Overcoming Global Supply Chain Bottlenecks

SupplyChainBrain
26 Nov 202112:26

Summary

TLDR在这段对话中,Bill Brooks,Cap Gemini北美运输副总裁,与Bob讨论了当前供应链面临的严重压力。Bill指出,供应链问题的根源在于过去五到十年间对基础设施投资的不足,以及疫情对供应链的冲击。他提到,港口拥堵、卡车司机短缺、仓库自动化水平低以及缺乏高效的软件和云计算技术都是造成当前困境的因素。此外,大型船舶只能在少数港口停靠,进一步加剧了问题。短期内,一些港口已经采取了24小时运营和增加劳动力的措施来缓解压力。长期来看,Bill认为需要进行自我审查,识别问题所在,并在关键领域进行投资,如港口设施、软件和云计算技术。政府在基础设施建设、资金支持、关税和法规调整方面也扮演着重要角色,以帮助打破当前的僵局。

Takeaways

  • 📈 **历史投资不足**:过去五到十年,供应链投资不足,导致在面对危机时缺乏弹性。
  • 🔄 **疫情冲击**:COVID-19疫情加剧了供应链的压力,导致全球范围内的供应链紧张。
  • 🚢 **港口拥堵**:特别是美国南加州港口的拥堵,是供应链问题开始显现的地方。
  • 🚚 **运输行业问题**:卡车司机短缺和运输行业的挑战被广泛记录,影响了货物的运输。
  • 🏭 **仓库自动化不足**:缺乏自动化、机器学习和流程软件导致仓库效率低下。
  • 🌐 **技术投资**:需要投资于能够加速供应链流程的技术,包括云计算和软件解决方案。
  • 🚢 **巨型货船问题**:巨型货船只能在少数港口停靠,这限制了物流的灵活性。
  • 🛍️ **消费需求变化**:疫情期间,消费者减少了旅游休闲支出,增加了对实物商品的需求。
  • 🎉 **节日购物季挑战**:预计节日购物季将因供应链问题而面临产品短缺。
  • 🔧 **短期解决方案**:一些港口提出24/7运营,以及通过巴拿马运河将货物转运到东海岸港口。
  • 🔮 **长期策略**:需要进行自我审计,识别问题所在,并在关键领域进行投资,如港口设施、软件和技术。
  • 🏛️ **政府的作用**:政府在基础设施建设、资金提供、关税和法规调整上可以发挥重要作用。

Q & A

  • 目前供应链面临的主要问题是什么?

    -供应链目前面临的主要问题是严重的压力和瓶颈,这主要是由于历史上的投资不足、COVID-19疫情的冲击、全球市场的同步问题以及对某些关键港口的过度依赖等因素造成的。

  • Bill Brooks认为供应链问题是如何开始的?

    -Bill Brooks认为供应链问题始于多年前对供应链投资的不足,以及当COVID-19疫情发生时,供应链系统受到的压力。此外,全球范围内的困难,如海外市场的挑战,也加剧了这些问题。

  • 在供应链中,哪些环节首先显现出了问题?

    -供应链中首先显现出问题的环节是港口,特别是南加州的港口。随后,这种堵塞效应像多米诺骨牌一样影响到了内陆铁路设施、卡车运输设施等。

  • Bill Brooks提到了哪些供应链环节的弱点?

    -Bill Brooks提到的供应链环节的弱点包括港口的压力、卡车运输行业的人力短缺、仓库自动化和机器学习的缺乏,以及流程软件和云计算的不足。

  • 为什么大型远洋货轮的建造可能导致供应链问题?

    -大型远洋货轮只能在少数港口停靠,这意味着这些港口必须处理大量的货物,导致拥堵和效率低下。除非在其他港口进行更多的投资,否则这将导致未来的困难。

  • 即将到来的假日购物季可能会面临哪些挑战?

    -假日购物季可能会面临的挑战包括产品供应有限,因为供应链的堵塞导致商品被积压在仓库和船上。需求如果保持不变,将导致消费者难以找到他们想要购买的产品。

  • 短期内有哪些可能缓解供应链问题的措施?

    -短期内可能缓解供应链问题的措施包括一些进口商租用较小的船只进入替代港口、港口24/7开放以及与劳动力提供者协商寻找新的解决方案等。

  • 长期来看,如何解决供应链中的问题?

