Supply Chain Now
Episode 995

The organizations that haven't really taken a good look at what Scope 3 emissions are: these are emissions that are reported widely in most of Europe but in the U.S. it's kind of like, 'Oh, it's not a problem because it happens outside our four walls.' That's where the low-hanging fruit is, there's just so much money and emissions low-hanging fruit there to get rid of with just some simple initiatives.

-James Malley -

Episode Summary

It’s a great time to be in supply chain, and what better place to talk about it than The Buzz? Settle in as Scott, Greg and Karin launch into a discussion of today’s top headlines with James Malley, CEO and co-founder of Paccurate. This week, it’s all about finding the right fit, whether that’s through a supply chain seat at the C-suite table at Ford, new visibility into ESG initiatives, rethinking service models at Fed-ex or mastering cartonization with Paccurate. Tune in today for the latest!

Episode Transcript

Intro/Outro (00:00:03):

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

Scott Luton (00:00:30):

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

Greg White (00:00:40):

Pretty good. All things considered. Weather’s beautiful, Chief stink. Uh, but we’re over that, as I told, as I told s you yesterday. Yeah, pretty much. Um, you can’t win ’em all, but we can still win 16, so

Scott Luton (00:00:56):

The Chiefs will be just fine, undoubtedly. And, uh, Karin Bursa, how are you doing? I’m

Karin Bursa (00:01:02):

Doing great, Scott. It’s good to be here with you guys.

Scott Luton (00:01:05):

You as well. Yeah, likewise as well.

Scott Luton (00:01:08):

Hope you, uh, both had wonderful, uh, weekends. Uh, but hey, just remind everybody. Today is a supply chain buzz where we see some, we share, talk about, um, give our take on some of the leading stories across global business. So we’re gonna be discussing a wide variety of topics, and Greg and Karen. Yes, we’ve got a special guest joining us around 12:25 PM Eastern Time. That would be Mr. James Malley with ard. So stay tuned there. Yeah. Um, so y y’all noticed there, I didn’t wait for a nice smooth segue. I wanted to knock that out because I wanted to celebrate something before he gave some shoutouts. Wanted to celebrate some recognition that came out, uh, I believe last week in last 10 days or so. What is it? Karen <laugh> Corrin was recognized with another women in supply chain award for 2022 from our friends at Supply and Demand Chain Executive. Corrine, congratulations from all of us here.

Karin Bursa (00:02:06):

Thank you. Thank you guys. And thank you to the entire supply chain now team for all you do to elevate supply chain, all things supply chain for all of us, but to give voice to so many women because there were a number of women on this year’s list that have been guests on supply chain now. So that’s exciting as well.

Scott Luton (00:02:25):

That is outstanding, uh, richly deserved. And congrats again. The hits keep on coming. And y’all notice there, I tried to, uh, Karen and Greg, I tried to, uh, put Karen on the rock and roll stage there. Y’all see, I see that.

Greg White (00:02:41):

Well, I’ll tell you what I mean. Just, just look at her, Just look at her backdrop versus ours. Scott, she always right. Uplifts our identity at all times, so,

Scott Luton (00:02:50):

That’s right. That is right. Well, Greg, uh, your thoughts there and then, Karen, I appreciate that. We, we do work hard here to, uh, uplift voices from all walks of life’s very important to us. It’s in, in our mo we’ve invested in the variety of, of, uh, programs and properties and series to make that happen. Uh, Greg, your thoughts on Karen’s accomplishment there?

Greg White (00:03:09):

Yeah, well, I mean, a long time coming, Uh, Karen and I had a little exchange this weekend about how long we’ve been in supply chain, of course. And she’s been in it every bit of, every moment that, that both you and I have, Scott. So, uh, yeah, I think a long time coming, but I, I think what’s important is that we’re doing it now, right? That it’s necessary. Um, is, is a good and kind of a flashback to the old days, right? Right. I think we need to, we need to fix. But look, um, Karen and a lot, every one of the ladies that was, that was identified in that, uh, list, have done so much for supply chain to uplift, add points of view. I mean, honestly, do the same work that anyone else has done, right? And, and, you know, kind of come through sometimes when it wasn’t as easy to participate, Let’s face it, right? There were a lot of, a lot of people with their name on their shirt that, uh, were not as big a fan of this kind of progression as possible. So, you know, as, as has happened. So, I’m glad that it’s happened, and it’s, it’s to the benefit of, of the practice, of the every practitioner and, you know, and certainly well deserved.

Scott Luton (00:04:26):

Agreed. Uh, Karen, so congrats, uh, look forward to, uh, more the hits keep on coming. So looking forward to a lot more. And, uh, big high five from your team, your family here at Supply.

Greg White (00:04:37):

We just plan, I, I, seriously, we should just plan on doing this every once a year, <laugh>, right?

Scott Luton (00:04:42):

Right.

Greg White (00:04:44):

Just gonna assume from here on out, Karen, that you know, you’ll, you’ll be on the list. Do they have rankings? I wonder

Scott Luton (00:04:52):

<laugh>

Greg White (00:04:55):

We’ll advocate to move you up from two to one, or wherever you like.

Scott Luton (00:05:00):

<laugh> Korean. I’ll give you the final word. Now. We’re gonna say hello to a few folks

Karin Bursa (00:05:04):

Now. Thank you, um, for the words of encouragement and support, Uh, I really appreciate it personally. I look forward to the day when we don’t have to talk about gender, when we are just rewarding the brains and passion and capabilities, whatever the packaging looks like, whatever color it is, whatever gender it is, um, that it’s just pure recognition of the value that supply chain experts bring to every business.

Scott Luton (00:05:33):

Well

Greg White (00:05:33):

Said. A hundred percent agree Wawa, till there’s just a list of the top persons in, in supply chain, right? Yep.

Scott Luton (00:05:42):

We’ll get there. Um, one step

Karin Bursa (00:05:44):

Closer. One step closer.

Scott Luton (00:05:45):

That’s right. That’s right. Okay. So, Greg and Cor, we’ve got a jampacked show here today on Supply Chain Buzz, which hit hits, uh, social media every Monday at 12 in Eastern time. I mentioned we got James Malley, uh, with Packard joining us here in about 20 minutes. Let’s say hello to a few folks. Some of our faves are with us, as always. Uh, Shelly Phillips is back with us. Good morning from Colorado, The Aspen, the Aspen Mountains, I, I’m assuming have started change the trees. Okay. Yeah. I didn’t,

Karin Bursa (00:06:15):

Yeah. Aspen trees. Yeah. Yeah.

Greg White (00:06:16):

They turn a beautiful yellow and gold and, and orange color. It’s pictures. Please, Shelly. Or as you know, it didn’t happen.

Scott Luton (00:06:26):

Um, so I learned something new here. See, up until this point, everything I learned about Aspen all came from dumb and dumb, or the movie <laugh>. So, uh, she, she,

Greg White (00:06:34):

You’re thinking of the town, right?

Scott Luton (00:06:36):

Yeah. Yeah. Also beautiful this time. That’s right. Thank you for sharing. Uh, Dr. Rhonda, it’s great to have, have you here today. Uh, so thankful to be here today. She says, Here’s to another week of learning from one another. 3, 2, 1. Let’s go. Hey, uh, Dr. Rhonda, also love Work Life 360, the podcast. So keep up the great work there. Uh, Chantel is with us here today, as always, big thanks to Chantel, Amanda, and Katherine for helping to make production happen here today. As I mentioned, Katherine, happy Monday, Buzz day to everybody. Uh, let’s see

Greg White (00:07:10):

Here. Somebody said buzz day, right? Right.

Scott Luton (00:07:12):

It’s, it’s gotta be said, It’s gotta be said.

Greg White (00:07:14):

It does now, Right?

Scott Luton (00:07:16):

Abdul Roik, hello to you via LinkedIn. Great to see you. Uh, let us know where you’re tuned in from. Nathan. Hey, Tom Rafter is with us here today from Seville in his sunny south of Spain. Now, Cor, I think you and Tom had gotten together on his podcast at some point, right?

Karin Bursa (00:07:32):

We have absolutely the, the man in supply chain with more fedora hats than anyone else I know. And always a great perspective as well. So it’s good to have you with us, Tom’s. I

Greg White (00:07:43):

Guess I, I didn’t realize there were multiples. That’s interesting. <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:07:47):

Well, Tom, Tom, keep grinding the hits out, uh, doing good work with, with all of your podcasts. So great to have you here today. Uh, Nathan, hey, we’re looking forward to, uh, sharing some knowledge and learning from all of y’all in the cheap seats as well. Uh, let’s see. Uh, and I’m also going, Gene Pledger is with us here today, l g. Good morning everybody. Congrats, Cor and Rain. Uh, Renee is with us, and Glomar is with us. So great to have everybody in the house. Okay? So Karen and Greg, yes. We have got a lot, lot of news to get through, A lot of, lot of big voices to get through, get all of y’all’s take. Uh, are y’all ready to get started?

Karin Bursa (00:08:27):

I’m ready.

Scott Luton (00:08:29):

Well, then with

Greg White (00:08:30):

Move, you wait for an answer for me. Just go ahead, <laugh>.

Karin Bursa (00:08:33):

We know Greg is always ready.

Scott Luton (00:08:35):

He’s like the battery ever Ready? Uh, is one Greg, Greg White? Okay. So I wanna start today’s buzz discussion with news at a Ford Motor Company. Now, there’s been no shortage of Ford News lately, and most of it has not been great news. Be, uh, very frankly, the automaker has announced that it plans to restructure its C-suite, and it’s currently looking for a global chief supply chain officer. Amongst other things, Ford is looking to overhaul operations after supplier costs have, have run wild, kinda like, uh, whole Edia used to run wild over its opponents, um, even while experiencing tons of parts shortages and recent months. So, Greg, I I wanna go to you first year because one of your very popular supply chain commentaries kind of focused on this last week. So tell us, uh, tell us more about this Ford story here.

Greg White (00:09:24):

Uh, what a stunner. Um, you know, I, I think when I wrote that commentary that the first thing that immediately came to mind, and you know how that is with me, I just spilled it, um, is how does the company who literally, literally invented vertically integrated supply chain, not have a global supply chain officer, right? Chief supply chain officer, uh, I, it’s just a st to me. Um, and it’s a problem. And the problems are manifest at Ford. Of course, this is the company that ran and out of blue ovals to put on their trucks, correct? Um, Corin, you know, we, we recognize that from a different article. Corinn and I shared some thoughts over the, over the weekend on that. Imagine a generic pickup that looks like a Ford driving down the road, because the manufacturer who owns the trademark cannot put their trademark on their own product. Not to mention that, um, somebody, somebody in the commentary genius, Oh, it was, uh, Mark Morley said they may need a chief vehicle storage officer because they got 40,000 incomplete, 45,000 incomplete vehicles that they can’t ship because they don’t have all the parts. You know, another comment was from another Scott, Scott, Scott, Dustin, who said, How many part, how many parts does it take to complete a Ford truck? All of them

Scott Luton (00:10:50):

<laugh>. I love it.

