Supply Chain Now
Episode 1030

If you have a good supply chain and you don't focus on the disruptions that you'll face, but you focus on the fragility that exists in your supply chain, any disruption will have less impact if your supply chain is less fragile.

-Greg White

Episode Summary

With so many global forces affecting the supply chain, which do you focus on first? Reshoring: the way of the future or a path to new problems? And is it time for all of us to dump the internal combustion engine and go electric? Tune in to this week’s Buzz as Scott and Greg ask the tough questions and tackle today’s top headlines in the supply chain.

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:00:03):

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 (00:00:31):

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

Greg White (00:00:40):

Yes, wherever you are, wherever that may be,

Scott Luton (00:00:43):

<laugh>. So you are still in Kansas City, is that

Greg White (00:00:47):

Right? Yeah, in fact, not just for football. So, uh, today I’m attending a conference called Mid by Midwest. It’s kind of the Midwest version of South by Southwest. So maybe a little bit more stoic and uptight, but still a fun collection, hopefully fun collection of, um, entrepreneurs and founders and, uh, venture capital firms and other leaders, and mostly the tech space. So we’ll see. Maybe I’ll give you a review of the first day tomorrow, Scott, during our, uh, webinar livestream.

Scott Luton (00:01:23):

Sounds great. With, with, uh, with Shannon from Rate Links. Yeah.

Greg White (00:01:26):

Yeah, that’s right. Oh, man. Yeah, don’t miss that, by the way.

Scott Luton (00:01:30):

It’s gonna be good stuff.

Greg White (00:01:32):

Yeah, but I, I’ll, I’ll give you a little bit of review there. That’ll be interesting to Shannon. No, it won’t be at all, but we’ll make him sit through it.

Scott Luton (00:01:41):

<laugh>. Well, you know, uh, as we were sharing pre-show us, uh, beyond all of that, it looks like you and I are tier, uh, teed up to have a midterm discussion in our blue and red <laugh>. So, who won? Who didn’t? And man, I’m not sure,

Greg White (00:01:55):

Right? I don’t, I don’t know which, which color I wanna be wearing right now.

Scott Luton (00:01:59):

You know, I meer and, uh, I’m gonna keep on, Let’s talk about supply chain instead of politics today. How about that? Does that sound like a plan?

Greg White (00:02:07):

I think there’s one thing we should all be able to agree on, and that is gridlock is not the problem. Gridlock is our only hope.

Scott Luton (00:02:16):

<laugh>, let’s go with that.

Greg White (00:02:19):

Right?

Scott Luton (00:02:20):

So moving right along here today, today, folks, is the supply chain buzz power by our good friends at Six River Systems, doing some awesome things from automation and making, making industry happen, uh, better and faster and, and yeah, better, better for your people as well. And Chuck. Oh, and Chuck, right? Um, you know what, Chuck should have made an appearance today. You know, we,

Greg White (00:02:43):

You know, we could’ve, we, you know what? We need a little video of Chuck if we’re gonna, if we’re, if they’re gonna sponsor this thing, maybe like a little even a still shot or a video of Chuck doing his thing.

Scott Luton (00:02:52):

Let’s

Greg White (00:02:52):

Get on on that.

Scott Luton (00:02:54):

Well, Greg, with, with lots of reliability, folks can learn more about Six River systems@sixriver.com, and I’m sure you’ll have plenty of videos there about Chuck in action. So, uh, we’re gonna say hello to a few folks in just a minute. Uh, again, today is the SAP supply chain buzz coming at you every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time, where we walk through some of the leading stories across global business. And we give you our take, whether you like it or not, sometimes <laugh>. Um,

Greg White (00:03:26):

So he’s talking about my take folks.

Scott Luton (00:03:31):

Uh, Greg, own the money, man. You are, own the money today. Well, hey folks wanna share a couple quick announcements and then we’re gonna say hello. I see Jonathan and Shelly and No, and many others. Um, alright, so first up, folks y’all may know on the US Bank Freight Payment Index for third quarter, 2022 came out a few weeks back, tons and tons of insights on the domestic freight market, right? Really looking at, uh, shipping volume and spend. And you know what Greg, some of the best news out there is, it’s free. It’s free to sign up and email to you each quarter. You go to freight.us bank.com and, uh, you dive in and you’ll, you’ll be smarter from having, um, read and reviewed this, uh, quarterly report. Greg, your favorite part about the freight payment index.

Greg White (00:04:21):

And see what real practitioners who are say, who are facing the same issues that you are, are taking from this and using to involve or to improve their businesses. And I think the other thing you gotta think about is, in these inflationary times, anything that’s free, go and get it just in case <laugh>, you can sell it on eBay or something.

Scott Luton (00:04:44):

Uh, <laugh>, very true. That’s, that’s a great strategy, right? Uh, great.

Greg White (00:04:47):

Get the free stuff. It just makes you feel better to get some free stuff after you’ve been to the grocery store. My word,

Scott Luton (00:04:54):

Man, you’re not lying. Uh, again, I can’t get over butter. Butter’s up 27% over last year, and you put butter on everything in your Thanksgiving meal. You know,

Greg White (00:05:05):

Eggs are the, are my, in my, uh, view right now. Eggs cannot believe how much it costs.

Scott Luton (00:05:15):

Well, we’re gonna do, So next Monday, uh, you know, the Monday before Thanksgiving, we’re gonna do a, a Turkey day analysis of what this meal looks like, uh, for 2022 in terms of cost. Some folks will be financing, uh, Thanksgiving meal dinner. Yeah. Right? Um, okay, so let’s move all, move right along. I wanna share, uh, with that said, right? So we’ve been talking about this LinkedIn newsletter for, um, well, probably about three months now. Uh, it drops every Saturday morning. It’s really meant to be an aside other than all the stuff we already put out there from a supply chain, global supply chain perspective here. We talked about one of, uh, Greg and i’s our favorite things Oreos, and really the, the kind of a little bit of the story behind it, as well as some of the supply chain leadership behind it. Now, two quick comments, Greg. Um, yeah. So first off, many folks may not know that Oreo was really launched as the, um, like, uh, a, um,

Greg White (00:06:13):

Knockoff.

Scott Luton (00:06:14):

Yeah, thank you. A knockoff brand. It was, it was at the hydros. The hydros dominated the market at the time,

Greg White (00:06:20):

Man. Did people have bad taste in the 18 hundreds?

Scott Luton (00:06:24):

<laugh>

Greg White (00:06:25):

Oreos were way better than hydros.

Scott Luton (00:06:27):

So the Oreo Oreo cookies were launched, I think 1912, and it took ’em until about the fifties to really, you know, catch up revenue wise. And then, as you may know, Hydrox was eventually discontinued. Cause Oreo dominates as becoming a legend. But the other thing, Greg, is Sandra McQuillan, the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Monte Lee International, which is, uh, who holds Oreo, uh, uh, product and, and brand, uh, here for the last probably 10 years or so. She is retiring, Greg. And I gotta tell you, one of a kind, she’s a hall of famer in our book, right?

