It’s the ultimate supply chain showdown: human vs. machine. And to judge the fight, Scott called in the big guns: Tecsys Vice President of Industry and Advanced Technology Guy Courtin and University of Tennessee Associate Professor of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management Dr. Randy V. Bradley. Together, they dive into why supply chains are working just as intended – and not at all like we need them to – as well as top trends across distribution, retail and healthcare. If you’re wondering whether you need more data or wish you had a crystal ball to plan the future, don’t miss this must-hear episode.

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 (00:00:33):

Hey. Hey. Good morning, Scott Luton with you here on Supply Chain Now. Welcome to today’s livestream. Hello, Guy and Dr. Bradley. How are y’all doing today?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:00:42):

Doing well, Scott. How about you?

Scott Luton (00:00:43):

We’re doing wonderful. Great to have you both. Guy, how are you doing?

Guy Courtin (00:00:47):

I’m doing all right, man. Good to see you guys.

Scott Luton (00:00:49):

Excellent to see you as well. We’ve got a great show teed up here today, and we’ve got two very special guests here. We’ve got Dr. Randy V. Bradley, the Associate Professor of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management with the prestigious University of Tennessee, and Guy Courtin, Vice-President of Industry and Advanced Technology with Tecsys. Okay. And that doesn’t do both of your pedigrees justice, but I really appreciate y’all’s time here today. And I’m really excited about the topic we’re going to be talking about, right?

Guy Courtin (00:01:19):

Oh, yeah.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:01:19):

It’s going to be fun.

Guy Courtin (00:01:21):

Scott, I’ll give you a little thumbs up down here.

Scott Luton (00:01:26):

I’ll tell you, you know, you practice and you practice and you practice and you practice, and sometimes you get lucky and get it right. Well, great to have you both here. So, today, as we’ve been preparing and pre-showing and you name it, we’re going to be diving into a supply Chain Super Bowl conversation, that of human versus and machine. And Guy and Dr. Bradley is an epic ongoing matchup as digital transformation continues to take root across industry, in particular, including distribution, retail, and healthcare amongst others. But we’re going to be talking about those three sectors in particular. So, Dr. Bradley and Guy, are y’all ready to dive in here?

Guy Courtin (00:02:01):

Let’s do it.

Scott Luton (00:02:02):

Okay. So, we’re going to start with a fun warm up question to you both in just a second. But, folks, guess what? The comments are back at StreamYard and we’ve got a bunch of folks tuned in, so I’m going to go around the horn and say hello to a few folks. Let’s start with Peter Bolle, all night and all day. Peter, I saw your earlier podcast you dropped earlier today. I look forward to that. Feel free to drop that in the comments, but great to see you here. Nikhil, you’re back with us via LinkedIn. Great to have you. Nikhil, I think you’ve shared before, but let us know where you’re tuned in from. Jose, great to see you from sunny Southern California. Now, Dr. Bradley and Guy, Jose does a great livestream focused on coffee and logistics, and you can’t do logistics without coffee as we all know. So, great to see you here, Jose. Jose Sanchez tuned in from Atlanta via LinkedIn. Great to see you, Jose. Hoang, tuned in via LinkedIn from Chicago. Dr. Bradley and Guy, ever been to Chicago?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:02:59):

I love it.

Scott Luton (00:03:00):

Oh, it’s awesome.

Guy Courtin (00:03:01):

I lived in Chicago for two years.

Scott Luton (00:03:02):

Really? Man, Guy, you’re becoming like an international man of mystery. All these experiences I’m so jealous of. Jinauid – if I said that right or wrong, let me know – via LinkedIn from Dubai. We got all kinds of really cool things happening in Dubai, for sure. Jason T. Hopkins tuned in from D.C. I bet he, Dr. Bradley, is also from Alabama. He’s a big Crimson Tide fan. I’ll tell you what, y’all can bond, Dr. Bradley and Guy. Jason T. Hopkins is doing some really cool things from teaching the next generation standpoint. So, Jason, great to see you tuned in. Clay “The Diesel” Phillips, Diesel because his engine is always running. He’s tuned in from over Hugo, Texas. How about that? I think he’s on his way somewhere. So, Clay, if you want to divulge that, I’ll let you do that. Davin, great to see you here. Gene Pledger from NA, meaning North Alabama, Dr. Bradley. Great to see you here, Gene. Brent, may know you, Dr. Bradley.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:04:09):

Brent is The Man.

Scott Luton (00:04:11):

Okay. Hey, Brent, that’s a big title to be put on, but great to have you here. Let us know where you’re tuned in from. Kim Winter is tuned in. Of course, the one only Kim Winter. Kim joined us for an episode of The Buzz a couple weeks ago, Guy, and he winterized the edition. Yes, shameless dad joke there. But Kim is also in Dubai making big things happen across that exciting area of the world. Cory Turner is tuned in. Cory, I appreciate your LinkedIn promo, tuned in from I’m South Carolina. Cory, let us know what part of South Carolina. I’m from Aiken. I grew up in Aiken, South Carolina. Emily is tuned in from Atlanta. Delilah, Osnel, hey, welcome everybody. Glad you’re here. And we look forward to your contributions as we work through this conversation, Supply Chain Super Bowl, throughout the next hour or so.

Scott Luton (00:05:00):

So, with all that said, Dr. Bradley and Guy, I want to warm up with both of y’all and let’s talk about kind of our namesake for this episode. And I probably should be referring to the big game so that some NFL’s army of attorneys maybe don’t reach out. So, the big game was last week. What an incredible game. What an incredible of experience from a variety of different levels. Let’s start with this, Dr. Bradley, where did you watch the game? And what was the best thing you ate?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:05:29):

So, I watched a game from home. I had two sons, 13 and 9, and so we were watching it together. And the best thing I ate – don’t tell my wife – I had ordered her a coconut cake, and while she was in the back, that’s what I was eating.

Scott Luton (00:05:45):

Your secret is safe between us two and 2,000 other folks. Well, my mom makes a great coconut cake. So good that one time my uncle was eating it at Thanksgiving and he said, “Leah, we got to put these on the market and sell them.” And it was so cool. I wish you had done that, she might still. Okay. So, Guy, how about you, where’d you watch it and what was the best thing you ate?

Guy Courtin (00:06:06):

Yeah. So, I watched it at home. So, my girlfriend and I watched it. My son was there watching it too. He was actually doing his homework, too, so he was watching it in his room and then coming watching part of it. The best thing we ate, which is kind of funny or kind of sad, I don’t know how you want to look at it, but we actually allowed ourselves to buy a bag of Doritos, because we’re usually not allowed to eat those. Because bags would last maybe an hour in the house, this one lasted maybe 45 minutes. But we bought a bag of Doritos and I remember how delicious they are. And I also remembered why we’re not allowed to have these in the house all the time because of the bag. And it wasn’t a big bag, thankfully we didn’t buy the Costco size one. We buy [inaudible].

