The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!
This week’s edition of The Buzz featured Scott Luton and special guest co-host Allison Giddens. They opened the conversation by sharing the latest edition of “With That Said,” Supply Chain Now’s LinkedIn newsletter. It highlighted Armed Forces Day by taking the opportunity to celebrate Supply Chain Now’s Veteran Voices programming, led by U.S. Army Veteran, Mary Kate Soliva.
In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Allison discussed:
• The long lead time and increasing cost of spare and generic airplane parts, estimated to represent a $35 Billion annual industry expenditure
• How 3D printing is keeping the Air Force’s largest cargo plane, the C5, in the air – and plans to do so through 2040
• Signs that U.S. manufacturers may be moving their sourcing activity from China to Mexico because full Made in America production is too costly
• What is means that generative AI ChatGPT is now connected to the Internet in real time
• And more!
Intro/Outro (00:03):
Welcome to Supply Chain. Now the voice of global supply chain Supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues, the challenges and opportunities. Stay tuned to hear from Those Making Global Business happen right here on supply chain now. Hey,
Scott Luton (00:32):
Hey. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, Scott Luton and special guest host Alison Giddens here with you on Supply Chain. Now, welcome to today’s livestream, Alison, how you doing?
Allison Giddens (00:41):
I’m good. I’m good. How are you?
Scott Luton (00:43):
It is great to see you here today, back by Popular Demand. Good
Allison Giddens (00:47):
To be here.
Scott Luton (00:48):
You’re on the other side. So I’m out, uh, let’s see here. East, west, north, south. I’m on the east side of the, uh, metro Atlanta perimeter. And you’re on the other side, right?
Allison Giddens (00:58):
Yes. And it only takes you four days to get from you to me in Atlanta traffic,
Scott Luton (01:03):
<laugh>. Hey, that’s progress. It was eight, eight a couple years ago, right? But, uh, anyway, great to have you here. Appreciate what you do there at Wintec, and of course, with the Dave Creche Foundation and a lot more. So we’ll try to touch on that towards, uh, the end of today’s show. But folks, welcome. It’s the supply chain buzz, as you may expect, a live show that comes at you every Monday at 12 in Eastern time. As always, Alison and I Alison’s sitting in Greg’s on assignment. Alison, we’ll call that Greg’s on assignment somewhere around the globe. How’s that sound, Alison? That
Allison Giddens (01:31):
Sounds super secret. <laugh>.
Scott Luton (01:33):
Okay. Uh, but as always, here on the buzz, we’re discussing a variety of news and developments that you gotta be tracking all the way across global business, global supply chain, and we want to hear from you. So use that, you know, share your, take your comments, your analysis, share what all that in the public chat and a k a, the cheap seats, uh, we wanna hear from you as well. And Allison, one other thing. So some of you, uh, listeners or viewers may be listening to the replay of the buzz. Hey, we encourage you to come out and try joining us live, uh, on LinkedIn, YouTube, or some other social media channel of your choosing. We’d love to hear from you. Okay, Alison, before we move right into, we’re gonna share some resources. We’ll say hello to a few folks, and then we are going to get through, I think we’ve got five stories to work through here today. So, uh, uh, Ji your Wheaties, Alison, think
Allison Giddens (02:22):
So? I think so. Let’s do this. Okay. I had a lot of coffee this morning, so, yeah. <laugh>,
Scott Luton (02:26):
I’ve been told, I’ve, I’ve gotta update that reference. If you remember, Alison, when, when you and I would go into elementary schools and talk supply chain back in the day, uh, I would say talk about Wheaties and we’d get all these blank stares from, oh no, the third, fourth, and fifth grader. So I’ve gotta update that. Uh, maybe, uh, fruity Pebbles,
Allison Giddens (02:44):
Lucky Charms, or, yeah. Fruity Pebbles, right? Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Scott Luton (02:48):
That is right.
Allison Giddens (02:49):
That’s, that’s a winner right there. Yeah. <laugh>.
Scott Luton (02:51):
All right. So I wanna, uh, start by sharing some resources here. Uh, so, um, many of our listeners and viewers may know we, uh, featured, uh, the US Bank team and along with, uh, G a f, senior Supply Chain Leadership, as we dove into the freight payment index for Q1 2023. As y’all may know, this free resource that comes out every quarter dives into, uh, freight volume and spend a lot of outstanding, not only supply chain observations, but economic observations, and then some. So if you want to sign up, get your free copy freight.us bank.com. It’s just that easy. And we’re also dropping the link there in the chat, so y’all can check that out. Alison, do you do any weekend reading?
Allison Giddens (03:36):
Oh, a bunch. A bunch. A bunch.
Scott Luton (03:38):
So what is, uh, well, I’ll talk, talk about what that said in a second, but what is, what’s been one of your favorite recent reads? We’re talking about y’all’s voracious reading appetite on the front end. What was one of your, uh, favorite recent reads?
Allison Giddens (03:51):
I think one of the ones I kind of keep coming back to is, uh, Dory Clark’s The Long Game, uh, talks about kind of strategic, long-term thinking, and I think that’s applicable to supply chain or whatever industry you’re in. It’s all about thinking about the, the next step. Not only the next step, but the ones after that. And really the big picture. So, oh,
Scott Luton (04:13):
I love it. A really,
Allison Giddens (04:14):
A really good book.
Scott Luton (04:15):
What comes to my mind as you shared that is critical thinking, you know, and how difficult, real, real, critical thinking can be. So it sounds like it was a great readout to pick that up. Speaking of, we were talking about your mother and all the Braves games she goes to. We’re talking about that in a pre-show. Well, hey, my mom is here, Leah Luton. She says, hello, Allison. Welcome to the Buzz.
Allison Giddens (04:35):
Hello, miss Luton.
Scott Luton (04:36):
We’re gonna have to get, uh, mom on one of these shows at some point soon. Uh, Vinke is here. Vinke great to see you here from, uh, Bangal, uh, via LinkedIn. Great to see you. Hi,
Allison Giddens (04:47):
Vinke.