Greg White (00:07:02):

Yeah. The supply chain world is gonna miss her, but it’s hard earned. Um, and it’s, you know, it’s time for her to relax a little bit, so we won’t stop calling her will be Scott. But, but, we’ll, we’ll probably stop having her on the show. Uh, they’ve named her replacement. Forgive me. I read the article, but I cannot remember his name. I do know that he was, um, way up in her organization. So, and of course, you know what a great leader and teacher of humans she was. So I feel like the company’s in good hands. They’ve done a fantastic job in a really volatile time. They had their challenges like anybody else, but they did a fantastic job in a really volatile time. I think it took a lot of, out of a lot of people, and Sandra in particular. Um, but, um, yeah, I mean, you know, this company is strong, They’ll survive. And, uh, you know, Sandra’s gonna get some rest, which is good.

Scott Luton (00:08:01):

Absolutely. And, and speaking of her being a wonderful teacher, she’s had several master classes here at Supply Chain. Now, this quote came from one of her last ones. You can be as technically brilliant as you can be, but if you can’t make it work with other people, then what’s the point? So well said there.

Greg White (00:08:19):

There’s so many of those other ones. She had a come on down statement and I think the very first show she did on supply chain now, right? So if you wanna, if you wanna get involved in, you know, everything that’s going on in supply chain, that was, what, 2016 or 17? Something like that. Come on down, <laugh>. Love that spirit.

Scott Luton (00:08:37):

A dynamo, a dynamo, a tightening industry. And we’re gonna keep our finger on the pulse of what will be next. But as Greg suggested, hopefully she can unplug and take a deep breath because of all the mountains she’s been moving for quite some time. Okay? Finally, folks, uh, join in. We invite you to join in our efforts, uh, leveraging logistics for Ukraine, uh, as we’ve talked about here. And we try to keep a, uh, a finger on the pulse of, of true outcomes. Over 500,000 pounds of targeted humanitarian aid has already made it across to Ukraine and Poland in that area for families in need that really need it. We, um, what drives those efforts is a monthly pan planning session. The next one is tomorrow November 15th at 11:00 AM Eastern time. We’re dropping a link in the chat. We’d love for y’all to just come, even if you can’t, you’re not in position to give, come and hang out, uh, collect some market intel of what’s really going on there. And if you can, you’re are in position to donate anything, I’m sure Enrique in the Vector Global Logistics team will put it to work. Greg, your quick comment here about this initiative,

Greg White (00:09:39):

Well, I gotta tell you, if we, since we did touch on the midterms, midterms, I think if there was anything that I took away, is that the American people are, are willing to stand by Ukraine. There was a lot of talk about not continuing the effort to stand by Ukraine. I think it’s as important for us to, um, it’s as important for us to send Russia a message, um, you know, one of the most corrupt and dangerous governments on the planet as it is to stand by Ukraine. Cuz if, if we don’t stand by Ukraine, we don’t know who’s next, but there will be a next. So I think it’s important, right? And they’ve had some good news there, right? They’ve, the Russians have pulled out or pulled back from Kirson. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I’m not sure. I’m not saying that right. But, uh, so there’s progress being made for the efforts that we’re, you know, we’re providing. And I think it’s huge. And this is a, just a small way of, of doing it, right? And there are a lot of humans who are giving up time from their in, in Ukraine and outside of Ukraine who are giving up time from their business to, and their lives to, um, get all these materials to people in need. So that’s right. Totally worthwhile.

Scott Luton (00:11:00):

Definitely. Uh, so again, uh, as tomorrow at 11:00 AM Eastern time, the link to join is in the chat. And there’s no requirement you can come leave your video off, leave your mic off, and just listen and absorb the information. That’s perfectly fine. But we invite you to join our efforts. Um, okay. On a much lighter note, folks, you’re in, you’re in for a treat today because not only are we gonna talk about Russia, we’re gonna talk about China. Two of Greg’s favorite topics. And it always provides, must see tv. So y’all get ready, Um, <laugh>. All right, so let’s say hello. On that note, uh, Greg to a few friends here that are tuned in. Hey, Jonathan, great to have you back. Goat Tigers is lsu, Tigers are s e c West Champs. How about that,

Greg White (00:11:44):

Greg? Wow. Is that official? I guess it is, right? Man, that’s pretty impressive. Neat. So it’s looking like it’s gonna be LSU in Georgia in the dome

Scott Luton (00:11:55):

<laugh>. That’s gonna

Greg White (00:11:56):

Be a good one. I’m, I’m gonna have to separate from you on that day,

Scott Luton (00:12:00):

<laugh>. So, congrats, Jonathan. Looking forward to a great game there. Hey, Shelly, great to see you back. Love the head shot we shared with, with you last time. Uh, I bet it’s gorgeous and cold in Colorado about right, uh, Colorado, right? Right about now. What’d you think, Greg?

Greg White (00:12:14):

Yeah, I mean, they were talking about, uh, starting skiing about now in Park City. And depending on where she is, she’s on the proper, I don’t wanna say the right side, the proper side of the mountain.

Scott Luton (00:12:25):

Yep.

Greg White (00:12:26):

It may maybe time to bust out the, uh, Yeah. Park ski gear. Yeah. <laugh>. Oh, well, you know, the park is out cause it was probably 70, I just imagine in Denver it was probably like Kansas City. It was 70 last weekend and it was 18 this weekend.

Scott Luton (00:12:42):

Well, uh, stay warm Shelly, nor via LinkedIn, Great to see you. Let us know where you’re tuned in from. Brittany, have you here today. Hey, Gino from North Alabama is with us here today via LinkedIn. Great to see gp, uh, you know what I meant? The grab the pictures of him, uh, rocking. You know, he’s a drummer musician. I meant the grab one for today. So Gina, we’ll do that next, uh, next Wednesday. Gomar from gorgeous and sunny la a bit cold morning, but it’s warming up quickly. She says

Greg White (00:13:13):

Cold in LA is <laugh> laughable. I don’t know, they occasionally they’ll get a cold blast. They’ve gotten some of that in Arizona too, so, Right.

Scott Luton (00:13:24):

Um, as we mentioned, uh, folks, y’all go check out Six River Systems, doing some great things across industry, really cool things, especially from automation and, and really empowering your people, making their jobs easier. So y’all check that out. Um, also, the team, as I mentioned, dropped the, the link for a free, as Greg suggested. A a free freight payment index comes out every quarter, so y’all don’t miss that. Um, alright, moving right along. Let’s see here. Uh, David Glover from Minnesota via LinkedIn. David says, uh, snowy morning. I bet it is cold, really cold up there,

Greg White (00:13:56):

Right? It’s the beginning of the end. <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:13:59):

<laugh>. It’s

Greg White (00:14:00):

What’s cold

Scott Luton (00:14:00):

Up there? What a great game. Was that Minnesota and Buffalo? And didn’t Minnesota pull it

Greg White (00:14:05):

Out? Thank you to all of you Vikings fans for putting the chiefs in the driver’s seat for Home Field Advantage through the playoffs. Yeah, a great game. Just unbelievable. Justin Jefferson, that wide receiver. Theres is unbelievable

Scott Luton (00:14:21):

Man. Uh, Kim winner, the one and only Kim winner is here with us today. Greetings gents from the DP World Global Freight Summit in Dubai. Man, I bet he’s had, I bet he is having conversations with movers and shakers. Greg.

Greg White (00:14:35):

Well, I, I don’t know how many, He goes to so many events. I don’t know how he does it. He’s gotta be a bazillion miler.