Guy Courtin (00:06:46):

I will say a funny story, so my girlfriend started eating Doritos a little bit early before the game started. And at one point I was like, “All right, honey. We got to save some for the kid because he’s going to want some.” And he came out, you know, an hour later and he was looking at the bag and he’s like, “This is kind of thin, dude. What’s going on here?” I was like, “Hey, we saved you some at least, right? At least you got some.”

Scott Luton (00:07:06):

I love it. And speaking of great commercials, Doritos, always has game for at least one of really good commercial. I love that. And it is the simple pleasures in life. Dr. Bradley, we talked about therapeutic sessions at the grocery store kind of in self-isolation sometimes. That’s a good therapeutic practice. But, hey, eating simple pleasures like Doritos.

Scott Luton (00:07:26):

Really quick. So, Brent, “The Man” as Dr. Bradley says, tuned in from Bristol, Virginia via LinkedIn. Clay outed himself. He’s on his way to Vegas. On his way to Vegas, Los Wages as he said it. I love that. Hey, Chris Bleess is with us. Chris and I had a great chat at the Reverse Logistics Association Conference last week in Vegas. So, Chris, we look forward to publishing that soon. He’s dialed in from Dallas, Texas via LinkedIn. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:07:56):

So, one more quick follow up question and then we’re going to get into the topic of the day, starting with our opening salvo in just a second. Let’s talk about that epic halftime show. As I mentioned, I’m going to go ahead and out Amanda because she was giving me such a hard time pre-show. My dear wife, Amanda, knew every single word of that halftime show and our kids saw a whole different version. But, Dr. Bradley, what was your favorite part of the halftime?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:08:18):

Scott, I must admit, I missed the entire halftime show.

Scott Luton (00:08:22):

Wow. Coconut cake was calling.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:08:25):

It wasn’t the cake. It was the two little guys in the room who decided halftime, we can play a video game. So, I lost out, man.

Scott Luton (00:08:35):

Man, you did. It incredible. Gee, since Dr. Bradley couldn’t feel in some details there, what’d you think?

Guy Courtin (00:08:43):

I thought it was awesome. Honestly, probably my favorite halftime show that I remember. I had an argument – well, argument – had a discussion that the Prince one was much better. But I will admit I’m not a big Prince fan, so that’s kind of lost on me. I thought it was amazing. I love Dr. Dre. I love his art, what he’s done since NWA, all he’s done in terms of business and everything. I think he’s amazing. He’s amazing talent. And seeing him on stage was fantastic. And I was like, man, he sold me Dr. Dre Beats, like that guy is [inaudible].

Scott Luton (00:09:15):

And he doesn’t age, Guy. God doesn’t age.

Guy Courtin (00:09:18):

And he’s so talented. So, I loved the halftime show. I thought it was fantastic. I will make a corny dad joke that, 50 Cent looked like a 1.50. We all deal with that with age. I should be the last one to talk about, you know, putting on a couple pounds. But, no, halftime show was absolutely fantastic. I loved it. Great job by the Super Bowl. Really just awesome. And to your point, when I started thinking, I was like, “Wow. Some of these songs were, like, 20 years old. Oh, boy.”

Scott Luton (00:09:51):

So, I will never be confused for a psychologist. However, there’s something about the human condition when we connect with a song that we knew 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago, it puts you right back there. Distance makes love grow fonder, or whatever that phrase is, it really took us all back. And if there is ever a year we needed that in all these crazy things over the last couple years, that was really cool to see.

Scott Luton (00:10:20):

All right. So, I’ve got some great comments I got to get to before we get to the opening salvo. First off, Jake Barr, the one and only, the John Wayne – I think we’ve been calling him – of supply chain. He’s on the beach somewhere. Let us know what beach. And he says, “Guy is worth it.” Hey, how about that? Chris comes in, Dr. Bradley, and says, “Nothing wrong. You got to have video game time.” And, Dr. Bradley, what video game was it that your kids were playing during halftime?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:10:48):

They were playing a Hot Wheel race track designed game.

Scott Luton (00:10:52):

Okay. All right. I like it. Everybody loves our Hot Wheels, right? Let’s see here, Adam Polka – so, folks, be sure you check out The Great Supply Chain Podcast, that’s good stuff. He says, “Have you read Guy’s rap battle with Ludacris?” And he’s got a link here, folks. Y’all pinch it over to this link and let’s check this out. All right. And make sure you check out The Great Supply Chain Podcast. Adam does great work over there.

Scott Luton (00:11:20):

Okay. So, y’all keep the comments coming. Keep the comments coming. We’re getting into supply chain now. We’re getting into the heavy lifting that we brought the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express here, Dr. Bradley and Guy, to talk about. So, I want to start with level setting, opening salvo. Give us some opening comments. In particular, how do we get to this moment when we think of the Supply Chain Super Bowl: Human versus Machine? And, Dr. Bradley, I want to start with you? How do we get here?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:11:47):

You know what? Scott, there are a number of reasons. And one of the things that often comes to mind for me is when we are starting to pit technology against humans, I think, we are doomed to fail from the beginning. Because, essentially, what we need to be doing is looking at how we really join them together. We’ve got to view this more from an augmentation standpoint, rather than a replacement or a competition standpoint.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:12:11):

But a lot of this has happened primarily because when you look at what most of us have been doing in the supply chain space and how long we’ve been in the industry, what we have inherited from a supply chain design was not our brainchild. It was a brainchild of predecessors who lived at a totally different time where you didn’t necessarily have this rapid – how do we say it? – this intense or insatiable desire for we want goods fast. We want goods at a total lower cost. And we want goods when we want them, how we want them, and wherever we want them delivered. And so, it is really trying to take yesterday’s design and yesterday’s model and trying to figure out how do we mess that with today’s excitement.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:12:51):

And so, that led to this lack of advanced planning around digitalizing our supply chain infrastructure. There is also this naiveté with respect to risk management. We talked about the risk, we don’t do a good job of managing risk when it really needs to be a core business principle. And then, last but not least, we really don’t share data well. And I know we’ll talk more about data moving forward, but that limited upstream as well as downstream visibility are some of the reasons why we find ourselves where we are.

Scott Luton (00:13:19):

Dr. Bradley, so much there, especially in your last point, we don’t share data well. Instantly come to the U.S. ports. We have massive opportunities to really share data much more effectively amongst all shareholders to make the ports faster and more efficient. Guy, Dr. Bradley – talk about level setting – he really laid it out there. What else would you add in terms of how we got here?

Guy Courtin (00:13:41):

Yeah. And it’s hard for me to follow up with Randy after what he just said, but I’m going to try. I think where we’ve come to, which we can’t forget, is, I do think at times we have looked at technology as a panacea. We’ve always said, “Oh, well. We’ll just invest in more software, invest in more hardware. We’ll look at the technology to help solve it.” And to some degree that’s done a disservice, the technology, because for the most part, as Randy said, technology is complimentary. It’s a tool in our toolbox. How we use those tools really depends upon the human. And I think that’s something that we have kind of forgotten at times. And I don’t know if it’s just because a lot of things are changing, obviously, a lot of strains on the supply chain, a lot of demands on the supply chain, a lot of which Randy just pointed out. But there’s so many different ways that the supply chains are now having to react that it’s almost too easy to sort of fall back and say, “Well, I’ll just invest in some more technology, some more software, some more hardware,” whatever that may be.

