The Buzz is on for September 19th, and this week, the crew is focused on all things cybersecurity and technology. Join Scott, Greg and Kevin L. Jackson as they chat with SAP’s Florian Seebauer about the security and operational challenges stemming from siloization, the limits of rare earth mineral extraction, how technology can help new global supply chains manage increased compliance demands, the impact of vertical integration on automotive logistics and much more.

Intro/Outro (00:00:03):

Welcome to Supply Chain Now, the voice of global supply chain. Supply Chain Now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues, the challenges and opportunities. Stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on Supply Chain Now.

Scott Luton (00:00:30):

Hey. Hey. Good morning everybody, good afternoon, good evening wherever you are in the world. Scott Luton, Greg White, and Kevin L. Jackson here with you on Supply Chain Now. Welcome to today’s livestream. Greg, how are you doing?

Greg White (00:00:41):

I’m doing quite well, Scott Luton. How are you?

Scott Luton (00:00:43):

Wonderful. Wonderful. It’s good to see you on Saturday. But you and I are really jealous because our dear friend, Kevin L. Jackson, was down in New Orleans over the weekend. Kevin.

Greg White (00:00:54)

As usual he can’t give us his precise location.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:00:54)

Yeah. [Inaudible] my livestream. [Inaudible] my livestream.

Scott Luton (00:01:01):

Come on, man. The Saints broke the Falcon’s hearts last week or so, didn’t they, Greg?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:09):

Oh, that’s right. That’s [inaudible] from Atlanta.

Greg White (00:01:12):

Yeah. And if not for a few, let’s say, helpful penalties, they probably would’ve beat the Bucs this weekend as well. But sometimes when Tom Brady is on the field, there are some helpful penalties that occur on the other team.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:01:34):

Helpful penalties, well, I’m not going to say anything. We’re looking up the Commanders and I’m still trying to get that in. I mean, is just not like the Redskins, you know, but the Commanders.

Greg White (00:01:48):

It’s not, but it’s kind of growing on me. I got to tell you, I hated it at first. I thought it was really dumb. But it’s kind of growing on me. I think I’m going to be able to live with it over time. It might. You, as a die hard fan, Kevin, it’ll probably take you years to adapt to it. I just can’t even imagine if they changed their chief’s name, I would think, right? So, I’ve thought of it that way, so I totally get it.

Scott Luton (00:02:17):

So, Greg and Kevin, of course, for folks that may not know, are talking about the new mascot and team name for the Washington football team, so Washington Commanders. So, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue just yet, but we’ll see. Once they get back in the Super Bowl, maybe it will roll off everyone’s tongues.

Greg White (00:02:36):

If they take command of the game, I think it will be much more natural.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:02:39):

Much more natural.

Scott Luton (00:02:42):

Well, hey, we’re all thankful football is back. But today, we’re not talking as much about football. We’re talking about the Supply Chain Buzz, it’s the Digital Transformer’s edition.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:02:53):

Yes, sir.

Scott Luton (00:02:53):

And today – a little passion here, a little excitement – we’re going to be sharing some of the leading stories across global business. And we’ve got a special guest joining us about 12:25 p.m. Eastern Time, and that will be Florian Seebauer with SAP. And, also, beyond Florian and Kevin and Greg’s perspective here today, hey, folks, get ready because we want to hear from you dropping your perspective throughout the hour in the cheap seats there, the comments. We’d love to hear from you.

Scott Luton (00:03:22):

Okay. So, Greg and Kevin, are you all ready? We’re going to say hello to a few folks and we’re going to dive right in. Are you ready?

Greg White (00:03:28):

Let’s go.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:03:29):

Yes, sir. Happy Monday. Let’s do this.

Scott Luton (00:03:31):

That’s right. Katherine – first off, big thanks to Katherine, Chantel, and Amanda, the whole production team helping to make today’s show happen – “Good morning. Happy Buzz day to everybody.” Thank you for that, Katherine. I hope you had a great weekend. Hey, Joey. “Vikings. Let’s go.” And, Joey, I didn’t get a chance to connect with your team up in Chicago at IMTS. We’ll try to make that happen next time. Greg and Kevin, there was only about, I don’t know, 37 million people at the trade show last week. So, Joey, hopefully you and your team had a good successful event. Glorimar, great to see you this morning via LinkedIn. Paul, good morning – from Sierra Leone, Greg and Kevin. Greg, you ever been to Sierra Leone?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:15):

Across the ocean, that’s great.

Greg White (00:04:16):

I haven’t. But I know where it is, let’s start there.

Scott Luton (00:04:23):

Kevin, ever been to Sierra –

Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:26):

No. No. But it’s on my list.

Scott Luton (00:04:28):

It’s on your list.

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

I’ve got a long bucket list.

Scott Luton (00:04:31):

I’m going to add it to mine then. Arnav, great to see you from India via LinkedIn. So, glad to have you here today.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:38):

I have been there.

Scott Luton (00:04:39):

Have you?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:41):

Yes. A couple of times actually.

Scott Luton (00:04:44):

And, finally, I’m going to go with Rainee, maybe? Rainee? Maybe it’s Rainee? But regardless, hello to you – from last Vegas via LinkedIn. Great to see you here.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:04:58):

I’ll be in Vegas. I’ll be in Vegas in two weeks. I’m going to Mobile World Congress. It’s in Vegas at the Vegas Convention Center. I’m staying at Resorts World. I’m looking forward to it. That’s going to be a party.

Scott Luton (00:05:14):

Nice. MWC. Greg, one quick question for you before we dive into the first, you know, we’re just talking Vegas, Kevin’s going to be out there again in a couple weeks. Where’s your favorite place to stay in Vegas, Greg?

Greg White (00:05:31):

Is it Bellagio? The one with the big fountains?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:05:35):

Bellagio. Yeah.

Greg White (00:05:37):

Yeah. I love that, the hotel, the casino and, of course, they’ve got a big theater there. It’s right in the middle of the strip, so you’re kind of in the middle of everything. But, Scott, do you pay for that privilege? I mean, the Wynn is another one that amazingly has really reasonable rates and is super posh.

Scott Luton (00:06:03):

Okay. Nice.

Greg White (00:06:04):

But I haven’t stayed there before, so I dare not rate that. But I’ve always wanted to try the Wynn.

Scott Luton (00:06:11):

Well, we need to make a trip back. It’s been a little while since we joined our friend, Tony, out there a couple years back.

Greg White (00:06:17):

I don’t know if I can endure a contact high for that many days.

