Supply chain trends- What executive leaders expect in 2024

Summary

在这段对话中，来自不同领域的供应链专家讨论了2024年供应链管理的趋势和挑战。他们强调了可预测性、供应链的韧性、技术的重要性以及对可持续性的日益关注。讨论涵盖了从宏观经济挑战到地缘政治复杂性，再到气候变化对供应链的影响。专家们分享了他们对于如何利用人工智能和数字化转型来提高效率、降低成本和增强供应链透明度的见解。此外，他们还讨论了劳动力紧张、通货膨胀和成本上升等问题。最后，专家们为供应链管理者提供了建议，包括重视速度、灵活性、人才战略和跨部门合作，以应对未来一年的挑战。

Takeaways

• 📈 **供应链趋势**：2024年的供应链管理将面临多种趋势，包括宏观经济的疲软、持续的通货膨胀、债务成本上升、地缘政治环境的复杂化、去全球化、劳动力紧张、气候变化影响、对可持续性的重视以及技术复兴，特别是AI对数字化转型的影响。
• 🤝 **合作与信任**：建立和维护客户信任是供应链管理的关键，通过提高供应链的透明度和可预测性来实现。
• 💡 **技术与创新**：AI和数字化转型是供应链发展的重要驱动力，企业需要投资于这些技术以提高效率和响应市场变化。
• 🌐 **全球化与本地化**：企业正尝试将其供应链从中国等单一国家多元化，以减少风险并提高供应链的弹性。
• 📊 **数据与分析**：数据的积累和分析对于供应链管理至关重要，它帮助企业更好地预测需求、优化库存和改善运营效率。
• 🔄 **可持续性**：可持续发展成为消费者和企业越来越关注的焦点，供应链的可持续性目标需要与行业需求相匹配。
• 🚀 **敏捷性与速度**：在不断变化的市场环境中，敏捷性和速度是供应链管理的关键，企业需要快速适应市场变化并迅速做出决策。
• 📚 **人才与文化**：供应链管理的成功不仅取决于技术，还取决于人才和企业文化，需要有能力理解和应用先进技术的人才。
• 🔍 **预测与规划**：先进的预测技术和规划系统对于提高供应链的响应能力和减少库存积压至关重要。
• 🌱 **循环经济**：循环经济和产品的再利用是减少浪费和提高可持续性的重要途径。
• 🏆 **竞争优势**：那些能够有效利用AI和机器学习技术的公司将在竞争中获得优势，并实现更快的增长。

Q & A

2024年供应链管理的主要趋势是什么？

2024年供应链管理的主要趋势包括对可预测性的需求增加、宏观经济增长的疲软、持续的通货膨胀、债务成本的上升、复杂化的地缘政治环境、去全球化趋势、劳动力紧张、气候变化的影响、对可持续性的持续关注以及AI和数字化转型对供应链的影响。

为什么供应链的可预测性在当前变得如此重要？

可预测性之所以重要，是因为COVID-19疫情给供应链带来了不确定性，企业希望能够预测产品供应，以确保客户满意度和业务连续性。强大的供应链、更好的预测和建模技术以及技术的应用是实现可预测性的关键。

Peloton在2024年面临的主要供应链挑战是什么？

Peloton面临的主要挑战包括更准确地预测需求、管理库存以及应对高利率环境下库存成本的增加。此外，还需要考虑将生产更近距离地转移到近岸地区以应对中国生产的问题。

Flex作为全球合同制造商，如何看待2024年的供应链趋势？

Flex观察到一些大型行业的疲软，但同时也看到一些行业如医疗和汽车保持稳定。公司预计2024年将继续看到生产从中国转移到亚洲其他地区和北美的趋势。

在供应链管理中，AI和数字化转型如何提供竞争优势？

AI和数字化转型可以通过提供更好的数据分析、预测和自动化流程来提高效率和响应速度。这些技术还可以帮助公司更好地理解和优化其供应链网络，从而在竞争激烈的市场中获得优势。

为什么人才和文化对于供应链的数字化转型至关重要？

人才和文化对于数字化转型至关重要，因为技术解决方案需要有技能的人员来实施和管理。此外，一种开放和创新的企业文化可以鼓励员工接受新技术，并将其应用于解决实际业务问题。

供应链管理中，如何通过设计简化供应链并提高可持续性？

通过设计简化供应链可以通过减少产品变种、使用更少的组件和简化组装过程来实现。这不仅可以降低库存管理的复杂性，还可以提高客户体验，并有助于提高产品的可持续性。

在供应链管理中，如何实现更好的库存管理？

实现更好的库存管理需要结合先进的预测技术、与供应商和客户的紧密合作以及透明度和信息共享。此外，采用数字化工具和平台可以帮助实时监控库存水平，并快速响应市场变化。

为什么说供应链管理不再是传统的单一功能领域？

供应链管理不再是传统的单一功能领域，因为它现在涉及到企业的各个方面，包括产品设计、营收规划、董事会决策等。供应链专业人员需要具备跨学科的知识和技能，以便在整个组织中进行有效的沟通和协作。

如何通过供应链管理应对不断变化的市场和客户需求？

应对不断变化的市场和客户需求需要供应链管理具有高度的灵活性和敏捷性。这包括快速适应市场变化、利用数据分析来预测和塑造需求，以及与各方合作伙伴紧密合作以实现端到端的无缝连接。

在供应链管理中，如何实现更好的可持续性实践？

实现更好的可持续性实践可以通过投资先进的规划系统、采用循环经济模式、减少废物产生、以及教育和培训员工关于可持续性的意识。此外，公司可以设定具体的可持续性目标，并将其整合到供应链的每个环节中。