Guy Courtin (00:14:42):

And then, unfortunately, when it doesn’t do what we think it is going to do, we sort of turn around and blame that technology, as opposed to saying, “Well, wait a minute, did we truly understand why we were investing in the technology and what it was going to do with our existing businesses, our existing supply chain?” The joke is, “Hey, I’ll give you a bunch of two by fours and hammer and saws.” And you’re like, “Well, where’s my new deck? Come on, build it.” You got to go out and cut the wood, and nail the nails, and put the plan together, and build that deck. I think a lot of times with technology, we’ve sort of gotten to a point where we just expect, “Well, I’ll just put new supply chain software and it will solve the world.” No. It doesn’t work that way.

Guy Courtin (00:15:22):

So, I think we we’ve gotten to – and I’m not saying everybody – sometimes that’s a challenge that we, who sit in our space, face on a daily basis because we have to temper expectations and ensure that the people that are investing in technology, the humans, understand that the machines are there to help them. But that the humans have to put in their effort to make everything work.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:15:46):

So, I love what Guy is saying because it comes back to a couple of different things. This whole thing about pulling out one piece of tech and putting in another piece, I liken it to the rubber band game. I’m going to stretch it as far as I can until it snaps. And then, when it snaps, I’m just going to get a thicker rubber band. And I can at least get that to the same point. And then, I’m going to see how far can that go. And so, it’s the same way with technology, when this one fails me, I go for the new shiny toy, and I put it in. But the reality is, we don’t utilize the resources the way they’re intended to utilize them. We utilize them the way we want them to be designed or to be oriented. And then, we’re disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:16:23):

And so, really what we have to focus on, why are we investing in any given solution? It’s for capabilities. The challenge I see a lot of times, Scott, is we don’t have a clear understanding of what our actual needs are relative to capabilities. What are the true gaps that we’re going to fill and what are the gaps that just won’t be filled by that solution alone?

Scott Luton (00:16:44):

Excellent. Man, I tell you there’s so much more good stuff to come. You’re just giving us a little taste here. Folks, in a moment, I’m going to share a couple comments and then we’re going to be going sector by sector, in particular, on distribution, retail, and healthcare, talking about what’s working and not working specifically in those areas. So, we’d welcome y’all’s comments as we work through that.

Scott Luton (00:17:02):

But in the meantime, Jake says, “Amen. We need to recognize that the strategic structural and operational design of our supply chains are in a constant state of movement. And as such, we’ll always be syncing the human and technology elements.” In other words, it’s not Ron Popeil – rest in peace, Ron Popeil. Set it and forget it. Global supply chain doesn’t work like that. Peter Bolle says, “Jake Barr, I feel the younger generation would salute that comment by saying ‘word’.” I like that, Peter. I like that. Memory says, “If technology is an afterthought, it will be blamed for another inefficiency.” Excellent point. One more thing here from Jose – both of y’all are saying – “First, we need to define expectations and then collaborate to achieve the desired outcome.” Wonderful, Jose, Memory, Peter, and Jake.

Guy Courtin (00:17:54):

Sorry, Scott. I would say — point. I think what’s really interesting about that and I think underlying his comment, is that – I’m going to get on my little soapbox here – there’s no new normal. We always talk about this, “Well, we’re going to strive to get -“it’s almost as if, when we do something with technology and we hit the pause button and everything is static and we’re good. To Jake’s point, everything’s changing. That is the only consistent we have is change.

Guy Courtin (00:18:19):

So, if we expect – and I will sort of harp on this. I worked at i2 back in the day, way back when i2 was great, up and coming. We created SAP. And I was like, “Well, we’ll just put in SAP and then everything will be fine.” No knock on SAP. But the mentality was, “Oh, it’s like an end goal.” It’s not a finite goal. It’s an infinite goal. And I think that’s what we have to think about. I think Jake’s point about that is spot on where it’s really about this constant change that we have to adapt to.

Guy Courtin (00:18:47):

And our technology, there’s no end state it’s going to get to. As a tool, we have to keep manipulating it and using it. And to Randy’s point, understanding where the gaps are and then dealing with it. And the reality is sometimes there are no knowns and no unknowns. Hey, that’s reality. There’s things that we just can’t solve or can’t optimize for. Control for it, move on, get to the next step.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:19:10):

So, Guy, we can’t solve it in isolation. But we can do it if we truly collaborate and as well as cooperate. And so, if you think about it, this whole concept of coopetition, where we take these entities that are in the same space competing for the same business or the same talent who are willing to come together for a mind mill, if you will, one, to either address a really precarious situation in the industry, or more importantly, to move industry forward. And I think that’s really what it’s going to take is entity saying, “We can go back to competing, but right now is not the time. Right now is the time to come together so we can move past this.”

Scott Luton (00:19:49):

Yes. Well said. Well said. And I’m not the only person saying that. Yumecia, “Very well said, Mr. Bradley.” I agree with you. And, Yumecia, great to have you here today. And Rebecca says, “That’s all good stuff, Guy. It needs to be artificial intelligence along with human intelligence.” That’s how we get to actual intelligence, right? AI plus HI equals AI again. “Needs to be a balance,” Rebecca says. Great stuff there. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:20:13):

So, let’s keep driving. We want to kind of focus in a little bit more here. I want to go through these next three sectors, distribution, and retail, and healthcare. And, Dr. Bradley, I want to start with you, Distribution, if you can speak to a little bit, what’s working in these areas when it comes to the winning playbook? The winning playbook, back to the big game. Clearly, the Rams had the winning playbook. It was a close game. And the Bengals had a great run. But when it comes to distribution, what’s working and not working, Dr. Bradley?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:20:43):

Wow. Let’s start with the what’s not working. What’s not working right now is we still have tremendous labor shortages, whether you’re talking about in the warehouse, DCs, or even if you go out to the port. We have tremendous shortages right now. And we do recognize that there’s a value and there’s a benefit in union. And I’m all for a union fighting for their members. But going back to my point, there is a time where we have to think about what’s the good for society over what was the purpose of my entity being established. And I think we are well beyond that, where each side is really entrenched in their behavior. And then, what’s happening is the economy, holistically, is being held hostage while others figure out how to work out the issues. It’s almost like two kids in the sandbox having a sand fight, no one else can play in the sandbox. And that’s essentially what we’ve got going on right now. And so, someone has to step in and be that media to say, “What’s good for the economy moving forward?”

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:21:38):

The other thing is, I do believe that we are starting to see some emphasis being placed on this very vital sector. Whereas, before ,we have consistently looked at our truck drivers as commodity. We’ve been looking at the supply chain entity holistic as something that we absolutely have to have, which we didn’t have to deal with it. And all of a sudden, we realize it’s critical infrastructure. It’s a key component that not only helps one country, but really the global economy is really dependent on that. So, I think that’s the good thing is that we’re getting attention.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:22:10):

Now, the next thing Scott is, are we going to take advantage of that attention? Are we going to go back to being very tactical and operational in our mindset? Therefore, putting profits and margins at risk to the point to where we then are back in that corner with the hat on wishing we had taken advantage of the strategic opportunities that was in front of us.