Scott Luton (00:06:22):

Well, Kevin, we expect a lot –

Greg White (00:06:25):

It’s funny how universal – and I wonder what our audience thinks here – it is, everyone is like, “Three days. Three days is all I can do in Vegas.”

Kevin L. Jackson (00:06:38):

You drive around and the whip comes into you [inaudible].

Greg White (00:06:42):

Just walking down street, Kevin.

Scott Luton (00:06:47):

So, Kevin, we expect to get a full report here in a week or two as you’re at MWC.

Greg White (00:06:53):

Yeah. We’d like to know what percentage THC you feel like you walk through on the street as well. [Inaudible].

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

[Inaudible] supply chain survey on THC composition.

Scott Luton (00:07:07):

That’s right. That’s right. Hey, and to all of our friends out in Vegas, of course, we’re all just having a little bit of fun. We all enjoy Vegas and all that it has to offer. It plays a big role in global business, so many trade shows and conversations that it fuels there.

Greg White (00:07:21):

You can insult Vegas, they’re not going to shut you out.

Scott Luton (00:07:24):

But I should say hello – I doubt he’s tuned in – a college buddy of mine, Gordon. Gordon moved out to Vegas not too long ago and got a variety of certifications. He’s in the tourism industry and he loves it. So, Gordon, if you’re listening, hope you’re well and living life, living large in Vegas. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:07:47):

So, folks, wait a second, wait a second. Gale is with us today. One of our faves here. Oh, that’s right. Gale was in Vegas last week and she says —

Greg White (00:07:58):

Four days.

Scott Luton (00:08:00):

… “I survived four days. Great to be with you guys, “Gale says. Well, Gale, appreciate what you shared. And I love, Kevin and Greg, Gale kind of commented on a lot of different conversations and people she was with and really celebrated being back in person. And that was a great post on LinkedIn. Amanda and Katherine, I don’t know if y’all can find that, but that’d be wonderful to share. So, Gale, great to have you and looking forward to your perspective. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:08:24):

So, we got to dive in. We got three things we want to talk through before our dear friend, Florian, joins us about 12:25 p.m. Eastern Time. I want to start with this, one quick update, Greg and Kevin. So, Greg, last week on The Buzz and a few shows, we were talking about the rail strike. And then, we got some good news that, after about 20 hours of last minute negotiation – is there really any other kind? – they came to a tentative deal. And then, really, the global or, really, the U.S. supply chain community certainly celebrated, certainly North America supply chain community. However, here’s a kicker, this Thursday, that would be the 22nd – is that right? – all 12 labor unions and its members have to vote on that tentative deal and all of them have to agree. Otherwise, if they don’t, if just one union doesn’t agree, then we’re back in where a strike is imminent.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:09:28):

I’m glad they’re voting on Thursday, that gives them that 20 hours before Friday so they can have another session.

Scott Luton (00:09:36):

Right. Renegotiate before the weekend.

Scott Luton (00:09:39):

So, we’ll see how that plays out. So, folks, I doubt we’re going to get an early vote, so look for the news coming out Thursday if all 12 unions give it the thumbs up or the thumbs down. Okay. So, Greg and Kevin, we got so much good stuff to get through here today. Kevin, we’ve got a couple different articles I want to start with you here. I want to start by diving into what is, really, our second story and this piece from pumps and systems, it speaks to how digital supply chain, digital transformation is exposing a wide variety of vulnerabilities. So, Kevin, tell us more.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:10:19):

Yeah. Absolutely. So, manufacturing always has sort of two sides of the house, it has operational technology and has information technology. And information technology has kind of been on the backseat for a long time. But digital transformation is really bringing these two, OT and IT, to parody. And this is really important when you are looking at industrial systems, like pumps and turbines, regulating valves and tanks, because these things are now vulnerable to cyber attacks in both at the plant itself but, more importantly for this audience, in their supply chains. The end users are connecting these operational devices. They’re exposed to these threats because of the Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT. These technologies are integrated into existing software and the industrial control systems and SCADA, supervisory systems.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:11:34):

So, supply chain attacks where the company’s data is compromised via the hacking of a third party supplier that has legitimate access to the customer’s systems. In this way, the hackers can really insert malicious code into trusted hardware or software at the source, which compromises the data of its users and the users in the onward chain. So, it’s like the solar winds hack of a couple of years ago, which was an attack on the software supply chain. So, think about it.

Scott Luton (00:12:23):

Be on the lookout, BOLO. Hey, Greg, I want to get you to weigh in, but really quick, one of my favorite stories, not because of what happened, but I think a lot of folks can relate to it. If you remember Jack Allen and Cisco, Jack shared the story, which they built into a campaign where this one manufacturer, not at Cisco, but one of this manufacturers, they had a bunch of team members that were in a bowling league. And hackers, as they kind of surveilled that activity via social media, they found out, they put two and two together, and then they hacked the bowling alley’s website which gave certain information to the employees profiles and whatnot. And, ultimately, were able to shut down a production line of that manufacturing facility. Kind of along the lines of what Kevin’s sharing. Your take though, Greg, on these vulnerabilities that Kevin’s speaking to.

Greg White (00:13:20):

Yeah. So, I’d like to get, Kevin, your thoughts on my take here, because I’m going to project a little bit, and I imagine your —

Kevin L. Jackson (00:13:32):

[Inaudible].

Greg White (00:13:33):

I mean, I’m not even a cybersecurity expert, but I have done a lot of business process and digital transformations, and was kind of brought up consultant and operator and worked on the tech side as well. So, you know, the thing that’s interesting to me about this – dare I say, frustrating – is this is a long established problem. And the companies in this article have to have had their heads in the sand, and many more companies do, because these are not new issues. Think about even Target and their breach of their person who swept their parking lots or whatever it was. It’s way past time to acknowledge the danger here and provision for it.

Greg White (00:14:23):

And in reading this article, there were a couple things that leapt out at me. And one is, it’s time to eliminate the silos between the business side of the business and the IT side, because what they said without saying it, I believe, is that, sometimes the operations people implement systems without the full vetting and analysis and approval of the IT organization, which creates a lot of these vulnerabilities.

Greg White (00:14:53):

And then, the other was this principle of point of least privilege, only give people access to the process and the data that is absolutely required for their role in the process. And, clearly, one of the discussions in the article was that’s not happening. And, you know, that’s just foundational. You learn that when you learn how to analyze and build business processes.

