Our guest on this week's episode is Chris Hayes, assistant vice president, risk control, at insurer Travelers. There are a lot of things that distract drivers as they travel down our nation's roads. From cell phones to radios to things they may see along the way – just about anything could distract a driver at the wrong moment. Our guest shares the…

Our guest on this week's episode is John Lash, group vice president of product strategy at global supply chain platform, e2open. The EU has agreed to new environmental and social governance (ESG) rules within The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). This requires companies to act if their supply chains cause environmental damage…

Our guest on this week's episode is Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the world’s largest trade group for robotics & automation companies. Robotics have impacted supply chains in ways few other technologies ever have. From filling orders in warehouses to loading and unloading trucks, robotics and automation…

Our guest on this week's episode is John Donigian, senior director of strategy - supply chain for risk assessment firm Moody’s. We have been reporting for more than a year on just what a difficult time the logistics industry has experienced. Costs remain high and lead times have increased. Our guest provides an overview of what is causing logistics…

Our guest on this week's episode is David Correll, a research scientist with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics. This coming Monday, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day. Begun in 1970, this is a worldwide event designed to recognize the importance of preserving our environment. Due to their basic role of …

Our guest on this week's episode is John Paxton, CEO of MHI. Supply chain professionals gathered just a few weeks ago in Atlanta for MODEX 2024. It is one of the most exciting stops on a professional’s calendar, as there were three large halls filled with the latest in supply chain technologies to explore. MHI is the industry trade group responsibl…

Our guest on this week's episode is Stephen Dyke, principal solution advisor at FourKites. It has been more than a week since the cargo ship Dalia struck and brought down Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Supply chain managers are working hard to adjust to limited operations at the Port of Baltimore, and shippers are shifting cargo to other por…

Our guest on this week's episode is Crystal Parrott, chief operating officer at Plus One Robotics. Retailers have always had to deal with seasonal peak periods. However, those fluctuating volumes make it difficult on distribution operations. But now, there are technologies that make it easier to smooth out the peaks. Our guest shares how those tech…

Our guest on this week's episode is Anne-Marie Michel, a photographer based in London who has just completed a photographic book on female truckers. Women drivers make up a growing percentage of our nation’s truck operators. Michel captured the lives of these women and the special bond they share as "Sisters of the Road." This week we heard that th…

Our guest on this week's episode is Breanna Herbert, senior product manager at Orbis Corp. One way that companies can meet their sustainability goals is to transform the way they package goods. That’s where reusable packaging can help to create greener supply chains. Our guest offers some insights and also shares about packaging products that are m…

Our guest on this week's episode is Eric Fullerton, senior director of product marketing at project44. Transportation networks continue to be disrupted by the ongoing militia attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. To counter it, most ocean carriers are rerouting goods away from the Suez Canal and extending their ocean miles by sailing around the horn …

Our guest on this week's episode is Peter Latta, chairman and CEO of A. Duie Pyle, a Northeast regional trucking and logistics company. This year marks the 100th anniversary of A. Duie Pyle. Latta discusses some of the challenges his company has overcome to hit the century mark as well as issues currently facing the trucking industry. Finding worke…

Our guest on this week's episode is Steve Ardagh, the founder and CEO of Eagle Protect, a protective glove supplier. Our supply chains contain products sourced and manufactured all over the world. But sometimes, the origins of products may not be in line with our values. Products may be produced in sweatshops, or ignore child labor standards, or th…

Our guest on this week's episode is Siddharth Priyesh, vice president and head of the Americas and Caribbean regions at CrimsonLogic. All businesses have been affected by increasing inflation and the high interest rates that have been set to curb that inflation. It has caused some sectors to suffer worse than others. Transportation has been one of …

Our guest on this week's episode is Chris Jones, executive vice president of industry for Descartes. Unemployment rates in the United States continue to be under 4% - the latest report released today shows unemployment currently at 3.7%. The low unemployment further demonstrates the growing strength of the overall economy. However, one thing that m…

Our guest on this week's episode is Melanie Nuce-Hilton, senior vice president, innovation and partnerships, at GS1 US. The world has long used barcodes for data tracking and transactions – we see them stamped on nearly every product we buy. However, new standards are being introduced to replace the humble bar code with more sophisticated codes tha…

Our guest on this week's episode is Dr. Greg Vecchi, director of training at SafeDefend LLC . Businesses are statistically among the most common places where active shootings occur, yet most businesses don’t have the security to prevent a motivated person from entering a facility and committing violent acts. Most just think it could never happen to…

