.

Scott Luton (01:50):

I’m gonna go with it. Yeah, I am gonna go with it. We think

Greg White (01:53):

About that. <laugh>, I like YouTube. We put it, you can see that I put a lot of effort into my outfits, so I think people should see this.

Scott Luton (02:02):

We put the ties away a long time ago, didn’t we, Greg? And thankfully, yes. All right, Greg, we got, let’s see here, four stories to get into. Yeah. And I think one of the stories we’re gonna start with is probably got everybody’s eyes and ears and attention. And of course that is what is going on over in the Red Sea, right? Yeah. So in the last few days, we’ve seen a variety of companies pause or shipping through this critical waterway due to attacks on vessels by Hhy rebels. So far, evergreen, Maersk, MSC, Hapag Lloyd and British Petroleum BP have all paused any shipping activity through the Red Sea, including that choke point that is the Bob Almond Strait, also known as the Gate of Tears. Yeah. And some of these vessels, Greg, as you know, have been rerouted all the way down and around the Cape of Good Hope, adding tons of time and shipping costs there. So Greg, I’d love to get your take here on what we’re seeing and how long do you think it’s gonna last. So, who knows?

Greg White (03:01):

This is an effort by the HTI Rebels of Yemen, which they effectively run the country, heavily supported by Iran in protest of what’s going on between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. And at first, these were only attacks on ships bound for Israel, but it has since expanded, including an attack on a US warship laughable that shot down all 14 of the drones that were headed towards it and shot down another drone headed for a merchant ship. I mean, this is not a joke. They have actually hit some of these ships with cruise missiles and with drone attacks. These are one-way drones that are basically kamikaze drones to attack these ships. And these companies, you know, rather than potentially lose a ship or all of the shipment, you have chosen to go around this area. And this isn’t, you know, this is an area that’s often, let’s just say contested. And you know, it’s an area where piracy is common as well, at least in that sort of general area. Not that specific stray, but that general area is, is also rife with piracy. Mm-Hmm. As you know, a lot of these rebel groups try to fund themselves by stealing things. It’s uh, one of those things we would call a disruption in supply chain, right,

Scott Luton (04:11):

<laugh>. That’s right. They keep on coming.

Greg White (04:13):

Yeah. And I think this continues until we do what we should about Iran, which will never happen. So it continues forever.

Scott Luton (04:21):

Yeah, man. Well, we’re all hoping, of course, and praying that the region can find at least a temporary moment of peace based on what we’ve seen over the last three or four weeks. It’s just been, some of the stories that come out of the Middle East have been heartbreaking. So, but that aside, these disruptions will keep on coming. And of course that’s our role, our job to navigate all these disruptions that, uh, are just as certain as death and taxes to keep going back to the Benjamin Franklin quote there. Alright, so second story here. Some folks are starting to wonder, will Macy’s follow the path of Sears or Bed Bath and Beyond or other retailers? Great read here by our friends at Retail Dive. As many analysts agree that Macy’s is more and more in need of a company turnaround in transformation. So get this Global Data Managing director, Neil Saunders was quoted in the article as saying quote, Macy’s struggles with the fundamentals of retailing and its recent sales performance underlines that it continues to lose market share and relevance in an increasingly competitive market end quote.

Scott Luton (05:22):

So after selling some of its flagship stores, Macy’s still runs about 722 store locations and owns Greg 316 of them kind of outright, including the valuable real estate they sit on. Some retail analysts are wondering if Macy’s will consider next steps such as close a bunch more stores. I think they’ve closed about 170 locations since 2016, or get created with all the real estate that the company owns, which Sears tried to do, or maybe even take the company private. So Greg, I cannot wait to hear your take on what Macy’s continues to persevere and try to fight through.

Greg White (05:57):

Yeah, Macy’s continues to persevere as one of the worst run retailers in the history of retail back in the 18 hundreds. They were really very good <laugh> since, you know, the last several years they’ve gone bankrupt multiple times. They’ve been on the edge of oblivion multiple times. Each time they get bailed out because the power of the brand is so substantial. And I think frankly, $8.5 billion, which I think is the latest offer to take them private for some people isn’t that much. Just so their kids and grandkids can go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. But this is a horribly run organization. Their merchandising is terrible. It’s funny, I was just looking at, they try to position themselves as a premier retailer, like a Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, but they have all the sort of middle tier brands. So they still want to be the Macy’s they used to be.