Greg White (00:15:20):

And then, the final thing that they talked sort of around but about a bit, is, there ought to be intrusion alerts. I mean, my home network can tell me when somebody tries to access my network, right? There ought to be performance change alerts, and things like that, that could, if not preempt, at least notify of these intrusions. And if not the intrusion, then the change in the performance of the equipment to avoid real damage. Because in the article – and I think folks ought to read this article, obviously – they did a demonstration of how someone could access the system remotely and completely destroy the equipment.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:08):

Yeah. Software physical attack.

Greg White (00:16:10):

Right.

Scott Luton (00:16:11):

So, Kevin, really quick, your quick take on Greg’s take.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:16:17):

It’s all about cyber hygiene. It’s more important than ever right now. If you focus on the basics, making sure you have complex passwords, and you rotate those passwords, and that your IT team gets a say in all of the IT that you do, because they are your experts, leverage them.

Scott Luton (00:16:46):

Excellent. Well, Greg, cyber hygiene, cyber hygiene.

Greg White (00:16:52):

I think that distinction between the business or the operations people and the IT, we need to stop thinking like that. Everyone in a business is a business person. Some of them, their choice of toolset is operations or business process. Some of them, their choice of toolset or designated toolset is technology. But they’re all business people.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:17:14):

[Inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:17:15):

Excellent point. And by the way, I have it hard enough with my kids with normal hygiene, and now we got to worry about cyber hygiene with all three kids. Man, reaping up the complexity. All right. So, Kevin and Greg, really quick, I want to say hello, Josh Goodey, great to have you back as always, from Seattle. “Sunny Seattle,” he says this time.

Greg White (00:17:32):

Sunny Seattle, that’s good to hear. Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:17:35):

And Johnathan Kimbrough, great to have you here today via LinkedIn, here in Atlanta, one of the best cities to do business in.

Greg White (00:17:41):

Sunny Atlanta. We can verify that, Scott, right?

Scott Luton (00:17:43):

That’s right. It’s gorgeous here today.

Greg White (00:17:46):

At least, right this moment. Yeah.

Scott Luton (00:17:48):

I want to move along to this next article – again, folks, we’ve got a special guest coming in about 12:25, Florian Seebauer with SAP, so stay tuned – Kevin, it’s almost a flip side of what we were talking about a second ago, because a second ago we were kind of talking about some of the threats and risks associated with technology. But here from our friends at Thompson Reuters, we’re talking about new global supply chains – which are better than new Coke, I promise – and how technology can help us break all sorts of barriers while fueling global trade and a whole lot more. So, Kevin, unpack this point of view a little bit for us.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:18:29):

So, globalization and digital transformation are really affecting us all. And one of our favorite topics over the past two years in supply chain, especially, has been toilet paper, right? And because of globalization, we’re getting our toilet paper from everywhere around the world. And the need to track that toilet paper to make sure that Amazon can take the drone and drop it there when you need it right outside the door.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:19:07):

So, if we look back, though, global trade volume has actually tripled over the last 20 years. It’s up 272 percent between 2020, valued at over USD 18 trillion in 2020. So, these trade routes barely existed back in 2020, are now some of the biggest trade routes in the market today. And with this globalization and the links between all the countries, now you have to deal with the law and regulations and compliance in all of these countries. So, this is yet another element, a very complex element you have to watch in your supply chain.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:20:07):

So, incorporating technology in your global trade activities could reduce some of the risks that you may see in your supply chain, and face it today what business isn’t a global business. If you are on the internet, you are global. So, how can technology help you? You may need to leverage technology to trace and track your products, not just your physical products, but your virtual products as well. You may want to measure the viability of a particular global trade route or global trade partner, leveraging research and comparisons. The internet can help you. Technology can help you with that. You can monitor your business partners and their performance, not just with you, but with others. Leveraging technology and automation and you are operating.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:21:22):

So, Greg and I talked about this before, we’re no longer in a supply chain, we’re in a supply web, like you’re in a ecosystem. So, you need to really streamline operations between all the other companies that exist in your ecosystem. Technology can really help there. So, digital transformation, baby.

Scott Luton (00:21:46):

All right. So, Greg, your couple quick response here, your quick take.

Greg White (00:21:50):

Yeah. I think, probably the key here, to me, I mean, this previous article really points this out, is that, securing that network virtually is equally as important as the physical security that one would naturally employ in a global supply ecosystem. And I think you can’t think of it separately. You wouldn’t think of not having armed guards in certain countries or not having trailers behind fences in certain cities, even in probably most cities, frankly, in the U.S. You wouldn’t think of not having locks on trailers and containers and things like that. You have to think of your digital systems, your digital and cyber security systems, as those locks and fences and security. So, I think it’s critical for us – I think TSquared talked about this – to recognize that siloization – I think is what he called it —

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

Siloization.

Greg White (00:23:02):

Siloization. There you go.

Greg White (00:23:07):

… siloization has really put the supply chain business in general in jeopardy. And, Kevin, to your point, everyone is virtually global. I mean, there are cities where your internet signal is blocked. You’re not projecting to everywhere in the world, but you are still exposed to it. Even if you’re blocked from posting in China, let me assure you, there are people in China who are interested in what you’re doing.

Scott Luton (00:23:33):

That’s Right. Hey, we’re about to bring in our special guest. I want to just share a couple quick comments, this graphic, by the way, Greg and Kevin —

Greg White (00:23:41):

Is that Post-it notes?

Scott Luton (00:23:42):

Well, we must have gotten it from 3M because, clearly, they are communicating that Post-it notes make the whole world go round. But y’all check out that read. Nasrin – great to have you back with us – “Greetings from Iran,” via LinkedIn. So nice to see you. Josh says, “There was also a hack at Rockstar, the video game developer. Just goes to show that everyone needs to update and innovate when it comes to protection.” Excellent point there, Josh.

Greg White (00:24:10):

Right. That is inherently built into their products. Security is, right? So, even with an intention, it can still be vulnerable.

Scott Luton (00:24:19):

Yes. Greg, you referenced TSquared’s point earlier. By the way, TSquared holds down the fort for us at YouTube. TSquared says, “That cybersecurity story more than sobers and truly underscores the dangers of siloization.” So, yes, Greg, we’re coining a new word there. And then, finally —

Kevin L. Jackson (00:24:39):

Siloization.

Scott Luton (00:24:40):

Siloization.

Greg White (00:24:41):

That’s cool, right? Let me steal that, Tyrone. Sorry, man. Just warning you.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:24:47):

I didn’t see a registered trademark behind it, so let’s go.