    -长期来看,解决供应链问题需要进行自我审查,诚实地评估自身在供应链中的弱点,然后投资于这些领域,比如改善港口设施、投资软件以提高调度效率,或者采用云计算来加快审批流程。

  • 政府在解决供应链问题中可以扮演什么角色?

    -政府可以通过基础设施法案提供帮助,这不仅包括道路、高速公路和桥梁等,还可以包括对港口和铁路设施的投资,或者为私营部门提供贷款,审查和调整关税和法规以适应当前的需求。

  • Bill Brooks认为哪些因素导致了供应链投资不足?

    -Bill Brooks认为,过去五到十年间,企业倾向于将利润放入口袋而不是重新投入业务,这导致了供应链投资不足。此外,对供应链的依赖和缺乏应急准备也是一个因素。

  • 在当前供应链危机中,消费者可能会遇到哪些具体问题?

    -在当前供应链危机中,消费者可能会遇到产品短缺、交货延迟、价格上升等问题。特别是在假日购物季,这些影响可能会更加明显。

  • Bill Brooks提到了哪些可能提高供应链效率的技术或方法?

    -Bill Brooks提到了自动化、机器学习、流程软件、云计算等技术,以及港口的深度和宽度改进,这些都可能提高供应链的效率。

Outlines

00:00

😀 对话Bill Brooks:供应链瓶颈的成因与影响

在这段对话中,主持人与Cap Gemini北美运输副总裁Bill Brooks讨论了当前供应链所面临的压力。Bill指出,供应链问题部分源于过去5到10年对供应链投资不足,以及疫情对供应链的冲击。他还提到了港口拥堵、卡车司机短缺、仓库自动化程度不足等问题。Bill认为,供应链的紧张局势是由多个因素共同造成的,而且这些问题在全球范围内普遍存在。

05:01

😓 假日购物季的供应链挑战

Bill Brooks讨论了即将到来的假日购物季可能面临的供应链问题。由于供应受限而需求不变,将导致产品短缺。他提到,疫情期间人们减少了旅游和休闲支出,转而购买更多的实物商品,这已经给供应链带来了压力。Bill认为,短期内可以通过一些措施来缓解问题,如港口24/7运营、增加劳动力、使用软件优化调度等,但这些措施都有其局限性。

10:04

🤔 长期解决方案:自我审查与投资

Bill Brooks强调了长期解决供应链问题的重要性。他建议首先要进行自我审查,诚实地评估自身在供应链中的位置和存在的问题。其次,需要在识别出的弱点上进行投资,比如改善港口设施、投资软件以提高调度效率,或者采用云计算技术加快审批流程。Bill还提到,投资回报率(ROI)可能需要重新评估,因为过去的ROI可能不再适用于当前的情况。

🏛️ 政府在供应链改善中的角色

在讨论政府如何帮助解决供应链问题时,Bill Brooks提到了基础设施法案的重要性。他认为,政府在道路、高速公路、桥梁等基础设施的投资,以及对港口和铁路设施的投资,都将有助于缓解供应链的瓶颈。此外,政府还可以通过提供贷款、调整关税和法规来刺激私营部门的投资,以及促进更有效的商业运作。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡供应链瓶颈

供应链瓶颈指的是在供应链中出现的阻碍或延迟,导致产品或服务无法顺利流通。在视频中,讨论了当前全球供应链面临的严重压力,特别是在港口、铁路和卡车运输等方面。例如,提到了加利福尼亚南部港口的拥堵问题,以及这对整个供应链产生的连锁反应。

💡投资不足

投资不足是指在供应链管理和发展上的财务投入不够,导致无法应对市场变化和增长的需求。视频中提到,五到十年前,许多公司可能将利润用于分红而非再投资,这可能是导致当前供应链问题的一个原因。

💡COVID-19

COVID-19,即新型冠状病毒,它在2020年引发了全球性大流行,对全球供应链造成了巨大冲击。视频中提到,疫情导致了供应链的紧张,因为它改变了人们的消费模式,增加了对某些商品的需求,同时限制了劳动力和运输能力。

