Why do so many digital transformations fail? On The Supply Chain Buzz for February 21, special guest Kevin L. Jackson joins Scott and Greg to weigh in on where companies are dropping the ball when it comes to planning and executing crucial digital infrastructure investments. Hear from the group on what makes an ERP implementation successful, how companies can prepare the workforce for supply chain automation, why the margins of manufacturing make it a separate use case and more.
Intro/Outro (00:00:03):
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Scott Luton (00:00:30):
Hey, good morning, Scott Luton, Greg White, and Kevin L. Jackson with you here on supply chain. Now welcome to today’s live stream, Greg, Kevin, how we doing?
Greg White (00:00:41):
I’m doing great because Kevin L. Jackson is here.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:44):
You know what I’m not doing well at all last week I was in LA. It was 91 degrees right down to San Diego. It was 80, although it rain a it’s
Scott Luton (00:01:03):
20 degrees up in Virginia. How about that, Greg?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:05):
I want spring. I want spring.
Scott Luton (00:01:10):
Well, we’re glad to have you back. And this looks like you’re getting your frequent flyer miles in with that is good. Doesn’t surprise us at all. Uh, the movers and shakers here, uh, between Greg white and Kevin L. Jackson and folks is the supply chain buzz digital transformer’s ion. Right? So we’re gonna
Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:28):
Right. Get your transformation on,
Scott Luton (00:01:31):
Get your transformation on, uh, Greg, a couple weeks ago, we got Kim winterized today. We’re getting Kevin L. Jackson, or you ready, Greg?
Greg White (00:01:41):
I like it.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:43):
No,
Greg White (00:01:43):
I like that.
Scott Luton (00:01:46):
So it’s all about, uh, we’re gonna be tackling some leading stories, really across global business. Uh, and we want to hear from you. So get your POV ready, your, uh, insights. Ready? Those in the comments in the sky boxes, the cheap seats, uh, we wanna hear from you. Okay, so, so Greg, uh, we got Kevin’s update. He’s been flying around the country, making, making deals happen. Yeah. Greg, what, what have you been doing with the, uh, the Hilton, the global Hilton head shipping index?
Greg White (00:02:16):
Uh, well, I, we talked a little bit that I’ve actually heard of a couple companies that are gonna come out with a, how, how bad are the ports clogged up index? And I’m kinda looking forward to that, but in the meantime, we’ve got, wow, my Hilton head, uh, shipping index, which today was, it was interesting today. It was five, one oil tanker offshore and the rest containerships. But get this guys, um, the char charter yacht eternity, a 213 foot charter yacht that cost $390,000 a week to rent. Wow. Was towed into, uh, the port of Savannah by a tug today. So somebody while spending their $390,000 broke the engine and had to be pulled into port. So it’s interesting. These, the way AIS reports, it reports, um, no maneuverability, meaning the engines or the rudders were out of, you know, were whacked on this thing.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:21):
Water. Can you
Greg White (00:03:21):
Imagine being on first of all, can you imagine being on the 213 foot yacht, Kevin, I know you get to do that, but
Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:30):
Yeah. And my last week yacht stuck off the coast of Savannah.
Greg White (00:03:40):
True. I mean, I mean, you could have worse weekends, right? It’s not your boat, so who cares? Right. And you’re still on it and
Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:47):
Right,
Greg White (00:03:48):
Exactly. And I’m sure
Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:49):
The bar long as work, you get a refund, right?
Greg White (00:03:52):
Yeah. And you get a refund double bonus. Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:03:56):
Well keep the, uh, index and the observations coming there from the east coast. They’re the, uh, the South Carolina headquarters of supply chain now, uh, they’re in Hilton head, um, really quick. I wanna run through a couple different things before we get down into the heavy lifting of today’s show. I wanna go ahead and say hello to a few folks. Hey, Dr. Rhonda, uh, is back with us, Greg. Yeah. Uh, that at, uh, work life balance, um, fountain of information and, and good stuff, Dr. Ronda from out in Arizona. Right. How warm is it out there? You think she put out
Greg White (00:04:30):
A really good video over the last week? I think in, in the last week, I cannot remember days are kind of running together. We’ve had quite a few visitors, but, um, yeah. Uh, she’s, she’s always doing encouraging things, which is outstanding in these times. Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:04:47):
Rhonda, uh, drop your latest. Uh, I saw a couple of, uh, recent chats. You’ve had drop those in the comments with welcome Matt Lamont hard. I
Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:56):
Thinks has its, um, event in Scottdale, Arizona this week. Right.
Scott Luton (00:05:00):
I
Greg White (00:05:01):
Think
Scott Luton (00:05:01):
Is it this week?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:03):
Yeah. How
Greg White (00:05:04):
Did we not get an invite? Kevin, are you going or no?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:09):
Well, that’s a long story event this year,
Scott Luton (00:05:20):
So, but let’s drop that link. Uh, so Amanda, uh, first off Amanda Chantelle and Catherine, thanks for all that. You do the production team behind the scenes. Uh let’s. Let’s track down that link for the DKA D uh, see diverse manufacturing and supply chain Alliance, right? Kevin? Yeah.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:37):
Right. Accelerate 2002, 2022, right. Or What year is it?
Scott Luton (00:05:47):
You know, the cool thing, Greg and Kevin. Cause I I’ve been talking with, uh, David, um, uh, David, uh, Brooks, right? Kevin, um,
Greg White (00:05:55):
Burt Burton. Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:05:57):
Burton. Oh gosh. David Burton. Sorry. It’s a Monday. I’ve been talk chatting with David Burton. One of the cool things they’re doing is, you know, Greg, if you remember, a couple years ago, they brought in, uh, four or five students, um, uh, that were interested in supply chain. Right? Some of ’em reating through programs. They’re like, um, tripling that if not more, they’re bringing in 15, 20 students mixing with some of the leading manufacturing procurement, the supply chain leaders across the country. So I love what David Burton’s doing. Yeah. Um, okay.
Greg White (00:06:28):
Yeah. And I mean, we, we met with some of those folks after that and they have matriculated on, into great careers. Right.
Scott Luton (00:06:37):
That’s right. That’s right. Morgan state university, where, where those, those, uh, uh, students were from and Kevin, that was one of our earliest collaborations. If you remember. I think, uh, that’s
Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:48):
What we first met. You first interviewed me there.
Scott Luton (00:06:51):
That’s right. We talked about your, your, uh, Naval pilot amongst other things, uh, days.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:58):
Well, Scott discovered me well, that’s
Greg White (00:07:01):
The other way around?
Scott Luton (00:07:05):
Well, we had a great time. That’s a great organization. So, uh, uh, thanks for bringing that up. Let’s see. Lamont, Hardy speaking. I think he’s in San Diego Lamont. Great to have you back. Kevin was just talking about mentoring
Greg White (00:07:15):
Down, hear about what the weather’s like, where you are,
Scott Luton (00:07:19):
Make us all jealous.
Greg White (00:07:20):
Exactly.