Outlines

00:00

😀 供应链趋势与挑战讨论

Anne Robinson作为canais的首席战略官，与嘉宾们讨论了2024年供应链的趋势。讨论涉及了疫情后的影响、宏观经济、通货膨胀、债务成本、地缘政治、去全球化、劳动力紧张、气候变化、可持续性和AI技术的影响。Mary Burn强调了供应链可预测性的重要性，而Liz Cottington从CFO的角度讨论了Peloton的库存管理和需求预测的挑战。

05:00

📈 经济环境对供应链的影响

讨论了高利率环境下库存管理的重要性，以及近岸生产与成本之间的权衡。Gus Shaheen提到了市场疲软和客户需求的变化，而Morgan Swink从学术角度分析了全球供应链压力指数和通货膨胀对库存成本的影响。

10:01

🌱 可持续性与供应链的关系

讨论了可持续性在供应链管理中的重要性，以及消费者行为的变化。Mary Burn提到了医疗行业中重用和再处理的趋势，而Liz Cottington分享了Peloton如何通过销售翻新产品和二手硬件来推动可持续性。

15:05

🤝 供应链中的设计和合作

强调了设计对供应链的影响，以及跨部门合作的重要性。Liz Cottington讨论了Peloton如何通过简化产品线来提高供应链效率。Morgan Swink提到了设计背景对于供应链决策的重要性。

20:06

📊 数字化转型与人工智能的融合

讨论了AI和数字化转型如何成为供应链管理的关键。Gus Shaheen分享了Flex如何利用AI提高供应链效率，而Liz Cottington和Mary Burn讨论了AI在需求预测和流程改进中的潜力。

25:07

🚀 面对未来的供应链管理建议

各位嘉宾为供应链管理者提供了建议，强调了速度、敏捷性、人才战略和合作的重要性。Mary Burn鼓励将供应链视为一个整体，而不仅仅是一个功能部门。Liz Cottington强调了适应性和持续学习的重要性。

30:08

🎓 教育与供应链人才发展

Morgan Swink讨论了教育在培养供应链人才中的作用，以及如何通过强调可持续性来吸引学生。他还提到了企业在数字化转型中面临的人才和组织结构挑战。

35:11

📝 结语与对未来的展望

主持人Anne Robinson总结了讨论，并感谢所有嘉宾的参与。她强调了供应链管理在设计、收入规划、董事会和执行领导团队中的重要性，并鼓励供应链管理者学习如何协作和影响。

Keywords

💡供应链管理

供应链管理是指对产品从原材料采购、生产、运输、销售到最终消费者的整个流程进行规划、协调、执行和控制的过程。在视频中，供应链管理是核心主题，讨论了2024年供应链面临的趋势和挑战，如疫情后遗症、宏观经济增长缓慢、持续通胀等问题，以及如何通过技术、人才和文化转型来提高供应链的可预测性、韧性和效率。

💡可预测性

可预测性在供应链管理中指的是能够准确预测需求和供应，确保产品按时到达消费者手中。视频中提到，客户和市场越来越需要可预测的供应链，这要求供应链不仅要有韧性，还要有先进的策略和技术来提高预测的准确性。例如，Mary提到，为了提供可预测的供应，需要有韧性的供应链和更好的预测模型。

💡技术革新

技术革新涉及采用新技术来改进供应链的运作，包括人工智能（AI）、大数据分析等。视频中多次提到技术在供应链中的应用，如Gus讨论了AI在供应链中的作用，包括如何利用数据湖和AI来提高供应链的透明度和效率。技术革新是提高供应链响应速度和降低成本的关键因素。

💡人才和文化

人才和文化是供应链管理成功的关键因素。视频中Mary强调，供应链不仅仅是关于技术和流程，更多的是关于人才和文化，需要有能力采用和操作高科技环境的人才，以及能够理解并捕捉AI和数字化转型价值的文化。这与供应链的未来和竞争力密切相关。

💡地缘政治环境

地缘政治环境指的是国家之间的政治关系及其对全球贸易和供应链的影响。视频中提到，自2023年以来，地缘政治环境变得更加复杂，这影响了公司的全球化战略，促使企业将供应链从单一国家（如中国）转移出去，以减少风险。

💡通货膨胀

通货膨胀是指货币购买力下降，商品和服务价格普遍上升的经济现象。视频中讨论了通货膨胀对供应链成本的影响，特别是在高利率环境下，持有过多库存的成本变得更加昂贵。因此，供应链管理者需要更有效地管理库存和现金流。

💡气候变化

气候变化是指全球或局部气候状态的长期变化，这对供应链的运作产生了影响。视频中提到，气候变化，如影响巴拿马运河的气候事件，对供应链的运输环节产生了影响。此外，气候变化也促使企业更加关注可持续发展和环境、社会和治理（ESG）的合规问题。

💡可持续性和循环经济

可持续性性和循环经济强调在供应链中减少浪费和环境影响，以及产品的重复使用和回收。视频中，Liz讨论了Peloton如何通过销售经过认证的翻新产品来推动可持续性，这不仅为消费者提供了较低价格的选择，也减少了对环境的影响。

💡数字化转型

数字化转型是指企业利用数字技术来改变服务或业务模式，提高效率和效益。在视频中，数字化转型被广泛讨论，特别是在供应链领域，如何通过采用AI和高级规划系统来提高供应链的响应速度和效率。Morgan提到，数字化工具和人才是实现供应链韧性和灵活性的关键。

💡库存管理

库存管理是供应链中的一个重要组成部分，涉及对库存水平的监督、控制和优化。视频中，库存管理被多次提及，特别是在当前高利率环境下，库存成本的管理变得尤为重要。供应链管理者需要找到平衡，确保有足够的库存来满足需求，同时又不会导致过多的资金被闲置。

