TECHquila Sunrise
Episode 24

Episode Summary

“I prefer talking about this topic [supply chain transformation] without technology as the leading discussion point. I think technology is completely irrelevant if you can’t bond on the motives for change and you can’t bond on the way of life you’re looking for. You have to start there first.”

-John Sicard, CEO, Kinaxis

 

 

In this episode of TECHquila Sunrise powered by Supply Chain Now, host Greg White continues his conversation with Kinaxis CEO John Sicard.

Episode Transcript

Greg White (00:04):

It’s time to wake up to tequila, sunrise, Greg white here. And I have spent my career starting leading, deploying, and investing in supply chain tech. So we take a shot and talk founders, execs investors and companies in this hot industry. If you want a taste of how tech startup growth and investment is done, join me for another blinding tequila sunrise. Wow. Did we get a lot of feedback on the first half of this interview with John Soccard? I’m so happy to bring you the second part of this. So you can hear from this incredible supply chain leader, listen up,

Greg White (00:44):

You know, the wisdom is saying, you know, ignoring the techniques that would, that make you more agile, okay. Is where disaster lives. That’s where companies will ultimately fail. If they do not, you know, recognize, you know, the flaws in legacy techniques, right? There are flaws. And by the way, if we went back 30 years ago, we would be talking about the previous 30 years and talking about the flaws that existed in those techniques, right? If you went back to Henry Ford, before he invented line manufacturing and line stocking and, and so on, you know, people still were working in sales and so on. Well, he invented and improved manufacturing lines. And so now I think what COVID has done is it’s accelerated in the minds of chief supply chain leaders and thought leaders it’s accelerated the need for generational change. What will the next 30 years look like?

Greg White (01:43):

It’s time to think differently. It’s not time to, well, let’s do the same as we’ve ever done. It’s harder. It was from that famous, uh, you know, same as it ever was only better don’t think so. I would argue that a lot of people recognize this aspect of supply chain and a lot of people need to recognize it. And that is that supply chain is not an optimization exercise. It is not a forecasting exercise. It is a risk management, risk mitigation and risk responsiveness exercise. Because if we go back to the very first supply chain transaction, I imagine it was something like this, Hey, John, I got this tasty tomato here. You don’t happen to have an extra spearhead laying around because I’d love to trade you for that. Yeah. Right, right. Sharp stick for a tomato. You know what? I’ll take the sharp stick. I’ll do that. Right. So that, that was a simple, simple negotiation. It was a simple transaction, right? It was very proximate and very little risk in it. Except you stabbing me with the sharp stick, which I did not think about. And then just taking the tomato. But I know you, John, you wouldn’t do that. No. The thing that

John Sicard (03:00):

We have to recognize is that in our desire, either as a consumer, for things that are out of season like tomatoes, we have to get them from far away or in our desire as a supply chain practitioner, retail manufacturer, distributor, whatever, to constantly optimize pricing. We introduce risk into the supply chain by getting stuff from farther away using cheaper carriers, whatever we change about it, the supply chain in and of itself is simple. The things that we do to manipulate the economics or to manipulate the availability of goods in the supply chain, either as a consumer. And I think it’s important that consumers know their part in this as well, or as a practitioner, those are the things that introduce risk and we have to acknowledge and manage risk appropriately. And exactly what you’re talking about. Risk requires agility. It requires that responsiveness, that resiliency and that sort of thing that enables you to confront and overcome the inevitable disruptions that come into play. When you take on that level of risk in a supply chain,

Greg White (04:12):

I thoroughly agree. And I think what we’re learning as it relates to what skills then, you know, what are the skills and what are the attributes that make for an agile, resilient supply chain. And again, those are descriptives that you can talk about without bringing technology into the equation. That’s, uh, you know, as I started saying, you know, I prefer talking about this topic without technology, as the leading discussion point. You know, I think technology is completely irrelevant if you can’t bond on the motives for change and you can’t bond on the way of life, you’re looking for, you have to start there first. And so what we’re learning now, and again, you know, I’m learning this through conversations with some pretty forward-thinking two supply chain officers from some very large corporations. Here’s what we have to completely eliminate the blindness that exists between the silos that we have created in supply chain.

Greg White (05:17):

So this is fascinating. Again, if you look back the last 30 years, it’s all been about functional excellence. Okay. When I think about a supply chain, but when I think about a chain, do you think about disconnected chain links or are they connected? I mean, they’re connected and each chain link of a supply chain has a purpose. It might start with demand. I mean, in fact, without demand for goods, there’s no need for supply chain at all. There’s nothing to respond to. So it starts with a demand signal and that carries with it, whether it’s forecasting or master scheduling, or capacity planning or inventory planning, or distribution planning and all these little functions, right. And over last 30 years, many of these, you know, functions have been hard at work, becoming experts at what they’re responsible for.

John Sicard (06:10):

Yes. That tiny, tiny niche. Right.

Greg White (06:13):

Imagine, you know, I personally think that supply chain is a team sport. It makes perfect sense to be a team sport. Okay. Well, let’s, you know, in Canada, the only sport that exists is hockey, right? We’d like to say football, be a great sport. If it were only like hockey, hockey, I love hockey. It’s very aggressive.

