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 was a Digital Transformers edition, and it featured hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson. They opened the conversation by marking Juneteenth, a Federal holiday recognizing the day that word reached Galveston, Texas that the last slaves were freed, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Kevin discussed:

• The two major challenges that usually arise in the process of digital transformation: harnessing and leveraging data and building agility into your organization and technology strategy

• Leveraging cybersecurity as a service to supplement in house efforts against the constant threat of cyber risk

• Observations from Scott and Amanda’s recent trip to Cape Town in South Africa

Intro/Outro (00:00:03):

Welcome to Supply Chain. Now, the voice of Global Supply Chain Supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues, the challenges and opportunities. Stay tuned to hear from Those Making Global Business Happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:00:31):

Hey, good morning and good afternoon. Good evening, wherever you are, Scott Lutton and Kevin L. Jackson with you here on Supply Chain. Now, welcome to today’s Livestream. Hey, Kevin. How you doing today?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:42):

You know, man, I’m getting into the summer, I guess, uh, a summer mood, the mood of summer. Uh, and by the way, happy Father’s Day <laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:00:51):

and you as well. Hopefully everybody had a wonderful Father’s Day weekend. Of course. Happy Juneteenth.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:57):

Happy Juneteenth. Yes.

Scott Luton (00:00:59):

What a wonderful federal holiday. Now, I guess as of last year for everybody, we’re gonna touch more on, on Juneteenth in just a second, Kevin, but hey, you said, uh, what’d you say? Like, happy summer on initially?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:12):

Yeah. I been getting into a summer mood. I tell you yesterday was Father’s Day, and, and I got in Summer mood. So I sit around and did nothing. <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:01:21):

Well, speaking of Kevin, speaking of doing nothing, you see my, uh, the shirt I’ve got on today, right? These, these are the, oh, the Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves, the first place Atlanta Braves, not, you know, the research team had to, uh, dive into the standings for Major League Baseball. And as of this morning, June 19th, 2023, do you know what Washington Nationals record is today?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:48):

You know what? The summer, the great, that’s my favorite season. You know, <laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:01:53):

I’m only kidding. I’m only, so for all of our listeners out there, Kevin and I have a very friendly camaraderie, robbery, whatever, between, between Kevin’s, <laugh>, Kevin’s, Kevin’s, uh, DC area sports teams, and our Atlanta area sports teams. So, nevertheless, hey, let’s keep driving. Kevin <laugh>. Uh, so kidding aside, we have, we do want to definitely, uh, wish everyone out there, uh, a wonderful, happy, uh, Juneteenth. This is a really important holiday. And, and Kevin, you and I are gonna touch on a special project from last year. But if we can, for starters, Kevin, tell us, uh, in your perspective and your point of view, you know, why Juneteenth is really important in, from your perspective?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:02:36):

Well, really, um, Juneteenth celebrates the day when the last slaves was freed, and in the United States, in, in Texas, and actually happened in Galveston, Texas. It was the last major battle of the Civil War. Um, and while many people think that, uh, uh, Slaves were freed, when President Lincoln announced the emancipation, proclamations had to realize that there’s the country was at war. And although the Emancipation Proclamation supposedly freed slaves in the rebellion states, none of the slaves knew anything about the Emancipation Proclamation Mm. Until Union soldiers would emancipate or, um, their particular, um, state or, or or town. Mm. So the, the last city to be, um, I had a major battle was Galveston, Texas. So that was the, the last group of slaves, uh, to hear about the emancipation, emancipation, uh, proclamation. Mm. And the, the general, uh, that I wondered that, or basically put out a pro, uh, uh, proclamation, uh, to inform all of the slaves that they were free and to tell all the, um, uh, slave owners that they no longer own slaves. Mm. Um, and that was on the 19th of June. Um, mm. Now in the, um, now what, now nowadays, however, it’s, it’s, it’s really expanded. Its, its meaning where it’s, um, uh, celebrating freedom, uh, worldwide and, uh, the, um, the push to eliminate modern slavery. Mm-hmm. Um, a lot of sex slavery that goes on there is, uh, human trafficking that’s going on. Um, so there’s, um, and it was, uh, Juneteenth was fought, was made a national holiday, uh, uh, last a couple years ago, uh, by, uh, um, president, uh, Biden. So we, we celebrate it nationally as not just a US holiday, but an international holiday.

Scott Luton (00:04:57):

Agreed. And, you know, I love what you shared there. Not only, uh, do we, um, recognize the history of the, uh, of the significance here in the States, and, you know, there’s certain parts of the country here that have been celebrating the 19th of June for, for decades, for generations, right? Yes. So, as important as that is, I love the global perspective, reviewing it through using that vehicle, that, that history, that, that dark chapter in our history, but the celebration, um, that Juneteenth is all about. And then using that to put visibility and a spotlight on the modern slavery that exists around the world, unfortunately. And, uh, use that as a call to action for folks everywhere to really acknowledge it, and most importantly, do something about it.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:47):

Right. To be a day of action. Absolutely.

Scott Luton (00:05:49):

A day of action. So, one quick call out I wanna share, you know, I think this was last year, Kevin, I’ll tell you that the days and the months all come together. Oh,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:57):

When we were in Galveston.

Scott Luton (00:05:59):

Yes.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:00):

Yes.

Scott Luton (00:06:01):

<laugh>. So this feels like five years ago, but it was just last year. You see, Kevin and I both sitting down with locally, who they call in, uh, in the Galveston area in Houston area, Mr. Juneteenth

Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:13):

<laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:06:14):

Uh, Douglas Matthews, who is a local leader. So, uh, Douglas Matthews sat down with us. He’s, he has been for over 30 years, as I recall, he has been working and making sure folks are aware of the history of Juneteenth and, and getting more folks bought in on, on the truly the need to celebrate and recognize it and to use it. To your point, Kevin, yes. As a day of service, that was a really special interview. He’s a very humble but, um, incredible leader. Yeah. And then Kevin, to your point, Tim Nelson made an appearance on that episode. We’re gonna drop the link to it here in a second. Kevin, tell us about, uh, what Tim spoke about, and of course, what Hope for Justice is doing.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:52):

Yeah. So, uh, chairman, c e o of Social Justice, they actually at headquarters in, uh, the uk, um, they have, uh, a, uh, a national center here, um, uh, office here in n I think it’s Nashville, Tennessee. Yeah. And they’re actually located, uh, they have offices in, uh, eight countries, uh, worldwide, and they really focus on, um, ending modern slavery. Mm. So, um, we had been, uh, collaborating with him in order to expand their program, um, here in the United States, especially because of the, the fight against human trafficking, uh, across the, uh, southwestern border. Yes. In of the United States. So, the, uh, the Texas border is, is really a hotspot for the human trafficking. And unfortunately, you hear a lot about, um, people, you know, dying in, in, in back of, uh, semi, um, you know, semi-trailers and, and vans. Uh, and they, they, they pay huge amounts of money, uh, get smuggled Yes. Um, from, uh, south American countries. Um, and it’s, it’s just horrible what they get, what they get put through, um, in order to just find a, a, a better life.