💡客户需求

客户需求是供应链管理中的驱动力，要求企业能够准确预测并满足市场和消费者的需要。在视频中，讨论了客户需求对供应链的影响，包括对产品多样性、个性化和快速交付的需求。供应链管理者需要与客户紧密合作，了解他们的需求，并将其转化为供应链策略的一部分。

Highlights

2024年供应链趋势的讨论，涉及多个行业专家的见解和预测

COVID-19对供应链影响的持续存在，如库存管理的挑战

宏观经济增长乏力，特别是在欧洲和美国部分地区

持续的通货膨胀和债务成本上升对企业的影响

地缘政治环境的复杂化，特别是自10月以来的变化

去全球化趋势，企业尝试将业务从中国等国家转移

劳动力紧张问题，特别是在汽车和运输物流行业

气候变化对供应链的影响，如巴拿马运河的情况

对可持续性和环境、社会与治理（ESG）的持续关注

技术复兴，特别是人工智能对数字化转型的影响

供应链中的可预测性和供应链韧性的重要性

先进的策略和技术集中，以提高供应链的可见性和预测能力

零售业对需求预测和库存管理的重视，特别是在高利率环境下

近岸化趋势，以及它对成本和供应链设计的影响

数字转型和人工智能在供应链管理中的应用和潜力

企业如何通过供应链实现其宏伟的可持续性目标

社会变革对供应链管理的影响，包括对可持续性的关注

为应对2024年的挑战，供应链管理者应采取的策略和建议

Transcripts

[Music]