John Sicard (06:29):

Canadian football is very close to hockey. Everyone is always moving and Hey,

Greg White (06:35):

You know, what about them Raptors? Uh, so it look, but, but let’s take hockey as an example, you know, how well would a team perform a team? If the goalie just sat with their goalie coach all day, every day for a year, never played with their peers. Just say, I’m going to be the best. I’m going to stop every shot. And, Oh my goodness, I’m the best goalie there is. And the defense you separate the defense and all they do is sit there and practice their skill. They don’t talk to anyone else. Nobody else you get the point, right? If everybody focuses on their unique skill and they become the best player of all time, okay, then you put them together, you kind of get an all-star game. And let me tell you anybody who watches an all-star game, it’s not, you know, it’s a bit of a, uh, you know, a gold Fest, right? Like no one knows anything. They’re all just running around, playing their own game, right. It doesn’t make for great teams. I think what practitioners are saying now is we have to eliminate this siloed thinking, thinking that you’ve optimized your function doesn’t mean you optimized the chain

John Sicard (07:39):

And often you’ve sub optimize the entire chain by optimizing your function. Because that my OPIC view of your area of responsibility, discounts that impact the butterfly effect. If you will, on the rest of the organization or supply chain,

Greg White (07:54):

That’s how you score on your own net. That’s what I like to say because they’re accidents, nobody scores in their own net by on purpose. Right? Okay. It’s extremely painful when you do it. It’s embarrassing and it’s painful, but I’ll tell you mostly it’s by accident. It’s it’s the, I didn’t know. Excuse. I didn’t know you weren’t going to be there. When I, when I, when I blind passed behind me, like I expect, I didn’t know you weren’t gonna be there. It was a good move. I looked good doing it. You know what I mean? But, um, you know, so, so I think this is what this blindness between functions, the fog between functions is causing, you know, people don’t come to the office to, to do harm, but there are, you know, in many cases, hundreds of accidents that happen, they’re all small. But when you take a hundred small accidents, that creates a bit of a tsunami.

John Sicard (08:42):

I think that’s, I mean, I do think that’s what the transparency and visibility initiative that we see going on does, because I’ve heard people in manufacturing say, they’re not in supply chain. I’ve heard people in procurement say they’re not, or, or be told they’re not in supply chain. Uh, well, uh, well you’re dealing with indirect goods. Well, that’s the pulleys and the rollers and the racking that moves the stuff through the manufacturing facility or the distribution center or the retail store or whatever. So yeah, you’re in supply chain. I would argue if you touch the goods or you touch any component of the goods or the raw materials for the components, for any of the goods, then you’re in the supply chain. I think you could argue even today that even the merchants who design or select the product in the retail store, they’re in supply chain because they are determining things like where the materials come from and in what quantity and making commitments like that, all of that has an impact.

Greg White (09:47):

And, you know, getting visibility or transparency that I think it’s a core attribute. It’s, it’s one of those core things that’s emerging. And it’s, it’s really testing if you will. The constructs that the current supply chains are run up, the other one and it’s related is time. Okay. So, you know, again, I’ll, maybe I’ll use a football analogy right. Where you absolutely have perfect visibility. You can see yourself being sacked I’m Oh, um, I I’m going to be I too late you’re sack. Okay. Because you’re not moving fast enough. Right. And, and so I think time has become the new thing. People are, you know, are looking to optimize. How, how long does it take for me to know a thing, anything, you know, whether it’s the speed at which I can determine the effects of material, failing inspection at a factory in hungry and knowing with great precision, what customer promise did I just put at risk as a result of that?

Greg White (10:55):

There’s a time dimension to that, right? And again, this goes back to, well, you’re talking about something that happens way down the value chain and connecting to something that happens. You know, what, what I might call the very top of the promise chain or the value chain, which is a promise made to a customer, I have to protect those promises. So what is the speed to detecting the impact that that unexpected event has at the very top of the value chain? So it’s more than visibility now because you get a lot of notions that say, Oh, we’ll just create a big data Lake and we’ll stage it, you know, weekly or maybe even daily. And so it’ll be 24 years, 24 hours of latency only, right? Well, again, uh, practitioners today are saying a minute is an eternity in our business. Now 60 seconds is a very long time to wait for anything.

Greg White (11:47):

And so that the time dimension and understanding the impacts, um, you know, cause and effect impacts of that, of the entire value chain. You know, practitioners are saying, I, I’m not going to wait. Right. This has to happen in near real-time real-time I’m not waiting 24 hours and that’s absurd 60 seconds. I need to know. And, and it’s, it’s only through that kind of breakthrough thinking. I think that you’re going to see a giant leap forward, you know, for the next generation, you know, it’s, it’s elements like that are attributes like that, that are really driving. Uh, I think, you know, ultimately where will supply chain be maybe 30 years from now, we might still be around, you might be around. But my point is we might be talking about the things that decisions that we made today to revolutionize the next 30 years and why we made them. And, uh, I think there’ll be almost a, an obsession with compressing time in the supply chain because speed to detect leads to speed, to correct. It’s as simple as that,

John Sicard (12:51):

Say that again, that’s really, that’s really important

Greg White (12:53):

To detect leads to speed, to correct. And if you can compress that into 60 seconds, no one will ever walk into your office and say, I’m sorry, I was unaware. I’m sorry. I didn’t. No, no, no. I mean, things happen in 60 seconds, you’re aware and it gives you an opportunity to correct. Yeah.