Greg White (00:10:53):

I just thought that was absolute genius. But hey, look, we’re pounding on Ford pretty good. It’s not unique to Ford. And that’s part of what I go into in the article. Um, I think the pro production folks have dropped a a link in there. Here is what has led to that, two primary words. One is margin. And by margin, I mean gross and net margin. Gross is in capital letters when you’re talking about manufacturers. And it is indeed gross to everyone else in the supply chain because it is routine for manufacturers to make 50% plus gross margins and 10 to 20% net margins. And that’s after taxes. That’s, that’s no qualifiers. That’s earnings. No, B I T D or a after that, just earnings. And by contrast, retailers and distributors make anywhere from zero or in some cases, and some industries, less than zero net margins, where, where some distributors have to trick the supply chain by Ford buying inventory ahead of price increases.

Greg White (00:11:56):

Price increases in installed by who? You guessed it, the manufacturers. Um, and, you know, so they, they’re anywhere from like negative 1% to 5% in a good or average year. So the, you know, the argument is that supply supply chain at manufacturing, they’ve had a lot of opportunity to have Slack and less efficiency in their supply chains because their margins are so big. But now there’s nowhere to hide. So nowhere to hide. Everyone knows that it’s Ford’s fault that they can’t get blue ovals, regardless of who, what vendor they blame it on. How do you, Right? I mean, the most obvious of all parts. How do you, I I’m just dumbfounded by that.

Scott Luton (00:12:39):

<laugh>. Well, hey, really quick, and Karen, I’m headed to you next, but, uh, Mark Morley and Scott, Mark’s one of our faves, right? He’s been with us on a couple different shows. Hope you and the family. Well, y’all keep the comments coming. As much as I love Greg Whites take on these solo commentaries. I love the comments. All right, Karen Bura, uh, your take on what’s going on at Ford?

Karin Bursa (00:13:00):

Well, Greg is right. He and I got really fired up about this. And the, um, the fact that the oval, the Ford Oval, which nobody else is competing for, <laugh> is out of stock, is just a brain scratcher for me. But my takeaway from this is, you know, the automotive sector really moved a lot of progressive techniques forward 25 years ago when we looked at Lean and just in time and the Toyota production system. And they put so much pressure on their suppliers that many of those suppliers located their factories right next door to an assembly plant. So it’s a little ridiculous that it didn’t have visibility that their blue oval with the word Ford on it for their market leading f uh, series trucks

Greg White (00:13:53):

And high margin, right?

Karin Bursa (00:13:54):

And highest margin. Absolutely. So, my takeaway from this is, supply chain deserves a seat at the C-suite table, and it’s time to move over and pull up another chair. So whether you’re Ford or you are an emerging business, make sure that your supply chain leader is part of every one of those discussions on innovation, on new market penetration, all of the branding, et cetera. Because the time is now

Greg White (00:14:24):

Agreed. Sister preach it, <laugh>. It’s just, Oh my God.

Scott Luton (00:14:29):

Well, it’s certainly interesting because this has been, you know, we, we’ve been adding Chief Supplying Officer for several years now. It’s no longer a trend, is it’s, it’s table stakes. What’s interesting as well, beyond Meat Incorporated, y’all have heard of this company, right? Yep, yep. Uh, it’s been in the news for other executive reasons. Very, very strange reasons, which I’m gonna leave that y’all can Google that. But Beyond Meat, over the weekend, their chief supply chain officer, Bernie Adcock, is leaving at the end of the month, and the company has decided to do away with the role. Why? So that, yes, so it’s really interesting. Some of the moves are being made out there, but, uh, it is, cor back to your point, the automotive industry has led in many ways, uh, a lot of innovation and a lot of how business should be done some time ago.

Scott Luton (00:15:15):

And it’s good to see Ford, you know, um, hire some supply chain talent, some leadership talent, and let’s, uh, let’s find a way to move forward. Um, okay, so, uh, we’re gonna leave that story for there for now cause we’ve got a big topic to talk about next. Equally even bigger than the first one. And that’s beer. Lemme just mention that Beer, beer on Mondays <laugh>. So say, It ain’t So according to our friends at US USA Today, some folks are projecting that one of the next shortages, you know, of course think some of the things we hope to never mention again, toilet up paper and, and computer chips and like, but one of the next shortages that we could be dealing with is a shortage of beer. Now, Greg and Corin get this beer makers of all sizes are dealing with what the rest of us are dealing with, right?

Scott Luton (00:15:59):

Inflation mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But some breweries are having a hard time getting carbon dioxide, which you may not know is used a clean production tanks. And it’s also used of course, to give us our bubbles in our, in our glass of beer to carwin it to beer. Aluminum can availability has also been an issue for going back months now. And of course, prices on everything, inflation and other reasons, from CO2 to malted barley, even the shipping is all up. So we may see this impact consumer’s choices in the grocery aisle. In fact, one person from our friends at USA Today who, uh, put this article together mentioned that they’re making as much beer as they were pre pandemic, but the margins are so much different. Um, so Karen, I’ll start with you in this case. Yeah. So your take on what we’re seeing from a beer standpoint.

Karin Bursa (00:16:46):

So remember that beer has a freshness element to it, so it has a shelf life associated with it, So you can’t make it too far in advance. Um, and then plan to have it on the shelf for, you know, a reasonable period of time. Um, but to me, this is just another teaching moment. So if you weren’t hit by the toilet paper, if that didn’t teach you a thing or two about supply chain, maybe what’s in the, you know, in the beer chest is gonna do that for you at this point in time. But, uh, you know, this is peak season. We got baseball season, football season going on. There’s a lot of beer consumption that normally happens right now. So, uh, even people who aren’t normally aware are gonna be feeling the impact. And, you know, households are struggling with, with inflation as well, right? So the average household, I think the last stat I heard is that their household expenses are up 400 to $500 per month.

Scott Luton (00:17:45):

I believe it, I believe it’s five to six grand a year. Yes. Corin and Greg, I popped in the grocery store Saturday morning, and amongst the things on my grocery list were, uh, a glass of, of pickles over four and a half bucks for a jar of pickles. Cor,

Greg White (00:18:03):

Before I wonder,

Scott Luton (00:18:04):

Uh, about 2 99, what we, we eat a lot of pickles here, over

Greg White (00:18:10):

Hundred percent inflation,

Scott Luton (00:18:12):

Right? It’s unbelievable. Um, but Greg, let’s talk. That’s like, I know

Greg White (00:18:16):

That you don’t

Scott Luton (00:18:17):

<laugh> I know, Greg, that you don’t indulge in, in any beer or adult beverages. So this might be a foreign subject for you, but, uh, your take on the potential beer shortage, Yeah,

Greg White (00:18:27):

You’ll have to forgive me on two counts, one for the pun, and two, um, for what I’m about to say. And that is, you won’t find me crying in my beer over the margins that beer manufacturers remember that thing we talked about in terms of gross margin, uh, are facing my, my now o obviously that’s impacting all of us. And, um, you know, not at the rate apparently of pickles or eggs, eggs, the, I mean, the amount that you pay for eggs now is just stellar. Um, but, but, um, I, I think what’s important for us to hope for is that maybe, maybe this will shift the trend in beer. I, my hope is that hops go up tremendously and people will stop making that awful, awful tasting IPA and go back to loggers and stouts and pilsners and beer that actually tastes good. Because I think we all know the dirty little secret that practically nobody likes an an ipa. It just gets you drunk faster.

Scott Luton (00:19:35):

<laugh>. So, man, uh, getting into beer analysis, uh, here today, uh, Greg kinds

Greg White (00:19:43):

Of things mean truthfully. The, the, you know, there’s, you pay a premium for IPAs, so the, you know, the fewer hops you have in a product, true truthfully, you can’t actually generate margins. I I don’t know how people feel about IPAs, but I sure know how I do

Scott Luton (00:19:57):

<laugh>. Well, we’ll keep our finger on the pulse, uh, of the beer market for sure. And as Karen pointed out between football and baseball post season and, and the holidays, I mean, ts the season for sure. Yeah. Let’s take a couple comments. Uh, Greg and Karen, uh, Amanda says, uh, the grocery prices are truly getting outta hand. We’re having to make some major adjustments in our shopping. If there’s a wine shortage, we might have to write truth

Greg White (00:20:22):

Peacefully true test.

Scott Luton (00:20:26):

Dr. Ron says, Holy pickles, uh, eggs. Five bucks for carton of 12. Goodness gracious. Uh, Tom says, Wow, he’s having an issue with the video. Uh, Tom reload it, and we’ll check with the production team there. Um, he says he’s,

Greg White (00:20:42):

He’s on the <laugh>, he’s on the Spanish coast <laugh>. He’s not having a problem with anything. <laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:20:48):

Right? Life is good. Check in later.

Greg White (00:20:50):

Have a beer.

Scott Luton (00:20:52):

Tom <laugh>. Jean says, I would pay double that for my pickles. Hey, Gene, I’m with you. I am with you for sure. Uh, and Shelly adds ball cans, right? Ball, big aluminum, Oh, yeah, provider, stop doing orders under a million. How about that? Did

Greg White (00:21:08):

They really a million dollars or a million units? I wonder. That’s

Scott Luton (00:21:11):

Good point.

Karin Bursa (00:21:12):

You and I, same, same

Scott Luton (00:21:13):

Thing. <laugh>. So Shelly, uh, would love to clarify there. That’s right. Cans or dollars. Uh, Gloria Mar says, Oh my goodness, I’m going broke with the protein egg eaters in this house. Oh, goodness. The pain

Greg White (00:21:29):

Continues. You know, the pandemic trend of buying your own chickens right? Might not be a bad one to consider.

Scott Luton (00:21:37):

Okay?

Greg White (00:21:37):

If your neighborhood allows it, which mine doesn’t, by the way,

Scott Luton (00:21:41):

Uh, Greg and Karen, lots of good tips there. Lots of good tips, but hey, well there tips.