Scott Luton (00:08:19):

Agreed. So, folks, uh, y use this, if you’re new to Juneteenth. Hey, dig in. Learn more about the history and why it’s so important and equally as important, really, um, do your research on the scourge of, uh, modern slavery and human trafficking across the globe, including here in the States. It’s, it’s, it’s sad to know just how, how, how much revenue is produced, sadly, from human trafficking and modern slavery, and of course, everything else that goes with it. So, do your homework. And again, for all the folks out there, happy, happy, Juneteenth celebration, happy hearing, and act together. Okay. So, Kevin, I wanna make sure everyone knows, uh, here is the link to the special episode on Digital Transformers honoring Juneteenth and abolishing Modern Slavery. So join that. And Kevin, look here. Mom, mom, Leah Luin is back with this here today, <laugh>. So via Facebook, that’s an easy way to watch it. Facebook, YouTube, uh, LinkedIn, you name it. Boy.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:19):

Uh, she’s a, um, uh, root. She’s always on the show. You, you must have been a good board

Scott Luton (00:09:25):

<laugh>. I hope so. Kevin <laugh>. I hope so.

Scott Luton (00:09:30):

But hey, folks, uh, today, it’s, uh, I should have said this on the front end, it’s a special edition of the Supply Chain Buzz. It’s the Digital Transformers edition of the Buzz. So we’re gonna be talking about a variety of news developments across global business with and extra helping of all things technology and digital transformation today. And we wanna hear from you, just like, uh, Leah Luton popped in there like that. We wanna hear from you. So if you’re tuned in watching us live, uh, hey, drop, drop a comment and your take on some of these things we’re talking about in the chat, and we’d love to share that with our global fam. Okay. So, Kevin? Yes. Sure. Uh, let’s see. We talked about Juneteenth. I wanna talk about, uh, this, with that said, we released over the weekend. Now I got a little trivia for you. So it was Father’s Day, Kevin. Okay. We had a little bit of fun with Malcolm McLean, also known as the father of Containerization, <laugh>.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:28):

Right?

Scott Luton (00:10:29):

Now, here’s a little trivia, as I mentioned. So, get this, the ideal X was a converted World War II oil tanker that Malcolm McClean bought from the US government. Yeah. Right. And on April 26th, 1956, sailing out of New Jersey and bound for just talking about Houston, the Port of Houston, which is the vibrant, robust port, the ideal X essentially became the first commercially successful container ship. Did you know that, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:59):

No, I, I didn’t know that. And I guess that, that, um, was the forerunner of what caused intermodal, uh, system where

Scott Luton (00:11:08):

Oh, man,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:11:09):

Container off the ship and, and put it on a truck, and then put it on a train. Um,

Scott Luton (00:11:15):

It, that, and then some, it, it, it, especially when it comes to, um, you know, it powered the global economy, especially as a standardization and adoption. And the infrastructure had to adjust, of course, to adapt to more of a container, uh, container approach. But once all that kind of came together in the decades, I’ll call it maybe the 15, 20 years that ensued, man, global shipping, the costs came down, it became easier, right? Yeah. When things become easier, folks do ’em a lot more often. And, uh, amongst other, and, and, and we don’t have enough time to dive into it here today, but ships could get in and out of ports far faster, far faster. So really, it spurned it was, uh, a really important, uh, development to this global economy that we all enjoy, you know, warts and all today, Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:12:06):

Yeah. You know, uh, that really came, um, into focus when order containers was stuck in, uh, China <laugh>. Yes. And we couldn’t get anything outta China.

Scott Luton (00:12:20):

<laugh>. Where, where’s my stuff? Where’s my stuff?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:12:22):

Where’s my stuff? <laugh>?

Scott Luton (00:12:24):

Well, hey, folks, we, we dive a little more into that story, and y’all can check that out. Yeah. Use that link to this, uh, weekend’s e um, edition of, with that said LinkedIn newsletter that we published just about every weekend. And you can learn more about Malcolm McClean, the father of containerization. Okay. So Kevin, we have one more thing I’m gonna touch on really quick before we dive into our first story here today. All right. And that is this webinar coming up tomorrow, June 20th at 12 noon Eastern time. Kevin, count ’em, we’re gonna go, we’re gonna offer 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 reasons. Network design is essential to supply chain resiliency. So join us as we welcome in, our friends from Opti Logic and CH Robinson. It’s free to join, but you gotta register, and we’re dropping the link to do so in the chat.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:13:11):

You know, you get so much information to those webinars. People don’t, I mean, this is like, this is like going to school for free. I think people don’t realize how much real useful, actionable information, knowledge is, is delivered to these webinar house.

Scott Luton (00:13:27):

You are so, uh, so, so true, Kevin. I’m glad you mentioned that. Because, you know, uh, knowledge is, uh, whether it’s, uh, digital knowledge or in-person knowledge, or any kind version, yeah, it is power, right? And it, you can, um, you can get better in your job. You can help your organization get better at what they do, uh, and who knows the, the universal themes that, that really connect this subject to that subject, to that subject across global supply chain. So, Kevin, we invite folks to join us again tomorrow, June 20th, 12, then Eastern time as we dive into this topic here today. Um, one, one last thing, Kevin. Yeah. Uh, I don’t know about you, but whenever I count things off, my brain goes straight back to, um, on Sesame Street, there’s a little animated snippet. <laugh>, there’s a pinball machine, you know, and you’re laughing. So hopefully you know what I’m talking about. But it’s like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. You know what I’m talking about, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:14:26):

No, I never, oh, I never heard, heard of Sesame Tree. <laugh>, <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:14:32):

Sometimes whenever folks are counting something off, I’ll share that little, that little, uh, little, little riff. And most folks have no idea what I’m talking about. But Kevin, I am glad you do.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:14:43):

I’m not that old, or I’m sorry, Scott, you got me beat there.