John Sicard (13:12):

I think that’s really poignant. And as you were saying, 30 years from now, I was thinking the level of, or the quantity or the quality of evolution in the supply chain that’s happened the last 30 years will probably happen in the next five years. So hopefully John, by 30 years from now, you and I are sitting around watching, I’m not a huge hockey fan. Did I say that in Canada? But I’ll watch hockey with you and watch American football with me. All right. And we’ll spend half times or, you know, whatever they call it in hockey, between periods, we’ll spend the time between periods talking about how much the supply chain has changed. Right. It’s changed a hundred years worth in 30 years, right? Because the capacity in you as a systems, software engineer, you know, that the ability to transform via technology. And I mean, I know technology is not the solution. Well, it’s not the core solution, but it is the hammer with which we build the house. Right. And it allows us to build the house much, much faster now.

Greg White (14:29):

Right. I, I often describe, you know, people look for analogies and I’m a big analogy guy. Cause you know, this comes back to, you know, how do I abstract this problem? How do I extract this notion? Well, I’ll describe it this way. And I feel like we’re sort of in the similar kind of a circumstance, if you went back 200 years and you were talking to a farmer that was building their business and you know, there’s a, I dunno, one kilometer, raging river, whatever raging river between their farmlands and the next available market. There’s a, you know, town over there, of course, raging river. You can’t just boat your things across this current. This takes you away. And you walk into that farmer and say, why don’t you just float, fly your produce over the road, just fly your produce over the river. Now farmers 200 years ago, absolutely understood flight birds fly over that river every day.

Greg White (15:24):

Right. I know exactly how they do it. The other thing that’s fascinating is they sure as heck know the value of that. How many, how many dreams, if you have a fly, everybody does at some point in their life dream that they could fly. That’s an amazing thing. Now, 200 years ago, that farmer just wouldn’t know how they could fly, but they absolutely understand the value of their business that they could. So it starts with that, understanding the value, understanding the attributes that you’re after. And then you have to talk about technology. And so then you, okay, well then how do humans fly? Well, you know, somebody invented thrust and lift and wing foil and all that stuff. And you get into the technology that actually enables it. I think right now we’re in a similar situation with supply chain where people understand the attributes thereafter.

Greg White (16:08):

They’re like, I refuse to allow, you know, the lack of time, right? The fact that I ha I don’t have time to correct. Right. I could, you can feel the pain, but by the time I’m feeling the pain, there’s no time to correct. Right. It’s back to that. You know, I could, I could see the pain. It ain’t too late. I’m sacked. I, you didn’t give me enough time to get out of the way. So the obsession with time and color absent cycle time from end to end will be critical. Eliminating all the blindness of functions, which will ultimately change people’s roles will be another democratizing learning, right? No one should ever be made to make, to guess what to do. That’s absurd to people guess because they don’t, they don’t, they don’t see what with the implant patients of their decisions will be on their peers.

Greg White (16:56):

Okay. So again, if I, if this is a, a chain, imagine I grabbed one chain link and I pull it down. What happens to the chain? The rest of the links move, right? They’re instantaneously affected by the decisions. So I think this notion of democratizing learning, like being able to test the decision before you make, it has to be a part of the attribute of the future, right? No one should be left to guess. Yeah. You have to know before you go, you know, these are going to become key, key and critical attributes. I do think there is a place for automation, although I think, and maybe I’m going to say something controversial here. I think the next fool’s errand, the next absolute red herring will be those who believe that you can live with lights out planning. And I, and look, I’m know, I’m a software engineer and I know the technologies out there that, that are hard at work, but the notion that, you know, some technology will eliminate the need for human judgment in the future, I think is absolute flawed thinking. You know, and it’s not to say that the endeavor is flawed, right? I think we can get to a point where 80% of it let’s, let’s automate 80% of the obvious and we don’t need humans doing obvious things, right? The notion that you can end up with a technology that can automate and produce a lights out planning kind of a scenario is just as foolish as believing that you can, you could invent a, a forecasting algorithm and hit a hundred percent forecast forecast accuracy every day for a year.

John Sicard (18:24):

Yeah, you’re absolutely right. And you gave the best analogy earlier. It’s, it’s flying an aircraft through turbulence, right? It’s when the turbulence hits that you need the discernment of a human who has, or can interpret the experience to intervene, right? Cause even AI, I mean, people think of AI as this all knowing monster, it’s really a child that only knows what it’s been taught. And if it has not experienced something specifically before or been primed with information about that specific experience, it doesn’t know what to do. And, and that’s why human intervention will always be required. As you said, at higher, more theorial and less frequent levels or less frequency. Right. But still always intervening and always doing what a human mind can. Can that a computer mind can’t

Greg White (19:20):

Yeah. A hundred percent. I think that’s true. I think, you know, even at Connexus, we have an incredibly strong machine learning and AI team and, uh, and their purpose is pretty clear. You know, it comes back to, you know, our, our endeavors to see what does it take to automate the obvious and that’s, those are the terms we actually use automate the obvious, safely confidence. Okay. And I think when you’ve solved the other prerequisite attributes of, you know, I’d say high-speed, end-to-end flawless visibility of the entire value chain people stop arguing about the data and start focusing on performance of the chain, not performance of the chain links. It starts there. Then you could apply some of those techniques to automate the obvious, you know, as it relates to though of absorbing future volatility. And I say this to every practitioner, so is your business exactly the same as it was five years ago?