Scott Luton (00:14:43):

<laugh>, I bet. So, uh, I bet he’s got like 17 diamonds on that, uh, Delta, uh, yeah. Uh, card of his, um, T squared Good Monday Foot folks. He says, Hook the cold slap ain’t jolton. Y’all bring on the nourishment. It is coming. It is coming. It’s coming. And, uh, let’s see here. Shelly is talking about, it’s really cold. She’s west of Denver. Ski areas are really close by. Oh boy. And she’s gonna be breaking out the park and the whole ski bit. Ski

Greg White (00:15:14):

Bit. Oh

Scott Luton (00:15:14):

Man, soon. How

Greg White (00:15:15):

About that? What a great time of year.

Scott Luton (00:15:17):

Gorgeous. Gorgeous, gorgeous. Um, okay, so I know we couldn’t get everybody, but welcome in. Hey, y’all keep the comments coming throughout the hour. We’ve got some really neat stories we’re gonna be walking through and, uh, we’d love to hear your, uh, your takes as well. All right. So Greg, are you ready to get down to, to, uh, to work here today?

Greg White (00:15:36):

I suppose so, yeah, let’s get to work.

Scott Luton (00:15:38):

Let’s do it, man. Let’s do it. Um, so first up, we’re talking about a familiar big brand name Stanley Black and Decker. So according to our friends over at Supply Chain Dive, the company is cutting some 50,000 SKUs as it transforms its supply chain. Um, now skew rationalization is nothing new, right? We, we’ve seen it for years, right? I mean, it’s been used for decades, uh, but we’ve seen a lot of it in the last few years. Now, one of the outcomes from the plan is savings in, we’re talking 500 million Greg. Holy cow. Now.

Greg White (00:16:12):

So that’s half a billion dollars. That’s a bazillion percent more than, than, um, like the founder of FTX is worth today,

Scott Luton (00:16:22):

<laugh>. Or maybe they could take some of those <laugh>. This is gonna be me, maybe that think take some of those savings and get a new sign there. New, exciting, you know, light bulb, neon and fueled sign. We’ll see. But, um, beyond the skew rationalization and that elimination plan, Stanley Black and Decker is also optimizing its physical infrastructure and distribution network with changes there coming in 2023. So Greg, I would love to hear your take on Stanley Black and Decker’s. Uh, big plan here.

Greg White (00:16:51):

I I am, the stunning part for me is that Black and Decker has 50,000 skews. That’s not parts or components. That’s 50,000 finished good products. Wow. What the heck could that be? I mean, okay, Stanley, right? So, you know that, you know, there’s, um, all kinds of measuring equipment and other tools and that sort of thing. Of course, Black and Derek are power tools, but 50,000 different items that is stunning and half a billion dollars worth of savings. My question is, we may have a Black and Decker exec watch this today, I know we have had in the last couple weeks, is where, where did that come from? And you know what, maybe we ought get ’em on the air. Cuz this is a really, I think this is a really interesting story and it’s, you know, practitioner side stuff that I think people could really get some value from. You know, we’ve talked, talked, we’ve talked to Sandra right at monies about their dramatic skew reductions and some other, um, brands. I think it’d be interesting to talk to somebody at Black and Decker, but

Scott Luton (00:18:01):

Agreed. I just wish, I wish I knew how to use more than seven of all those skews there. Great. But you

Greg White (00:18:08):

Talk seven

Scott Luton (00:18:09):

<laugh>, I’ve come a long way in the last year

Greg White (00:18:12):

Or two. A screwdriver

Scott Luton (00:18:13):

Hammer, we were talking pre show just to clear everybody in. Amanda, between the two of us, uh, Amanda is much better at, uh, working with Stanley Black and Decker tools and hanging stuff and building stuff than I am. It just, I, it didn’t, um, it didn’t follow me from my dad’s genes into, cause my dad’s great at that kind stuff too. But I’ve, I can do a nail and a hammer. I can use a ruler. But Greg, beyond that man, it

Greg White (00:18:42):

Challenging a lot of, So Scott’s specific fear is, is constructing his new standup sit down desk. But a lot of those, I mean, let melay your fear a little bit. Usually they provide you with the tools that you need. And it’s almost always 90% an Allen wrench, which is the easiest tool in the world to use. So fear, not good friend, You’re not, Thank you. You will make it. But I, I mean, I do think this is a really amazing, um, revelation. You know, the other question I have is why now 50,000 skews? And I wonder what that leaves them with. How many skews is that and you know, what has changed so much in such a short time? Or did they just sort of reach a brief, a breaking point like so many companies have? Yep. Um, but I, you know, I’ve always been, not always, since I’ve no longer been a merchandiser, <laugh>, or product manager in retail, right? I’ve always been an advocate of, of skew rationalization. They’re just way too many SKUs and the process of adding them is well more robust than the process of removing them. Mm. Um, so I first of all applaud them for doing this. And at the same time, I wanna know, what are these items and what took you so

Scott Luton (00:20:00):

Long. That’s right. Um, you know, and, and to your earlier point, uh, we have had, uh, a member of their executive team with us on some previous live streams, uh, making some great, uh, contributions. And I’ll tell you, um, Stanley Black and Decker has got quite a track record of, uh, of, of performance and mm-hmm. <affirmative> and continuous improvement. Uh, one of our, I was on a webinar probably Greg, I bet it was eight years ago. And we were hosting one of their, um, operational executives and they were talking about their, their path to the shingle prize, which of course, which is a prestigious, um, opex and continuous improvement type of, uh, recognition and, and and award. Um, so we’ll see how this shakes out and puts ’em in better shape to, uh, build on that track record. So we’ll see. Um, alright, so Greg, I wanna share a couple quick comments here. Lamar 42 degrees in LA this morning. How about

Greg White (00:20:53):

That? That is cold for la. Really cold. That’s,

Scott Luton (00:20:55):

That’s cold for any morning of mine at 42. That’s a cold morning

Greg White (00:21:00):

In la. You might have to put on a sweatshirt.

Scott Luton (00:21:03):

<laugh>, right? Uh, Natalie, Tune back in from Charlotte. We always enjoy your contributions as well. Great to see you here via LinkedIn. Uh, Jonathan, Greetings from Montreal. I’m a visitor from Columbia, uh, but I’m seeking new opportunities in the supply chain space. So, Jonathan, hey, welcome here today, share, share, share your contributions, and we’ll see, uh, you know, it’s good to get cross pollinated in this group here. Uh, great group here. Now, Amanda says it’s true she didn’t marry Scott for his handyman skills. Amanda. Oh man. She just, she’s just keeping it real this morning, huh?

Greg White (00:21:39):

But, but I mean, look at the skills that you present every single day. That’s probably what it was.

Scott Luton (00:21:43):

Thank you. Thank you very much. Jonathan says there’s so many skews associated with part record, uh, part record issues. Definitely agree. Uh, Greg, what’s

Greg White (00:21:53):

Part record? What’s that mean?

Scott Luton (00:21:56):

You know, uh, Jonathan

Greg White (00:21:57):

Clarify for us Dummies Jonathan

Scott Luton (00:22:00):

<laugh>, expand a little bit more on that. Yeah. Uh, Natalie says it’s a big number. Going back to the 50,000, the hardware industry is heavy owned SKUs. Now it says she’s been with three companies that have ranged from 3,500 to 8,000.