good day and welcome to this edition of

big ideas and supply chain my name is

Anne Robinson and I'm the chief strategy

officer at canais I'm joined by my

colleague Angel Mendes cana's board

member supply chain transformation

leader uh to join me on this

conversation today with an esteemed

panel of guests today we're going to

tackle the 2024 Trends and supply chain

and joining us are Mary burn vice

president of supply chain with Cardinal

Health Liz cottington CFO of pelaton Gus

Shaheen CIO of flex and Professor Morgan

swing Supply Chain management professor

and executive director at the center for

supply chain Innovation at the Neely

School of Business at Texas Christian

University thank you everybody so much

for joining me today it's such an

interesting and critical time to be in

supply chain and I'm so grateful that

you've all joined us to talk about the

trends and what's happening in supply

chain but angel I'm going to turn it

over to you I know you were going to

help set the stage and let's get the

conversation going so over to you all

right thank you an and thanks everyone

for joining uh excited that you're all

here and looking forward to a great

conversation so as we talk about 24 and

what may affect the lives of companies

and supply chain officers and Coos and

CEOs in the coming year I think it's

important to maybe spend a second and

kind of review as we sit here almost to

the Christmas holiday and having just

passed through Black Friday and and

other big commercial events um to go

back into the year and say okay what

what happened during this year what were

people contending with and so I thought

end what I would do is I rifle through

my top 10 the top 10 things that that

people live with in 23 and then we'll

open it up and get your reaction to it

and see what you think about 24 so and

I'm going to do this very quickly so

number one uh still Co hangovers uh in

terms of the supply chain effects number

two uh a a lackluster macroeconomy in

terms of uh growth or La thereof uh

especially in parts of Europe and and in

the US uh persistent inflation we all

know what that looks like although

things might be temporary a bit uh

higher cost of debt with higher interest

rates uh the geopolitical environment

certainly got more complex especially

since October um de globalization

companies trying to move their footprint

away from China and away from Big Global

single country Supply uh labor tensions

we saw labor tensions in the automotive

sector and transportation Logistics and

other areas um climate effects we're

seeing places like the Panama Canal for

instance uh although there other climate

effects uh the emphasis continuing on

sustainability uh in ESG broadly which

implies a number of compliance concerns

but also a lot of investment um and La

last but not least the technology of

Renaissance resting on on AI and the

impact on AI or from AI on digital

transformation and opportunity for

supply chain so those are my top 10 uh

there might be ways of grouping them

differently I just do that to be

provocative uh so as we go into 23 and

I'm going to start with you Mary uh

looking through the through the lens of

your company uh a very large one with a

very wide portfolio um what do you

see yeah thanks Angel and and that's

such a great top 10 list because it

covers uh pretty pretty much everything

that we encounter I'll say really though

first and foremost what we're seeing and

what we're trying to bring and and

partner with our uh Channel partners and

our customers on is

predictability I think covid left all of

us with some Battle Scars speaking of

Battle Scars I'd be remiss if I didn't

just say congratulations on Army for

beating Navy this past weekend in the

big Army Navy

game but those uh and and hope I think

Navy is is you know nursing their battle

scars right now um as they should but as

we move forward though into this fiscal

year and into this new calendar year

bringing a better better rigor and an

increased visibility around

predictability everyone wants to know

that they will have predictable Supply

and to get predictable Supply we need

resilient Supply chains we need better

forecasting um and uh and modeling that

all really involves technology focus it

involves transformation but it involves

a conversation that previously we

weren't having so if you rewind the

clock to preo to even 10 years ago

supply chain conversations were really

around cost optimization and efficiency

there's a lot of backend work a lot of

backend processes and and reduction and

inventory and reduction in cost and now

that's that's still important it's still

critical to having flexibility of course

and responsiveness but first and

foremost customers want predictability

they want to know when I need that

product it's going to be there and so

really creating Advanced strategies to

to really bring that predictability to

them into the market that that's our

Focus there's a lot more to that and uh

and I know we're going to get into some

other topics later but that's really

what we're seeing right now that's great

um Liz as I as I think of uh the CFO

perspective you've got a broad one from

your days at uh walmart.com and also

Amazon AWS and now pelaton um what's

your take on

24 yeah I think you know as we look into

24 well let me let me kind of give you

the Pelon perspective a little bit too

so for us at pelaton we for those who

know the story we experienced this huge

demand surge during covid and then sort

of a real kind of slowdown in demand

postco because we pulled forward a bunch

of customers who were interested in our

products and so we benefited the past 12

months from not having to be so great at

projecting demand because we had a lot

of inventory on hand that we needed to

sell through which you know okay that

was good but now we're in a position

where we have to be much much more much

better at it because we are in a

position where we've sort of right sized

our our inventory and now we have to run

the business effectively and efficiently

and um to the point that Mary was making

it's it's about having the right Supply

but from our perspectives as a retail as

someone who sells retail direct to the

consumer it's just as much about being

able to project the demand as well as

the supply because in an environment of

high interest rates that we're in now

you know it's much more expensive to

have a ton of inventory that you don't

need than it was a few years ago um in

order to manage cash and balance all of

that out and not have to carry a bunch

of you know additional debt or raise

equity in a market that's kind of not

really um super open for that right now

um you know you need to be able to

manage your inventory much better than

we have and that or had to I'm not

saying that we haven't managed it this

year as well as we could have but um but

we have to be much much better at it um

so that's really an area for us another

area Angel you brought it up is around

kind of the the um uh bringing things

more near shore so particularly concerns

around China we have a lot of our

production overseas in Asia and you know

it's it's it's hard because having

multiple sources of Supply you know is

expensive or it can be it can add a lot

more cost it makes it more difficult to

predict if you want to have the same

products produced with multiple vendors

you have to be able to balance that out

and make sure that you're balancing

commitments with capacity needs and all

of that um and then you know the more

that you want to bring Nearshore there's

tradeoffs and you know lower freight

costs but potenti potentially higher

production costs and so all of that for

me as a CFO is a big Balancing Act to

make sure that we're making the right

decisions for the business so those are

trends that I see particularly across

any business that has a retail consumer

vent to it as well as businesses that

are that are transacting with other

businesses um that are that are really

going to be important in 24 and quite

frankly they're always important right

absolutely um and and Gus as I think of

flex in your wide customer base and

possibly the most Global footprint of

certainly of any contract manufacturer

uh you're seeing every region every day

uh so all of these things uh and being a

supplier in the supply lines to most of

the large oems in almost all all

meaningful verticles um how do you

extrapolate all of what you see uh into

some thoughts for

24 yep yeah thanks angel I mean like you

said we we operate in six Industries

really they're all multi-billion dollar

Industries and you know we're we're

definitely seeing some softness in a

couple of the big ones and you know uh

