2 Babes Talk Supply Chain

What does your digital future look like? That is the question on everybody's mind as tech changes on a daily basis, In Sweetbridge's episode in 2019 Scott said the knowledge base is changing every 1.5 years. Diane is the Vice President of Omnichain, a company that offers end to end supply chain solutions to companies looking to optimize workflow, manage different channels and orchestrate correct supply strategies. They are the partner for the future. Currently, many team members of companies need to manually add data into systems, losing information, accuracy and time.  This is because the supply chain industry is still very fragmented, with organisations struggling to connect and collaborate. Omnichain’s platform describes itself as a digital supply chain fit for the future, thanks to its better forecasting, operations system and proactive push model. Omnichain’s solution is what distinguishes it from its competitors; no need to download or integrate anything, everything can be done directly within the platf

Procurement Foundry is an online private community for people working in supply chain. Mike founded this community when he knew he needed a safe place to network and discuss challenges with other professionals, but didn’t have the time or energy to go to regular networking events. Procurement Foundry now has over 2,000 highly engaged members with 20 chapters in the world. How can you join Procurement Foundry? If you’re a professional working in supply chain, you can head to the website and fill in their membership request form. Then, your application is vetted and processed by a team to make sure you’re not a consultant or salesman. Once in, you have access to several discussion channels, job boards and even virtual meeting rooms. Mike says that Procurement Foundry has a huge amount of potential he hadn’t foreseen when he first started the community. First of all, the huge amount of empathy amongst the members means people are willing to share templates, strategies and advice to other professionals. Secondly,

Akshay is the co-founder of Terminal 49, an online platform that helps importers, trucking companies and brokers track all their container movements. In the container world, things are still being done as they were 10 years ago. Terminal 49 aims to simplify global trade with much more efficient workflows. Visibility is a big challenge in supply chain: truckers, shipping companies and freight forwarders don’t communicate effectively and lack collaboration. Everyone’s solving a different problem, there’s a lack of education and cooperation is non-existent. This disconnect is what Terminal 49 aims to resolve. Akshay provides us with two excellent examples of a shipper and a broker. Before using Terminal 49’s dashboard, this shipper had several spreadsheets used for forecasting reports, ETAs and container management. When an incident happened, all information had to go through several different people in the chain. Now, with an all-in-one dashboard, the shipper can easily track every container and keep on top of

Supply Chain can change the world Elizabeth got into supply chain after discovering her love for writing so she fell in love with the supply chain industry. That makes Elizabeth perfect for our Women in Supply Chain feature on the podcast for the month of March because Beth believes that this industry truly has the power to make the world a better place and that is why she has stayed working with ASCM for over 16 years. Global is where is it at What is the future for supply chain media? Rennie believes that there’s a trend for high quality content that’s not focused on day to day tasks, but instead on more important global issues. She’s contributed herself by working with Mr Supply Chain (Daniel Stanton) and his book titled Supply Chain Management for Dummies. Elizabeth is also very proud to have contributed in-depth interviews with successful women in supply chain, and believes these are great opportunities for women to learn from each other. No longer the only Woman in the room In terms of diversity, Elizab

The damage and loss of products in supply chain cost the industry billions of dollars every year. That’s a huge amount of money and waste in products that are being thrown out -  That's the issue Spotsee is tackling with their product: indicators that track and record data such as temperature, tilt and impact throughout a shipment journey. There are a lot of challenges in this area that supply chain professionals are facing, Angela talks about the top realities companies are facing and how exactly Spotsee can help you save time, money and waste. Spotsee allows companies to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to damaged products. Instead of receiving damaged products, blaming the shipment company and filing an insurance claim, companies can now collaborate with the freight forwarders to determine why and how the damage happened and work on fixing the problem together, all based on data. These monitoring programs reduce damage to 40%, which can translate into tens of thousands of dollars saved for c

