Supply Chain Now Radio

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. The show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz included hosts Scott Luton and Greg White as well as special guest Delaney White from Deel. As Greg’s daughter, she was on hand to discuss the impact of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and to celebrate his birthday!In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Delaney, Scott, and Greg discussed some of the week’s top stories:• Analysis of the good news / bad news from sustainable shoe and apparel company Allbirds, from the exciting introduction of a new plant-based leather to terrible sales results: down 13% year over year, and down 60% in their retail locations• A quick series of takes: Kroger’s use of driverless vehicles for ‘middle mile’ transport from fulfillment centers to reta

With unpredictable market forces likely to continue through 2023, it is time for supply chains to counteract them by acting differently. Moving beyond day-to-day tactics to build long-term goals is an essential approach for any organization that wants to achieve their highest potential financial performance.Paul Tedford is the CEO of Synergy, an ERP consulting and implementation company, and 30-year industry veteran Shannon Vaillancourt is the Founder and President of RateLinx, a shipping, logistics, and payment platform. In this livestream-based episode, Paul and Shannon share how companies can offset the escalating costs associated with the top 3 negative market variables with better technology integrations.They offer their advice with Scott Luton, Greg White, and a live Supply Chain Now audience about how to solve for:• Labor shortages at all levels of the organization, and the teams that are being spread thin because of them• Inflation costs that in many cases cannot be passed along to customers for fear

The Supply Chain Now community is so professionally ambitious that the team regularly fields questions about what people can do to make the most of their career in supply chain management. Who better to ask for input than Mike Griswold?Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner, specializing in retail with a particular focus on forecasting and replenishment. He is responsible for Gartner’s annual Top 25 Supply Chain ranking and joins Supply Chain Now on a monthly basis to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.In this episode, Mike shares his best supply chain career advice with co-hosts Scott Luton and Jenny Froome from SAPICS:• Making sure you and your current organization are a good fit in terms of work/life balance expectations• Why a well-managed career often includes a broad collection of behaviors and experiences• The importance of active connection building inside of your company, and for your team if you are a manager• Reasons for anyone working in su

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s Digital Transformers edition of The Buzz included hosts Scott Luton, Greg White, and Kevin L. Jackson, as well as special guest Michael Pytel, co-founder and CTO at Fulfilld. Michael has over 15 years’ experience supporting large enterprise manufacturing and whole distribution organizations. He is passionate about blending the unique strengths of humans and automation – something that came across clearly in this conversation.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Michael, Scott, Greg, and Kevin discussed:• Cash flow management advice for tech founders (and investors) in the growing shadow of Silicon Valley Bank• Why business processes – and not ‘robots’ – might be to blame if your digital

RPM, an international shipping and logistics company, is carving its own path as a leader in vehicle transportation and specialized freight. The vehicle transport sector has fallen years behind traditional freight management standards with limited automation and visibility.RPM is leveraging Turvo’s TMS Platform, with its unique collaboration cloud and advanced and modern tech, to connect everyone involved in a shipment for faster, more efficient, automated logistics. In its quest to move the industry forward, RPM is empowering operations leaders and challenging Turvo to help solve supply chain challenges, deliver a superior customer experience, and meet high-growth objectives regardless of market conditions.In this episode, created with the help of a livestream audience, Luis Pajares, Chief Customer Officer at Turvo, Rick Grubb, Chief Information Officer at RPM, and Brad Janer, Vice President of Customer Operations at RPM, join Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss:- How RPM’s years of operational excellence

Although specific goals and challenges vary from company to company and industry to industry, there are also macro trends that all companies are trying to optimize against. How each leadership team chooses to navigate these trends will ultimately determine if they grow their market footprint or start to fall behind the competition.Rob Schaefer is the VP of Transportation Management Sales at Manhattan Associates and Bryant Smith is their Director of Product Management. They are in regular conversation with customers and decision makers, hearing their thoughts about what issues are the highest priority and which forms of value are the hardest to deliver.In this conversation, Rob and Bryant join hosts Scott Luton and Greg White discuss three top supply chain trends:• Labor shortages – what is causing them and how companies are responding• Operational costs v. service levels – including the analytical capabilities required to keep costs low while keeping customer satisfaction high• Digitization – which means more

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz featured Mark Holmes, InterSystems’ Senior Advisor of Supply Chain. His 25+ years of experience in consulting, manufacturing operations, and software development allow him to help manufacturers, retailers, and CPG companies solve their most difficult supply chain issues by breaking down data silos and leveraging modern technologies.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Mark, Scott and Greg discussed:• The ongoing challenge of finding a global workforce that can realistically serve as an alternative to China, given their questionable record on human rights• The complexity of the global energy supply chain, especially with regards to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Russ