Scott Luton (00:22:30):

Yeah. Dr. Bradley, if I can piggyback on one of the points you made back on truck drivers. It’s amazing, we built global supply chain assuming that our drivers would be waiting, sitting in their cabs four or five hours, and being mistreated, largely across industry. We’ve got to change that. But, Guy, going back on a more broader point when it comes to distribution, what’s working and not working?

Guy Courtin (00:22:54):

I think what’s not working, or I think what Randy pointed out, first and foremost, is labor. I think the second part, which is not working – and I look at us here in the United States, specifically – is age infrastructure. I think, we have sort of given lip service through political cycles about infrastructure and investing in it. But the reality is we haven’t kept up with what the world requires upon that infrastructure. You look at the tragedy in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, that bridge collapsing. You look at the age infrastructure at our ports. You just look at any road you drive on, the age of that infrastructure.

Guy Courtin (00:23:31):

I was in China a while back, and you go there and it’s amazing. You fly into Shanghai, there is a high speed rail that gets you into downtown Shanghai in 15 minutes. I fly to LaGuardia – holy cow – I might as well walk into downtown New York with all the traffic and everything, the tunnels. I live in Boston, the Big Dig, it’s already being fixed. I mean, that was a massive infrastructure deal when it came up, but it’s already sort of falling apart.

Guy Courtin (00:24:02):

So, I think that’s part of what’s not working when it comes to distribution in this country, in particular, is our infrastructure. Yes, absolutely, labor. And infrastructure, I think, is going to be a much more longer term need because, like everything we talked about in the pre-show or we’re just talking about this, there’s no sort of end state. I don’t just fix a road and it’s done. Guess what? Unfortunately, weather, temperature, wear and tear is going to take part. You have to start fixing it over again or maintaining it.

Guy Courtin (00:24:30):

So, I think for us, from a distribution perspective, infrastructure is something that is not working right now. There are a lot of good lip service being given to it by politicians. I need to see or I would like to see more true efforts being put into it. And I also think, you know, it’s going to be great for our economy as a whole if we started investing more in infrastructure. It’s not just about the jobs about redoing the infrastructure. It’s about all the jobs it enables once it’s up and running. So, I think that’s the part that needs improvement.

Guy Courtin (00:25:02):

I think what is good with distribution is, I do believe we’re starting to get a little bit more as consumers. And what I mean by consumers, I mean those of us who aren’t living and breathing supply chain 24/7 are getting a better appreciation of what it means to get that roll of toilet paper to the store shelf. I love my mom to death. She’s incredibly much smarter than I am. She has a PhD but not in supply chain. She, finally, during the pandemic was like, “Oh. I kind of understand supply chain now. I understand logistics a little bit.” Because when she went to the grocery store and there weren’t Lysol wipes or there weren’t toilet paper, she was like, “Oh, okay. I understand what’s going on.”

Scott Luton (00:25:43):

I get it now. I get it now.

Guy Courtin (00:25:45):

“I get it.” So, I think that awareness is a silver lining of what’s good today. And I think that that’s something that my hope is on a strategy, but my hope is that we will continue as a society to be aware of it. And being aware of it will also allow us to be more understanding of it. And I think that’s very important because, again, pre-pandemic, I think people just assume stuff just shows up. Well, yeah, it does. But there are truck drivers. There are workers at the dock. There are workers at rail. There are workers in air. There are workers on ocean bound. There’s a whole infrastructure behind it to get that product to you. Be more aware and sensitive to that and appreciative of what they do.

Scott Luton (00:26:27):

Yes. Yes. I completely agree on that last point, in particular. And, thankfully, I think consumers are becoming more aware of all the incredible people that allow us to enjoy e-commerce forward and reverse when we’re returning stuff.

Scott Luton (00:26:42):

Let me share a couple quick comments. Jose says, “Talking about competing, we need to compete with ourselves first and outdo our yesterday.” Completely agree with that. I love that. That’s a great t-shirt -ism. Jason T. Hopkins, “I love this topic. No matter how you invest in shiny new toys, never forget people.” Agreed. Agreed. I think this is Colleen. Colleen said, “I love Randy’s sandbox analogy. One of my favorites.” I agree with you, Colleen. Let’s see here, we’re getting a couple comments from healthcare, but we’ll get there in a second. Greg says, “Office buildings are still empty in downtown Milwaukee. It’s been two years. We need to move forward. COVID will always be here. We need to move forward with it and work safe.” And then, finally, I think the team was so excited they were sharing Jake Barr’s commentary here. He says, “Actually, there are wars within wars at the moment for a shared physical ecosystem that all verticals share. There are technical/machine ways to help bring better balancing visibility. There are dozens of less mature companies that are attempting to gain the system by trying to hedge resources. Bad for everyone.” Okay. Please, Dr. Bradley.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:27:50):

That point goes back to what Guy and I have been saying, which is, everyone is out for what do I need to do? There is no I in this global supply network. It’s just we. It’s just us. And so, if I want to improve me, I got to help to improve us. And so, as long as I’m trying to maneuver and adjust levers that are going to change my operating environment, it does nothing for the rest of the global supply network. And we have to realize, we are part of a global network. The problem is – we’ve always said this – you want to think globally and act locally. That’s an incomplete statement, because you need to act local and then act like you’re part of a member of a global society or a global community. And there needs to be contributions from everyone. And once we start to do this, then I believe we can move forward. But he’s spot on with this comment.

Scott Luton (00:28:44):

Agreed. Agreed. Okay. Goodness gracious, we got so much to cover so little time. Dr. Bradley and Guy, they’re bringing it today as if this is the halftime show. What an epic conversation. Let’s move from distribution to retail. And when our guests are really bringing it, we can tell, because there’s lots and lots of comments. And, unfortunately, we can’t get to all these comment in the sky boxes, but we’re going to try. So, let’s move from distribution to retail. And this time I want to start with you, Guy. Guy, tell us winning playbook-wise, what’s working and not working in retail.

Guy Courtin (00:29:16):

Yeah. So, I think the positive on retail, which I’ve been very encouraged in the past few years is the reinvention of the store. You know, if I go back two, three, four years ago – and I will freely admit that I felt like I was bashing my head against the wall trying to preach this – the store is not dead, people. The store is redefining itself. And I think we’re seeing that more and more and I think that it’s working.

Guy Courtin (00:29:37):

It’s interesting, the grandfather of e-commerce, our good friends at Amazon, they’re opening more and more stores. Interesting, isn’t it? Our digitally native retail brands, like Warby Parker, Casper, Bonobo, Allbirds, they’re opening their own stores. Now, are they all opening the same type? No, of course not. They’re opening the store that’s appropriate for them.

Guy Courtin (00:29:59):

So, I think what’s working in retail in particular are retailers and brands that are thinking (A) for themselves, realizing that it’s a multichannel strategy that stores are a role, different types of stores, how they leverage the store. I’m not saying abandon your e-commerce, of course not. Because at the end of the day, all of us here on this livestream, we just want to interact with the brand on the terms that we want to interact. And the brand that are there to meet us there are going to win our business. So, that’s the positive part.