💡港口拥堵

港口拥堵是指由于货物积压、劳动力短缺或其他因素导致港口运作缓慢或停滞的现象。视频中特别提到了美国加州南部港口的拥堵问题,这是供应链瓶颈的一个明显例子。

💡卡车司机短缺

卡车司机短缺是指在货运行业中,由于各种原因(如工资、工作条件、职业吸引力等)导致的合格卡车司机不足。视频中提到,卡车司机的短缺是供应链中的一个问题,这导致了货物运输的延迟。

💡自动化

自动化是指使用技术来执行原本需要人工操作的任务,以提高效率和减少人力需求。视频中提到,仓库缺乏自动化是供应链效率低下的一个原因,通过投资自动化和机器学习技术可以提高效率。

💡假日购物季

假日购物季通常指的是年末的一段时间,消费者会大量购买商品作为礼物或个人使用。视频中讨论了由于供应链问题,消费者可能在假日购物季面临产品短缺的问题。

💡短期解决方案

短期解决方案是指为了应对当前问题而采取的快速措施,这些措施可能不是长期的,但可以暂时缓解问题。视频中提到了一些可能的短期解决方案,如港口24小时运营,以及使用较小的船只运输货物到替代港口。

💡长期投资

长期投资是指为了实现长期目标和持续发展而进行的资本投入。视频中强调了对供应链中的不同环节进行自我审查和诚实评估,然后对识别出的弱点进行投资,如港口设施、软件和培训等。

💡政府资金

政府资金指的是政府为支持某些项目或改善某些状况而提供的财政资助。视频中讨论了政府在基础设施建设中的作用,包括道路、桥梁、港口和铁路设施的改进,以及可能的贷款和资金支持。

💡基础设施法案

基础设施法案是指政府提出的旨在改善国家基础设施的立法提案。视频中提到了基础设施法案对于解决供应链问题的重要性,它可能包括对交通、港口和其他关键设施的投资。

Highlights

供应链正面临严重压力,Bill Brooks与Bob讨论了造成当前困境的原因。

过去5到10年,供应链投资不足,利润主要用于分红而非再投资。

COVID-19疫情加剧了供应链的压力,导致了全球范围内的连锁反应。

美国南部加州港口的拥堵问题凸显了供应链的脆弱性。

Bill Brooks指出,应该更均衡地分配进口货物到不同的港口。

卡车运输行业面临司机短缺和运营困难。

仓库自动化和机器学习等技术的缺乏减缓了供应链的效率。

海洋运输公司建造的超大型船只加剧了少数港口的拥堵。

短期内,一些港口提出24/7工作制以缓解压力,但这并非长期解决方案。

节日购物季可能会因为供应链问题导致产品短缺。

Bill Brooks建议,为了长期解决供应链问题,需要进行自我审查并诚实评估问题所在。

投资是关键,需要在识别出的弱点上进行投资,如港口设施、软件和云计算等。

政府在基础设施法案中的作用,包括道路、高速公路、桥梁的投资,对缓解供应链压力至关重要。

可能需要重新审视关税和法规,以确保它们符合当前的经济行为需求。

Bill Brooks强调,尽管短期内可能会有一些困难,但采取关键步骤对未来至关重要。

供应链问题需要行业和政府共同努力,通过投资和政策调整来解决。

Bill Brooks和Bob讨论了供应链问题的多方面影响,并提出了可能的改进建议。

Transcripts

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overcoming supply chain bottlenecks is

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the topic of my conversation today with

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bill brooks he is vice president of

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north america transportation with cap

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gemini hello bill

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how you doing bob good to talk to you

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again yeah good to see you too thanks

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for your time so um obviously we are

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seeing a supply chain that is under

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severe stress in every aspect

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bill

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how did we get into this mess

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well

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lots lots of facets got us there um

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one if you look at the supply chain

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historically uh five ten years ago we

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probably were a little lacks in our

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investments

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and we were taking advantage of business

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as usual

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keep

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you can do two things with profits you

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can either put them in your pocket or

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you can put them back in the business

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for the most part five ten years ago we

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were putting them in our pocket

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and and probably not investing at the

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rate we should

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then you fast forward to the time

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whenever we hit covet

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and you start straining that supply

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chain process and you start putting some

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um

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wrenches nuts whatever you want to say

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is thrown in there in order to cause

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trouble with with what was our business