Greg White (20:14):

You know, you usually get a chuckle, do you think it will be the same five years from now? You get a chuckle because they know that man life is all about absorbing, absorbing uncertainty or absorb, as you said, absorbing risks. So then it, it changes the kind of machine you have to build. The kind of process you have to build for supply chain. Agility has to have an equal place if you will, in your procedure to accuracy. And I keep saying this and you know, people think sometimes I’m, I am somehow indicting, um, you know, the notion of math based models. And I’m not, I’m just saying they have, they have massive limitations and they’re, they’re incredibly important. You have to know roughly where you’re going, but the notion that you could absorb the uncertainty generated by those algorithms is just foolish. You know that that’s not the muscle you need, you, you need to, you need to have accuracy and agility live in perfect harmony. They live in perfect equilibrium. They both are vital.

John Sicard (21:09):

And I think whether it’s a mathematical model or it’s AI or ML or whatever it is, the beauty of, of those is the consistency, the repeatability and the scalability, AI, once it’s learned something. And by the way, all we do is impart human intellect into AI. Once AI has learned something, it never forgets it. It never fails to consider one of the inputs and it never acts emotionally. So it takes out all the bad parts of human judgment and imparts the knowledge of human judgment consistently 100% of the time. And that is the beauty of it. But it’s also the reason that it has those limitations you talked about, because it doesn’t know anything that it wasn’t taught, as we said before, or anything that, any knowledge that hasn’t been, uh, or any data I should say that can’t be imparted to it in this situation.

Greg White (22:05):

No, exactly right. It’s it’s software written by human hand. It’s, it’s fascinating. And again, as a software engineer, I’m always fascinated and stunned by some of the results that the techniques around machine learning can produce. You know, again, I never see it as, Oh, this is the past to lights out. No, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll just flat out. Never believe that, you know, but at the same time, I think, you know, I would, I would be telling practitioners to beware anybody who suggests that somehow this leads to lights out it’s it’s it would be like somebody saying, Oh, now this algorithm, now this one’s the one that gets a hundred percent forecast accuracy. Everyone seems to agree that that’s absolutely. I mean, that’s absurd. And so if that’s absurd, well, it’s equally absurd that somehow this particular software is going to harness all of the world’s volatility. And, you know, I think you mentioned this, which I found very intriguing, and maybe you can, you can, uh, expand on this because I’m going to steal some of your languages. Yeah. Was trying to harness human, human behavior somehow that somehow human behaviors and how humans will buy things in the future can be completely predicted.

John Sicard (23:18):

Yeah. I, you know, I, I can’t say that it’s completely predictable, but I can say that it is the forecasting of the future, right? This myth that we, that, you know, we use this language, or at least I’ve used this language as both a practitioner and a solution provider of this item did that this item trended, it increased its sales. It ha it had seasonality, right? This items, sales grew or tailed or whatever. And the truth is the item is simply an object, right? It, I would encourage everyone. Who’s watching this to look around at any item in front of you or behind me and tell me precisely what those items have done. And it is nothing items don’t do anything. They don’t fly off the shelves. Even though we say they do right. They don’t trend. They don’t have seasonality. Right? They don’t have patterns or anything like that.

John Sicard (24:11):

What th what items do is they wait, they wait for the customer or consumer to act on them. So what we need to be predicting is we need to predicting the, predicting the action of that consumer. In the case of a manufacturer, this has been a folly, in my opinion, in supply chain, for a lot of years manufacturers, they want POS data, which means absolutely nothing to them. Because if a store sells one, they don’t order one. If a store sells one, they wait until the other stores in the chain accumulate to a case of 12. Then they have to round it to a pallet because this manufacturer requires you to order in a pallet, but then it gets rounded to a truckload because your contract with them requires you to order in truckloads. So you really need to assess the means by which your downstream, I say, by the way, manufacturing is at the top of the supply chain.

John Sicard (25:05):

Some say it, the other way, your downstream demand is, is triggered, not what has occurred in the past, but what triggers it, or will trigger it to happen in the future that accumulation of stores to a truckload, and then project that truckload to the manufacturer do likewise downstream, you know, what made Billy Bob go in and buy some beef jerky today because deer season opened, right? Whatever, and accumulate that up. And you’re right. It, we do need to be more cognizant of the customers downstream in order to close, whatever, to keep the supply chain accurate. Right.

Greg White (25:43):

I think now more than ever, and I encourage anybody who is in the predicament that they’re in, they’re feeling pain, you know, to reflect on the attributes they’re looking at, looking for first don’t, don’t start shopping for technology. I think that’s, that’s the wrong approach. And the right approach is to say, what are the attributes of the future that matter most? What are, what are the attributes? And it does take some introspection. And it does take some humility in recognizing that yet, perhaps some past decisions have been part of the problem, right.

John Sicard (26:19):

Or flawed processes or blind misses. Right?