there's no secret there we had our

earnings call seven weeks ago or so and

we announced we actually guided Revenue

a bit lower because we're seeing

softness in some of the bigger

Industries certainly consumer continues

to be soft driven by interest rates of

course industrial is also softening as

well uh for similar reasons so we're

seeing some softness but we're still

seeing a lot of reshoring that's been

happening for the last years you know

customers want an a a lowcost solution

outside of China but still in Asia and

they also want a low you know move over

here to North America for the End Market

here in the US so that's continuing to

happen we expect that to continue

throughout

24 uh and we're hoping you

know interest rates will start to ease

off maybe towards the end of next year

and things will slowly start coming back

in some of those bigger segments we do

have some other segments that are

holding up still you know areas like

medical and auto and stuff seem to be

holding up pretty well so it's kind of a

mixed bag for sure it is and it makes

things hard to hard to predict almost on

an everyday basis when you see multiple

pieces of news uh all affecting the

airwaves uh Morgan before I go back to

an Morgan uh your perspective from uh

number one you look at lots and lots of

companies uh analytically but number two

you've got a a great perch on Innovation

as well so I'm just super curious how

you see

it yeah thanks Angel and I I love your

list I was uh actually kind of glancing

at a presentation I did recently that

was macro Trends and it that tells very

nicely overlaps I think you covered just

about everything and maybe a little more

than I had had on my list so um I'll

just react to a couple of things I mean

most of what's already been said I agree

with completely the same kinds of things

I'm seeing with some of our business

partners uh and kind of at a more uh

30,000 foot level as far as the

disruption goes disruptiveness you know

hangover still from covid I hear that a

lot uh from different

partners uh in specific Industries if

you look at the macro data though it

actually says we're in great shape if

you look at things like the global

supply chain pressure index I don't know

if you guys follow that but we're

actually below uh kind of the median

disruption levels for the last 15 to 20

years

um uh so I mean that's that's a measure

of of volatility and different cost uh

indices for different you know

transportation and other kinds of things

so not sure that's reflective of

everybody's experience but seems to be a

good Trend I mean we're in in a good

direction uh Us in terms of that

Dimension um Echo you know all the

inflation inventory cost whip selling of

inventory uh you know resp responding to

covid and then over responding and then

correcting and then now moving forward

to the next year predictability I hear

that a lot too so some of those those

issues are are the same I guess the

other thing I would throw in that I

think is H potentially trending is uh is

social change some uh you know and I

don't mean necessarily politically but

sustainability you mentioned that I do

feel like there is we're kind of

reaching a a uh a critical point where

it's actually going to be a at least for

certain types of products in certain

industries consumers are really starting

to take that seriously as part of their

purchasing Behavior so I wouldn't expect

to see that factor you know more largely

uh into consumption uh as we go forward

to the next year or

two so it's really interesting to hear

all of you when all of your different

perspectives but one thread I'm hearing

throughout and I'm hoping you can either

help either validate or or or dismiss a

trend that came to my attention um with

these this state of interest rates the

cost of capital these the pressures

whether it's on a microcosm perspective

maybe if it's not translating at the

macro level but is this causing

pressures on cash flow and inventory

management that's focusing that shift

back towards sort of lean and mean just

in time type mentalities again are any

of you seeing that or experiencing that

either your or from your suppliers or

customers who are kind of expecting some

of those prepandemic type of supply

chain

performance maybe I'll take that one

first because I I'm expecting I will

have a a fairly different lens on this

from coming from Healthcare than maybe

some of our consumer products uh or or

other markets I'll tell you an it's

interesting you say that I think

internally we always want to drive for

Best in class efficiency and internally

yes we're always evaluating those

opportunities and looking for ways to

become more creative and more efficient

I will tell you though on the customer

and the consumer Behavior side we are

actually seeing quite the opposite where

there is a tendency to um continue

inventory holding or inventory

stockpiling as a security net for that

predictability there's a safety in

seeing my physical Goods nearby we're

seeing a trend in customers wanting a

collocated warehouse specifically

dedicated for them and so we're as we

embark on a predictability Journey

having transparency and visibility is

helping us overcome some of that fear

factor in maintaining inventory it's

like if I can walk outside my door and

see my warehouse and my inventory right

there I feel good I I know I will be

able to serve my patients tomorrow and

next week so what we've done to actually

complement um the visibility or the

predictability journey is transparency

um we're members of a healthcare

industry resiliency collaborative it's

cheered by Mayo Clinic um and we opened

up our data so we showed all of our um

supply chain data up to our tier 2

supplier and where in inventory is for

critical products any member of that

Community can see that data and have

access to it we're embarking on several

other visibility transparency type

initiatives to help customers see their

inventory even if they don't physically

see it right next door or or touch it

you know in that collocated warehouse um

and then also I'll say modeling

inventory and showing the volatility in

supply chain and right sizing so we do

have some segments of the supply chain

and product um value streams that are

still highly volatile and we do ramp up

and cover that vol ility with a higher

stocking level but having that

transparency to show down to that that

product detail level that's new that

that was not there preco no one was

interested in fact it was um I'll say

it's brought a lot of the behind the

scenes work to the front of the table it

is the conversation now where it was

mostly in the background before um but

I'll turn it back over to others I'm

sure that that could possibly be a very

unique what one question Mary though

before I pass it over to Gus do you feel

that that transparency that information

transparency is delivering trust to your

customers is that one of the biggest

factors it is it's certainly Something

That We're passionate about is

rebuilding trust where maybe it had been

lost through the pandemic and then

securing it where we still have it and

then continuing to grow it and introduce

it and and I think that that really is

at the heart of all of this um is is

building that trust maintaining trust

and showing that

um we're we're in this together we're

we're all when we experience a

disruption we've collaboratively created

all the scenarios all of the safety nets

and and the mechanisms to protect the

customer from that disruption and and we

partner with them in that conversation

so that we have and that that leads us

to a whole another topic which is

customer facing supply chain but I'll

I'll put a pin in that one for later uh

in the conversation also something I'm

very passionate about but I'll I'll save

that maybe for Angel when we get down

further on the list Gus what about from

your perspective I know yeah no for us I

mean you're absolutely right this is the

number one topic amongst the elt even

the board for us inventory and inventory

management is pretty much cash flow as

Angel knows our business pretty well uh

inventory's been on the rise for the

last three years and it's okay okay for

it to go up when you're growing 20 30%

but when growth slows down it becomes a

real big problem so uh you know having

scop meetings with our customers on a

regular basis is the number one priority

making sure we have the right data

available to show the customers when

they load us with demand uh is

absolutely key you know we've got all

the visibility in place we've had it for

a while uh you know it didn't really

help during CO as you all know because

customers kind of overreacted a little