Guy Courtin (00:30:32):

I think sort of the negative part, and this kind of touches into the fulfillment side as well a little bit, but for retail in particular, I think it’s this irrational expectation that everything needs to come to me in two days or two hours. And I’ll blame our good friends, Amazon, for this. They’ve created this. At the end of the day, yes, there are certain things that you absolutely need rapidly, you need quickly. And we’ll get to that in healthcare in a second. But I think for the most part in retail, we need to reassess ourselves and sort of check our expectations. And I think that’s bad on a lot of different levels. One, I think it’s putting a lot of strain on our distribution network to meet irrational goals. I think, two, it’s hurting us from a sustainability perspective. And I think, three, our expectations are kind of skewed now.

Guy Courtin (00:31:24):

And I’ll pick on my 14 year old. He had a science project and he needed some material. I’m like, “Okay. Well, what do you need?” “Well, I need this.” Well, when do you need by?” “Tomorrow.” “Dude, you should have told me this two weeks ago.” “Let’s go to Amazon and get it.” “No. Not going to work that way. You’ve got to plan ahead. Dad would’ve gotten you this two weeks ago.” And, now, I go to Amazon and it’s going to be here in ten days. “Well, guess what kid? You’re not going to make it.” His mindset is like, “Well, I’ll just go to Amazon and I’ll click two hour delivery, and it’ll be here tomorrow.”

Guy Courtin (00:32:00):

You know, the genie is out the bottle, unfortunately, and I think it’s up to us as an industry. But I also look at retailers, right? It’s up to retailers to reset expectations with their users. Because if you’re buying something you need in a certain timeframe, maybe you should pay a little bit extra for it. But if you want it, you can get it, but you got to pay a little extra. If you don’t need it, then fulfill it on your time schedule. And I’m starting to see a little bit of that change. Unfortunately, I think I might be just a solo buoy sitting on an island with water just lapping at my feet.

Scott Luton (00:32:39):

Such a pretty image.

Guy Courtin (00:32:41):

Isn’t it?

Scott Luton (00:32:43):

Such a pretty image. Really quick before I come to you, Dr. Bradley. You mentioned the Warby Parker, and I think one of the cool things they’re doing – because, not only all those things you describe, we’re creating tidal wave after tidal wave of returns, and that is not good for anybody – as I understand – I don’t wear glasses – but they have really baked in advanced ways of making sure you’re getting the right eyeglasses, which will help cut down on returns and gives us less to manage on the reverse side. So, a lot of good stuff there, Guy. All right.

Scott Luton (00:33:13):

So, Dr. Bradley, when it comes to retail – and you know what? I would argue, even whether you’re in supply chain or not, we all probably are experts as consumers in this one sector of retail because of our experiences – what’s working and not working?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:33:29):

I agree with Guy. I love the fact that you’re seeing that we are coming back to that having brick and mortar is not a bad thing. It’s just having the right type of brick and mortar in the right locale. Earlier we were talking about Publix, and one of the reasons why I’m so excited about Publix is, Publix is always very purposeful and intentional about where they put a store. And it’s the level of research that goes into, not only the community, but also who are our customers. They’re not like other retail outlets where they say it’s going to be a smash in the pan. It’s not. We are very microscopic. They look at things through a periscope. They know exactly who they’re going after, the store design, the layout, the items they carry. They don’t explain why their prices are higher than the store down the street, because you’re going to get what you pay for.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:34:19):

And I think in this context that Guy is saying, we’re now starting to see right sizing in retail, rather than just saying go as big as you can, as fast as you can, as often as you like. The other thing that I think we’re also starting to see is you’re starting to see automation that we saw in what some of the tech firms trying to introduce in retail. We’re now seeing our large, big box retailer starting to navigate towards that. And part of that is because of the labor shortage, but also it’s because they’re finally hearing what consumers are saying. We’ve known for a while that when I go into certain stores, I recognize I am going to be an unpaid clerk. I get that. But you know what? There are times when I’m cool with that. But then, there are times when I’m not cool with that.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:35:04):

So, what’s not working is we haven’t quite figured out when do we shift to one degree versus the other. It needs to be a hybrid approach. And retailers, either they haven’t quite figured that out or they don’t have a desire to figure that out.

Scott Luton (00:35:18):

So much good stuff there. You know, in particular about halfway through your response, you talked about how we’ve gotten very wired hot lazered in into what the consumers want. In eras of bygone periods, the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, it seems like stores and retailers could get away with not doing all of their homework. In today’s environment – holy cow – the stakes are much bigger. And if you don’t listen to, figure out, know and execute on exactly what your customer wants, you’re going to end up like some of the stores we’ve seen in the last couple years in the retail apocalypse, as they’ve called it.

Scott Luton (00:35:56):

All right. I’m going to share a couple comments here and I’m going to get back because we’re going to tackle healthcare, which is perhaps – well, not perhaps – as we’ve seen, it is one of the most important sectors across global industry.

Scott Luton (00:36:08):

Let’s see here, I’ll start with Jake. Man, Jake is a third featured guest in the comments here. He says, “Thought leaders like yourselves (and us) can actually move to bring together vertical leaders to host sprint sessions to even help the government prioritize the infrastructure projects.” Excellent point. And I would add, we had a comment earlier about an infrastructure bill being passed. It hasn’t been passed, I don’t believe, by both sides of Congress enacted as law. I think they’re still negotiating that amongst all those parties. So, not yet. Chris says, “Working together is such a challenge in the competitive market we live in with the thought that knowledge is power versus working together to solve the issue.” There are some obstacles that’s truly bringing everybody together under that we banner that Dr. Bradley was talking about.

Scott Luton (00:36:55):

Memory says, “If I pay for it, I need it before the end of the day, before I get more alternative options.” I love that. Heidi agrees with you, “Amazon has created this culture of must have it now. Guy, you or a spot on.” Tim, we got to tee it up with old Tim Ingram. Good to see you, Tim. “Just in time, had a lot to do with the next day, two day inventory management theory. “Excellent point. And, finally, the one and only Adam Polka. Adam says, “Stores play an important twofold role for customer experience, show rooming, experiential retail, cost efficient returns, et cetera. And, also, for fast/convenient fulfillment (BOPIS -” Buy Online, Pickup In-Store “- micro fulfillment, Q-commerce, et cetera).” Lot of good stuff there, Adam.

