Survivors on a desert island. If there’s a single role that consistently just figures it out, it’s supply chain professionals.

–Keith Moore
CEO
AutoScheduler.AI

Lost on a desert island companions. If a plane crashes, who do you want by your side? You want someone who is great at math, problem solving, prioritizing, and can get things from A to B. Supply chain professionals are the best executors out there, and like Jeff Bezos famously said, “It turns out ideas are the easy part, execution is everything.”

–Ross Williams
Director
DSJ Global, a Phaidon International brand

Wedding planners.

Our extreme attention to detail, coordination across multiple parties, and ability to foresee and mitigate risks, and solve problems ensure that a supply chain is well orchestrated, much like a seamlessly executed wedding where everyone has a wonderful experience.

–Allen Jacques
Industry Thought Leader
Kinaxis

Both wedding planning and supply chain management require logistical expertise in the sourcing, scheduling, and delivery of various components, management of multiple vendors, focus on customer satisfaction, ability to stay within budget, adherence to timelines, troubleshooting all manners of problems quickly, and meticulous attention to detail.

–Rebecca Wilson
Group Vice President, Human Resources
Kenco

Crisis negotiators. This work demands a profound ability for optimizing outcomes, maintaining adaptability in light of emerging information, adeptly executing strategies (maximizing time and risk vs. reward analysis), fostering intrinsic motivation for improvement, and embodying negotiations expertise.

–Evan Rago
Sales Director
Gather AI

Social workers help individuals, groups, and families prevent and cope with problems in their everyday lives. Supply chain professionals constantly do the same work with a host of different companies to prevent and cope with delays in the everyday movement of cargo.

–Stephen Lyman
Executive Director
Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ

Soccer athletes. Both professions demand team players and require strategic thinking, team coordination, and agility to pivot when faced with unexpected obstacles. Superior communication skills and a focused drive to achieve their goals are also essential qualities shared by both.

–Jose Barahona
VP Sales
Magaya

Game designers. Supply chain professionals’ knack for problem-solving, optimizing processes, and foreseeing outcomes makes them adept at creating engaging, strategic games or puzzles that challenge and intrigue players.

–Dennis Moon
COO
Roadie

Band members possess unique skillsets and manage complexity while adapting as a team to deliver on the customer experience. This requires deep expertise, a strong familiarity with what is being performed, and maybe most important, a quality of service and devotion to the craft. At our best, supply chain professionals create great music together.

–Laura Sheehy
Chief Human Resources Officer
Odyssey Logistics

Movie producers due to supply chain professionals’ adeptness in coordinating and orchestrating complex processes. Just as they manage the flow of goods and services efficiently, they can oversee the intricate logistics involved in film production, from sourcing equipment and materials to coordinating locations, schedules, and budgets. Their ability to anticipate and mitigate potential disruptions aligns with the unpredictable nature of filmmaking. They also excel in collaboration and communication, essential qualities for leading diverse teams of cast and crew.

–Inna Kuznetsova
CEO
ToolsGroup

Army generals because they constantly weigh their strategies against risk and reward. They also know all about combined operations.

–Tom Moore
CEO and Founder
ProvisionAi

Historians because origins, tracking, and transparency are vital for business growth. With B2B customer demands for digital compliance, ensuring digitally enabled origin and supply chain data is crucial.

–Sebastiaan Verhaar
CEO
Sana Commerce

Aviation control tower chiefs. Like chief controllers who must consider vast amounts of data from multiple sources to make timely, critical decisions, supply chain managers possess the unique ability to oversee complex networks to ensure the seamless flow of goods.

–Lilian Bories
Chief Marketing Officer
TradeBeyond

NBA general managers, handling player transactions, contracts, coaching hires, and serving as a link to ownership. Likewise, supply chain pros oversee all aspects of supply chain operations, from procurement to production, ensuring efficiency and communication with upper management. In both roles, seamless execution is key to success.

–Itamar Zur
Co-Founder, CEO
Veho

Chefs. You have to ensure the right ingredients get to the right place at the right time. A complex dish can require a lot of different processes, and one bad egg can spoil the batch. These are realities that everybody in a supply chain closely understands. Everything is about timing.

–Bryan Gerber
Founder and CEO
Hara Supply

Acrobats. In the supply chain, we constantly seek balance for our customers from beginning to end. Not only are flexibility and speed vital to success in both professions, but we have to be daring and innovative while working interdependently with a low margin for error.

–Sarah Damschroder
Vice President of Human Resources
GEODIS in Americas

Chess players. Like chess champions, supply chain professionals must think a few steps ahead to get inventory in and out of the warehouse and to their final destinations in a timely and efficient manner.

–Steven Hyman
COO
Global Messenger and Logistics

Adventure tourism leaders. Supply chain professionals possess the skills to lead adventure tourism and expedition planning services. Their attention to detail and strategic planning abilities make them ideal leaders for orchestrating high-stakes expeditions. For example, trekking up Mt. Everest, a supply chain pro could coordinate how exactly to get you and the supplies to the peak.

–John Donigian
Senior Director–Supply Chain Strategy
Moody’s Analytics

Parents. Parenting is problem solving in the face of constant change, many unknowns, and zero chance of perfection. Raising resilient children and managing supply chains have many parallels. Supply chain professionals are constantly applying capabilities such as generalization, abstraction, and subjectivity to complement technology.

–Elton Brown
Consultant
DMS

Space ship controllers because we are used to real-time events, with constant changes, and “failure is not an option” mindsets. We move all of the goods that are around us, day by day, decade upon decade.

–Danny Schnautz
President
Clark Freight Lines

Backpackers. Supply chain professionals are amazing problem solvers, even when hindered by limited resources. We’re also used to moving and working under weighty conditions. Whether we’re loaded down with gear and supplies, or carrying the even heavier expectations of our customers and fellow departments, we know how to keep moving forward when the going gets tough.

–Jessica Windham
CEO
Solving Work

Robot programmers. When programming a robot, you need to do so with an eye on what the ultimate endgame is. You need to plan from the start where you want things to end up, before you direct each of the steps it takes to get there. Supply chain professionals do this every day—coordinate several moving parts to reach the ultimate goal of getting something from A to B.