Greg White (00:21:45):

I know any good

Scott Luton (00:21:49):

From Ford’s from Ford supply chain challenges and moves. And by the way, ask, and we shall

Greg White (00:21:55):

Units,

Scott Luton (00:21:56):

Uh, receive chili says units. So a million cans is remarkable. Whoa. Um, okay, so Greg and Karen, uh, we’re getting, we’re getting a jump here. I’m surprised that we are all as succinct as we were talking about, uh, cars and beer. Oh, we

Greg White (00:22:12):

Can go back to it if you want. Parago. Yeah. Rush

Scott Luton (00:22:15):

<laugh>. Well, the

Karin Bursa (00:22:16):

Thing on the, the thing on Ford that we need to keep in mind is that they’re going through a product portfolio transition, and that’s gonna increase their costs and their complexity is they move more and more electric vehicles into the marketplace. Um, and so, you know, there’s like a land grab happening for raw materials for the batteries that are capable of moving these vehicles Yep. In the marketplace. So we, we haven’t heard the end of rising costs from a supply side in the automotive sector.

Scott Luton (00:22:48):

Agreed. Yeah. Agreed. Um, okay. So thank you, uh, Karen, for circling back. And by the way, uh, oil went, uh, oil barrels went below $80 a barrel for the first time all year, and it’s like, no one’s paying attention. It’s crazy. 44, uh,

Greg White (00:23:04):

40, just tossing it out there.

Scott Luton (00:23:06):

Oh, that’s the target price you’re saying? Uh,

Greg White (00:23:08):

OPEC will up production until it gets to 44. They’re gonna break the back of American and other producers, and so that they can then overtake the market yet again.

Scott Luton (00:23:18):

Wow. Okay. All right. That is good stuff, Greg. And Cor, I’m

Greg White (00:23:22):

Probably wrong, but I said it didn’t, I <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:23:24):

We’re gonna, we’re gonna circle this. We’re gonna time stamp it and come back to you in about six months. Uh, but hey, we’re gonna bring our guests in in just a second. But really quick, I wanna, you know, something came up Friday on our, on our call or huddle. Uh, and I touched on, on the business buzz we dropped today on, on the supply chain podcast channel in my faith and humanity segment that usually add those things. And I wanna give a shout out to the Dave Crche Foundation. We’re not gonna do the full story justice here today, but Oh, yes. You know, if you, if you believe and you love a good, do good moment like we do here, uh, Osborne High School, which took, based on the records I could find, spin around for quite some time. Yeah. But they have not had a winning season since 2004, at least in records.

Scott Luton (00:24:06):

I could find It may go, it may predate that quite a bit. Um, well, this year, beyond the, the, um, the, um, challenges associated with any football season, Well, equipment was a challenge. Cause evidently in high school football, they have re they had a new regulations in terms of how, um, the safety rules when it comes to helmets. And so high schools had, um, many high schools had to reinvest new helmets. Well, that’s 300 bucks a pop per helmet. And Osborne High School did not have the funds. Well, Dad Gum, Dave CR Foundation, several other organizations got together and they purchased those helmets for them. And so, fast forward to now, I think they’re five weeks into their season. I’m proud to share with you both Greg and Karen, all of our listeners, that the Cardinals, the Fighting Cardinals of Osborne High School are five and oh <laugh>. So, and looking good. They really are. So that is a wonderful story. Uh, uh, bit such a big fan of Dave d Dave Crche Foundation, and there’s other groups that stepped up and really solve problem and, and fixed it. So big shout out to, um, Allison and Donna, uh, Allison, Crche Giddens, and, and Donna Croy here, and the great work they’re doing. Y’all check it out@davecrche.com, I think is a url. Um, okay. Org,

Greg White (00:25:26):

Greg, I think it’s org. Well,

Scott Luton (00:25:28):

I thought it was org too. Oh, and then as I was recording on Sunday, Dave crche.com. So maybe they have, uh,

Greg White (00:25:34):

How did they get that?

Scott Luton (00:25:35):

Well, I tell you what, uh, Amanda, Chantel, and or Catherine, if y’all could Google that and drop the link to their foundation in the com in the chat, that would be wonderful.

Greg White (00:25:45):

I, I think we can all think the, the Creche Foundation and, and whoever else might have contributed to that for literally delivering one of the best football programs in, in Cobb County, right. In the, in the Atlanta area. So, I mean, that, that’s how critical this kind of initiative is. I mean, those clearly are some of the best football players in the area, and some of them may not have gotten to play.

Scott Luton (00:26:10):

That’s

Greg White (00:26:11):

Right. I mean, man, and not to mention what they, it does for these youngsters who get to play, but also what it does for a community, for a school. I’m excited. And my daughters all went to one of their rivals, so <laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:26:26):

Hey, that’s just, that is just some wonderful good news, uh, you know, folks that rolling up their sleeves and helping out, uh, folks in need. So I love that. And Greg, uh, it is completely echo your comments there. Um, alright, two quick comments, and then we’re gonna bring in James Malley. Uh, going back to the four story, Catherine says, I’ve been attempting to test drive their newer Ford Bronco model, but no dealerships near me, have them in stock. That’s been a common challenge for sure. Marie Hue, great to see you, Marie, on the poultry front, uh, Marie says, eggs and chicken meat, aian influenza cases have been high and are currently, uh, high in 40 states. Another factor influencing those commodities. Excellent point there. Um, okay, so Greg and Karen, and this Ja uh, this jam packed, it’s gonna be James packed episode. It’s gonna,

Greg White (00:27:12):

James Best. You’re right. Literally think about what you just said, James packed.

Scott Luton (00:27:17):

I want to, uh, I’ll tell you what Mondays I want to introduce one of our favorite guests here, James Malley, CEO at Packard. James Malley. How you doing?

James Malley (00:27:29):

I’m doing great. I’m, I’m really excited to be back. So thanks for having me.

Scott Luton (00:27:33):

Well, I tell you, uh, Greg and Karen, the, the hits keep on coming outta the Packard team and family. And, uh, there’s so much to celebrate. We’re not gonna have time to, to to catch up our audience on everything. Uh, but welcome back and looking forward to diving into the news and, and, uh, pack simulate here in just a few minutes. But before we get there, Greg, Karen, and James, little fun warmup question with our friend James Mall. Here it is. National Pancake Day, Folks, National Pancake Day. Um, so the, the hot button question for you, James, you’re, you’re gonna be the lead off hitter here is Waffle House or ihop. If you had to pick one and commit to it, which one would you pick?

James Malley (00:28:12):

This is gonna be a very divisive, uh, answer no matter what I pick <laugh>. That’s why we bring

Greg White (00:28:18):

A time.

James Malley (00:28:19):

There was a time in my early twenties when, uh, I could stay up past 10:00 PM Um, it was a miraculous, uh, time. I lived in LA and we would go bar hopping all night and show up at Waffle House at like three 30 <laugh>, um, and be like, All right, we could stay here for another hour and a half. <laugh>, uh, that, that time is long gone, but just for the memories alone, uh, Waffle House,

Scott Luton (00:28:42):

Oh, you’re, you’re seeing in our song, James. I love that. Uh, Corin, Let’s go to you next. Waffle House ihop. I’m,

Karin Bursa (00:28:49):

I’m gonna have to go Waffle House,

Scott Luton (00:28:52):

So, Okay. It’s just that simple. I’m with you.

Karin Bursa (00:28:54):

It’s just that simple. Um, you know, they’ve got, you know, great Quick Eggs, great service, um, uh, cast of characters that’ll keep you entertained. And you know, it’s like, it’s like a meal and a show all at once. I love it.

Scott Luton (00:29:09):

I agree with you. Chantel agrees with you as well. All right. So Greg, clean up hitter Waffle House or ihop?

Greg White (00:29:14):

I have to go ihop. I was not brought up on Waffle House. Ooh. And honestly, even having lived in the South for 25 years, I have probably been to house less than 10 times. So my daughters all love it, both hopefully sober and in their college days. I don’t think you need to say more than that. Um, <laugh>

Scott Luton (00:29:38):

Just like James, James just there and kept going. Yeah.

Greg White (00:29:42):

Um, but, uh, particularly one thing at Waffle House, they do this kind of cinnamon roll pancake thing that, Oh my gosh. It’s, it’s like cban and, and pancakes at the same time. And I just can’t imagine anything better than that. I’m sorry, gang. I know I’ve let you down. You let

Scott Luton (00:30:02):

You let me down. Uh, I wonder if the time I took you to Waffle LA is the last time you had been to one. It is Greg after. Okay. It is. But

Greg White (00:30:09):

That was ago, was it? That was Memorial Day, right?

Scott Luton (00:30:12):

That’s right. Uh, Dr. Rhonda is a big IHOP fan as well. She says, I’ve never eaten at a waffle. Laus. Goodness. I seem to be missing out. You are missing out. And lemme tell y’all, when you visit beyond the waffles, the patty melt plate on wheat, cuz you’re saving a couple calories there, that’s the jam to invest in. Okay. Also,

Greg White (00:30:30):

The people, to Karen’s point, it is fascinating. You know, they’re lit up all night, so you don’t even have to go in to kind of see, they don’t have curtains or anything. So you just drive by and you’re like, not going in that one today,

Scott Luton (00:30:43):

<laugh>. And by the way,

Greg White (00:30:45):

Rock is ever in a Waffle House. There will be a fight. So just steer clear. If you see Kid Rock, especially in Atlanta Waffle House.

Scott Luton (00:30:53):

Well, what, Hey, whatever y’all do, just make sure you generously tip your servers. Exactly.

Scott Luton (00:30:58):

Generously tip of servers. Okay. Um, so much get to so little time, uh, with James Malley from Packard. Uh, the first story, we’re gonna dive in as we get down to business, uh, James, Karin and Greg is this one. Uh, we, uh, climate reporting is about to change dramatically, it seems. So the Environmental Protection Agency has secured funding to better scrutinize companies pledges and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And in little one two, punchier. The Securities and Exchange Commission is very close to completing a new set of rules for public company reporting on overall climate goals. So, uh, James, tell us more here.

James Malley (00:31:39):

Yeah, uh, I I think that’s not a surprise. Uh, even if it may feel like kind of a shock, uh, it’s been kind of a long time coming. Um, I think if, you know, if you’ve been following the news and only reading the headlines on this, uh, over the past couple years, you’d think this is like a, you know, Biden administration starting to crack down on industry. Um, but I, what I think is fascinating is, you know, this is really bigger than any single administration cuz the pressure’s coming from the investors and the industry organizations that have been pushing this for this, uh, for quite a while. Um, and so a lot of the investors want, you know, to the, to the meat of the article, they want the s e c to get real clear about this cuz they just wanna, they wanna do the right thing, but they wanna make it easy. So they want the SCC to have these guidelines in place. Um, but there’s some challenges there. The SCC is kind of mildly defanged, uh, because of re recent, uh, court decisions. Um, and the EPA ends up at the moment being kind of better positioned, uh, to write some of the rules around this. So if they can figure it out and do it in a well coordinated way where S E c EPA making it clear, not too, uh, you know, horribly confusing, um, I call it a win.