Greg White (00:22:13):

Yeah. Yeah. Mean if you, I mean, there are so many sections of hardware store. I’ve worked with Ace Hardware and True Value and, um, gosh, several that don’t even exist anymore. Big box stores, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of SKUs in a store. It’s hard to believe that one vendor still, to me, it’s hard to believe that one vendor could cut 50,000 SKUs and have anything left. So, I agree, cuz there are some, I mean, you know, it could be nuts and bolts or washers. All of that stuff adds up real, real quick.

Scott Luton (00:22:50):

Agreed. Agreed. We we’ll see. And, you know, we’ll see if we can’t get more, uh, more context behind what they’re doing over there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> in the weeks ahead. Okay, Greg, moving right along for the sake of time, I’m gonna pull up this, uh, story here. This should not just, shouldn’t surprise anybody really, but I liked some of the reporting and some of the storytelling within it. So as our friends over at Transport Topics reports, Onshoring Nearshoring trends continue to pick up the pace. Now, a variety of factors, as we all know, have fueled this movement, right? From costs to the pandemic, to supply chain challenges. I mean, really, you name it. Um, now Rosemary Coats was quoted in this, um, in this article quite a bit. She’s the exec, the executive director of the Reshoring Institute. So what do you think, Greg? You think she’s a big fan of reshoring in their shoring?

Greg White (00:23:40):

Yeah, of course. She,

Scott Luton (00:23:41):

So now Rosemary points to a 25% penalty tariff that’s also adding fuel to the fire. So I guess if you make it in China, make the stuff in China, you ship it to the us, you pay the penalty. Now, if you make it in Mexico and ship it to the us, not only do you avoid that significant penalty, but you can take advantage of other US MCA benefits. Now coat, where’s my coats also pointed to a couple of re, uh, recent reassuring winds say that five times fast recent reassuring winds, including a UK based water purification system manufacturer, which chose to, rather than expand their current prediction line in China to serve the growing US market, it’s growing US market. They just went and built a factory in Dallas. Love that. Finally, And Greg, I’m get your take here. John, Jan, you may, you may remember, uh, John Greg, he appeared with us as part of one of the, uh, freight payment index shows where we dove into those numbers. Oh yeah. Now John is a supply chain leader with SanMar. Now he was featured in Article two as SanMar has been making new sourcing decisions, which included setting up shop in Honduras, which is now home to the company’s biggest production facility. So, Greg, your thoughts?

Greg White (00:24:58):

Well, first of all, I’m not sure that a lot of companies were paying that 25% tariff because they were just dropping the goods in Mexico and then importing ’em from there, or dropping him in Vancouver and running ’em over the border. And that avoided the tariff. Um, now they did have to open another company, ah, to, you know, to make a transaction, I believe, to do that. I’m sure there were costs, there were certainly costs involved with that. But, um, I see two foundational problems with reshoring. One is the cost of labor, um, which is approximately between seven and 12 times the cost of labor in China. Even though, you know, logistics play into the cost there. Uh, the cost of getting it there once here, once it’s built. Um, and the other is the availability of labor. We have talked for years, Scott, about people staying away in droves from manufacturing jobs.

Greg White (00:25:54):

So are we really providing jobs? I don’t know, Um, if we can do it economically. I’m, I believe that’s a good thing. Honestly, I think this is just, um, you know, inflation in China has been substantial. And, um, this may be, this reassuring thing may just cement the prices at a much, much higher level. And we will have, we will have already accepted it by virtue of having experienced inflation. So I’m not sure how practical it is, and I don’t feel like it’s long term sustainable. I mean, we’ll find other markets. Our labor is too scarce and too expensive here. Um, Mexico is too unstable as a nation, um, Canada, you know, and, and a lot of their, a lot of their labor resources are coming here. So, um, I think there are a lot of problems with restoring, not to mention if we have to automate, you know, if we have to do automated, uh, production, guess where the robots come from?

Scott Luton (00:27:06):

China,

Greg White (00:27:07):

China

Scott Luton (00:27:08):

<laugh>. It’s like Kelly, Kelly says that she would pay Kelly Barner hosted do p and and she leads buyers meeting point and team member over at our art procurement. Kelly says, I would pay to watch Rosemary Coat, who is brilliant. And Greg discussed the risks of being dependent upon sourcing from China.

Greg White (00:27:27):

I, I’ll guarantee you that is at least one thing that we agree on is we cannot continue to be dependent, at least not as dependent as we are on China. And there are actually opportunities to get lower cost production in Southeast Asia, but there just aren’t enough. There isn’t enough space or infrastructure. Yeah. There’s not space or human beings to, to do the production at the level that is being done in China these days. I just don’t know exactly how they’re doing it. And China is currently buying Africa, right? Where, which is one of the only other places that there is available enough available labor or even a remote amount of a, of available labor. Um, so it’s, it’s gonna be tough.

Scott Luton (00:28:14):

It is. And and you, you make a great point. Vietnam doing some really, uh, uh, cool things here lately to expand, um, their manufacturing, uh, base. But what, what they can’t get away from though is China’s growing influence. And, and maybe call it belligerence. You know, that’s, that’s, it’s maybe tensions. Well, you’re right, I’m trying to be too diplomatic.

Greg White (00:28:38):

You’re you’re being diplomatic. It’s real belligerence. Scott. Let’s okay there. Now you don’t have to

Scott Luton (00:28:42):

<laugh>. Thanks man. Forgive me the cover. But you’re right. You know. And, and that’s, uh, that’s a 800 pound gorilla, um, in the room. Elephant or gorilla, I don’t know, one or the other. Maybe both.

Greg White (00:28:53):

Elephant in the room. 800 pound gorilla.

Scott Luton (00:28:55):

Thank you. Sorry. I’m, I’m mixing up my metaphors.

Greg White (00:28:58):

Yeah, I like that though. It’s an 800 pound gorilla. Riding an elephant in the room is what it is, because it is China is that big

Scott Luton (00:29:06):

<laugh>. Uh, well, and, and you know, you know, there they have been already, uh, flexing their, um, sociopolitical economic and military muscle and how’s that gonna play out in terms of how a lot of these sourcing decisions and how these other markets are gaining some ground. So we shall see Greg. Um, but it’s something to consider. Cause it will definitely come to the surface soon enough. Well,

Greg White (00:29:30):

I mean, it is at the surface, right? And China is not going to get better. They just elected their president for life, right? And, and they don’t care about their constituency at all.

Scott Luton (00:29:46):

Mm.

Greg White (00:29:46):

Right? I mean, this is all about governmental power and their plans are go far beyond supply chain or supply or manufacturing all the way to ruling the planet. So we have to be aware of that.

Scott Luton (00:30:00):

So I want to, I wanna put something out there, Greg, cause I think you and I are very similar in how we view this. Uh, you may be a bit more, um,

Greg White (00:30:10):

Uh,

Scott Luton (00:30:10):

Enthusiastic Frank, Frank maybe I’ll call it. Um, but folks, hey, let us know. Do you, do you agree? Do you disagree? Do you see it differently? We’d love to hear from you. And, and, and hey, if you disagree, I’d love to share that as well. It, it deserves a nice full conversation. No doubt.

Greg White (00:30:26):

I’d, I’d love to hear that there. <laugh> there is some, you know, some way of dealing with China that could be positive.