–Alejandro Suarez
Director of Strategic Engagements
Realtime Robotics

Magicians.

They have to deliver what some would think is impossible every day. They must seamlessly coordinate complex processes, anticipate challenges, and adapt to changing circumstances. They need to juggle multiple elements at the same time and perform flawlessly or their organization fails.

–Stephen Dombroski
Director, Consumer Markets
QAD

Because they make the impossible seem possible. Crafting a magic act involves careful planning to ensure each trick flows seamlessly. Supply chain pros are strategic planners, designing and executing plans. The behind-the-scenes “magic” of supply chain makes complex processes look effortless.

–Karin Stevens
EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
Overhaul

Both require logistical expertise, with the former strategizing the movement of goods similar to how magicians plan their tricks. While supply chain professionals may not use sleight of hand in the literal sense, they do need to be skilled at efficiently handling goods and managing items with precision to keep customers happy.

–Eric Allais
President & CEO
PathGuide Technologies, Inc.

Air traffic controllers.

Both jobs require exceptional critical thinking and decision-making abilities to solve complex problems in high-pressure situations. The stakes differ, but the skill sets are very similar.

–Carlyn O’Hanlon
Senior Talent Acquisition Manager
Arrive Logistics

Each profession orchestrates complex operations to reduce disruptions. In addition, each must anticipate and respond to changes with safety and efficiency as their top priority. Precision, strong communication, and planning are critical skill sets in both roles.

–Mike Trudeau
Executive Vice President of Business Development
Montway Auto Transport

Supply chain professionals must have the aptitude to see the big picture and detect deviations in the orderly flow of goods and services. For this, they need visibility—provided by a business network and sometimes a very tall control tower. They also need to make timely mid-course corrections to mitigate risk and keep the components of their respective cargoes safe.

–Tony Harris
SVP & Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer
SAP Business Network

Event planners. The skill set required in supply chain management parallels the expertise needed in event planning. Both roles demand meticulous planning, coordination, attention to detail, and organizational abilities. Both fields also demand working under pressure to ensure seamless coordination and mitigate potential issues.

–Fernando Correa
CEO and Co-founder
Cargobot

Customer experience strategists. Their deep understanding of the intricacies of supply chains allows them to identify critical touchpoints and leverage these for enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. By optimizing these areas, they can significantly impact the overall customer experience, driving retention, and fostering positive brand perception.

–Nishith Rastogi
Founder and CEO, Locus.sh

Business leaders as many possess a unique skill set equipping them for leadership success. Their proficiency in managing resources, optimizing processes, and navigating complexities allows them to lead with efficiency, strategy, and resilience in dynamic business environments—which is particularly crucial in today’s uncertain economy.

–Joe Galvin
Chief Research Officer
Vistage

Supplier marketers. In an era of global instability, the need for enterprise to be the “customer of choice” for its suppliers is urgent. By applying marketing ideas to suppliers to build strong relationships and create value to capture value, pros can become a guiding force in a complex procurement ecosystem. As technology continues to explode, one outcome will be the rise of supplier marketing.

–Anthony Payne
Chief Marketing Officer, HICX

Innovators. Amid complex logistics, rising shipping costs, port congestion, labor shortages, and fluctuating unloading rates, supply chain experts benefit greatly from leveraging the latest robotics technology. Robots excel at hazardous and labor-intensive tasks like truck unloading freeing resources to focus on other priorities, thereby enhancing operational agility and predictability.

–Mike Fair
Director, Product Management
Boston Dynamics

Emergency room physicians. They are proactive and constructive but also have to be great in the face of chaos. They are also problem solvers with agility and the ability to pivot when faced with challenges, all while leaning on their training and experience to manage critical opportunities.

–Mark McEntire
CEO
Princeton TMX

Crisis managers. They need strong problem-solving skills, the ability to work under pressure and the dexterity to collaborate with a diverse set of stakeholders.

–Nina Reinhardt
Chief Communications Officer
RXO

Orchestra conductors.

“Conducting” suppliers, “rehearsing” logistics, and “tuning” end products to match demand. Similar to musicians in an orchestra, raw materials and manufacturers must harmonize and synchronize to create the desired end products and ensure on-time in-full deliveries.

–Nirav Patel
CEO
Bristlecone

In both roles, there are an incredible amount of moving parts that all have to be coordinated and “played” at the same time in order to be successful. Many specific actions may seem out of place when viewed alone. But when all of those actions are integrated, and “played together” a supply chain can sound like a beautiful symphony.

—Josh Dunham
CEO and Co-founder
Reveel

Just like conductors harmonize the various sections of an orchestra for a flawless performance, supply chain pros expertly coordinate logistics, inventory, and replenishment to keep the business symphony playing smoothly. Plus, they’re always ready to improvise when necessary!

–Laurence Brenig-Jones
VP of Strategy & Marketing
RELEX

Because of their knack for orchestrating complex systems. Like conductors interpreting a composer’s vision, they understand overarching goals and coordinate diverse talents within teams. Their leadership skills allow them to harmonize individual elements into a cohesive symphony of efficiency, ensuring flawless execution and desired outcomes.

–Omer Abdullah
Co-Founder
The Smart Cube

The answer may be blockchain technology, which can be used to build applications where multiple parties can transact directly via a peer-to-peer network, without the need for a central authority to verify transactions.

With blockchain, companies document production updates to a single shared ledger that provides complete data visibility and a single source of truth. Because transactions are always time-stamped and up to date, companies can query a product’s status and location at any time. This helps to combat issues like compliance violations, delays, and waste.

In addition, companies can take immediate action during emergencies such as product recalls, and the ledger audit trail ensures regulatory compliance.