Scott Luton (04:47):
And then Saed as well. Uh, Saed from Bangladesh, great to have you here via LinkedIn. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Uh, and hey, folks, we, we’d look to make it easy that back on the US Bank Freight Payment Index, we dropped a link. Y’all can click that and you’ll be having your own copy, uh, shortly, shortly. Uh, make, keep it easy, man. Easy button, Alison. We need more easy buttons in global supply chain, right?
Allison Giddens (05:10):
Uh, yeah, but then back to your point on critical thinking, right? <laugh>, you know, it’s, it’s tough. You want that easy button, but then you can’t go on autopilot all the time.
Scott Luton (05:18):
Oh, it’s so true. It is so true. Hey, Veit says, my critical thinking I do these days with chat g p t on my side, Veit. I love that. Okay.
Allison Giddens (05:27):
How do we know that he didn’t write that with chat G P t
Scott Luton (05:30):
<laugh>. That’s right. That’s a good question, Alison. Uh, speaking of, Hey, Donna Creche, Alison’s mom is here, too. Hey, Donna.
Allison Giddens (05:36):
It’s a mom festival.
Scott Luton (05:38):
<laugh>. Hey, Jerry, uh, tuned in via LinkedIn, uh, from Vinings. Great to see you as always, Jerry. And finally, T Squared, who holds down the Fort Force on YouTube, bring on the buzz nourishment. We got a lot here today. T squared. Okay, uh, I wanna mention really quick, over the weekend, we dropped our latest episode of, with that said, I think this is, uh, we’re, we’re approaching 40 editions. We’ve got about 20 already approaching. Yeah. Can you believe that you blank and you got 40 editions almost. We’re approaching 22,000 subscribers. Uh, so this one we really focused on a variety of things, but in particular, armed Forces Day, which was Saturday, and we took a minute to celebrate our Veteran Voices programming, uh, which is led by a US Army veteran, Mary Kate Saliva. And it’s our, uh, pro bono, uh, programming. We really are investing in ampl, the amplification of the veteran, uh, voice and, and their journeys and their challenges and, and their wins and successes.
Scott Luton (06:34):
So y’all check that out. Check out what that said. We dropped the link there in the chat. And check out Veteran Voices wherever you get your podcast. Uh, and finally, Allison, uh, we’ve got a, we’re gonna have you back tomorrow for a special event, but Wednesday we are featuring Market Dojo, and Dan Reeve with Esker is back with, it’s not Dan Reeves who used to coach the Falcons. Uh, all right, well, so Dan Reeve with Esker backed by Proper Demand. Uh, Greg and I will be hosting Con a conversation focused on, Hey, helping folks stay ahead of the curve when it comes to supply chain strain, supply chain strain. Alison, have you, have you, uh, experienced any supply chain strain over the last couple years?
Allison Giddens (07:14):
No, none at all. We, uh, we’ve figured it all out. Um, we have not made any mistakes. Um, oh, love
Scott Luton (07:21):
That. Really,
Allison Giddens (07:21):
That just, yeah. We take a magic eight ball, okay. And we shake it <laugh>, and then we say, where is our product? And then it says, please ask again.
Scott Luton (07:30):
<laugh>. I love that. It’s like a, it’s like the, uh, uh, poor folks version of chat, G P T, right? Yes. The Magic Eight Ball.
Allison Giddens (07:37):
Yes. Oh, you’re right. A Magic eight Ball is the original chat. G p T. Holy, you’re onto something.
Scott Luton (07:43):
Uh, we try, we try. All right. So folks, uh, be sure to join us for tomorrow’s, uh, uh, or I’m sorry, Wednesday’s, well join us for tomorrow too. But Wednesday’s livestream at 12 noon, and this is a great jumping off point. So I brought that graphic back because we’re talking on our next, on our first story about some supply chain strain, right? So, Alison, I’m gonna tee this up, and then I am going to get your take here. So, first story, in fact, the first of two that will focus on the aviation industry, one of our favorites here, I’m sure, uh, up first, as reported here by Reuters, with all the travel demand that’s been unleashed out in the market, Hey, we gotta keep those jets flying. And more and more airlines have been relying on used and even generic parts. Did, you know, it’s been estimated that about 35 billion B as in Bezos, is spent annually on parts and components for repairs.
Scott Luton (08:35):
And while these used in generic parts are a small minority of that figure, sales are taking off and penetration is growing. Now aircraft parts supply globally, they’re still recovering from labor shortages, lockdowns, of course, associated with the pandemic and other things. Uh, so the lead time on new and even repaired components can be an issue from a cost perspective. Use parts cost somewhere between 20 and 40%, less than new parts. And all of this is driving an absolute boom, a gold, uh, um, I’m, I’m thinking of like the, uh, the gold drive in California’s creating a boom on tearing down old and aging planes that canalize those parts as, as the term we use in the Air Force. So Alison, and all of this, again, is brought to us by our friends at Reuters. Alison, I’d love to get your take on what we’re seeing there with these, uh, spare and generic parts.
Allison Giddens (09:27):
Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s kind of wild. So I’m in the aerospace industry, and I kind of watching how a lot of these conversations are taking place. And remember, too, that during the pandemic, it was a really big deal that planes were sitting for a long time. Like planes weren’t designed to just sit on a runway. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they had to move, the engines had to, to run. And same thing with an old car, right? You don’t let it sit in the driveway forever and ever and ever. Um, so now that we’re back up and going, and now that demand has come back, and now that we’re seeing the need to use everything we’ve got, uh, we are seeing that in aerospace and defense industry, we’re having to be even more hyper aware than usual on what they call counterfeit parts. And counterfeit parts aren’t necessarily, uh, you know, somebody trying to be sneaky about something.
Allison Giddens (10:11):
I mean, sometimes that is the case, but sometimes it really is just about the misrepresentation of parts. It could be somebody along the supply chain who says, yes, this rivet is what I say it is. And maybe it’s not really made by the same, or isn’t the same material or the same heat treat of that material, which could matter in terms of the structural integrity of the piece. Hmm. And so you can see how all of these things could cause problems. You don’t, you know, when I’m getting on an airplane and I’m looking at the rets on, on a Boeing, I’m like, let’s just hope everyone had their certifications for this suck,
Scott Luton (10:46):
<laugh>. It’s so true. Uh, and you know, when I was a male stamping, we’d support some of the auto automotive industry. You know, it’s just like aviation things gotta be right. Cause lives are in jeopardy. And, you know, I loved what you just mentioned, Alison, stepping on a plane. I’m gonna go back to this image. I gotta tell you, if I’m sitting by the wings, uh, I’m, I’m watching the, I can’t help but like stare at the wings, and I don’t wanna see any flap move <laugh> in what appears to be in the wrong direction, right? It can kinda be a bit, bit of an anxious, uh, time for me. But, uh, that’s
Allison Giddens (11:16):
Why you just close the window. Just close
Scott Luton (11:18):
The window. That’s right.