Scott Luton (00:07:22):
Uh, Savannah. Great to see you here via LinkedIn. Thanks for joining here today. AOV. Great to have you here via LinkedIn. Let us know. I, I know you’ve joined us before, but let us know where you’re tuned in from. That’d be wonderful. Amad is tuned in, uh, via LinkedIn as well. Malinga from Zambia here with us. Great to have you here at Malinga. Uh, John. Hello from the west coast. Take, take a guess. Let’s see. West coast, uh, Kevin, Greg, where do you think John is dialed in from?
Greg White (00:07:50):
I think, uh, John’s been on with us before, but I think
Kevin L. Jackson (00:07:53):
He didn’t specify a country.
Greg White (00:07:55):
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. The west coast of what I’m since California. Yeah. But uh, I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be even more wrong likely in say San Francisco area. I were. Okay. So
Scott Luton (00:08:08):
Kevin, take a guess. We’ll see. Help
Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:10):
Seattle.
Scott Luton (00:08:12):
That was my guess. So I’m gonna go with, uh, Seattle,
Greg White (00:08:15):
Seattle.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:17):
Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:08:18):
I’m gonna go with that
Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:19):
Is the west coast Is
Scott Luton (00:08:22):
I’m gonna go with, with, uh, Oregon, uh, Portland. What’s the cool town in Oregon.
Greg White (00:08:26):
Portland.
Scott Luton (00:08:27):
Um, Portland
Kevin L. Jackson (00:08:28):
Port Portland.
Scott Luton (00:08:29):
Yep. So we got Portland, Seattle and Greg’s was San Francisco. So we’ll see who is closest and by the way, we dropped in the Denka link there. Wonderful. Thanks so much for, uh, being Johnny on the spot there, production to team. Um, okay. And welcome everybody. Now we couldn’t get everybody. We look forward to your comments throughout today’s, uh, uh, uh, buzz episode as transformers, John San Jose. We are all
Greg White (00:08:53):
Rolling. I’m closest though. San Francisco is maps. Zoom
Scott Luton (00:09:14):
Ends as usual. Kevin, I get used to it around here. Okay. So let’s dive into some programming notes before we get into three big stories, uh, that we’re gonna be tackling here today. I wanna start with Kevin, uh, digital, digital transformers here at supply chain now has been on quite a role it’s been blowing up, uh, of course, powered by our friends, Thomas and, uh, the TNS team, which we’ll talk about in just a second, but in this latest episode, uh, innovation through convergence cloud, AI, machine learning, blockchain, what’d, y’all talk about,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:46):
You know, that was a, that was an awesome show. Um, it was, uh, the QAR road show. Okay. Um, working, we’re working with the, um, the middle east and north African cloud Alliance talking about cause cause cloud is really growing big there. In fact, Egypt is, um, uh, sort of a leading regional power when it comes to cloud computing. Uh, just a quick note, uh, digital transformer hit 42 top business show in Egypt last week. Wow. So cause of this, this episode, and we talk about how, uh, cloud is serving as the foundation for artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain and, and how that entire region is accelerating by quickly adopting and, and transforming their businesses, uh, with cloud.
Scott Luton (00:10:46):
So what you’re saying, Kevin is, uh, just like, um, Jerry Lewis is big in France. You said it’s kinda like Kevin L. Jackson Egypt. Is that what you’re saying?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:58):
I’m big in Egypt, baby. Yes.
Scott Luton (00:11:01):
I love it.
Scott Luton (00:11:02):
I love it. Well big, thanks to our friends at TNS that sponsor that series. A lot of good stuff. We’ve got some big shows teed up. I know you do Kevin, uh, and folks, you can learn more, uh, at TNS corp.io. And of course you can also check out digital transformers@supplychainnow.com. Okay. Kevin, keep the good stuff coming. Uh, and who knows? We might just entice Greg white, who is, has been on sabbatical. You know, tequila, sunrise was popular everywhere, including Egypt. We might just get him off that sabbatical and meeting one once again with the movers and shakers across, uh, supply chain startup land. Well,
Greg White (00:11:42):
We’re gonna talk about some inspiring topics today in supply chain and digital. So I’m, you might just be right. Scott Luton.
Scott Luton (00:11:52):
Awesome.
Scott Luton (00:11:53):
Love it. Well, Hey folks also wanna keep this on your radar. The 2022 supply chain and procurement awards, nominations are open and Greg and Kevin we’ve had, we’ve had the markets really responded. We’re gonna need more time to process all the information that’s coming our way. We have extended nominations until, uh, keeping ’em open until, uh, April 1st. We’ve got nine different categories. What’s that? Greg? No
Greg White (00:12:19):
Joke,
Scott Luton (00:12:20):
No joke. Right?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:12:21):
Avalanche
Scott Luton (00:12:22):
Avalanche in a good way. Um, some of the companies and individuals out there make it happen. You can learn more at supply chain, procurement awards.com. And again, all nomination fee are being donated to a nonprofit on the move. Hope for justice, which is leading the fight, uh, against modern slavery and human trafficking. So y’all check that out. All right. I wanna say a look to a few more folks, and then we’re gonna get going with a, uh, a quick weekend observation, some data fact toys. We’re gonna be talking digital transformation and supply chain. Why that doesn’t work very often. As you heard from Greg, we’re gonna talk about some really hot and meaty topics that, and wanna get y’all’s take on those here today as well. It’s like the chef boy RD version of the supply chain, bud, Greg and Kevin, uh, Lamont Lamont is in San Diego. That’s gonna be 62 degrees a day. That is, uh, that sounds gorgeous. I can just picture how sunny of a day it is. Uh, salon 62
Kevin L. Jackson (00:13:21):
In San Diego,
Scott Luton (00:13:24):
Always 62.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:13:26):
Greg
Greg White (00:13:26):
It’s Frid bridged. Isn’t it for San Diego. I thought it was always, I thought, I always thought San Diego would be the easiest, um, meteorologist job in the world. Right? Cause the temperature’s always the same except for the Marine inversions in June, which last till noon to keep your temperature down and fog over the bay area.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:13:46):
Yeah. I used to live in there Mason. Oh yeah. Just, uh, I love, I loved it.
Greg White (00:13:51):
Nice play
Scott Luton (00:13:51):
Always 62 and always classy there in San Diego, uh, LAN joining us from, uh, Pakistan. Great to see ya LAN uh, Lela is tuned in via LinkedIn. Great to see ya. Thanks so much for being Jose Montoya. Uh, he is the west coast Myro uh, for logistics and coffee. Great to see ya. Jose look forward to catching back up with you. Soon. SEMA is tuned in from great to see you SEMA. Thanks for joining us. Uh, gene pledger, he’s becoming quite legend around these parts. Gene pledger, hope this finds you well. I love that picture of you and your significant other perhaps. Uh, that’s great. Um, Peter Bole all night and all day, of course we can’t do a buzz episode without your PB. Great to have you here. Uh, John says 62 is cold. It’s always 70 degrees in San Diego.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:14:42):
Oh, oh, I’m sorry.