Moreover, blockchain technology is now mature enough to interface with, and take advantage of, other emerging smart technologies such as IoT, smart contracts (pieces of code stored on a blockchain), and AI to provide an enhanced and secured supply chain and automatically track production, transportation, and quality control conditions.
There are great strategic reasons to implement blockchain, such as:

Reduced risk. Access to reliable data can help mitigate risks thanks to the timely identification of issues and potential alternatives. Blockchain creates a trusted, shared, and decentralized ledger that eliminates silos and guarantees all parties access thanks to tamper-proof records that help ensure the data’s trustworthiness.

Improved visibility and transparency. A blockchain-based supply chain can digitize physical assets and create a decentralized, immutable record of all transactions across the end-to-end value stream when paired with IoT devices and RFID tags.

Increased trust. By recording all supply chain transactions on a shared and immutable ledger, blockchain provides a level of trust that was previously impossible.

While this all may sound good—but challenging—it raises the question of how to actually implement it. Some generic implementation steps include:

1. Identify the potential use.
2. Develop a proof of concept.
3. Choose a blockchain platform.
4. Build and test the solution.
5. Construct the first block with all essential features.
6. Deploy the blockchain network.
7. Create a set of rules to determine how participants agree on the validity of transactions in a blockchain network (known as “consensus protocol”).
8. Build out the blockchain ecosystem.

To get started, select supply chain software—often integrated with a “platform” such as IBM or Amazon Web Services—that utilizes blockchain technology for more accuracy, reliability, transparency and trust.
Maybe it’s time to unblock your supply chain with blockchain.

More for chemotherapy, more for ADHD, more for diabetes, and more for the countless other critical conditions plaguing our ailing and rapidly aging nation. This shortage leaves patients in limbo, doctors and hospital administrators exasperated, and politicians grasping for answers. 

Both sides of the aisle have acknowledged the urgency with multiple congressional hearings seeking solutions to this deadly drug shortage.

At the first meeting of his new supply chain resilience council, President Biden announced plans to increase domestic production of essential pharmaceuticals through the Defense Production Act. Never one to play second fiddle, former President Trump has also advocated for bringing back production of all essential medicines if re-elected, as part of his “plan to obtain total independence from China.”

Despite this rare instance of bipartisanship, politicians clamoring to establish ‘Made in America’ drug manufacturing facilities are misguided in thinking this is the silver bullet that will deliver a long-term fix. 

Much more comprehensive efforts are needed, and while the government has a role to play, the most impactful path lies with the drug providers improving the resiliency of their sometimes fragile supply chains. 

A Drop in the Bucket

While Biden’s efforts on this issue are admirable, the $35 million he is allocating for the domestic production of sterile injectable medicines falls far short of the incentives that might spur a blue-chip pharmaceutical company to consider breaking ground or re-locating one of its overseas facilities.

These nickel-and-dime numbers pale in comparison to what would really move the needle from a government intervention standpoint: drastically slashing the corporate tax rate to compete with tax-friendly enclaves like Ireland, Switzerland, and Singapore. These countries are home to much of today’s manufacturing and allow companies to keep much more of their profits. 

Supply Chain Snarls Know No Boundaries

Even if Washington did succeed in bringing production back to the States, any new domestic facilities would still be at the mercy of the same supply chain snarls that bedevil overseas ones. 

Natural disasters hit, pulling plant capacity offline. Drug manufacturers unexpectedly go bankrupt. Regulatory agencies shut down facilities due to quality non-compliance issues. These scenarios lead to a domino effect that sees people who can’t access one type of medication forced to move onto another, thereby increasing demand for the alternative, and putting additional strain on an already fragile system.

Then there’s the minor detail of having to procure the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) themselves. Due to the sources for many key starting materials (KSMs), all roads may still lead to China (albeit via India), thereby negating the reasonable prospect of achieving a self-sufficient utopia, a fact acknowledged by a 2023 congressional report. 

Biden’s recent decision to allow Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada is a step in the right direction to juicing the supply side of the equation. But to treat the cause instead of the symptom, we have to look to the drug manufacturers’ supply chains.

Many organizations, including the American Medical Association, have called for pharmaceutical companies to diversify their supply chains and move away from single-site manufacturing to increase redundancy and de-risk.

Achieving Supply Chain Resiliency 

A concurrent supply chain with full visibility and transparency across networks could rebalance inventories and provide forewarning of potential supply chain disruptions and their impact long before they became a problem. Global biopharmaceutical company Ipsen took this approach during the pandemic and had zero stockouts, despite demand spikes of up to 70%.

The Department of Commerce’s new Supply Chain Center and the Department of Transportation’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works (“FLOW”) program are other kinds of data-backed public-private partnerships that have the potential to build more transparency into shared supply chain networks with a view to facilitating a more reliable flow of goods.

With a dizzying array of stakeholders — including manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, regulators, doctors, and pharmacies — drug supply chains are about as complex as they come. Getting the right products into patients’ hands when they need them is a lot more complicated and consequential than ensuring Hershey bars are on the shelves come Halloween. 

However, as companies like Merck & Co. have proven, it is possible to borrow a page from the consumer-packaged goods industry, long considered the gold standard of supply chain resiliency, by adopting a digital supply chain platform to eliminate silos, make more informed decisions, and proactively manage the risks around countless ‘what ifs.’

While it’s not going to appear overnight, a stable future where patients can consistently access the medications they rely on can be achieved. It doesn’t require the wholesale creation of more U.S. production capacity or massive amounts of government intervention. We already have the power to transform supply chains and our overall healthcare system for the better.

Accounting for as much as 11% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – when factoring in distribution centers – logistics and transportation are among the most visible contributors to organizational emissions. As networks continue to become more expansive and diversified in the wake of the pandemic, logistics and transportation operations will continue to serve as a primary focal area for business leaders as they look to “do the right thing” in the face of mounting climate-related pressure from customers, stakeholders, and regulators.

Because of the widespread and interconnected nature of the logistics and transportation industries, businesses in these spaces face heightened pressure to monitor and report on emissions. However, while the SEC may have recently voted to give businesses a reprieve on reporting Scope 3 – something only 38% of businesses are currently doing – as regulators worldwide press forward with more stringent reporting standards, logistics and transportation stakeholders are being faced with a clear choice: boost emissions management or face regulatory discomfort down the road.