Allison Giddens (11:19):
You can’t see it, it doesn’t exist, right?
Scott Luton (11:21):
That love that. Uh, and you also made make a great point. You know, these, um, billion dollar aircraft aren’t meant to sit there and just sit there and sit there. Things are gonna happen, right? And that’s what so many of these aircraft did, uh, during the, the pandemic. Cause we couldn’t go anywhere, right? Yep. All right. So we’re gonna move to a related second story. But first gonna say hello to Gino. Pledger. Gino, great to see you here. He hails from North Alabama, uh, unless he’s on the road traveling. But great to see you, Gino. Kim, winter Greetings from the United Arab Emirates. All I just spent a little bit of time, Alison with Kim Winter last week as we, uh, tackled a Middle Eastern version of the business. Buzz Kim has got not just one finger, he’s got all four fingers on the pulse of, of global business. And Josh Goody, great to see you, uh, as always from Seattle. I’m looking forward to your contributions here today. Have you ever been to Seattle, Allison?
Allison Giddens (12:19):
No. In fact, funny enough, they were on our very short list to travel and go see the Braves, play the Mariners back in 2020. And that was supposed to be May of 2020. Okay. And, you know, some other stuff came up. So, <laugh>,
Scott Luton (12:32):
But next time it’s coming, yes, next
Allison Giddens (12:33):
Time on a shortlists. On a shortlist.
Scott Luton (12:35):
And Kim drops a great factor. Fun fact, he says, middle East carriers are ordering nearly 3000 jets by 2040 folks, if you’re in the airline business, uh, that is j that’s called job security. Job security. And probably profit if it’s well managed, I imagine, uh, Alison. Yep. All right. So let’s keep driving. I wanna get to this next story here. Cause we’re talking about one of my, I’m a big old military air aircraft nerd, Alison. I was before I went in the Air Force, and I still am coming out to the other side as I exited in 2002 21 years ago. Unbelievable. Um, but check this out. So that is a picture of the C5 that is the Air Force’s largest, uh, aircraft, and it’s inventory. I, and I’m, I’m pretty sure Amanda and Catherine, thanks for your support as always, but y’all check me on this.
Scott Luton (13:25):
I’m pretty sure when it was launched, the C5 was the largest aircraft in the world, I believe. But it since has been overtaken. So interesting article here from Business Insider as it talks about how the United States Air Force set in the global standard since 1947. I added that in there, Alison. It plans to keep its largest cargo aircraft flying, so introduced 1970. So it’s already been flying for some 53 years. My math is right. Um, the C5 fleet has undergone a variety of upgrades and the Air Force plans to keep these big birds flying until 2040. Man, and talk about, um, you know, back to talking parts, which we’re doing on that first story, Alison, one of the ways this article speaks to it a little bit, one of the ways that the Air Force and its world class maintenance gurus have been keeping the C5 in the air 3D printed parts. So here’s a dig you note the rollout. And Alison, I bet you know this already, so th this is not a, did Allison know? This is a, did our listeners know, maybe I might
Allison Giddens (14:21):
Not have,
Scott Luton (14:22):
You may not <laugh> the rollout of the first c5 Galax, uh, galaxy took place here in the Atlanta area at the Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta, Georgia back in 1968. So Alice and I, I know, uh, I have toured that facility. I know you’ve been in there too, I bet. Yes.
Allison Giddens (14:40):
Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s really cool. What’s really fascinating too, is this whole, the conversation with 3D printing and airplanes that have been designed and manufactured over the course of the past five, six decades, because 3D printing, there has to be, uh, there has to be, um, how do you, how do you word the industry acceptance of the process itself? Hmm. So it’s not as though you could just take a blueprint for a piece of a C5 and say, here, instead of putting this on a traditional C n C mill, make it through a 3D printer doing this. Because if, if you’re in the industry, or if you’re kind of familiar with how this work, there are plenty of, uh, parts that require certain, what they call grain direction on parts. And that has to do a lot with the structural integrity of different pieces of the plane.
Allison Giddens (15:36):
And so, when you think about it, if you go to a 3D printer, and, um, a lot of these almost like powdered metals or, or composites, um, it’s not as though you can all of a sudden say, oh, the grain direction needs to be this. Hmm. The whole process of the manufacturing has to change. So it’s gonna be very interesting to see over time how design engineers incorporate a lot of these changes into more efficiencies in the supply chain. Because yeah, 3D printing, if, if you think about it, that that could be a savior of a lot of different printed parts, but at the same time, you have to make sure that the changes that are being made in the production don’t adversely affect the safety of the product or the quality of the product. Alison,
Scott Luton (16:22):
Excellent point. From someone that knows, uh, many of y’all that have called Alison’s, uh, previous appearances here, knows that she leads a, uh, a manufacturing organization that does a lot of business in the aviation space. So you’re hearing it from a subject matter expert for sure, here today. I wanna add to that, um, Alison, going back to what you shared on the first story, you know, our, our military supply chain, you know, in, in the thousands, tens of thousands of providers that provide parts, not just for aircraft, but all of our machines and, and some of the bad actors, Alison, that you alluded to on the, on the front end, man, that is so important as we lean more and more on our military to keep, uh, peace across the globe. So, and, and hey, those, those maintenance, uh, technicians and specialists and experts, I, I touted and I worked alongside those folks. I had the honor to do so. And they, they are amazing what they do day in and day out. So, Alison, I bet, uh, I bet you can appreciate, uh, those same folks, huh?
Allison Giddens (17:20):
Oh man. For sure, for sure.