Scott Luton (00:24:51):

So, Joey K. says, “I think the challenges often come from the gap in communication between the business, IT, and leadership. Not only that, challenges exist with teams lacking trust in their colleagues who are the experts within their craft. Love the hygiene comparison. So true.”

Kevin L. Jackson (00:25:09):

Thank you.

Scott Luton (00:25:09):

Thank you there, Joey. Okay. Well, we’re going to leave that story there. Y’all can check it out. We’ve dropped link to it in the comments. Thank you, Greg and Kevin for walking us through your thoughts on both of those first two stories here today. But we got a lot more to get to, right? So, y’all stick tune, we’re about to dive in deeper.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:25:26):

But wait, there’s more.

Scott Luton (00:25:27):

But wait, there’s more. We’re going to be diving into the automotive industry quite a bit here today. But before we get there, I want to welcome in our special guest, Florian Seebauer, Senior Director, SAP Business Network and Direct Spend Solutions. Hey, Florian. How are we doing today?

Florian Seebauer (00:25:46):

Hey, guys. I’m doing good. How are you?

Scott Luton (00:25:49):

We’re doing wonderful. It’s so nice to see you.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:25:51):

Doing great.

Greg White (00:25:51):

Yeah, it’s really, really good to see you.

Scott Luton (00:25:58):

Oh, gosh. Florian, I love that color blue. That is a gorgeous color blue. But, hey, as gorgeous as that blue is on you here today is a sight of a really tasty cheeseburger. So, folks stick with me here. Before we dive into —

Greg White (00:26:16):

[Inaudible] cheeseburger.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:26:16):

It’s lunch time.

Scott Luton (00:26:20):

It is. Dinnertime where Florian is though. But, hey, before we dive into —

Florian Seebauer (00:26:27):

I’m getting hungry already.

Scott Luton (00:26:27):

Before we dive into the work at hand, I want to start with just a fun question to our panel here because yesterday was National Cheeseburger Day. How I missed that yesterday. I bet the world celebrates. It’s one of those global cuisines, certainly known well here in the states. But, Florian, what is one of your go-to places to get a really good cheeseburger?

Florian Seebauer (00:26:52):

You know, I spent over ten years in California and I started loving In-N-Out. But I don’t think you find it anywhere over Europe, right? So, I moved towards Five Guys, which started, I guess, maybe three or four years ago. So, that’s now my new place. And I missed the celebration day, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would have [inaudible].

Greg White (00:27:13):

You know, so did I. I feel like it ought to be marketed better, Florian.

Florian Seebauer (00:27:18):

Absolutely.

Scott Luton (00:27:18):

Right. All right. So, Florian dropped, man, quite a double deuce there between In-N-Out and Five Guys, right, Greg and Kevin? Greg, what’s one of your favorite go-tos?

Greg White (00:27:31):

Man, I love hamburgers so much. It really depends on the mood that I’m in. But one of my favorite lately, because we’re on the island, is the Earl of Sandwich makes a burger that is about that thick. And it’s a dive bar. It’s the oldest continuous running bar on Hilton Head. And their burger is gigantic, but, man, it is a fantastic hamburger. And there are even a lot of great burgers on the island everywhere, of course. And, of course, with Florian, if you’re going to buy a chain hamburger, it ought to be an In-N-Out.

Scott Luton (00:28:07):

Well, Greg, does it come with the theme song Duke of Earl? Duke, duke, duke, duke of Earl, you know, playing in the background whenever you’re dining in. Hey, y’all don’t make me sing that again, please.

Greg White (00:28:21):

Please don’t.

Scott Luton (00:28:22):

Kevin, you’re a cleanup here today. Where do you go for a great cheeseburger?

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

Well, you know, Florian stole it from me. It’s Five Guys.

Greg White (00:28:35):

Yeah. Well, of course, where you’re from. That’s where they started.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:28:38):

It’s Five Guys. And it’s not just the burgers, it’s the fries too. I mean, it’s the fries that make it all. So, I got to go with that. It’s just so messy.

Greg White (00:28:56):

Even a small fry at Five Guys is enough for two people, at least two people.

Scott Luton (00:29:01):

It’s so worth it, though. It’s so worth it. Greg, Kevin, and Florian, thank you for making everybody hungry. By the way, Gale says, “In-N-Out rules. Thanks, Florian Seebauer.” Glorimar says, “My daughter says that I make better burgers than In-N-Out, and I will take that as a huge success.” Agreed.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:29:22):

We’d have to go check that out. What’s her address?

Greg White (00:29:23):

We’ll take three to go, Glorimar.

Scott Luton (00:29:26):

Hey, four.

Greg White (00:29:27):

Four to go. Yeah. Right.

Scott Luton (00:29:29):

Amanda says, “Me and my favorite birthday boy, Bennett, love a good ole Whopper.” That’s good. A little different, but good, Amanda.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:29:38):

Double Whopper. Yeah. I tried that Impossible Whopper, too, that’s actually pretty good.

Scott Luton (00:29:42):

Yeah. It’s not bad. Not bad.

Florian Seebauer (00:29:43):

Not on the top, but it’s not bad.

Scott Luton (00:29:44):

And, finally, Josh giving us a little Yakima market Intel, “Miners Burgers in Yakima, Washington.” Thank you for that, Josh.

Greg White (00:29:54):

[Inaudible] had better be good, so it’s got to be pretty tasty.

Scott Luton (00:29:59):

And, Sammy, greetings to you as well. Sammy is tuned in from Nairobi, Kenya via LinkedIn. Okay. Y’all keep sharing where you get your favorite burgers from, keep commenting on the supply chain focus conversation we have. We got the next half-hour or so with Florian, and looking forward to diving into. So, we better get to work, folks. Florian, where we want to start is we’re going to be talking, as I mentioned quite a bit, about the automotive industry here today. And we’ll start with this interesting read from our friends at Automotive Logistics, what’s old is new again as many automakers are leveraging vertical integration more and more for several reasons to include risk management. So, Florian, please tell us more.

Florian Seebauer (00:30:47):

Yeah. The article starts with the new normal of supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic war sanctions, weather pattern, shortages in material and components. And supply chain experts at the auto manufacturers go back again to the vertical integration to ensure that the supply is coming timely to the factories. And the article talks about three examples of backward vertical integration. One of them is the example of securing raw material, specifically here, the cobalt and the nickel, the important battery supplies. Because, of course, everyone is moving towards electric vehicles and, therefore, of course, those raw materials are extremely critical.