Scott Luton (00:30:34):

Agreed. Agreed. And by the way, uh, changing gears here, um, but nor I appreciate you sharing some information with Jonathan. You know, uh, talking about how supply chains totally changed after Covid 19. As, as, uh, uh, Jonathan from earlier was looking for new roles in, uh, the world of global supply chain. So one of our favorite things is seeing kinda the conversations amongst the sky boxes and the comments, uh, folks helping each other out. The

Greg White (00:30:59):

Biggest thing that’s changed about supply chain is people know what the heck it is. <laugh>, right? For the better, for worse,

Scott Luton (00:31:06):

Right? Is right. There’s no hiding, as Greg White likes to say. Yes. Okay, So I wanna take a quick aside. Uh, you know, we love sharing resources here and we’ve already shared a couple on the front end, uh, with the freight payment index and the course, the Ukraine, um, initiative. And hey, you know, folks far beyond going back to that, leveraging logistics for Ukraine far beyond of doing good, right? For people in need, The networking that, and the market intel gathering that you gained from that certainly helps careers and helps networks, you name it. Um, so speaking of resources, Greg, you and I had a blast on this webinar with our friends at Six Server Systems, right?

Greg White (00:31:46):

Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:31:46):

It was called How to Solve Three Common Peak Season Challenges. Now, we, you know, we went for about an hour, uh, with lots of, for whatever reason, lots of music and led Zep references throughout the hour. But some of the things we tackled were ways to empower your labor force to increase productivity, and as we mentioned earlier, make their jobs easier, make it more rewarding, and, uh, how to more effectively manage these seasonal spikes in demand that keep on keeping on. Um, and a lot more folks, we’re dropping a link to, uh, you check out this on demand replay this webinar in the chat. And Greg, if you remember, I know we, we’ve knocked out lots and lots of webinars and live streams and events, you name it since then. But what do you remember about this, uh, webinar with our friends over at Six River Systems?

Greg White (00:32:36):

Well, we’re in the stage of peak where it’s not whether you’ve got it here or not, or whether you’re gonna get it here or not, it’s whether you’re gonna get it to your customers, right? And fulfillment is the only thing you can still impact right now, because if you don’t have it by now or you don’t have it very close to being here, it’s already too late. So this allows you to fig to understand three ways to tackle the challenges that you face in peak for fulfillment. And I think that’s really, really important as we move through the year. We’ve tried to stage the things that you need to be thinking about now, right? In, in the moment that you can still impact for peak season. And that, and that this is one of ’em is how to make your people really, really efficient in the fulfillment exercise.

Scott Luton (00:33:23):

Love that, Uh, looks like we’ve already dropped a link there. Y’all can check that out and check out the replay. Very practical. There was case studies, I think Crocs, uh, was mentioned, uh, some of the work there and some of the results there. So y’all check that out. Um, Greg, what you mentioned, and before we jump back into a couple of stories ago, um, here at the, is it top of the hour or the bottom of the hour right now?

Greg White (00:33:45):

Bottom. Bottom of the hour bottom. Think about where the hands are facing.

Scott Luton (00:33:49):

Oh, you’ve told that four. I’m a slow learner.

Greg White (00:33:51):

The big hand is facing the bottom. So it’s, it’s the bottom of <laugh>. That’s how I figured it out.

Scott Luton (00:33:58):

<laugh>. So, um, but something you mentioned a second ago, kind of how we were, were trying to, um, educate kind of sequentially, it’s kind of one of the points you’re making. It reminds me of one of my favorite YouTube channels I’ve discovered for months now. Now I can see Amanda’s eyes rolling, and she’s not even, she’s around the corner from me. Is

Greg White (00:34:17):

It the guy who scams the scammers? Is

Scott Luton (00:34:18):

It No, no, no, no. That, Oh, that’s fascinating. But this is old school soul food, and I can’t say that really fast. Chef Jeffrey, Old

Greg White (00:34:28):

Soul.

Scott Luton (00:34:30):

I’m, we’re gonna have to have Chef Jeff on with us. But what he’s doing right now, and he’s gotta, he’s got a massive following. He’s millions of folks checking, you know, tuning in the watch him make, you know, cornbread dressing, stuff like that. But right now he’s sequentially showing people dish by dish, including some of the basics, like real Turkey broth and like cheese sauces for stuff you need that for. But he’s, he’s building over the, you know, started a week ago building to teach people how to make the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. And I’m gonna tell you, for someone that loves practical content, especially like no nonsense, you know, I’m gonna show you how to do it. It is wonderful. It is comfort food, no pun intended. Uh, and it makes you hungry too, Greg. So,

Greg White (00:35:13):

So Scott, while Amanda is building your desk <laugh>, you can build a soul food Thanksgiving dinner. How about that?

Scott Luton (00:35:21):

Uh, seriously. Oh, Gu,

Greg White (00:35:22):

You got the cooking gene, don’t you?

Scott Luton (00:35:25):

I, I do love cooking. I, I sure do. Um, and you know what, I’m gonna dare, I’m gonna see if Amanda or Clay and big, by the way, big thanks to Amanda and Clay behind the scenes and Chante Chantel for making today’s production happen. Uh, Catherine, good vibes to where you are. Hopefully you’re getting some good chicken noodle soup, but, um, we’ll see if they drop <laugh>. We’ll see if they drop the YouTube link to Chef Jeffrey. I’ll tell you, he’s, he is, uh, he’s genuine people and I’ve really enjoyed it. Okay, Greg, we have gone way off track here, but I

Greg White (00:35:57):

Golly, isn’t that what people tune in for though?

Scott Luton (00:35:59):

<laugh> <laugh>? I know. We’ll see, I

Greg White (00:36:01):

Think somebody should answer that. <laugh>, do you like it when you do this or not?

Scott Luton (00:36:05):

<laugh>. All right, folks, we’re getting back to the news. Yeah, this, this next story is I think, I think it’s my favorite of, of what we’re covering here today, because it really, you know, whether you agree or disagree, uh, Steve Banker is the author of this, this book here via for this article in Forbes. Whether you agree or disagree, it’ll stop and make you think. So, Greg, I wanna tee this up. Um, mm-hmm. <affirmative>, What, what it, what it really focuses on here, uh, Steve Banker via this Forbes article is Top Trends impacting the world of supply chain. He’s not, he’s not really talking about, um, um, you know, trends in supply chain. He’s really talking about forces that are impacting, uh, the world of supply chain moving in 2023. So I’m gonna list them all, and then Greg, I’d love for you to tell me and tell all of us what you think is gonna be the biggest one that business leaders should really be focused on.

Scott Luton (00:37:00):

Okay. All right. First one, inflation should surprise nobody. Second one, the pending recession, you could argue you could drop pending already. The third one, get this, and this is how Steve puts it. China is not a dependable partner. The fourth one is what he deems the interior supply chain really thinking, you know, visibility upstream and downstream, you know, first, second, third tier, and so on and so forth. Uh, ESG compliance, five and six, greenhouse gas reductions, and of course, with, uh, Cop 27 taking place in Egypt this week as a backdrop. Uh, we all know a lot of the, um, conversations going on around those last couple. Greg, out of all those, what’s one that we should really, really be focusing on?

Greg White (00:37:50):

That one?

Scott Luton (00:37:52):

<laugh>. <laugh>.

