Supply Chain Now Radio

Dynamic leadership teams recognize opportunities as they present themselves, even when they come from unexpected places. When the team at CLX technologies realized their chemical industry clients wanted to keep certain key expertise in-house, CLX pivoted to oblige. Not only have they expanded the services they provide, but they also use their robust internal database of data about transportation carriers, rates, and service levels to help companies benchmark themselves.CLX Vice President Mike Skinner uses his experience in supply chain consulting, information systems, and operations management to help shippers design and deploy world class technology solutions while reducing costs and improving service levels. Prior to joining CLX Logistics, he worked for Ernst & Young’s Supply Chain consulting practice, which gave him the opportunity work with companies Ford Motor Company, Sony Electronics, and Crown Cork & Seal.In this episode, Mike joins hosts Scott Luton and Crystal Davis to share his point of vie

COVID-19, the Great Resignation, inflationary pressures ... Supply Chain leaders have had to maneuver several disruptions in recent history. Chances are they will continue to have to do so far into the future. Navigating the current business landscape is confusing and downright exhausting, and, as a potential recession looms, controlling costs and freeing up working capital are paramount in boosting supply chain resiliency.Dan Reeve is Esker’s VP of Sales and Alun Rafique is the Co-Founder of Market Dojo. In early 2022, Esker acquired a majority stake in Market Dojo to strengthen their procure-to-pay (P2P) automation capabilities and address key C-suite concerns.In this episode, Dan and Alun join hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss how companies can stay ahead of the curve:• How procurement is evolving from a reactive back-office function to a proactive strategic resource• How successful organizations are amalgamating S2P and digitizing the pathways between procurement and finance• How to drive supply

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 Scott Luton, co-host Constantine Limberakis, and special guest Mary Kate Soliva. She joined the second half of the show to talk about the impact of Typhoon Mawar, the strongest typhoon to hit the island in over 20 years. Guam is home to 150,000 residents as well as Andersen Air Force Base.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Constantine discussed:• The growing demand for lithium batteries versus the constraint associated with just three countries - Australia, Chile, and China – being responsible for 92 percent of the world’s supply• Operational challenges resulting from contract negotiations between the longshore workers’ union and West Coast port

While supply chain professionals are no strangers to evolving processes, it is now more imperative than ever to leverage next-gen technology to streamline manual tasks out of the supply chain workflow. AI-enhanced document automation can address labor shortages, increase competition, reduce costly data errors, and support the need to do more with less.Mark Toffoli is a VP of Sales & Business Development at Conexiom and John Gunderson is a Senior Consultant at Dorn Group. They each have over 20 years of experience that they apply when helping companies embrace the automation imperative.In this episode, Mark and John join hosts Scott Luton and Allison Giddens to discuss what they are seeing from companies working to leverage automation:• What the automation imperative means in practice, and how it connects to other high priority objectives like securing talent and safeguarding the customer experience• Four ways that AI-enhanced document automation is helping companies address their key pain points• Common m

People might be surprised to know that the furniture industry handles complexity by making robust use of technologies such as augmented reality. And while they might not know, they can certainly feel the improved customer experience provided by companies that work and win as a team.Andrew Koenig began his full-time career with City Furniture in January 2006. He started in the Receiving Department and worked his way up through almost every division of the company. As the CEO of this Florida-based company, he now oversees all departments of the business. Since 2007, City Furniture has been on a Lean journey, one that has ushered in turnover reduction, operational process improvements, better customer experience and associate satisfaction, financial success and more.In this episode, Andrew joins hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to share his perspective on company leadership and community engagement:• How studying Lean philosophy at Toyota Headquarters in Japan has impacted City Furniture and fueled its growth• H

The short-term challenges faced in supply chain can make it hard to find time to think about the future. That is why today’s leading supply chain thinkers focus there, looking years down the road and trying to imagine how innovation and macro trends will impact each part of the business. By exploring areas like generative AI, the metaverse, and the industrialization of outer space, they learn to think bigger and much further outside the box.Marty Resnick is a Vice President on Gartner’s Technology Innovation team and Koray Kose is a former Senior Director on Gartner’s Supply Chain Operations team. They are involved with some of the industry’s most forward-looking projects, including the Gartner Futures lab and Tapestry research.In this conversation, Marty and Koray join host Scott Luton to discuss:• How Gartner is preparing supply chain leaders for the uncertainty to come by exploring new ways of imagining the future• The collaborative working groups that underpin the Tapestry research and analysis framework•