Greg White (26:24):

Yeah. Look, I, as I say, you know, nobody, nobody, you know, you, you don’t move forward. You don’t move, you don’t fall. If you’re not moving, that’s the, that’s the line. Right. So yeah, everyone’s feeling the effects of COVID as a massive, you know, I’d say shockwave and for those that are trying to figure out, okay. And I think this is happening in every boardroom and every boardroom CEOs are being asked by their board, where are you going to do next time? What are you going to do? And same as it ever was, isn’t the answer, right? That isn’t the answer, right. People are saying, but it’s a great song, but same as it ever was Nina. Well, we’re going to experience the same level of pain. And so now people are saying, okay, so what is it, what competency are we missing? What design flaws are in the process? And that’s where things like, yeah, well, there’s blindness between functions. What one team is doing the other team, doesn’t see, that’s a problem. There’s duplicity and data. How many times have you replicated your demand signal? And how many times do you walk into a meeting room where the first argument is about the accuracy of the data and everyone has their own personal spreadsheet.

John Sicard (27:32):

Gosh. Yes. The whole meeting winds up being about that, right? Yeah.

Greg White (27:36):

I think now’s the time to think about generational change. And, you know, if, if you’re at the top of this craft, then you have to leave it better than you got it. And I think that’s what, that’s, what has a lot of practitioners now thinking, like, what attributes have I missed? And, you know, what does the future of this craft look like? You know, for the next 30 years for the next generation that comes after me.

John Sicard (28:01):

So let’s speak to that next generation a little bit, or maybe some of your fellow leaders in, in supply chain, either on the solution side or on the practitioner side. So I’m all, I always love to help you express your gifts, your thoughts, your perspective to the community here. So give me an example of something you wish you had known sooner and what you think it might have earlier right earlier in your life, maybe. And, and what you think that might’ve changed for you. I mean, and I don’t mean necessarily supply chain could be a leadership lesson, anything, but whatever, some, something that you think would be valuable for folks to take away from it.

Greg White (28:43):

Yeah. We talked a little bit about this, I think, is this notion of an appreciate, a deep appreciation and a thirst for learning new things every day? I think progress happens through learning. And when I was younger, I think I didn’t appreciate the power of, of learning a new thing and how compounding that is, you know, to, to build a better future. How do I leave the planet better than I got? And as it relates to, you know, all the conversation that we’re having now, I think I I’m, I’m somewhat saddened that it’s taken, it’s taken a giant, you know, catastrophe to draw attention to something that I, I have believed for many years now that you know, the, the legacy approaches and the legacy techniques have been failing the planet. And if it wasn’t COVID well, I’ve, I’ve visited and talked to enough practitioners to know that we’ve been eroding core, natural resources, it’s water, energy, any of those things, right. We’ve been eroding those things. I wish I would’ve known earlier, you know, to be able to really educate in, in, in a way that we now can, right. Educate in a way that we know now how to, you know, how do we combat this challenge?

John Sicard (29:58):

I think the fortunate happenstance for you and I in the next 30 years, John, is that I think people are really aware of that. What it makes me wonder about at the same time as what they’re, they’re unaware of that 30 years from now, someone’s going to ask them, what do you wish you had known 30 years ago? And it’s so hard to predict that, but at the very least, we’re much, much more aware of our impact on one another and on, you know, on this planet we call home.

Greg White (30:28):

No, I, I agree. I, you know, I think we have to be cognizant and especially as a technologists, right? It’s another lesson that I learned. I wish I would’ve learned earlier too. Uh, as a software engineer, I used to love the product, uh, you know, engineers love what they bill and I recent while recently enough realized that what the products do is less, it’s less important than what the products need. And, and, you know, when you say, what does Connexus mean to the world is a different question than what can access does. And I wish I would’ve learned that lesson earlier. I think, you know, educating more people to talk about value, not, not just technology for its interest sake, right. Technology can be interesting, or it can be valuable when you’re forced to describe what you do by answering the question. What do you mean you’re talking in, into the, in the consumer’s language, right? It’s what can access does is only interesting unless it’s valuable, seem valuable by it by practitioners. And so, you know, I, I’m now one of the, it’s a lesson for every engineer out there fall in love with what your technology means,

John Sicard (31:41):

What it does. It’s probably a lesson that you learned maybe in, in your stint, in marketing. Right? One of the things that I have had described to me is there’s what it is. It’s a technology for whatever purpose, what it does. It does X to solve a problem. What does it mean? That’s the meaningful part? And that’s the part, as you said, that the marketplace cares about what does it mean? Right. It saves you cash. It eliminates risk in your supply chain. It makes your day to day life better, right? It allows you to communicate with your audience and with your, with your ecosystem. So whatever, whatever it is, the, what it means is really, really important. And it, you know, it’s really a gift. And I bet you, I don’t know if you deal with them directly, but I bet you have people like that in your community, probably even in your, your development organization, that they get the, what it means. They don’t fall in love with the problem. They don’t fall in love with the code. They fall in love with solving,

Greg White (32:42):

Right? Yeah. A hundred percent. It’s, you know, the higher, this comes back to just cause as Simon Sinek calls it, you know, the higher order purpose for being what makes us relevant. And, you know, I think our success and can accesses, you know, our relevance in fact is built on what we mean, not what we do. And you know, when I think about the meaning and what we’ve done for some of the greatest largest manufacturers in the world is, you know, help them eliminate waste, become hyper, hyper efficient and hyper agile. You know, the great philosophical question I often start with. And it’s a, it’s an interesting way to think about the problem. And, you know, in terms of a debate, would you rather be infinitely accurate or infinitely agile as a person, which would you pick? And it’s funny because you know, it’s hard, you really want balance, okay. You do want balance, but the longer you think about that, very simple philosophical question, the clearer, the answer becomes, if you were infinitely agile, you don’t need any accuracy at all. It means that you can absorb positively every uncertainty in every unknown. Now, of course, we know that that’s not true, but it does draw the potency of having agility as, as part of the, uh, part of the process. People start to get it.