Scott Luton (00:37:40);

Okay. Retail, we can do hours upon hours. And, again, I think it’s part of it because retail is so intertwined with supply chain, but also we all know it because we’re all experts and we’re retail consumers everyday. So, it’s always a fascinating area. Okay. We got to keep moving though because I want to get into healthcare. And, Dr. Bradley, I want to lead off with you here, as we think of the winning playbook, what’s working and what’s not working, from a healthcare standpoint, what say you?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:38:07):

So, Scott, I’m going to say something I’ve been saying for a while, and I know some people take offense when I say this, but it’s okay. It’s reality. The healthcare supply chain is not broken. My whole point is, it’s performing as we designed it to perform. The problem is we are not using it as a design. We designed it to be efficient. But in doing that, we also designed it to be fragile. Maybe that was the unintended consequences of the decisions we made.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:38:39):

You heard the comment about JIT, even in talking with a group of supply chain leaders, the interesting thing is prior to COVID, about 48 percent of them said that their primary approach to inventory management was JIT. But then, when you asked them what was going to be their approach to inventory management post-COVID, nearly 78 percent of them said it was going to be JIC, just in case, hefty safety stock. Essentially meaning that, here we are in an era where an organization that can have 4 percent margin is considered to be extreme. Where in reality, they were operating around 2 percent margin during a time where revenues were going down. So, the margins were being sliced even more. And yet our strategies or our approach to managing supplies and inventory were actually costing the organizations more.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:39:25)

And then, we say we want to have the strategic recognition. Well, we are not doing any service to those other members of the C-suite by way of the decisions we make. And the sad part to this, Scott, they’re looking at us to be the supply chain expert. And their point is, you’re supposed to know what you’re doing and yet you’re costing us more, and we have no idea what we’re doing. So, maybe we should just go back to doing the way we were doing. We’re going to send you back to the basement next to the morgue. Because, essentially, that’s what you’re going to find.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:39:53):

And so, my whole point here is this, there is an opportunity for supply chain to really be more like what we see in other sectors. I’m not saying they have to be Amazon. I’m not saying they have to be Dale or Walmart. But it doesn’t hurt us to think a little more like the way that they think. And I understand, it’s one thing to not have your favorite tennis shoe. It’s another thing not to have a vital drug. But you know what I say? That’s more fodder for my argument. Because if the supplies that you carry are much more vital, if the implications are much more dire, then we should probably put much more emphasis on being a strategic partner, rather than just being perpetual firefighters.

Scott Luton (00:40:33):

Oh, man. Lots of t-shirt-isms there. Guy, I’m going to come to you in just one second. But since Dr. Bradley mentioned tennis shoes, I’ve got to just recognize we have Michael Caney with Port City Logistics in part of the conversation. Michael, try to get your question. Michael has got a tennis shoe collection. He was on our livestream with us yesterday and he knows more about shoes. He even determined who I was and he talked about me wearing my white New Balance I had on. And he was right. He was right. I’m a dork like that. But, Michael, great to see you. Glad you’re here.

Scott Luton (00:41:05):

And Jake says, “‘Word’ – Randy. The unfortunate reality on the healthcare side is at really 80 percent of the supply network design is not designed for agility. New miracles coming without significant redesign.” And one last comment here, Tandreia Bellamy – the one and only Tandreia Bellamy is here – “We designed it to be cheap. That’s why so many of our healthcare products are produced offshore. That does not allow rapid response in crisis.” Tandreia, I hope this finds you well. I look forward to reconnecting with you soon. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:41:38):

So, Guy, we’re talking healthcare. There’s so much to tackle. It’s really tough to get this in retail, hot topics. What say you when it comes to what’s working and what’s not working?

Guy Courtin (00:41:48):

Yeah. I’m going to mirror what Randy said about what’s not working to some degree. And I think I might expand this across the board, where, we have run our supply chains in such a lean methodology. And we’ve run our supply chains to some degree being driven by our friends over at the financial department. Our CFOs and such, we’re looking at working capital and saying, “Hey, here’s a great piece of item on my balance sheet I can skip down and I can really cut, cut, cut, cut to make my margins look better, free of cash, et cetera. I don’t want that pesky inventory lying around. Why would I need to build stuff ahead of time? Goodness, I don’t need it. It’s just going to stock up in my warehouse. And then, it’s going to look bad on my balance sheet.” And I think that’s what we’ve seen from one of the companies we work with.

Guy Courtin (00:42:36):

What I do like is that there’s sort of a pivot where people are starting to rethink this, to Randy’s point, this just in case. The fact that, you know what? Your inventory actually relates to really life or death situations. Maybe don’t run it so lean. To Randy’s point, if I don’t get my New Balance 805 in time, it’s okay. I could still wear my old ones – sorry – 908. But if I don’t get that plasma, if I don’t get that drug in time, that has real repercussions.

Guy Courtin (00:43:13):

I think we’re seeing the same thing – and not to steer away – look at healthcare, also look at the auto industry, look at everything that has to do with semiconductors. We’ve seen this, right? Car prices going through the roof. Why? Because you ran things so lean with things like semiconductors and others. And I think in the healthcare space in particular, because, again, this is truly life or death. This is talking about us and our welfare and our wellbeing. I think that’s been a challenge. I think the positive side that I have seen is more and more of those folks in the healthcare supply chain are coming around to realizing this.

Guy Courtin (00:43:50):

Now, the question I have or the challenge I have to our colleagues in healthcare is, it’s great that today we’re having these conversations. What happens in 10 months, 12 months, 18 months, when things – I hate to use this term – go back to normal? But when things go back and all of a sudden now, Wall Street, our CFOs, the financial side is pressuring us again to say, “Wait. Why are you carrying eight weeks of safety stock? We could do with only four weeks or two weeks or we’ll just JIT it. We’ll just get whatever we need it.”

Guy Courtin (00:44:20):

What I fear is that we sort of go back to feeling comfortable and that we start looking at our supply chains again and saying, “Hey, let me cut the fat and make it look good because you know what? I’ve got my quarterly stock report coming up,” or, “I’m going to be on Cramer tomorrow and I want to talk about how great my balance sheet looks.” So, I think that’s what I fear. To Randy’s point, I think we have an opportunity now to really take hold of this conversation and change the way we look specifically at the healthcare supply chain and how we do things. It’s a challenge on all of us to truly take advantage of this moment and not to let us sort of slide back into a comfort zone. And, again, not to pick on them, not to let the accountants and the CFOs in Wall Street dictate to us how we run our inventory.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:45:05):

And that’s what we’re seeing, right? If we look at what we saw with both waves one and two of COVID, and when we started to hit this low, we saw rates declining, we saw bad rates opening up. And what happened? We thought everything was over with. We were initially focused on PPE, but what we missed, the trimmers. And remember I told you there are aftershocks. The aftershocks said that it’s not just going to be PPE that you can’t get. There are going to be other critical items that are ultimately going to be affected. And so, because we hadn’t made changes in the way we approach and the way we manage now, all of a sudden, that list of ten items is a list of 30, 40, 50 items that now we’re struggling to get on a consistent basis that we actually need.