Ongoing supply chain disruptions have not only made product shortages and delivery delays the norm, but they have also exposed the internal weaknesses in many companies’ supply chains — especially as it pertains to poor customer communication and transparency.Diana Eagen is the Director of Sales and Order-to-Cash at Esker. She joined hosts Scott Luton and Greg White for a livestream to describe how customer service automation can be utilized by B2B companies to deliver an Amazon-like experience — transforming both supply chain management and giving customers what they want in 2023 and beyond.In this conversation, Diana, Scott, and Greg discuss:• Why visibility, communication, and self-service options are so critically important to the customer experience• Practical examples that illustrate how automation can improve customer communication and supply chain performance at the same time• Where AI-powered tools are being incorporated to automate visibility and manage changesAdditional Links & Resources:Learn

There are plenty of things to prevent corporate supply chain executives from getting a good night’s sleep. Challenges like inflation and ESG initiatives are regularly discussed as challenges across industries. But there are a whole host of worries that get far less attention as well, and each of them is enough to cause sleepless nights… let alone all of them in combination.Rick McDonald is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Clorox. He is responsible for approximately 5,000 people in 23 countries who work in manufacturing, contract manufacturing, planning, logistics, engineering, quality assurance, safety, health, environment, security, and sustainability.In this episode, Rick returns to the show to speak with hosts Scott Luton and Greg White about:• The massive, pervasive workforce crisis that has led to a situation where there are two open jobs for every self-reported unemployed person• The existential challenge of supply chain digitization, especially in the face of growing cyber risk• The idea of supply cha

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz featured Leah Knight, a member of the product marketing and direct spend solutions teams at SAP. Her team is focused on helping companies manage a full end-to-end procurement process for their products: product design, launch, through volume manufacturing and renegotiation of huge multi-year contracts. For OEMs like those in automotive, material costs are often volatile, making co-innovation with suppliers absolutely critical to growth and competitive advantage.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Leah, Scott and Greg discussed:• How and why retail giant Target is expanding its next day delivery program, investing $100M between now and 2026• How a ransomware attack l

Although the capabilities of technology have changed a lot over the last few decades, corporate mindsets towards it have not. For example, thinking that putting a new system in place will cover all business requirements once and for all is an outdated way of thinking. Technology and digitalization should be seen as a journey, one that will go on as long as a company continues to operate.Lyle Ekdahl is a self-described “recovering enterprise software development executive and technology market advisor.” He has over 38 years of experience in enterprise applications development, industry technology and product strategy, product management, marketing, and program management. During that time, he perfected his ability to communicate the value of enterprise applications and articulate unique digital technology visions.In this livestream appearance, sponsored by Nextworld, Lyle provides a retrospective of the ERP solutions and technologies landscape with hosts Scott Luton and Greg White and a live Supply Chain Now a

Changes in consumer expectations have increased the pressure brands face to maintain service level commitments. Consumers want in-stock inventory, next-day free shipping and free, no-hassle returns along with excellent customer support. Companies across the globe are feeling the pressure and wondering how they can compete with global big-box ecommerce giants.To stay in the competition, they must ask where and how to automate, making the question not “should we automate?” but “how much should we automate?”Alex Haines is the Manager of Business Development at Bastian Solutions. He and his team work with customers across industries, looking for opportunities to apply automation to the pain points and opportunities created by rapidly changing customer demands.In this episode, Alex joins co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss how companies can determine what level of automation is right for their competitive situation:• How warehousing automation creates efficient environments, avoids missed shipping deadl

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz featured hosts Scott Luton and Greg White. In addition to covering top industry headlines, the team rolled out a new educational segment focused on three key things business leaders need to keep in mind when it comes to selecting new technology.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Greg discussed:• What recent increases in the producer price index (PPI), 6 percent year over year in January, will mean for the prices consumers pay in the future• Persistent geopolitical challenges being faced by companies in the semiconductor supply chain, including Apple, which is completely dependent on TSMC for their smartphone microchips• One of the key things companies for

Mike Griswold is the Vice President of Research at Gartner, specializing in retail with a particular focus on forecasting and replenishment. He is responsible for Gartner’s annual Top 25 Supply Chain ranking and joins Supply Chain Now on a monthly basis to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.The inspiration for this session is music – the best bands, album titles, song lyrics - even the best concert-going experience. But with Mike Griswold in attendance, every musical favorite also has a tie-in to the supply chain… and Mike is always right on key.In this episode, Mike draws on his broad musical tastes to put 2023 into context for co-hosts Scott Luton and Kelly Barner:• Crystal Ball by Styx: What if companies had been able to see the last three years in advance? How would it have changed their preparation and approach?• Roll With the Changes from REO Speedwagon: Operating environments, customers, and how we go to market are all different – so our supply chains need to chang