Scott Luton (00:14:47):

You got good jeans, Kevin, you got good jeans. All right. So hit heads up. Uh, we, uh, we’re getting a little, uh, notification that LinkedIn comments may not be coming through. So maybe LinkedIn’s got one of their, their famous glitches they have from time to time. So Josh Goody and Tom Rry here, Cora Jose, with our friends at ever Schrier here. Now get this, Kevin Korah says, Hey, glad to see you back, Scott, you got some sun in Cape Town. Hey, I might have got a little sun. He says, uh, hashtag slavery isn’t only one society’s problem. It’s our challenge as humanity, not fighting. It is not an option. So he appreciates Scott and Kevin and hope for justice pushing this, and we should all help to fight it. Cori. Absolutely. Absolutely. Kevin, your quick comment there,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:15:35):

It’s important. I mean, just recognizing that it’s an issue, as you say, that’s the first, that’s the first step, right? Recognizing there’s a problem, and then you can engage people to actually take action to, to solve the problem. So thank you very much for highlighting that.

Scott Luton (00:15:51):

That is right.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:15:52):

Yeah. We are a global society, so what problems arise in one country really affects all countries.

Scott Luton (00:16:00):

That’s right. And we have dysfunctions like any global family does. Uh, crazy <laugh>, uh, uncle Jimmy gets <laugh>, has a little too much <laugh> fun at our certain reunions. I hoping we don’t have an Uncle. Jimmy. I hope you don’t have an uncle. Jimmy and Kevin, we’re not picking on anybody, I promise. <laugh>. All right, so let’s get into, we have

Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:19):

Any, have any, Jimmys,

Scott Luton (00:16:23):

I don’t see any just yet.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:25):

<laugh>, disparaged all our, you know, viewers. <laugh> serious.

Scott Luton (00:16:31):

All right. So let’s get into our first story here today on the supply Chain Buds Digital Transformers edition. And surprise, surprise, just like gum pile, it’s about digital transformation. Lemme pull up this graphic here, Kevin. So this, uh, this article here, interesting interview from our friends at Retail Touchpoints. It features Matthew, I’m gonna say Ho, h o u l e, Matthew Ho, I think the CIO of Aldo Group, as he shares key takeaways from their ongoing digital transformation. Kevin, tell us more.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:17:05):

Well, um, actually, he was very focused on the retail industry, right? And, uh, and he talked about, first he talked about like, the two major challenges that arise when you’re doing digital transformation. Um, the first we talked a lot about is actually harnessing and leveraging data. Um, you need to be very, be effective, uh, uh, not only recognizing the data that’s important, but dealing with the exponential growth, uh, in, in data generation and availability. Um, so the c i o of any organization, not just in retail, um, has to harness it effectively. Uh, you have a whole lot of data at your disposal, from customer behavior to their preferences, to insights, actual insights, uh, but so involves not just the right technology, but also the right skills, processes and culture mm-hmm. Uh, to manage and use the data. And, and the second challenge you talked about is having agility in your organization.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:18:19):

Uh, the marketplace is global and it’s dynamic. Uh, so you have to ensure that you have agility built into your technology strategy. Mm-hmm. Uh, digital transformation isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a journey. It’s a continuous journey. Uh, and especially in retail, which is a highly, uh, dynamic industry. You have changing customer expectations, emerging technologies, and really evolving business models. So it needs to be ready to, uh, adapt and adopt actually quickly and pivot strategies as as necessary. So, while, uh, recognizing these two challenges, uh, to a c ccio, he also brought up the five. We were doing numbers, again, five <laugh>, but this is the Sesame Street, uh, supply chain <laugh>. Um, uh, five, the number five, that’s right. Uh, CIO priorities. Uh, and, uh, first is prioritizing your customer. In every decision, in every technology initiative, you must really ask, how does this benefit your customer?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:19:46):

How does it enhance their experience? Uh, second, while you’re leveraging your data, don’t forget the human, we talk about this often, right? Data is crucial for personalizing the customer experience and making informed dis business decisions. However, it’s important to remember that data is just a tool, okay? It’s not a substitute for human insight and understanding. Uh, number three is agility. Okay? The pace of change is accelerating, um, and agility is more important now than ever. You, Mr. You ready to adapt and adopt quickly to changing customer expectations. Number four, cyber cybersecurity. And we’re gonna talk a little bit about that. Cybersecurity and privacy, as he says, is non-negotiable. Mm. As you become more digital and data driven, it’s really, really important to have cyber security in, in place and privacy. It cannot be overstated. You must ensure that your systems and data are secure and that a customer’s privacy is protected. And, and finally, number five is collaboration across all of your operational silos. Creating a seamless customer experience requires collaboration. And it’s not just the job of the I e t department, but of the entire organization. So if you understand and focus on those challenges, uh, and also focus on addressing the five ccio priorities, you are really going a long way with respect to digitally transforming on your organization and your supply chain.

Scott Luton (00:21:42):

Well said, Kevin, great story. And of course, we’re referring to this retail touchpoints piece. Uh, sit down with Aldo Group cio lessons and priorities learned from their ongoing digital transformation. Two quick thoughts there. Uh, Kevin, first off, I’m so glad you mentioned adapt and adopt, especially emphasis on the latter, because, you know, as, as leaders out there, as they’re, as they’re selecting technology, hopefully with their teams, but eventually you purchase it, you bring it in, you gotta implement it, and then of course, users have to adopt it and get this, use it. How about that? And you can have the best, latest, greatest magical wand, right? That will do enormous things. But without critical adoption, without critical adoption, you, you get nothing. You get nothing. It’s kinda like going, going back to those that con that, uh, containerization. Yeah. If ports and markets around the globe had not adopted containerization and, and, you know, bringing in the right cranes and, and just the ports so they can shift over from, you know, bales to, um, entire containers, then that, which was latest, greatest thing in supply chain since sliced bread, none of that would’ve taken off and transformed the global economy.