John Sicard (34:05):

Perfection is the enemy of the good, right? I mean, it’s another interpretation of that statement, right? I mean, to accomplish anything, you have to accept some imperfection,

Greg White (34:19):

A hundred percent probably should

John Sicard (34:20):

Wrap up though. I feel like we could probably do this all day and then play a little music and have a shot at Keela. But, but I know you’ve got SEOing to do so. Is there anything that I haven’t asked or we haven’t really discussed that you just feel like our community could really take away that would re really be valuable for them in their supply chain journey, technology journey, life journey, career journey.

Greg White (34:43):

Yeah. I would say have the managerial courage to question norms. It’s this the first path to breakthrough, right? Make no assumption that the norms, um, you know, will lead you, lead you for the next 30 years. It does take courage. And I’ve had enough conversations with people saying what we’ve invested. I that’s how the conversations usually start. We’ve invested so much time and so much, you know. Okay. You know, you have to set those aside and have the courage to question the legacy techniques against the attributes that matter most to survival for the next 30 years. I think the word courage is, is what’s necessary there.

John Sicard (35:27):

That’s a really great insight. I immediately thought of Sears. We’ve invested so much in this means of doing business. Right, right. Wow. That’s powerful. I mean, you could say that about anything. It doesn’t have to be about a whole business. It could be about a trait or a career or anything that you’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis. That’s fantastic. All right, lastly, thank you. First of all, thank you for that. Lastly, how can folks get in touch with you or learn more about you or connects us? I mean, you are a public company, right? Your symbol is KX S right on the Toronto exchange.

Greg White (36:06):

That’s right. Caixa so we are public, uh, easily, easily enough, uh, to find out there I’m, uh, I’m certainly easy to find on, on LinkedIn. I love having debates and dialogue, especially with practitioners to positive outcomes happen. Right. I either teach somebody something or I learned something and both are incredibly powerful and valuable. You know, anybody who wants to have these types of conversations, uh, I’m fully open to having those just reach, just find me on LinkedIn is probably the easiest way.

John Sicard (36:39):

That’s awesome. Or connexus.com. Correct.

Greg White (36:42):

Exactly. Right. You know, we’re happy to, to engage. We’re pretty different though. You’ll find us. We won’t lead with technology ever. We bond first on technique, if you don’t bond on technique technologies, you relevant.

John Sicard (36:56):

I remember, uh, looking longingly when little old blue Ridge was at the Gartner executive supply chain conference at your massive and impressive booth, and then talking to some of your folks and not really understanding what you guys did when I walked up there and walking away, understanding exactly where you’re positioned in the marketplace was. So you guys have done fantastic work there. I’m pulling for you. I can’t lie. You know, I have this tequila, sunrise supply chain tech stock index, and can access was one of the first companies that I talked about in one of my first tequila, sunrise episodes. And I can tell you that since tequila, sunrise has gone on the air, absolutely no impact on your stock. I just wanted to let you know that I wish I could claim it, but no, there’s nothing there.

Greg White (37:49):

Well, I appreciate it, Greg. You’ve got some great insights and you know, you’re a kindred spirit. So, you know, anytime I’d love to have another event like this the other day,

John Sicard (37:59):

Anytime, anytime, next time we will have tequila and hockey, all right. At your place. All right. Big, thanks to our guest, John Soccard president and CEO of Kanaxis technologies. Thanks so much, man. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day. We’re gonna, you’re gonna, I’m cutting into your prep, prep time for your next meeting. So you feel free to blame it on me. Most people do anyway. All good. I’ll be ready. All right. Thank you very much. Thanks everybody for joining us. Enjoy tequila. Another chain now network,

Greg White (38:36):

The voice of supply chain, featuring the people technology’s best practices and key issues in the industry. And Hey, listen up to build your supply chain knowledge listened to get this supply chain is boring, or Chris Barnes connects you to the who’s, who that got supply chain, where we are point as to where we’re going and take us to the next level or check out this week in business history with supply chain now’s own Scott Luton, to learn more about everyday things you may take for granted and pick up quick insights you can use as inspiration and conversation starters. Our logistics with purpose series puts a spotlight on inspiring and successful organizations that give first give forward as their business model. If you’re interested in transportation, freight and logistics, have a listen to the logistics and beyond series with the adapt and thrive mindset, Sherpa Jaman Alvidrez and also check out tech talk hosted by industry vet and Atlanta zone. Corrinne bursa supply chain pro to know of 2020, where Korean discusses the people, processes and technology of digital supply chain for sponsorship information on tequila, sunrise, or any supply chain. Now show DME on Twitter or Instagram at Gregory S. White, or email me@greggatsupplychainnow.com. Thanks again for spending your time with me and remember acknowledge reality,

Speaker 4 (40:04):

But never be bound by it.