Scott Luton (00:14:46):
All right. So let’s keep driving here. Uh, I want to share this with y’all, uh, uh, Greg and Kevin. So over the weekend, uh, you know, y’all know Amanda and I are routine. We grab our laptops knockout work with usually a documentary or some or something, or a good, good movie kind of playing, uh, in the background. Well, you know, Greg we’ve tackled, um, the 7 37 max, uh, issue for some time, right? It’s been really intriguing. Uh, unfortunately it’s cost, um, the lives of hundreds of folks, right? Well, Netflix released this documentary, which is really led by, um, I can’t remember the gentleman’s name, Peter something or other he’s been covering aviation for the wall street journal for, uh, over 20 years. And they had, they really put a crafted story behind what’s been going on, um, with the 7 37 max and, and we watch over the weekend and it was, it was intriguing.
Scott Luton (00:15:39):
Um, the story focuses a lot, Greg and Kevin on how the leadership and culture of Boeing throughout this process really predating the 7 37 max, how it changed dramatically, especially since Boeing had acquired McDonald Douglas. And then of course we talked about Greg, the headquarters moved to Chicago, right. And one of the reasons that, um, uh, the, uh, the film at least speaks to that, they moved the headquarters. They wanted to separate the financial folks from the engineering and technical folks. Right. They wanted to make, be able to make decisions, um, and not independent. Huh? What’s that Kevin
Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:15):
Independent, that it was the money independent,
Scott Luton (00:16:19):
The
Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:19):
Decisions. Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:16:20):
Right. But unfortunately at the end of the day, this, this documentary suggests that the safety of its passengers via the 7 37 max were compromised by Boeing. Leadership’s focus on the price that’s stock. Um, so I would check this out if you’re interested in aviation, if you’re interested in 7 37, max, all that what’s been going on, including the tragedy. Uh, also it touches a lot on the story of the competition between Boeing and Airbus, which I found to be fascinating. So, uh, if you’re looking for a good documentary downfall, the case against Boeing is a good one. Greg, your quick commentary and Kevin will circle back to you as a, as a pilot.
Greg White (00:16:57):
Interesting. The impact of short term site on your stock price has on the long term price of your stock price, not to mention the loss of life, but how silly and stupid is that right. I, I mean, I, I just think you, you have to take a much, much longer view than that. And especially in this age of transparency, right. There’s no, there’s nowhere to hide folks. So why?
Scott Luton (00:17:26):
Yeah. L well said Greg and, uh, Kevin, a lot of folks may not know, uh, you’re, you’re a pilot, you piloted, uh, aircraft in the Navy. Um, so what’s your take on, on this?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:17:38):
Well, actually I know, uh, go was talking about a long view. I think it’s, it’s, uh, maybe it’s lack of a broad view. I mean, business is about a lot of things and the stock price is just one very narrow aspect of it. Um, I mean, uh, performance, customer service, customer lines, these are very important aspects. And, uh, and it’s up to management to maintain broad view of the business so he can make proper balances. Right. Agreed,
Scott Luton (00:18:14):
Agreed. We said, um, and you know, of course this type of story deserves more than a couple minutes, but, uh, let’s, let’s see what, uh, Peter watched it last night and Peter of course spent close to 30 years in the aviation industry. Right. Um, he said, is that it leaves you angry. And I agree with him there. And he also says that, uh, the reporting, someone that would know being in aviation industry reported was spot on for the documentary, um, agreed, uh, Mohe 7 37 max should be the safest aircraft. Now you would think, uh, you know, there’s one point in the movie where the FAA and Boeing was their calculations on risk. And, uh, as I recall, don’t quote me on this, but their calculations based on before the fix, that they were projecting 15, the loss of 15 aircraft over to lifespan. And of course that’s not that’s that, that, that would make it the most dangerous modern day aircraft.
Scott Luton (00:19:07):
Right. Uh, but y’all, y’all gotta check it out. Uh it’s it’s a fascinating film. And, um, it really, uh, made you, made you stop and think about, um, not just aviation, not just, you know, FAA and, and people’s lives, but, but where leadership and culture plays in the, to all of that. So, um, okay. So, uh, I also wanna touch on one more thing on a much, much lighter note, but a very, very, uh, related note and certainly, uh, something for the, uh, supply chain community here in the states, before we get into the heavy lifting, I wanna talk for a second. This, uh, data fact toward came to us from the wall street journal, the logistics report, Greg Kevin, do y’all get the logistics report.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:19:49):
You not, no, I don’t get that in this. I hollow of stuff I need to read in the right now.
Scott Luton (00:19:56):
It’s good stuff. I’m glad no one needs, No one needs another email, but, uh, uh, as part of being subscribed to this, we get a, a morning email about seven. I think, uh, some of the latest headlines from across global supply chain is really good, but check this out, uh, $4.40, almost $4 and 2 cents just about. So that’s the price per gallon on average for diesel fuel across the us for the week ending February 14th. That is the first time that the diesel average has exceeded four bucks since March. Uh, so since March, 2014, highest price in about eight years, Greg, how about that?
Greg White (00:20:38):
Yeah. And I recall, uh, it getting as high at, at what I recall, is it getting as high as 4 49? Um, back around that time, I don’t know exactly when it was, and that’s when we instituted fuel surcharges, you’ll recall which by the way, never went away and I’m sure are going up as fuel prices go up as well. So a good lesson that in some inflation is permanent, right?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:21:07):
It’s go get your electric car, right. Yeah.
Greg White (00:21:09):
Right. I mean, Well, I mean, you’re not, you’re not wrong, Kevin. I mean, what, you know,
Greg White (00:21:16):
Autonomous is inevitable, first of all, the truck driver shortage is permanent. And just my opinion, um, you know, the generation that really enjoyed and driving is, is still retiring and retired at a much higher rate than expected last year. And nobody really wants to embrace that. Autonomous has the potential to bring significant safety benefits. And of course, a lot of those autonomous vehicles, frankly, all of them really just about have to be electric. So, um, yeah, I think that it’s a great, it’s a great case for that. The truth is we will still use fossil fuels unfortunately, to produce, I think it’s over 60% of the electricity in the states and in many other countries it’s much, much higher, but, but still, um, it’s a step in the right direction. A lot of ways from a broad standpoint, Kevin. Mm.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:22:13):
Yeah.
Scott Luton (00:22:14):
I love that.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:22:15):
I was looking at a show that was talking about a, a new way of, of, uh, capturing carbon, uh, and then reprocesing it to make gasoline. So you, you able to put it in a, uh, a, a carbon loop and, uh, some people are happy because say, Hey, look, you know, you can make more Gasol leaves say, well, that won’t keep it from using fossil fuel. So I guess it’s good things and, and bad things. But, uh, you know, we, we always have to, uh, keep our eyes open for all options. And, uh, uh, electric, uh, electric is a, is a great renewable option.