Scott Luton (00:22:54):

So, I’m glad you mentioned adopt and adapt. And then secondly, yeah, go ahead, Kevin.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:22:59):

Yeah. One of the thing, you know, uh, executives, when they have to make a decision, typically, or traditionally, it’s always a, uh, a buy or build, uh, decision, right? You either build what you need or you buy what you need. But in today’s world, you can also rent what you need, ah, bill, buy or rent, um, and adopt and adapt. Both of those are very important when you’re either, uh, buying or, right.

Scott Luton (00:23:35):

Right. Excellent point, excellent point. Um, and, and of course, whatever option you choose your kids, then come steal it from you. So,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:23:44):

<laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:23:46):

Uh, alright. Hey, Kim, winter, good to see you. Uh, Kim is with us here probably via LinkedIn. We’re still having a problem with LinkedIn comments, uh, but he says, uh, greetings from the Middle East, all lots of agility and growth going on around here. Kevin, and you’re right, Kim, across Middle

Kevin L. Jackson (00:24:00):

East. Yeah, I was just in there. I was just in Egypt. And next month I’ll be in Dubai.

Scott Luton (00:24:04):

Yes, man. All right. So Kevin, you’re gonna have to connect if you don’t have plans already with the one and only Kim winner is gonna be the one, only Kevin L. Jackson one or Twin Powers activate, um, <laugh>, one of the quick thing from this article that we’re talking about from our friends at Retail Touchpoints. So the CIO states in this interview, Kevin, you kind of touched on this, I think, but the Aldo group is keenly interested in three key needs, unified commerce, sustainability, and then personalization on that last one, Gartner identified mass customization as a big shift years ago. I bet old Corey, Cori, Jose was, was part of that awesome research.

Scott Luton (00:24:45):

Probably. Um, now as it dawned on me, Kevin, uh, in the last week or two, uh, so, you know, we’ve been flying forever. I can remember flying, you know, 20 something years ago when I was, was in the Air Force for the first time. Mm-hmm. And back when they had curtains, you know, and little prop jobs, they go from <laugh> Wichita to Kansas City and Kansas City to Atlanta, and there was like three people in the whole plane. Remember the good old, good old days of having your seat to yourself. But anyway, kidding aside, so that this mass customization, if you remember back then, if your plane was fortunate enough to have a movie on it, everybody watched the same movie, whether you liked it or not, even if it was the really bad movie, like Bewitched as my wife made me watch 15 years ago in the movie theater, but everyone had to watch it. And these days, as I was flying last week, it dawned on me as I kind of took a minute and just looked around the cabin. Yeah. Every single passenger’s got their own video screen watching all kinds of different stuff. And that really is a real simple illustration of, of where we’re headed, that mass customization far beyond global air travel. But Kevin, does that resonate with you? And, and what else comes to your mind maybe when, when you think of mass customization?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:25:58):

Well, it’s actually also, um, what you have access to. Uh, last time I was flying, um, well, last few times, I, I had to, you know, connect to the internet while I was in flight that I had to either research something or finish the document before I landed, or send an email or get an email or actually chat in, in real time, uh, through, uh, WhatsApp, right? So we, we just don’t realize how far we have come, uh, with technology and how valuable it is, but it’s not the technology that really matters. It’s the information, right? Right. Connectivity, so you can get information so you can connect to humans. So that’s a real one.

Scott Luton (00:26:45):

Excellent point, Kevin. And that access, you know, call out the digital divide. There’s lots of folks, lots of communities that don’t have the access to information and technology that they need. Yeah. Uh, but hey, we’ll save that for another show. So, Kevin, for the sake of time, we’ve got another article, another news story here that we want to dive into. And I’m gonna pop up this, well, I’ll, I’ll bring that graphic up in a second. So, our friends at Accenture, Kevin, recently res, uh, released the state of cyber Resilience 2023 report. And I think you wanna, uh, offer up your observations and kinda like two parts, two containers. Yeah. What is in, contain, what’s in container one, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:27:24):

One, <laugh>. Oh, <laugh>. So we’re talking about Aldo and important of cybersecurity and, um, prophecy, right? Uh, when you’re at with your clients. So what Accenture is actually, uh, coined, I guess is this term of a cyber transformer. Instead, they’re basically saying that digital data is critical, but you have to also be a cyber transformer. Um, and that means integrating, uh, si cyber security mm-hmm. <affirmative> and risk management in, in your business. Uh, you have to leverage a risk-based framework, uh, into your, um, cybersecurity actions and decisions, uh, across your organization. And that includes not just your operations, but you’re making sure that your executive leadership agreed on a priority of assets. And those assets are data right to be protected and consider cyber security risk to be, uh, uh, uh, uh, a major component of your overall enterprise risk. Um, it also talks about, we had mentioned about, you know, bill buy rent.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:28:43):

Mm. Leveraging cyber security as a service in order to enhance your, your cyber security operations. No one, unless your business is cyber security, it’s kind like impossible for you to keep up with the right, the daily risk and, and problems that occur. So you need to partner with an organization that’s focused on cyber security so that you can have agility within your cybersecurity operation. So you actually have a process that continuously monitors and reports on your, the cyber risk, um, and this is, goes to a larger part, is your entire ecosystem tr cyber transformers are more likely than others to take such actions as incorporating their ecosystem or supply chain partners. And two, their incident response plan, and also require them to meet strict cybersecurity standards. So when you’re operating, um, in a business ecosystem, as we all do, I mean, I can’t name one organization that doesn’t have some type of supply chain, right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:30:04):

Even if it’s just an information supply chain, you have to integrate your partners into your own cyber security processes. And this also relies heavily on automation. Cyber transformers are more likely than others to leverage automation as part of their cybersecurity activities. And once again, if the cybersecurity isn’t your main focus as a business, you would need to leverage another organization that has the, the, the resources to invest, deploy and operate, um, automation with respect to cybersecurity, um, and, and cybersecurity talent. It just so scarce and Right. E expensive as a world. Right? And it’s a, it’s a real challenge, uh, for any, for any organization.