Greg White (06:47):

And they’re merchandising the product that they have just doesn’t support that they should make a decision to either sell Premier Brands or lose the premier label and just become kind of a step above target, which is really what they are at this point. So, and that’s okay. Frankly, I think there’s a space in the marketplace for that. But they’re mismarketing that and it’s to their detriment, no doubt. Yeah. I like Gary’s <laugh>, Gary’s assessment, the McDonald’s of retailers. It’s a hodgepodge of merchandising. It always has been. And periodically you can make it work with promotion. They use a bunch of brands that you literally cannot sell for full price brands that still exist that 20, 25, 30 years ago were meaningful. Tommy Hilfiger is a good example of that. But you know, those are all brands that are just licensed now, right? There’s no real designer behind that.

Greg White (07:37):

People are just licensing the label and slapping it on whatever products they wanna put on. So that’s okay. It’s just you have to market to your market. And you know, in Harold Square, I don’t think people are used to buying Target esque kind of products, right? Mm-Hmm. But yeah, they have routinely done this. It’s funny, when we decided we’d do this article, I started digging around to try and figure out how many times Macy’s has been bankrupt. Okay? And I can’t get beyond three or four, all of which are in our lifetime or actually much less than our lifetime. So they’ve been routinely poorly managed. It’s a pretty difficult solution because the real estate is valuable, but it’s also a huge burden on their balance sheet. Hmm. So there’s a financial answer here, and it’s probably gonna do with divesting of either the retail operations or of the real estate and then leasing it back.

Scott Luton (08:29):

Hmm. Options. Options. By going back to your, one of your central comments there, make a decision and commit. You can’t be all things, all persons out there, right

Greg White (08:37):

Greg? It’s a difficult position to be in because they’re always riding the razor’s edge. It seems like, Scott, it was less than four years ago, we were talking about them. What? Asking employees to take a pay cut or something like that because of tight funding, right? Back in 2020, they decided they were gonna close 25% of their a hundred hundred 25 stores. And even prior to that, they’d had some challenges back in 2016. So they’ve been swirling the drain for quite some time now and really just need to jettison the current management, restructure the company, and then figure out what to do from there. Yep.

Scott Luton (09:11):

Well, we’ll keep our finger on the pulse and see what direction they go in.

Greg White (09:14):

What do you call the parade though, if it’s not the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade? I mean, really, right. Truthfully, no matter how terrible this organization is, I’m thankful that companies keep coming in and trying to revive it. Yes. And restructure it so we know what to call the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Scott Luton (09:32):

Right. <laugh> amongst other reasons.

Greg White (09:34):

To give you an idea, this is literally the company, okay? That took America off the barter system for retail. This is the kind of innovation that they used to do. Took America off the barter system for retail, invented the retail, Santa invented decorating your windows for Christmas season, right? Invented the Thanksgiving Day parade. Their marketing has been genius. Rh Macy, one of the most visionary marketers of all time, right? The founder of this company is one of the people who founded NRF, the National Retail Federation, because Macy’s, gimbals and Bloomingdale’s used to get around, get together after Christmas, have a few cold beverages, and talk about what the season went like and ideate on how they might do better as individuals or collective retailers in New York City. This was a company of innovators that’s lost that brand tragically, unfortunately. But gotta keep ’em around,

Scott Luton (10:27):

Right? So that square that you mentioned, Greg, that’s that store there. What was the name of that square you mentioned?

Greg White (10:33):

Harold. H-E-R-A-L-D Square. Harold Square.

Scott Luton (10:36):

So folks, if, if you’re watching us here, that’s what this image is from. And if you see the big old star that Macy’s known for, a lot of times it’s a red star. Well, Greg mentioned Rh Macy, that star comes from a tattoo that Rh Macy had before he got into retail. One of the things he did was, I think it was whaling, it was fishing, I think it was in particular whaling. And he got a red tattoo and that’s where the star for Macy’s came from. But as Greg mentioned, incredible innovator. He also, Greg, to add on to that list, you just shared the idea of, of course, outstanding customer service, but in particular trying to feed customers while they’re in store to keep ’em longer. That was one of their innovations at Macy’s.