Our guest on this week's episode is Ian Arroyo, chief strategy officer at Freightos. Ships crossing the Red Sea are under constant threat of attacks by militant groups responding to the Israeli-Hamas conflict. The situation is constraining global trade and causing many shipping lines to bypass the Suez Canal and instead sail around Africa to reach …

Our guest on this week's episode is Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics & chairman of The Futurist Institute. He is a well-known economist who regularly focuses on supply chains and creates forecasts and economic outlooks for the industry. 2023 was a rough year for most aspects of the supply chain economy. Schenker shares the economic i…

Our guest on this week's episode is Col. Ted Silvester USMC (Ret.) and VP, marketing & development, for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Each year, the United States Marine Corps Reserve and its partners undertake one of the nation’s largest toy drives, Toys for Tots. The organization's goal is to assure that all children have toys for Christma…

Our guest on this week's episode is Carson Krieg, director of global alliances at project44. With Christmas only 10 days away, we are just about to finish the busiest time of the year for the shipping industry. So, how are things going? Have we seen the snags of previous years, or is there too much capacity? Have shippers over-prepared for the seas…

Our guest on this week's episode is Chirag Modi, corporate VP of industry strategy at Blue Yonder. Last week the Biden administration unveiled more plans to strengthen our domestic supply chains, with the goals of making them more resilient. Our guest shares some details on these initiatives and how they may impact our supply chains. Economic activ…

Our guest on this week's episode is Matthew Hart, founder and CEO of Soter Analytics. This is the season of gift giving. And many of those gifts are online retail orders that have to be delivered by parcel carriers. Along with increasing volumes comes the risk of more injuries to delivery workers, especially among part-time or seasonal workers not …

Our guest on this week's episode is Liz Richards, the soon-to-be retiring CEO of MHEDA, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association - an organization that helps distributors and their customers in finding the right material handling solutions for meeting today’s distribution challenges. She has led MHEDA for nearly 29 years and will re…

Our guest on this week's episode is Duane Duhamel, Director of Health, Safety and Environment at ISN, a provider of contractor and supplier management solutions. OSHA recently released its list of top 10 safety violations. Of course, the violations mean that some things are not being done safely in the workplace – and many of the most common violat…

Our guest on this week's episode is Evan Dexter, vice president, rental product management at Ryder System, Inc. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, a day we remember our military families and the important work they do to safeguard all of us. One of the ways our industry helps to support our troops is through programs designed to transition veterans into l…

Our guest on this week's episode is Art Eldred, vice president and growth officer at Vargo, a systems integrator. Automation is increasingly an answer for distribution facilities that need to fulfill a growing number of orders, but can’t find enough workers. Automated storage and retrieval systems are one of the tried and true technologies that are…

Our guest on this week's episode is Chris Grossman, chief commercial officer of Spectaire. It is often said that as California goes, so goes the nation, as other states tend to follow the regulations that the Golden State adopts. Recently there was a new agreement between the state and original equipment manufacturers on California emissions progra…

Our guest on this week's episode is Sunderesh S. Heragu, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University. The world is still in shock over the ongoing devastation happening in Israel and Gaza. In addition to the human tragedies, there are also economic and supply chain …

Our guest on this week's episode is Tracey Bellamy, chief engineering officer at Telgian Engineering and Consulting, a firm that specializes in fire prevention. October is fire prevention month. Most supply chain companies have facilities that they must protect from potential fires and other hazards. But fire codes vary widely from city to city and…

Our guest on this week's episode is Jeannie Carpenter, senior director of global logistics at Jabil. Most supply chain managers aim to design their networks to be efficient at the lowest possible cost. But they also want to make good decisions that will help reduce their supply chain’s impact on the environment. Today's guest explains that those ob…

Our guest on this week's episode is Pawan Joshi, executive vice president, product management & strategy at E2open. With the rebound in air travel, there are more flights available now to shippers, including cargo-only flights and belly space on passenger planes. How can shippers take advantage of that extra capacity and the lower rates now availab…

Our guest on this week's episode is Spencer Shute, principal consultant at Proxima, a company that provides procurement services. While negotiations are ongoing, the strike by the United Auto Workers against the big three automakers is entering its second week and may expand to other plants. Of course, the longer this goes on, the more it affects s…

Our guest on this week's episode is retired materials handling executive Mike Kotecki. He has just written a new book, Leadership for Engineers: How to Turn Perfectly Good STEM Professionals into Management . Kotecki was formerly an executive with HK Systems and Dematic. He discusses his personal journey into management and how STEM professionals h…