Scott Luton (00:32:53):

I’m with you. And I, I love what some things you mentioned there, cause some folks may assume it’s just a government push, but consumers, investors and the government all, uh, Greg, uh, your thoughts here?

Greg White (00:33:04):

Yeah. So, um, Eileen Murray, who is the chair of finra, the, uh, Association for Professional Financial Advisors and that sort of thing is a, uh, she is an ESG hawk and, um, she helped construct some of what, uh, the s SEC has come up with and is strongly encouraging. You know, that means strongly encouraging financial advisors and financial firms to be responsible to this. And I think, you know, one thing that is often overlooked, there is a lot of controversy about whether ESG is a good thing for investors. I I think they’re, you know, they’re extremes in, in everything. But the truth is, I mean, to, to the point of what James does, if you can put more stuff in a box, right? Use fewer boxes and optimize your shipping, by the way, that’s something that companies have been trying to do for their inbound shipments forever, right?

Greg White (00:34:00):

Truckload quantities and things like that are, you know, they’ve tried to not ship air, right? We talk a lot about that. There is not necessarily a zero sum gain between ESG initiatives and, um, and optimizing your company for profitability. In fact, I think there is a tremendous amount to be gained from things like packing more efficiently or, um, using lower carbon routes or lower carbon, um, you know, equipment and that sort of thing. Because guess what, carbon costs money, right? The, the product, you know, the fuels that create carbon, they cost big bucks, right? So if we can create efficiency and buy efficiency, I mean speed and reliability in the supply chain, and we can reduce inefficiency from a, from an environmental standpoint, then why would we not do that? I think lots of companies for the saving of cost have been accidental environmentalists, as I call them, right? They don’t wanna spend money on fuel. You don’t spend money on fuel, you burn less fuel and therefore put less carbon into the atmosphere. So what’s the harm? I, I think you have to balance it, of course, but I think there’s a lot of, of synergy between this initiative and cost saving and, and efficiency and supply chain.

Scott Luton (00:35:19):

Well said Greg. Uh, Karen Bura.

Karin Bursa (00:35:22):

So I, I think that this is gonna give ESG initiatives a little more teeth. I I think it’s gonna drive investment, but I also agree with, um, with Greg’s comment that now we need the ability, or I’m gonna take it a step further. Your supply chain planning systems should consider your green KPIs or your energy KPIs as a part of the plan and allow a business to make some very intelligent and insightful investments, whether it’s in transport or production or raw material or waste, um, that, uh, that needs to be addressed for the business. So you should look at expanding the key performance metrics that you’re using to include things like carbon and waste in the marketplace.

Scott Luton (00:36:11):

Yep. Love us most corrin.

Greg White (00:36:13):

Yep. I mean, predominantly cost has been the KPI for supply chain. I would argue that there are now four pillars to supply chain, and you can break these down. Believe me, I’ve had this discussion a lot, a lot of ways it’s speed, reliability, cost, and, um, esg, right? Ethics or horseman ethics as I, as I call it. Because all of those things are important to your business and or your constituency, which crews to your brand equity, which Karen pointed out print, you pointed out a lot of stuff this weekend, I just realized is really important. That’s really what supply chain delivers is brand reputation and brand equity. So,

Scott Luton (00:36:52):

Well said, Uh, the four horse. And we’ve gotta figure out which ones only and which ones are Anderson. We’ll see, uh, James Malley, I’ll give <laugh> I’ll give you a little wrestling reference there. Oh, uh, I’ll give you the final word here. Uh, as we’re talking about how visibility into really bottom line results is about to change your final word, James.

James Malley (00:37:13):

Uh, well, I think to, to Greg’s point, the, you know, particularly in in parcel shipping, but in a lot of supply chain, when something’s more expensive, it’s also more polluting, you know, overnight, uh, things going in a plane, it’s more polluting. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so I think the, the organizations that haven’t really like taken a good look at what Scope three emissions are, right? Um, these are emissions that are reported widely in, in most of Europe. Um, but in the US it’s kind of like a, uh, it’s not a problem because it happens outside our four walls. Uh, that’s where the, the low hanging fruit, you know, there’s just so much money and emissions, low hanging fruit there to get rid of with just some simple initiatives.

Scott Luton (00:37:55):

Well said. Uh, James, Greg and Korean. Let’s move right along, cuz uh, another big news story that came out here lately. FedEx had been in the news for, you know, eight days or so. Uh, at least with this latest announcement as a, uh, announced a big shipping rate increases averaging 6.9% starting in January, 2023, while they’re also, uh, initiating some cost cutting measures, uh, measures by some accounts that may be looking to find up to 8 billion in cash savings. How about that? But check out this headline, uh, from our friends@investing.com. FedEx drives its turnaround into the ditch. Okay. James, tell us a whole lot more.

James Malley (00:38:40):

Uh, well, I spent the, the weekend reading, you know, kind of like thought leaders in our space really piling on FedEx, uh, with some really brutal, uh, takes here. I I, I certainly think there’s some, there’s some blame with FedEx leadership. I, I think it also has to do with the global economy and everything that’s going on in the world. The truth is, is somewhere in, in Be Twix. Yep. I’m, I’m curious about Greg’s spicy take on this. Uh, I hope it’s spicy than his take on IPAs, but, but basically, I mean, the, the biggest problem really, uh, at least to the, the point of the article is that their expectations seem to be completely divorced from reality. And, uh, you know, the writer is really having a hard time understanding how that could be, that gap could be so massive that they wouldn’t know what’s going on, um, uh, how bad the situation is.

James Malley (00:39:37):

Um, and, uh, I think if there’s anything that can be done, um, you know, cost cutting is the way you get this stock back up. But to kind of rebuild, uh, particularly on the parcel, you know, the e-commerce side, um, when I talk to large retailers, they love FedEx. Um, cuz FedEx, you know, will work in kind of a collaborative way with them and say, Okay, you know, these costs are coming, but we’ll send in some engineers and help and we’ll make this kind of like a joint project where we figure out how to keep costs low, keep our costs and your costs low. Um, I think if they can figure out a way to turn that into a model, bring it downstream a little bit so the bulk of their customers, um, get that kind of same feeling of collaboration, and it’s not this constant, you know, uh, budding heads thing. I think they could build a really, really strong service and company for the next few years.

Scott Luton (00:40:29):

Agreed. Agreed. And some of those things, they’re pausing Sunday deliveries, they’re grounding some of the, uh, uh, the airplanes and a few others. So we’ll see you as it rolls out. Cor, I wanna get your take here and what FedEx is up to.

Karin Bursa (00:40:41):

Yeah, so I, I would say that this is another Winston Churchill moment where we don’t wanna waste a, uh, uh, a crisis. They need to make some pretty significant, uh, transformations. Um, first though, I would like to thank FedEx for not putting their price increase until after the holiday season. So, um, there’s, there’s one silver lining I guess, in that, right? But, um, but at the same time, no publicly held company likes to make an announcement like this where they’re lowering their earnings expectations and, and that concerns me with the magnitude that they lowered their earning expectations that there could be more difficult months, um, and bad news ahead for FedEx. Meanwhile, UPS is enjoying double digit increases, um, in, in their business. So, um, so it’s time for FedEx to, to really look at their process overall and maybe focusing some of that efficiency and innovation back on their business. Mm.

Scott Luton (00:41:45):

Well said Karen, uh, Greg

Greg White (00:41:46):

White buckle up y’all. Um, FedEx is one of the most classically mismanaged companies in all of supply chain and has been for nearly a decade now. They are, I, I’m frankly surprised that they’re still around independently because Scott, you and I talked too or three years ago about the fact that they were the laggard of all of the parcel logistics supply chain carriers out there. By the way, we’re gonna find out if Kevin Taylor is listening. That’s right,

Scott Luton (00:42:15):

Right about now. Love you te love you te promise.

Greg White (00:42:18):

Um, yeah. And I hope your management does you better service in the future, but, um, not only did they drive their own turnaround into the ditch, but Thursday when they announced this, they were credited by the, the, um, the financial press as, as the reason that the market dropped almost 5% that, that day. That’s the kind of impact the poor management, and particularly this company, which has such a broad reach can have on others, because thankfully, yes, they did. Um, they did delay the, the discussion around or the, the implementation of their price increases till after, after peak season. But don’t think companies won’t adjust because of that. We’ll still feel the pain because they’re gonna have to get in front of the profit margin cut that they’re gonna take as they continue to ship goods to us through FedEx. Now, on the other hand, to James’s point, uh, they are incredibly flexible.

Greg White (00:43:17):

And that is probably part of what has made them so inefficient is that they are, they do a lot of innovative or attempt a lot of innovative things and it that costs money. So we’ll just have to see if they remain independent. Um, Sheldon Rose, uh, speculates that Walmart will buy them. Sheldon is no official analyst, but not a bad idea. And in fact, that was on, that was on one of my commentaries around around FedEx, Okay. Uh, last week as well. And, uh, interesting the take of, you know, shouldn’t Walmart stay in their lane. My argument is that Walmart has such a wide lane. You know, there are other companies doing this. Uh, American Eagle has bought a logistics provider. Other companies have bought logistics providers, right? Because they want the stability. So we have to think about whether FedEx, I mean, we really do have to consider whether FedEx is a viable enterprise independent going forward. Now look, this is one thing you learn in the investment game, and that is active investors will not let this company fail. They will blow the entire management team out to protect their investment. And there are a lot of, of course, institutional investors in this company. So FedEx is not going down the tubes. It may cease to be independent. It may, it may instead get new management may get totally new management or there a dozen other ways that, that investors might intervene in this company to short up. But it’s not, it’s not going away.

Scott Luton (00:44:55):

You had me at, uh, Walmart and FedEx teaming up. That is intriguing. And I wanna say about three years ago, Greg, me and you got with Kathy Mar Roberton, were talking about that idea. Yep. Three years ago. Yeah. Uh, anyway, Cathy, if you’re listening, love don’t do Don Walmart is

Greg White (00:45:09):

Not watching this closely. They are unquestionable as are others, I’m sure. Right?