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as usual

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and so

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then you complicate that by the fact

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that it's happening worldwide

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um

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you look at some of our overseas you

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know you're having trouble in overseas

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markets

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just like you're having in the u.s

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markets and so you're compounding that

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as you go down and that ripple effect

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just continues to build and the wave

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becomes pretty large when it gets to the

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end user is there any yeah is there any

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particular aspect of the supply chain

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you think that i mean we first saw it it

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first seemed to become evident at the

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ports and more specifically southern

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california ports but then we're hearing

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that it backed up in the domino effect

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kind of fashioned all the way up to

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inland rail facilities trucking

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facilities and the like so

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i mean where did it start

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a lot of it

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well

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it's hard to say where it started right

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i can tell you you know as you look at

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that supply chain where we've seen the

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weaknesses in the balloon if you will

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the ports has definitely been won been

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well documented um

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the the pressures that they're under um

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but when you look at some of those ports

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part of that was brought on ourselves

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right whenever you have

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a handful of ports receiving 40 to 50

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percent of our total imports

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you ought to see that coming right and

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so you know we should do a better job of

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spreading out our imports into various

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locations if you look at

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another portion of it our our trucking

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industry our trucking

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industry and our lack of jobs and our

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difficulty there and manning those

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trucks has been documented pretty strong

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here lately well we were having this

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trouble five years ago we were reporting

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the fact that we were short of truckers

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in short of areas at that time

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and then you you take the warehouse and

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the

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lack of automation the lack of machine

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learning the lack of

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processes software's

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cloud that could speed up that process

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through the supply chain and

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specifically through warehouses or

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distribution facilities or scheduling

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facilities

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and you you put all that together and

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like i say it's hard to say which one

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created it um

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because they each had a hand in it and

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you know you put covert on top of it and

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it comes to life can some of it be put

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at the door of ocean carriers though

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for building such gigantic ships that

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can only call a handful of ports around

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the world

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that's exactly right i mean you could

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you could break down each area and say

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that if you look at the shipping and

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the large ships the the few areas that

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they can enter the

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few areas that they can go from point a

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to point b and yeah you're going to have

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difficulties down the road unless you

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invest more in the other ports right

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okay unless i turn around and say okay

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i'm going to make

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my channel in houston deeper and

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therefore i can bring more ships further

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inland than than what i've been doing in

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the past you know there's some of those

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investments that can offset it well that

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takes time and money and

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you know both of which you don't have

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whenever you're looking at a at a

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balloon that is bursting right now in a

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more immediate sense here we are just

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now entering the holiday season

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what's going to happen i mean are our

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consumers and e-commerce shoppers simply

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not going to find the products that they

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want to buy as a result of stuff being

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held up in warehouses and on ships and

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on the other side of the ocean

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what kind of a holiday shopping season

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are we anticipating here

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yeah i think that's exactly what you're

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going to find you're going to find

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a limited supply it's a it's it's simple

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supply and demand let's go back to the

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economics 101 right

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and so whenever your supply is limited

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yeah

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and and if your demand doesn't change

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it's going to cause trouble and it's

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going to create again you're not going

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to be able to find the products you're

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looking for not going to be able to find

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you know those toys that you wanted not

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going to be able to find you know the

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various things but if you back up and

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look back a few months ago

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um it's

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the christmas holidays in the hot and

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the holiday season in general

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is

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is going to be

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is going to strain it but if you look

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back

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a few weeks ago a few months ago

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whenever you had covet hit you had less

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spending on travel and leisure and more

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on material goods more on improvements

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to your home and and

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more on discretionary spending and

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electronics and you know appliances and

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things so you you already had a strain

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on the system because you know you had

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anywhere from five to 25

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increases and

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and demand on those products depending

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on you know which metric you're looking

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at which product you're looking at

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and then you put the christmas peak in

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the holiday peak season on top of that

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um

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you're you're creating a

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time to where your demand is far

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exceeding your supply

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so what do you do you you start that you

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know you try to spread out that demand

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as best you can okay well let's talk a

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little about what do you do especially

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starting with are there any short-term

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fixes or any short-term actions that can

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at least partially

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alleviate this problem i mean we do hear

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about certain importers chartering

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smaller ships to bring them into

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alternative ports and things like that

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but that's not a practice that can be

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widely done

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what do you see in terms of anything we

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can do in the short term if at all

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to help the salon yeah and there are

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things right

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you have the the florida ports for

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example saying that they'll open up for

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business if you can come across from the

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pacific come through the panama canal

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and and get across to some of those east

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coast ports and so they're they're

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pushing that that has its own

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limitations um as well as cost

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associated with that

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you're seeing

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some of the existing ports saying okay

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we're going to be open 24 7.