Greg White (00:22:56):
Agreed. And if somebody could just cap those volcanoes, so they don’t erase a hundred years of, of carbons carbon savings in an instant, that would be awesome too seriously though. I mean, really ought. Think about how we could, how we could capture and process that carbon. Uh, likewise, Kevin, to your point, if we can capture that those carbon emissions, if we could somehow, I mean, that’d be a huge scale, but if we could capture the carbon emissions of a, or even just some of them of a, um, you know, a volcanic eruption that would be hugely impactful,
Scott Luton (00:23:31):
Agreed. Uh, all right. Lot of good stuff to, and we’re just on the front end of, of fascinating things to talk about. I’m, I’m gonna throw one more at y’all, uh, cause did you know that today in history that the first, uh, this day in history back in 1878, the first telephone book is issued in new Haven, Connecticut. Right? So in case you get asked that, uh, at the next bar, you’re at drinking a beer, it listed 21 names and within an hour, all 21 people were so the car warranty for their horse and buggy
Scott Luton (00:24:07):
Fact true fact.
Scott Luton (00:24:09):
Um,
Scott Luton (00:24:12):
Why,
Scott Luton (00:24:12):
So Greg,
Greg White (00:24:13):
That is impressive.
Scott Luton (00:24:16):
That’s right. 1878, uh, new Haven
Kevin L. Jackson (00:24:19):
Where, where robo calling was born. Right.
Scott Luton (00:24:26):
All right. So life shortage of things, life insurance. Yeah. Think about, uh, how that changed lives, uh, way back then. Um, okay. So we are going to, uh, get ready to drop into the news of the day, especially from a digital transformer standpoint. Right. But before we do, I wanna share a couple of things here. Yes. Rhonda, seriously, a telephone book. What the heck is that right? No, our kids, certainly
Greg White (00:24:50):
Somebody said not telephone book. I didn’t hear that.
Scott Luton (00:24:52):
Did you say telephone? Did I say telephone book?
Scott Luton (00:24:56):
I said,
Scott Luton (00:24:59):
Uh, alright. So let’s see here. Uh, Jose was agreeing to what y’all are saying earlier E autonomous, the way to go. Um, let’s see, uh, Ika Mauna. Thanks for, for coming back. I, you, uh, they were with us, um, within the last few weeks. Great to have you back. They watched that interview as well. The documentary on Boeing, um, really good stuff there and CMA. Yes. Leadership and culture play a massive critical role. Completely agree with you. Um, and finally, Michael says the company worked for a number of years ago, had fuel surcharges in place since the mid two thousands. And when all went down at the beginning of the pandemic, the organization dropped below the fuel trigger for the first time, since it was implemented, we lost a couple of million in those first months of the pandemic. Well,
Greg White (00:25:48):
If they were charging fuel surcharges over the prices between the mid two thousands, and now they made many, many more millions than they lost in those couple of months and
Kevin L. Jackson (00:25:57):
They lost
Scott Luton (00:25:58):
Excellent point excellent point. Okay. So, uh, we talked about the news of the day. Let’s talk about digital transformation and why they are failing oftentimes, especially in supply chain, great new article here by our friends at the supply and demand chain executive. And Kevin, I start with you unpack this a bit for us, and then Greg, I’m gonna circle back for your commentary here. So Kevin what’s going on.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:26:23):
Well, you know, the pandemic changes a lot of things and, and wonder things that changes is business and people because everybody had to start working home. Everyone started looking at technology to solve their problems. And in 2020 Gardner did a survey and showed that nearly 70% of companies had accelerated their digital roadmaps. Um, but 68% of them failed. So they failed to report any positive returns on their digital investment. So the question is why, um, and this, especially in the supply chain world, so the, the number one reason was lack of project governance. I mean, they just said, uh, do digital transformation, uh, what’s that right? OK. There was, there was no why they, they had no end state vision of, of where they were going, right. They, there was no unified vision. Nobody knew what they were doing. They were just basically buying anything that had digital attached to it.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:27:32):
The, the, the number two reason was that, although they, everyone was doing digital transformation, they had no talent. They didn’t understand what they were doing right there, opportunities to innovate require, you know, first of all, that vision and then a pilot to see if what you think should happen actually does happen. You need to really flesh out your ideas of what the digital capabilities should deliver. Um, and so there was really a divide between the digital capabilities and the capabilities required to actually scale, uh, a, a, a, a, um, a transformation. And, and finally, they just took the wrong approach. They, they, it was sort of shiny item items, right. Didn’t know what they were doing or why they were doing it. But if, if it was shiny and it was on the shelf, they bought it and then they forced the organization to implement it. Um, so for all those reasons, everyone was saying digital transformation, digital transformation, but they will failing.
Scott Luton (00:28:49):
So Greg that’s, there’s a lot there. What comes to your mind initially,
Greg White (00:28:53):
Every single one of those things goes to the failure of strategic and executive leadership in terms of positioning the company. If, if you don’t have, uh, pro, if you don’t have proper governance or a proper goal, that was one thing that kind of stood out to me as they talked about how to relieve a lot of what Kevin described. They talked about, have a proper goal, start small, get quick wins, and build, uh, comfort and, and recognition within the organiz of not, just, not just that you can be successful with a, uh, a digital transformation, but precisely where and how, and that, that creates ideas for people to go, oh, well, if it’ll work there, it should work here. Let’s try that. And when your people start drawing you through this transformation, then things really change. But if your people aren’t ready for change, whose fault is that leadership?
Greg White (00:29:48):
Mm. Right. If, if you take the wrong approach, whose fault is that leadership? So what, one of the things we have to recognize here, and I mean, look, this is not new because of digital transformation. This is new because of anything. I mean, insert supply chain five, 10 or 15 years ago, and you had exactly these same problems before insert E R P 15, 20, 30 years ago. You had the same problems, failure of leadership to lead, to give clear direction, to enable and prepare people for change, and then to ultimately make sure that it is the right initiative for the time for the company. The, the, the way that these things succeed is when a leader, a C level leader, usually above COO or CIO, or somebody who has perhaps disjointed, um, goals as they talk about in this. And, and in other articles that has to be the CEO, every digital transformation failure, in my opinion, falls squarely at the feet of the CEO of the company.
Scott Luton (00:30:52):
Well said there, I, I don’t wanna bring this in from DC. So DC’s been on the show with us before Greg, you may recall she is back. She’s also
Greg White (00:31:01):
On, cause it looks but Hey, DC.
Scott Luton (00:31:04):
Well, she’s Al she’s back. Um, and she’s also creating some really cool content DC. I’d love for you to drop your link there. And hopefully your husband is doing well. He’s a brilliant, um, musician. Who’s played here, supply chain. Now she says many of this in this space, know why these transformations fail, and yet they continue to fail. Yes, Greg, why leadership and governments? What are the objectives? Why are we even doing this? What are we looking to gain aside from feeling productive? Cause we’re going through the motions of an implementation. Lot of good stuff.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:31:34):
Yeah. Some connect the why. Yeah. Right.
Greg White (00:31:37):
The why they talk about that in this, in that article as well.
Scott Luton (00:31:40):
And she’s waving back at your
Greg White (00:31:44):
Like that.
Scott Luton (00:31:46):
Um, alright. Memory says, Hey, stuck in traffic with you guys to keep me from losing my cool memory. Hang in there. I can’t
Greg White (00:31:52):
Forget about, can’t see memory,
Greg White (00:31:54):
Forget about traffic. Just pretend you’re in an ocean ship. You’re in a container ship, right? You, you got time,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:32:01):
You know, three, three 90,000
Greg White (00:32:07):
Prepare you it’s in your end, the eternity, a three $90,000 yacht. Someone is towing around right now.