Greg White (11:15):

So many, he basically invented tailored clothes in the US anyway. Yep. Roland Hussy, Macy one of the greatest retailers of all time.

Scott Luton (11:24):

Agreed. Born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Died in Paris, France. Okay. Greg. We’ll need to do like a greatest hits look back of 2023 at some point. But yeah, we’re sharing a couple anecdotally with y’all here today, because this webinar, speaking retailers, right? Big old retailers, like with Macy’s, big old, well Supply Pike, big old. That’s a highly scientific qualification there it

Greg White (11:47):

Is.

Scott Luton (11:48):

<laugh>. So Supply Pike has been doing really interesting work out there. They work with a variety of companies that do big business with retailers like Walmart and Amazon and Target and others. And they joined us a few months back to share some of the ways that you can get paid but also get better. Mm-Hmm. So you can make life easier when supplying the retail behemoths. So in this webinar we did back in September, we focused mostly on how to work better with Walmart and Greg, one of my favorite parts of this webinar, and it sounds so obvious, but it was just one of those eureka moments that stared you right in the face. You know, Walmart and all those big old retailers out there, they want you to perform well. They don’t want to have to hit you over to head with fee after fee. They want reliable suppliers that are successful and profitable, right,

Greg White (12:32):

Greg? They do. And you know, Walmart, let us not forget, is still the largest retailer on the planet, this planet Earth. We don’t know about other planets yet, but we know they’re the biggest on Mars. ’cause nobody’s on Mars, but they’re biggest retailer on the planet. And their e-commerce is growing faster than anyone else on the planet, faster than Amazon, faster than Alibaba. Now they’re all much, much larger, of course. But recall a few years ago, pre Covid, they bought jet.com, which was an up and coming retail e-com platform marketplace to challenge Amazon. And no one or no one is more equipped to challenge Amazon than Walmart. They are today’s retail innovators and there’s a lot of power in being networked into their marketplace. Well

Scott Luton (13:22):

Said.

Greg White (13:22):

And especially in this economy because more and more people are starting to shop at Walmart because of the economic conditions in the states. A lot of people are moving to Walmart because of not just the perception of low prices, which is true, but of the reality of low prices and frankly the efficiency of their supply chain. Yep. We’ve talked to some of Walmart’s execs about that.

Scott Luton (13:43):

Well said Greg, we sure have doing some really cool innovative things. And I gotta tell you, as a regular customer, I pop in there once a week, once every couple weeks. I think your customer service is getting better. I really do.

Greg White (13:54):

Well, the scenery in the stores is hilarious. I mean, what you see in the stores, we’ve all seen whatever of Walmart picks of Walmart or whatever they call that. It’s kind of a free for all in there. But I’ll tell you what, they do have a lot of stuff. I mean, they are probably, you know, we talked about whether Macy’s would go the way of Bed Bath and beyond. I mean, you can buy everything you could have bought at Bed Bath and Beyond in a Walmart store. And I say that as a former Walmart hater, right? I hated what they did to the landscape when they would come in and put in one of those a hundred thousand foot stores and all that sort of thing. But the utility of of a retailer like Walmart is undeniable. Their ability to innovate and to bring retail to places where it has not been previously, and to bring affordability to places that truly need it or desire it. It’s not that infrequent that you see a Mercedes or two parked outside of a Walmart store these days. Honestly. That’s true. So they are a force to be reckoned with and a a great leverage point if you’ve got a product that you want to get into. Retail.

Scott Luton (14:55):

Excellent points there, Greg. And of course all those big successful retailers like a Walmart, depend on their suppliers. Check out this. If you’re interested in this kind of stuff, you interested in optimizing your performance, avoiding fees, getting sustainably better, getting paid now while you’re getting better, check out this webinar on demand from September. Okay, Greg. Moving right along our third story, we’re gonna have a little fun with our fourth story. So y’all stick around. We’re gonna be talking adult beverages and New Year’s Eve coming up for our fourth story. But before we do there, we gotta do our homework here on this third story, which is all about newly released manufacturing industry data for November. Now, Greg, stick with me here. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, you know, I can’t handle more than a couple decimal points, so I’m gonna try not to lose myself here. According to the Federal Reserve manufacturing output in the US Rose 0.3% last month, November, which just missed a 0.4% increase that many economists thought the sector would hit a big chunk of the gain was the automotive industry getting back to normal after the highly disruptive labor strikes.

