Supply Chain Management Trends for 2024 and Beyond
Summary
TLDR在这段对话中,Eric Kimberling,Third Stage Consulting的CEO和Transformation Ground Control播客的主持人,与物流和供应链专家Blythe Broom Leave进行了深入的讨论。他们探讨了2023年供应链管理的趋势,并预测了2024年及未来的发展。Blythe分享了她对供应链行业当前状态的见解,包括消费者支出的变化、库存管理的挑战以及技术在供应链中的应用。特别强调了人工智能(AI)在提高效率、降低成本以及增强决策能力方面的潜力。此外,讨论还涉及了供应链管理中的欺诈预防、货物犯罪问题,以及如何通过技术投资提高透明度和客户满意度。Blythe还为想要进入供应链管理领域的人提供了职业发展建议,强调了从基层做起、了解技术并建立人际关系的重要性。
Takeaways
- 📈 **供应链趋势**:2023年供应链经历了从疫情经济的衰退中恢复,消费者支出从商品转向体验,然后又回到平衡状态,预计2024年将进一步稳定。
- 💡 **技术采用**:人工智能(AI)和机器学习技术在供应链管理中的应用正在增加,帮助处理大量数据并优化决策过程。
- 🚚 **货运行业变化**:货运行业正在从以关系为基础的业务模式转向更注重技术和自动化的模式,但人际关系仍然是业务的核心。
- 🤖 **技术与人文结合**:尽管技术在提高效率方面发挥着重要作用,但供应链管理仍然需要重视人际关系和员工的参与。
- 🌐 **全球视角**:供应链管理的决策需要考虑全球因素,如天气、地缘政治和经济数据,这些因素通过AI技术得到更好的整合和应用。
- 📊 **数据重要性**:良好的数据管理对于AI和机器学习的应用至关重要,它可以帮助提高运输成本效益和整个供应链的效率。
- 👷 **前线员工的适应性**:尽管存在对新技术的担忧和抵触,但一些前线员工正在逐渐接受并利用AI工具来提高生产力。
- 🚧 **职业发展**:供应链管理职业发展中,了解AI和在地面层积累的经验对于进入该行业至关重要,这可以作为进入更高层次管理角色的跳板。
- 📚 **教育与实践**:大学教育可以帮助理解供应链管理的理论,但实际工作经验对于掌握行业知识至关重要。
- 🛠️ **技术投资**:组织在进行技术投资时,需要确保投资能够带来具体的回报,并且与公司内部流程和员工的实际需求相匹配。
- 🔮 **未来规划**:供应链管理者应关注内部流程和员工,通过过程映射和技术投资来规划未来的发展方向,同时保持与客户的定期沟通。
Q & A
2024年及以后的供应链管理趋势是什么?
-2024年及以后的供应链管理趋势包括对人工智能的进一步采用,特别是机器学习技术,以及将这些技术整合进现有的技术栈中。此外,还有专注于特定领域的技术提供商,如司机追踪、卡车停车、海运等,它们将被整合进更大的系统中,以提高效率和降低成本。
消费者债务增加对供应链有何影响?
-消费者债务的增加导致消费者减少支出,这直接影响了供应链中的商品流通。在美国,消费者债务的增加和学生贷款偿还的开始可能会减少假期季节的消费者支出,这对零售商和供应链管理是一个挑战。
供应链管理中AI的作用是什么?
-在供应链管理中,AI的作用是处理大量数据,帮助节省成本,提高运输过程中的效率。AI可以帮助预测天气模式、优化运输路线、减少燃料消耗,并提高整体的物流生产力。
供应链管理中的欺诈和货物犯罪问题如何通过技术解决?
-通过采用跟踪软件和其他保险解决方案,公司可以更好地监控货物,预防欺诈和货物犯罪。这些技术可以帮助提高供应链的透明度和可见性,从而减少风险和潜在损失。
供应链管理中的最佳解决方案是什么?
-最佳解决方案包括集成到ERP系统中的各种技术,这些技术可以提高生产力并减少成本。同时,需要保持人际关系的重要性,因为供应链管理是一个以人为本的业务。技术投资应该与人工决策相结合,以实现最佳效果。
如何开始供应链管理职业生涯?
-开始供应链管理职业生涯的一个好方法是从基层做起,比如成为叉车司机或仓库操作员。此外,可以加入货运经纪公司,了解供应链的各个方面。随着经验的积累,可以将这些知识转化为更高级的职位,如供应链管理经理或AI运营专家。
为什么供应链管理中的技术投资有时会失败?
-供应链管理中的技术投资有时会失败,因为决策者可能没有充分了解实际使用者的需求和操作流程。如果没有与前线工作者沟通,直接强加技术解决方案可能会导致员工抵抗和低投资回报率。
供应链管理中的AI操作角色是什么?
-AI操作角色负责识别和实施AI技术,以提高公司的生产力和利润。这个角色需要对公司的流程有深入的理解,并能够确定AI可以提供最大价值的领域。
供应链管理中的人际关系为什么重要?
-在供应链管理中,人际关系至关重要,因为它们帮助建立客户和供应商之间的信任和合作。技术可以提高效率,但人为因素和关系网络对于业务决策和长期合作同样重要。
供应链管理中的欺诈和货物犯罪如何影响业务?
-欺诈和货物犯罪直接影响供应链的成本和消费者支出。这些犯罪行为增加了运输成本,可能导致商品价格上涨,最终影响消费者的购买力和公司的盈利能力。
为什么供应链管理中的技术解决方案需要与人工决策相结合?