Florian Seebauer (00:31:43):

Another example which the article talks about are the important semiconductors. We saw all over huge delays. And, interestingly, I just got my new company car. Last Friday, I picked it up. Now, guess how long I was waiting for that car?

Greg White (00:32:06):

Nine months.

Florian Seebauer (00:32:09):

Sixteen months.

Florian Seebauer (00:32:11):

That is something. Right now in Germany, people are a little bit special because you customize your car. It’s not something you buy just from the shelf. And I would say, three months, six months were normal before, but 16 is unheard of. And, of course, shortages in semiconductors, that is a big issue there, so it’s real. And that is exactly by more and more OEMs directly engaged now down in the supply chain with their semiconductor manufacturers and really planning already ahead for the next release of semiconductors to have that new advanced capabilities.

Florian Seebauer (00:32:52):

And last but not least, the article talks about the automakers getting engaged in the actual manufacturing of the batteries. There are examples of Volvo trucks, of Stellantis, of Volkswagen to get now really deeply involved in producing those batteries which are so essential for the new way of driving. Interestingly, a lot of opportunities, on the other hand, of course, also a lot of challenges considering now that additional complexity for the OEMs to deal with that large number of suppliers running all those sourcing activities, managing the overall check management to ensuring that all of that is nicely orchestrated. Also, a need for increased supply chain visibility here, really, to orchestrate all of those activities.

Scott Luton (00:33:48):

Orchestration, one of our favorite things to talk about here, Florian. Greg, I want to get you to comment first on both the article – and here’s the article, we’ll share that again – that Florian was kind of speaking to from our friends at Automotive Logistics. Your thoughts when it comes to the automotive industry revisiting vertical integration.

Greg White (00:34:08):

Yeah. I mean, this is not an uncommon sort of swing of the pendulum, especially when you’ve lost control of your supply chain in the way that so many manufacturers, not just auto manufacturers, but particularly auto manufacturers have. And when you have such a far flung supply chain, the risk of far flung and third, fourth, and fifth parties in your supply chain is very risky. As we’ve all evidenced, 16 months, I can’t even believe it. And I’m sure it was a German car also, Florian, right?

Florian Seebauer (00:34:40):

That is right. Let’s not name them now, but that German manufacturer. That’s right.

Greg White (00:34:46):

And it’s not anyone’s fault because one of the biggest risks – we bought a German car that will remain unnamed, but I always buy the same German car. So, anybody who knows me knows – and it’s not just raw material, it’s global conflict because the wire harnesses for this particular brand’s cars are made in Ukraine. And there was nobody there to make them for a lot of the time. But I think one of the things we have to think about, too, is that – and I am more and more convinced. Look, this is not a fully scientific survey. I would say, I can’t remember if it’s theory or hypothesis, but it’s somewhere along the scientific method curve – there aren’t enough natural materials, be they rare earth minerals or component minerals, like Florian is talking about, to construct all of the batteries that we need to convert the entire world to EV without stripping the entire crust of the planet off, which, of course, is never going to happen.

Greg White (00:35:55):

But what this does for a lot of these manufacturers is it enables them to take better control and have better visibility to that, so that when the inevitable happens, which is creating synthetics for cobalt, nickel, and some of these rare earth minerals or elements are required, they’ll have a good eye on when it’s time to do that and start to build the scientific capability to do it because it is – and just my opinion – absolute necessity to do that.

Scott Luton (00:36:25):

Okay. Kevin, I’m going to get your take here in just a second. I want to share a couple quick messages first. Katherine shares Village Burger in Dunwoody is a great place to eat.

Greg White (00:36:36):

Been there.

Scott Luton (00:36:36):

She also says, “Casey’s Place in Vero Beach, Florida was her go-to back in 2015.” Russ, great to have you back with us from London via LinkedIn, looking forward to your perspective. And then, finally, before we get Kevin’s take, Josh Goodey says, “Mining Digital posted saying that there were more than 50 deposits of cobalt in the U.S. There were issues in Idaho and Montana due to them having to open minds near where Californians bought their new houses.” Well, folks, we’re talking about EV batteries here in just a second. But, Kevin, before we get there, speak, if you would, to this first article from Automotive Logistics and vertical integration and such.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:37:17):

So, it’s first time. This is not a story about the automotive industry. It’s a story about the IT industry. What is a car? It’s a computer with wheels, all right? So, the 18 months or 16 months shortage was because of the integrated circuitry in the vehicle. Second, you were talking about wiring harnesses. Quick Google search shows that according to the Ukrainian Government, there were 22 automotive companies that invested more than $600 million to build 38 plants in Ukraine to employ 60,000 Ukrainians to produce automotive wire harnesses. So, that is a huge impact on the automotive industry.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:38:32):

And another point, sort of put an exclamation point on this, the car manufacturing industry in Russia collapsed 97 percent after the start of the war. So, that tells you a lot about the global dependence on supply chain, the fragility of a single point of failure, and why integration is really important. This supply web that we talked about is really important, not just in automotive, but in every initiative.

Scott Luton (00:39:29):

Integration, but also having a conductor that can really provide effective orchestration, circling back to what Florian was sharing on the frontend.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:39:40):

Yeah. That orchestration and visibility.

Scott Luton (00:39:42):

Yes. That’s right.

Florian Seebauer (00:39:42):

Visibility, I think that is really key and really into your supply chain to really get the necessary insights and then react accordingly. Also, the article was talking about that more and more automotive industries move away from single source to multi-source, which, of course, it adds additional costs, additional complexities. But on the other hand, you take out the risk and you can shift then your demand between suppliers, also unheard of when you think back maybe five years ago. We’re talking all about efficiency.

Greg White (00:40:18):

It’s a hedging strategy.

Florian Seebauer (00:40:18):

Absolutely.

Scott Luton (00:40:20):

All right. So much to dive into here, but I want to move to this second article, Florian. We’re just talking a second ago along these lines. So, of course, the demand for electric vehicles has shot up, right? You’ve got some car companies pledging to move to an all EV fleet of offerings. But along these moves, the prices associated with the battery metals that power these vehicles have also skyrocketed. So, Florian, tell us more about this development from our friends at Bloomberg.