Scott Luton (00:31:01):

Before you move to part two, you might just be yes. Wrapping up container one. But before we move to container two, I wanna share something really quick. Kevin, I wanna make sure you Yes. All right. Is this, is this a good segue?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:31:10):

Yes,

Scott Luton (00:31:11):

Absolutely. Okay. I wanna make, I wanna give folks for any of our fellow visual learners out there, I’m a big visual learner, so you can tell me something until my ears bleed <laugh>. But once I see it, it sticks. And this is kind of what Kevin was just going through. This is, uh, the cyber transformers as coined by Accenture. And Kevin touched on each of these four, and probably a few others. But you’ll see there the big delta that exists between these cyber transformers that are, um, that are really leading the charge and doing it the right way. And then all the laggards, and you can see the really big delta gaps are the, that’s kinda redundant, the big gaps between what cyber transformers are doing and, uh, what everyone else is doing. So y’all check that out. And of course, we got a link, I think, to the report that we’re gonna drop in the chat here. And Kevin, um, give us, you got, you got part two, I think as you’re, uh, talking about what this research points to. Right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:32:07):

Right. A absolutely, and, and, you know, whenever you’re talking about, I guess anything in, in, in business, it’s always, uh, priorities. The executives have to deal with priorities. Um, and in today’s world, sustainability is becoming a big priority, uh, and how to fit in and supported green economy. But unfortunately, many times that becomes the lowest priority. You know, revenues first, you know, customer satisfaction now really, really don’t care about the earth. So that don’t sound right. <laugh>, <laugh>, but, but that’s what, what, what happens. Okay. So, um, but if you are a digital transformer within your industry and you want to practice, um, being a cyber transformer in, in your business, you cannot underestimate or appreciate or focus on, you can just can’t ignore, uh, sustainability. And in supply chain sustainability, really, it’s focused on, uh, creating a circular supply chain. Um, and there’s so many ways that you can address your digital transformation requirements, your cyber transformation requirements, and still the green still yes, be sustainable.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:36):

Uh, and some are, and so Accenture, as a highlight, some of the ways you can do that, yeah. For instance, blockchain, blockchain provides shared access, controlled and shared access to data, uh, and gives you the ability to, to trace and verify actions, uh, through the supply chain, the use of a digital identity, leveraging biometrics and facial recognition to verify, uh, the use of, of biometric payments, uh, to share, produce a story. And that’s the customer. Send direct and secure tips with fast settlements, uh, circular production, right? Better resource planning, huh. And utilization, uh, capturing product authenticity to pro, uh, um, prevent, uh, knockoffs, um, and confirm labor sources so that you’re not sending your, uh, money to, uh, places where there’s slave labor, uh, for instance, or child labor. Um, and, uh, leveraging technologies, adopting technologies that supports rising consumer interests. This is your digital transformation. And, and finally, ensuring that positive social impacts, humans are critical, humans are important, and your circle of supply chain holds the potential to really change how food and retail goods are produced, which enhances the producers incomes and environmental incomes and outcomes. It really supports Mother Earth.

Scott Luton (00:35:25):

Love that. Uh, we gotta do a lot more of that, A lot more action. Uh, I want to go back to something that highly technical term that you used. Avoid knockoffs folks, avoid knockoffs. Watch out for Uncle Jimmy and his knockoffs. That’s

Kevin L. Jackson (00:35:39):

Not <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:35:40):

So, uh, but good stuff there. And also, um,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:35:43):

Comic, comic fix. Maybe that’s the professional world, right?

Scott Luton (00:35:45):

<laugh>. That’s right. Hey, we’ve got a link, uh, again, y’all can check out the report here. And I wanna add a little, little footnote to that. So the research behind this report, Kevin included insights from 3000 business leaders, right? Including 2,500 chief information security officers, and some 500 CEOs and CFOs. Uh, and two things there. One key recommendation, and you touched on this, but, uh, Kevin, I think on the first part, uh, from the research, hey, appoint a cybersecurity leader as part of the core digital transformation team. Yes, that person’s responsible for orchestrating with their baton, right? Uh, cybersecurity across all transformation initiative. To Kevin’s point, it’s a team job. But having one person to really make that be the reason they jump outta bed in the morning, it’s really, really important. And then secondly, Kevin, I’d love for you to speak to either one of these in larger organizations, more and more, just like we all celebrating, uh, the last, I don’t know, five years or so, how now chief supply chain officers are a thing. There’s more and more they’re multiplying.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:36:51):

Not

Scott Luton (00:36:51):

Yet. Well, more and more we’re seeing both chief information security officers, as well as a lot more ch uh, chief Cybersecurity officers. Yes. And one little factoid, this is, uh, so Trivia’s gonna be another theme here today. It’s widely held that City Corp created the first, uh, chief information security role in the mid nineties after a cyber breach. Kevin, uh, your final thoughts here.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:37:16):

Well, you know, a lot of times they say cybersecurity is everyone’s job. Mm-hmm. But there’s a correlator to that. If it, if it’s everyone’s job, then it’s no one’s job <laugh>. That’s right. And very bad, right? So, yes, it’s key to having a leader, someone that’s going to, uh, set the standard. Somebody’s going to, uh, provide, you know, the right information, um, to the rest of the organization and to coordinate activities, uh, across all the different, uh, parts, uh, of the organization. Yeah. And data, you know, is the, the lifeblood of any organization. So, and you need to protect that data, ensure that that data is, um, is, uh, protected, and that, uh, you address all of the privacy issues, uh, required, which are different in every country around the region, around the world.

Scott Luton (00:38:13):

That’s right. Uh, so good things come to those that have oil chips, um,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:38:20):

And beta

Scott Luton (00:38:21):

Data and containers, <laugh>, they’re the ones buying, buying golf leagues, and who knows, football leagues, who knows what’s to come. Um, all right. So, uh, we got a co So we’re coming around the home stretch here on this edition of The Buzz with, uh, Kevin L. Jackson, of course, on the Transformers edition of The Buzz here today. And Kevin, you know, Greg White is on assignment. He’s on, like, on a sabbatical assignment out there, Kevin. He’s

Kevin L. Jackson (00:38:49):

On the secret assignment. No, he’s a secret agent. <laugh>. I,

Scott Luton (00:38:55):

Kevin, I’m glad someone else, I’m glad you validate my long-held suspicion, but hey, uh, speaking of knowledge and data, and Kevin talked about how important learning is these days. Hey, we’ve got a great webinar coming up later this week, June 22nd, that’s Thursday, man, it’s hard to believe. We’re almost rolling into July, Kevin. So,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:39:17):

Making plans,

Scott Luton (00:39:18):

Making plans, uh, hey, <laugh>, this is a special webinar time 11:00 AM Eastern time, 11:00 AM Eastern time, 5:00 PM Central. That’s c e t, uh, I guess that’s Central European time feeling the squeeze. Well, we’re gonna talk about how to meet those own time and full targets in a very uncertain world with our friends from E two Open and kpmg. So don’t miss that, uh, webinar this coming, uh, Thursday. It’s free to join, but hey, you gotta make sure you registered, we’ve got the link to do so in the comments there. Okay? So Kevin,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:39:55):

Yeah, one thing we’ll move on. One thing we’ll move on, I wanna highlight you ran by is, is actually, um, starting the plan for the 4th of July. Anything, ah,

Scott Luton (00:40:05):

Okay.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:06):

Here in the United States, okay? This is a special Independence Day. Did you know that?