With that in mind, here are several key considerations that logistics and transportation leaders should keep in mind to help drive decarbonization progress forward.

Focus on Routing and Capacity

Nearly two-thirds of logistics and transportation emissions come from road-based freight. Identifying more efficient routing options is essential. However, finding routing success goes beyond simply deploying a GPS to find the shortest distance between two points. Instead, optimizing routing requires a multi-faceted approach that takes into consideration elements such as shipping distances, warehouse location, and capacity among other things.

For example, though ocean shipping routes often span thousands of miles, because of the large amount of freight that is carried by ocean freighters per load, its emissions are often significantly less than road-based freight over the same distance. Ensuring that distribution centers are strategically placed to ensure that truckers can pick-up and drop-off full loads at each point will help to cut down on “empty miles” that are commonplace today in road freighting and drive-up emissions.

Proper Distribution Center Planning

One of the biggest oversights in logistics and transportation decarbonization planning is the impacts of distribution centers. Distribution centers are the organizational hubs that make today’s logistics engines tick, and with that comes a significant emissions footprint. Yet, organizations routinely gloss over distribution center emissions when planning new developments.

What type of energy is powering a grid in a proposed location? Will our materials handling equipment be powered by propane or electricity? How will we handle waste from the facility? These are just a handful of the hundreds of questions logistics and transportation stakeholders need to have an answer to if they are going to build distribution centers that stand up to incoming climate legislation in the short- and long-term.

Data Management

The logistics and transportation sectors are notoriously slow-moving when it comes to technology adoption, often opting to stay with what “just works” instead of embracing newer tools. Unfortunately, because of the granular data demands of today’s emissions legislation, many of these legacy tools have gone from simply being outdated to being completely obsolete.

Today’s reporting demands mean that logistics and transportation organizations need to have a 360-degree view of their operations – including in many jurisdictions their Scope 3 impacts. When tackling emissions oversight, decision-makers must have tools in place that can help them capture, aggregate, and synthesize data in real-time to make any necessary tweaks to remain compliant.

In closing, clamping down on logistics and transportation emissions can feel like an overwhelming task for decision-makers and their teams. However, by keeping these few key factors in mind, stakeholders can lay the foundations for emissions revolutions that will enable them to tackle both today’s climate challenges as well as tomorrow’s.

AI-crafted large language models understand and produce human language answers to questions. But very soon, custom closed AI systems will pre-fill the documents—compliance forms, drawback forms, claims forms, you name it—required to manage global supply chains.

This breakthrough in automation will simplify and streamline repetitive form submissions based on your business rules, all driven by a custom and closed large language AI system.

Combining and blending several strains of artificial intelligence regimes has empowered not only humans, but virtual bots as well by creating non-human customers that place orders, replenish inventory, and monitor quality—all without human intervention.

Bipedal humanoid robots moving boxes around the warehouse generated plenty of media excitement and tests are underway. But that is not where the action is, yet. Inbound Logistics has covered solid examples of non-human robots energizing DCs, warehouses, and fulfillment centers and amping ROI.

But having hundreds or thousands of robots in large distribution centers creates some drawbacks. Even after factoring in implementation costs, the expense of maintaining local WiFi tone and remote bandwidth needed to process the data driving the bot activity is a challenge. Large DCs need multiple hotspots, but when placed close together they interfere with each other. That drives robots crazy.

Is there another technology available to address these challenges? A huge retailer is reportedly testing “for dense and hyper dense wireless deployments within an indoor commercial warehouse” that will run thousands of bots in a mega DC without hotspot interference, and with fewer demands for off-site data management. It is empowered by something called “at the edge processing.” That’s where constant reliable web tone, combined with AI and bots, lessens the demands on remote server activities by lighting up more on-site decisions. An additional bonus is the ability to have inbound communications with a very large private fleet. Is all that possible?

Yes. Elon Musk has an answer: low earth orbit (LEO) satellite 5G tone as an alternative to WiFi tone. His Starlink project has plans for up to 42,000 satellites in LEO to provide global broadband for applications inside huge warehouses and anywhere across the globe.

It is exciting times for global supply chain operations.

I recently testified before the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to warn about the implications of rising shipping rates and delays should these challenges not be resolved. The Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) relies heavily on chemical imports and our members are starting to experience the impacts of these shipping challenges.

We recognize some increases in costs and transit times are justified and we want ocean carriers to ensure the safety of their employees, vessels, and cargo. However, they must also ensure their response does not damage the global marketplace.

Our members have grown concerned by the lack of communication from carriers about the location of their containers and potential for delays. In a world of 24/7 global communications and GPS tracking, this is unacceptable.

More than Necessary?

ACD members have also seen an uptick in shipment surcharges. While we understand the interwoven nature of global shipping means these disruptions will impact ocean shipping, we fear that current pricing shifts go beyond what is necessary and place a disproportionate cost burden on shippers.

Shippers are experiencing a significant increase in the spot rate market. More frustrating, carriers have invented new surcharge names, such as Emergency Freight Surcharges or Peak Season Surcharges, and placed them on shipments regardless of their destination and without clarifying how they determined these charges.

Following the historic profits made by carriers during the pandemic, Congress overwhelming passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, giving the FMC expanded oversight and power to regulate the ocean carrier community. However, carriers continue to do as they wish with little regard to the impact on businesses across the supply chain.

If we want to avoid another supply chain crisis and get out of this endless time loop of shipping challenges, a number of actions must take place:

1. The FMC must remain vigilant in overseeing special permission requests and surcharges levied by ocean carriers.

2. The FMC has the authority to address unreasonable surcharges, and must hold these carriers accountable.

3. The FMC must proceed with the Maritime Transportation Data Initiative to improve data transparency and cargo movements.

4. Congress must conduct oversight to once again force carriers to be held accountable for their actions.

We must not let the ocean carrier community use tensions in the Red Sea as an opportunity to financially benefit at the expense of the American supply chain, businesses, consumers, and ultimately, the U.S. economy.