Scott Luton (00:32:14):
And I’m sorry, I just can’t see memory losing or cool. And, and by the way, I love new headshot there. Memory love that. Um, let’s see here. SEMA is, is weighing in as well. Digital spent lack of project governments, correct? A hundred percent, no talent, no vision, uh, no digital capabilities finally took the wrong approach. All of that. I think she’s agreeing on adding a, a couple cents there, uh, Mohe. I think it’s going back to an earlier part of the conversation, the Mohe there in Wichita, Kansas hope this finds you well at home of the, the shockers Wichita state university. Electric is a great option. He says, if the electricity used to charge automobile is generated by renewable energy plants. Otherwise it’s just to feel good yet. It’s the same carbon emission happening elsewhere into our skies.
Greg White (00:32:59):
Hmm. We’re working on it. I mean, we are working on it. There’s
Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:02):
An electric plane that, uh, electric plane that’s um, I, I, I saw on online the other day, really. They expect to be commercialized next, next year.
Scott Luton (00:33:11):
Very cool. Um, and we’re getting update here. So DC says that, uh, Joseph, uh, Spago, I get that close for. Sorry. It’s okay. Um, it’s not
Greg White (00:33:23):
His name in the world. I think he told us it was even mispronounced in Italy.
Scott Luton (00:33:28):
Wow. So Joseph has transitioned to film and TV composing. He’s working on his IMDB profile. We’re gonna have to back up with Joseph. That is awesome. Yeah. Um, let’s see here. And
Greg White (00:33:41):
Josh discovered him too. Kevin LJ.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:33:44):
Oh yeah. OK.
Scott Luton (00:33:46):
Uh, good people
Greg White (00:33:47):
Get on his limit for us, man.
Scott Luton (00:33:49):
Sky’s the limit. Josh is talking. What? So three games in hand with two north Dundon Derby’s left wild three months left. Is he talking soccer? Great. What’s he
Greg White (00:33:58):
Talking? He is talking soccer. If I recall correctly, he’s an arsenal fan and he may be digging me a little bit. Uh,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:34:05):
North
Greg White (00:34:06):
Wind Darby is toting him and arsenal, so he’s a gunner.
Scott Luton (00:34:12):
Gotcha. Well, Hey, Josh. Great to have you here and thanks for, uh, don’t poke the beer too, too, too tough, too much with Greg, but, uh, thanks for not, uh, keeping it fun. Um, and DC dropped in the link. Uh, let’s see every second Friday of the month, so you can sign up for reminders there. So love what you’re doing, DC. Thanks for you’re. Thanks for stopping by
Kevin L. Jackson (00:34:32):
I’m
Scott Luton (00:34:32):
Okay. So, uh, I’m gonna, Kevin, I’m gonna give you the last word on this first story here today. We were talking about why digital transformations in supply chain fail your last word, Kevin.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:34:44):
It’s the CEO’s fault. Hey,
Scott Luton (00:34:48):
I’ll Rob with that, for sure. For sure.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:34:51):
We’ll
Scott Luton (00:34:51):
Tell you what
Greg White (00:34:53):
Kevin L. Jackson is a CEO and his digital transformations. Don’t don’t fail. So enough said
Scott Luton (00:35:01):
So let’s
Kevin L. Jackson (00:35:04):
Work,
Greg White (00:35:05):
Right? Yeah, no doubt.
Scott Luton (00:35:06):
We’re gonna, so we’re gonna have to leave the top. We’re gonna keep talking digital transformation a little bit more here and, um, let’s see here if I can get my notes, right. So to do it right as Sanji Sahu with Ingram micro says, now only does it take a lot more than technology, which we of course, has been a drum beat here in our conversations, but he says, you’ve gotta focus on execution. And it really takes a quote operational spirit, uh, as it reported in this article here from CD net and, and they got these quotes from, I think, a recent show featuring our dear friend, uh, Ray Wong, Kevin. So tell us what’s going on here. Yeah. And then we’ll get Greg’s hot taken a second.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:35:50):
Well, first of all, shot out to Ray Ray, Ray won is CEO and founder of constellation research. And we had him on the show earlier this year and he interviewed, uh, thank you. And, and one of the things that’s really important, uh, the why when you’re doing digital transformation has to be related to the business goals, right? Why are you in business? What are the measures that actually indicate success for your organization? So we have, when you, when you are doing digital transformation, you have to focus on your digital operations and have a passion for continuous value creation and that continuous
Scott Luton (00:36:35):
Value creation.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:36:36):
Yeah. And it has to relate to a metric within your organization. That’s important to you and your shareholders. This ensures that the entire company is also performing while they transforming. It’s not like, Hey, wait a second. We have to stop the company while we transform. Right? You gotta keep, you gotta change the, uh, wheels while you’re still going down the highway. You gotta replace the wings while you’re still flying. Right? So design and focus on the customer engagement model and take a very inclusive, structured and empathetic, you know, empathetic, creative approach to how you support and deliver value to your customers and monitor your customer journey, analyze it, using those metrics that everyone agrees on. Uh, and the metric has to relate to not just your business operations, but the end to end processes people and the technology that you need to use. And, and finally your organization has to be designed to operate in a digital way. Okay. So that you can accelerate value, uh, San you’ve called it Digi ops, right. Where you need to digitally create value and measure the results. Okay. This is really goes back to the first article. If you don’t have the why you can’t be successful.
Scott Luton (00:38:17):
Right. Okay. So Greg, I’m looking forward to get your continued take here and what Kevin said and, and what this conversation from CD net was all about your take.
Greg White (00:38:27):
Well, I mean, I think he’s nailed it really look the, the problems in digital transformation. They don’t vary based on the story that we cover, right. They vary based on what is foundationally, a approach or principle or, or foundation, frankly, with how people approach projects of all kinds and the real key to success. Other than this executive oversight and executive buying in, in executive guidance is winning the hearts and minds of the people whose jobs are impacted every day. And sometimes you have to recognize that that is not broadly company serving. Sometimes you can serve the company by serving someone’s workplace. Self-interest if they feel like they’re wasting time, or they feel like they’re not making progress, or they feel like they’re not making an impact, then sometimes you have to take that as the victory. And that builds morale that can build momentum, that can build projects that can build success.
Greg White (00:39:29):
And I think, um, you know, if more companies approach this, the way that that Kevin and, and Sanji and Ray have talked about, then I think we wouldn’t be having this conversation now at all, this, these are problems that should have been solved, solved over half a century ago when people started implementing technology into their companies. And, um, all we need to do is change the way leadership views and, and, and executes these kind of projects. And it will all change rapidly. And we need that change rapidly, particularly as regards digital transformation with supply chain
Scott Luton (00:40:07):
Agreed, agreed. It’s the only way we’re gonna be able to keep up with what Kus, that’s
Greg White (00:40:11):
A great point. And Kevin, you, we all noted in, in reviewing these articles, they talk about competitive a it’s not even about competitive advantage anymore. It’s about survival. You have to do these digital transformations, you have to do them well, and you have to do them to create positive outcomes within your company or you’re dead. End of discussion.