Scott Luton (00:40:12):

No. Please tell me.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:14):

So, so it’s, it’s, you know, every year it’s July 4th, but this year, July 4th falls on Tuesday.

Scott Luton (00:40:22):

Tuesday.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:23):

So, yes. So, so look, get, think this, you can, you have to have the party over the weekend, right? Because it’s in the middle of the week. Alright? So that means you can tell your boss, Hey, I gotta take Friday off so I can prepare for my Independence Day party over the weekend, right? So now you have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday is a holiday because it’s 4th of July,

Scott Luton (00:40:50):

Right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:51):

Yeah. And then you had your holiday on Tuesday, <laugh>, which is the fourth, and then Wednesday, again, be party on the fourth. You can’t come to work <laugh>. So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 day Holland Day. So you really gotta make plans

Scott Luton (00:41:09):

The whole week, the whole week. Um, and I remember, you know, I, I know you, when you were in the Navy, you may remember this too, occasionally, when a July 4th would fall on a Thursday or a Tuesday, our base commander occasionally would shut down everything, but, uh, uh, uh, the critical operations, right? And we would have, to your point, Kevin, that four day holiday, that was a, that was a bunch of fun. I I, I spent all my E two or e three money at the time, and <laugh>, there wasn’t a whole bunch of that. All right? So speaking of travels and, uh, incredible people, I wanna, Kevin, if you’ve got a couple minutes Yeah, I hope you do. I wanna share about some of our experiences as Amanda and I went to, uh, South Africa last week.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:41:55):

You know, it’s on my bucket list. I wanna do a safari. So,

Scott Luton (00:41:59):

Oh, Kevin, I tell you, we’re gonna, um, when you’re ready to, to plan that trip mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we’ve got the experts that will connect you with, and you’ll have a great trip, just like we did. So we went down there. Um, Kevin, you may know we’ve been investing in the, uh, supply chain leadership across Africa series here at Supply Chain now. Yes. For a couple years now. And Amanda, and by the way, Amanda, Catherine, big thanks to both of y’all behind the scenes helping to make, uh, this show happen. I’m not sure how many episodes we’re up to. I wanna say probably about two dozen, is my guess. But anyway, so we’ve been conducting that series, Kevin, with Jenny Froom and Saex for a couple years now. And I’ll tell you, it was wonderful to be I r l in real life with, uh mm-hmm. This wonderful supply chain ecosystem of brilliant people and companies, really across the African continent. Yeah, it was in Cape Town, South Africa, but they were folks from Nigeria, Mozambique, uh, all, all different countries across Africa. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and Europe, and of course the states. It was just a, a great, I think our dinner, Kevin, the dinner, uh, which kind of was like the closing ceremonies. Yeah. We had more than 35 countries represented, um, as part of that dinner.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:10):

Wow. That’s huge.

Scott Luton (00:43:11):

So, Kevin, have you ever heard of Table Mountain?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:15):

Uh, no.

Scott Luton (00:43:16):

Check this out.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:17):

I think that must be it right there.

Scott Luton (00:43:19):

Yeah. So this is the waterfront as we learned. This is just a portion, the waterfront’s massive. Um, but it’s, uh, really a, a commerce center, probably the commerce center of Cape Town. So if you ever go to Cape Town, you want to hit the waterfront. But here, right behind you, see, uh, this is Table Mountain here. Mass is iconic. Almost anywhere you go in Cape Town, you look over your shoulder <laugh>, and you’ve got

Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:45):

Squat as a table,

Scott Luton (00:43:46):

<laugh>. Yes, that’s right. Hence the name. And then over here, over here on the left is Devil’s Peak. And then on the right, you can’t see it, but you got Lion’s head over there. So, so just the gorgeous mountain range, urban mountain range really was, uh, fascinating to see. Um, and get this, a couple of my favorite quotables, Kevin. So I sit down, we did nine interviews in a single day, and then we had several exchanges. Yeah. We were, Hey, Kevin, lot of work. We were working. Yes, sir. No,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:44:15):

I don’t believe it. You’re, you’re just trying. Yeah. Are you owe there vacationing? I understand. <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:44:22):

Well,

Scott Luton (00:44:24):

You mentioned safaris. I learned that there are no tigers in the entire African continent. I did. I gotta admit, I didn’t know that. So I think of, uh, several folks chuckled at me when I said, I’d like to see a tiger or two during my time. So, <laugh>, I’ll put that aside for now. But, hey, Azua, o k, uh, incredible supply chain practitioner and leader, she said, and this was inspiring to me, at least, action. Don’t just have policies. Don’t just have strategies. Make sure you act on them. Make sure you are accountable for them, and deliver to impact. End quote. Yes, Kevin, she said that on cue. She didn’t, I mean, it was like, it, it was like, you know, give us one thing that supply chain leaders, business leaders need to keep in mind. And it was eloquent. If we’d had Academy Award there, we would’ve had presented it to Zuka. But Kevin, your thoughts around, uh, paralysis by analysis and, you know, the best of lip service, but sometimes it doesn’t, you know, lead to action, right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:45:26):

So it, it, um, uh, what immediate comes to mind is fud, fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Uh, and that’s the enemy of action. FUD is the enemy of action. So, uh, you need to really, um, understand challenges. You gotta understand the good and bad, the pros and cons of, of every action. So it’s not to say that you don’t do analysis, okay? But also don’t be afraid of making a decision. And, and the reason you can’t be afraid of just because you can always change. Alright? There, there’s nothing that really locks you in forever. You can always change, and you should always change whenever you make a decision. You also have to consider what if it doesn’t go right? How do, how do I, uh, back out of that decision, uh, or how do I reset from that decision? So all of that is needed beforehand, but don’t fail to make the decision.