-技术解决方案可以提供数据和效率,但人工决策提供了灵活性和适应性。人工决策可以考虑到技术无法捕捉的复杂情况和细微差别,确保供应链管理能够适应不断变化的市场条件。
Outlines
🎥 介绍和直播安排
本段落介绍了视频直播的背景,包括直播的主题是2024年及以后的供应链管理趋势。提到了直播的常规安排,即每周二同一时间进行,内容涉及数字化转型和供应链管理。还提到了观众可以参与提问,强调了观众互动的重要性。
🌐 供应链管理趋势回顾与预测
讨论了2023年供应链领域的主要趋势,包括疫情后的经济复苏、消费者行为的变化、零售商库存问题,以及消费者债务的增加对消费支出的影响。还预测了2024年第二季度末或夏季可能会结束对经济衰退的担忧。
📈 人工智能在供应链中的应用
强调了人工智能(AI)在供应链管理中的日益重要性,尤其是在物流行业。讨论了90年代以来供应链行业对新技术的采用情况,以及当前如何通过机器学习技术来优化已经建立的技术栈。
🤖 AI和机器学习的未来趋势
预测了2024年及以后供应链管理领域的AI和机器学习应用将进一步增加,特别是小型专业公司的发展,它们专注于特定问题,如司机跟踪、卡车停车、海运等。
🚛 供应链管理的现实应用案例
讨论了AI在供应链管理中的实际应用案例,包括使用天气数据来优化货物运输。强调了AI如何帮助从高层到基层的决策过程,以及AI对于提高日常工作效率的重要性。
🌟 技术整合与供应链优化
探讨了不同技术如AI、物联网、预测分析和数据管理在供应链管理中的应用,以及这些技术如何帮助做出更明智的决策。讨论了最佳解决方案在供应链管理中的重要性,以及它们如何影响传统的ERP系统。
🚜 技术采纳的挑战与机遇
讨论了供应链管理中技术采纳的挑战,包括前线员工对新技术的担忧和抗拒。强调了技术投资决策应考虑实际使用者的意见,以及如何通过技术提高生产力和降低成本。
📊 供应链管理的未来与职业发展
讨论了供应链管理的未来趋势,包括AI运营的重要性和对职业发展的影响。建议对供应链管理感兴趣的人从基础工作开始,了解行业内部运作,然后逐步转向更专业的技术角色。
💼 组织内部的供应链优化
建议组织应从内部审视,通过过程映射和与员工沟通来优化供应链。强调了与客户定期会面的重要性,以及如何通过这些内部和外部的沟通来规划未来的技术投资。
📝 结语和资源分享
总结了本次讨论的要点,并提供了如何获取更多信息的资源,包括Blythe的播客“Everything is logistics”和相关网站。
Mindmap
Keywords
💡供应链管理
💡人工智能
💡数字化转型
💡消费者行为
💡库存管理
💡货运代理
💡技术投资
💡数据管理
💡机器学习
💡过程映射
💡员工保留
Highlights
2024年及以后的供应链管理趋势讨论,涉及数字化转型、策略、流程和技术等话题。
直播形式的播客每周二同一时间进行,覆盖全球听众。
观众可以实时提出问题,与嘉宾互动。
Eric Kimberling作为Third Stage Consulting的CEO,介绍了公司的数字化转型服务。
Blythe Broom Leave分享了她作为Everything is Logistics播客主持人以及在物流行业的经验。
讨论了2023年供应链领域的重大变化,包括疫情经济的下滑和消费者行为的转变。
分析了消费者债务增加对消费支出的影响,以及零售商如何应对过剩库存问题。
预测到2024年第二季度,经济将摆脱衰退的担忧,消费者信心将增强。
AI在供应链管理中的应用被视为关键趋势,特别是在数据处理和决策支持方面。
讨论了AI和机器学习技术如何帮助提高运输过程中的成本效率。
强调了在技术投资中考虑人的因素的重要性,以及技术与人际关系的结合。
指出了技术解决方案提供商在销售技术时需要考虑的新的市场现实。
讨论了供应链管理中的欺诈和货物犯罪问题,以及技术如何帮助预防这些问题。
强调了在当前经济环境下,供应链管理者如何采取观望态度,避免错误的大额投资。
建议组织从内部审视,通过流程映射和员工保留来寻找提升效率的机会。
建议个人职业发展中考虑AI操作,作为供应链管理中的一个关键角色。
鼓励有志于供应链管理职业的人从基层工作开始,以获得宝贵的实战经验。
提供了关于如何联系和了解Blythe Broom Leave的播客节目的信息。
Transcripts
today thank you for joining today's live
stream which is to cover Supply Chain
management trends for 2024 and Beyond
I'll introduce Our Guest here in just a
moment but before I do uh cover I'll
cover a couple of logistical items uh
first of all this is a live podcast
interview that we do every Tuesday at
the same time same place whatever
platform you're listening or watching on
we do this live discussion every week
same time same place we talk about
things all all things related to digital
transformation including Supply Chain
management as well as other strategy
people processing technology types of
topics this interview will become part
of the transformation Ground Control
podcast which is what we're filming this
for so if you don't already be sure to
check out transformation Ground Control
you can find that on Apple uh podcast
Google podcast Amazon Etc all the audio
podcast platforms as well as streaming
to LinkedIn YouTube Facebook and Twitter
so be sure to check out that podcast if
you don't already
um secondly we are I've got some
questions related to Supply Chain
management that I'll ask our guest here
in a moment but the real questions I
want to get to are the ones that you all
have that the audience has here so
please chime in at any point along the
way with with questions you might have
um we'll get to those questions here as
we go and you can just drop those in the
chat whatever you're you're listening
and watching here today in fact if you
don't mind just dropping in the chats in
the meantime what city and Country
you're joining from today I'd love to
see where the global Community is
joining from today so just drop in the
in the chat City and Country love to
hear from you and see where where you're
joining from here today
um uh I guess just as a quick
introduction for myself before I
introduce the guest uh my name is Eric
Kimberling I'm the CEO of third stage
Consulting and we're an independent
consulting firm that helps clients
throughout the world reach their third
stage of digital transformation success
and of course I'm also the the host of
the transformation Ground Control
podcast which is what this interview is
for
so again the topic today Supply Chain
management trends for 2024 and Beyond
joining me today is Blyth broom leave
and uh Blythe thanks for being here
today thank you so much for having me
excited to be here excited to have you
this is your second time on the show I
know last time you were on which is
about a year ago I think it was probably
about this time last year we had a
really great discussion we got into a
lot of supply chain stuff and I thought
it would just be a great time for us to
have sort of a checkpoint here we're
late in 2023 thought it'd be a great
opportunity for us to check in and see
where things stand in the world of
Supply Chain management where you see
the world headed with Supply Chain
management in 2024 and Beyond and all
this other good stuff related to Trends
and just what's happening in the space
but before we get into those questions
tell us a little bit about yourself and
your different companies that you you
manage sure so I am the host of a
podcast called Everything is logistics
so as you can tell it covers Logistics
and supply chain and transportation
mostly focused on the U.S market now we
do cover you know International topics
as well of course
um but I started off in the freight
industry here in the U.S in Jacksonville
Florida working as an executive
assistant at a 3PO which is a third
party logistics company
um basically uh working side by side
with the executive team learning how you
know a transportation company operates
um and so because of that experience
there I was given the role of marketing
and uh digital media manager and so I
started managing all the websites and
marketing materials for that company and
that was sort of my trial by fire into
the world of logistics and that sense
has evolved into my own company where
the company that I worked for before
became my very first customer
um that that company is digital dispatch
it's website Management Solutions for
the logistics industry so Brokers
carriers shippers vendors people like
that anybody who essentially small to
medium-sized businesses who need those
kinds of services but the podcast is
really my main focus that's where I get
to have these awesome conversations with
people from all over the world all over
different sectors and modes of
transportation so I'm excited to be here
I'm excited to talk about you know the
the fascinating world of supply chain
because it really is we were talking
just before we got on air that there's
so much to learn within the world of
supply chain from a historical
perspective to you know just recent you
know history
um and even where we think you know
geopolitical struggles
um alignments are going to evolve in the
near future it's always evolving it's
always changing and I think that's why I
love this industry so much
yeah we were also talking about how it
it's likely or is possible that neither
one of us or anyone in the field will
ever fully learn and master all there is
to master about Supply Chain management
because it does change so fast so that's
right exactly I wish I wish I could
learn it all right right so how would
you so you started to touch on this a
little bit then and maybe just to set
the stage for the conversation here
today how would you how would you
summarize how the supply chain field has
unfolded in 2023 so far if we sort of
look at just you're in review sort of
thing I know it's a little early for
that but you know just we're three
quarters of the way through what what's
unfolded here what are the big trends
you've seen so we're really coming off
the downturn of the the covet economy
and so specifically here in in the
United States there was a lot of
stimulus uh impact that a lot of checks
that went out to the population
um within the us a lot of residents were
basically locked inside and couldn't go
anywhere and couldn't do anything so
what did they do they spent their money
on consumer goods and so that had a
massive ripple effect throughout the
entire global economy a global supply
chain we were we couldn't import fast
enough all of the goods that U.S
residents were buying mainly because
they were bored at home and so now we're
starting to see you know a little bit of
that pendulum shift back to where
consumers are spending a good amount of
their money on all of these consumer
goods that pendulum switched back over
the last year or so into experiences
people were traveling more and and doing
more experiences uh but now that
pendulum has kind of swung back towards
the Middle where Consumer Debt has
increased I think it just crossed you
know a one trillion dollars here in the
United States so consumers are pulling
back on their spending rightfully so and
so what we're seeing is more of a
settling in to what this new post post
covet economy sort of looks like in the
United States we're going back to sort
of 2018 2019 levels of purchasing
um we're starting to see a bunch of
especially over the last year a lot of
retailers were dealing with Surplus
inventory issues now those have since uh
balanced out a little bit and so now
we're coming up into the holiday season
and it's really a wait and see game with
a lot of what the consumers want to do
and the retailers are going to
essentially React to what the consumers
want so they're not they don't have
these massive you know warehouse space
filled with inventories I mean even last
year last Christmas season we were still
selling Goods that were on container
ships that were stuck out of the Port of