Scott Luton (15:56):

In fact, if you take motor vehicles and parts out of the equation for the November numbers here in the states, the US manufacturing industry decreased 0.2% in year over year numbers. Overall factor of production is down 0.8% in November, 2023 versus November, 2022. But there’s a little bit of good news, Greg, A little bit of good news if you go looking for it. A few specific markets have shown strength and boosts in production. They are computer and electronic products, aerospace, communications, equipment, semiconductors, which probably an obvious one for many and mining to name a few. Now of course, Greg, we’ve talked about it, we’ve got our eye on it. A lot of business leaders out there in the manufacturing industry and elsewhere are keeping a close eye on the potential for the Fed to roll back some of those interest rates hikes in 2024. We’ll see. But Greg, your thoughts on what we’re seeing out across manufacturing?

Greg White (16:48):

Yeah, well, you know, the, like you said, the underlying trend is still softening, right? And automotive manufacturing isn’t questionably going through a peak because they have pent up demand and pent up production because of these strikes. So once that levels out, I don’t know what that will mean for manufacturing generally, but it’s unquestionable that the economy is slowing and consumers are tightening their belts. So, you know, I don’t know about manufacturing in total. I feel like that’s going to slow. I feel like automotive could lift that up because it was so hard to get a car for so long. And banks are holding back on selling the masses of repos that they have, from what I’m hearing from a lot of dealers. So there are a lot of used cars that are not on the market because the banks wanna wait until their fiscal year is over before they dump all these dead assets on the marketplace and crush their stock prices.

Greg White (17:43):

I don’t know what that will mean, but car prices already starting to come down, at least they’re negotiable again. So the market is filling back up there. And you know, as is typical, we talk about the whiplash effect a lot in supply chain. As is typical, the automotive companies will get their production running again just in time for a downturn or you know, a slow down at least. So I’m concerned from that standpoint, but I think there’s a lot of necessity in what’s coming. And we don’t know what the feds will do because the feds don’t know what they will do. One fed president says four reductions next year, one says two, one or two or three say wait and see, we haven’t seen inflation recede yet. They keep representing it like it’s receding. The pace of growth of inflation is slowing, but inflation is not receding yet.

Greg White (18:34):

We have not seen prices turn down yet, and we got a little bit higher bump than, you know, last month than we expected. So there’s just a lot of cross signals. Everybody’s got a, an opinion. I saw literally opinion, Scott, from different investment banks, the s and p 500 as low as 3,300 at the end of next year and as high as 5,800. That is a pretty big delta between people with equivalent capability to analyze the stock market. Wow. And you know, a lot of that is dependent on what their take is on the impact of rate hikes and whether those are built in and whether the economy will slow slowly or slow rapidly or even begin to slow. And part of the challenge is because as inflation continues to raise prices, even as consumer demand slows, it doesn’t slow the overall growth of the economy as rapidly because prices continue to rise.

Greg White (19:33):

So I think you have to look at unit sales as well as dollar sales to determine what the pace of the consumer is out there to determine what will happen along with all of those other factors. I hope everybody is as confused as I meant for that to be <laugh>, because this is what economists go through and this is what investors go through and this is what the federal bank goes through to try and analyze all this. And you can see where there are so many inputs, it’s very, very difficult to determine. But in the end, as I always say, the supply chain and I would argue the economy begins and ends with the consumer. So as goes the consumer. So we’ll go manufacturing, so we’ll go pricing EG inflation and so will go the economy.