Florian Seebauer (00:40:53):

Yeah. No, it’s quite related. But we’re going to talk again about those raw materials which are so essential for the battery, lithium, cobalt, and nickel. And there’s also a trend over the last 10, 15 years that the prices for battery packs really declined. But now, that’s turning because raw material prices skyrocketed. In case, for example, of cobalt, that increased dramatically. Lithium more so, up to 600 times it went up from prices before. And, of course, that creates now huge challenges for the OEMs because, you know, what can they do? Should they take a cut in their margin or push that further to their consumers? And, of course, there is the battle between the combustion engine cars. And I guess, now due to that increase of raw material prices, it’s not anymore as clear that the EV cars will overtake the combustion engine cars due to those spikes. On the other end, of course, also combustion engine drivers might have to deal with exactly those expensive raw materials, the gasoline, the oil is also getting more expensive.

Scott Luton (00:42:13):

No shortage of complexities here. Greg, I want to get you to weigh in on what Florian said there or, you know, back to batteries. I feel like that’s a common theme we’ve been dealing with here lately. Greg, your thoughts.

Greg White (00:42:28):

Well, this article to me is more about the cost, which will unquestionably go up. It already has in the United States as the U.S. Government has mandated that all cars must – and now some state governments, California by 2030, in seven years and three months – be electric. And so, costs will unquestionably go up. And to answer your question, Florian, they will be passed on to the consumer because the consumer will have no choice. So, that’s already starting to happen because of the subsidies that the U.S. Government has provided to consumers. Remarkably, virtually every car manufacturer in America has increased their price by precisely the amount of subsidy that the U.S. Government has provided to the consumer. So, we are trapped from a supply and demand standpoint.

Greg White (00:43:28):

Combustion cars, many of them will cease to be on the road in seven years and three months, because they’ll wear out. And then, you won’t be able to get one, so you’ll have no choice. We’ll have a captive audience. Let’s just face it, businesses, corporations don’t pay taxes. The consumer pays their taxes in terms of uplifted price. And, of course, every opportunity they can where demand is forced, they will take advantage of it. So, the cost of these things going up is inevitable, again, because we need more than the earth can provide. And the research to provide synthetics or other solutions will cost a tremendous amount of money as all early stage research and development does, and it will be passed along to the consumer.

Scott Luton (00:44:20):

Okay. Well, it sounds like with all of those things manifesting themselves, more and more of us maybe getting around via something we call Chevrolegs, Greg.

Greg White (00:44:33):

Yeah. Right. I mean, think about this, you know, think about the growth in e-bikes. We may not even be able to afford an e-bike, lest an EV.

Scott Luton (00:44:43):

Well, hey, love your commentary there. You, and Florian, and Kevin bringing home for us. What’s your thoughts here on what’s going on?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:44:52):

So, in the end, it’s about reducing our energy, right? So, we want to get out of oil, so we go to electric vehicles. And, now, we’re worried about rare earth in the batteries for these electric vehicles. So, what’s the next step? How about maglev, magnetic levitation? I mean, you’ve all heard of magnetic levitation for trains, right? But what about cars? So, China is actually testing putting magnetic levitation rails on the highway so that when you’re driving the car, you can actually get on this maglev and it raises the car just a few centimeters off the ground, and it can reduce the energy that the car uses by as much as 31 percent. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a fossil fuel car or electric car, you’re now reducing the energy that you need to get from point A to point B with much cheaper energy on this maglev. But there is a catch, it uses rare earth elements for the permanent magnets that are part of this maglev system. So, once again, it’s going to be a supply chain issue.

Scott Luton (00:46:34):

It all comes back to supply chains and supply chain management, Kevin. But, you know, we’ve known that for, for years and years. The party and the tents bigger these days, which is good in many ways. But, Kevin, thanks for sharing. We’re going to keep our eye on that maglev, magnetic levitation innovation that’s taking place overseas.

Scott Luton (00:46:56):

All right. Folks, with all these complexities and these issues, we need resources to overcome them. I’m about to ask Florian about what his team does and offer up some resources. But before I do, we got some great comments here. I want to share a couple of these. Let’s see here, Russ says, “Big car industry must develop a strong strategy, short, middle long term, including considering buy some key suppliers and practicing localization more than ever before.” Good point there, Russ.

Scott Luton (00:47:31):

Josh says – I think he’s going back to the mining digital and some of the locations he was mentioning earlier, these open minds – “They’ve already had some water pollution issues in some of those places.” Good point there, Josh. Hey, Nanda is back with us, Greg. It’s been a little while. Nanda, great to see you here today. Glorimar says, “EV, gas, hybrid, none of those are the sole solutions. At least in the U.S. we need all the options.” In California where she lives, she says, “We have way too many EVs.” She owns one too, “and I try to charge it at home as much as I can because finding an empty charging station has become very challenging since the gas prices went up.” Hey, look here. This is mom. This is my one and only. Hey, great to see you, mom. Leah Luton says, “Kind of like the Jetsons. I always wanted to levitate.” So, it looks like we got a couple votes.

Greg White (00:48:28):

I like the maglev idea. I wonder if there’s a way to do gravlev where it’s just gravity – you know, it doesn’t require all these gigantic magnets – where we can use the gravity of the earth, inherent magnetic force of the earth. I mean, does that not sound like a fun project?

Scott Luton (00:48:47):

I love it.

Greg White (00:48:47):

Right? Then, we’re Jetsons.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:48:51):

Sign me up, Greg. [Inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:48:53):

All right. And by the way, I love the Jetsons analogy there. All right. So, Florian, you and your team do some great work working with companies around the globe, and for the handful of folks that may not know, tell us especially what the SAP Business Network, what that and your team do at SAP.

Florian Seebauer (00:49:18):

Happy to do so. Now, look, we talked a lot about the issues organization’s are facing regarding supply chain disruption, finding the right suppliers, the right sources of supply, and that is exactly what the Business Network can help organizations to achieve. It allows you to connect to world largest business network by finding the right suppliers and then collaborating with those suppliers. And it doesn’t really matter what type of supplier it is, if it’s a raw material supplier component to bio logistic provider, asset provider, service provider, so you can easily collaborate with them and expand your digitalization out of your four vaults into the supply chain and gain real time transparency, resilience, agility. And, also, it has a big benefit from a sustainability perspective because you can really make sure that the suppliers on the network have signed the necessary certifications that they provide you with the information regarding the carbon footprint and really helps your organization to overcome those challenges. And it’s really across the different industries.

Scott Luton (00:50:36):

Right. You know, all those things once upon a time were nice to haves, but more and more they are becoming must haves. The customer expects it, undoubtedly. Okay. So, let’s talk about some of the resources that you brought with you today, Florian, in particular, I think, we’ve got this white paper here teed up. This SAP white paper is focused on transforming product sourcing – which you were just kind of mentioning – for highly engineered products and all the complexity that come with them. So, why should folks check out this white paper you think?