Long Beach and La that were stuck on
those ships for eight nine months and so
a lot of those Halloween decorations
those Christmas decorations that were
stuck out on the boats in 2021 that
inventory was sold off in 2022 and so
this has really been the first holiday
season where we're gonna find out where
the true economy is at from a U.S
perspective and then how the rest of the
world is going to react as far as
spending as well I think there's a
greater fear of recessionary conditions
across the entire globe and so it's kind
of a wait and see approach both on the
consumer side and on the retailer side
and that that really is what drives
um a lot of shipments
um I guess separate from you know some
of the more materials
um dry bulk
um natural gas crude oil things like
that those shipments are treated very
separately from consumer spending and so
that's a whole different Market I don't
really have the expertise on you know
dry bulk goods and you know crude oil
and things like that but I do know that
some geopolitical tensions are are
affecting those shipments as well but
here the state side it really is all
about the consumer and retailers just
waiting and see
interesting so our retailers in general
and is the supply chain in general
struggling less with excess inventory
and sort of that lumpiness of the supply
chain that we've had in in recent years
yeah they're definitely uh so they have
the re a lot of the major retailers so
the Walmarts the targets um Costco's
even of the world they have that
warehouse space now secured and so
they're essentially what they're doing
is they're just waiting to see what the
consumer is going to do I I mentioned
earlier about the Consumer Debt that
that has been increasing what is another
factor that will really impact consumer
spending is student loan repayments um
for those you know who are viewing
internationally U.S has a very
um I guess a big issue with you know
student loan payments for their college
degrees for their college education
those payments were put on hold since
covid and now with that delay uh being
removed you're going to have an extra
added expense and so things are getting
much more expensive for the U.S consumer
much more than you know traditionally
have been and so you have all of these
additional bills that are coming down
the pipeline so we we kind of expect to
have
a consumers are going to spend a little
bit less this holiday season but we just
don't know yet because we don't know if
they're continuing or going to continue
to rack up credit card debt um but less
likely so because of all of those
external factors that are now going to
be playing a role as far as consumer
spending is concerned and then you have
on the on the carrier and the broker
side of things which is the trucking
companies and the the companies that are
trying to arrange the shipments from the
customers to the the people who are
actually making the goods uh the
manufacturers so you have those added
components of they're also dealing with
an enormous amount of fraud that's going
on and so anytime you see you know
consumers kind of interesting you know
from a Global Perspective when you see
the rise in Consumer Debt people not
having access to a lot of excess funds
to be able to go and Shop then you have
a rise in crime especially cargo crime
related activities that are also
affecting a lot of Brokers a lot of
carriers and it's becoming uh the cost
of doing business is becoming very very
expensive and so you have all of these
factors sort of colliding in at once but
the economy is still especially the
us-based economy is still doing
relatively okay there are some media
companies Freight waves um in particular
they have their sonar platform which
predicts and and analyzes you know
tender inbound rejection shipments
things like that they analyze all of
that data and they kind of predict that
by Q2 of 2024 that we're essentially
going to be out of any kind of recession
there are some experts that think that
we're going to be done with any kind of
recession fears by the summer but spring
to summer time is looking like when you
know we're going to kind of be back to
those pre-pandemic levels and the
recession concerns are going to be over
so hopefully that leads to consumer
confidence increasing and then retailers
confidence increasing and then you know
that has a ripple effect throughout all
of shipping whether it's the big cargo
ships that you see out in the ocean or
if it's the down to the trucks to the
Amazon delivery packages that you're
getting on your doorstep all of that has
a ripple effect right right that's super
interesting yeah that's an interesting
prediction for for next year and when
when things might start to settle down a
bit there
um so that's that's super interesting so
what other Trends do you see
developing then for 2024 and Beyond you
talked about you know what what people
are predicting for Q2 and into the
summer of next year what other sort of
big trends or predictions do you have
for Supply Chain management in the next
year well I think I mean we made it a
whole 12 minutes without mentioning AI
um so AI uh is just dominating I think
every part of the conversation
um in every industry especially when it
comes to the logistics industry it's
just Global Transportation as a whole uh
there so to put things in perspective
for the audience there
the supply chain industry as a whole has
been really slow to adopt new technology
they made major investments in the 90s
and the mid 90s early 2000s into what's
called these massive transportation
management software warehouse management
software uh Fleet management software
they made all of those investments in
the 90s and what happens is with a lot
of those different platforms they're big
all-in-one platforms designed to handle
everything all of your data from
accounting to tracking loads to getting
your products from point A to B rate
negotiations all of those things were
happening in one platform now you can
imagine that that is so much data it is
so much to filter through and so for a
lot of the smarter companies
um here in the freight space a lot of
them have started to implement different
machine learning Technologies they're
implementing those into their already
established Tech Stacks now what we're
seeing especially that started this year
is that
some of those systems that were
developed in the late 90s the early
2000s they're becoming a little clunky
they're becoming a little
um I guess abrasive to uh further
Integrations
um outside Integrations with different
other technology providers some of them
are doing a good job of incorporating
those different Technologies into those
massive Tech Stacks but it's really
started to happen over the last year
where you're starting to get these not
small players but these Niche players
who focus on one thing driver tracking
um truck parking
um you know Maritime shipping you know
the the amount of time that you're
waiting off of the coast in order to you
know get get your call into the the port
in order to be unloaded
um measuring gas and measuring fuel not
gas fuel and truckers will kill me if I
say gas battery fuel if uh you know from
point A to B how much uh speed you
should be doing on the highway how much
of your speed you should be doing on the
ocean all of these different Niche
technology players are now starting to
come into the fold and they're starting
to be integrated into these bigger
systems and so I think a major trend for
2024 is going to be the further adoption
of AI trying to filter through all of
those different data points to help save
their customers money to help save
themselves
um the the logistics providers help them
save some money anywhere they can
because just to give you a perspective
any good that you have any kind of goods
that you have in your house building
materials things like that up to 50
percent of that product's goods are
Transportation related costs so any
small savings that you can make on any
part of the transportation process has a
massive ripple effect and so I think
that we're going to see more AI adoption
we're going to see more machine learning
and we're going to see more of these
Niche players and hopefully break down
some of these technological silos that
exist within all throughout supply chain
where you don't have just inner modal
out on an island by themselves you don't
have Maritime out on an island by
themselves you know Trucking or you know
even the variety of different trucks
that are being used you don't have all
of these different silos they can play
together and integrate much more and I
think we're going to see much more of
that not just in 2024 but in 2023 as
well these are when companies are
starting to make those Investments and
make their budgets as right now
that's super interesting
um and here's a follow-up question I'm
going to get to you I'll put it on the
screen I'll read in a moment before I do
though
um just one quick note for those of you
that are watching on LinkedIn apparently
there's a problem with the LinkedIn chat
feature if you're on the uh if you're on
the desktop I don't think the chat is
working or at least we're not seeing
them here so if you you could either go
to the mobile LinkedIn interface or you
can go to YouTube if you want to ask
questions so I'm not ignoring you if
you're trying to ask a question on
LinkedIn just try the mobile app on
LinkedIn or YouTube
um if you if you want to engage with us