Greg White (00:37:54):

Um, gosh, I don’t know. I mean, I, I think, I don’t know how you focus on just one. Um, I would say you could combine green hound gas greenhouse gases into esg Yep. And make that one. But I, I mean, I think this, this is the problem with supply chain is you can’t focus on just one. I wish I could say one, Scott. I mean, every time you said a new one, I was like, that one <laugh>. Oh, nope. That one. Oh wait. Nope. All of them. So, um, I mean, this is the complexity and this is what makes supply chain so difficult to manage. If your sales suck, you can always say, We need a new, It’s, it’s easy to discern, at least it has been in my history. Yep. It’s easy to discern our sales people suck our sales method sucks, our sales messaging sucks, or something like that.

Greg White (00:38:45):

And go, We need to do better here, Right, Right. With this, because so many of these are external impacts. And, and that’s what Steve talks about a lot, is these are things impacting your supply chain because these are, uh, external impacts and every one of them produces a different kind of risk. And I believe that supply chain is a risk balancing exercise. I think you have to focus on all of them. What I think is really exceptional about this call to action by Steve is that he’s not talking to supply chain professionals. He’s talking to sweet C-Suite executives, Right? And just think about trying to even do that just three years ago, who would’ve listened? But now not only can you speak to these, these C-suite executives that some have no idea how supply chain works and shouldn’t by the way, but, um, but do now have an interest and are probably lost in what the hell do we do?

Greg White (00:39:50):

I think the thing you have to do is for your organization, you have to assess which of these is the top risk for your organization. And don’t focus on just one, but focus on them in descending order of risk to your organization, because inflation is gonna continue to persist through 2023. I just did a commentary today where fit ratings, um, said they expect the feds all over Europe and and the US to continue raising rates through Q2 of next year. And for inflation to persist at least through 2023. They’ve also said that a soft landing is now not possible. So recession is, you know, recession, unlike the brief and small recession we’ve seen so far is inevitable. Um, and there’s a cascading effect from all of those things. So, you know, definitely focus on the ones that that impact your business the most and maybe those that impact will impact your business the most recently or most approximately, and start tackling those.

Scott Luton (00:41:03):

Yep. Love

Greg White (00:41:04):

That. Look, if you have a, if you have a good supply chain and you don’t focus on the disruptions that you’ll face, but you focus on the fragility that exists in your supply chain, any disruption will have less impact if your supply chain is less fragile.

Scott Luton (00:41:20):

Yep. You know, whenever you say fragility, I shouldn’t, that takes me straight to the Christmas story for GLE as a father unpacks the, uh, the lamp I always think of

Greg White (00:41:33):

That’s Italian.

Scott Luton (00:41:34):

Now, did you? Yeah. Now did you know, um, not gonna get too far off, but the Christmas story, they’re coming out with a sequel, what, 40 years later on HBO Max. So, uh, that should be available next few weeks. So we’ll see if it falls the norm,

Greg White (00:41:48):

The sequel or a remake?

Scott Luton (00:41:49):

It’s a sequel. I believe it is. A little, little, little kid. Whatever his name was. It was grown up. Grown up, Yeah.

Greg White (00:41:55):

Oh.

Scott Luton (00:41:56):

So we shall see. Oh, awesome. A couple quick thoughts. So folks, again, check this readout. I think this is, uh, Steve Banker, if you’re not already, you ought to be follow him. Uh, he, he writes regularly in Forbes. You can also check him out across social. You’ll stop me.

Greg White (00:42:10):

He works for ARC Advisory. Yeah,

Scott Luton (00:42:12):

That’s right. Yeah, that’s good. Um, but a couple, couple thoughts here. Uh, I think when it comes to inflation, of course it’s, it’s on every, you know, the words and every sentence of every conversation these days because of how palpable and how real it is. But you know, beyond its impact on global supply chains and, and companies and business man, the impact on your people and your workforce, I mean, we really gotta keep that front in mind, you know, beyond, you know, years of additional pressure and pandemic, You name it, it’s like your people aren’t getting a break. So really, you know, keep that context. And then secondly, get the, what he said here about this, China is not a dependable partner. Uh, Greg, you know, you, you,

Greg White (00:42:53):

You, Oh, you, you were expecting me to really go deep on that. I was,

Scott Luton (00:42:55):

I think

Greg White (00:42:56):

We hit that pretty

Scott Luton (00:42:57):

Squarely. We have. I’m gonna, I’m gonna share a quote here cuz you use, you’ve coined this phrase aba, anyone but Amazon, which we really have enjoyed. No. Oh,

Greg White (00:43:05):

Yes.

Scott Luton (00:43:06):

He says, So Steve Banker says in this thing, he says, quote, when it comes to building new factories, the term ABC is being used anywhere but China. Yeah. Greg, you quick comment there.

Greg White (00:43:20):

Well, I mean, that goes back to the point that we are way too dependent on the most dangerous and corrupt, um, nation on the planet. And they don’t want us to succeed. I mean, they, they are completely self-interested. Their intent, as I said, is to rule the world. And any leverage point that we give them, they will use against us. And believe you me, they are decades ahead of us in terms of their plans. Right. So, you know, we, we think a five year plan is long range. They think a hundred year plan is long range. Right. And I can assure you they have ’em.

Scott Luton (00:43:58):

Yep. Agreed. Um, okay, so y’all check that out. Um, uh, as Shelly says, going, Yeah, not pending in terms of the pending recession, she says, not pending. Uh, Jonathan says, my favorite comedy show, Jonathan. I, I think that’s a compliment, I believe, but regardless, hey, we love that you’re part of our, our live streams and webinars regularly. Enjoy your, your contributions for sure. Um, she did it. Amanda or Clay or Chantel, one of ’em dropped in old school. Soul food folks, if you love to cook, uh, you gonna enjoy Chef Jeffrey. Lemme tell you,

Greg White (00:44:33):

I love to watch people cook. Does that count?

Scott Luton (00:44:35):

Oh, definitely, man. Definitely. And it’s not the stuff you get at like, uh, well, I was gonna say, not naming names. The food network has become like all personality and all competition, if you like, just real cooking and keeping it, you know, straight to, you know, what you’re trying to do and love. Chef Jeff,

Greg White (00:44:54):

What you’re saying is you don’t need artichoke on everything

Scott Luton (00:44:57):

Or that No fluff, no. Uh, you know, crazy personality that has limited food, real food and chef ability. I hate. That’s one of my least favorite trends and so much content these days. Uh, so y’all check that out. Let us know what you think. Uh, Greg, who knows? We’ll have to fly down to, uh, let’s see here. He’s in the hu uh, he’s in Katy, Texas, I think is where he is

Greg White (00:45:21):

Based. Oh, Katy, Texas. No kidding.

Scott Luton (00:45:23):

Um, alright, so next, Greg, getting back to supply chain. This was a really interesting read and and we don’t have time to take a full dive into what really a big topic here, but, uh, the Wall Street Journal was reporting on the ev global takeover. Goodness gracious. It’s like been overnight. Uh, it feels like, uh, and some questions though that it’s creating, including the main one you see here on, on their, uh, headline is the supply chain up to it. Meaning up to, you know, serving this new industry. Um, Greg, I’m not gonna unpack it too much. We don’t have a whole bunch of time, but Greg, your thoughts when it comes to ev when it comes to how global supply chains are, uh, supporting it, how consumers are, are embracing, it seems like in droves, general thoughts. Uh, your thoughts, Greg?