Scott Luton (00:40:34):
Yeah.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:40:34):
So I actually actually wrote an article. Um, that’s going to be coming out this this week for, for Ericson digital. And it was talking about, um, the fact that, uh, they, they interviewed, uh, consumers and consumers really don’t use email anymore. They’ve transitioned to, to text. And it was talking about how companies haven’t recognized that they’re still trying to connect with people with email, so they haven’t changed their outreach processes and the tools, uh, to really follow where the customers are going. Yeah, it’s not about, uh, differentiation. It’s about doing what your customers want.
Scott Luton (00:41:27):
Agreed and survival as Greg puts it as excellent point. Okay. I gotta get, get some of the comments in
Greg White (00:41:34):
From the good ones.
Scott Luton (00:41:36):
They’re really good. So Lily go gunner. Uh, she threw that in, uh, Dr. Ron is still talking. Um, uh, so, so much think about when it comes to renewable energy pros and then some unexpected cons we can mitigate with a deeper understanding of how intervention impacts our environment. Excellent point SEMA goes back to another earlier point digital transformation. It’s a CEO’s fault. I completely agree. She says, yes. Uh, I’m gonna circle back to RO heat’s question in a second. Rohit. We’ll get to that question before we wrap today. So, uh, stay tuned on that. Uh, memory says if the leaders laugh, commitment technology, they couldn’t save their strategy if they tried or, or I’m sorry, I put the wrong emphasis on the wrong syllable. There leaders lack, commitment, commitment technology. Couldn’t save their strategy if they tried
Greg White (00:42:27):
To. That is well, well said right there.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:42:31):
Gotta teach that.
Scott Luton (00:42:32):
Yeah, no kidding. Uh, Peter Bole, it’s all about the five Ys, which I love. It’s one of the best, most simple tools to get to the heart of just about any matter. So love that, uh, comment there. Um, let’s see here T squared is with us. He holds down the Fort for on YouTube. Great to see here T squared having no clarity of vision and well armed talent will always you to failure as the Chinese or as the Japanese say, if you don’t know your direction, you’ll end up where you’re headed. Sounds like a, um, that sounds almost like a Yogi bear. Uh, Greg and
Greg White (00:43:07):
Kevin. Yeah, it is. And it’s, and, and it’s genius and it’s simplicity, right? It’s it’s, uh, it reminds me of when I first started racing cars, one of my racing instructors, as I was crashing through the cones said, if you don’t, if you’re not going the direction you want to go, why is your foot still on the accelerator?
Scott Luton (00:43:25):
Right. That’s right. I love that one. I’ve heard that time too. One of my favorite great white isms, uh, DC says, I hope people are listening, taking notes. Kevin L J acts breaking it down very simply and succinctly. And oftentimes you don’t get all that, uh, in the same conversation I found. Thank
Kevin L. Jackson (00:43:43):
You guys. Thank
Scott Luton (00:43:44):
You. DC Lamont says driving home, the strategic roadmap, foundational pillars and success factors driving all those home are also important when implementing digital technology, clarity, focus, execution, and closure from our project managers perspective and Lamont. If y’all notice all those certifications, he knows what he is talking about when it comes to managing leading projects. Right. Um, all right. And then I’m gonna share this from Dr. Ronda reminds me on the need for a complete, uh, process evaluation and ongoing training and development. Keeping our team updated on the importance of why. And, uh, continued development is essential for performance, uh, as changes continue, it’s important to communicate in a thoughtful, mindful way, so that folks still feel included in the process long ramble. She says, but you’re, you’re dead on. Uh, Dr. Rhonda dead on change is
Kevin L. Jackson (00:44:38):
Constant.
Scott Luton (00:44:39):
Right? Change is constant, whether we like it or not. Okay. Um, so I wanna go back for a second. Uh, Greg, I wanna ask you this question from, well, he, and of course, Kevin, I’d welcome you to weigh in. Well, this is a great question before we get to the next story, uh, Rohit says, uh, and great to have you with us, uh, here, uh, Rohit Greg, how can the world learn from the experiences of similar transformations from the past? Like you mentioned, uh, how messed up it was during the transformation, uh, to transition maybe to E R P. So Greg would love for you to weigh in on that.
Greg White (00:45:13):
Yeah, well, there, I mean, there are studies and books written on some of these, these things, and there are tons of project management principles, books. I, I would explore both the, the books that purport to define a new methodology or a better methodology for, or for projects and transformational change within a company. But also look back at the big fail failures. Hershey’s Nestle, sorry, don’t wanna pick the wrong chocolate company. Nestle’s implementation of SAP. If it is not the subject of a book should be because it was a very costly and very poorly run project universally by the consultants, by the technology provider and by the implementing company. So, um, and there, you know, there ha there have to be writeups on those kind of things. So I would encourage people to seek out those projects that have both been successful. And those that have been, let’s just say, now let’s not, let’s not candy, cut it. Those that have failed miserably and right. Um, and they are, you know, there are many of both, um, and then see what went wrong, but I gotta tell you it’s, it’s no more difficult than keeping your eye on the why. And that’s that’s as, as simple as I can put it. And that’s where most projects go around, uh, not rhyme move, tried not, I’m trying to find a word that didn’t rhyme. I,
Scott Luton (00:46:42):
I saw that I saw you, Paul, when that realization you had was about to rhyme, I saw you Paul’s, but Hey, all good, all good
Kevin L. Jackson (00:46:50):
Tune for the best seller by Greg
Greg White (00:46:54):
That’s. Right. And I bet Kevin, I mean, we could probably contribute to a Warren piece volume of, of both failed and successful projects, because I have been through some that still, I am scarred by today. Right. And, um, and I feel like so much could have been done and I’m sure you’ve all, you’ve all had those experience is I’m sure everyone out there has had an experience like that. And a key is not necessarily to focus on the failure, but to focus on what went wrong and, um, and make sure that you, you know, what to avoid, you know, the signals of being distracted or misdirected and, and, uh, and also how to correct that.
Scott Luton (00:47:37):
Yep. Right. Kevin, whether it’s E R P or whether it’s just general technology transformations, what else would you add to, uh, to, to Rohit’s question
Kevin L. Jackson (00:47:46):
It’s the CEO’s fault?