Meet Catapult, an intuitive digital platform that helps businesses make decisions based on freight rates. The founders were tired of the manual process of keeping track of rates through word documents, excel spreadsheets and decided to build a solution to help manage all the different rates from different carriers. What does all this technology mean for your business? Virgil Ferreira, the CEO of Catapult joins us to talk about how their platform helps businesses see rates from different carriers including ocean, air and ground, giving logistics providers more visibility into their rates so they can increase their margins. A Challenge that logistics providers face is that they don't have access to industry data but Catapult changes that as providers can also compare their own data with industry data and see it all in a standard, easy-to-use view. The biggest challenge logistics providers face is understanding how to get the best market rate. With Catapult, businesses can use the tool to see the gaps in their s

BEHIND THE SEAMS - Suuchi Ramesh is a software engineer with a background in supply chain, she is also the founder and CEO of a tech company that is bringing supply chain and fashion together called, Suuchi. Suuchi is the next generation technology platform for fashion, managing everything from design through distribution. The main challenge the fashion industry faces is that the entire supply chain needs to be unbelievably fast, diversified and efficient. Suuchi helps companies get to the next level by taking care of the back end, and letting companies focus on what they do best: scaling the brand. Suuchi helps companies diversify the supply chain by digitizing the entire process, because all brands must start thinking of supply chain as a strategic competitive advantage What sets them apart? Transparency. They’re able to track and trace every process in the supply chain, which allows them to provide their customers with truly data driven solutions. Suuchi has the flexibility to work with all size of compan

Claudia is our Women in Supply Chain Feature for February and is someone who enjoys life to the fullest. Her attitude is: family first, career second and community third. She graduated in engineering, joined IBM, ran an entire supply chain, worked in GE Healthcare and is now working in supply chain for Google. Her career has been a huge adventure, and today she shares some of the nuggets of wisdom she’s learned over the years. She’s had many challenges in her career as a female on a supply chain team, but it’s her positive attitude and openness to taking care of others that helped her get to where she is now. She’s really had to push for opportunities, and has seen the industry evolve over the 36 years that she’s been working in supply chain. Things are getting better, with now 25% of leadership positions held by women. Claudia works hard to educate leaders and encourage the right conversations about diversity and openness. What about supply chain? Claudia explains that companies aren’t using data as they sho

Anthony is the president and CEO of UNA, a dynamic group that works with procurement managers, business owners and executives to save money, time and effort. How? Through Collaboration, partnerships, software and strategy. Una offers a consolidated approach to procurement with a mission is to support sourcing and procurement heros in the supply chain industry. They’re all about collaboration, a top down approach and an emphasis on culture. They believe in empowering and giving a voice to professionals by acting on accurate and well analyzed data. As an example, just one of the ways Una gets involved is by helping professionals negotiate solid contracts and develop key relationships with suppliers. How are they so successful? They understand that their solution is not a fit for everybody. They position themselves more as a dietitian rather than a broker - meaning they assess the problem, procure the trust and work with their partners in a solution driven environment based strictly on what works best in their s

Today we have a special treat: Last week I joined Daniel Stanton, Mr Supply Chain on his Linkedin page to do a Live about our 10 ten social media tips and today, we are releasing the recording to our community as well! Daniel is a top influencer in the global supply chain community: the author of Supply Chain for Dummies, publisher of 10 supply chain courses on LinkedIn Live and over 35,000 followers on LinkedIn! In our live we discuss top social media tips for professionals in the supply chain industry. Why care about social media? Social media is a great way to build a professional network. It’s also an amazing way to learn more about your industry, as well as share what you know yourself. And of course, if you do it well, it’s a lot of fun. When getting started with social media, it’s important to pick a platform where you feel the most comfortable. This could be Twitter for engaging conversations, or LinkedIn for B2B communication. Daniel emphasizes the importance of finding your tribe and building a netw