Scott Luton (00:45:47):

Yes. All right. So, I’m going to move us ahead. We got a lot more, Guy and Dr. Bradley, we want to share with everyone. There’s a lot of folks claiming y’all dropping mics. You got t-shirt-isms. Y’all really making a mark here as expected. So, I want to move forward. I want to talk really quick about what we’re calling the data determinant. Let’s stick with Dr. Bradley here for a second. Talk about how data is key to automation enablement.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:46:16):

You know, I always like to think about it in terms of this pyramid that we’re working towards, Scott. And, essentially, one of the things that you’re going to have at this base is you’re going to have that digital connectivity. And then, as you get the digital connectivity, you got to move up to this automation. That digital connectivity is necessary to make sure that data can flow more seamlessly. Then, we can start to automate. Then, we can start looking at advanced analytics. And then, we can get into more predictive or, really, more emerging technologies that we bring to the foreground.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:46:44):

But apart from that, what we have to think about is data is that central core to both your digital strategy and your analytic strategy. And, unfortunately, the work we have done with a multitude of organizations, we find that fewer than 25 percent of them have a digital strategy, around 18 percent of them have an analytic strategy, and approximately seven to nine percent of them have a data strategy. Now, think about that. The part that’s key and critical to all of them is the one that exist the least. And so, yet, nearly every one of these organizations have digital and analytics initiatives underway. But yet we haven’t thought about where we’re going, what it’ll look like when we get there, so how will we know when we’ve arrived?

Scott Luton (00:47:27):

All right. So, Guy, man, you bring data to a data conversation. He’s making some big points there. When you think of data being that critical key to automation enablement, what do you say?

Guy Courtin (00:47:40):

I agree. And I’ll go back to a prior life of mine when I worked in the warehouse automation space. We build robots, which we’re very, very cool. But I remember our founder made a great point, he said, “The hardware does the work. But the software, the data, is what creates the work.” And I think what we need to look at when it comes to data – and Randy’s heard me say this a million times, I’m going to say it again – when I hear data is the new oil, I kind of laugh. I’m like, “Well, oil is nothing until I refine it, until I do something with it.” And so, I mold that data into what I want it to do for me.

Guy Courtin (00:48:14):

Going back to our Super Bowl analogy, so much data in sports these days. You know, football, of course baseball. But the reality is you look at it and what data do you need to find and what decisions you want to make based on that data, knowing that you can always get more data. But at the end of the day, when you’re in the football field and that play clock’s coming down, you got to make a decision and you got to execute a play. And then, you have to hope your training and everything’s done well. The data could tell you, “Well, there’s 18 percent probability of this and 50 percent.” Well, you know what? At the end of the day, the coach has to make a decision. And I think that’s part of it where, to Randy’s point, that we need to move to a more sophisticated view of how we leverage data as opposed to what I think, again, is a very basic way of looking at it, which is, “Well, we just get more data.” [Inaudible].

Guy Courtin (00:49:06):

So, I’ll give you an example. Way back in the day when I was an analyst, I remember going to a GE conference where they’re talking about IoT enabled airplane engines, IoT enabled locomotives, which were fantastic. And I was sitting next to the CIO of a mid-sized airline and they’re up there and was talking about IoT enabled airplane engines throwing, like, 2,000 points of data per second. And the CIO was like, “That’s great.” And he looked at me and he goes, “What am I going to do with that?” And he was like, “What am I going to do with that? I don’t know where to store it. Let alone, if I can store it in my servers, what do I do with it?” I think this notion of, “Well, let’s just get more data for the sake of it is wrong. I think to Randy’s point, we need to have the right strategy and the right efforts around it, as opposed to just saying, “Well, let’s have a data gathering strategy.”

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:49:58):

To that point from Guy, you know, we work with about 800 different companies here on this whole thing about how do you really corral data that’s coming from multiple sources of multiple streams. Because to Guy’s point, as you use more IoT, other forms of sensors and devices, you’re creating more data streams that you’ve got to figure out how to corral and how to integrate. Here’s the tricky point here, only about 15 percent of that nearly 800 companies say that they are good or excellent when it comes to corralling that, 15 percent.

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:50:27):

And so, yet, we’re making decisions, to Guy’s point, with “Let’s produce more. Let’s produce it faster. Let’s produce it at a more granular level.” We can’t handle little data, let alone talking about big data. So, let’s first figure out what we need to make the decision and let’s provide the right context, right level, to the right individual, at the right time. The decisions need to be made in real time. The data doesn’t always have to be real time.

Scott Luton (00:50:53):

Yes. Okay. Really quick, we’ll see if we’re going to have a baseball season. Our world champion, Atlanta Braves, they’re ready to go to defend the title. We’ll see. But as Guy mentioned, in baseball, you got all these shifts. Well, the umpires don’t give managers four hours to figure out where they’re going to shift. They got to have the right data right there in the moment. And those shifts happen right there, whether you’re a big fan of them or not. So, a lot of good stuff. Always good sports analogies. All right.

Scott Luton (00:51:17):

So, we got to keep driving here because we got a little more we want to get into. And we’re approaching the top of the hour, bottom of the hour, whatever. I always get that wrong. I think the top of the hour. Let’s go with some big, bold predictions from our panel here. Now, let’s make these Reader’s Digest style or kind of in a nutshell, because I want to get to some of the cool things that Dr. Bradley has been learning from the now generation. So, really quick, Guy, let’s stick with you. Give us one prediction, peer deep into your crystal ball, give us one bold fearless prediction.

Guy Courtin (00:51:47):

I think one bold fearless prediction is, look for sustainability to become much more of a business driver and supply chain across the board, retail, distribution, healthcare, brands, petrochem, what have you. Look for sustainability to be less, not a marketing tagline, but an actual business driver within the industry. And look for Europe to lead with that.

Scott Luton (00:52:12):

I love that. And as Scot Case with NRF, she made a great point a couple weeks ago in Vegas, “Let’s bake those priorities into how we design global supply chain so they can really support our efforts to make big gains there.” So, a lot of good stuff there, Guy. Dr. Bradley, what would you say when it comes to one big bold prediction?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:52:30):

Supply chain disruptions will be the norm. Business interruption will be the exception. And supplier diversity will be table states.

Scott Luton (00:52:39):

Man, it’s just that simple and succinct. I love that. By the way, JT Hopkins says, “Bring Doc Bradley back.” And so, Guy has got a fan club here. And, clearly, Dr. Bradley’s going to have one as well. So, a lot of good stuff there. All right. I want to stick with you Dr. Bradley for a second, then, Guy, I will get your response based on what he shares. And it’s not good enough to call the folks that are matriculating through UTs and other programs into global supply chain, the next generation, because they’re already making an impact. So, we like to coin that the now generation. So, Dr. Bradley, we’re big believers in that reverse mentoring and all we gain from what the now generation shares. What are some of your favorite moments in terms of observations or what they’ve shared with you?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:53:25):

One, they’re not coming to you to stay, just know that. I’m just being clear. They’re not going to be like us. Many of us, we’re lifers for the most part. They’re not looking for that. They’re looking for interesting projects that are challenging projects. They’re looking for an experience. And then, once you can no longer provide them an experience or a challenge, they’re on to the next thing. It doesn’t mean you did anything to make them upset. It’s just that they checked the box and they moved onto the next box. They save for experiences. They’re not necessarily saving to build this house on the hill. And so, I think it’s important for us to be mindful of the way they think and how they want to live their lives.