Scott Luton (20:17):

So Greg, all of that to our final story of the, I told y’all we’re gonna have a little fun, I think and hopefully not make too many people sick with this fourth story because you know, we’ve got New Year’s Eve coming up, Greg and many folks, perhaps all the amateurs though, I’m just gonna put that out there, Greg. All the amateurs maybe are gonna be stocking up on their favorite adult beverages to celebrate the holidays. Yeah. Now there’s gonna be a unique addition to the wealth of choices to select from in this interesting collab, PepsiCo and Spirits maker empirical teamed up to produce a new spirit that tastes like, hang on a minute, is this right? Doritos Nacho cheese Dip. Wow. In fact, empiric Rico’s website says new beverage captures quote all the indulgent flavors of your favorite nacho cheese in liquid form in quote. But Greg, it ain’t cheap like Taco Bell is, it’s gonna set you back 65 bucks for a seven 50 milliliter bottle of a nacho cheese flavored spirit. So Greg, question for you, would you be up for a shot of this or is that a hard no. Your thoughts?

Greg White (21:22):

I despise flavored booze. I don’t like fireball <laugh>, I don’t like flavored vodkas or whiskeys. Well, I shouldn’t say that Scott, because there is only one flavored booze that I like and that is moonshine, what they call Lady shine, which I’m not afraid to explore my feminine <laugh> flavored moonshine because moonshine is basically like drinking, rubbing alcohol to me and having a flavor in there makes it consumable. So I love apple pie, right? There are a few others. Granddaddy Mimms, you know, we your father-in-Law. We’ve had may have had a few sips of Granddaddy Mimms. That’s right. Flavored shines and those are quite good. But aside from that, I’m not a big fan. I really feel like they’ve missed the mark with Doritos. It feels like in this age that we’re in that Doritos flavored weed would be not only a lot more appropriate, but a lot more efficient because you could arguably cure the munchies while you’re smoking dope <laugh>. So I’m not sure why somebody didn’t go that way. But no, I think this one in particular is possibly the most disgusting thought I’ve had around a flavored alcohol ever. I think it’s a terrible idea, but you know, somebody will do it.

Scott Luton (22:38):

That’s right. I do not disagree with you, Greg. I’d add this, I don’t disagree with any of y’all, but I would be willing to do just one taste, but I ain’t gonna do it for 65 bucks for the be stuck with the bottle. Yeah. Which no one else will probably want to mix a drink. I should have checked out Greg, what they’re serving suggestions, you know, I wonder how they’re proposing you mix it with, or you know what? What do you think, Greg? What comes to mind?

Greg White (23:05):

Yeah, that’s a great question. I mean, maybe it’s a nice compliment to taco meat. I’m not sure. Yeah. What other than weed, what do you usually eat? Nacho? I mean, Dorito. No, I don’t mean you personally. <laugh>. Right? For any of you who smoke weeded out there, let us know. What do you eat along with Doritos when you’ve got the monkeys, whatever that is would be a great compliment. That’s

Scott Luton (23:26):

Right. Right. That’s the $65 question. So hey, PepsiCo out there, empirical out there. Hey, prove us wrong. Shoot us a bottle, we’ll kick the tires and give you some feedback maybe. Ugh.

Greg White (23:38):

No we won’t. You’ll I won’t. Nothing is gonna get me to drink that. Alright,

Scott Luton (23:43):

Fair enough. Fair enough. All right. Right folks, man, this has been an incredible year. You know, as we’ve shared on the front end of the show, this is the last buzz for 2023, at least in content generation form. Mm-Hmm. There’s some other buzzes I think will be involved over the next couple weeks, but it’s been a wonderful year here at Supply Chain now a record breaking year in many ways. Yeah. And Greg, you know, beyond our team and the whole supply chain global fam, of course we’re very thankful for all of our audience members out there that have chimed in. Just like all the, our great friends here, Gary and Alan, t Squared, pb, Gloria, Mar, mark, you name it. All the folks out there, you know, y’all, the reason we do this and to have all of you out there and more and more every day come with us on this journey. Yeah. We’re very, very grateful. So Greg, what else would you add to that?