here but um thank you for all the
questions that are coming in so far uh
this one's from YouTube from Andreas on
YouTube
and he sort of answered this but I'm
curious to maybe dive into this a little
bit more but is AI just a buzzword or do
you already see real life use cases that
are that really get used you sort of
Ravel off a bunch of ways AI could help
supply chain managers and Supply chains
in general how often are you actually
seeing those use cases or how much is it
emerging would you say now and what do
you expect to see in the future
I I I do not think it's just a buzzword
I think it's going to be absolutely
crucial not just to at the the top
company line level but down to the
workers that are in the trenches
um AI can really help a lot of those
different processes and decision making
that is going on from the top down to
the bottom um we're seeing massive
adoption happening from the accounting
perspective we're also seeing it from
the sales and marketing perspective I
think that that's where the bigger use
cases are right now there are other
Transportation companies I'll use one
for example
um that they are taking the weather data
that's available to you know anyone in
the United States or really anyone
globally you can take that weather data
and overlay it on top of the shipments
that you already have within your system
and now the brokers who are sitting at
the phones and they're calling the truck
drivers they're calling their customers
they're trying to get these shipments
moved from point A to B they can now see
those weather patterns days in advance
so they can plan their equipment around
that
so say like a major hurricane is going
to be coming through
um say the Southeastern Port of the
United States you likely do not want
your shipments or your trucks or your
equipment in those areas that are going
to be heavily impacted unless you're
going to be staging them for Recovery
relief
um so there's lots of different use
cases of how AI where you could take
that broker or that person that's
sitting at the phone making those
decisions is now able to take big pieces
of that decision-making process and use
AI as a filter on top of those decision
making uh really high impact Revenue
impacting decisions they're using these
different tools and these different ways
to sort through it massive amounts of
data and that's really what AI is is
taking all of your data and making it
actionable and I think that that's where
you know a lot of folks when they hear
maybe is you know AI a buzzword or maybe
is AI just a fad AI has been around for
a while but in the sense of what what we
were talking about with AI today it's
essentially taking large data sets the
large data sets of things already within
your organization and then figuring out
how you can use intelligence and your
employees to use that data to make
decisions faster so it's one of those
things that is going to make the entire
role evolve where you're using AI as
almost like a co-pilot in your
day-to-day work so it's not just a
platform you're going to go to like
ai.com and you know it buy the tool and
then implement it into your systems it's
going to be a core part of every part of
your job to help you make decisions
faster so I think from that perspective
we are only scratching the surface when
it comes to Transportation data because
when you think of Transportation data
and just Global Logistics supply chain
it really tells the story of consumer
Behavior All Over The Globe what people
are purchasing what people are buying
tells us about what the their future
Investments are going to be and we
simply just can't sort through all of
that data by ourselves we do need the
help from these other technology players
um in order to make those decisions
faster but it also matters if you have
good data because if you've got if you
have bad data you're not going to be
able to make those decisions that are
going to help your customers get their
products delivered from source to porch
much more quickly and much more
efficiently which is what every customer
every manufacturer wants in the world is
they want cheaper Transportation costs
and that's really going to be the only
way to increase productivity from a
logistics provider perspective
yeah that's that's super interesting
it's almost like there's a uh like an
integration or a uh coming together of
different types of Technology here
you've got I hope you know AI internet
of things I mean Predictive Analytics
just data management all this stuff
that's sort of been buzzing around in
the background for a while now it seems
like it's sort of a perfect storm of
opportunity now with technology with all
these different emerging texts
especially with ai ai sort of like the
Capstone that sort of takes all that
other stuff and now makes it possible to
make smarter decisions and not just have
the data but now figure out what you're
going to do with it and make better
absolutely
now kind of along those lines um this is
from Kyler on LinkedIn along those lines
of how technology will improve Supply
chains and effect Supply Chain
management going forward her question is
how are artificial intelligence
Technologies being applied to optimize
supply chain and Logistics operations
and what benefits do they offer you know
what I'm so sorry that is not the
question I'm going to ask that is a good
question I'm going to come back to it
um sorry no worries 180 here the one I
meant to ask that was related to the
last one was also from Kyler but this is
um can you talk more about the need for
best of breed Solutions in Supply Chain
management sound like Niche options have
great potential but how to influence the
core Erp solution so you you talk about
Ai and you talk about these different
technologies that are becoming more
mainstream and more of an opportunity to
help improve Supply Chain management
what does that mean in terms of like
your back office Erp systems and or your
traditional Supply Chain management
systems are these going to be sort of
Standalone systems or technologies that
you're talking about or do you think it
eventually gets embedded within Erp and
Supply Chain management Solutions
themselves there are definitely some
players that are going to be integrated
into some of these Erp Solutions now it
remains to be seen because there are
also there there's a an underlying
current that has happened within the I
would say the past five years where
what's called these digital Freight
brokerages which might be a little in
the weeds for you know Supply Chain
management nerds out there that I am one
too so I use that term affectionately
now they have tried to implement
technology into a system that is mostly
relationship based so for a lot of folks
if you don't
um I guess maybe understand the I guess
the intricacies of the U.S Freight
Market the U.S Freight Market is and I
imagine this works all over the globe
because relationships matter and so for
a lot of these folks they have a direct
relationship with the customer that's
arranging the shipments now these
customers have had a whirlwind of three
years of nobody even knowing what a
supply machine manager role was they
were not invited into the c-suite they
were not invited into budget planning or
things like that and they and they
should have been you know supply chain
managers should have had a seat at the
table because Transportation costs
affect the product and good costs so
much up to 50 like I just said and so
for a lot of these companies they have
avoided that
um that issue and that role of a supply
chain manager now the supply chain
manager at a lot of companies has a seat
at the c-suite table they're in the
weekly meetings and they're talking
about the increased role and their
increased productivity or trying to get
to an increased productivity
um within their role but they're also
these are people who are handling tons
and tons of Brokers and shipments and
relationships and they really just are
frankly tired they're it's essentially
you know one very small teams one to
five people that are in charge of supply
chain for global companies so they're
overworked but they also want to focus
on their go-to relationships so supply
chain is very much and always will be a
very people first business but they are
getting pressure from the top from their
investors
um from partner companies that they need
to start making these Tech at these Tech
Investments and so that's where the tech
Investments are almost being pushed off
to this not the smaller players but the
people lower in so you have the supply
chain manager you have the logistics
service providers you have your
Warehouse operators you have your
procurement directors you have all of
these people that are now responsible
for all of these different factors and
so you have to think about it from the
lens of
what technology is going to help that
supply that small Supply team supply
chain manager team be able to work more
effectively be able to be more
productive and a lot of those folks are
scared to make those large Tech
Investments right now because of the
fact that a lot of these folk a lot of
these companies have focused on the
digital side of things the digital
movement of goods they've kind of forgot
a little bit about the relationship
aspect that you have to build between
customer and broker and shipper and
Driver all of these relationships matter
and so for a lot of these you know
digital Freight brokerages for example a