bit and over ordered if you will and now

you know we're going through this tough

period renegotiating and trying to you

know flush out those inventories because

it's tying up cash flow so it's the

number one topic and we're doing a lot

to address it for

sure so we're we shifted to talk about

design essentially designed for supply

chain where we're bringing the product

organization and supply chain

organization closer together um I'm

going to shift to Morgan first and then

Liz I'll have you comment Morgan is that

a trend that you've seen kind of come up

in the academic

conversations yeah absolutely um if I

can I want to throw in one thing on

inventory real quick and then I'll come

back to that so I have talking to some

folks who are really uh I would say

Forward Thinking and there and they're

in terms of inventory yeah they're

trying to manage it closely but at the

same time they're recognizing that this

period of high interest rates and high

cost of capital is actually an

opportunity to justify investments in

inventory Inventory management systems

and processes because now you know the

savings are so much more uh you can you

can capitalize on that so uh it's an

opportunity that I think some people are

taking advantage of before interest

rates Dro down again and and nobody

cares about the cost of capital anymore

uh okay so design for supply chain um

yeah absolutely has been it's it's a

actually a pet peeve of of M interest of

mine I came out of a design background

as an engineer um Logistics designed for

Logistics designed for

sustainability uh sourcing decisions

more tightly integrated with design

decisions you know all of those aspects

I think are becoming much much more

important especially as we see global

networks changing so much supply chain

networks and the kinds of sourcing and

the logist

infrastructure that the shipping modes

everything's changing now so people are

the smart people are really trying to

include those anticipated changes into

future product design decisions so Liz

it sounds like this is something that

does happen at pelaton can you share a

little bit about that and kind of why

that works for you yes sure and I'm

happy happy to talk a little bit about

it so at pelaton you know our business

has kind of got two components one piece

is pretty supply chain heavy and then

one is much more of a service related

piece related to Fitness so we're going

to focus on the part which is really

selling and delivering the hardware to

people so that they can use our

connected Fitness devices to work out

but with that you know we have different

SKS we have bikes we have two variants

of a bike we now just reintroduced our

tread plus so we have two variants of a

treadmill um we've got a rower um and to

the extent that we're able to simplify

our supply chain for example we're

looking at ways that we can move to a

single bike frame instead of having two

different ones that simplifies our

supply chain a lot and helps us so if we

don't know quite how many bike pluses we

need relative to bikes we've we've now

made it a much easier decision around

how much inventory we need overall

rather than having to manage that and

then also Simplicity and design needing

potentially fewer components um and also

making it easier on the delivery front

to be able to self assemble instead of

having to have somebody come and deliver

your product to your door and set it up

for you you know gives us a lot more

flexibility all the way through our

supply chain so we're looking at ways

that we can do that to make it much

easier for um for us to manage our

inventory overall and then also improve

the customer experience by making it

simpler for them as well to get their

products and be able to use them so not

only are you sort of capitalizing on

some classic supply chain techniques of

throughput and pooling but it must also

have an impact from a sustainability

perspective which we know is also a huge

conversation right now yeah I I would

love to talk about that so that is an

area that was is is near and dear to my

heart and is really important at Paton

and also for our consumers who are

increasingly caring about you know

sustainability and um and you know

circularity is a big thing so for us we

actually now sell certified refurbished

products so that you can buy um used

pelaton hardware and that's great those

are products that have been returned to

us we're able to revamp them them and

sell them again at a lower price but

also in a in a sustainable way um and so

that's you know that's something that

that is really helping because it gives

these products a second life another

thing that we are seeing in the market

that we benefit from but isn't

necessarily us doing it ourselves is the

fact that our products are pretty

wellmade and so if somebody decides to

cancel their pelaton membership they

often can sell their Hardware to

somebody else who then starts to use it

and we can help augment that experience

for them with warranties and providing

maintenance programs and things so that

we can keep that Hardware going which is

really great from a sustainability

perspective that's that's great and I

know others of you are also heavily

involved in sustainability initiatives

through your supply chain I think one of

the big ahas that happened towards the

end of this year and going into to 2024

is that these lofty sustainability

objectives that were put out by many

companies um the the organizations are

now trying to figure out how are they

going to achieve those and recognizing

that the supply chain is really the

vehicle to make that happen I don't know

um Gus or Mary if you wanted to comment

on sort of sustainability from your

perspective we've published our goals uh

you know they're out there publicly

right we want to be you know about our

carbon footprint and we want to be

neutral and so on by 2030 I think it is

um we've we a lot of our customers are

demanding it we're work with a lot of

our suppliers as well we also have a

pretty big business in the value added

Services which focuses on the circular

economy it's like an $800 million

business that basically works on

refurbishment Recycle Recycling and

keeping basically all that out of the

landfills right so it's a it's a big

business for us and

uh yeah we've we're working on that

quite diligently with customers and

suppliers am Mar what about a cardinal

health I think what what we're seeing in

health care is and in each industry is

different sustainability goals and

objectives have to match the needs of

the industry that they're in and so in

healthcare right now what we're seeing

as a trend towards wanting to uh

reprocess and continue reusing many um

items that are used in a health care

setting are qualified validated and

designed to be reprocessed and reused a

certain number of times but the company

that are servicing that reprocessing and

reutilization are few and far between so

we at colel just doubled our

reprocessing um facility with a zero

waste to landfill model that's here in

the United States to support that need

and to facilitate that growth because

each hospital and healthc care system

does not have the free cash to implement

that reprocessing operation for

themselves due to all the reasons Morgan

just shared earlier on inflation and and

the squeezing and limited cash that uh

that each of these um hospitals have so

that's a really unique and and

interesting way that we're seeing it um

and then we're also driving I think with

u partnering with our um healthare

systems in demand forecasting if we can

get inventory to the right place the

first time we do not have to move it a

second or third time that inherently uh

reduces our trucks on the load and

lowers our misss and a a host of other

sustainability goals that we are

measuring and monitoring now with our

improved forecasting which is pretty

exciting to see as well well it's an

interesting moment because you we spoke

about trust earlier but this comment

around what Morgan said earlier around

social change is that so you have to

have trust but there's this social

change towards sustainability which

makes for a really interesting

circumstance for those of you in the the

life sciences and healthc Care field for

sure Morgan did you want to comment more

on the bigger social social change

Dimensions I know sustainability was one

of them but uh that you mentioned

previously yeah well I I'd love to just

mention how you know we at TCU are

taking advantage of that Trend and also

um how that's reflected in students uh

and and the demand for students or

demand for labor so we all know you know

labor is maybe getting a little bit

better but uh there's