☒ The supply chain should reduce cost. It can, but more importantly the supply chain should help reduce time—the amount of time that anything in stock is ordered, pulled from inventory, and delivered to the end consumer.

–Steven Hyman
COO
Global Messenger and Logistics

☒ The most important supply chain metric is cost savings. Many supply chain professionals believe doing more with less and finding “leverage” is the key to success. Operating efficiently, not the cheapest, is paramount to delivering value in the form of responsiveness, sustainability, and innovation. You cannot thrive internally and expect your customers to feel the value.

–Mark McEntire
CEO
Princeton TMX

☒ People will become less important with increasing automation and AI in the supply chain. While technology boosts efficiency, it cannot replace the unique human skills necessary for collaboration and strategic decision-making. An optimal supply chain requires a balance of both technology and human expertise.

–Mike Trudeau
Executive Vice President, Business Development
Montway Auto Transport

☒ Digitalization replaces human expertise. While technology does enhance decision-making, the human touch remains crucial for tackling disruptions and maintaining partnerships. Digitalization doesn’t negate the need for human skills; it complements them.

–Fernando Correa
CEO/Co-Founder
Cargobot

☒ Technology will fix everything. Technology is not a panacea. Enterprise resource planning systems are coming into their third decade now, and we still see the same data-quality issues crop up. Investing in our people and processes is the most efficient and effective way to build resilient supply chains—ones that can utilize everything the artificial intelligence revolution has to offer.

–Jessica Windham
CEO
Solving Work

☒ The supply chain sector will continue to be male dominated. More women are entering the supply chain workforce than ever before. Our 2023 Voice of the American Workforce survey shows 42% of supply chain respondents are female, and Gartner’s Women in the Supply Chain data finds 25% of supply chain C-suite roles are now filled by women—statistics not seen a decade ago.

–Kim Vindrine
Sales Excellence Manager
Employbridge

☒ Supply chains are necessarily becoming more resilient by shifting production out of China toward countries that have better relations with the United States and its allies. Shipping lanes between China and the U.S. West Coast are comparatively secure when compared to routes that require ships to pass through the Suez or Panama Canals regardless of the disposition of the country of origin.

–Robert Reavis
Vice President
ButcherJoseph & Co.

☒ Temperature-controlled environments are only suited to protect from heat or freezing. There is additional value; they reduce humidity while food products are stored or handled. Humidity can impact food quality and the shipping and inner carton stability.

–Frank Hurst
Executive Vice President – LTL
Echo Global Logistics

☒ Transportation causes major delays (i.e. OTIF penalties) in manufacturing. This is overblown. More than 80% of the time, the reason something is late to a customer destination is because it didn’t leave the source distribution site on time.

–Keith Moore
CEO
AutoScheduler.AI

☒ Negotiations are a zero sum game. Conversations with suppliers, partners, and even competitors should center around opportunities for shared value creation, instead of an ultimately shortsighted “I win, you lose” approach. As Simon Sinek says, it’s an infinite game. Adopting binary mindsets will ultimately leave us shorthanded.

–Jason Hehman
Vertical Lead for Industry 4.0
TXI

☒ Supply chains are linear. Supply chains are nonlinear fluid processes that operate continuously. They are dynamic and consist of multiple chains that comprise a supply chain ecosystem. They are interconnected and living processes that do not start and end. Understanding this will make you more adaptable to change.

–Stephen Dombroski
Director of Consumer Markets
QAD

☒ Blaming the supply chain for products not being delivered on time and timelines being delayed. This is a cop out. It’s easier to place blame instead of understanding the requirements for the supply chain to flow correctly.

–Chip Barth
Managing Director, Global Supply Chain Practice
TBM Consulting

☒ You need to be an expert in supply chain. In a recent piece of research every interview started with “I’m not an expert on supply chain,” yet what followed was a rich discussion that often ran over time. Start a conversation with a team you don’t normally talk with.

–Anthony Monaghan
Transportation Leader
WTW

☒ A “lights out” supply chain. The value technology can bring is not to eliminate humans but elevate them, by automating the obvious and minimizing the mundane, so people are freed to work on higher-order, complex problems requiring contextual understanding and judgment.

–Polly Mitchell-Guthrie
VP, Industry Outreach and Thought Leadership
Kinaxis

☒ Pressing pause on innovation and continuous improvement in a down market. This can actually be an opportune time to take action for the future. A company’s budget may not currently support launching new sites or fully automating an existing site, but there are lower-cost options to remove bottlenecks and improve operational efficiencies.

–Bryan Perkins
Senior Vice President, Engineering
Tompkins Solutions

☒ Supply chain disruption can be measured just by looking at the amount of stock in the supply chain. While volatility matrices may tell us we aren’t experiencing disruption based on measures of stock, we also need to look at logistics indicators like the Baltic Dry Index and the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI). Also, container imports and exports, and purchase, producer, and manufacturing indices.

–Gordon Donovan
Global Vice President Research
SAP Procurement and Supply

☒ The shortage of truck drivers is a systemic issue. This is just not the case. What we have seen are temporary fluctuations in capacity based on the demand for shipped goods vs. the supply of trucks available, often due to drivers leaving or entering based on the strength of the market.

–Eric Masotti
President of Logistics
Trailer Bridge

☒ Disruption is an aberration. It’s a state of mind. Agility isn’t something that happens just once or twice a year or when a crisis hits. It’s an ongoing capability and it’s business critical. The era of “this is how we do things, no need to adjust” doesn’t exist anymore.

–Tony Pelli
Practice Director, Supply Chain Security & Resilience
BSI

☒ Companies’ supply chain challenges are unique. We all face similar issues. By connecting and discussing our shared challenges, we open the door to collaborative problem-solving and can create shared value. Partnership and transparency are essential to building a smarter, more sustainable supply network.

–Dan Ahrens
Director, Customer Solutions
CHEP

☒ The supply chain will return to “normal.” While supply chain disruptions that first arose in 2020 have been dissipating, new uncertainties have been arising at almost the same pace. From global tensions to artificial intelligence, continuous new challenges will keep us from our prior normal.