Scott Luton (17:22):
Uh, all right. So, hey, John, great to see here. John Peterson. He says, uh, the B 52 s first launched in 1954 and are also slated to continue operating until the 2040s. It’s a great point. And
Allison Giddens (17:33):
So here’s, here’s some trivia. I have a question about it. Maybe John can answer this. I heard someone tell me in the industry that if you do any work for B 50, and maybe it was a, maybe it was the bomber instead, maybe it wasn’t, I don’t know. I thought it was B 52. If you do any work for them, any paperwork that you have related to the manufacturer of that part has to be kept on hand for 100 years.
Scott Luton (17:55):
<laugh> one.
Allison Giddens (17:57):
I’m cur I’m curious if that’s a true or if somebody was just making it up.
Scott Luton (18:01):
Oh, Alison, uh, we’ll see. Well, let’s put it out there. Hundred years. Yeah.
Allison Giddens (18:06):
Yeah. Maybe John knows. I know.
Scott Luton (18:08):
But you know, uh, and I can’t give the whole thing here today, but the B 52 is John speaking to, uh, it’s got a nickname that’s an acronym called The Buff Big Ugly. And I’ll let you, you, uh, use your imagination for what the last two stand for. Well,
Allison Giddens (18:24):
It’s also a great band out of Athens.
Scott Luton (18:26):
That’s right. That is right.
Allison Giddens (18:28):
So, yeah,
Scott Luton (18:29):
Rome is one of my favorite songs of all time by the, the wonderful B 52 s. But it shouldn’t surprise anybody. Kidding aside, the Air Force is, you know, has got budgetary constraints and these proven aircraft, even if they are older, you know, uh, they’re trying to hang, you know, hang onto ’em for a long time. And this isn’t new for the Air Force. When I was in, uh, the KC 30, uh, KC one 30 fives, the air fueler was still around. And some of those tail numbers, Alison, were from the forties and fifties at the time. So, uh, anyway, but, uh, God bless all the folks operated in these, uh, aircraft and, uh, keeping the peace around the world. Jerry says, um, nothing wrong with these used generic parts. If they’re inspected meet standards, and the source is confirmed provenance. Yep. As, uh, Greg would say if he was here, the safety record, Jerry says it’s good in the aviation industry. Alison, quick comment there. Yep.
Allison Giddens (19:21):
No, I agree. The generic parts, there’s nothing wrong with generic parts as long as, again, if you have certifications and you can prove that the part is represented in the way that or the part is accurately represented, then uh, yeah, that’s solid.
Scott Luton (19:35):
Agreed. Agreed. And hey, let me call attention, uh, if, if mom is still listing mom, the safety record is good in the aviation industry. We’re gonna get you on a plane soon. We’re gonna go somewhere. So mom <laugh>, take Jerry’s message to heart. Uh, all right, so Alice, let’s keep driving here. I wanna share this next story. Uh, cuz we’re talking about sourcing, right? And this is all about, pull my notes up here, sourcing and reshoring trends. So, as more and more companies are looking for ways out of China, for a variety of reasons, uh, reported hereby, supply chain, digital costs here in the US may slow that reshoring trend a good bit. Keith Hartley, c e o of Leva data makes a great point. In this article, he says, quote, sourcing managers have many variables to consider to make the best decision for the company, but cost usually takes priority in quote, he and many others point to the popularity of supply chains, moving, sourcing and, and other operations to Mexico and other countries in particular, Mexico, Vietnam. Those have been really popular destinations here recently. Um, Allison, your thoughts
Allison Giddens (20:46):
Interesting cuz you see a lot of the, uh, you know, made in the s a stuff pop up and everybody’s under a lot of pressure to, you know, buy American buy local, but then nobody wants to pay more <laugh>. So I think it speaks to that whole, yeah. Are we gonna, are we gonna be resh reassuring as quickly as, uh, a piece of us our integrity wants? Um, I, there’s, do you follow Diana Huff on LinkedIn?
Scott Luton (21:10):
Uh, name sounds familiar.
Allison Giddens (21:12):
She is up in the northeast and she’s got some cool stuff. She does. She is hyper aware of the maid in the USA initiative, and so she’s always identifying different things in her life that she could purchase or do that supports made in the U s A. Mm-hmm. And so she’s, that’s really, it’s kind of a fun follow. So I encourage you to check her out and, and see Diana stuff.
Scott Luton (21:33):
Diana Huff.
Allison Giddens (21:33):
Diana Huff, h U f F.
Scott Luton (21:36):
Let’s see if, uh, Katherine or Amanda, if y’all could drop Diana Huff in the link, that’d be neat to, to follow. Um, and as Josh points out, man Mexico, they have been doing big things. There’s tons of activity. Yes. Uh, and Josh has, Mexico has continued to make leaps and bounds and reassuring efforts. Absolutely. I imagine the U S M C A helps that as well. Uh, you know, smoothing, streamlining trade between Mexico, the US and Canada. Uh, of course costs, uh, access to workforce, I imagine are some of those. Uh, Alison, anything lastly to add, when, when it comes to sourcing stuff and ever-evolving global supply chain footprint?
Allison Giddens (22:15):
I think it’s gonna be interesting in the next several years. I think the, the Mexico and Canada, I think we’re gonna start seeing a lot more partnerships. Um, not only because there isn’t as a much of a language barrier between those, you know, us three as maybe you think. Right. Um, you know, so I, I think that, uh, we’re gonna start seeing a lot more, a lot more there. That’s
Scott Luton (22:36):
A great point. And it’s, it’s a very unique market between the Mexico, US and Canada. That many folks that are in trade will say, you can’t really find that, uh, that type of regional relationship elsewhere in the world. And of course, that’s leveraged quite a bit. Um, I wanna go back to, as we wrap here before we move on. You, you started your commentary with a very, uh, universal truth. We can’t have it both ways, folks. Uh, you know, if if you want <laugh>, if you wanna support stuff coming back, it’s probably gonna cost you a little bit more. So we gotta vote if you want to, you know, vote with your wallets, right? Also, um, Alison, when you shared that, it reminded me of, uh, uh, and if Greg was here, he, his, his mantra is, consumers are the beginning and the end of supply chain. So us cons, cause everyone’s a consumer, you’re, you’re a big part of it whether you like it or not. And so when you think about as we more and more demanding sustainability, right? And reducing, um, uh, carbon footprint and all of that stuff, but we can’t leave those rallies to drive policy and then go order, you know, 18 pairs of shoes to get, get it next day to try on all 18 and send 17 back. We can’t, you know, we gotta be smarter and savvier as consumers. Right? Your quick comment there, Alison. Yeah.