still whatever story you a study you

look at there's five jobs there's 10

jobs there's 15 jobs for every

graduating supply chain major but we

still have a tough time getting enough

Majors it's not just us it's you know

all my colleagues I talked to at other

top supply chain schools have the same

thing and we're finding that this

sustainability Dimension is is a is a

great hook it's a great way to interest

students in the supply chain world and

in fact we're launching a certificate in

sustainable business our Center

sponsoring this just this next year and

and a big part of our motivation frankly

is just to get more students interested

in supply chain so when we start to talk

about inventory or scheduling or what

their eyes glows over but when you talk

about sustainability and changing

people's lives for the better wow now

you've got their interest they're really

interested so um I think you're going to

see a lot more of that kind of content

in Business Schools uh in the supply

chain space in particular for all those

reasons I think yeah no question that

continues into 24 uh and even though

um there is maybe less emphasis on quote

ESG by some relative to where we have

been uh for the consumer particularly

young consumer and for the employees

it's a it's a really big topic and and

and a such I think it'll continue next

year and we we couldn't um uh have a

trend conversation and and how we solve

all these tensions um without moving

into the topic of digital transformation

and AI at some point in this dialogue um

and so I'm curious how you all see

digital transformation into 24 it terms

of your own Investments your own

priorities but then more importantly

within that the Advent of AI and how

it's how it's evolving as quickly as as

it has and how it's permeating itself

throughout the supply chain opportunity

um so maybe Gus since you're the IT guy

in the room uh you can help us with

getting those started on that Dimension

yeah no for sure I mean

AI obviously has been a pretty hot topic

for years it

got quite a bit of a hype when the Gen

stuff came out as you know like more

than a year ago which is good actually

in many ways because you know now it's

being discussed at the board level at

the elt level and um so you know to do

real good AI at the end of the day you

have to have lots and lots of data I

think that's really the foundation for

it uh so what we've done here at Flex is

you know we've got some pretty large

data Lakes when it comes to supply chain

I mentioned the visibility piece that

we've had for years now which I think

you know ands aware of we call it Flex

pulse it's a platform we built years ago

for supply chain so that we can have

full complete visibility uh on managing

our material really at the end of the

day because we've got over 16,000 active

suppliers at any given time a thousand

customers factories in 30 countries

material coming in planning for all that

is really tough so we've had that

visibility and we've improved on it for

years and now that we've got all this

data we've been trying to apply all

kinds of traditional AI more recently

trying to play with some gen Ai and you

know there there's definitely something

there uh for sure uh it's you know it's

going to take a little bit of time to

figure out how to operationalize it if

you will um sometimes it's not that easy

to accept what you see there and the

results uh but yeah I think it's

definitely something that's going to be

there for a while and going to make a

lot of good changes I think from my

perspective Liz how do you read it yeah

I mean I think to me AI is a huge

opportunity across the business in

supply chain as well as in other areas

for us you know we I see an opportunity

to incorporate it into our demand

forecasting in a much more sophisticated

way than we do today as a consumer

business we have a lot of data

everything from the traffic data of

people coming to our website what

they're doing historically like kind of

how they use our products and how their

customer Journey evolves um so there's a

lot of opportunity for us to use that

both to forecast demand as well as to

also help us grow our demand and shape

our demand so that is one key area

another area that I see

that I I that I is a huge opportunity

for us but I think is an opportunity for

a lot of different companies is in a way

of improving processes and understanding

and identifying defects in processes

whether it's in the supply chain or

whether it's in more on the procurement

side or even on the financial side

around like order to cash and whatnot

really lots of opportunities to use AI

to say oh this is where your process

broke this is this is where all these

errors are happening so that then you

can become much more efficient and and

and and fix those processes so that they

can be much more automated and effective

so I think there's there's huge

opportunities in that in fy2 24 and then

of course Beyond it and I really do

think even though you know it's not

necessarily

like critical at this moment in time the

companies that figure out how to

leverage both machine learning and AI

are going to be much more successful and

have a competitive advantage over those

that do

not no question and Mary you guys are

all over this I know that yeah I I

couldn't agree with you more Liz uh

competitive Advantage absolutely period

full stop there will be no question in

the next 5 to 10 years that companies

who have adopted this and successfully

implemented it will grow and accelerate

Leaps and Bounds Beyond those who don't

um but I'm just for the sake of um being

argumentative and we're recording on a

Monday so why not I'm going to throw a

little bit of a curveball out there

angel I'm going to propose that the the

a and digital transformation

conversation is actually a talent and

culture

conversation and the reason I say that

is that Solutions have been there

they've they have been there for several

years now and only recently have we seen

companies really accelerate their

adoption of

implementation as we love to say necess

or necessity is the mother of all

invention and so maybe some Force to

against their will you know u in a

postco environment but as we look at

adopting these Technologies and maturing

Beyond a legacy state it is all about

culture and people and who we have and

how they think and the ability to adopt

and operate in a high-tech environment

the ability to understand the value

capture of AI and of digital

transformation the ability to connect

the dots across multiple Towers in your

large organization and speak fluently to

the value you and what it means to your

customer and to your business outcomes

that's a talent and culture conversation

um the tools are there they've been

there for a while they're getting better

they've gotten much better in the last

five years they're continuing to evolve

and get better but I think quickly the

solutions that are available have

outpaced the trajectory of culture and

talent development as we look at those

going hand inand and being a strategic

differentiator in the next five to 10

years and it's changing the the

requirements as we the next job you post

in your organization is likely to have

uh elements of data science elements of

data capabilities for instance uh then

perhaps a few years back and we're

seeing that across research done to look

at the postings uh in the supply chain

space across many companies you see that

more and more not just in supply chain

as list points up but in a lot of other

areas but speaking of competitive

Advantage Morgan you've actually studied

this you you've actually been looking at

companies from a research perspective um

and comparing those that are more

advanced shall we say in certain

techniques digital Technologies and um

and what are your observations about

that that that sample of companies

you've been looking at relative to the

World At Large yeah thanks Angel um well

first I just want to I'd agree with

everything Mary said I thought she said

very very well but we've interviewed

dozens of companies over the last few

years about this you know digital

transformation what does it mean and

these are top Executives we're talking

to um and we ask them you know what are

the biggest barriers or challenges it's

always always Talent it's talent and

organization structure it's it's never

oh well the technolog is not there you

know it's a it's it's always having

finding the right people who can just as

Mary said you know not only understand

the science the data science or the

technology but the application the use

cases the business case and be able to

articulate that you know um that's the

that's the missing ingredient I think a