Scott Luton (00:45:15):

All right. So James Malley be Twixt. Greg and Karen always been I that by the way, uh, that was pretty spicy between Greg. That’s

Greg White (00:45:24):

Twix in between, that’s a classic, um, Mark Twain reference.

Scott Luton (00:45:28):

Ah, um, alright, so James Malley, uh, so much, so much intriguing news still taking place across global supply chain. We’re just scraping really tip at iceberg with our chat here over the hour. Um, but Packard Packard’s been on quite a role. Um, you know, pre-show we were talking about, I don’t know if you can, you can say it or not, so I’m gonna kind of keep it vague. Uh, well known global technology provider, uh, uh, y’all hit their radar and they just had learn more. And I think we’ve seen some, uh, some news releases come out about that, but, oh,

Greg White (00:46:00):

Do tell you

Scott Luton (00:46:00):

Can, can, so Google, Google’s like, Hey, we gotta learn more about what Packard is doing. So they found James Malley and set him down and interviewed him up, up, up one side and down the other. And, uh, that is just, that is outstanding. So James, for the two or three people, you know, you’ve been with us a couple different times on supply chain now for the two or three people that don’t know what Packard does, in a nutshell, tell ’em, tell us what the company does.

James Malley (00:46:24):

Sure. Uh, Packard’s basically an AI platform that helps shippers figure out which cartons they should use and controls, uh, exactly how they’re packed in real time. So it’s a, just like we were talking about before, uh, cost saving exercise, it’s a emissions, uh, reducing exercise and a labor efficiency kind of benefit as well.

Scott Luton (00:46:46):

Excellent, excellent. Love that. What’s that, Greg?

Greg White (00:46:48):

All in one. I love that. Right? I mean that, that’s the perfect example, that this is not a zero sum game. So

Scott Luton (00:46:55):

Good point

Greg White (00:46:56):

To be here today, James,

James Malley (00:46:58):

By the way, you know, the more kind of large retailers we have on board, the more proof that, um, it, it’s truly, uh, zero sum. Um, cuz when they save money on their parcel shipments, you think the carrier would lose money. Uh, but the data shows that’s not true. Uh, cuz they can actually sh uh, fit more shipments into trailers so those trailers become more efficient, vastly more profitable, right? Um, so there’s really nobody that loses except for maybe the styrofoam packing peanuts. So maybe

Greg White (00:47:29):

If there’s like a really inefficient carrier out there, they should consider adding some technology like Packard.

James Malley (00:47:37):

Have we been talking about anybody like that lately? <laugh>?

Scott Luton (00:47:41):

Well, uh, so Karen, uh, I remember us chatting about packaging long time, you know, years ago, uh, before it became a really sexy thing to talk about. Now I think it’s fascinating what the Packer team’s up to. Your quick comment here, Karen.

Karin Bursa (00:47:55):

Yeah, it is, it is fascinating and it’s untapped. I think that they’re just in the early stages of some pretty exciting innovations in efficiently unsafely packing goods, but also helping to maximize the available capacity, uh, for the care for the carriers. So it becomes kind of a win-win situation in the way goods are moved to market.

Scott Luton (00:48:19):

Agreed. Agreed. And, and by the way, uh, we’re about to talk about Pack Simulate, but, uh, Amanda and Katherine, you know, we had a webinar with James and the colleague and a member of the store team who’s also been on quite a role. If we could drop the replay link for that webinar, if folks wanna take a deeper dive into what they’re doing, if we could drop that into comments, that’d be great. Um, okay, so James, let’s talk about PAC Simulate. Uh, that was creating a little bit of buzz at the end of that webinar. Uh, tell us more.

James Malley (00:48:48):

Sure. So, you know, when we got started, we mostly focused on the execution. So generating packing instructions in real time for the folks working in the warehouse. Um, but Pack Simulate kind of represents our first, um, platform application where this is something that doesn’t need to, you know, disrupt anything in the warehouse. You don’t have to think about how to fit it in. It’s literally just looking at historical data. And our engine, our simulation engine kind of runs in the background and then tells you exactly which carton sizes to use in each of your locations based on your unique SKUs, your, um, you know, rate tables, uh, pretty much any cost structure you can think that might affect it. Um, so it’s like really low impact, but pretty high lift. We’ve seen anywhere between two and 5%, uh, savings on transportation. Um, upwards of 10% savings on Corrugate, which wow is not, is one of, it’s like, it’s like Pickles Grand or, or Scott. It’s, uh, that’s something that’s gotten extremely expensive, um, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Um, so anyway, so we’re really excited about Pack Simulate and we’ve getting a, a good response so far

Scott Luton (00:50:01):

And folks can sign up, right? They can sign up. Uh, tell us about that.

James Malley (00:50:05):

Yeah, they can go and there’s a little bit of a white, uh, white glove, uh, experience at the beginning. So you, you go to the website there, um, sign up and we’ll get in touch and we kind of try to learn about your operation. So how many cartons can you deal with? You know, what are your item rules? Are they fragile, stackable, rolling, nesting, all these things. Um, and then basically we’ll help you measure, not just, you know, what the cost savings of, of, uh, change switching out your cartons, but also what are some other initiatives that you could undertake and here’s kind of a ballpark opportunity for, for savings and emissions reduction.

Scott Luton (00:50:40):

Love that. It’s just so, so practical, uh, and innovative. Uh, alright, it’s

Greg White (00:50:47):

Three dimensional. Teris is what it is.

Scott Luton (00:50:49):

<laugh>

Greg White (00:50:49):

It is, it’s three dimensional Teris if anyone knows what Teris is, But you also get to decide the size of the screen that you’re fitting everything into, right? I mean, uh, for those of you who haven’t played Teris, it’s amazing. And the way I interpret ate is it’s three dimensional. Your computer basically plays Teris for you and you always win

Scott Luton (00:51:11):

<laugh>. That’s a great way to describe it. Uh, Greg, and we’ve gotten some feedback along those lines. Uh, cor your final comment, I’m gonna, I’m gonna ask James, uh, how folks can connect with him to pack your team here in just a second. But Karen, how cool is this PAC simulate?

Karin Bursa (00:51:26):

Oh, it’s, it’s really cool. I mean, we’ve all received packages from, you know, from wherever we order our goods from that come in, the box is yay big, and the item is, you know, tiny. Um, and, and so they’re shipping air and extra, you know, styrofoam or, or whatever. But it’s a waste, It’s a waste for the carrier that’s just air that they’re shipping, uh, in the process. And then whoever’s doing local delivery, same thing. So it’s, it does have a butterfly effect or a ripple effect, um, in each move, uh, that those boxes take or that packaging takes.

Scott Luton (00:52:03):

Agreed. Yeah. And, and it’s not good for anybody. It’s not good for anybody. Um, so James, so folks, obviously, uh, we dropped a link to the webinar. Rick, Rick is who joined you write James, Rick, um,

James Malley (00:52:17):

Rick Jones.

Scott Luton (00:52:18):

Yes. Rick Jones. Cause we missed that opportunity to have a lot of fun with Rick James, uh, in that webinar. But I’ll tell you,

Greg White (00:52:25):

You didn’t miss slavery opportunities.

James Malley (00:52:27):

You took some opportunities too,

Scott Luton (00:52:29):

But so Rick Jones, uh, I tell you, he, he and our friend from store brought a lot of, of industry perspective, been there, done that to, uh, this innovative Packard story. So y’all check that we drop link to that webinar in the chat. You can also sign up for Pac Simulate. That link is in the chat. James, how else, for folks that aren’t Google and big names like Google, uh, how can Scott LUNs of the world reach out and connect with you, James?

James Malley (00:52:55):

Well, if, um, Scott Ludin has a cousin that’s a really good computer programmer, you can go to, uh, pack.io and sign up for an API key and try out our service in about 10 seconds. Um, for everybody else, like me and Scott, uh, you could find me on LinkedIn, um, or in the comments, uh, during a supply chain now show.

Scott Luton (00:53:16):

Well, uh, I love it. And and kidding aside, uh, you’re a great, um, uh, fellow founder and entrepreneur and you’re changing the game. You packer are changing, changing in the game for the better. Uh, you’re a great, uh, social, uh, person to follow across social. So folks connect with one of our faves, uh, James Malley. Uh, thank you for your time here today. Uh, and James, we’ll have you back soon before you take over the world, uh, before your next appearance. But, uh, thanks so much for your time. James Mallie, CEO of Packard. Thanks everybody.

Greg White (00:53:45):

You bet. Thanks James.

Scott Luton (00:53:48):

Breath of Fresh Air, Greg and Karen, when it comes to James Malley, I think that was probably his third or fourth appearance, um, here on supply chain now. And he’s just, you know, there, there’s something about, um, well he’s got a great sense of humor, but that aside, uh, what he’s doing and how, how much is changing the game and he’s just so matter of fact about it. Greg, I mean, what, what do you think when you think of James Mallon Packard? What’s so special about him?

Greg White (00:54:14):

Well, I mean, first of all, what they’re doing is, um, unbelievably complex and genius and yet so simple. Go get an go, get an API and hook it up and they’ll, they’ll show you what you need to do with your product. Secondly, I think it’s something that every consumer ought to be demanding. You know, just the comments and Scott and, and Karen, you know, at the beginning of this year, we all were kvetching about, you know, our embarrassing and guilt inducing stack of boxes after Christmas, right? Um, and just the utter waste of it all. And I just think that, um, you know, what, there, there should be an uprising of, of consumers to say, Please, please, please, all you, all of you commerce providers, do this, do it at every tier, Do it at every level, shipping to one another, shipping to us, of course, right? I, I think there’s a big opportunity, and honestly, I haven’t talked to James about whether this is even where he would go, but I think there’s a big opportunity, Corrine, you and I have been dealing with truckload quantities and shipping air forever, truckloads and containers and things like that, and they could represent, right, how to not ship air at the most costly to the environment and to fuel and to companies, um, level in, in supply chain, right? Yep.

Scott Luton (00:55:33):

Well said. Uh, Karen, speak to that.

Karin Bursa (00:55:35):

Yeah, I, I agree wholeheartedly. I mean, Greg and I are on the same page and it’s interesting how every story we went through today on the buzz, um, was really interrelated right down to this last piece about, you know, corrugated or shipping product. And that’s part of the beer crisis as well, or what’s driving beer prices up is paperboard is one of one of the supply components that, um, has increased dramatically from, from a cost perspective. So, you know, the, the savings are out there, but let’s look for this efficiency and getting better leverage out of the available capacity as well, right? As we look at the green emissions and, and the ESG considerations, um, this is a great place to, to look for some, some low hanging fruit pretty quickly, I think for most businesses.