lot of them focused on we're going to
remove the person we're going to remove
the truck driver we're going to remove
these people that from the
decision-making process and just
digitally match you know a customer to a
truck what's been lost over the last
five years and what companies are
starting to realize is that you need
both you need the tech advancement you
need the tech Integrations but you also
cannot remove move the human from the
equation and so it's there's a lot of
companies that are struggling right now
on how do we make Tech Investments
without removing the human because we've
already been burned over the last five
years for making these large Tech
Investments and that hasn't resulted in
Roi so now it's it the pendulum we kind
of talked you know earlier about the
pendulum swinging pendulum is swinging
back to the folks who focus on
relationships and that they can build
out customized Transportation uh really
uh Transportation I would say solutions
for these different customers based on
their specific needs and that's where
technology can come into play to help
develop those custom Solutions where the
person and the people are still at the
at the Forefront of making those
business decisions so then that way the
people who are working in the trenches
who are often forgotten about those are
the people that are actually using the
software those are the people that are
actually using these different Tech
Integrations and trying to find where or
else they can make those slight
improvements from not having to make 40
calls a day a hundred calls a day in
order to see where Freight is so now
they're trying to figure out what what
does that balance look like and so I
think for a lot of companies especially
in supply chain there have been burned a
little bit in the past and now they're
trying to figure out okay where do we
make the investments from a technology
perspective that we can get these
incremental improvements from a
productivity perspective and then still
really focus on the people side of
things which I think has been largely
forgotten mostly because we've all been
running around like chickens with our
heads cut off over the last few years
and now things are starting to kind of
settle into what we think is the new
normal and that's where companies can
now catch their breath supply chain
managers can catch their breath and
everybody that works underneath them
could kind of have a way to say okay
what did we learn where can we make
these Investments and where are we not
going to waste a lot of time and energy
because I you know I I don't have to
explain this to you like you know a lot
of these companies it's a senior EP that
maybe makes a fly-by-night decision
where that software sounds great we're
going to use it and then they never talk
to the people who actually use the
software they never talk to the people
that it actually directly affects and so
I think that that's where it's almost
like very much coming back to reality
for a lot of these companies is that you
probably over invested in Technology
Solutions that didn't have a huge Roi at
the end of the day and then now you have
to reinvest back into AI there's a new
sort of tech thing that you've got to
learn but incorporating AI into
different functions of the product to
increase productivity of of your job
will then Help the People relationship
side of things to help make decisions
faster so they can focus on the things
that they're they're best at and that's
developing and further developing those
relationships with their customers
yeah yeah that's super interesting and
it's and it's an interesting
perspective because you're talking about
not only changing
Technologies or leveraging technology in
a different way but it's also a cultural
and mindset shift I would imagine to
where it's it's affecting you know us as
all as humans in Supply Chain management
um how how are you seeing or are you
seeing the front line reaction to that
like are you seeing like the average
entry level or the front line person
that's doing a lot of the work in Supply
Chain management how do you see their
jobs being affected or how are they
adapting to this or do you know or are
you seeing enough in that front line
Behavior the Smart Ones are adopting it
um now there is obviously with any kind
of new technology there's a little bit
of apprehension I would say a lot of
apprehension depending on the segment
that you ask um truck drivers in
particular are very apprehensive to new
technology they they are arguably the
the
they are arguably I would imagine the
the mode of transportation and Logistics
that are the most impacted by technology
they've have autonomous trucks you know
the promise of removing the driver
um you know sort of promise to them and
so it's become a career that they've
almost had to fight back against
technology coming more and more into the
truck autonomous trucks probably doesn't
look like it's going to be uh a thing
that's going to be a long-term solution
especially for long-haul Freight
um there's a lot of debate that's going
on around that sector but then from the
truckers perspective they have ELD
mandates these electronic log devices
that have been installed in every one of
their trucks
um monitoring you know how far they're
driving their speed they're going
um they're basically outfitting a semi
truck
um with all of these electrical
components
um that makes the job of driving a truck
um it's supposed to is for a lot of
drivers that their sentiment is I can
drive my truck better than this tool can
tell me how to drive it now there's even
more technology that's starting to come
in with cameras that are inside the
truck that are facing them and you have
to think about it from the lens of the
driver that these a lot of times these
are their homes they're this is where
they're sleeping in where they're
undressing and where they're eating and
whether you know enjoying their off time
in
um and so for a lot of drivers they're
very hesitant to adopt this new
technology whereas the office workers
it's almost very much
um the same kind of apprehension to
adopting technology because they see it
as this is going to take my job and we
also see it in warehouse workers as well
with the adoption of more robotics
um you know more automation coming into
the warehouse there are actual companies
that have to train their employees to
see the robot as a helper from a
psychological perspective they have to
introduce this kind of training to say
you have to see this robot as a helper
not something that's going to take you
your job and so there's this
psychological component with adopting
more technology into the fields into
various different silos within the
entire supply chain but then you have
some of the people who are taking these
tools they are taking Chachi BT and
Claude and you know I guess barred to an
extent but not Bard is kind of an
afterthought I think for most folks who
use you know these large language model
type tools
um what we're starting to see more
especially at the Enterprise level for a
lot of logistics companies is that they
are adopting their own personal element
large language models to learn off of
their own data sets for Fears that their
data could you know privacy concerns
things like that with using some of
these open source models and some of
these other um you know Microsoft
powered models things like that
um so you kind of have a an apprehension
I've seen it with a lot of marketers and
sales folks as well much less so on the
sales side of things it's much more on
the marketing side of things they've
really fear that their jobs are going to
be taken the way I see it is that these
jobs are evolving in that you know using
these tools you're going to be able to
increase your productivity so much more
so much faster because you're able to
sift through data so much more quickly
everything is recorded conversations
like this or recorded meetings are
recorded you can't possibly filter
through all of that data and be able to
learn something from it to turn it into
something actionable and so that's why I
say the Smart Ones are starting to use
these tools in every aspect of their
work from email to quoting to uh you
know rfps to customer Communications to
reducing the amount of phone calls that
someone has to make to the shipper to
the broker and so we're having a lot of
these Tech uh Tech advancements but
they're very much as that other side
that is very resistant to it I would say
drivers are the most resistant to it but
rightfully so where it's going to impact
more along the lines of supply chain is
going to be those in-office workers the
accounting the marketing this sales
teams and also the folks that are doing
a lot of pricing a lot of quoting
different trade Lanes all throughout the
globe what do those rates look like
who's the carrier there's all of these
different data points weather is another
one geopolitical issues all of these
different data points have to be pulled
into consideration and it would be
impossible to make educated guesses or
educated decisions if you're not working
with those different data sets and using
technology on top of those data sets
yeah especially when you talk about the
disparate data sets the the stuff that's
not internal it's not data that you've
accumulated or hoarded over decades in
your own internal systems this is you
know the geopolitical stuff weather
related stuff economic data all that