Scott Luton (00:47:51):
You know, speaking of the CEO, uh, you diagnosed, what many CEOs have earlier in the show to quote Kevin L. Jackson, Shawn item it, you know, we gotta speak to that for a second, because so all too often, you know, whether it’s digital transformation or lots of things, it’s a, it’s a, me too. I, I wanna grab that. Let let’s do that. Let’s do that. And it’s just Don over defense without that, um, intentional communication that both of y’all have spoken to that Dr. Ron was speaking to. So Kevin, um, your commentary. So,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:48:24):
Um, one of the biggest issues when, uh, companies were, you know, trying the cloud computing, why did companies decide to go to cloud is because they were on a plane, they looked in the magazine and the magazine said everybody was going to cloud. It was the newest thing. So the CEO gets off the plane, picks up the phone and calls the, uh, you know, all the C-suite and says we’re going to cloud. And everybody says, what’s that? I don’t know, I don’t care. We’re going to cloud cause everyone is going to cloud. And then everyone marches towards cloud. The, uh, uh, CTO, you know, goes down to, uh, signs are us and, and gets a sign that says cloud center and puts it up on the data center. Right. And they said, OK, we now have a private cloud. I mean, sounds
Greg White (00:49:18):
Like Oracle a few years ago,
Kevin L. Jackson (00:49:22):
But you know, so you, you, you have to, you, you really have to understand what you’re doing. You have to understand the why you have to link that, why to operational metrics
Scott Luton (00:49:33):
Agreed. And, and there’s gotta be a clear cut business case as, as, as you’re alluding to. Right? Yes. It can’t just be that shiny item. It that Kevin, uh, mentioned earlier. Okay. Uh, I wanna add Ji’s comment and we’re gonna move to the next story. Moheb says, uh, P and P and ACP, which I think those are certification by the project management Institute. Big shout out to Mary Kate saliva. Who’s doing great work for our military veterans, uh, helping them get equipped with P PMI stuff. Uh, Mohe says that those two, uh, are big now on agile methodology and servant leadership CEO, and next level leaders could start following that for greater project success. Thanks for adding that Mohe. Um, okay. So, uh, let’s move on to the future of work if that works for both of y’all right. The future of work. Yeah. Especially in supply chain. So, uh, Kevin, um, let’s talk, your thoughts here when it comes to future, future work is getting all the, uh, a lot of juice in industry. A lot of juice in conversations. Everyone is fascinated. I think the pandemic perhaps, and, um, and, and how that’s impacted so much, uh, work. So many workforce issues. I think that’s just elevated these discussions about the future work. So, Kevin, what are your thoughts first?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:50:52):
Well, you know, we’ve talked a, a lot about the CEO. I’ve said it’s always the CEO’s fault, right. But it it’s really about the people. It’s not just the CEO. It’s about all of the human resources that you have a lost the organization. And yes, the CEO is important for setting the vision for holding people to task. But I mean, the roles are changing when it comes to digital transformation companies really need to take a close look at redesigning their supply chain roles and the skills that are needed in order to match the new reality. In fact, a, uh, McKenzie, uh, global Institute survey showed that 87% of leaders thought that their companies were not ready to address the digital skill. Think about the pandemic when everybody had to work from home, and everybody was trying to figure out what to do, what they needed to buy.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:51:58):
And a lot of the software had been sitting on the shelf for years, not used because people said, oh, it’s too hard to do it that way. All right. So, but McKenzie is saying that about 50% of the current activities that companies are doing, especially around supply chain will be automated by 2030. Think about that. Right. Um, and in eight short years, this will fundamentally change the entire nature of supply chain jobs. So if your company’s not ready by understanding the change and the skillset and what training needs to be put in place, guess what, it’s the CEO’s fault, right? To really work towards the new reality of have integrated digital supply chains, some of the new roles that are gonna come up predictive demand management, where you have to, uh, look at the demand signals and how that affects the rest of the supply chain and up to my, your algorithm for your forecasting software.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:53:15):
How about end to end supply planning and execution, right? You have to understand the model for your production planning, get this one, no touch order management. All right, you’re gonna have a need a team that actually designs manages the fully automated order to delivery process in your organization and, and your operational logistics team. They’re gonna have to design, operate and improve the automated warehouses. You know, what are the robots going to do today? All right. Um, and your network configuration. Okay. You need to have more strategic task things like deciding on your production footprints for your new products or optimizing the network for tariffs exchange rates fluctuations. And how about digital currency? Okay. How does your supply chain operate when you are using Bitcoin? And finally the data mastery unit? I love that, right. Okay. These are the dedicated resources to support data analytics, as well as master data management. Cause it’s all about the data, the articles, all
Scott Luton (00:54:44):
About
Kevin L. Jackson (00:54:44):
The, to many more details. You know, I think that should pique your interest.
Scott Luton (00:54:49):
There’s a lot there. And two quick points, um, maybe just one Greg, cause the other one left my mind just as quick, as
Greg White (00:54:57):
Soon as you said,
Scott Luton (00:54:58):
But you know, right. So eight years as Greg started our, uh, as Kevin started, uh, his response there eight years, all this automat, I would argue that eight years is a long, it’s like an attorney 10 years ago. It’s like even even longer attorney that, you know, this year in, in where we are today with digital transformation and, and so much happening. So, you know, the change is happening so much faster, but what’s, uh, Greg, your take when it comes to the future of work and supply chain.
Greg White (00:55:27):
Well, my initial thought was future of work is another one of those, um, areas, future of work generally is a technology category of, of, of products. And it’s something that we, that I invest in and, and work with investment companies to evaluate. So that’s the next type of project to get screwed up by lack of
Greg White (00:55:50):
Lack of, uh, management involvement and, and oversight. Um, but it, what I, what was, I was astounded by in reading this article is that every one of these things that they’re talking about exists today, what they’re really talking about. I, I mean, what they really hopefully mean is that they will come more and more automated because I had a job in 1992 where the order placed the order, uh, management process was automated. No human ever touched that that was 30 years ago here. Here’s where I think we need to be, uh, distinct in descri in defining supply chain because universally, especially to those at the highest level, which McKenzie operates at and, and, uh, academics who are the other contributors to this article, they think of the supply chain as the manufacturing supply chain, which is dreadful behind in terms of advancement. But if you think about retail and distribution levels of supply chain, they’ve mastered so many of these things decades ago.
Greg White (00:56:53):
And what they need to be doing is looking at the models that have worked for those Le layers of the supply chain and, and start to adapt those towards manufacturing. The opposite has often been the true, the truth because all the money, all the margin is made in manufacturing, in supply chain to give you an example, many manufacturers make double digit net profits after tax, not a single distributor makes double digits, double digit net margins after tax. Some of them have to do manipulative forward buying tech techniques in their inventory to even make a profit at all. If they’re in the food industry, for instance, and retailers typically make on, on the range of two and a half to 5% net margin after tax. So all of the opinions around supply chain come from manufac. Why, because that’s where the money is. And that’s what McKenzie and educators work for is money. So we have to recognize that this is perhaps too broad Kevin to go, to bring our little discussion full circle, right? Perhaps too broad of a statement around supply chain. When in fact it should be focused on manufacturing, supply chain and the ability to apply techniques that have already been in use for decades at other layers to manufacturing. So that’s the greatest takeaway from my standpoint?
Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:20):
Well, they’ve been squeezing, uh, retail for years is now time to squeeze manufacturing.
Greg White (00:58:26):
Absolutely. Right. I mean, when, when you say gross margin at, at manufacturing, it’s gross in all capital letters and gross in every other way, you can imagine.
Scott Luton (00:58:40):
So, all right, I’ll take a quick couple quick comments here. Uh, I’m gonna start going back since one of the constant theme of today’s show is all about how it’s the CEO’s fault, right? Have to add that about a dozen times.
Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:52):
That’s the name? That’s the, that’s the title of this episode,
Scott Luton (00:58:56):
Right? That is a title. Um, so DC is laughing because that’s totally what happens. Uh, as a CEO, she says, I’m totally the person that reads, sees something interested and sends it to someone on my team to, to, to further investigate her to act. They probably roll their eyes every time she says, luckily I have really smart folks on the team and they tell me, I love that DC. Right. And memory is talking about the value of getting to root the problem. There’s five whys that, that Peter, um, Bole mentioned earlier, Dr. Ron is always a pleasure to have you with us. I’m sure you’ve got I’m. I bet your, your calendar is, uh, is jam packed full, but great. That you could spend, um, you know, 45 minutes with us here to day. So thanks for joining us now. Uh, Magdi ask, uh, a great question, uh, via LinkedIn. Is it really possible to automate everything in supply chain quick, quick? Oh gosh. We’re at the top of that quick response to that. That’s an easy answer. That’s right. Uh, no. Okay, great. Go ahead.
Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:02):
Uh, Dito, no
Scott Luton (01:00:04):
Dito. OK. We’ll we’ll all agree on there. Yeah.
Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:08):
Things change all the time, man.
Scott Luton (01:00:10):
Normally I keep a, uh, uh, a very sharp eye on control its one O’. I think we did lose so much
Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:19):
Control over the clock.
Scott Luton (01:00:20):
Uh, I must have, um, really quick, uh, uh, you know, we wanted to break out the BC BM, big crystal ball moment and wrap with that discussion. I want a very, uh, another succinct answer and the question, uh, completely unrelated to digital transformation to some degree, although they’re looking at robotic umpire call God, which would be interesting seriously. Um, rest in peace, Eric, Greg, but man, you ruined my 90. Uh, let’s see. That was a 97 Braves, I believe. Um, okay, so really quick. Is there gonna be a baseball season in 2022, Kevin, your quick take?
Kevin L. Jackson (01:00:57):
Uh, yes, because if it doesn’t we’ll have riots on the street
Scott Luton (01:01:01):
That’s right. Okay.
Greg White (01:01:03):
Yes, but it will be shortened is my prediction. Yeah, it’s too late, late already. In my opinion,
Scott Luton (01:01:09):
Opinion. I agree with
Greg White (01:01:09):
You having lived in Arizona and Rhonda lives in Arizona. Now the greatest month in the entire year in Arizona is February because of spring training. And if the players are locked out, no spring training is too dangerous. They’re too valuable of assets to put on the field outta shape. Um, you know, they, aren’t all Carlton fi who could drink beer all summer long or, uh, and still somehow play baseball, right. Or babe Games and still manage to play. It’s a different game than that.
Scott Luton (01:01:43):
It’s a different game. Carl Martin fi of course the hall of Famer catcher for the, both the red Sox and the white Sox. Uh, probably in addition to some other stops from his career, SEMA says, yes, there will be baseball. I love that. Um, you know, uh, I agree with both of y’all I think there will be baseball. There’s too much money, uh, involved. There’s too many people that, that are depending on that as a departure. Um, but it will be short and seasoned undoubtedly, because it’s almost to your point, Greg, it’s almost already too late and Kevin, yes, it’ll be right in the street. If we do not see our, our beloved world champion, Atlanta Braves,
Greg White (01:02:19):
Washington nationals.
Scott Luton (01:02:21):
That’s right. Kevin’s a Washington nationals fan. We gotta put in there for him for sure. Um, okay. Let’s make sure as we wrap here, let’s make sure folks know how to connect with both of y’all. I I’ve really enjoyed, uh, I love when we get, um, both of, both of y’all together. Uh, there’s so much, um, highfalutin. I appreciate y’all bringing it down for everybody’s altitude, right? Uh, Kevin,
Kevin L. Jackson (01:02:44):
Well, I dunno, Mo here, uh, is a complaining, right he says that we talk too fast. I’m gonna say, Hey, this is this, we this to supply chain now.com and play it slowly.
Greg White (01:03:04):
That is right. Slow down.
Scott Luton (01:03:06):
Cause there will be a quiz. There will, there will be a quiz. The market will definitely quiz you on the things we talked about here today. And the stakes will be a lot more than a score on a pop quiz. Okay. Kevin, how can folks connect with you
Kevin L. Jackson (01:03:20):
On, uh, LinkedIn, Kevin Jackson on Kevin underscore Jackson on Twitter, but of course digital, we can go to digital transformers and digital transacts on Twitter and on, uh, we, we got a Pedro LinkedIn now. Woo Woohoo. So, uh, come find us.
Scott Luton (01:03:41):
You want, you definitely wanna get Jackson. I promise you, uh, you learn a lot from, uh, Kevin was thinking And
Greg White (01:03:47):
It’s almost like
Greg White (01:03:48):
Vaccinated.
Scott Luton (01:03:51):
I like that, man. Yeah.
Kevin L. Jackson (01:03:58):
Come on.
Greg White (01:04:01):
Fails. Digital transformation.
Greg White (01:04:03):
Get vaccinated.
Scott Luton (01:04:04):
Love it. Love it. All right. So Greg, how can folks connect with Gregory S. White?
Greg White (01:04:09):
Yeah. LinkedIn of course, Greg white on LinkedIn, uh, with supply chain now, uh, and Gregory S. White on Twitter and Instagram. And I promise I will get more active on the of
Scott Luton (01:04:22):
Yes and folks. Uh, oh,
Kevin L. Jackson (01:04:23):
We have a new Instagram for digital transformers. Right?
Scott Luton (01:04:29):
Well, big thanks to Chantel for making that happen again. Big, thanks to Chantel and Catherine and Amanda and clay and everyone else behind the scenes help makes, uh, production happen. Uh, we should add, uh, really quick, Greg that mentioned it. Folks connect, follow Greg on LinkedIn. Uh, the two or three times a week, he drops, uh, some supply chain hot takes into, uh, the LinkedIn ecosystem. And you’re not gonna wanna miss it. He tells it like it is, and it generates a lot of buzz. And by the way, speaking of LinkedIn, uh, Kevin O Jackson’s got a, a wonderful newsletter that comes that what once or twice a month? Kevin?
Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:04):
Well, actually twice a week, actually. Twice a week. Yeah.
Scott Luton (01:05:10):
Uh, I’m convinced
Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:10):
Digital. It’s called digital business on in
Scott Luton (01:05:13):
Business. Check that out. Connect with, uh, Kevin Jackson here too. Okay. Folks, hopefully you enjoyed this rapid fire hour in five minutes. As much as I have, uh, on behalf of our entire team, I wanna challenge you. That’s gonna be a lot to act on everything you heard here today, but it’s real easy to act on one thing. And that is to do good to give forward and to be the change that’s needed folks with. See you next time, right back here on supply chain now. Thanks your bye.
Intro/Outro (01:05:39):
Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now, community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.
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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, 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Host
From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.
Host, Logistics with Purpose
Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.
Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol
Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.
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.