Florian Seebauer (00:51:11):

You know, I highly recommend it if the readers are related to the discrete industry. What we have done is building a solution with leading automotive OEMs, tier one suppliers. And the solution described in the paper is all about what we have done there, which helps those organizations to bring products clicker to market, collaborate early on with the suppliers to really ensure that the designs are cost efficient, but also that sustainability aspects are considered, and doing that in a really collaborative way with the suppliers. Also, it addresses challenges related to the raw material prices so you can also capture index based pricing, negotiate that, and really ensure that the prices and the purchase orders you send out to your suppliers are based on current indexes you have negotiated. So, it really makes sure that you can really start from a product idea to operational execution seamlessly all in our systems, and with a large customer supplier base, all digital.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:52:22):

You know, that’s critical. You were talking about what siloization, right? With a system like that, is that IT or OT? It’s both.

Florian Seebauer (00:52:40):

You’re spot on. You’re spot on because it brings all that together, collaboration of assets, logistics, supply chain, procurement.

Scott Luton (00:52:49):

Agreed. And it helps practitioners operationalize as they go after the art of the possible and, really, the art of the necessary in 2022 in many ways. All right. Really quick, I want to share some other things. And, Greg, I’d love to get your take on what Florian has shared as well. Kevin loves that siloization word as do I.

Scott Luton (00:53:10):

Hey, let’s see here. So, we’ve got that white paper. Y’all check that out. Our production team has shared those links in the comments. Also, we’ve got a blog article that focuses on how effective product sourcing can help reign in the complexity of sourcing highly engineered products. And you can also check out the link that we dropped, where you can learn more about SAP’s sourcing solutions. So, check out and connect with Florian and his team there. All right.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:53:38):

[Inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:53:40):

Kevin, what was that?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:53:42):

What isn’t highly engineered solution today? You have to highly engineer just about everything.

Scott Luton (00:53:50):

That’s a good point. Good point. Especially in the automotive industry, everything seems to be highly engineered. Of course, you’ve got safety considerations, unlike many other aspects of global manufacturing. Greg, weigh in really quick on what Florian was sharing, including the priorities and the resources, whether you’re in procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, you name it, you really need at your fingertips.

Greg White (00:54:15):

Yeah. Well, I think to both Florian and Kevin’s points, either or both of your product are highly engineered or the supply chain. I mean, it doesn’t matter if you’re just getting an injection molded lid for something. I mean, it’s because you want to do that cheaply, your supply chain becomes highly engineered so that the integrated complexities of either the construct of the product or the mobilization of the product is very highly engineered. So, having the kind of data and transparency and visibility that we’ve been talking about today.

Greg White (00:54:53):

And then, of course, Kevin, all of our favorite new word, eliminating the siloization between portions of your business, that all becomes critical to the success of a company. I mean, we have to think in different ways. We have to engage, integrate – you know, technically integrate – in different ways. And we have to move and view the goods. What’s the biggest question everyone’s asking right now? “Where’s my stuff?” And that includes some big corporations who have far flung or very complex dynamics in their supply chain, whether that is the design or the production or the movement of the goods. So, all of these technologies allow you to have that visibility, that transparency.

Greg White (00:55:40):

And I think one of the most overlooked aspects of the supply chain, historically, is the responsiveness and recovery capability. Resilience is what we call it today, right? When something goes wrong – and notice I didn’t say if. I said when something goes wrong – the number one rule of supply chain, expect everyone to fail you. So, when you do that and you provision for that, these kind of tools and solutions help you before a catastrophic event takes your supply chain down.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:56:13):

You know, is it resilience or is it flexibility? You need that flexibility, right?

Scott Luton (00:56:23):

Or both and then some, right?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:56:25):

Or both.

Greg White (00:56:25):

Yeah. I mean, I think we could have a really long discussion over which is an element of the other. But flexibility is definitely required to have resiliency.

Scott Luton (00:56:35):

That’s right.

Greg White (00:56:36):

[Inaudible] just list the words.

Scott Luton (00:56:40):

Well, we need that flip chart you used to have behind you way back in the day, Greg. We could power this discussion. But, hey, for the sake of time, before Florian departs, I want to make sure folks know how to connect with he and his team there. So, Florian, what’s the easiest way to connect with you?

Florian Seebauer (00:56:59):

Just use LinkedIn, and I guess you have my LinkedIn contacts.

Scott Luton (00:57:03):

We do.

Greg White (00:57:04):

We do?

Scott Luton (00:57:04):

We sure do. It’s just that easy. I’ll tell you, Greg and Kevin, we should have gotten into LinkedIn business long ago. Everyone, it’s the go-to. It’s just like that. It’s no longer to the look me up in the phone book. It’s find me on LinkedIn.

Greg White (00:57:18):

You almost don’t need business cards anymore.

Scott Luton (00:57:20):

Right.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:57:23):

Right. They gave you a QR code on LinkedIn too.

Scott Luton (00:57:25):

Right.

Greg White (00:57:26):

Right. So, it’s not just where you are now. It’s where you’ve been in the past and the provenance, Kevin L. Jackson of your [inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:57:33):

Ah, provenance. Love that word. All right. Well, for now, though, Florian Seebauer, thanks so much for joining us here today. Really enjoyed your perspective on all things supply chain, really global business. And I bet, I hope you get a chance to eat a great cheeseburger soon, because you’re a few hours ahead of us. But Florian Seebauer, Senior Director, SAP Business Network and Direct Spend Solutions. Thank you for your time, Florian.

Florian Seebauer (00:57:59):

Thank you for having me. Have a good day, guys.

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

Thanks, Florian.

Scott Luton (00:58:03):

That swoosh was on the money. It waits for nobody.

Greg White (00:58:06):

[Inaudible].

Greg White (00:58:09):

We mustn’t delay because our production team is incredibly precise.

Scott Luton (00:58:13):

So right. So right.

Kevin L. Jackson (00:58:15):

We’re ready to swoosh you if you’re ready or not.

Scott Luton (00:58:16):

That’s right. Well, hey, I really enjoyed Florian’s take here today. I think we could have spent a couple more hours talking, whether it’s cheeseburgers or the complexities in the automotive industry or a lot more. Greg, you and Kevin, just talking about defining some of these words and what they really mean, because they can mean different things to different leaders, and practitioners, and teams, and organizations. But really enjoyed the discussion here today.