Would you rather watch the show in action?

Watch as Greg introduces you to TECHquila Sunrise through our YouTube channel.

Featured Guests

John Sicard assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Kinaxis in January 2016. With over 23 years’ tenure at Kinaxis, John first started at the company as a key contributor to the architecture and development of Kinaxis’ supply chain management solutions in early 1994, and has since held a number of senior management roles in development, professional services, business consulting, sales, marketing and customer support. Prior to his current appointment, John was Chief Products Officer, overseeing all aspects of the product life cycle, including product vision and strategy, design and development, product management and quality assurance. Before joining Kinaxis, John held senior software architect and management positions in research and development at FastMAN Software Systems, Inc (also known as Promira before being purchased by Manugistics), and Monenco Agra. John earned a Bachelor of Computer Science, from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, with a strong focus on software architecture and UI Design. John is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

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Greg White

Principal & Host

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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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Kim Reuter

Host

From humble beginnings working the import docks, representing Fortune 500 giants, Ford, Michelin Tire, and Black & Decker; to Amazon technology patent holder and Nordstrom Change Leader, Kimberly Reuter has designed, implemented, and optimized best-in-class, highly scalable global logistics and retail operations all over the world. Kimberly’s ability to set strategic vision supported by bomb-proof processes, built on decades of hands-on experience, has elevated her to legendary status. Sought after by her peers and executives for her intellectual capital and keen insights, Kimberly is a thought leader in the retail logistics industry.

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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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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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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

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

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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Tandreia Bellamy

Host

Tandreia Bellamy retired as the Vice President of Industrial Engineering for UPS Supply Chain Solutions which included the Global Logistics, Global Freight Forwarding and UPS Freight business units. She was responsible for operations strategy and planning, asset management, forecasting, and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world class service.

Tandreia held similar positions at the business unit level for Global Logistics and Global Freight forwarding. As the leader of the Global Logistics engineering function, she directed all industrial engineering activies related to distribution, service parts logistics (post-sales support), and mail innovations (low cost, light weight shipping partnership with the USPS). Between these roles Tandreia helped to establish the Advanced Technology Group which was formed to research and develop cutting edge solutions focused on reducing reliance on manual labor.

Tandreia began her career in 1986 as a part-time hourly manual package handling employee. She spent the great majority of her career in the small package business unit which is responsible for the pick-up, sort, transport and delivery of packages domestically. She held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Marketing, Inside and On-road operations in Central Florida before transferring to Atlanta for a position in Corporate Product Development and Corporate Industrial Engineering. Tandreia later held IE leadership roles in Nebraska, Minnesota and Chicago. In her final role in small package she was an IE VP responsible for all aspects of IE, technology support and quality for the 25 states on the western half of the country.
Tandreia is currently a Director for the University of Central Florida (UCF) Foundation Board and also serves on their Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Previously Tandreia served on the Executive Advisory Board for Virginia Tech’s IE Department and the Association for Supply Chain Management. She served on the Board of Trustees for ChildServ (a Chicago child and family services non-profit) and also served on the Texas A&M and Tuskegee Engineering Advisory Boards. In 2006 she was named Business Advisor of the Year by INROADS, in 2009 she was recognized as a Technology All-Star at the Women of Color in STEM conference and in 2019 she honored as a UCF Distinguished Aluma by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

Tandreia holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from UCF. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the proud mother of two college students, Ruby (24) and Anthony (22).

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Marty Parker

Host

Marty Parker serves as both the CEO & Founder of Adæpt Advising and an award-winning Senior Lecturer (Teaching Professor) in Supply Chain and Operations Management at the University of Georgia. He has 30 years of experience as a COO, CMO, CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), VP of Operations, VP of Marketing and Process Engineer. He founded and leads UGA’s Supply Chain Advisory Board, serves as the Academic Director of UGA’s Leaders Academy, and serves on multiple company advisory boards including the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, Zion Solutions Group and Carlton Creative Company.

Marty enjoys helping people and companies be successful. Through UGA, Marty is passionate about his students, helping them network and find internships and jobs. He does this through several hundred one-on-one zoom meetings each year with his students and former students. Through Adæpt Advising, Marty has organized an excellent team of affiliates that he works with to help companies grow and succeed. He does this by helping c-suite executives improve their skills, develop better leaders, engage their workforce, improve processes, and develop strategic plans with detailed action steps and financial targets. Marty believes that excellence in supply chain management comes from the understanding the intersection of leadership, culture, and technology, working across all parts of the organization to meet customer needs, maximize profit and minimize costs.

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Laura Lopez

Marketing Coordinator

Laura Lopez serves as our Supply Chain Now Marketing Coordinator. She graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Mexico with a degree in marketing. Laura loves everything digital because she sees the potential it holds for companies in the marketing industry. Her passion for creativity and thinking outside the box led her to pursue a career in marketing. With experience in fields like accounting, digital marketing, and restaurants, she clearly enjoys taking on challenges. Laura lives the best of both worlds - you'll either catch her hanging out with her friends soaking up the sun in Mexico or flying out to visit her family in California!