Scott Luton (00:46:35):

Yes, I’m with you. Well said, Kevin. You get an Academy Award as well. Always poetic <laugh> and, uh, the acceptance speech coming up soon. But, uh, folks, so check that out. We’re gonna, and we’re gonna be releasing these interviews soon. The other thing I really loved, and there were so many, I had, you know mm-hmm. <affirmative>, my 17 pages notes. So Deborah Dole, a friend of the show, uh, was there as well. And, you know, she led off our time together, Kevin, by making a very simple but really important observation. And she’s traveled the world, much like you, Kevin, extensively. And she goes, Hey, every time I’m paraphrasing, but she’s, every time, uh, you know, uh, fly around the world and, and visit folks, especially in Africa. I’m reminded that people are kind and Kevin, that really, you know, me, I’m, I’m, I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.

Scott Luton (00:47:21):

Cause I believe it in my heart, right? It’s really important. And, uh, that just was a great way to start my session with Deborah. So stay tuned for that as well. And Kevin, I know you believe that as well, right? I’ve heard it said before, positive mutual assumptions. We can’t let our brain assume that folks are out for the worst things. You know, it doesn’t mean we don’t, we don’t, you know, keep our head on a pivot and, and trust trace and verify little play on what you shared earlier, Kevin <laugh>. But people are kind, Kevin, your thoughts.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:47:50):

99% of the people that you interact with will, will treat you right and do the right thing. When, when faced with a decision, it said 1% you have to worry about. Uh, but don’t ever, I try not to ever assume that any action is based upon malice. Mm. Cause even if someone does something that may hurt you or may be against what, what your your goals are, you need to keep thinking that, you know, the overwhelming issue is that most people will not, or don’t take action and not right. People make mistakes. People take action based upon lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of knowledge. But that’s not malice. That’s not cause they’re trying to hurt you hurt. So don’t assume that people are doing things just to hurt you. That’s, that’s hardly ever

Scott Luton (00:48:51):

Kevin. Well said, well said. Point I wanted to share is big thanks to our dear friends, man, on behalf of me and Amanda, the whole fa uh, Jenny and Clive Froom, and of course, uh, Ken and Pat Tus, uh, who showed us around Cape Town. Uh, one, uh, Thursday, uh, Thursday during the day, and we went to Kevin. Everyone hears about the Penguins in Cape Town, but unfortunately, the, the Penguins are fighting to protect their numbers. We learned a ton at a, uh, a rescue center, uh, where the, where, uh, wow, they rehabilitate a a variety of birds, but including penguins who are, uh, the African penguin is really facing an uphill battle. Oh. So Kevin, when you’re ready to book, and hey, I’m not a travel agent, Kevin <laugh>, you come,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:49:37):

You got the list though, right? <laugh>?

Scott Luton (00:49:39):

That’s right. I got a book somewhere, but we’ll get you connected.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:49:43):

One those notes.

Scott Luton (00:49:44):

That’s right. Um, all right, so Kevin, I’ve got a little bonus question here. We’re gonna make sure folks know how to connect with you and the digital Transformers series. And, uh, we got a, we got lots of shows. You got like a hit factory. It’s like Motown, uh, over there, digital Transformers, but hey,

Kevin L. Jackson (00:50:00):

Yeah, we’ve got a lot in the can right now, that’s for sure.

Scott Luton (00:50:03):

We absolutely do. So, before we talk about that for a second, you, um, as you returned from Egypt as part of about, it’s been about two years ago or so, we got some really cool footage. I saw you of your travels. I saw some great interviews, and now you’re going back to Dubai, I think I heard in a few more weeks. Yeah. What was one, we, we have international flare here today. What is one of your favorite, um, eureka moments or observations from your time in Egypt, uh, a few weeks ago?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:50:33):

Well, you know, sort of, um, the view on life <laugh> was one of, uh, how, how do Egyptians do you like, was, was very enlightening to me. Um, you know, COVID is not that far away, right? Uh, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s sort of murking right there. I’m like, I’m getting ready to go take my next booster <laugh>. Like everyone shared, I’m gonna right, like, put a plug there. But, um, uh, we, we went out and we were at the market in, in Cairo, the old market in Cairo. And, uh, the, my, my host asked me, Amir, he said, Hey, wanna go eat dinner? I said, yeah, I mean, lunch, let’s go eats lunch. So, so we went, ate lunch, and he, he ordered and, and, and all the food came. Uh, but there’s no utensils on, on the, on the table. So remember me being a, you know, snotty nose American, I’m saying <laugh>.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:51:34):

Okay, okay, well, maybe you don’t have fork, but at least have a chopstick or something. <laugh>. So, so, um, but Amir, you know, all the food comes and Amir just starts digging in. He puts his hands in the food and starts eating this. He puts his hand over, no starts eating. And he said, come on, eat. I said, oh, then I’m gonna do 10 said, no, we eat, we eat what our hands here. And he and I, I said, okay. Um, and I’ve been in places where, um, I’ve been in the Middle East before, right? And I’ve eaten with my hands. It’s not like I’m, you know, SNO or anything like that. <laugh>. But, but, you know, COVID was just, we’ve all

Scott Luton (00:52:14):

Been trained these last few years. Yeah, I’m with you.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:52:17):

You know, it’s like, y you mean, you know, you don’t have gloves to put on <laugh>. You don’t need eat with your hands, at least, you know? And I, and I said, okay, let’s eat here, but tell me, you know, just a few months ago, we had a global lockdown, uh, on, on cause of Covid. And, you know, people just wouldn’t touch anything, right? Let alone food. Um, and, and I said, did you know during the lockdown you had lockdowns here? He said, yeah, we’re at Lockdowns. Uh, so when you had Lockdowns, did you still eat with your hands? He said, well, yes, of course. Well, I’m <laugh>. He said, you know, um, uh, eating is, uh, just like, uh, building camaraderie and building trust, uh, across the, the community. And, uh, if you can’t eat with your family and friends, uh, then there’s no real reason to live <laugh>.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:53:21):

Mm. So we said, well, you know, if we can’t eat with our hands and with our family and our friends, then so be it. Right? We’re, we’re going to enjoy life Mm. Even with Covid, and we’re not gonna worry about Covid, and we are going to eat with our hands. And it was just a, a, you know, this thing, it said, you’re absolutely right. Yes. No matter what, what, no matter what challenge you have in life, life is about maintaining your relationship with your family and your friends. Mm. And if that means eating with my hands during Covid, so be it.