Rebecca is Vice President of customer success at E2open, the largest software and information provider for the shipping industry. They’re already connected to over 100,000 supply entities, 35,000 shippers across 177 countries and perform 8 billion transactions per year. In other words, they know what they’re doing when it comes to supply chain and they help to unleash business potential in every company they work with. Rebecca explains that companies in 2020 should focus on embedding technology and AI, and learn how to leverage real time channel data. Instead of just following the trends and buzzwords, companies should put an emphasis on understanding the best way to leverage technology, since it’s not a one size fits all solution. This means understanding what to do with data and how to use it appropriately. Another issue that will be affecting supply chains globally is Brexit. E2open offers a unique solution called “Brexit ready in one day” that prepares companies for the potential impacts of Brexit. What m

Holly got into logistics like many of us: by accident. After the 2008 financial crash she moved to Texas and was offered a chance to work in supply chain. Although she’d always worked in media and had a marketing degree, once she “drank the juice” she got hooked on the logistics industry, and has been working in supply chain sales ever since. As a woman in supply chain she’s grateful to society for enabling a social environment that boosted her career. She’s learnt how to earn respect, push her own limits and combine her passions (branding and marketing) into her career. Most of all, she’s worked on combining the right and left side of her brain, to foster more creativity when working on solutions for a changing demand. On top of dealing with a fast paced and demanding job, Holly is a single Mom and works remotely. But she’s managed to keep a balance and enjoys a successful personal life. How? She says by remembering her priorities, having a strong support network and doing some serious planning. She makes th

What a year it has been – from the Game of Thrones finale to Fedex being banned by Amazon, 2019 has been a memorable one. And at LTSC, it has been an incredibly memorable one! We added The SC, Supply Chain TV that includes several new shows from around the world, named the Best Supply Chain Podcast of 2019, launched our new website and observed exciting trends in supply chain this year. Supply Chain professionals are loving Lets Talk Supply Chain and that includes our Linkedin Page. Our Women in Supply Chain series once again reigns supreme as the most frequently downloaded on the podcast on read on our blog, with AI and Supply Chain Performance Simplified gaining traction as the most downloaded. Looking back at 2019, the golden nuggets that standout are in this episode: EP 47 - Jim Hayden, Netflix is a good example of supply chain visibility EP 53 - Nozuko Mayeza, defying all odds in South Africa EP 55 - Jonathan Briggs, Cost to Ship vs Cost to serve EP 58 - Robert Garrison, Shinning a light into the da

What’s better than one supply chain professional? Two supply chain professionals! Allison and George are a couple who met at a supply chain conference and both work in different areas of logistics. Allison mostly works on strategy and supply, whereas George works in the tactical planning of merging technology and software. As a family working in supply chain, Allison and George complement each others backgrounds and regularly work together to solve supply chain challenges. In fact, they have white boards around the house where they discuss any issues they’re facing. This extends to their children, who also get involved and are understanding the huge role logistics have in getting products to our door. Their advice to next generation supply chain professionals? Get deep technical expertise early on and don’t wait too long to switch into the supply chain industry. Start working with products, learn the technical aspects and build a repertoire of skills. As Sarah says herself, always keep your options open and t

Human trafficking is supply chain. As horrendous as that sounds, it’s true. There are more slaves today than there have been in the whole of human history. That’s why Grant is passionate about contributing any help he can for operations that rescues and takes care of trafficked kids. Like a grocery supply chain, a human trafficking supply chain requires demand. Traffickers use fake orphanages that sell or rent children for many different reasons. The statistics are shocking: 36% of children are trafficked by family members, and human trafficking is a $150 billion industry. The only way to take control of this supply chain is to break it down and disrupt it. Grant talks about how he is getting involved with his new initiative "Freedom Rings" inspired by Tim Ballard's "Operation Underground Railroad" an organization that goes undercover and “buys” children from fake orphanages to then let them free. Grant also shares how supply chain and slavery is connected going back into the 1800s with Henry Box Brown story