–Felix Vicknair
Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions
Kenco

☒ You need an overly complex or resource-intensive process to obtain a complete picture of your spend across your supply chain. By integrating artificial intelligence with procurement best practices in classifying spend data, businesses can quickly gain insights, identify savings, and uncover risks.

–Scott Macfee
CEO
SpendHQ

☒ Today’s supply chain technology focuses exclusively on automating people out of the process. While this may be the goal for some, many logistics firms build technology that enables their teams to deliver customer solutions faster and more efficiently rather than replacing human interaction altogether.

–Noah Sidenberg
General Manager of Canada Sales Operations
Arrive Logistics

☒ Artificial intelligence can replace human expertise. While it is an excellent resource for enabling the workforce to be faster and more efficient, it is a supplement, not a replacement.

–Melissa Somsen
Chief Commercial Officer
AFS Logistics

☒ The supply chain is a linear progression from raw materials to finished goods. However, the modern supply chain defies such simplicity, functioning more like a dynamic web of interconnected events orchestrating the creation and distribution of end products.

–Nirav Patel
CEO
Bristlecone

☒ The terms “returning to normal” or “returning to the new normal.” They can be confusing. The last few years have exposed such unpredictable risks affecting the supply chain that any deterministic forecast is doomed to fail given that long lead times coupled with multiple risk factors can rapidly change the situation. Factoring risks into a probabilistic forecast model and ensuring the ability to mitigate them during the execution stage, such as deploying robust tools for in-season inventory optimization, becomes crucial for success.

–Inna Kuznetsova
CEO
ToolsGroup

☒ AI is a one-stop solution to remedy all supply chain challenges. While it is undeniably a critical asset in enhancing supply chain efficiency, its success hinges on a robust foundation of underlying technologies, well-defined processes, and skilled personnel. AI excels when it complements these elements, rather than replacing them.

–Martyn Verhaegen
CTO
Magaya

☒ The supply chain is made up of silos of planning, transportation and warehousing. It’s a chain

–Tom Moore
CEO and Founder
ProvisionAi

☒ Traditional, large-scale logistics networks are always the most efficient for last-mile delivery. In reality, flexible, crowdsourced delivery models have proven highly effective, especially for urgent or same-day deliveries. These models offer scalability and adaptability, crucial for meeting dynamic consumer demands and coping with fluctuating supply chain pressures.

–Dennis Moon
COO
Roadie

☒ Only big companies can have effective supply chains. While being big ostensibly brings resources and capabilities, a company of any size can optimize their supply chain by focusing on the right fundamentals and may be better positioned to move faster on market innovations than the big players.

–Joe Adamski
Senior Director
ProcureAbility

☒ The driver who picks up the shipment is the same who will deliver. This is an old but reoccurring perception in LTL, predominantly from novice shippers. They assume any verbal instructions need only be kept in the driver’s memory. Include shipment instructions not only on the BOL but electronic records as well.

–Kevin Day
President, LTL
AFS Logistics

☒ The supply chain is a series of independent steps. Reality: It’s an ecosystem of interdependent activities serviced by multiple parties. Technology innovations have enabled a seamless exchange of information, access to real-time status of resources, and process alignment within the ecosystem for on-time delivery and customer delight.

–Nagendra Rao
President, Sales
Trigent Software

☒ You can optimize one aspect of your supply chain—transportation, inventory, shipping, e-commerce—without impacting the others. Today, every aspect of your business is so connected that optimization in one area may have unintended consequences in another. Modeling and simulation of the end-to-end supply chain can help you identify any issues and prevent these consequences.

–Josh Dunham
CEO and Co-founder
Reveel

☒ Sustainability is cost-prohibitive. Too many retail brands are still beholden to this outdated notion. Through digitalization, companies can ensure socially and environmentally responsible sourcing while not only enhancing operational efficiency and increasing profit margins, but also growing loyalty among consumers who increasingly prioritize ethical practices in their buying decisions.

–Lilian Bories
Chief Marketing Officer
TradeBeyond

☒ AI is replacing the supply chain workforce. In fact, quite the opposite is true. An AI-powered supply chain enhances teams by providing more accurate data and previously inaccessible insights to inform smarter, more confident decisions. By providing accurate forecasts and optimization recommendations, AI also empowers teams to work more collaboratively and strategically to drive results.

–Alex Jobin
Senior Solution Principal, Forecasting and Replenishment
RELEX Solutions

☒ Brokerages are best suited for overflow demand. In reality, brokerages are core strategic carriers for shippers, who can offer massive capacity and specialized capabilities, including advanced technology. They’ve become integral players in the for-hire-truckload market, a trend that will continue, revolutionizing supply chain dynamics and meeting evolving industry demands.

–Jared Weisfeld
Chief Strategy Officer
RXO

☒ Technology alone can solve all supply chain challenges. While technology plays a crucial role in supply chain visibility, focusing solely on it neglects the criticality of people and processes. AI offers innovation, but it’s our people who truly deliver its value via quality processes.

–Omer Abdullah
Co-founder
The Smart Cube

☒ GenAI will quickly alter the course of supply chains. Yes possibly. However, there are two challenges to overcome—the underlying data infrastructure must be AI-ready, requiring a different technology approach, and supply chains must evolve their decision-making processes to combine human expertise with AI capabilities to realize GenAI outcomes.

–Ram Krishnan
Global Head, Customer Success
Aera Technology

Every year lately, “a big unknown” has impacted supply chains, says Leo Qvarnström, director, Sea-Air Logistics and air sustainability, North America with Kuehne+Nagel, a provider of logistics services. Recent examples include the war in Ukraine, the ecommerce boom, and the current conflict in the Red Sea.

The acronym VUCA, which has its roots in the military and stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, is now being used to describe the world of commerce, says Tom Goldsby, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Supply chain and logistics professionals can gain an edge by understanding the trends and shifts contributing to the current global logistics environment.