Allison Giddens (23:51):
It’s tough. It’s all, it’s, I think we are constantly grappling the, the, um, the competing priorities, right? Of, of our supposed elevated integrity, uh, to our immediate gratification. Yes. You know, it’s like, yeah, yeah. U s a u s a rah rah <laugh>. Yeah. But I really, really need, uh, you know, hair ties <laugh> put set to my house and put on my porch in the next seven hours.
Scott Luton (24:22):
<laugh>, right, man. Competing priorities. Yeah, I think you nailed it. Uh, let’s see here. John says, reassuring depends on the item and cost. Great point. For example, injection molded plastics have been a good reassuring item due to logistics cost and the prevalence of automation in the process. Excellent point, John. Excellent point. Uh, and our team found, uh, Diana Huff. So we’ve got that link as, uh, Allison mentioned the great person to follow us. So y’all check that out. All right. So Allison, get Josh’s comment in here. Uh, Josh says, good news is that Elon, Elon Musk said he wanted to use a webcam to do point of origin for the cobalt, uh, industry. Have to see what happens there. I agree with you. Um, Josh Mining in particular, right across the globe, really important workforce considerations, right? As, especially as we are trying to get a stranglehold on forced labor and modern day slavery, we’ve gotta really, really shine a big old, uh, flashlight into that industry and hold people accountable.
Scott Luton (25:24):
So Josh, great point there. All right, so quick commercial, Allison, quick commercial. Hey, we’re very frank and direct here. Uh, folks join us Thursday at 12 noon. That’s May 25th. As we bring back Zao and repeat guests, Mark Holmes with InterSystems. And we’re gonna be talking about realizing the power of real time accurate data to not only accelerate and optimize decision making, but empowering your people. So y’all join us for that. All right. So Allison, back to work. Not only am I a big old aviation nerd, I am definitely a big space nerd, <laugh>. Um, so let’s talk about the space supply chain. It’s a great read here from Axios, I think I said that right, that discusses the growth and evolution taking place in this space industry. In the modern day space industry, for example, the space business is becoming far more plug and play than it used to be.
Scott Luton (26:18):
It’s more approachable, massive players like NASA are interested in buying equipment like satellites and space, uh, spacecraft that are not over the top customized for your unique mission. They’re more and more willing to use kind of more of a standardized model. Trends like this, and many others are creating what I call a space for the people movement that is welcoming more and more players. Additionally, Allison, just like we’ve seen just about everywhere else, technology is evolving and making things easier and less expensive in this case, such as satellite production and launches. Everybody wants a satellite these days. So, Allison, before I, I get your thoughts here. It reminds me of, uh, when I, when I read this, especially about satellites getting smaller and getting more reasonably priced flat screen TVs. You know, do you remember back in the day when they first came out? Uh, oh, yeah. I don’t know about you. I can only afford the Michael Scott flat screen. You know, <laugh>, it’s about that big. And I hung on the side of the wall, but these days, goodness gracious, you can get one that’s eight feet wide. Oh yeah.
Allison Giddens (27:19):
Oh, a couple
Scott Luton (27:20):
Hundred bucks
Allison Giddens (27:20):
Need to take it, right?
Scott Luton (27:21):
Yeah. It’s crazy. But Alison talk, let’s talk about, uh, what’s going on in the space industry. It’s
Allison Giddens (27:25):
Really interesting because I’m, I’m seeing a lot of the conversation, um, and my industry overlaps a lot with space. And there are a lot of manufacturers in aerospace and defense that are also doing business in space. And a trend I’m seeing is that, um, that the space players, they want the work yesterday. Mm-hmm. So if you think that, you know, aerospace and defense and, and ground support equipment and aircraft, if you think that stuff was quick turnaround space, it seems like they want lead times that are yesterday. When do you want your parts? And, you know, you, you waited for ’em to say two weeks, and you were gonna hold your breath and say, you can’t do it in two weeks. And then they say, we want it yesterday, <laugh>. I’m like, oh my gosh. So I, I see, I, it really is a space race.
Allison Giddens (28:07):
It really is a who can be the quickest, who can be, you know, and I, that article talked about, um, the space junk too, right? So that’s, that’s really interesting. Cause that’s something that you, you have this concept in your head that like, I, I am really bad spatially, pun intended. I, I have a hard time grasping infinity. I have a hard time grasping the space of space. Mm. And I’m sitting here thinking, oh, but you got all this junk that’s gonna show up eventually. And you know, what, if spaceships run into it, okay, well, you know, what’s the likelihood of that? I don’t know. But I don’t know. Is it <laugh> then, the more stuff you have in space, right? I mean, I’m, I’m the idiot that’s gonna run over something in the road if it’s the only thing in the road, <laugh>.
Scott Luton (28:50):
Uh, I think that’s a real, real concern. You know, I’ve, I’ve read, uh, you know, since the International Space Station’s been in operation for, for years now, I guess that they’ve had some close calls, uh, with some of the space junk up there, right? And of course, that can take out, if you have a, um, I can’t remember exactly how fast they’re moving. I wanna say like, you know, 25,000 miles per hour seems to be a common velocity for satellites that are rotating, not the, not the, not the, uh, the ones that are, what is it called? Geosynchronous
Allison Giddens (29:21):
Orbit. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep.
Scott Luton (29:23):
The ones that are staying still. But those are, they’re rotating. They’re, they’re moving. And so whatever you hit when you’re doing 25,000 miles an hour is not, it’s not gonna be pretty. Right? No. So I think, and as more and more, you know, Alison, I think your comments are dead owned because as the satellite industry is democratized, right? And there can be more and more players, there’s only gonna be more and more volume. And so I think the likelihood of there being accidents up there is only gonna grow. And then, Alison, we’re gonna complicate things as nation states begin figuring out how to, how to, how to fight wars in space. Goodness gracious. So Alison, I think it’s gonna be, it’s an exciting time on one hand of, of space exploration, the democratization of the space industry, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is gonna answer some of those questions, Alison, that, that, uh, you were pointing out. But then it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s scary. Cause you know, when we make things easier and less expensive, we don’t just do it for the good actors, we do it for the bad actors too, right?