stuff is third party that you you've got
to figure out a way to tie it all
together with the internal stuff that
you have um and a lot of these folks
they don't have the conversations with
those workers with the the Brokers that
are making 100 phone calls a day or the
drivers that are driving hundreds of
miles a day they aren't being consulted
first for a lot of these these Tech
Investments and so when it comes down
the pipeline hey you got to start using
this tool they don't want to use it and
then they figure out really quickly oh
we just wasted a very large chunk of
money on this investment because we
didn't actually talk to the people who
are going to be using the tool
um so that is it sounds like such an
easy thing but I think for the last you
know handful of years a lot of folks
within supply chain have been um it's
almost like the the shiny shiny object
syndrome where they see the new tech
tools and they are they want to just go
ahead and just buy them without
realizing how it's going to fit into
their already established processes and
then also from the lens of the workers
who are actually going to use it so
that's why you know I say right now is
that there's a little bit of
apprehension to invest in Technology
Solutions unless you can prove that you
can provide an Roi or solve a very
specific problem which sort of brings it
back to where a lot of the niche players
we talked about earlier in the
conversation where they're going to play
a really strong role I mentioned it kind
of briefly earlier that you know a large
aspect of what's going on in this
industry right now is fraud and
prevention of fraud cargo crimes things
you know it's smuggling across borders
smuggling into different ports a lot of
these things are uh you know they're
it's on an uptick and so you're what
you're starting to see more and that has
a direct impact on bottom line and Roi
is that a lot of these companies are
starting to invest in tracking software
and then it goes back to the drivers the
drivers want to be tracked you know
there's different elements with where
you're shipping Goods I I just talked to
an insurance provider on the podcast the
other day that that mentioned that for
his uh drivers in Mexico they are only
allowed to drive during the day they're
not allowed to drive at night because
that's where their statistics are
showing them that a majority of cargo
crime is happening is at night so when
they do drive on the road they drive
during the day and they do not stop
um so a lot of these different factors a
lot of these different data points are
going to they should be impacting your
decisions but what are those Niche
players what are they all what kind of
solutions are they offering for the
problems that exist right now that is
directly impacting Revenue fraud and
cargo crime is a huge one especially
Stateside and I would imagine across the
globe but that is one that is uh the
more investment is starting to come into
that mix
um and more of a stronger focus on
trying to prevent these issues because
we talk about all of just the general
formal supply chain issues but then you
layer in the fact of cargo crime on top
of it and that it directly impacts
pricing it directly impacts consumer
spending the cost of goods it impacts a
lot so that that's a big factor of
what's going on in supply chain right
now that is trying to be combated with
technology and with different Insurance
Solutions tracking things like that but
are the drivers going to use it are the
broker is going to use it
um that Still Remains to be seen
so you're you're touching on a lot of
stuff here like related to technology
Trends human adoption you talked earlier
about
um the dust settling from from covid and
Supply chains just sort of resuming back
to their 2018 normalcy if there is such
a thing
um so there's a lot there's a lot going
on here right there's a lot of different
things you're talking about what what do
you see with all these supply chain
managers that you talk to every day and
interview on your podcast and whatnot
what are the biggest things that are
keeping them up at night you know of all
these things that are going on sounds
like they might be spread thin they've
got a lot to a lot of balls in here
what's keeping them what's keeping them
up at night what worries them most when
it relates to Supply Chain management
some of these Trends you're talking
about I would say definitely
um it's almost a sentiment of Don't Rock
the Boat right now
um where they have you know we kind of
talked about you know the the tech
Investments that they've made over the
last five years didn't really come to
fruition hasn't really had a strong Roi
and so for a lot of folks and especially
what I'm I'm hearing and what
anecdotally what I'm seeing is that for
a lot of these businesses it's a wait
and see approach it's a wait and see on
how consumers are going to be spending
how retailers are going to respond to
that spending if spending happens at all
and then from the investment side of
things margins are so thin right now
there was a huge boom during covet where
people were buying stuff like crazy and
shipments and you know I think pallets
went from like a hundred dollars a piece
to two thousand dollars a piece and so a
lot of these fluctuations that were
massive pendulum shifts in the economy
have started to settle back in and so we
I think there is a almost a desperation
to find out what is the new normal what
does that look like so there's a
hesitancy to make those big Investments
right now and then to have kind of a
wait and see approach on where they want
to move those chess pieces on their
chessboard and so I think for a lot of
these folks they just they don't want to
make the wrong investment because the
wrong investment could dramatically
impact the bottom line and when margins
are already thin that wrong investment
could lead to a lot of people getting
laid off and so I think for a lot of
folks it very much is a wait and see
approach Don't Rock the Boat
how our supply chain technology solution
providers responding to that uh that
concern do you see them sort of get more
aggressive or finding different angles
to sell their their Technologies to
these these supply chain managers given
that mindset I mean for a lot of them
they're they're facing a hard reality I
think it's a it's a reality for a lot of
software providers that are especially
ones that were VC backed
um the VCS and the The Venture Capital
funds they want to see an Roi they want
to see that there's light at the end of
the tunnel
um and for a lot of these Technology
Solutions that haven't come to fruition
a lot of those companies are laying
people off and a lot of that funding is
drying up it's not so easy to get access
to this funding to continue
building up a business to gain market
share now it's all about profitability
and yeah I mean for a lot of small
business owners especially medium-sized
business owners that should be like a
duh moment that yes your business has to
make money and so far I think a lot of
the these software providers are really
starting to have their their come to
Jesus moment where it's like you got to
make some tough decisions you have to
figure out that path to prop
profitability and what that looks like
you have to communicate that that to
your your funding partners and then from
the funding partner perspective they
don't really have a lot of patience
um and so they want to see that Roi and
if they don't see it then you're going
to be forced to unfortunately make you
know a lot of layoffs a lot of freight
Tech uh companies in our space have uh
dramatically uh laid off a lot of their
stuff hundreds of people
um just in the last month have been laid
off from a lot of these more Tech
focused Freight tech companies and so
for and it's not just bro it's not just
tech companies but also the brokerages
that invested in a lot of those
Technologies Solutions thinking that
technology was going to solve all of
their problems and they forgot the
people aspect they forgot that you know
it's not going to be this sort of uh
Scrooge McDuck situation where you're
just going to dive in a pile of money
every single year that coveted spending
habits are over and now you have to be a
real business you have to be profitable
you can't really wait any longer or
otherwise a lot of people are going to
suffer and so you have to write the ship
and you have to do it now and that's
where a lot of companies are starting to
set themselves up for that 2024
hopefully success is by trimming the fat
now and unfortunately it's a crude way
of you know saying that when it comes to
you know employee jobs and things like
that because ultimately they're the ones
that that burn or get the brunt end of
it when upper management makes you know
bad decisions and bad investment
decisions
um but that's the thing with the supply
chain is that it's always evolving it's
one that's always going to be invested
in and so the thing with you know supply
chain roles is that unfortunately if you
are laid off in one area then there's
probably several other areas that you
could make the leap and make the jump
um career-wise and um from an AI
perspective if you are not focused if
you are one of those folks that were
laid off and you're not focusing on just
AI operations as a whole uh I feel like
that that is one area that is a glaring
mistake but it also could be a great
opportunity because that's what every
single one of these companies are