Greg White (00:46:10):

Yeah. I think they stopped short of what they should be asking, which is, is the planet up to it? Ah, you know, I I, my assessment is that we are trading one destructive fuel and storage source for another one. This is a physically destructive, it is physically destructive to mine, lithium to mine. Um, a rare earth minerals, right? And things, you know, things like cobalt and all of those things that have to go into these devices. And we’re forcing nations in North America to do it domestically where our supply doesn’t match. There’s a commentary, I’m sorry, I did it a week or two ago, where the head of, of this initiative for the United States of America says, We don’t hold any of these resources. We don’t mind any of these resources. We don’t even search for any of these resources. How could we possibly do it? And what they’re gonna do is they’re gonna force this.

Greg White (00:47:07):

They’re gonna force this into nations that are already being destroyed, um, by overin companies, countries like Chile and Argentina, which I happen to have a particular affinity for <laugh> being my family’s home country. I’d love to see it, not see it scraped off the face of the planet. Um, but I, but you know, most people don’t care because they’re third world backwaters that nobody really cares about. And we have long done egregious levels of mining of materials down in those countries, and it’s been hugely destructive. They are like the West Virginia of the Americas, right? Wow. We’ve allowed West Virginia to destroy in many places their landscape to search for coal. Right now, all we wanna do is just ship that overseas so we can feel better about EVs. And I think there is a way to do EVs. There is a way to do the materials that are necessary for them, or to develop materials that could substitute for these materials, which I’d much rather see, including the storage materials like lithium.

Greg White (00:48:12):

And I believe that there are init, there are some initiatives underway, and we need to focus more on that than continuing to scrape the skin off the face of our planet when what we’re trying to do is save the planet. I just think that’s, you know, is the supply chain up to it isn’t even the right question. That’s way too low level of a question. Is this planet up to it? Is the question, And, and the answer is unequivocally no. So how do we really make this, uh, sustainable and feasible means of shifting to shifting away from fossil fuel, uh, energy production and storage.

Scott Luton (00:48:52):

Outstanding. That’s what

Greg White (00:48:53):

You wanted about China, but you got it on this

Scott Luton (00:48:56):

<laugh>. I’ll take your

Greg White (00:48:58):

Goodness. You ask the wrong question. That’s just, you know, it’s not a supply chain question. Of course, the supply chain can go strip the mountains of Chile to their bare bones. Of course we can do that. But should we, is the question we ought to be asking?

Scott Luton (00:49:12):

Yeah, great point. Uh, and, uh, all of that, you say all the damage while consumers are thinking they’re doing the right thing for the economy, when actually it’s just the, it can be the opposite. Yeah. Um, so a couple quick thoughts, uh, for context, um, again, y’all, y’all take a read for yourself. We’ve dropped link in the chat. Wall Street Journal. It’s, it’s a good read. Um, get this, Did you know Greg, there’s 20 moving parts for EV vehicles versus 200 or more in, in an internal combustion vehicle. Electronics twice as many semiconductor chips, uh, in the EV versus, uh, internal combustion, some 13, uh, the way the article couched it, 1300, guess

Greg White (00:49:58):

Who hold guess who holds 75% of the stores or the, the whatever earthly access to those kind of components. China.

Scott Luton (00:50:12):

Wow.

Greg White (00:50:12):

You can’t get semiconductors without going through China.

Scott Luton (00:50:16):

And that, uh, that deserves its own show. Uh, what’s going on between the US and China and semiconductor and, and the position that’s putting, uh, companies around the world and, and how some folks are are getting around some of the, uh, new requirements and policies, What to save that for a whole nother, uh, conversation. But I think one of the interesting things, this is really young and immature industry. You know, some folks may not, may not think that the automotive industry as we know it, at least what’s gotten us here today is what, uh, a hundred years old, you know, 110 years old, roughly. I mean, it, it’s had forever to build the infrastructure and, and to build supply base and, and how business is done and how cars are put together and sourced and all that stuff. It’s gonna take, to Greg’s point, it’s gonna take a lot of time, uh, for this industry to figure out how to do things, uh, sustain reliably. First off, just reliably kind of going through the thrust of the, the, the gist of the article. But to Greg’s point, how can we do it truly and have it be a whole different game changer from oil and gas and internal combustion and, and all that that comes with. So Greg, a lot more to come on this story. I love your perspective. Uh, you know, folks, just, they’re not thinking of what is ev battery, all these batteries and what it’s doing to, uh, places around the, around the world.

Greg White (00:51:37):

We gotta think about synthetics, right? We’ve gotta think about synthetics. That is the solution.

Scott Luton (00:51:43):

Yep. Agreed. Let lemme tell you something else about batteries. Uh, as a consumer, as a consumer, I was in, um, a big do it yourself, uh, retailer over the weekend. Um, and I, I had to get some batteries. All I need is like two or three C batteries. They don’t, they don’t sell any batteries in small, You gotta buy like 20 batteries at a time these days. That’s where we are with C nine volts. Aa, doesn’t matter, does it? Greg? Greg, have you seen this too?

Greg White (00:52:14):

Yeah. The, I mean, this is not unlike what the auto part, the automotive companies, the OEMs have done. They don’t build the, the companies or they don’t build the cars with very few options on them anymore. Why? Because if they’re only gonna build a limited number of, of products, they’re gonna build the stuff with the highest gross margin, which is why company’s gross margins are higher than ever. Right. And why, Scott, you will have a year’s supply of fee batteries,

Scott Luton (00:52:41):

<laugh>. That’s true. It’s true. Folks, I’m going to the, uh, I’m going to the black market with C level batteries if you need some, let me know. I got it. Source he’ll,

Greg White (00:52:48):

He’ll split the pack for

Scott Luton (00:52:50):

You, <laugh>, Right?

Greg White (00:52:52):

Business back in the day. I’m sure it still is.

Scott Luton (00:52:54):

Uh, alright, a couple quick comments as we wrap up today. Uh, Shelly’s going back to your, you were talking about all the mining because we don’t have it today, she says. That’s right. It’s an illusion and hope those kids can mine faster. Yikes. And Shelly, that’s a great comment. Cause of what she’s implying and what Greg is implying is in certain parts of the world that’s exactly who’s doing the mining. Yeah. These kids, uh, and, and you know, it, it’s modern slavery and human trafficking so that we, that these minds can be fully staffed in many ways. And that’s a, that’s certainly a travesty, Greg, huh?

Greg White (00:53:31):

Yes, it is a travesty.

Scott Luton (00:53:34):

Um, and, and, and also speaking and, and, um, Amanda and Clay and Chantel, y’all probably aren’t gonna have time to find this article, but going back to, uh, Kelly Barner, uh, on, on a related note, Kelly Barner was with us earlier. I’m gonna bring her profile back up if I can find it. Cause y’all should, folks, y’all should be connected. If you love supply chain, especially procurement and great writing and analysis, you gotta connect with Kelly Barner. Here she is, right here. Um, Kelly going back to the N tier so that, uh, Steve Banker wrote about Greg and that article. Yeah. And the lack of visibility there. Well, that’s one of the many reasons why, uh, human trafficking, uh, modern day slavery, or why it can exist because we don’t have enough visibility. And business leaders aren’t asking oftentimes the tough questions to get that visibility into what your suppliers, of your suppliers, of your suppliers, how they’re making stuff. Right? It’s all interconnected. It really is. Okay. Um, let’s go to, Hey, Mervin’s, back with us. Mervin, great to see you and look at that new headshot. Greg, can you see that? Um, Mervin Good.