Allison Giddens (30:23):
Right. Yep, yep. And it’s unpaved. It’s, it’s, this is, there is no protocol. There is no, oh, it’s how we’ve always done it. It’s, it’s, uh, yeah. It’s gonna wild,
Scott Luton (30:34):
Wild west.
Allison Giddens (30:35):
Yeah, for sure. All right.
Scott Luton (30:36):
So let me share a couple quick comments. And folks, with each of these articles, we have dropped a link, just like this one to the article. Y’all check it out and let us know what you think. Uh, Allison, I’m figuring out, we may have the wrong Diana Huff. So, so <laugh>, is that what that we have the wrong link there. I
Allison Giddens (30:52):
Was, I was hoping to tag her. So she catched the live version. I didn’t tell her I was gonna, I was gonna <laugh>, I was gonna, I, I thought, you know, surprise. Here you go. So she’s gonna, she’s gonna see the, uh, tag and go, what the heck, <laugh>, why are all these people all of a sudden following me? <laugh>,
Scott Luton (31:08):
Right? Yeah. Hey, Diana, you’re doing good stuff. That’s why. Um, all right, Greg, Greg, great to see you here. Just finds you, well always enjoy your perspective. He says communication is the key. This is going back to what you were talking about lead times, maybe getting out the information that you have, uh, manufacturing hours available, or letting people know you’re looking to buy in the USA with your supplier needs. Yeah, that sound makes sense to me, Alison. Huh?
Allison Giddens (31:34):
That’s a good call. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And there’s, and there’s a lot of, back to our C5 conversation and some of the, some of the aircraft conversations, a lot of those designs call out specific, what they call cage codes or, uh, specific manufacturers or sources. And so kind of by those requirements, mm, you are ultimately going to be using us, provided sources, domestic sources. So that’s always, that’s, that’s a good thing. Um, but yeah. Yeah, I think being communication is key. And that’s knowing what it is that you’re getting into, or knowing what it is that you can offer on the front end saves everybody a heck of a lot of time. That’s
Scott Luton (32:11):
Right. You know, what’s old is new again, uh, the importance of communication, you know, whether it’s the, this digital era we’re moving through, it just becomes much more important, especially as we’re moving faster and faster. And speaking of, uh, Alison and Jeremy, I’m gonna get your comment in just a second here. I read, let’s see here, let make sure I get this right. Um, over the weekend, I, in fact, I think we put the blurb in with that said, uh, on Sunday morning, yet, you know, Moore’s law, which has been around a long time, time, it really speaks to the speed and the advancement of the semiconductor, uh, industry, right? I think every two years or two and a half years, I think it doubles. Well, according to Google, the speed, uh, and the ability of AI is doubling every six months. How about that, Alison? That’s
Allison Giddens (32:58):
Wild.
Scott Luton (32:58):
It is wild, isn’t it? Um, alright, Jerry says, exactly. Space is a tiny and complex subset of the aerospace vertical. As a three pl I will be offering support for parts replacement and aviation, and then see if I could provide a unique value prop for space down the road. It’s not where I would start. That’s probably a good point, what you think. Yeah.
Allison Giddens (33:20):
Yeah. I, I agree. I agree. And part of it too is trying to connect with the people that already have the interest in aerospace. I think to start with the space side, I think you’re putting a lot more hurdles in front of you than, than you need to. And it might work for some people. I mean, you know, heck, sometimes it’s the craziest people that end up the, the most successful, right?
Scott Luton (33:46):
That’s right, Alison. Uh, but I think you and Jerry’s, uh, advice there is, uh, appropriate. Uh, come on, Lutton. Hey, finale gamer. I’m trying hard here to deliver the news to ya. Do you, do you happen to know her? Uh, that person, Alison, I didn’t know if Matt was gonna sneak in here and, uh, have a little fun with us. No, don’t
Allison Giddens (34:06):
Know. I think he’s gotta work.
Scott Luton (34:07):
Oh, does <laugh>?
Allison Giddens (34:09):
Oh
Scott Luton (34:09):
Yeah. Okay, good. I get back to work. Sa great to see you here via LinkedIn, and you ask a great question. And Allison, I’d love to get your take here as we’re getting off subject a little bit. But, uh, I wanna, I wanna address this because last week I assembled, or I was, uh, leading two panels, uh, with an and an executive from Walmart. But these two panels was focused on, um, reinventing global value chains. But also the second panel was focused on, uh, the warehouse, uh, the warehouse of the modern age, basically. And of course, automation, you know, like every other organization, the warehouse industry is really leveraging automation in particular, but to a person, no pun intended to a person. All of them, all of the leaders and experts on automation spoke about the power, still the power and the necessity of having humans involved, making decisions, uh, driving success, solving problems.
Scott Luton (35:05):
And while Alison, you know, as we’ve talked about here, thousands if not millions of times now, you know, some of the basic, uh, blocking and tackling and operations from coast to coast and really around the world is being automated more and more for a variety of reasons. But in particular here in the states, because of workforce challenges, right? Organization, uh, businesses are, are gonna find a way that is opening the door up doors and windows of opportunity, maybe the whole house of opportunity to people if they wanna walk through there and, and take on a more fulfilling and rewarding and, and challenging role. And that’s good news to my ears. Alison, anything you wanna add there to Saba’s question?
Allison Giddens (35:44):
No, I, I think, so I think human resources is going to be operations if it’s not already. I mean, everything you deal with in operations, you have people involved, whether it’s vendor management, whether it’s it security, whether it’s, um, the hiring and onboarding and offboarding. And, you know, I, I, my, my speaking to, we were joking about Matt showing up or not, my husband just, um, onboarded a new job and he, he was telling me stories about the onboarding process and how thorough it was and how great it was because he was left with very few questions. You know, there, I think that there’s a ton of value to no matter how much we can automate things. And no matter the, the weekend before he started, he had paperwork emailed to him that he could fill out online. You know, we can automate that stuff, right? But it was the stuff that happened the Monday after that. He was so impressed with that involved people. Yeah. So I, I think that no matter how much you automate something, maybe the automation really just gives us more time to insert the people.