wanting to do right now they're wanting
to be more productive and they want to
cut costs and AI can help in both of
those areas and so for a lot of those
folks a lot of these software companies
that built up they had a really high
body counts
um inside their offices a lot of these
brokerages as well now it's about who
who can rise to the top who can use
these these Solutions in order to be
more productive and to enhance their
career but also enhance the bottom line
of a lot of these companies
um because that that's really the only
solution I see right now for a lot of
these tech companies that are are forced
to really look at the bottom line and
look at their revenue look at their P
L's and see where they stand and you got
to make smart decisions you got to get
leaner and that's where I think you know
for for a lot of folks it's the process
mapping it's the boring stuff
um the process mapping the software
Investments and how you're going to put
Ai and automation where it makes sense
that the people can still be at the
Forefront of those building those
relationships and then use this as
almost like their their superpower that
that nobody else sees
agree with you on one thing and that
process mapping is boring I totally just
I think process mapping is really fun
but but something really challenging too
it is so do you think you know kind of
Shifting Gears a little bit here in your
career or you know Supply Chain
management careers which is a lot of
um a lot of questions we get on social
media is related to how do I get into
Supply Chain management what area of
Supply Chain management should I focus
on is it a good area to focus on what do
you see here in terms of
um just general career opportunities is
it going to be more on the Consulting
side sort of the outside third parties
that are going to be more opportunity
you think it's the internal uh types of
people that can add value internally is
it a combination of both or where what
do you see is like a trend in terms of
careers in Supply Chain management as
terms of careers I I think I I feel like
I'm beating a dead horse when I'm going
to say this but AI operations
um that is going to be the bread and
butter of a variety of different roles
within all of supply chain I mentioned
from account I don't this is from a
us-based perspective but we have a
shortage of accountants we have a
shortage of CPAs in the United States
accounting is one of the largest
departments at a supply at a uh you know
a logistics company at a supply chain
company the accounting department is
some of the largest and we have a
shortage of those types of people then
we need software to come in and help
alleviate a lot of the overworked
individuals who are already in those
roles and they really don't have sort of
a reprieve and or a relief to come in
and help them besides these different AI
adoption Technologies and so what we're
probably going to see especially from a
career perspective is somebody who is
impact or somebody who is fluent in
process mapping someone that is fluent
in also AI operations where can AI fit
in how can we standardize our data so
that it is good for these these
different large language models these
private ones that should be in
deployment that should be being built or
at least looked into from a tech
perspective active from it or a company
perspective just in general and so I
think the the role of AI operations and
having someone that has a general
overview of that process mapping and
then seeing where AI plays a role I
think there's an incredible opportunity
in order to be able to be that main
focal point to be that main person who
is focused on where can we Implement AI
where is it going to make sense and so
having someone that is you know a chief
AI officer or someone who is you know
their title is AI operations I think is
going to be a massive play
um and really sort of solidify uh a
little bit of a guarantee for a career
in the near future where a lot of these
other traditional roles are are being a
lot of the I would imagine the the
duties within those traditional roles so
think about the folks that are in the
White Collar work the uh research
analyst um a pricing
um analyst a lot of those different
roles are directly going to be impacted
by AI where you might have had six
people performing that job whereas you
might only need like two or three now if
you use the tools like AI so if you're
in Supply Chain management or if you're
looking to be in a supply chain kind of
career or adjacent I would get in on the
ground floor I would talk to the people
that are in the trenches that are doing
the work and then become the person who
is the go-to AI person within the
company that you can look at those
different process maps you can look at
the different Tech that you have or Tech
Stacks that you have right now the tech
advancements that you could be making in
the future or or in addition to the AI
responsibilities and how you can figure
out where it's going to play a role in
different departments all across the
company because it really is going to
have a direct impact on revenue and
productivity so if you can be that
person be that person dive in bookmark
these tools figure out how you can use
them in every aspect of your job it's
going to help you get there a little bit
faster now it's not the end result it is
not I have to put that caveat out there
that it's not as simple as you know
write me a sales email to a new customer
and chat GPT it's not that simple you do
have to have a level of expertise and so
that's where the higher thinking
um the the more of the Strategic
thinking individuals who can see where
it makes sense for these AI automation
machine learning tools to come into play
that's where it's going to really just
almost put gasoline on the fire for a
lot of these folks who are looking for a
career that's going to have a little bit
more longevity whereas some of these
other careers are a little bit more in
the balance of things of what trajectory
they're going to go because AI is just
impacting every single role at a variety
of different levels
that's super interesting now is that
movement Ai and being uh maybe you're
not going to be an entry-level Chief AI
officer necessarily although that could
be a longer term career path for you
um this sort of ties into a question
from from Kyler here on LinkedIn
um about breaking into the Supply Chain
management industry and what do you
recommend to people that want to get
into Logistics and Supply Chain
management obviously AI is one area that
you know if you know Supply Chain
management and you know AI I think what
you're saying and I think what we agree
on is that that's a great that could be
a great entry point are there other ways
or other tactics or strategies or areas
of focus that you think are going to be
more important for people that are
entering Supply Chain management right
now in addition to AI I mean they're not
going to like this but you gotta you
gotta get it on the ground level with
some of these a lot of uh transportation
and Logistics professionals they are in
the field there it's more blue-collar
it's hard work getting into that aspect
of it so maybe like a forklift driver
maybe Warehouse operations
you could also go work for a big
brokerage they're always always hiring
and when I say brokerage I mean Freight
brokerage um the people that are kind of
like the middleman who are arranging the
truck drivers and the warehouse
operators and the customers and the
manufacturers
um so being that middleman will really
give you a a breath of knowledge in all
areas of the supply chain and then you
can take that role and you can turn it
into something that's AI operations you
can figure out where technology plays a
larger role but you can't know that
until you do some of this work that's in
the trenches even if you're a software
player I would encourage you to go to
some of these operations of where you're
building that software and seeing how
they're using the software you know I
was just talking to a company the other
or a couple months ago that they have
their development team their warehouse
managed they have a warehouse management
software system they went to one of
their customers and they sat in with
their customer for a full week and just
watched watch how they use their tool
why watch how they use the mobile app
they gained so much more insight from
watching the in the trenches workers
that they were able to turn around and
make improvements to their product and
be able to sell that use case to other
companies now when you have that kind of
experience from maybe a software vendor
perspective or you're actually the one
doing the work in the trenches you can
then flip that into that supply chain
manager role within a customer role so
say a Target say a Walmart
um a Costco you know building into not
Sephora but maybe a Sephora some at
makeup brands a consumer packaged Goods
you know beverages you can once you
learn the in the trenches knowledge you
can take that knowledge and you can go
to one of these bigger companies and
become the worker on the other side
where you're the one calling the and not
having to worry about calling the truck
drivers and calling the warehouse
operations and making appointments and
things like that so you could parlay
that role into something where you're a
Supply Chain management manager role
into more on the customer side of things
so there is that Evolution but if you