Greg White (00:54:45):

I’m Mervin <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:54:47):

I love it, man. Uh, he says hello, everyone from Dublin joining after a long time, but this time from YouTube, uh, EV parts supply is the tricky part. But the sales and demand is not cheap either. He ain’t lying. Uh, Greg. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, right?

Greg White (00:55:02):

No, he’s dead on. Uh, I mean the, there’s, uh, it’s a very complex scenario. So I’m sending this to Amanda so she can Okay. Show people this article that I wrote about it as well, so people can probably get a clearer picture of what my position is on it than what I’m saying here. Cause I don’t want anybody to think that I’m against EVs in any way. I Right. First of all, they’re faster than hell and they’re fun to drive and they handle like crazy because all, all of the weight is, is below the axles, so. Right, right. Um, I’m all, and, and by the way they say, I mean, they, uh, they’re much more friendly to the environment, but I, I think we have to do it the right way. Right. And, and, um, we don’t need to rush to find a new way to kill the earth. Mm. This is my concern.

Scott Luton (00:55:53):

Yeah. Well said. Well said. Um, and, and we’ll see A man in the team should be able to drop that link in the chat. Y’all check it out. Hey, Shelly says, uh, this is new for me. Uh, jaws of life cannot be used on EV unless there’s been some recent changes. Greg, that’s,

Greg White (00:56:09):

I did not know that. Yeah. Why is that, Shelly? I wanna know why that is. That’s fascinating, man.

Scott Luton (00:56:15):

Shelly is a fountain of knowledge as always, but especially today, Shelly. Keep bringing it. Um, okay. So Greg, we’ll we’re give uh, the team a second. Hopefully we can get that link up Y’all should check that out.

Greg White (00:56:26):

I texted it too early. Um, Sorry. Amanda

Scott Luton (00:56:30):

<laugh>.

Greg White (00:56:30):

I know, I know you’re busy.

Scott Luton (00:56:33):

<laugh>. Uh, so <laugh>, you know, over the, um, uh, as we’re starting to wrap here on today’s supply chain buzz, I’ll tell you a wide ranging, but man, no shortage. I really enjoyed the articles that we, we walked through here today. Um, you know, I saw over the weekend, of course, of the, as the FTX story has, has unraveled you and I chatted a little about that over the weekend. Um, uh, Mario Pawlowski, which is a wonderful follower, uh, person to follow across, uh, really cost social. He found this graphic, and I think it was, um, might be Fortune Magazine, you know, where they put their top 500 innovative business leaders. Well, uh, he put this graphic cause it was the leader of the F ftx was, uh, you know, top, uh, innovative business leader. And then right next was like the previous years, or maybe this from a couple years ago. And it was Elizabeth Holmes from

Greg White (00:57:28):

Theranos.

Scott Luton (00:57:29):

Yes. Theranos Hook. Of course, all that’s still pinned out

Greg White (00:57:32):

About to go to prison for 15 years for fraud, Right? It was Forbes, it was, Well one of those was at least Forbes because SPF Bankman freed, the FTX guy was on the cover of Forbes. Yeah, but, well, I mean, look, they wanna sell magazines. They, they’re not legally vetting this, right? By the way, total rumor. But, uh, rumor has it somehow $2 billion slipped out the back door. I saw that somewhere.

Scott Luton (00:58:02):

I saw that. Holy

Greg White (00:58:03):

Cow. Yeah. SBF is in The Bahamas. If anybody is looking for a buddy who has 2 billion, you may have found your guy.

Scott Luton (00:58:12):

I think everyone needs a buddy that has 2 billion of spin, right? Unless you

Greg White (00:58:17):

Got

Scott Luton (00:58:17):

20

Greg White (00:58:19):

Is kinda a drag

Scott Luton (00:58:20):

<laugh>. Well, folks, uh, what an outstanding, uh, show here today. Really enjoyed it. Greg reporting from the road there, uh, in Kansas City as the chiefs knocked off, the chiefs knock off. Anyway, this past week,

Greg White (00:58:35):

Jacksonville, Jacksonville, we tried to give ’em the game in the first half and they wouldn’t take it. So <laugh>, we decided to shame on them. Their guts out. Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:58:44):

Shame on them. But, um,

Greg White (00:58:46):

And again, thank you to the Vikings. Always a big Vikings fan. Feel a little bit bad about winning our first Super Bowl against the Vikings, but you’ll get another shot, I think. And it may be this year. They’re

Scott Luton (00:58:58):

Good. Get another shot. That’s right. That’s right. Uh, alright, so folks, uh, really have enjoyed, thanks everybody for tuning in and, and, uh, and contributing what great. Some great comments. I know we couldn’t get all of ’em here today, but y’all keep that good stuff coming. Um, you know, be sure to check out a great on-demand webinar, How to solve three common Peak Challenges from our Friends at Six River Systems. Of course, the link, link is already in the chat. Uh, you’ll enjoy that. Very practical, no nonsense and really a fun conversation. Uh, and look here, look here, look here. We got Greg’s posts. Folks, click on that. But I gotta challenge you <laugh>. I wanna challenge y’all though, chat. Drop your comments on that. Let let Greg know and our, our team here what you think, what your take is. That’s someone my, as much as I enjoy your, um, your commentary, Greg, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, man, the responses you get some of those need. The on TV shows,

Greg White (00:59:57):

Always read the comments. They are always incredibly thoughtful. I mean, people are always, um, adding to the story or you know, giving another perspective. And I love that I learn as much from the commentary as I do from researching for the articles.

Scott Luton (01:00:13):

Agreed, Agreed. Um, alright, so that’s, that’s a show today. We gotta gotta leave it there. Hey, from our entire supply chain, our family One Wish all the best. Uh, one of our favorites, uh, Sandra McQuillan, uh, the retiring chief supply chain officer with Monies International. Folks go check. You can check out what she’s done here or anywhere else. I’ll tell you. She is, she’s a special, special leader. Uh, the industry’s better off after what she has done, Uh, been moving mountains and, and taking care of her people and taking care of industry, um, uh, to our team. Thanks Amanda, Clay, Chantel, Katherine, everyone for making production happen. Thanks all y’all for that show up on these Mondays at 12 noon and bring it each and every time. I’m not talking about Turkey sandwich. You bring your perspective and your expertise and we really have enjoyed that. Greg. Always a pleasure knocking this out with you each week.

Greg White (01:01:02):

Likewise. And thank you for always bringing the good news.

Scott Luton (01:01:06):

Hey, we try,

Greg White (01:01:06):

Everybody’s tuned into you for good news, but man, you need to follow this guy. If you need some good news for

Scott Luton (01:01:12):

Sure. Uh, good news, How to cook <laugh>, who, who to actually, who to go learn how to cook from. I should say that. There you go. I’m an amateur. But regardless, uh, good news out there if you go looking for it. For sure, folks, whatever you do, hey, hopefully you find some of these insights actionable. Cause it’s all about the actions you take with the information you have, right? Deeds, not words. On that note, Scott and Greg, the whole team here challenge you to do good, to give forward and to be the change with that set. So next time, right back here at Supply Chain. Now. Thanks for bye.

Intro/Outro (01:01:44):

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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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

Greg White

Principal & Host

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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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Kim Reuter

Host

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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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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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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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

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

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

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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Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

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Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

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Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team

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Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

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Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

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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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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 & Host

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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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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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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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

Director, Customer Experience

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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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

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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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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