lot of companies are looking for and as

a result you're seeing a a bunch of

business analytics programs you know we

have one now we started one three years

ago and especially in Business Schools I

think they're trying to design these

programs to marry the data science part

of it with this domain knowledge

functional domain knowledge marketing

supply chain Finance whatever so

hopefully that's going to meet you know

some of the demand but it it's it's a

it's a bull whip effect it's a it's a

lag a lag there right so we're trying to

catch up the other uh big research

project that we've had a couple years

ago maybe angel you're referring to this

is we looked at companies that have

adopted uh leading planning

systems uh and had adopted them before

covid in particular we looked at

pre-adoption post-adoption performance

impacts we saw some significance there

but in particular those companies that

had invested in advanced planning

Technologies and the visibility systems

that go with them uh we saw huge impacts

uh or dramatic differences between those

companies and their peer companies who

had not made those investments in terms

of covid their ability to to kind of

buffer or absorb some of the shocks that

came with covid and then to respond uh

responding as fast as you know a quarter

or even two quarters uh faster than some

of their peer companies they were able

to return back to kind of pre-co

profitability and and operational

effectiv so it's a it's a real strong um

finding that suggests you know the

Investments are worth it

there yeah which which uh which kind of

brings together a whole bunch of this

conversation right the notion of

transparency predictability

productivity uh you have to have the

digital tools you have to have the

people that know how to identify them

know how to put them to use uh and and

and have them support all the various

strategies that drive resilience uh and

and trying to position Supply chains to

respond to an increasingly volatile uh

and more volatile world that cuz that

for me of all the trends that we were

talking about earlier there are some

that remain constant and and and and you

can wrap them all under the heading of

volatility whether that be geopolitical

whether it be economic uh or whatever

the next Crisis is that we haven't even

thought about that certainly didn't

start 23 expecting some of the things

that turned out to be true um and uh you

had some other questions to Our Guest

well I think we're we're just about at

time here but recognizing that you know

2024 looks to be very interesting year

for supply chain professionals and

knowing that all of you come from a vast

background in this space what is that

piece of advice you give to that supply

chain manager who's looking to tackle

the challenges of 2024 what's that one

piece of advice you're going to tell

them so that they can be successful

through the coming 12 months so Gus

maybe I'll start with you yep thank you

uh well for me I think I've told you

that before I think when I think about

supply chain and everything I'm seeing

here at flex and the things we're

working on speed is the main thing that

comes to mind it's like The Theory of

Everything For Us in supply chain it

improves Revenue customer at inventory

levels uh pretty much everything in

supply chain so uh you know I know uh

Mary mentioned visibility so but if you

have that visibility the goal has to be

speed right so if you're new to supply

chain and you focus on uh all these

different kois and kpis you're measuring

if you keep speed in mind I think you'll

be

successful thanks Gus U Mary what about

you um I'm gonna say Ann H this is not

your grandmother's supply chain anymore

this is the supply chain of the future

my entire Supply plan team is customer

facing they are in negotiations they are

collaborating with customers they

connect the dots across an endtoend

system they understand global trade they

understand manufacturing they understand

product life cycle management they

understand Market needs and

disruptions this is a new fun exciting

high growth space it is not for the

faint of heart and so I would come back

to Talent strategy um it's really a time

and a place for athletes uh corporate

athletes uh occupational athletes to

really Thrive so don't think of it as a

Silo it's not a function like it may

have been 10 20 years ago it truly is

end to endend and it is a really fun

exciting and and high growth space to

grow your career I also have an

engineering background like Morgan

mentioned he came from product

development side I was in product

development and Manufacturing first and

so again I just I share that personally

because it was part of my journey and

getting to a broader space and I think

that would be exactly what I would share

with h any Young Supply Chain

professionals

today thanks Mary uh Liz what about from

you yeah I you know I was trying to

think of a word to sum it up the way

that Gus was the word that came to mind

for me was agility um so speed along

with being having speed you need to be

flexible and agile and understand that

things are very Dynamic these days and

because market trends move fast and

customer needs evolve very quickly it's

important to be agile and to realize

that just because you were doing

something a certain way for a period of

time things change and you need to to be

able to change with it and that goes

back to Mary's comments Around Talent

strategy it's kind of a marathon it's

not a it's not a Sprint um we're

constantly evolving learning growing and

being you know bringing that analytical

mindset um is is critical and then I

also think it's really important to

understand that again as to Mary's point

of not being siloed it really is about

also understanding all the other places

that supply chain interacts with the

rest of the business and making sure

that you have partners that you

understand those intersections um so

that uh things can be seamless from end

to end which is which is kind of the

Nirvana that we're all trying to trying

to get

to um Morgan what about from your

perspective what is that one piece of

advice you would provide yeah well

you're asking Professor for one piece of

advice come

on if I had to sum it up I mean I think

I would say just try to avoid monolithic

thinking uh and by that I mean kind of a

one-sized fits-all thinking you know I

hear this conversation about lean versus

Justin Case and back and forth the

pendulum it's never been one or the

other it's always a combination of of of

buffering types of strategies and also

bridging types of strategies Mary and

others have mentioned visibility

connections collaboration it's got to be

a combination of those things right and

you've got to think strategically about

different regions of the world different

categories of product uh and use a

different mix of bridging and buffering

and also Advanced planning Investments

you know for those different areas to to

come up with the the optimal I think mix

of of uh resilience ways to create

resilience and flexibility and Agility

all those things we want oh Angel I'd be

remiss if I didn't ask you that same

question as well what is your piece of

advice for Next Generation supply chain

managers I would I would and Mary

touched on it um collaboration right

learn how to collaborate and influence U

everything we've talked about from the

trends to to to the various questions

about the future they're all Supply

chains always been about resing tensions

there's never just been a simple single

variable equation it's always

multivariable some of them comanding

each other

um in in the world we're living in now

supply chain is in the design

environment it's in the revenue planning

it's in the boardroom it's in the elt

room uh it's it's know side by side with

the CFO at levels never before seen and

and therefore if you're not incapable of

collaborating and influencing and

educating and also learning how the

parts of the business actually work uh

our our hypothetical supply chain

manager here is going to fail pretty

quickly so that would be my my

prescription well I want to thank all of

you for joining me today it really was a

fascinating conversation and I think

we've got our work cut out for us in the

coming in the coming years but it

certainly will be a fun one loved all

the different perspectives and really

appreciate all of you joining today so

thank you so

much thank you thanks everybody if you

want to learn more about the supply

chain trends that we spoke about today

please take a look at the podcast bio

and I hope you'll join us all next time

as we Explore More Big Ideas in supply

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