Scott Luton (00:56:25):

Agreed. Uh, speaking to that glomar, we’ve all uh, she’s got a few pictures of those big boxes with the tiny product inside. It’s irritating, she says, To see such a waste. And to Greg and Karen’s point, we’ve all got to be demanding it as consumers that, that those practices do indeed change. And Tom, thank you for the, the feedback. Always a pleasure to have you join us. Hope you have a, a big week in Spain. Um, all right,

Greg White (00:56:49):

Enjoy the coach, Tom. Yes.

Scott Luton (00:56:51):

Jealous

Greg White (00:56:52):

Of that also. Yeah. <laugh>.

Scott Luton (00:56:54):

Seriously, Tom. Um, so let’s, Greg and Karen we’re starting to wrap here. What a great hour. Uh, great guests, great news stories, interesting developments. Love y’all’s. Take some spicy take as James Malley put it, um, as we, if you were to share one final thought and, and before I, you know, think about that for a second cuz there’s so much to choose from. So little time. I do wanna, uh, drop this link in the chat. Um, the latest edition of With That Said, which is our LinkedIn newsletter, uh, went out on Saturday. I think that was our, our fifth or sixth addition. We’ve only been doing it for about a month and some change over 15,000 subscribers. Wow. So folks, be like the cool kids out there. Uh, check that out. Subscribe if you are, are so inclined. And hey, comment, just like we were talking earlier on Greg’s supply chain commentaries, that’s some of the best part. The comments and the conversations that are, that are in the, in the comments of those, uh, regular publications. So y’all check out the link. We make it easy for you there. Um, Karen, let’s start with you. Final thought. Uh, Tech Talk moves right along. Uh, of course folks can get Tech Talk, Digital Supply Chain podcast wherever they get their podcast. Uh, your final thought, you wanna leave with our listeners here, Corin.

Karin Bursa (00:58:08):

My, my final thought is there are challenges. There are shortages. We’re all feeling pressure, but it is a great time to be in supply chain. So never before has there been such an opportunity for each and every one of us to have a great impact on our businesses. So keep tuning in here, subscribe to Tech Talk, and let’s share what’s working.

Scott Luton (00:58:28):

Well said, absolutely. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> share, talk about it all, drive change together. Um, always opportunities. Uh, Greg, your final thought here on September 26th, version of Supply Chain Buzz.

Greg White (00:58:42):

Oh, you’re marking the date cuz of what I said earlier. Notice <laugh>,

Scott Luton (00:58:47):

We’re

Karin Bursa (00:58:47):

Gonna be checking the stock prices,

Greg White (00:58:49):

Stock prices and oil prices. Yeah. Please hold me accountable on that. Um, and I hope I’m wrong or right. I’m hope, I hope I’m right on the price. Wrong on the crushing other

Scott Luton (00:59:00):

Ah,

Greg White (00:59:01):

Right. But, um, but it is, so I think an important adjunct to what Karen said. Um, this is a great time to be in supply chain. The world finally recognizes that business is delivered through supply chain and most importantly, brand equity. Right? Um, most importantly is the reputation of your business. And the more companies that recognize that supply chain is key to their reputation and work back from that into reinforcing their supply chain so they can deliver at least their trademark on all of their products, right? But certainly can deliver what their, their consumers, uh, require. The better off will be, It is getting ugly and it’s going to get uglier and it’s gonna be ugly for some years. Let’s face it, I’m not running for office so I don’t have to candy code it. But I want you to understand that none of this means the end of the world.

Greg White (00:59:57):

I talk to so many people who think every crisis is the end of the world. None of this means the end of the world. The economies will slow down globally, you know, at varying rates. Um, recession is already here, though we probably won’t admit it until the end of the year. Um, and it’s inevitable to get deeper. Um, inflation will not be cut by the end of the year because of what the Fed is doing. And I think all of us in supply chain know that it, it has more to do with the, the constriction of the supply chain than it does with monetary policy at this point. But they’ll, you know, they’ll, you know, anyway, all of these things are going to happen. But they will correct themselves. They have corrected themselves in the past. We had a huge and very long recession at, in, at, and, you know, when, uh, the.com bust happened again in 2008, were due for another one. People will survive this and will all come out of it stronger on the other side. Hold cash, right? Don’t stop investing. Continue to invest in your companies, Continue to invest in other companies. Be really smart and make sure those companies are valuable, right? That have real value. Um, because the day of, um, un what is, what is it? Un, un whatever it is, unwise exuberance. It’s over for the next few years at least. So I

Scott Luton (01:01:20):

Was try, I was trying to do my white and, and count off your, you know what,

Greg White (01:01:26):

Dr. Rhonda said something about her, her meandering statement earlier. So I’m gonna deliver one so she can feel better about hers <laugh>.

Scott Luton (01:01:34):

But anyway, we all, the

Greg White (01:01:35):

Point is there is abundance in the universe and that this too shall pass, but it is gonna be rough. So, so bating down the hatches, prepare yourself and uh, just be ready to come out stronger on the other side.

Scott Luton (01:01:49):

Yes, whenever I hear this two shall pass, it reminds me of one of our favorite phrases. It may pass like a kidney stone, but this two shall pass like all. So Greg and Korean great episode of Supply Chain Buzz. Thanks, uh, to Corrin Bura, host of Tech Talk, digital supply chain podcast for joining us here today. Thank you Corrin. Thank you. And Greg White, uh, always a pleasure. Uh, I think we’ve gotta sit in for you, no, not next week. I guess it’s the 10th of October cause you’ve got some internet, some, some travels, uh, as you take the gospel. Greg White out on the road, right? That’s

Greg White (01:02:25):

Right. I have some travels. That’s, um, un unless you consider screaming at a football field gospel, it’s not really all gospel, but

Scott Luton (01:02:35):

It depends on what part of the country I think. But, uh, but hey, uh, Greg, always a pleasure, uh, conducting the supply chain buds with you. Uh, folks, thanks for all the great comments. I know we couldn’t get to all of them. Y’all keep that coming. Lean into all the, the market conditions that Corin and Greg have been describing here. Uh, we’re gonna get through it. It’s, it’s gonna be painful at times, but, uh, that world is certainly not ending. Big thanks to James Malley for joining us here today. Folks, check out Packard. Cause it takes innovative and entrepreneurial thinking like that to get through these challenging times for sure. Uh, big thanks to production team. Uh, always a pleasure. Thanks for what y’all do for us here at Supply Chain. Now, uh, as we wrap here today, big shout out again to Dave, uh, Crche Foundation. Uh, talk about organizations just doing wonderful work out there for folks in need. We all, we gotta be more like them, right? We gotta be more like, uh, Donna and Allison and Matt, all with the Dave Crche Foundation. On along those lines as we wrap here today, Scott Luton challenging all of our listeners. Hey, do good, give forward, be the change that’s needed. And on that note, next time, right back here on Supply Chain now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (01:03:46):

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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Featured Guests

James Malley, working in the logistics space since 2009, has helped create a variety of enterprise shipping technology. He spearheaded the design of an award-winning multi-carrier TMS. Since 2016, he’s been evangelizing the use of AI to achieve cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable packing. Connect with James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmalley/

Hosts

Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

Greg White

Principal & Host

Karin Bursa

Host, TEKTOK

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Demo Perez

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Demo Perez started his career in 1997 in the industry by chance when a relative asked him for help for two just weeks putting together an operation for FedEx Express at the Colon Free Zone, an area where he was never been but accepted the challenge. Worked in all roles possible from a truck driver to currier to a sales representative, helped the brand introduction, market share growth and recognition in the Colon Free Zone, at the end of 1999 had the chance to meet and have a chat with Fred Smith ( FedEx CEO), joined another company in 2018 who took over the FedEx operations as Operations and sales manager, in 2004 accepted the challenge from his company to leave the FedEx operations and business to take over the operation and business of DHL Express, his major competitor and rival so couldn’t say no, by changing completely its operation model in the Free Zone. In 2005 started his first entrepreneurial journey by quitting his job and joining two friends to start a Freight Forwarding company. After 8 months was recruited back by his company LSP with the General Manager role with the challenge of growing the company and make it fully capable warehousing 3PL. By 2009 joined CSCMP and WERC and started his journey of learning and growing his international network and high-level learning. In 2012 for the first time joined a local association ( the Panama Maritime Chamber) and worked in the country’s first Logistics Strategy plan, joined and lead other associations ending as president of the Panama Logistics Council in 2017. By finishing his professional mission at LSP with a company that was 8 times the size it was when accepted the role as GM with so many jobs generated and several young professionals coached, having great financial results, took the decision to move forward and start his own business from scratch by the end of 2019. with a friend and colleague co-founded IPL Group a company that started as a boutique 3PL and now is gearing up for the post-Covid era by moving to the big leagues.

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Mary Kate Love

VP, Marketing

Mary Kate Love is currently the VP of marketing at Supply Chain Now focused on brand strategy and audience + revenue growth. Mary Kate’s career is a testament to her versatility and innovative spirit: she has experience in start-ups, venture capital, and building innovation initiatives from the ground up: she previously helped lead the build-out of the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific and before that, MxD (Manufacturing times Digital): the Department of Defense’s digital manufacturing innovation center. Mary Kate has a passion for taking complicated ideas and turning them into reality: she was one of the first team members at MxD and the first team member at the Supply Chain Innovation Center at Georgia-Pacific.

Mary Kate dedicates her extra time to education and mentorship: she was one of the founding Board Members for Women Influence Chicago and led an initiative for a city-wide job shadow day for young women across Chicago tech companies and was previously on the Board of Directors at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Young Irish Fellowship Board and the UN Committee for Women. Mary Kate is the founder of National Supply Chain Day and enjoys co-hosting podcasts at Supply Chain Now. Mary Kate is from the south side of Chicago, a mom of two baby boys, and an avid 16-inch softball player. She holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Joshua Miranda

Marketing Specialist

Joshua is a student from Institute of Technology and Higher Education of Monterrey Campus Guadalajara in Communication and Digital Media. His experience ranges from Plug and Play México, DearDoc, and Nissan México creating unique social media marketing campaigns and graphics design. Joshua helps to amplify the voice of supply chain here at Supply Chain Now by assisting in graphic design, content creation, asset logistics, and more.  In his free time he likes to read and write short stories as well as watch movies and television series.