When Dr. Clinton Purtell was deciding which university to join after earning his PhD, he noticed something unique about the University of North Texas. Over 50 percent of the students identify as minorities, and 20 to 25 percent of the students are neurodiverse. That diversity gives the students a certain ‘grit factor’ that won him over, and today he is the Assistant Clinical Professor of Logistics and Operations, working with the students featured in this episode.Regan Weaver is a junior at the University of North Texas, where his major is Logistics and Supply Chain Management with a minor in Marketing, and Zachary Kvale is a senior at the University of North Texas graduating in May with a BBA in Finance and a BBA in Business Integrated Studies with a focus in Enterprise Management and Logistics and Supply Chain Management.In this interview, you will hear Dr. Purtell, Regan, Zachary, and host Scott Luton discuss:• Trends, opportunities, and challenges they are watching in global supply chains• The power of br

Earlier this year, the Reverse Logistics Association held their 19th Annual Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was their biggest event yet, with over 350 member companies and over 800 people registered for the event, which featured a pitch competition, awards ceremony, top notch content, and – of course – plenty of networking time.Tony Sciarrotta has been the Executive Director of the Reverse Logistics Association since 2016 and is a return guest and co-host in the Supply Chain Now Reverse Logistics Series. Tony has also held a variety of sales and marketing positions in the consumer electronics industry, including President of Reverse IT Sales & Consulting and 25 years at Philips Consumer Lifestyle.In this episode, Tony joins host Scott Luton to share his main takeaways from the event and to shine the spotlight on top trends in reverse logistics:• How new software is automating the business decisions about whether each return should be liquidated, resold into the secondary market, or sold via

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 Scott Luton and special guest co-host Allison Giddens. They opened the conversation by sharing the latest edition of “With That Said,” Supply Chain Now’s LinkedIn newsletter. It highlighted Armed Forces Day by taking the opportunity to celebrate Supply Chain Now’s Veteran Voices programming, led by U.S. Army Veteran, Mary Kate Soliva.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Allison discussed:• The long lead time and increasing cost of spare and generic airplane parts, estimated to represent a $35 Billion annual industry expenditure• How 3D printing is keeping the Air Force’s largest cargo plane, the C5, in the air – and plans to do so through 2040• Sig

Modern warehouses need seamless integration between order release, picking, packing, shipping, tracking, and audit. This creates a closed loop of information on supply chain deliveries and makes it possible to support all modes of transportation in a single software platform.Without a real-time full-featured Warehouse Execution System (WES) or a Tier 1 WMS integrated into a multi-modal TMS, shippers are wasting time, money, and opportunities to optimize both their customer experience and transportation deadlines.Shannon Vaillancourt is the President of RateLinx and a 30-year industry veteran, and Dan Hanrahan is the CEO of The Numina Group. They have seen firsthand how automating warehouse and transportation execution into a unified operation makes it possible to achieve real-time visibility and automate the selection of parcel carrier and LTL shipment modes.In this livestream-based session, Shannon and Dan join hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss ways automation can reduce freight spend:• Using real-

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is a high profile – and quickly evolving – set of standards by which organizations are being measured. Customers and the market as a whole are often watching closely to see what commitments they make and how they perform against those targets. For supply chain professionals, this means it is critical to understand all the risks covered by the ‘umbrella’ of ESG, including environmental (e.g., climate change and emissions), social (human rights, labor), and governance (compliance, sanctions, and anti-corruption).Heiko Schwarz is the founder of riskmethods, now Sphera Supply Chain Risk Management. He has successfully led companies through the adoption of supply chain risk management (SCRM) technology for over a decade.In this livestream-based session, Heiko joins hosts Scott Luton and Enrique Alvarez from Vector Global Logistics to discuss:• Why ESG is an expanding part of global supply chains and how it factors into the ongoing effort to manage supply chain risk• The

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 co-hosts Scott Luton, Greg White, and returning guest Constantine Limberakis. Constantine has over 20 years of international experience, holding strategic roles in analyst advisory, consulting, product marketing, product development, and market research. He has always been passionate about engaging with global business leaders through speaking engagements, podcasts, research, webinars, and industry articles.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Constantine, Scott, and Greg discussed:• What is being done to strengthen the global pharmaceutical supply chain in response to ingredient shortages and international regulatory challenges• The need for comprehensive c

Gartner’s Top 25 Supply Chain ranking was started 19 years ago to recognize the best supply chains in the world and to raise awareness about the impact a well-run supply chain can have on the overall health and competitiveness of a business.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 talks about the importance of learning from the best supply chains in the world with co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White:• What everyone can expect to hear and learn from the ‘big reveal’ of this year’s Top 25 Supply Chain ranking on May 24th• The three macro-themes that serve as the focus for this year’s ranking: driving growth in an elevated risk environment, embracing the supply chain ecosystem concept, and investing in digi