Our guest on this week's episode is Don Hicks, CEO of Optilogic. As manufacturing is declining in China, many companies are turning to Mexico and other Latin American countries to assure a steady supply of goods while also shortening their supply chains. But will nearshoring actually resolve many of the problems supply chains have faced in the past…

Our guest on this week's episode is Patrick Soleymani, associate professor within the management area in the School of Business at George Mason University. By any measure, 2023 has been a difficult year for the trucking industry. Just how bad are market conditions and when will trucking see a return to better times? Our guest offers some insights a…

Our guest on this week's episode is Kathy Fulton, executive director of ALAN, the American Logistics Aid Network. Just within the past two weeks, our nation has been rocked by two weather-related catastrophes: the wildfire tragedy in Maui and also Tropical Storm Hilary, which has brought unprecedented rain and flooding to western states. We talk ab…

Our guest on this week's episode is Anne Reinke, president and CEO of TIA, The Transportation Intermediaries Association. Cargo theft and transportation fraud are on the rise. Criminal groups and bad actors often pose as legitimate freight brokers and carriers with the aim of taking payments for services they will never fulfill. What can carriers a…

Our guest on this week's episode is Dr. Thomas Evans, robotics chief technology officer for Honeywell. Supply chains have been roughed up quite a bit this year, with transportation in a recession and many warehouse projects on hold throughout the industry. Yet, even with the current economic climate, buyers are still making investments in warehouse…

Our guest on this week's episode is Caroline Chumakov, director analyst, talent and sustainability team at Gartner. Women continue to make inroads and impacts within supply chains as they are filling more executive and leadership positions in the industry. Our guest shares about the findings of new Gartner research, 2023 Women in Supply Chain Surve…

Our guest on this week's episode is Tom Nightingale, CEO of AFS Logistics. UPS and the Teamsters Union that represents 340,000 UPS drivers and warehouse workers reached a tentative agreement this week on a new labor deal. What will this mean for shippers? Will rates see a rise? And how will other carriers respond? Our guest has some insights on how…

Our guest on this week's episode is Greg Tuthill, chief commercial officer at SeaCube Containers. It is estimated that 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or wasted annually worldwide — that adds up to about 30% of all food grown and more than a trillion dollars' worth annually. Much of the waste comes from food that spoils during shipping. The probl…

Our guest on this week's episode is Darcy MacClaren, global chief revenue officer for digital supply chain at SAP. We keep hearing of AI everywhere these days and how it might revolutionize our supply chains. On top of that, consumers this week experienced the annual Amazon Prime Day. How are both of these affecting the supply chain industry? It ha…

Our guest on this week's episode is Bart De Muynck, chief industry officer at project44. The world continues to see the effects of climate change, and now it is affecting our transportation networks. Ongoing drought conditions in Central America have caused lower water levels in the Panama Canal, restricting the number of vessels and the amount of …

Our guest on this week's episode is Jason Haith, branch manager of OEC Group's Louisville office. Anyone who has followed freight markets over the past year is well aware that they have undergone drastic changes. These changes make it harder for both shippers and carriers to decide what is fair pricing as they move to sign new contracts and to find…

Our guest on this week's episode is Dr. Stefan Heck, CEO and founder of Nauto, a technology company that improves safety for fleet drivers. June is National Safety Month. Drivers on our nation’s roads have less than two seconds to react to most situations that can result in an accident, injury, or even death. But there are technologies available th…

Our guest on this week's episode is Brian Feehan, president of the Industrial Truck Association, the trade group of the forklift industry. This coming Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of National Forklift Safety Day, the forklift industry's annual recognition of the need for ongoing operator training for forklifts. Feehan shares about the work of…

Our guest on this week's episode is Craig Malloy, CEO of Vecna Robotics. With the current shortage of labor, many companies are rushing to fill the gaps in their distribution operations with automated systems. But, how do they get started and what are the barriers to achieving their goals? Our guest today has some insights. Mezzanines and work plat…

Our guest on this week's episode is Max Farrell, cofounder and CEO of WorkHound. 2023 has not been so rosy for trucking. Volumes are down, and the capacity built up during the pandemic is more than what is needed currently. What is causing the current problems for trucking and what might conditions be like for truckers during the second half of the…

Our guest on this week's episode is Eduardo Lopez-Soriano, vice president of marketing for UPS Capital - the shipping insurance division of UPS. Consumers want more than just speed in e-commerce delivery. They also want features like accurate parcel tracking and time-definite delivery windows. But, can shippers provide those profitably? Our guest d…