Donna Krache

Director of Communications and Executive Producer

Donna Krache is a former CNN executive producer who has won several awards in journalism and communication, including three Peabodys.  She has 30 years’ experience in broadcast and digital journalism. She led the first production team at CNN to convert its show to a digital platform. She has authored many articles for CNN and other media outlets. She taught digital journalism at Georgia State University and Arizona State University. Krache holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans. She is a serious sports fan who loves the Braves. She is president of the Dave Krache Foundation. Named in honor of her late husband, this non-profit pays fees for kids who want to play sports but whose parents are facing economic challenges.

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Vicki White

Controller

Vicki has a long history of rising to challenges and keeping things up and running. First, she supported her family’s multi-million dollar business as controller for 12 years, beginning at the age of 17. Then, she worked as an office manager and controller for a wholesale food broker. But her biggest feat? Serving as the chief executive officer of her household, while her entrepreneur husband travelled the world extensively. She fed, nurtured, chaperoned, and chauffeured three daughters all while running a newsletter publishing business and remaining active in her community as a Stephen’s Minister, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer, licensed realtor and POA Board president (a title she holds to this day). A force to be reckoned with in the office, you might think twice before you meet Vicki on the tennis court! When she’s not keeping the books balanced at Supply Chain Now or playing tennis matches, you can find Vicki spending time with her husband Greg, her 4 fur babies, gardening, cleaning (yes, she loves to clean!) and learning new things.

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Ben Harris

Host

Ben Harris is the Director of Supply Chain Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Ben comes to the Metro Atlanta Chamber after serving as Senior Manager, Market Development for Manhattan Associates. There, Ben was responsible for developing Manhattan’s sales pipeline and overall Americas supply chain marketing strategy. Ben oversaw market positioning, messaging and campaign execution to build awareness and drive new pipeline growth. Prior to joining Manhattan, Ben spent four years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Center of Innovation for Logistics where he played a key role in establishing the Center as a go-to industry resource for information, support, partnership building, and investment development. Additionally, he became a key SME for all logistics and supply chain-focused projects. Ben began his career at Page International, Inc. where he drove continuous improvement in complex global supply chain operations for a wide variety of businesses and Fortune 500 companies. An APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Ben holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) and bachelor’s degree in International Business (BBA) from the Terry College at the University of Georgia.

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Page Siplon

Host, The Freight Insider

Prior to joining TeamOne Logistics, Page Siplon served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, the State’s leading consulting resource for fueling logistics industry growth and global competitiveness. For over a decade, he directly assisted hundreds of companies to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities related to the movement of freight. During this time, Siplon was also appointed to concurrently serve the State of Georgia as Director of the larger Centers of Innovation Program, in which he provided executive leadership and vision for all six strategic industry-focused Centers. As a frequently requested keynote speaker, Siplon is called upon to address a range of audiences on unique aspects of technology, workforce, and logistics. This often includes topics of global and domestic logistics trends, supply chain visibility, collaboration, and strategic planning. He has also been quoted as an industry expert in publications such as Forbes, Journal of Commerce, Fortune, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, American Express, DC Velocity, Area Development Magazine, Site Selection Magazine, Inbound Logistics, Modern Material Handling, and is frequently a live special guest on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Radio Show. Siplon is an active industry participant, recognized by DC Velocity Magazine as a “2012 Logistics Rainmaker” which annually identifies the top-ten logistics professionals in the Nation; and named a “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Executive Magazine in 2014. Siplon was also selected by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Georgians” for 2013, 2014, and 2015. He also serves various industry leadership roles at both the State and Federal level. Governor Nathan Deal nominated Siplon to represent Georgia on a National Supply Chain Competitiveness Advisory Committee, where he was appointed to a two-year term by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was then appointed to serve as its vice-chairman. At the State level, he was selected by then-Governor Sonny Perdue to serve as lead consultant on the Commission for New Georgia’s Freight and Logistics Task Force. In this effort, Siplon led a Private Sector Advisory Committee with invited executives from a range of private sector stakeholders including UPS, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Delta Airlines, Georgia Pacific, CSX, and Norfolk Southern. Siplon honorably served a combined 12 years in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force. During this time, he led the integration of encryption techniques and deployed cryptographic devices for tactically secure voice and data platforms in critical ground-to-air communication systems. This service included support for all branches of the Department of Defense, multiple federal security agencies, and aiding NASA with multiple Space Shuttle launches. Originally from New York, Siplon received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering with a focus on digital signal processing from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned an associate’s degree in advanced electronic systems from the Air Force College and completed multiple military leadership academies in both the Marines and Air Force. Siplon currently lives in Cumming, Georgia (north of Atlanta), with his wife Jan, and two children Thomas (19) and Lily (15).

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Kristi Porter

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kristi Porter is VP of Sales and Marketing at Vector Global Logistics, a company that is changing the world through supply chain. In her role, she oversees all marketing efforts and supports the sales team in doing what they do best. In addition to this role, she is the Chief Do-Gooder at Signify, which assists nonprofits and social impact companies through copywriting and marketing strategy consulting. She has almost 20 years of professional experience, and loves every opportunity to help people do more good.

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Sofia Rivas Herrera

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia Rivas Herrera is a Mexican Industrial Engineer from Tecnologico de Monterrey class 2019. Upon graduation, she earned a scholarship to study MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and graduated as one of the Top 3 performers of her class in 2020. She also has a multicultural background due to her international academic experiences at Singapore Management University and Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg. Sofia self-identifies as a Supply Chain enthusiast & ambassador sharing her passion for the field in her daily life.

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Katherine Hintz

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Katherine is a marketing professional and MBA candidate who strives to unite her love of people with a passion for positive experiences. Having a diverse background, which includes nonprofit work with digital marketing and start-ups, she serves as a leader who helps people live their most creative lives by cultivating community, order, collaboration, and respect. With equal parts creativity and analytics, she brings a unique skill set which fosters refining, problem solving, and connecting organizations with their true vision. In her free time, you can usually find her looking for her cup of coffee, playing with her puppy Charlie, and dreaming of her next road trip.

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Kim Winter

Host, Supply Chain Now

The founder of Logistics Executive Group, Kim Winter delivers 40 years of executive leadership experience spanning Executive Search & Recruitment, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Corporate Advisory, Motivational Speaking, Trade Facilitation and across the Supply Chain, Logistics, 3PL, E-commerce, Life Science, Cold Chain, FMCG, Retail, Maritime, Defence, Aviation, Resources, and Industrial sectors. Operating from the company’s global offices, he is a regular contributor of thought leadership to industry and media, is a professional Master of Ceremonies, and is frequently invited to chair international events.

He is a Board member of over a dozen companies throughout APAC, India, and the Middle East, a New Zealand citizen, he holds formal resident status in Australia and the UAE, and is the Australia & New Zealand representative for the UAE Government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), the Middle East’s largest Economic Free Zone.

A triathlete and ex-professional rugby player, Kim is a qualified (IECL Sydney) executive coach and the Founder / Chairman of the successful not for profit humanitarian organization, Oasis Africa (www. oasisafrica.org.au), which has provided freedom from poverty through education to over 8000 mainly orphaned children in East Africa’s slums. Kim holds an MBA and BA from Massey & Victoria Universities (NZ).

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Adrian Purtill

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Adrian Purtill serves as Business Development Manager at Vector Global Logistics, where he consults with importers and exporters in various industries to match their specific shipping requirements with the most effective supply chain solutions. Vector Global Logistics is an asset-free, multi-modal logistics company that provides exceptional sea freight, air freight, truck, rail, general logistic services and consulting for our clients. Our highly trained and professional team is committed to providing creative and effective solutions, always exceeding our customer’s expectations and fostering long-term relationships. With more than 20+ years of experience in both strategy consulting and logistics, Vector Global Logistics is your best choice to proactively minimize costs while having an exceptional service level.

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Kevin Brown

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Kevin Brown is the Director of Business Development for Vector Global Logistics.  He has a dedicated interest in Major Account Management, Enterprise Sales, and Corporate Leadership. He offers 25 years of exceptional experience and superior performance in the sales of Logistics, Supply Chain, and Transportation Management. Kevin is a dynamic, high-impact, sales executive and corporate leader who has consistently exceeded corporate goals. He effectively coordinates multiple resources to solution sell large complex opportunities while focusing on corporate level contacts across the enterprise. His specialties include targeting and securing key accounts by analyzing customer’s current business processes and developing solutions to meet their corporate goals. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn.

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Jose Miguel Irarrazaval

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Jose Manuel Irarrazaval es parte del equipo de Vector Global Logistics Chile. José Manuel es un gerente experimentado con experiencia en finanzas corporativas, fusiones y adquisiciones, financiamiento y reestructuración, inversión directa y financiera, tanto en Chile como en el exterior. José Manuel tiene su MBA de la Universidad de Pennsylvania- The Wharton School. Conéctese con Jose Manuel en LinkedIn.

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Nick Roemer

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Nick Roemer has had a very diverse and extensive career within design and sales over the last 15 years stretching from China, Dubai, Germany, Holland, UK, and the USA. In the last 5 years, Nick has developed a hawk's eye for sustainable tech and the human-centric marketing and sales procedures that come with it. With his far-reaching and strong network within the logistics industry, Nick has been able to open new avenues and routes to market within major industries in the USA and the UAE. Nick lives by the ethos, “Give more than you take." His professional mission is to make the logistics industry leaner, cleaner and greener.

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Allison Giddens

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Allison Krache Giddens has been with Win-Tech, a veteran-owned small business and aerospace precision machine shop, for 15 years, recently buying the company from her mentor and Win-Tech’s Founder, Dennis Winslow. She and her business partner, John Hudson now serve as Co-Presidents, leading the 33-year old company through the pandemic.

She holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University, a Masters in Manufacturing from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate of Finance from the University of Georgia. She also holds certificates in Google Analytics, event planning, and Cybersecurity Risk Management from Harvard online. Allison founded the Georgia Chapter of Women in Manufacturing and currently serves as Treasurer. She serves on the Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation Board as its Secretary, the liveSAFE Resources Board of Directors as Resource Development Co-Chair, and on the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association Board as Membership Chair and is also a member of Cobb Executive Women. She is on the Board for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Northwest Area Councils. Allison runs The Dave Krache Foundation, a non-profit that helps pay sports fees for local kids in need.

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Billy Taylor

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Billy Taylor is a Proven Business Excellence Practitioner and Leadership Guru with over 25 years leading operations for a Fortune 500 company, Goodyear. He is also the CEO of LinkedXL (Excellence), a Business Operating Systems Architecting Firm dedicated to implementing sustainable operating systems that drive sustainable results. Taylor’s achievements in the industry have made him a Next Generational Lean pacesetter with significant contributions.