want if you're young and if you're
hungry and you want to get it on the
ground level I would I would go to the
nearest Warehouse I would go to the
nearest Freight brokerage and I would
get in and I would learn everything
about the modes that there are shipments
that they're using the equipment that
they're using the Commodities that
they're shipping and then once you learn
just the basics you don't even really
need to go to college for this and
that's what is the best part is that you
can learn some Supply Chain management
uh key tools things like that of course
in college but a lot of the learning a
lot of that happens while you're working
at the companies you learn how the how
the sausage is made you learn all the
intricacies and then you can parlay that
into other areas that have more
longevity and have more opportunity for
maybe what you want to do such as AI
operations role or a supply chain
manager role but getting in on the
ground level and the in the trenches
work is key to understanding where those
problems exist because no matter if you
maybe are an executive level role we
kind of hinted this Earl earlier in the
show you know they are making these bad
Tech Investments because they're not
talking to those folks who are in the
trenches working so if you're talking to
those in the trenches employees or if
you're doing the work yourself you have
a much better idea of where these Tech
Solutions make sense and then you can
parlay that experience into maybe a
freight Tech role um a logistics Tech
role or on the other side of things
where you go and actually work at the at
the customer level at the manufacturer
level and then you manage the shipments
on that side of thing as well and you
manage the entire supply chain the
source of the source for your products
um things like that so I would advise
get in on the trenches
learn it there first and then you have a
much better idea of where technology and
other roles will have a greater impact
especially while we're trying to still
figure out what the hell is going on
post coven right and it gives you a lot
more credibility you know if you want to
move up the food chain and become a
supply chain manager or a CEO or
whatever you know whatever future
aspirations you might have having that
credibility at the ground level is going
to be a lot more so especially a great
example you gave on the tech Investments
the bad Tech Investments part of that
could be that maybe these are guys and
gals that are too far removed from the
front lines either they don't happen to
start off there yeah
yeah and I'd say uh you know the the
college the university and College route
is probably good I guess if you want to
be you know consultant certainly that
can help uh but back to your point you
don't have that Hands-On credibility
necessarily just from having the the
college degree or the University degree
that's those curriculums they just
frankly can't keep up and that's you
know we've covered a lot and you know
there's this short time talking but
there's been so much that has happened
that has impacted every aspect of the
supply chain Journey for all of your
products all of your goods and it's just
happened within the last three years so
everything we thought we knew you know
prior to that has just been upended and
so for a lot of these colleges their
curriculum just frankly can't keep up
and so the best way to get that you know
sort of trial by fire knowledge is to
just go work for these companies right
right great great advice now speaking of
advice just sort of a Capstone question
here what what advice would you give to
organizations that are still trying to
chat they're still trying to navigate
some of these supply chain main
challenges today and I think what we're
saying and whatever you say is that
these challenges are not going to go
away they're going to continue to evolve
and change but they're not going to go
away so what do you what do you
recommend to an organization or a team
that might just be struggling in general
and they're not really sure where to
where to start or what to do to kind of
look to 2024 and Beyond I think you have
to look internally it has to come with
the people from within where are the
opportunities that you have workers
within your organization that want to do
something else that want to do something
more
um it's not just a matter of employee
recruitment but employee retainment
Talent keeping your top talent within
your organization not having them go to
a competitor or to another industry and
so for I think it starts from within it
starts with the not the boring stuff the
exciting stuff the process mapping so it
starts from within looking at your
people looking at your Tech stack
looking at your processes and then
figuring out where those Investments
make the most sense do you need more
bodies in the office making sales calls
or do you need that software Solution
that's going to come into play that's
going to be able to help you combat
fraud I you know I was just talking to a
company the other day that I was
surprised that this didn't already exist
but it's essentially a credit score and
rating for Brokers and shippers and so
from a customer a shipper perspective
they really have an outside of Google
reviews and a couple different sort of
Legacy software systems they really have
no idea who is hauling their Freight who
is hauling their goods and so the
greater transparency greater visibility
into who is hauling all of your goods
who is involved in this processes and so
that company what they do is they
provide almost a credit score for a lot
of these brokers and carriers so then
that way they can make these Benchmark
decisions on what is the most profitable
trade Lane which ones are can we focus
more on which carriers are the most
profitable they're most on time their
most reliable within those different
trade lanes and so having all of that
additional data points it just makes a
ton of sense for a lot of companies to
be able to say let's slow down the
economy is slowed down so you have this
extra time to be able to look at these
things more in depth you can kind of
catch your breath a little bit and look
at where the Investments that not only
you're going to make right now but
possibly in the near future you can't
make those predictions you can't make
those Investments unless you're working
with the people within your company
you're talking to your customers that's
one thing that I haven't mentioned yet
that is so vital it's so important
regularly having meetings with your
customers to figure out what go what's
going on with them and then that way you
can plan your operations appropriately
depending on how technology is being
integrated and adopted within your own
organization if you have people that are
slow to adopt technology but you want to
make Technologies Investments it's going
you're going to have a little bit of a
more challenging time so it's talking to
your people figuring out what the pulse
of your own internal workers are at
where you can make some shifts and
adjustments and then figuring out what
those processes look like and then
adopting AI automation machine learning
on top of that in order to help you
become more profitable and then if you
are more profitable then your customers
are going to be more profitable and it
just has a ripple effect for everybody
else in society I mean that really how
supply chain works is that you can save
your customers a little bit of money
then they're going to save their
customers a little bit of money ideally
that's the way it's supposed to work but
you know that's a whole other
conversation you know we don't have time
probably don't have time to get into all
that
right now how do people
um learn about your podcast how can we
listen to your podcast and how we learn
more about your business sure so um my
podcast is everything is logistics you
can find it in all major podcast apps um
Spotify Google Apple of course
um if you want to check out more Recaps
we have the the website everything is
logistics.com
um we're also on YouTube
um so all of our interviews now have the
video component as well as the audio
component and then um if you just hit up
everything is logistics.com that is
where all of my content lives social
media all that good stuff cool very good
we'll really appreciate you being here
again today uh life this was a great
conversation and as always it's fun
having you here and look forward to the
next conversation as well so thank you
thank you so much for having me
absolutely and thank you to the audience
for listening in and again apologies for
those on LinkedIn that we weren't able
to get to questions apparently that
stream is just not working from from
what I could tell today so hopefully uh
that gets fixed but hopefully you
enjoyed the interview anyway and we'll
look forward to seeing this final uh
product be we'll edit this in interview
we'll polish it up we'll add more
content to it'll become part of the full
length transformation Ground Control
podcast episode that gets released a
week from tomorrow so be sure to check
that out uh on audio podcast platforms
throughout the world the same ones that
you can find everything is logistics as
well
um so um thank you again to the audience
for being here today thank you Blythe I
hope everyone has a great week and we'll
see you next time on transformation
Ground Control take care
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