Scott Luton (36:48):
Yes. Well said. Uh, Allison. Well said. I love that. Um, and Greg says technology advances exponentially. It sure does, Greg, and it’s only gonna get faster. Um, all right, so speaking, that’s a perfect segue, Greg, perfect segue. So thank you for that, Alison. We kind of wanted to wrap on this interesting observation here. So, so we were talking pre-show about chat, G P T I can never, I gotta slow down when I say that. Uh, botch it all at the high heaven. Uh, now Alison, you’ve used it. Catherine and our team have used it. I have not used it yet. I tried to sign on a couple times and it was, capacity was full, so I gotta revisit it. But, uh, over the weekend I was reading, uh, on Twitter, um, yeah, I’m a fan of Twitter. Y’all can find me at, uh, Scott w Luton.
Scott Luton (37:35):
Um, this Paul and his ha his handle is it’s Paul ai. He was talking about some of the biggest updates that chat G p T had just rolled out. Um, and he listed eight things. And I wanna share a couple of those here. And I’m gonna leave this the graphic up just for a second. So folks, y’all can read the full list and we may can drop it in the chat too. Uh, let’s see. Now with chat, G p t, Alison, you can detect trends and conduct academic research. You can use it to analyze the stock market. Now, that could be a dangerous thing if you <laugh>, don’t be careful about betting the farm. Uh, and perhaps this is my favorite. You can use it to take a complex event or topic and explain it in a way that a 12 year old could understand. And we need to do that more, whether we’re leveraging chat, G p T or not. So Allison, your thoughts on any of those new, um, new, uh, services that you can leverage there. So
Allison Giddens (38:30):
I kind of arguably think that it was able to do a lot of those things before this weekend. Okay?
Allison Giddens (38:36):
And it’s all in how you ask the tools certain questions and what you take of it. Um, in fact, Catherine, on the pre-show and I, we were talking about how, you know, you can, you can have it come up with a meal plan for you and even itemize a grocery list. I mean, you can, you can ha it’s just like anything else. It’s all in the questions that you ask it. If you’re, remember Hitch hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Yes. And the certain questions that you have to ask in order to get certain answer, it’s the, it’s very similar to that. So, okay. Um, I, I mean, I, I use it for a couple things. I needed to come up with a generic letter for something and I thought, and I, I started typing the letter in an email and then I got frustrated cuz my brain was already fried. And I was like, this is not coming out the way I want it to <laugh>. And so I went, I went to judgy pt, I said, write a letter, um, telling a so-and-so person about this. Yeah. And they spit out the generic thing. I copy pasted it, changed a few words to fit my context and sent it, it saved me 45 minutes of brainless decision making.
Scott Luton (39:38):
Man, man, okay. Yeah. So, uh, what you’re saying is I’m behind times on chat G p T, so I gotta go back to, uh, our YouTubers. Come on, Lutton, get with it. Come on. Luton
Allison Giddens (39:50):
Know. Come on. Look. Now keep in mind though, too, the, the data that it’s pulling is yes, I believe pre 2021, I think it’s November, 2021. So if you, if you were to go in there right now and say, tell me about Alison and Scott on supply chain now on May 22nd. Okay. Um, it wouldn’t know because it’s got data that’s older. So just like with anything else, you have to remember, you know, this is artificial intelligence. This is, it is only as good as the data that it’s ingesting. Yes. So I, you know, I, I wouldn’t take it as the end all be all. I would just use it as a support tool.
Scott Luton (40:27):
Excellent point. Uh, Allison, and that’s from a, a user, uh, that’s been using for quite some time. I would just add what Greg likes to talk about. Uh, when we talk about artificial intelligence, it doesn’t always guarantee it’s actual intelligence. So you gotta be <laugh> careful of that. All right, couple quick comments here. And folks, we did drop the link to that Twitter, that Twitter feed where it listed the eight things. So y’all can check that out there. Let’s see here. Josh, Josh Goody says, there was a great question I heard five years ago. If you had to go back to the 18 hundreds, what is the thing that would blow the minds of everyone? The top answer was that we have wireless phones in our pockets that are hundreds of times more powerful than the computers we land the people on the moon with. And we use it, send cat videos and check sports updates,
Allison Giddens (41:11):
<laugh> for those cat videos. Thank God.
Scott Luton (41:14):
Could you, could you just imagine having that conversation? Uh, Josh, that’s a, that’s a good one. I appreciate you sharing. Uh, let’s see, Veit, uh, says supply chain now. I’m happy that it is now real time. I wonder if that update is available for all users or just for the plus? That’s
Allison Giddens (41:30):
A good question.
Scott Luton (41:31):
G p t four users, I guess, is he referencing, is that a subscriber, um, level?
Allison Giddens (41:36):
Yes, there’s a paid version, yes. And there’s a, um, that’s a really good question about the update. Maybe, maybe that post 2021 is available. Okay. Shows you I’m not a paid subscriber <laugh>,
Scott Luton (41:49):
Uh, and Greg likes your comment there about data in and data out could also be put garbage in and garbage out. Timeless, timeless cliche. But Greg, I appreciate that. Um, alright, so Allison, man, we are efficient today. Not only do we tackle a couple extra things here on the buzz, but we’re, we’re not even approaching, it’s not even 1245 Eastern time pm Eastern time yet. So good.
Allison Giddens (42:12):
Just in time for a quiz. Okay. We’re quizzing everyone. Yeah, we’re gonna quiz everyone on all the data that we just went over.
Scott Luton (42:18):
<laugh>, they’ll, they’ll be using chat G p t to answer No cheating doubt. No cheating. So Alison, I wanna, I wanna touch on, you know, we had your mother Donna Creche on a livestream, uh, last week or maybe a week before as she was celebrating 50 years in the workforce and had a great conversation. You know, we’re all big fans of Donna Creche, but one of the things we touched on that I, that I know is near and dear to your heart is the Dave Creche Foundation, right? So, uh, some of our listeners may recall us, uh, having some previous shows around that, which it enables, uh, kids and their families in need to play athletics and sports because there’s all kind of fees and equipment costs related. But Allison, talk to us about why the Dave creates you foundation is so near and dear to your heart, and, and how can folks, uh, maybe support you?