Greg White (24:29):

Yeah, well, I mean, we love to share our time, our knowledge, our opinions, insights, whatever you wanna call it with you. And we love to get ’em back from you. We have such highly informed, educated, thoughtful, innovative, open-minded audience all the way around the world that it’s a lesson for us every time we get on the air as well. Right? I think, you know, sharing this really amazing craft with people all the way around the world and talking about where it’s going and how it’s impacted and how it is impacting business and the planet and people is so satisfying and still interesting though not as interesting as right after the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. Had to mention that one final time before Right. Crash into the new year. You know, I think that supply chain really matters. And as we’ve experienced as, as some of our research has shown, supply chain has the biggest impact on a brand, on its contributions, on its impact and on its profitability and top line and brand identity of any aspect of the business. Sales promises, supply chain delivers. Right? Where did that come from? I like that. Just thought I’d turn those things off, man. <laugh>,

Scott Luton (25:45):

<laugh>, sales promises, supply chain delivers.

Greg White (25:49):

Well, I mean, it’s true, right? I mean, and, and you don’t build a brand or brand reputation or brand identity or brand value without delivering. You can’t just promise that’s right to be Coke. It really has to be the real thing <laugh>, right? That’s not just say it’s the real thing.

Scott Luton (26:07):

So true, Greg. So true. Eloquently stated as well. Alright, so folks, as we wrap up a little bit earlier here today, thank y’all again for being with us in Journey. Big things, big, big, big, big things ahead. 2024 is gonna be an exciting year on so many levels here at Supply Chain now and beyond. Big thanks to our entire team here that makes this possible. Big thanks to our audience out there, Greg. I’m gonna challenge, you know, we got a standard challenge, but I’m gonna challenge y’all with one little thing here during the thick of the holiday season. And we wrote about this the other day, this little phrase we’ve got, which has become a bit of a mantra to try to help center ourselves during the toughest of days when people are making us crazy. We all deal with that. We all deal with some degree of crazy during the holiday season, right?

Scott Luton (26:44):

But PTK, every day, patience, tolerance and kindness, try to approach those folks out there. You never know what the person serving you coffee or bringing you food or just your colleagues are going through mm-Hmm, <affirmative>. So practicing a little PTK every day is a great best practice. And with that said, Greg, folks, don’t sleep on us. We’re not closing, we’re just flipping to the next year. We’ve got tons more great content. Greg and I are back in the studio this week with two great interviews, right? But whatever you do, folks, whatever you do, Scott Luton, Greg White, our whole team, challenging you to do good, to give forward and to be the change that’s needed. And we’ll see you next time, right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (27:26):

Thanks for being a 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.

 

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

The founder of Logistics Executive Group, Kim Winter delivers 40 years of executive leadership experience spanning Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Corporate Advisory, Motivational Speaking, Trade Facilitation and across the Supply Chain, Logistics, 3PL, E-commerce, Life Science, Cold Chain, FMCG, Retail, Maritime, Defence, Aviation, Resources, and Industrial sectors. Operating from the company’s global offices, he is a regular contributor of thought leadership to industry and media, is a professional Master of Ceremonies, and is frequently invited to chair international events.

He is a Board member of over a dozen companies throughout APAC, India, and the Middle East, a New Zealand citizen, he holds formal resident status in Australia and the UAE, and is the Australia & New Zealand representative for the UAE Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), the Middle East’s largest Economic Free Zone.

A triathlete and ex-professional rugby player, Kim is a qualified (IECL Sydney) executive coach and the Founder / Chairman of the successful not for profit humanitarian organization, Oasis Africa (www. oasisafrica.org.au), which has provided freedom from poverty through education to over 8000 mainly orphaned children in East Africa’s slums. Kim holds an MBA and BA from Massey & Victoria Universities (NZ).

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

Joshua is a student from Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Communication and Digital Media. His experience ranges from Plug and Play México, DearDoc, and Nissan México creating unique social media marketing campaigns and graphics design. Joshua helps to amplify the voice of supply chain here at Supply Chain Now by assisting in graphic design, content creation, asset logistics, and more.  In his free time he likes to read and write short stories as well as watch movies and television series.

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

Donna Krache is a former CNN executive producer who has won several awards in journalism and communication, including three Peabodys.  She has 30 years’ experience in broadcast and digital journalism. She led the first production team at CNN to convert its show to a digital platform. She has authored many articles for CNN and other media outlets. She taught digital journalism at Georgia State University and Arizona State University. Krache holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. She is a serious sports fan who loves the Braves. She is president of the Dave Krache Foundation. Named in honor of her late husband, this non-profit pays fees for kids who want to play sports but whose parents are facing economic challenges.