In 2022, U.S. Bank processed $46 billion in freight payments for some of the world’s largest corporations and government agencies. Those payments and the data that accompanies them are analyzed quarterly by Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank vice president and director of Freight Data Solutions and his team. The FPI report includes quarter over quarter, year over year, and full year data and analysis.In Q4, truck freight shipments experienced the largest year-over-year drop in volume since the third quarter of 2020 – the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although volume is down, driven in part by a decline in consumer spending, carrier spending did not decline significantly, suggesting that capacity is tight and that cost pressures are driving smaller carriers out of the market.In this interview, Bobby is joined by Enrique Alvarez from Vector Global Logistics to share the results of the Q4 2022 report with Supply Chain Now Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton, interpreting what they may mean for the economy and the shipp

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz featured hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson, but not regular co-host Greg White, who was still celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win. The show also featured a special appearance by Koray Kose from Gartner and Selin Kapan-Green from Turkish Philanthropy Funds talking about the devastating earthquake that recently struck Turkey and Syria.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Kevin discussed:• The initiative that is underway to incentivize partnerships between American companies and suppliers in Central America as a way of addressing the root causes of mass migration• How bad actors in Mexico are trying to illicitly cash in on green gold in the

Building a modern tech stack isn’t a task – it is a journey. With so much changing outside of companies, it takes real courage to drive digital change internally, especially for companies in the manufacturing space.This interview brings together an all-star panel. Howard Lo has over 20 years of tech leadership experience and is a Vice President at DataON. Todd Jensen is a Field Sales Manager at Intel Corporation. He has worked in the tech industry since 1996 and has spent the last seven years at Intel focused on partnering with Microsoft to grow their joint business with Azure Edge customers and channels. Christina Cardoza is the Editorial Director at insight.tech, a global publication that features a wide variety of companies across the Intel Partner Alliance.In this episode, Howard, Todd, and Christina join co-hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson to discuss the unique technology-related challenges – and opportunities – facing manufacturers today:• How manufacturers can modernize their infrastructure by le

All supply chains face complexity, but if healthcare supply chains struggle to operate as designed, people’s lives are affected. This not only raises the bar for performance, but it also increases the dedication shown by the many professionals working to support patient care through supply chain operations.Steve Downey is the Chief Supply Chain and Patient Support Services Officer at Cleveland Clinic. His multi-disciplinary team has responsibility for a wide range of activities including sourcing, materials management, technology/P2P, analytics, and support services, including food services, linen and laundry, and patient transport.In this episode, Steve joins host Scott Luton to talk about one of the most human-centric supply chains in the world:• How the effort and investment required to provide comprehensive patient care are a lot like the multi-faceted skills and relationships needed to power sophisticated supply chains• The incredible collaboration and teamwork taking place behind the scenes at Cleveland

The Supply Chain Buzz is Supply Chain Now’s regular Monday livestream, held at 12n ET each week. This show focuses on some of the leading stories from global supply chain and global business, always with special guests – the most important of which is the live audience!This week’s edition of The Buzz featured hosts Scott Luton and Greg White. In addition to taking on some of the hottest topics in business and supply chain, Greg offered up his thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs’ likely performance in Superbowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Greg discussed:• Recent negative news from the ISM Manufacturing Report on Business and what factors may be responsible for driving three straight months of contractions• Greg’s recent commentary on Amazon’s warehouse safety violations – and why the news isn’t as bad as it sounds• The upcoming response from Google to OpenAI’s ChatGPT generative AI, which has taken the world b

Everyone depends upon the grocery retail supply chain, and yet, few people have any idea how complex and sophisticated they are, at least until something goes wrong. Over the last three years, consumers have felt the impact of product shortages and skyrocketing prices. Eggs have received especially intense focus, with prices increasing 60% in 2022.Errol Schweizer has over 25 years of experience in the food industry. He has worked as the VP of Grocery at a major national retailer and has been a co-founder, board member, and advisor to over two dozen CPG companies.In this episode, Errol joins host Scott Luton to shed a little light on the supply chain dynamics going on beyond the store shelves:• The many different factors going into today’s historically high grocery prices• How different producers in the food supply chain are responding to overall market conditions• When – and why – shoppers might finally start to see prices come downAdditional Links & Resources:Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://su