Allison Giddens (43:07):
Cool. Thanks for the plug. You bet. Yeah. So the Dave Creche Foundation helps local kids outside of the, the Atlanta and metro areas play sports when their families are going through tough financial times. And, um, yeah, we support the, to pay the fees to these organizations, um, to make sure that the kid can play when otherwise maybe their family would, would have sports fees on a back burner, understandably so, as things get much more expensive and mm-hmm. Uh, you know, it’s, it costs just as much, um, money to put food on the table and keep a roof over a kid’s head. We’re seeing a lot of single parent requests. We’re seeing a lot of, uh, grandparents who have taken in kids. We’ve seen a lot of medical issues. We’ve seen some veteran, um, support requests, of course. I mean that all these, these kinds of, of very deserving families that they just need, need a little bit of help.
Allison Giddens (43:56):
So we, um, my dad was Dave Creche, the Lake Dave Creche, and he was a sports fanatic. And so when he passed away, we thought, well, what do we do in his honor? Do we do a scholarship? We thought, no, that’s just not, that’s not as exciting as he was <laugh>. And so, um, we thought, and he really wasn’t exciting. He was a, he loved to vanilla ice cream, um, <laugh>, so <laugh>, but he was a sports fanatic. He loves sports, and he was the kind of guy who would always make sure that somebody who, um, who couldn’t do something if he had the ability to, to make it happen. He did. And he did it under the radar mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so he, he was a true believer that if you have the power and ability to help someone, it is your responsibility to do so by your own merit. So that’s kind of what we’ve turned, what we’ve turned the organization to do.
Scott Luton (44:41):
I love it. And folks, uh, where can folks go learn more information, uh, either submit, you know, a, a need, uh, or support the organization? Where can they go, Alison? Sure.
Allison Giddens (44:51):
Dave creche.com. D a v e k r A c h e.com. And, uh, awesome. Yeah, there’s information on the website whether you need our help or whether you would like to help.
Scott Luton (45:02):
Wonderful. I appreciate that. Appreciate what, appreciate and admire what y’all do. Real action oriented, results oriented, outcomes oriented, uh, uh, nonprofit is doing great work. Uh, and as, yeah, as Donna says, Hey, thank you all for telling everybody about the Dave Creche Foundation. You bet, Donna. And we’ve dropped the link. Y’all can check out the website there. One click away from learning more, and hey, I hope I can say this, and Alison, if I can’t, Donna, you can break my legs later. But over the weekend, uh, you know, dusty Rhodes is making a comeback. Alison didn’t know if you know that or not, but his, uh, between, and Dusty Rhodes, by the way, is a big wrestling legend. You know, he was really popular back in the seventies and eighties and and nineties, early nineties maybe. And he was one of the best wrestling interviews, wrestling, wrestling interviews you’d ever hear. Right? And so folks in Facebook, memes and stories where I’ve seen all these, just these little snippets of all the craziness that he would share was I was dropping something in Facebook over the weekend about, uh, how I thought Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA walked on water back when I was a kid. Donna Croci mentioned how Dave Croci was a big wrestling fan, <laugh>, and I think Alison, I may get this wrong, but Donna said something like how Dave once said the N f NFL’s fake, but wrestling’s real
Allison Giddens (46:22):
Wrestling is real <laugh>. Yes. That was, that was a common Oh yeah.
Scott Luton (46:27):
Oh, oh, yeah. Love it. And that’s, and when you, you know, when you talk wrestling, you gotta, you gotta call it raslan, w r wrestling, a S s l I n apostrophe. Um, all right. So Allison, uh, really enjoyed your perspective here today, especially as we talked about, um, sourcing and the aviation industry where you’re, you know, day in, day out, you and your team are doing excellent work there. Um, how can folks beyond Dave Creche Foundation, how can folks, I know you do, you get out and you do a lot of keynotes, uh, you do a lot of industry work, um, and a lot more. How can folks connect with you? Uh, Alison Giddens
Allison Giddens (47:01):
Definitely come see me on, on LinkedIn. I’m pretty active there, so find me. I think I’m Alison Giddens on LinkedIn, so yeah,
Scott Luton (47:09):
It’s just that easy. It is just that it is easy. The link to her LinkedIn profile is there in the show notes. Uh, Alison really have enjoyed, and we’re gonna have you back tomorrow. We’ve got a great livestream set tomorrow. Yeah.
Allison Giddens (47:21):
I’m looking forward to it.
Scott Luton (47:22):
Yeah. The, uh, automation for the people, it wasn’t not an rem album, automatic, automatic for the people, people as the r e m album. We’re
Allison Giddens (47:30):
Gonna be performing cover songs from that album,
Scott Luton (47:32):
<laugh>,
Allison Giddens (47:33):
So please join us.
Scott Luton (47:35):
Oh, man. We’re folks are gonna le they’re gonna, uh, avoid that light the plague. No, yeah, no one will show up. <laugh>, we’re talking about the, uh, automation imperative tomorrow. Uh, so y’all join us, uh, for 12 noon as Alice and I host that conversation. But folks, uh, thank you for all that showed up and, and shared all the great comments here. Today is one of my favorite things as we, uh, continue down this journey. Big thanks to all the production team, Catherine, Amanda, Chantel, you name it, uh, help make today’s session happen. Alison, a pleasure to knock out the supply chain buds with you here today. Great
Allison Giddens (48:08):
To be here. Thanks for having me. Sorry, Greg. We had fun without you, <laugh>.
Scott Luton (48:11):
That’s right. We, Hey, Greg’s, be back soon. Uh, but Greg, safe travels wherever you are. But folks, whatever you do, and I hope you can take a nugget that you learned here today, or some advice and expertise, you name it and put it in action, deeds, not words. That’s what we challenge you with. And as we wrap here today, on behalf of our entire team here at Supply Chain now, Scott Luton challenging you to do good, to give forward and to be the change that’s needed. And with that said, we’ll see you next time, right back here at Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.
Scott Luton (48:42):
Thanks
Intro/Outro (48:42):
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Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.
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Sofia Rivas Herrera 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 Cisco, Microsoft, 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 University, O’Reilly Media, LinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight. Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems Engineering, Carrier 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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.