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we're going to talk to our labor

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providers and come up with new solutions

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there of okay this is a short-term fix

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we're not asking for your your workers

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to work you know 24 7 for the next 365

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additional shifts of workers that could

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be yeah yeah in the short term we have

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to do some of those things assuming we

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have the people

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which is another problem we don't have

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the people

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right in the workforce

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so

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okay so just very quickly though long

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term what has to happen for us to see an

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end to this assuming that it's not

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chronic i don't know maybe it is but

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what are some of the factors that will

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help these things along in a longer term

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sense

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to me i think we have to step back

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and we have to do two or three things

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one we have to do a self-audit we have

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to really be honest with ourselves to

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wherever we happen to sit in the

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in the chain there

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whether that be at a port or whether

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that be in a trucking or whether that be

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in a warehouse or wherever and we have

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to really look at ourselves and be

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honest okay where were my difficulties

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where we're mine in labor we're mine in

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my software was mine and not having

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people trained properly and and let me

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be honest not only will my bosses and my

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workers appreciate that but my

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shareholders will and my customers well

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right because now i'm trying to solve a

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problem but i'm i'm i'm being honest

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with myself and what that problem is the

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second is then invest in those things

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it's one thing to identify where i need

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to spend the time it's a second to

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actually put my money where my mouth is

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and let me go in and and look at some of

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those investments that i can make maybe

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we we talked about it earlier in houston

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and making the you know the channel

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deeper maybe it's making my my port

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you know more welcoming to larger ships

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maybe it's simply investing in software

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that enables me to schedule um my my

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port trucks

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at a more timely basis or my warehouse

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easier maybe it's a software that is

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using some cloud computing that is very

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quickly

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uh making the computations in order for

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my approvals to be done i mean uh

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automatically versus manually maybe i

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can i can take some of those investments

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and integrate into other aspects of my

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business

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so that now i have you know i touch it

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one time and i input it one time but it

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gets all the way down to the end uh

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through my system and ties into my

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customer even so that those integrations

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and and software integrations take out

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some of the difficulties that uh you

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know are costing us time and costing us

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money right now

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those

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and

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return on investments i always look at

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the return on investments maybe they

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hadn't been as as nice in the past and

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maybe that's

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why we haven't made the investments and

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now i would i would venture to say a lot

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of those rois need to be revisited and

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you know that they're probably

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generating pretty good okay well what

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you just described is a is a need for a

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boost targeted boost in commercial

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private capital investment what role

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might government play for instance in

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the in the infrastructure bill how

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important is it to get that

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approved and have some aspect of

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government funds flowing to make crucial

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infrastructure improvements to help

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break this log jam

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it'll it'll definitely help um not only

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in that infrastructure bill that's

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currently you know being talked about

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and and and coming down the pipe um you

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know into your roads highways bridges

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that sort of thing but also investments

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in in some of our ports maybe in some of

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our railway facilities or maybe it's

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making funds more available for our

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private sector in order to to get some

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of those loans maybe it's looking at

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some of our tariffs and some of our

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regulations and saying okay you know are

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those really generating the behaviors

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that we wanted one or two at this time

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maybe maybe some of those are outdated

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okay that that may have been great five

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ten years ago but maybe that's not what

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we need now so i think i think the

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government definitely plays a role in

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how it looks at those those various

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items and there's three or four or five

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different areas that that you know

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they're impacting the

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the current problem okay so maybe some

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hope for the future of some of these

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crucial steps are taken maybe a little

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bit of suffering in the meantime but uh

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bill brooks of cap gemini thank you for

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joining me today to kind of

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just analyze this stress that we're

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seeing in the supply chain and make some

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suggested

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suggestions for improvement thank you

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very much for being with me today sounds

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good thank you for having me as always i

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enjoyed it

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you

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