Geopolitical Upheaval

In addition to exacting a human cost, conflict impacts supply chain and logistics operations. For instance, Red Sea attacks are forcing more shipments around the horn of Africa, lengthening cycle times and driving up fuel costs and carbon emissions, says Ted Stank, co-executive director, with Tom Goldsby, of the Global Supply Chain Institute.

Between November 2023 and February 2024, container leasing rates on the China-to-U.S. trade route more than doubled, finds Container Xchange, an online container logistics platform.

Challenges in the Red Sea will even indirectly impact shippers whose cargo doesn’t travel this route, says Robin Knopf, global head of Sea-Air Logistics with Kuehne+Nagel. The reason? As carriers move to avoid the Red Sea, they create disruptions or container shortages along other routes, he adds.

Other trade lanes are also at risk, says the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). One is the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for 20 to 30% of oil trade. If Iran is drawn into the conflict in the Middle East, vessels navigating this strait could be at risk.

Another lane, the Strait of Malaca, accounts for 30% of global trade. An ongoing dispute between China and several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over an area in the South China Sea may impact this strait, BCG says.

Along with rising transit costs, it’s likely that confirming bookings will be more difficult by summer 2024. “Companies will need to plan longer lead times for getting goods to their final destinations,” says Christa Pitts, co-CEO with The Lumistella Company, the firm behind Elf on the Shelf.

China Plus One

To offset rising labor and other costs in China, many companies are employing a “China + One” strategy. “Firms are reducing their concentration in China and adding capacity in Southeast Asia, India, and Mexico,” says Marc Gilbert, managing director and senior partner with BCG.

Countries in Southeast Asia, for instance, currently supply multiple regions of the world, including China and North America, Gilbert says. In India, leadership has taken steps to address corruption and enhanced the country’s ability to move goods around, he adds.

Nearshoring/Reshoring

More North American companies also are looking to locate operations closer to home. In early 2023, Mexico replaced China as the United States’ top trading partner, benefiting from its geographic proximity, strong manufacturing-based economy, skilled workers, and free-trade pacts, reports research firm MSCI.

Along with Mexico, all of Latin America offers strong potential for nearshoring, says Rick Jordon, senior managing director with FTI Consulting. Many companies will still need to rely on supply networks based in Asia. However, as Latin American companies implement new technology, it’s possible they’ll leapfrog ahead of their Asian counterparts.

Regionalization

A major gateway for global cargo shipments, the Oakland Seaport in Northern California serves a local market of more than 14.5 million consumers and 50% of the U.S. population by rail.

Interest in regional supply chains is growing. The idea is to “move away from thinking that we have one manufacturing hub for the whole world,” Stank says. Instead, companies can set up regional supply chains, which tend to be more agile, to support their major markets. If operations are disrupted in one area, other locations can compensate.

Artificial Intelligence

“The biggest impact to the global supply chain will continue to be the use of artificial intelligence (AI),” Pitts says. Among other benefits, AI allows supply chains to maximize efficiency in ways that hadn’t been possible previously, such as maximizing space utilization on a container or a pallet.

“AI allows companies to work smarter,” she adds.

Given ongoing disruptions, supply chain transparency and visibility to the sources of goods will factor in planning. “AI can enhance that power,” says Melinda McLaughlin, global head of research with logistics real estate company Prologis.

One company employing AI in the supply chain is Good360 is a nonprofit that distributes product donations through its network of 100,000+ vetted nonprofit partners.

The company is trying to use AI to help determine if it can efficiently move products where they’re needed after an event occurs, says CEO Romaine Seguin.

For example, Seguin has been working with a donor to determine how Good360 can help in areas impacted by wildfires. “We’re bringing in AI technology for mapping weather and identifying how much damage is in an area and what’s needed, such as water or hygiene products,” she says.

Cybersecurity

As supply chains digitalize, the risk of cyber attacks increases. “It’s the flip side of the digitalization and automation coin,” Stank says. Some chief information officers are even throttling back supply chain initiatives because of cybersecurity concerns, he adds.

A criminal may act as a carrier, broker, or even a customer to break into a system and then try to hijack freight or access customer or employee data. “Any system is open to attack,” warns Nathan Johnson, founder and CEO of transportation consultancy GLCS.

Sustainability

While it’s difficult to pin a single weather event on climate change, the drought at the Panama Canal is capturing the attention of supply chain experts. Drought cycles used to occur once every five years, but now are happening every three years, said Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal, in a statement.

Another sign of the emphasis on sustainability is the European Commission’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. CBAM, which will be phased in between 2023 and 2026, is intended to fairly price the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods entering the EU.

CBAM will initially apply to some goods whose production is carbon intensive and at most risk of carbon leakage, such as cement, iron, and steel; additional goods will be added.

Navigating Evolving Global Logistics

As global logistics evolves, here’s how shippers can adjust.

Strengthen Agility
Resilience remains essential, but it doesn’t mean trying to create bulletproof supply chains. “There is no such thing as being bulletproof,” says Goldsby of the University of Tennessee. Instead, resilience should take the form of agility, or developing options before they’re needed. Plasticity, or the ability to make rapid structural changes, such as sourcing in new locations, is also necessary, he says.

Understand Geopolitics
Supply chain leaders today need to understand a range of subjects, including geopolitics, economics, and cybersecurity, Goldsby says. “They have to be global citizens and understand that what takes place in, say, Indonesia could very much influence their supply chains and business,” he adds.

Create a Task Force
More than three-quarters of respondents to BDO’s Global Risk Landscape 2023 indicated that the risk landscape is shaped more by connections between risks than individual risk factors. Addressing these connections requires a company-wide focus.

Assemble an enterprise-wide task force to take a control tower view of the supply chain, advises Tony Nuzio, founder and chief executive officer with ICC Logistics Services Inc. It should be cross-functional and include employees from all levels. Employees on the ground might be best suited to identify, for instance, suppliers that are critical to production, even if the company purchases relatively small amounts from them. Task force members can run scenarios and assess how prepared the company is for them, he adds.