Many manufacturers leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to gather data and streamline their operations. Lexmark has been applying that concept since long before the IoT was commonly understood, using sensors to gather data and provide their clients with an exceptional customer experience.Tonya Jackson is the Senior Vice President of Chief Product Delivery Officer at Lexmark. She has over 30 years of experience in the high-tech industry, and is currently responsible for Lexmark’s product delivery strategy, which includes supply chain, manufacturing, hardware, supplies development, and more.In this interview, sponsored by Microsoft, Tonya joins co-hosts Scott Luton and Kevin L. Jackson to discuss:• Initiatives that Lexmark has implemented to move their digital transformation forward, such as leveraging IoT capabilities to pinpoint variances and accelerate responses• Investing in supply chain resilience by institutionalizing lessons learned in preparation for the decisions she and her team will make in the futu

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 co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White. In addition to covering top supply chain news stories from around the world, they teased six tools for doing supply chain management better, as shared in the most recent edition of “With That Said,” Supply Chain Now’s LinkedIn newsletter.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Greg discussed:• Big moves and tough decisions made by Shopify as they cut back on warehousing and delivery services to focus on their retail operations• How predictive AI is being used to increase worker safety in manufacturing, the industry with the third highest rate of nonfatal work injuries and illnesses• Some unique aspects of the canna

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.Bobby opened the conversation by sharing his five key takeaways from the first quarter of 2023: the trucking market continues to be soft, quarterly and yearly metrics for shipments and spend both dropped for the first time in three years, the Southwest outperformed while the Midwest continued to struggle, and the Southeast saw an 8 percent increase in yearly spend despite 16 percent fewer shipments.In this interview, Bobby was joined by Michelle Moore, Head of Supply Chain at GAF, to share and discuss the results of the Q1 2023 report with co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White:• Why national shipment volume being lower than

Supply chains are increasingly dependent upon digital tools, data, and automation. And yet, for all that progress, it is still people who ultimately make global supply chains work and ensure that progress continues to be made from one generation of professionals to the next.Stela Jaqueta is a podcast host, procurement professional, and supply chain enthusiast who is passionate about being an advocate for the development of African supply chains. Karen Pretorius is the Founder, Owner, and Executive Consultant of KPI Cubed Supply Chain Consulting and Training, where she applies her 20 years of industry experience.In this session, part of the Supply Chain Leadership Across Africa series, Stela and Karen join hosts Scott Luton and Jenny Froome, Chief Operating Officer at SAPICS, to discuss:• Why they support the supply chain community in different forms and what they have learned from their experience• Where they find the inspiration for their continued work in supply chain• How they feel about the role of mentor

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 co-hosts Scott Luton and Greg White. In addition to covering top supply chain news stories from around the world, they celebrated team member Donna Krache’s 50 years in the workforce. An article full of the lessons she has learned was featured in the most recent edition of “With That Said,” Supply Chain Now’s LinkedIn newsletter.In this livestream, created in collaboration with a live Supply Chain Now audience, Scott and Greg discussed:• Bed Bath & Beyond joining the long list of large format retailers that have declared bankruptcy in the last few years• Amazon’s decision to slow capital investment in 2023 as it looks to optimize its recently overhauled fulfillment operations• Three hot areas for tec

Despite the sizable investments companies have made in enterprise technology, many people still feel stuck with their systems. Rather than looking for change to happen overnight, these teams can start the journey towards ROI by taking a single step – perhaps with the support of a trusted advisor.Greg Davis, a Principal at Grant Thornton, has 26 years of systems and supply chain consulting experience. He is an author and a frequent conference speaker who advocates for ROI-oriented digital transformation. When transformation is pursued for the sake of continuous innovation - not just one-time reengineering – it offers companies the opportunity to differentiate themselves.In this livestream-based interview sponsored by Nextworld, Greg joins hosts Scott Luton and Greg White to discuss:• His six key tips for decoding digital transformation in today’s enterprises• Critical cultural and change management principles that can support the effort to maximize the ROI of enterprise systems• The five forms of impact supply

Healthcare supply chains must be agile and cost effective, but all the efficiency in the world cannot guarantee a good patient experience. For that, organizations need to understand what patients expect and work closely with providers to ensure they have what they need for a range of treatment circumstances.Tom Harvieux is the Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at BJC Healthcare, one of the largest non-profit healthcare organizations in the United States. Tom is responsible for supply chain and logistics strategy, and his team’s achievements were recently recognized with an 8th place ranking in the Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 list.In this interview, Tom joins hosts Scott Luton to discuss:• How his 22 years of experience in the U.S. Army allowed him to build the leadership and supply chain experience he now applies in the private sector• The changes he has observed in patient expectations about their healthcare experiences since the COVID-19 pandemic, and how BJC Healthcare is rising to t