Scott Luton (00:54:03):

Mm.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:54:04):

<laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:54:05):

Kevin, I’m, I, uh, I’m so glad you shared that. And in, in a broader sense, something you shared there. You know, the power of breaking bread with people, regardless of Yeah. What your utensil is of choice, man. It’s immense power there. And there’s, there’s, you know, uh, life I’ve, as I’ve come to appreciate it more and more with three kids, you know, cause you’re, your, your, uh, your mindset shifts, right? Yes. And evolves as you get older. But life more and more is about the simple things, including having meals with your, your folks, you that you’ve known for a long time, and folks you just met, met. So I appreciate you sharing that, Kevin. All right. And another, and one of the little, little factoid a lot of folks may not know, Kevin, that when you were prior to big things in business, when you were still in the military, you were part of, I guess I’ll use a diplomatic mission for lack of a better phrase, but you were, were kinda like part of delegations in different countries, including the Middle East. Is that right, Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:54:59):

Uh, yes. I, I actually did a lot of, um, in, in the military, you would do exchange duty, right? And where you would work, uh, go and work with another, uh, country and learn about how they operate and how, how they work. And, uh, did a lot of work with, with, with nato. So, um, it, it’s really important to understand that every society has its own norms, but none of ’em are, uh, they’re just different. They’re not. That’s right. Good or bad. I mean, they’re just different. And it’s important to understand, uh, how culture plays in, in all that we do as humans. That’s

Scott Luton (00:55:39):

Right. All right. So the hits continue with Digital Transformers, folks. Uh, if you haven’t yet, you’re, if you’re one of three people out there that haven’t checked out yet, <laugh> do. So you can find Digital Transformers with Kevin L. Jackson, wherever you get your podcasts from. But Kevin, tell us, uh, let’s see. You’ve got a, we’re about to drop an episode tomorrow, I think, Kevin, is that right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:56:00):

Uh, not tomorrow, but we just, just last week, we just last week an ibm, uh, episode that I recorded from SAP Sapphire. Uh, and that, that would, that was a, that’s a, that was a really great opportunity. I, in, uh, Orlando, Florida, I was working with both SAP and IBM did like, uh, five, uh, recordings, uh, entities while we’re there. And, uh, they’re all in our, uh, our edit shop right now, <laugh>. So, uh, and then we, we came back and we are about at and t show that’s, uh, going to be coming out, uh, in, in two weeks. Uh, so we’re actually, we’re actually, and then next month, I think we have two shows coming out next month. And then, um, I I tell you, it’s, uh, it’s been, you say Summer is supposed to get easy. No. Yes. It’s a lot. I mean, it’s humping up. And then we’re gonna go, like I said, we’re gonna be in Dubai where we’re doing a, uh, beyond Cloud, um, event. Yes. Uh, in, uh, Dubai. Uh, and that’s gonna be with, uh, Amazon Web Services. We’re gonna do a lot of, uh, we’re gonna, um, do some, uh, interviews there as well. So, um, there’s a lot going on. Stay tuned for, stay tuned. Tuned. Transformers tuned.

Scott Luton (00:57:23):

It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s hard to hear, but we got a lot more coming. All right. So, and Kevin, if you have Beyond Finding Digital Transformers with Kevin L. Jackson, wherever you get your podcast from, how else have folks want to compare notes with you? If they wanna talk shop, they wanna have you come out and speak to their event and what have you? How can folks connect with each

Kevin L. Jackson (00:57:40):

Other? Yeah, LinkedIn is always easy, is always the best. Um, and or on Twitter, uh, Kevin underscore Jackson. And you can also find me on, uh, Facebook. Uh, I’m on Instagram, uh, Kevin Jackson Gor Tech, and on TikTok Man, <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:58:00):

As well. Everywhere.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:01):

Everywhere. Everywhere and everywhere.

Scott Luton (00:58:03):

And, and you, you join us here every, I think third Monday, right? Of each of each month.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:09):

Second Monday, every second. Monday, second Monday, we do the last Monday, but normally every second Monday, this isn’t all of the week for digital Transformers on the bus, actually,

Scott Luton (00:58:19):

Our travel got in the way. That’s right. So you can find Kevin here beyond all those places. You can find him here on the bus on every second Monday of the month. Yeah, Kevin, always a pleasure hanging out. That’s fun with Kevin L. Jackson. We’re

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:33):

Not having a time on, well, no,

Scott Luton (00:58:35):

<laugh>, we’re right up against it. <laugh> right up against it. Uh, but Kevin, Kevin L. Jackson with Digital Transformers, appreciate all you do. Love our time together, all that we learned from you and your expertise and your travels.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:48):

This is great. I mean, uh, please have me back on your show, <laugh>. We

Scott Luton (00:58:53):

Hey, we sure will. We sure will. But folks, hopefully, and thanks for everyone. And, and, and, Hey, look, I, I apologize. I know we couldn’t recognize the many comments. We’ll go back and we’re gonna dive into the LinkedIn mechanism there, but hey, hopefully you enjoyed the conversation that Kevin and I had here. Chalk full of practical takeaways, I believe. But it’s about picking one and putting it into action. You gotta make a decision eventually, or you certainly will be paralyzed, and that doesn’t do anyone good. So Ds dot word. Yep. Don’t be afraid. As Kevin shared, take action. Hey, even go find, uh, crazy old Uncle Jimmy and sit down and break bread with him. Yeah, <laugh>, uh, that, that’s a good thing to do. But hey, whatever you do, folks, kidding aside, hey, happy Juneteenth to all the folks out there. Do your home homework, dive into the history of the holiday and the significance, and more importantly, of how we can use it as a vehicle globally to do the right thing and eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking. So, on behalf of Kevin L. Jackson, our rest of our team here at Supply Chain now and Digital Transformers, Scott Luton signing off for now, challenging you to do good, to give forward and to be the change. We’ll see you next time. Right back here. Supply chain now. Thanks. Bye.

Intro/Outro (01:00:01):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain now, community. Check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to Supply Chain now, anywhere you listen to podcasts. And follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on Supply Chain. Now,