Beef Up Cybersecurity
Nearly three-quarters of cyber incidents include a human element, such as an employee clicking a phishing link, according to Infosec, a cyber security training company. Employee education is key to preventing attacks.

“All it takes is one person in the organization to click on something they shouldn’t, and then the entire company is exposed,” says Nathan Johnson from consultancy GLCS. Another essential safeguard is multifactor authentication, or requiring users to present two pieces, or factors, that show their identity before they can access a system.

Find Partners or Platforms
The very largest companies may have the resources they’ll need to manage the evolving global logistics environment by themselves. Many other organizations will need to work with partners and/or platforms to achieve the benefits of scale, says Prologis’ McLaughlin.

Global Trade Management Solutions

Technology tools can help shippers tackle the challenges of global logistics operations. Here are a few of the many available solutions.

Descartes: Datamyne™ is a searchable trade database that provides real-time access to import and export information from customs authorities and trade ministries across 230 markets.

e2open: Features on e2open’s global trade management software include due diligence screening, the ability to automate export compliance and import management, as well as a database of government trade regulations.

ImportKey: The AI-driven algorithm leverages global and U.S. import and export data, as well as U.S. customs data and records, to identify top products, sellers, and buyers for given time periods.

Oracle Global Trade Management: This solution allows companies of any size and in all geographies to centrally manage global trade operations and to optimize, automate, and monitor cross-border transactions from a unified trade and transportation platform.

PartnerLinQ: This supply chain platform integrates with more than 70 TMS, WMS, and ERP systems using industry best practices, common workflows, and data structures.

SAP Global Trade Services: This platform integrates trade services across the entire enterprise and automates and streamlines trade processes.

Trademo: This solution connects billions of supply chain data points and leverages software to provide organizations visibility into their global supply chain networks.

Zonos: The platform provides a range of cross-border solutions, like Landed Cost, which offers the ability to show guaranteed duty, tax, and carrier fee calculations on all orders.

Today times are different and women play a large role in this sector, holding high-level positions, managing complex networks, and overseeing large workforces. We’re proud to have spotlighted many women during the past four decades who are making history by driving supply chain excellence for their companies and customers. Here’s a glimpse at a few of them:

“I wouldn’t call myself a feminist by any means, but we do have to work harder,” says Jessica Yurgaitis of Industrial Supply Company. “There has been a lot of progress for women in the work world, but not enough.”

When starting out in procurement, Yurgaitis learned how supply and procurement excellence ensures the best customer relationship possible. She’s CEO now and a supply chain career path took her there.

Anne Meyrose lives by this credo: “Ensuring the company’s logistics network moves the right product, to the right place, at the right time, bringing each brand’s vision to life.” Anne is now vice president of logistics and control tower with The Gap, but her career path reads like that of three people: she’s had roles ranging from senior director, transportation to transportation service operations manager to analyst, methods and programs to transport specialist, outbound transport, and store services. Her well-rounded experience clearly makes her a valuable asset for The Gap.

Sherry Liu worked her way up from inventory planner to vice president international supply chain with CarParts.com. “After college my goal had been to become a diplomat and learn more languages—I speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English—and then explore the world.” She leveraged those talents and worked with new management to transform CarParts.com.

“As a female executive, balancing work and home can be challenging,” Liu says. “I don’t have a great strategy, but once I’m home, I try to put my phone down and focus. Then once my kids are in bed, my third shift starts, when I call overseas vendors.”

“I was probably one of the first women in trucking 26 years ago,” says Amy Davis. She worked her way up the chain and is now president of Cummins New Power. “Cummins took a chance on me years ago,” she says. “I don’t have a science or supply chain background.”

These are just a few of the women making history this month—and every month—in supply chain.

Start a warehouse-to-driver transition program. Because federal regulations prevent people younger than 21 from obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) that would allow them to drive trucks across state lines, many high school graduates who may have considered a trucking career pursue jobs in other fields.

Companies can break down this barrier and establish a hiring pipeline by creating transition programs that give young people the opportunity to work in a warehouse before attending truck driving school and eventually becoming a professional driver.

Implement a thorough onboarding process. Truck driving schools teach the skills and knowledge needed to pass the CDL exam. They do not provide all the tools drivers need to succeed at the companies that hire them.

Ensure employees have consistent and meaningful contact with managers and supervisors. Consider assigning new drivers to an experienced mentor or having them spend time with a partner who can show them the ropes.

Offer CDL tuition reimbursement. Financial limitations can be an obstacle when beginning a career. Paying all or part of the cost to attend CDL school is another way to entice younger drivers to join your company. Many organizations that provide tuition reimbursement pay drivers in increments over time, which can also boost retention.

Begin an employee referral program. According to a recent American Transportation Research Institute study, 73% of surveyed drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 were introduced to trucking by an adult relative. Giving referral bonuses to current employees can inspire them to not only advocate for trucking as a career choice, but also promote your company’s open jobs to the younger drivers they know. Often seen as a perk, these bonuses can help you retain drivers after you hire them, too.

Provide recognition and incentives. Younger employees want more frequent recognition compared to older generations. Acknowledge your drivers’ outstanding work with Driver of the Month and Driver of the Year awards, tout their accomplishments in company newsletters and social media pages, and host appreciation activities like cookouts and outings. And incentives for safe driving and additional training show your drivers that hard work pays off.

Create clear paths for advancement. Many drivers in the early stages of their careers are motivated by the prospect of earning better opportunities down the road. While it is important to offer higher pay or more flexible schedules, companies must also establish a viable path from the truck to the office.

Give drivers the chance to become trainers, team leads, dispatchers or members of operations and management teams. The best fleet leaders are often former drivers due to their firsthand experience behind the wheel.

Support work-life balance. When it comes to factors influencing job satisfaction, drivers of all ages consider home time to be the most important. When possible, companies should create more regional and local jobs that allow drivers to be home every night.

Also accommodate for those who desire part-time or flexible work. This can help combat the industry’s reputation for long hours that has kept younger generations away.

Companies that can connect with young drivers—a largely untapped source of talent—will be well-positioned for success in the face of the ongoing driver shortage.