Supply Chain Connections

  PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   ————————————————— EPISODE 8 - ROB GARRISON, CEO OF MERCADO LABS.  Taking the ‘Complicated’ Out of Logistics. —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 8 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io. Our guest this week is ROB GARRISON. With a background in logistics and import. He has a BA from Marketing from Baker University. He was previously the Vice President of Supply Chain Design at UPS and has 20 years of experience in the field of transport and distribution. He built his current firm Mercado Labs to remove the challenges and frustrations that arise during the complex import process for people. Bringing import into the 21st century.   “….The broader definition of the supply chain: The four main activities are plan, buy, move, and sell. The supply chain is all 4 of those activities. Logistics is the ‘move’, and it’s incredibly important and it’s also incredibly complex. But it’s one of 4 steps that needs to occur in the supply chain”    Listen in as Brian and Rob discuss:   Rob discusses his early days in the industry and what influenced him the most. The colourful characters of business and how personal relationships shaped Rob’s journey. What tools are available today to help with logistics and build international relationships? What Mercado offers as a business, and the reason Rob started it in the early days. What is the difference between the supply chain and logistics? Advice on expanding horizons within logistics and import. Keeping up with the world of e-commerce. What were some of the challenges Mercado faced in it’s early days? The importance of understanding customers needs through beta testing. Working hard to adapt to the market and it’s ever changing landscape. What is next for Mercado?     “….. If you are going to start a technology company one of your key considerations is to make sure you are either partnered with,  or that you have, great technical skills, it’s such a huge part of it and I don’t underestimate that.”     Resources and Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertwgarrison/  https://mercadolabs.com/   Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick chain.io  

PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   ————————————————— EPISODE 7 JOHN ADAMS, CEO OF REGISCOPE THE TRIALS AND SUCCESSES OF TRANSITIONING TO A DIGITAL BUSINESS MODEL —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 7 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.   Our guest is JOHN ADAMS. With a background in business and computer programming, He has an MBA from Rutgers Business School and more than 30 years experience under his belt building Regiscope from the ground up. His current firm offers hardware and software solutions for real time transaction verification and documentation, primarily to the supply chain industry. Their recent clients have included giants such as Coca-Cola, Colgate, and Lufthansa Cargo.    John strives with dedication to keep up-to-date, offering cutting edge services to protect supply chain companies from all types of security risks. He successfully navigated his company through the incoming digital tide with innovation and adaptability.     “….Going from the analogue film business, to a much more modern digital process, was challenging from a business standpoint, not necessarily from a development standpoint — because we knew how to do that — but how to market it and sell it.”     Listen in as Brian and John discuss: What the transition from an analogue business model to a digital business model looked like.  The early issues Regiscope faced and how they worked around them. John offers insight into how they dealt with the supply chain during the transition by adapting to the new environment.  Dealing with customer’s trust issues and expectations. Keeping up with the changes in technology. Opening up the doors to progress and sustainability.  Tips on using remote tools and how they offer real solutions within a new digital business model.  Keeping up with government regulations whilst in the midst of change. John explains how Regiscope set up and configured systems to enable both scaling up or scaling down to meet customer needs.  The importance of adaptability within today’s rapidly changing tech-driven business arena, and how making good alliances with other companies will help grow success.     “…. You cannot do every part of the supply chain that’s required to be compliant with C-TPAT, or compliant with certified cargo screening facilities. But what you can do is partner with other  technology companies. And if each one of you brings a piece of the solution to the game, then you can jointly work together, jointly market, jointly sell your products. ”     Resource mentioned in the show: https://www.linkedin.com/in/regiscope/ https://www.rdisolution.com/     Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick chain.io  

  PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 6 GRAHAM PARKER, CO-FOUNDER & CEO AT AWARD-WINNING OCEAN SOFTWARE PLATFORM KONTAINERS    —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 6 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.   Our guest this week is Graham Parker, Co-Founder and CEO at award winning Ocean Software platform Kontainers.    Listen in as Brian and Graham discuss:   The differences between supply chain logistics systems in the US and the UK How a lot of people who get into the supply chain industry begin with dreams of global trade and currencies and maybe they picture something from a movie, but when they actually start the first day and see the pile of paperwork some of them don’t make it to lunch time. So — what was it about the logistics industry that made Graham stay? Who influenced Graham in his career What inspired Graham to create something new in the world of supply chain logistics Everything takes longer than you think (what Graham knows now that he wish he’d known when he started in supply chain logistics) The importance of setting appropriate expectations up front Whether venture capital investors are patient enough to support logistics projects that don’t yield return for several years Learning moments and challenges over the last 5 years Managing expectations allowed them to not grow too fast so that now they are in charge of the destiny of their business It’s easy to over-raise capital too early The importance of having senior management that understands the tech space as well as the freight space Whether or not a few mega-companies could corner the market in the freight industry like Amazon has done, or if there is room for several companies in the space The trajectory the freight and logistics industry should be taking in order to survive in the future     Learn More About Graham Parker and Kontainers: LinkedIn Kontainers   Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick, CEO chain.io

PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 5 MARK KETCHAM, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAS FOR RIEGE SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL   —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 5 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.   Our guest this week is Mark Ketcham. Mark is a sales and marketing professional with nearly 20 years of executive management experience, growing multinational companies in the engineering, software and technology industries.   Presently the Vice President of the Americas for global freight-forwarding software supplier, Riege Software International, Mark is spearheading the company’s expansion to North America and directing all sales operations and new business development for the entire territory.   “...Empowering people and attempting to influence those people versus arguing...really makes those small steps of success that compound into the ultimate success, both personally and professionally.”   Listen in as Brian and Mark discuss: Transportation management systems and solutions for international clientele. What it was like transitioning to the operations side of the supply chain with a software background. How the idea of success compounding has manifested itself in Mark’s career. The historic one-size-fits-all trends of the industry versus the “stitching together” trend that has now emerged.   Resource mentioned in the show: riege.com   Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick, CEO chain.io

  PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 4 WHAT IT TAKES TO MOVE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PIECES OF FINE ART WITH JOHN O’HALLORAN   —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 4 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.   Our guest this week is John O’Halloran, President of the Fine Arts and Security Group at Masterpiece International Ltd. John brings an interesting twist to the supply chain industry through his experiences moving multimillion dollar, and sometimes priceless fine art.   “It’s a very niche business that we do; not a lot of people know about it. People go to museums and galleries and they see artwork on the wall and they don’t think about how it got there…”   Listen in as Brian and John discuss: How John got into the logistics business specifically working with fine art supply chains What is unique about fine art logistics The difficulties in finding the right kind of staff for this supply chain niche Advice for people coming into this industry that John wishes he had known when he started Some of today’s supply chain challenges Challenges with carriers or working with airlines to keep things moving How much of what John does overlaps with a traditional freight forwarder, and how much is isolated and unique What’s next for Masterpiece International Ltd. The next wave of challenges for which the supply chain industry needs to prepare     Links and resources mentioned in the show: Turtle Unltd. (art crate discussed during show) Masterpiece International Ltd.     Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick chain.io

PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 3 BRYAN EICHENBERG OF FREIGHTSNAP ON PALLET AND PARCEL DIMENSIONERS, AUGMENTED REALITY, AND FINDING A FISH IN A LOADING DOCK IN MEMPHIS   —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 3 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io.   Our guest this week is Bryan Eichenberg of FreightSnap. FreightSnap is a really interesting company that has developed a modern cost effective device for measuring freight, all the way from individual cartons to full sized pallets and irregular shaped products. These devices and apps are all cloud connected and they make freight operations way more efficient with a really fast ROI. As part of the Chain.io network, we can connect FreightSnap's devices directly to your TMS or ERP for a seamless dimensioning experience. One of the things that we found really interesting in this conversation is how Bryan and his family found themselves in the logistics business. So many of us come up directly through operations and it's great to have a fresh outside perspective on the industry.     “It is always a tough thing to introduce any change to anyone’s process, but we try to make that as smooth as possible.”     Listen in as Brian and Bryan discuss:   How a dimensioner works and what it was like introducing it to an unfamiliar industry Advice for developers trying to introduce process changes Augmented reality and direct integration updates to the FreightSnap App The craziest package Bryan’s ever dimensioned   Links and resources mentioned in the show: freightsnap.com FreightSnap’s LinkedIn Page. FreightSnap’s Facebook Page.     Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re updated when we post a new episode!   Take care, and until next time,   Brian Glick chain.io

  PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 2 CATHERINE COOPER ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT, INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, AND DEFINING SUCCESS   —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 2 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io. Our guest this week is Catherine Cooper. Educated as an engineer, Catherine has dedicated her career to the logistics industry with the last 18 years in top leadership positions (CIO of a $1 Billion global logistics service provider and president of two successful consulting firms). She founded World Connections in 2006 where she works with senior executives from Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and global logistics service providers who partner with Catherine to develop innovative solutions at the intersection of technology and people. Recent clients include QVC, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and Gap Inc. Catherine's articles on leadership, project management, technical trends, and change management are published in these industry journals: Inbound Logistics, Food Logistics, IIE Solutions, Operations and Fulfillment, and Distribution Management.     The real definition of success to the wife of the climber and the children of the dad who’s climbing is getting down the mountain and coming down alive…    Listen in as Brian and Catherine discuss: How Catherine got into the supply chain business and why she decided to stay The evolution of change management in regards to people vs. technology Tips for how to keep change management in scope Why Catherine founded her business, World Connections What Catherine wishes she had known at the beginning of her career that she’s learned since The challenges that folks who are new to the supply chain industry face today Best practice for handling employee mistakes, especially in light of how costly supply chain mistakes can be The balance between A.I. tech and human involvement in supply chain processes Upcoming challenges that logistics practitioners need to be aware of Whether best practices for brand messaging should also be applied to internal communications regarding change management and project implementation The importance of leaders to openly communicate risk so that it is shared by more than just the person in charge    You need to help your team understand the difference between no evidence of risk, and that that is not evidence of no risk. Try to explain to them that these are the things that are out there, do we all agree we’re going forward with this level of uncertainty? Do we all agree this is a risk? And I think getting people to share the risk with you will certainly help you in your career because it becomes a thing where you’re the leader of the discussion but not the sole owner of all the problems.    Links and resources mentioned in the show: World Connections “When the Chain Breaks”, an article from The Economist   Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts so that you’re upd

PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN CONVERSATIONS   —————————————————   EPISODE 1 SCOTT CASE, THE FUTURE OF SUPPLY CHAIN MARKETING, AND THE ATTACK OF THE ROBOT OVERLORDS   —————————————————   Welcome to Episode 1 of Profiles, a podcast centered around supply chain conversations hosted by Brian Glick, founder and CEO of Chain.io. For our inaugural guest, we have Scott Case, the founder and chief storyteller at Position Global. Scott has been in transportation his whole life, literally. His father worked for a major Japanese freight forwarder before Scott was born, and Scott grew up in customs brokerage and freight forwarding. After graduating from Northwestern University, Scott earned his customs broker's license and as handled air and ocean import and export for his entire life. He served on the NCBFA Board of Directors for Chicago and a number of their committees focusing on air freight, carrier relationships, and freight forwarding. Since 2012 Scott has helmed Position Global. Scott's firm focuses on branding and marketing needs of companies in and around the logistics industry and does everything from website design to content creation. They do digital and print advertising and audio and video production. In addition to being available the support chain.io customers and partners, Position Global is also our marketing firm here at Chain.io.   Think about the things that we move. It could be antique vehicles, classic cars, giant projects, live event logistics. I mean there's things that we move that our customers may not see and we have a chance to…give people visual access into what I'm doing. Hey if you're standing inside of an empty 747 loading classic cars, take a picture, take a video of that because not everybody can get onto a ramp to get into an empty freighter to watch their cargo get loaded.   Listen in as Brian and Scott discuss: How Scott got into the supply chain business and what caused him to stay in the space Things people should be looking at to understand how to talk about accelerating their marketing or how to bring this idea to a CEO or the owner of a small company to sell it internally that marketing is even a problem they should address Marketing around your company’s differentiator, and why the marketing focus might need to be both outward to potential customers and inward to your own team Inbound marketing vs brand marketing The future of the supply chain industry and how its changing Challenges and/or opportunities for people just getting into the supply chain business   While the opportunities for some of the more basic manual components of lumping boxes may be dwindling as as the optimization and some of the handling gets more sophisticated, people who have an awareness of how things connect either domestically or internationally are always going to be in demand.   Links and resources mentioned in the show: positionglobal.com Air Cargo Forum WESCCON Conference of the Americas