Mike is the CEO of CCM, a chassis management company that creates fluidity in the supply chain. What makes them special? Their CCM pools work as an ‘open membership’ model that allow many different carriers access to chassis' faster. You might be wondering what exactly that means for your supply chain and we will paint that picture in this episode but from a high level,  It means that if there aren't any chassis available, the pool will find some and send some to the location that needs them the most! This unique model allows all stakeholders (ocean carriers, truckers, leasing companies) to all be under one management, which in turn reduces costs, delays and makes the industry generally more efficient. This also allows every stakeholder to be represented under one network, with CCM working as a neutral facilitator making sure that chassis go where they are needed. This means there’s a large reduction in fleet and maintenance programs are much easier to coordinate, which bring us to the most important benefit

THE WISC SERIES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY HULFT It can be daunting to get back into the workforce after years without working. Lisa went back to work in supply chain after 12 years out of the workforce taking care of her three boys. Thanks to her dedicated self-learning and determination, she was able to get the position she wanted in less than a year of looking for a new start. How? Imagine yourself as a case study, Lisa says. She regarded her situation as a template, analyzed the economy, did a lot of self-training and adopted an unstoppable mindset. She is proof that if you really want it you can make it happen. Your journey to success is not only about finding the right position but also the advancement of your career and negotiation is an important part of that so Lisa adopts a similar mindset when it comes to negotiation. Negotiation is about defining a problem and making sure both sides win. When it comes to negotiating, Lisa recommends looking at other opportunities rather than your salary, such as flexibi

Want some superpowers? Today Howard Berg - The World's Fastest Reader, shares how he gained his title and his mind-boggling super powers of speed reading and speed learning. He now wants to teach the world his skills, so in todays episode he shares how others can learn and read quickly just like him - and even tests Sarah. Howard has read over 30,000 books and reveals that just by reading for one hour a day, you can read a book every few days. That translates into 100 new business skills every year. With that kind of information, you can learn more about your industry, start a new business or teach others what you learn - the sky really is the limit. Want to learn how? Howard gives us his top three tips to increase speed learning, which includes reading faster, improving comprehension and doing memory drills. He practices on Sarah, and see how suddenly she’s able to recall an entire list of objects! These skills are immensely useful when it comes to business. Howard identifies five main pillars to reading a b

Today you are in for a great discussion! Irina Rosca is here as guest host and she is back to interview an old friend, Graham from BorderBuddy! Graham and Irina chat about what’s happening to the retail industry, some interesting trends they are noticing and how Amazon is altering supply chain. One of the trends that Graham watches closely is bankruptcies like Forever 21, Doomsayers are saying that a combination of Amazon and a change in consumer habits means retailers are at high risk of closing down. Graham takes a look at bankruptcies to see how they are affecting the supply chain industry, it is hard for service providers to take a hit like that so we all have a responsibility to each other to do what we can to stay competitive. We’re living in a busy world, where time is of the essence, so if your product is not sold online, bye bye. Retailers are still catching up, which is difficult when Amazon owns every part of the supply chain process and offers same day delivery. But Graham isn’t so pessimistic. Al

If you havent heard of Ashcroft Terminal, you will not forget them after today's interview. They are changing the game for inland ports everywhere and upping the bar to where you will want to get to know them. Kleo Landucci, changemaker and Chief Commercial & Corporate Affars officer of Ashcroft Terminal show us how they are a company that provides transportation logistics in a unique geographical position: it’s an inland port at a junction of the CP and CN rail lines in Western Canada. Kleo’s father had a vision to turn a specific piece of land into a container business in 1999, and Kleo joined in 2004 from the financial sector. The last 2 years have been very active for Ashcroft Terminal: they have taken on a Giant and turned it into a solid partnership and joint venture. They recently sold 60% of their company to PSA International, The largest Port operator that shipped 81 million containers in 2018 and will help establish Ashcroft as a big player in this space. Planning for 2020? Consider what an inla