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Jake Barr

Host

An acknowledged industry leader, Jake Barr now serves as CEO for BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting, providing support to a cross section of Fortune 500 companies such as Cargill, Caterpillar, Colgate, Dow/Dupont, Firmenich, 3M, Merck, Bayer/Monsanto, Newell Brands, Kimberly Clark, Nestle, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Sanofi, Estee Lauder and Coty among others. He's also devoted time to engagements in public health sector work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At P&G, he managed the breakthrough delivery of an E2E (End to End) Planning Transformation effort, creating control towers which now manage the daily business globally. He is recognized as the architect for P&G’s demand driven supply chain strategy – referenced as a “Consumer Driven Supply Chain” transformation. Jake began his career with P&G in Finance in Risk Analysis and then moved into Operations. He has experience in building supply network capability globally through leadership assignments in Asia, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. He currently serves as a Research Associate for MIT; a member of Supply Chain Industry Advisory Council; Member of Gartner’s Supply Chain Think Tank; Consumer Goods “League of Leaders“; and a recipient of the 2015 - 2021 Supply Chain “Pro’s to Know” Award. He has been recognized as a University of Kentucky Fellow.

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Marcia Williams

Host

Marcia Williams, Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain, has 18 years of experience in Supply Chain, with expertise in optimizing Supply Chain-Finance Planning (S&OP/ IBP) at Large Fast-Growing CPGs for greater profitability and improved cash flows. Marcia has helped mid-sized and large companies including Lindt Chocolates, Hershey, and Coty. She holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a degree in Accounting from Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay (South America). Marcia is also a Forbes Council Contributor based out of New York, and author of the book series Supply Chains with Maria in storytelling style. A recent speaker’s engagement is Marcia TEDx Talk: TEDxMSU - How Supply Chain Impacts You: A Transformational Journey.

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Luisa Garcia

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Luisa Garcia is a passionate Marketer from Lagos de Moreno based in Aguascalientes. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico. She specializes in brand development at any stage, believing that a brand is more than just a name or image—it’s an unforgettable experience. Her expertise helps brands achieve their dreams and aspirations, making a lasting impact. Currently working at Vector Global Logistics in the Marketing team and as podcast coordinator of Logistics With Purpose®. Luisa believes that purpose-driven decisions will impact results that make a difference in the world.

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Astrid Aubert

Host, Logistics with Purpose

Astrid Aubert was born in Guadalajara, she is 39 years old and has had the opportunity to live in many places. She studied communication and her professional career has been in Trade Marketing for global companies such as Pepsico and Mars. She currently works as Marketing Director Mexico for Vector Global Logistics. She is responsible for internal communications and marketing strategy development for the logistics industry. She is a mother of two girls, married and lives in Monterrey. She defines herself as a creative and innovative person, and enjoys traveling and cooking a lot.

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Sofia Rivas

Host, Supply Chain Now en Espanol

Sofia self-identifies as Supply Chain Ambassador, her mission is to advocate for the field and inspire young generations from diverse backgrounds and cultures to join the industry so that thought diversity is increased and change accelerated. Recognized as Linkedin Top Voice and Linkedin Community Top Voice in Supply Chain Management, as well as Emerging Leader in Supply Chain by CSCMP 2024, Top Women in Supply Chain by Supply & Demand Executive 2023, and Coup de Coeur Global Women Leaders in Supply Chain by B2G Consulting in 2021

Public speaker at multiple international events from keynotes and panels, to webinars and guest lectures for bachelor's and master's degrees, discussing topics such as sustainability, women in the industry, technology and innovation. Writer at different online magazines on logistics, supply chain and technology. Podcast host and guest on different recognized programs in the industry. Sofia has more than 5 years of experience from academic research and field studies to warehouse operations, demand planning and network design. She has worked in manufacturing, airport operations, e-commerce retail, and technology hardware across Latin America, North America and Europe

Currently working as Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Manager at HP within their Global Supply Chain and Logistics team

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Karin Bursa

Host

Karin Bursa is the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year and the Host of the TEKTOK Digital Supply Chain Podcast powered by Supply Chain Now. With more than 25 years of supply chain and technology expertise (and the scars to prove it), Karin has the heart of a teacher and has helped nearly 1,000 customers transform their businesses and share their success stories. Today, she helps B2B technology companies introduce new products, capture customer success and grow global revenue, market share and profitability. In addition to her recognition as the 2020 Supply Chain Pro to Know of the Year, Karin has also been recognized as a 2019 and 2018 Supply Chain Pro to Know, 2009 Technology Marketing Executive of the Year and a 2008 Women in Technology Finalist. 

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Vin Vashishta

Host

Vin Vashishta is the author of ‘From Data To Profit’ (Wiley 2023). It’s the playbook for monetizing data and AI. Vin is the Founder of V-Squared and built the business from client 1 to one of the world’s oldest data and AI consulting firms. His background combines nearly 30 years in strategy, leadership, software engineering, and applied machine learning.

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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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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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Greg White

Principal & Host

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

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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Katherine Hintz

Director, Customer Experience

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

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Mary Kate Love

Chief of Staff & Host

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

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

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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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Katherine Hintz

Creative Director, Producer, Host

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

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