Scott Luton (00:54:08):

Wow. Bruno is weighing in. I’m with you, they’re not yours for life. They’re not sticking with you. Ikemefuna – I believe I said that right – ” Quite insightful statement from Dr. Bradley.” I completely agree. And she says, “Disruptions are really here to stay.” That’s another thing that Dr. Bradley said. Okay. So, Guy, based on what you heard there and I’m sure you’ve got your finger on the pulse, you talk with the members of the now generation all the time. What are some of your favorite observations there?

Guy Courtin (00:54:36):

You know, I think what’s been really interesting, and I’ll take this more from what we lived through in the past two years, which I think is fantastic, is, the now generation, for us old curmudgeons here, they’ve said, “Well, wait a minute. Why can’t we do X, Y, and Z? And why do we need to wait to get this done?” I’ve heard a lot of stories and had a lot of conversations with people during the pandemic, they say, “We’re going to do this.” Okay. Just do it. Why? Because these are unprecedented times. Whether it’s things like work from home, whether it’s things like bringing BOPAC or BOPIS to a retailer, whether it’s new projects that got accelerated, and all of a sudden, funny, all that red tape just disappeared and just get it done.

Guy Courtin (00:55:16):

I think that now generation, what I’m encouraged by, is that this has taught them and showed them, “Wait a minute. Why do I have to wait 10, 15, 24 months for a project?” If you think it’s that important, you just get it done and get it done now. And don’t be afraid to sort of break some eggs that you’re doing it. Ask forgiveness, not permission. And I think for old curmudgeons like me, it’s like, “Okay. Great. Now, I get it. It’s good.” And I think it’s scary at times, because all of a sudden our thought process has been totally turned upside down and challenged. But I think that’s the way it has to be.

Guy Courtin (00:55:52):

And one last one, too, and I think we’ve talked about this, but I do think that there’s more and more of a collaborative view of some of these things. Now, I’m not going to say we’re going to move away from unbridled capitalism in competition. That will always be there and that’s what makes us strong as well. But I do believe I’m seeing the now generation a better sense of, “You know what? Everything impacts everything else. I don’t live in a silo. I don’t live just in my town, my state, my country. I live in global community.” So, I think we’re starting to see more of that in now generation. But I think the big one for me is just this unwillingness to accept, “Well, let’s have another meeting about this, and think about it, and then do a subcommittee to weigh it.” No. Just do it.

Scott Luton (00:56:34):

Ain’t nobody got time for that. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Jason says, “People, people, people, I’m with you there.” And this is a great comment, this might be Colleen, “It’s not just the now generation. It’s evidenced by The Great Resignation during the pandemic.” I agree with you. The reason I was asking about the now generation is because Dr. Bradley is regularly dealing with undergraduates and graduates, so that’s all. Everyone’s making a big impact. So, great point there, Colleen. Tandreia says, “Actually, mentees can be with you for life. Employees, not so much. Employees generally are not invested. A strong mentor/mentee relationship can be lifelong.” Well said that. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:57:10):

So, as much as I hate to start to wrap up our time here, I’m going to make sure folks know how to connect with Dr. Bradley and Guy in one second. But really quick to our production team, big thanks to Amanda, and Catherine, and Chantel, and Clay, wherever he is flying over now as he heads out to Vegas. We got a neat resource that we want to share from our friends at Tecsys, The Warehouse Automation Education Series. So, let’s drop that link in the comment. It’s free to sign up for and download. I think you might just have to submit some information and then you can get more content from curmudgeons like Guy Courtin. Hey, you used the word so I figure I could use it too. All right. So, y’all check that out. A lot of good stuff there. Okay.

Scott Luton (00:57:54):

What a lively and enlightening conversation. Guy, every time you appear it’s always like that. But, man, we double down by having Dr. Bradley join. We got the fan club started. Let’s make sure folks know how to connect with both of y’all after today’s livestream. Dr. Bradley, I want to start with you. When you’re not inspiring minds and doing work out there with corporations and making industry better under the we banner rolling it together, how can folks connect with you?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:58:23):

Pretty simple. You can find me on LinkedIn, Randy V. Bradley. The same on Twitter. Or you could hit me at randyvbradley.com.

Scott Luton (00:58:30):

Wonderful. It’s just that easy. I got to ask you, what does the V stand for?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:58:36):

Vidal.

Scott Luton (00:58:36):

Really? Vidal. Like, Gore Vidal?

Dr. Randy Bradley (00:58:39):

Like Vidal Sassoon.

Scott Luton (00:58:40):

Okay. Very nice. We’re going to have to have you back and get the origin story on Dr. Randy Vidal Bradley. Okay. Always a pleasure. All right. Guy, really enjoyed the series we’ve had here. So much good stuff. Man, we’re talking healthcare, retail, distribution, generational observations here today. So much good stuff in an hour. How can folks connect with you and that hard hitting Tecsys team?

Guy Courtin (00:59:05):

Yeah. Absolutely. So, first and foremost, go to our website, tecsys, T-E-C-S-Y-S, .com. For me directly, obviously, you can find me on LinkedIn, just my name, Guy Courtin. Also on Twitter, I’m just@G-C-O-U-R-T-I-N. So, I will tweet about as, you know, Scott, all kinds of random stuff. So, always looking for an audience. But hit us up on any of those sites and we look forward to connecting.

Guy Courtin (00:59:32):

And, again, just a shameless plug, if any folks are going to be out, we and I will be at MODEX coming up in Atlanta. So, come by our booth, we’d love to chat and learn more about what you guys are looking at, and how we can help, and what else is going on out there. But looking forward to it. And, hopefully, knock on wood that our event seasons go back to normal and we get to see each other face-to-face. And that’s one of my favorite parts of the job.

Scott Luton (00:59:57):

I’m with you. I am so with you. That’s where we first met face-to-face at MODEX. And it’s been a great collaboration ever since. Make sure y’all check that. By the way, Guy is a wonderful Twitter connection/follow, especially if you love the real game of football, not the American version. He’s a passionate football fan. And I’ve learned a lot just by checking you out on Twitter. I know nothing about the game, Guy, nothing of the game. All right. Folks, make sure you connect with Dr. Randy Bradley and Guy Courtin. Guy with Tecsys, of course, and Dr. Bradley with the University of Tennessee. Delightful guests. Thank you to you both.

Dr. Randy Bradley (01:00:35):

Thank you, Scott.

Guy Courtin (01:00:35):

Thank you, Scott.

Scott Luton (01:00:35):

And until next time. But, folks, hey, I love all the comments in the sky boxes. Y’all hit it out. Gosh. It felt like we had 37 featured guests, right? A lot of complimentary and eureka moments being dropped in the sky boxes. Thanks so much. That makes it all the worthwhile despite how much we love our guests. We had a bunch of them here today. Big thanks to Dr. Bradley. Big thanks to Guy and the Tecsys team. Folks, if you learn anything here today – stealing something from Dr. Bradley – we’re all in this thing together. We’re all this thing together. So, challenging you on behalf of our entire Supply Chain Now team to do good, to give forward, to be the change that’s needed. On that note, we’ll see you next time right back here at Supply Chain Now. Thanks everybody.

Intro/Outro (01:01:15):

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