An American business executive, Taylor has made a name for himself as an innovative and energetic industry professional with an indispensable passion for his craft of operational excellence. His journey started many years ago and has worked with renowned corporations such as The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) leading multi-site operations. With over 3 decades of service leading North America operations, he is experienced in a deeply rooted process driven approach in customer service, process integrity for sustainability.

A disciple of continuous improvement, Taylor’s love for people inspires commitment to helping others achieve their full potential. He is a dynamic speaker and hosts "The Winning Link," a popular podcast centered on business and leadership excellence with the #1 rated Supply Chain Now Network. As a leadership guru, Taylor has earned several invitations to universities, international conferences, global publications, and the U.S. Army to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain effective results through cultural acceptance and employee ownership. Leveraging the wisdom of his business acumen, strong influence as a speaker and podcaster Taylor is set to release "The Winning Link" book under McGraw Hill publishing in 2022. The book is a how-to manual to help readers understand the management of business interactions while teaching them how to Deine, Align, and Execute Winning in Business.

A servant leader, Taylor, was named by The National Diversity Council as one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers in the country in 2021. He features among Oklahoma's Most Admired CEOs and maintains key leadership roles with the Executive Advisory Board for The Shingo Institute "The Nobel Prize of Operations" and The Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME); two world-leading organizations for operational excellence, business development, and cultural learning.  He is also an Independent Director for the M-D Building Products Board, a proud American manufacturer of quality products since 1920.

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Lori Sofian

Marketing Coordinator

Lori is currently completing a degree in marketing with an emphasis in digital marketing at the University of Georgia. When she’s not supporting the marketing efforts at Supply Chain Now, you can find her at music festivals – or working toward her dream goal of a fashion career. Lori is involved in many extracurricular activities and appreciates all the learning experiences UGA has brought her.

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Chantel King

Social Media Manager

My name is Chantel King and I am the Social Media Specialist at Supply Chain Now. My job is to make sure our audience is engaged and educated on the abundant amount of information the supply chain industry has to offer.

Social Media and Communications has been my niche ever since I graduated from college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. No, I am not a West Coast girl. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but my travel experience goes way beyond the garden state. My true passion is in creating editorial and graphic content that influences others to be great in whatever industry they are in. I’ve done this by working with lifestyle, financial, and editorial companies by providing resources to enhance their businesses.

Another passion of mine is trying new things. Whether it’s food, an activity, or a sport. I would like to say that I am an adventurous Taurus that never shies away from a new quest or challenge.

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Trisha Cordes

Administrative Assistant

Trisha is new to the supply chain industry – but not to podcasting. She’s an experienced podcast manager and virtual assistant who also happens to have 20 years of experience as an elementary school teacher. It’s safe to say, she’s passionate about helping people, and she lives out that passion every day with the Supply Chain Now team, contributing to scheduling and podcast production.

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Clay Phillips

Business Development Manager

Clay is passionate about two things: supply chain and the marketing that goes into it. Recently graduated with a degree in marketing at the University of Georgia, Clay got his start as a journalism major and inaugural member of the Owl’s football team at Kennesaw State University – but quickly saw tremendous opportunity in the Terry College of Business. He’s already putting his education to great use at Supply Chain Now, assisting with everything from sales and brand strategy to media production. Clay has contributed to initiatives such as our leap into video production, the guest blog series, and boosting social media presence, and after nearly two years in Supply Chain Now’s Marketing Department, Clay now heads up partnership and sales initiatives with the help of the rest of the Supply Chain Now sales team.

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Amanda Luton

Vice President, Production

Amanda is a production and marketing veteran and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries and organizations including Von Maur, Anthropologie, AmericasMart Atlanta, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Amanda currently manages, produces, and develops modern digital content for Supply Chain Now and their clients. Amanda has previously served as the VP of Information Systems and Webmaster on the Board of Directors for APICS Savannah, and founded and managed her own successful digital marketing firm, Magnolia Marketing Group. When she’s not leading the Supply Chain Now production team, you can find Amanda in the kitchen, reading, listening to podcasts, or enjoying time with family.

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Constantine Limberakis

Host

Constantine Limberakis is a thought leader in the area of procurement and supply management. He has over 20 years of international experience, playing strategic roles in a wide spectrum of organizations related to analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research.Throughout his career, he's been passionate about engaging global business leaders and the broader analyst and technology community with strategic content, speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.Constantine holds a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA in Finance & Marketing / Masters in Public & International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Mary Kate Soliva

Host, Veteran Voices

Mary Kate Soliva is a veteran of the US Army and cofounder of the Guam Human Rights Initiative. She is currently in the Doctor of Criminal Justice program at Saint Leo University. She is passionate about combating human trafficking and has spent the last decade conducting training for military personnel and the local community.

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Kelly Barner

Host of Dial P for Procurement

Kelly is the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point and MyPurchasingCenter. She has been in procurement since 2003, starting as a practitioner and then as the Associate Director of Consulting at Emptoris. She has covered procurement news, events, publications, solutions, trends, and relevant economics at Buyers Meeting Point since 2009. Kelly is also the General Manager at Art of Procurement and Business Survey Chair for the ISM-New York Report on Business. Kelly has her MBA from Babson College as well as an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College and she has co-authored three books: ‘Supply Market Intelligence for Procurement Professionals’, ‘Procurement at a Crossroads’, and ‘Finance Unleashed’.

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Enrique Alvarez

Host of Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain Now en Español

Enrique serves as Managing Director at Vector Global Logistics and believes we all have a personal responsibility to change the world. He is hard working, relationship minded and pro-active. Enrique trusts that the key to logistics is having a good and responsible team that truly partners with the clients and does whatever is necessary to see them succeed. He is a proud sponsor of Vector’s unique results-based work environment and before venturing into logistics he worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During his time at BCG, he worked in different industries such as Telecommunications, Energy, Industrial Goods, Building Materials, and Private Banking. His main focus was always on the operations, sales, and supply chain processes, with case focus on, logistics, growth strategy, and cost reduction. Prior to joining BCG, Enrique worked for Grupo Vitro, a Mexican glass manufacturer, for five years holding different positions from sales and logistics manager to supply chain project leader in charge of five warehouses in Colombia.

He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business and a BS, in Mechanical Engineer from the Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico. Enrique’s passions are soccer and the ocean, and he also enjoys traveling, getting to know new people, and spending time with his wife and two kids, Emma and Enrique.

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Kevin L. Jackson

Host of Digital Transformers

Kevin L. Jackson is a globally recognized Thought Leader, Industry Influencer and Founder/Author of the award winning “Cloud Musings” blog.  He has also been recognized as a “Top 5G Influencer” (Onalytica 2019, Radar 2020), a “Top 50 Global Digital Transformation Thought Leader” (Thinkers 360 2019) and provides strategic consulting and integrated social media services to AT&T, Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson and other leading companies. Mr. Jackson’s commercial experience includes Vice President J.P. Morgan Chase, Worldwide Sales Executive for IBM and SAIC (Engility) Director Cloud Solutions. He has served on teams that have supported digital transformation projects for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the US Intelligence Community.  Kevin’s formal education includes a MS Computer Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School; MA National Security & Strategic Studies from Naval War College; and a BS Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. Internationally recognizable firms that have sponsored articles authored by him include CiscoMicrosoft, Citrix and IBM.  Books include “Click to Transform” (Leaders Press, 2020), “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” (Packt, 2018), and “Practical Cloud Security: A Cross Industry View” (Taylor & Francis, 2016). He also delivers online training through Tulane UniversityO’Reilly MediaLinkedIn Learning, and Pluralsight.  Mr. Jackson retired from the U.S. Navy in 1994, earning specialties in Space Systems EngineeringCarrier Onboard Delivery Logistics and carrier-based Airborne Early Warning and Control. While active, he also served with the National Reconnaissance Office, Operational Support Office, providing tactical support to Navy and Marine Corps forces worldwide.

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Tyler Ward

Director of Sales

Tyler Ward serves as Supply Chain Now's Director of Sales. Born and raised in Mid-Atlantic, Tyler is a proud graduate of Shippensburg University where he earned his degree in Communications. After college, he made his way to the beautiful state of Oregon, where he now lives with his wife and daughter.

With over a decade of experience in sales, Tyler has a proven track record of exceeding targets and leading high-performing teams. He credits his success to his ability to communicate effectively with customers and team members alike, as well as his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

When he's not closing deals, you can find Tyler on the links or cheering on his favorite football and basketball teams. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing pick-up basketball, and traveling back to Ocean City, Maryland, his favorite place!

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Chris Barnes

Principal, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain is Boring

Talk about world-class: Chris is one of the few professionals in the world to hold CPIM-F, CLTD-F and CSCP-F designations from ASCM/APICS. He’s also the APICS coach – and our resident Supply Chain Doctor. When he’s not hosting programs with Supply Chain Now, he’s sharing supply chain knowledge on the APICS Coach Youtube channel or serving as a professional education instructor for the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistic Institute’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Center for Professional Education courses.

Chris earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bradley University, an MBA with emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of West Florida, and is a Doctoral in Supply Chain Management candidate.

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Greg White

Principal & CMO, Supply Chain Now
Host of Supply Chain Now and TECHquila Sunrise

When rapid-growth technology companies, venture capital and private equity firms are looking for advisory, they call Greg – a founder, board director, advisor and catalyst of disruptive B2B technology and supply chain. An insightful visionary, Greg guides founders, investors and leadership teams in creating breakthroughs to gain market exposure and momentum – increasing overall company esteem and valuation.

Greg is a founder himself, creating Blue Ridge Solutions, a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in cloud-native supply chain applications, and bringing to market Curo, a field service management solution. He has also held leadership roles with Servigistics (PTC) and E3 Corporation (JDA/Blue Yonder). As a principal and host at Supply Chain Now, Greg helps guide the company’s strategic direction, hosts industry leader discussions, community livestreams, and all in addition to executive producing and hosting his original YouTube channel and podcast, TEChquila Sunrise.

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Scott W. Luton

Founder, CEO, & Host

As the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now, you might say Scott is the voice of supply chain – but he’s too much of a team player to ever claim such a title. One thing’s for sure: he’s a tried and true supply chain expert. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, Scott’s insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN. He has also been named a top industry influencer by Thinkers360, ISCEA and more.

From 2009-2011, Scott was president of APICS Atlanta, and he continues to lead initiatives that support both the local business community and global industry. A United States Air Force Veteran, Scott has also regularly led efforts to give back to his fellow veteran community since his departure from active duty in 2002.

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