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Vicki White

Controller

Vicki has a long history of rising to challenges and keeping things up and running. First, she supported her family’s multi-million dollar business as controller for 12 years, beginning at the age of 17. Then, she worked as an office manager and controller for a wholesale food broker. But her biggest feat? Serving as the chief executive officer of her household, while her entrepreneur husband travelled the world extensively. She fed, nurtured, chaperoned, and chauffeured three daughters all while running a newsletter publishing business and remaining active in her community as a Stephen’s Minister, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer, licensed realtor and POA Board president (a title she holds to this day). A force to be reckoned with in the office, you might think twice before you meet Vicki on the tennis court! When she’s not keeping the books balanced at Supply Chain Now or playing tennis matches, you can find Vicki spending time with her husband Greg, her 4 fur babies, gardening, cleaning (yes, she loves to clean!) and learning new things.

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Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

Katherine Hintz, MBA is a marketing professional who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Kim Reuter

Host, The Freight Insider

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Demo Perez started his career in 1997 in the industry by chance when a relative asked him for help for two just weeks putting together an operation for FedEx Express at the Colon Free Zone, an area where he was never been but accepted the challenge. Worked in all roles possible from a truck driver to currier to a sales representative, helped the brand introduction, market share growth and recognition in the Colon Free Zone, at the end of 1999 had the chance to meet and have a chat with Fred Smith ( FedEx CEO), joined another company in 2018 who took over the FedEx operations as Operations and sales manager, in 2004 accepted the challenge from his company to leave the FedEx operations and business to take over the operation and business of DHL Express, his major competitor and rival so couldn’t say no, by changing completely its operation model in the Free Zone. In 2005 started his first entrepreneurial journey by quitting his job and joining two friends to start a Freight Forwarding company. After 8 months was recruited back by his company LSP with the General Manager role with the challenge of growing the company and make it fully capable warehousing 3PL. By 2009 joined CSCMP and WERC and started his journey of learning and growing his international network and high-level learning. In 2012 for the first time joined a local association ( the Panama Maritime Chamber) and worked in the country’s first Logistics Strategy plan, joined and lead other associations ending as president of the Panama Logistics Council in 2017. By finishing his professional mission at LSP with a company that was 8 times the size it was when accepted the role as GM with so many jobs generated and several young professionals coached, having great financial results, took the decision to move forward and start his own business from scratch by the end of 2019. with a friend and colleague co-founded IPL Group a company that started as a boutique 3PL and now is gearing up for the post-Covid era by moving to the big leagues.

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kevin Brown is the Director of Business Development for Vector Global Logistics.  He has a dedicated interest in Major Account Management, Enterprise Sales, and Corporate Leadership. He offers 25 years of exceptional experience and superior performance in the sales of Logistics, Supply Chain, and Transportation Management. Kevin is a dynamic, high-impact, sales executive and corporate leader who has consistently exceeded corporate goals. He effectively coordinates multiple resources to solution sell large complex opportunities while focusing on corporate level contacts across the enterprise. His specialties include targeting and securing key accounts by analyzing customer’s current business processes and developing solutions to meet their corporate goals. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Jose Manuel Irarrazaval es parte del equipo de Vector Global Logistics Chile. José Manuel es un gerente experimentado con experiencia en finanzas corporativas, fusiones y adquisiciones, financiamiento y reestructuración, inversión directa y financiera, tanto en Chile como en el exterior. José Manuel tiene su MBA de la Universidad de Pennsylvania- The Wharton School. Conéctese con Jose Manuel en LinkedIn.

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Nick Roemer has had a very diverse and extensive career within design and sales over the last 15 years stretching from China, Dubai, Germany, Holland, UK, and the USA. In the last 5 years, Nick has developed a hawk's eye for sustainable tech and the human-centric marketing and sales procedures that come with it. With his far-reaching and strong network within the logistics industry, Nick has been able to open new avenues and routes to market within major industries in the USA and the UAE. Nick lives by the ethos, “Give more than you take." His professional mission is to make the logistics industry leaner, cleaner and greener.

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.

She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Tandreia Bellamy

Host, Supply Chain Now

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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Greg White

Principal & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include CiscoMicrosoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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