Scott Luton (00:58:44):

All right. So, I want to wrap. We might finish just a minute or two over. Kevin, we need to make sure folks, maybe three people that don’t know you’re doing great work – two people.

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

I’ve got two people. My audience is decreasing [inaudible].

Greg White (00:59:00):

The audience that doesn’t know how to get a of you is definitely decreasing.

Scott Luton (00:59:03):

There’s a great tie in here, though, because, Kevin, you’re doing great work as you lead Digital Transformers with Kevin L. Jackson, a great podcast. Y’all check that out wherever you get your podcast from and subscribe. Because one of the topics that you’re going to be talking about – and, Greg, we’ve chatted about here in one of our recent livestreams – is the longstanding partnership between SAP and IBM. And Kevin, I’m not sure —

Kevin L. Jackson (00:59:26):

Yes. Absolutely.

Scott Luton (00:59:27):

When is that episode? When will that be dropping?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:59:30):

We’d be dropping on Monday.

Greg White (00:59:34):

Wow. That’s very timely.

Scott Luton (00:59:36):

Isn’t it?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:59:36):

So, next Monday, the next episode.

Greg White (00:59:37):

Today Monday or next Monday?

Kevin L. Jackson (00:59:39):

Next Monday, the next episode of Digital Transformers on Supply Chain Now, we’ll be talking with Stacy Short from IBM. and she manages the longstanding relationship between IBM and SAP, 50 years long. Talk about working together for the betterment of the world. And get this, SAP was founded by five IBMers. So, they left IBM, founded SAP, and then started that relationship. So, how long has OT and IT been working together? SAP and IBM, so stay tuned.

Scott Luton (01:00:29):

Quite some time. So, hey, y’all can find that episode and all episodes, including all past episodes – Kevin’s been building quite a library – look up Digital Transformers wherever you get your podcasts from and subscribe so you don’t miss that episode or any others.

Scott Luton (01:00:42):

One last thing to touch on, Greg, really enjoyed your commentaries – I always enjoy them – but here lately, one of your mantras that you have long held, and you’ve gotten a lot of responses around is, whether consumers like it or not, they’re the beginning and the end of the supply chains. And one of your commentaries touched on that once more last week. But where I’m getting is, I think we published our fourth or fifth edition of With That Said over the weekend. That’s our dedicated LinkedIn newsletter. And, Greg and Kevin, we are right at 15,000 subscribers, just four editions in.

Greg White (01:01:25):

It hasn’t even been a month that that thing has been out. It’s just over a month, right?

Scott Luton (01:01:28):

Right. I think we got link, we’re going to drop to the most recent one. If you’re not subscribing to that, check it out. And if there’s ideas that any of our listeners, subscribers, any of our global family of listeners have when it comes to that newsletter, hey, let us know. We love feedback. It is certainly a blessing and helps come up with great new ideas. Kevin?

Kevin L. Jackson (01:01:53):

Who’s that at the header at that article?

Greg White (01:02:00):

You got so much more depth, I don’t know how you’re doing this while we’re on the air.

Kevin L. Jackson (01:02:03):

I’m everywhere. I’m everywhere.

Greg White (01:02:05):

Impressive.

Scott Luton (01:02:07):

So, to see what Kevin’s talking about, you’re going to have to check out the most recent edition of With That Said. And, of course, you can also find that at the Supply Chain Now company page on LinkedIn. Okay. Greg, I’m going to give you the final thought here today. Kevin, always a pleasure. We love our Digital Transformers episodes. We’re getting out front. It’s beneficial. We’re going to make it even more official, so you can catch Kevin L. Jackson every third Monday on The Buzz. Every third Monday here at Supply Chain Now. So, look for that in October, November, and December. Kevin, really appreciate your time.

Kevin L. Jackson (01:02:44):

Thank you. Thank you. I enjoy this. It’s just fun.

Scott Luton (01:02:47):

Yeah. It is. It is a blast. We could easily add an extra hour and not miss a beat. But, Greg, we covered a lot of ground here with Florian, and Kevin, and all the comments here in the cheap seats. What’s your final thought? Challenge our audience, and then I’ll sign off.

Greg White (01:03:05):

Yeah I think, the thing that we have to recognize at every level – and this continues to surprise me like the article that we talked about – that supply chain, really any aspect of business and IT, which I include digital security, cybersecurity, and digital transformation, all of those things are inextricably connected. And if you don’t have a plan for that, it’s like planning to fail because you simply cannot keep up with manual processes, and even some of the old processes and certainly not digitally integrated and protected processes inside your organization, but with the other organizations that you do business with globally. And if the last 33 months have not taught you that, where the heck have you been?

Kevin L. Jackson (01:04:03):

What planet were you?

Greg White (01:04:03):

So, I think, that’s the challenge, is, I would cease to think about it as digital transformation being separate from supply chain or separate from your business. Digital transformation is your business. We’ve been talking about that with Kevin L. Jackson for several years now. And like he’s turned us into digital transformation, not experts, but fans, we’re turning him into a supply chain fan. And I think the more that we see that, the more that the three of us and, really all of our team get together, the more clear that is. And I’m hopeful that companies will start to see that, get more serious about it, spend the money, do it now – pay us per hour, pay us later. But spend the money to improve the integration and safety of your supply chain, both physically and virtually.

Scott Luton (01:04:55):

Yeah. All right. We got to leave it there, don’t plan to fail. Be like Greg and Kevin, do not plan to fail. Take action. Big thanks to Kevin L. Jackson, host of Digital Transformers and so much more. Y’all make sure you connect, follow, and check out his podcast. Be sure to connect with Greg White on LinkedIn, in particular, follow him for those commentaries every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and comment on those things. There’s some fascinating conversations as thousands and thousands of folks read that perspective.

Scott Luton (01:05:25):

But whatever you do, folks, whatever you do, on behalf, our entire team here at supply chain house, it’s all about deeds, not words. Take action and act now. No time to [inaudible]. On behalf of our entire team, Scott Luton challenging you —

Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:38):

[Inaudible].

Scott Luton (01:05:40):

New word, I guess.

Kevin L. Jackson (01:05:41):

[Inaudible].

Scott Luton (01:05:44):

Oh, gosh. It’s a Monday. It’s a Monday. But whatever you do, folks, whatever you do, hey, act, act, act, do good, give forward, be the change that’s needed. And we’ll see you next time right back here at Supply Chain Now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (01:05:57):

Thanks for being a part of our Supply Chain Now community. Check out all of our programmin at 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.