IndustrialSage Episode 124: Supply Chain Now

In IndustrialSage Episode 124, Scott Luton of Supply Chain Now Radio joins us to discuss the inherent value of niche media content for any industry.

Danny:

All right, so let’s jump in today’s episode, I have Mr. Scott Luton, Mr. Supply Chain, right, from Supply Chain Now Radio. Scott, thank you so much for coming onto IndustrialSage.

Scott:

You bet, excited to do it, we’ve been talking for awhile, and it is incredible what you all have been doing, and all the stories you all been featuring, so glad to be here.

DANNY:

Well, we feel the same exact way about you. So for those who aren’t familiar, big podcast, Supply Chain Now Radio, tell me for those who aren’t familiar, the two who aren’t familiar, tell them about who you guys are, what you guys do, a little bit of background there.

Scott:

Sure, so we’ve been doing digital media, mainly webinars, going back five, six, seven years. Really enjoyed it, really enjoyed the remote, the convenience, the ability to kind of pick and choose what stories needed a big spotlight, right? Whether it’s people or companies or best practices. So enjoyed that for awhile and then in May 2017, the world as it turns out, changed a lot for us. We kicked off our first podcast with some partners here in Atlanta, and really, we went from once a month to now we’re seven, eight shows a week.

Danny:

That’s a lot.

Scott:

Because we enjoy it, right? We’re very passionate about it, we love–

Danny:

That’s important.

Scott:

Telling the story, right? However, what we have come to find out, the industry, the supply chain industry on a whole has a big perception problem. And number two, a lot of the things that make it happen a lot of the things that make packages delivered on your door two days later, or be able to send back packages that may be wrong sizes, wrong colors, what have you.

And really everything that happens in between, that doesn’t get any spotlight, no visibility. Whether it’s the people that make it happen, or the emerging technologies, or for that matter, the problems that have to be solved to make global business and global supply chain happen, all of that needs more visibility and that’s the basis of our business model.

Danny:

That’s awesome, so I’m excited to jump into that and unpack a little bit more. But before we do that, tell me a little about your background, like how did you… Are we doing the whole podcast thing you said, but 2017, so what had happened, what was pre-2017, what’s your background?

Scott:

So in a nutshell, I’m born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina, moved to Atlanta in 2005 I believe. Met my wife Amanda, father of three kids, and two dogs, Dexter and Ruby. My wife and kids would make sure they get mentioned. From a professional standpoint, we’ve been serving the really the end-to-end supply chain community for 15 years. A lot of that time has been spent in the manufacturing industry or serving the manufacturing industry.

At the end of the day, one of the things I really enjoyed the most is facilitating forums or dinner meetings or workshops where folks are interacting and they’re exchanging ideas. I think, and whether it’s supply chain or in the business world in general, that so many folks and leaders and practitioners are searching for answers and market intel and what have you. And it’s been very rewarding whether it’s through industry associations or some of the digital media we’ve produced or some of the other initiatives to help facilitate that. So that in a nutshell is my background. And in 2013 we were pushed out of the tree, so to speak, we became an entrepreneur, had a little bit of a plan. But I think, as you can probably relate, many folks can probably relate, that plan changes dramatically when you’ve got to put, when the rubber meets road, right?

Danny:

What are you talking about?

Scott:

I’m sure your perfectly-laid plans were exactly what you ended up executing and all, but kidding aside, it changed for everybody, right? We launched our first business in 2013 which focused on training and consulting, a lot around Lean Six Sigma. And two and a half years later sold that to jump into, with some longtime friends and partners back on the workforce side of things, still supporting supply chain, manufacturing, engineering.

Fought the good fight there for about four years and when we did that, we were intending to, because we enjoyed it as much as we have, continued to churn out content and interview folks and share case studies and you name it, and we just had an epiphany. Hey, this could well be, especially bouncing the idea off my wife, what we’re here for, to really focus and double down on this.

Danny:

So this being what?

Scott:

Supply Chain Now Radio.

Danny:

Supply Chain Now Radio.

Scott:

So that was always, those efforts and the resources and the content, that was always in the backseat, and in the last couple years that’s changed dramatically to the point where in spring of 2019 we decided to make a big, bold bet and do this full time. Go to bed thinking about it, head up out of bed in the mornings thinking about it, and since that time we have grown dramatically. We’ve built a lot of momentum, we’ve got some new partnerships that we’ve already launched and more that we’ll be launching in weeks and months ahead. And we’re all doing what we absolutely love to do.

Danny:

That’s key, that passion piece. So you mentioned that you kind of were doing this for a little bit before, what did that look like initially? This is back, prior 2017.

Scott:

So great question–

Danny:

Is it webinars and stuff?

Scott:

Yeah, webinars primarily. And you know, webinars and podcasts are terms that are thrown around a lot and people have all kinds of different notions of what they are. However, what I have found, especially in supply chain, especially where there are so many challenges and things are changing so rapidly, and to get things made, procured, made, delivered, and then even returned, folks are constantly looking for new ideas, and often times they can’t step out of their offices to go to this lunch meeting or go to this dinner meeting what have you.

So, the genesis of our work, really was with industry associations, namely ASCM, the Association for Supply Chain Management, especially their APICS Channel. We volunteered locally in Atlanta, on the board and served as president of the local chapter. And then also regionally, with their, at the time their southeast district was served about 33 chapters across US southeast region. And one of the first things we uncovered is that hey, a lot of these folks in some of these smaller markets don’t have a chance or the resources or the time to put together monthly dinner meetings.

So first thing out of the box, it’s not the most creative thing, but let’s do a monthly webinar series. I enjoy doing it, we knew how to do it, and we felt there was a need. And that really began to resonate, we got a lot of great feedback, we continued to see numbers and more interest in that program. That’s what started us down the path to really say, hey, you know, there could be something here, that is a business model.

And so locally that was my personal experience, and then if you look at the industry, the global industry, there is a lot more dollars coming into organizations that are looking for ways, we’ve talked about this I think, when you were on our show, that more and more effort and deliberate effort and bandwidth is going into how can we tout our capabilities, our capacity, our expertise, in a way that’s not just a 30 second commercial. But is in a way that’s based on stories and anecdotes and problems, and kind of on the human aspect of it all.

Danny:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think we’re on the very beginning of that wave, to be honest, I really think that the opportunity and the need… I think a lot of companies, particularly in the spaces that we’re working, they recognize it, but they haven’t fully implemented it. They’re like, okay, let’s dip our toe and let’s start doing that a little bit, so…

Scott:

Danny, I can tell you from all of our interactions through several years now, and especially when you were our guest a few weeks back, you get it and you’re doing it, and to your point, I think, a lot more folks will be following your lead, frankly. What I really have enjoyed about our conversations is you get that it can’t be, I mean yeah, there’s some great commercials right now, the Apple commercials around the holidays, those are the first ones that come to mind. Publix are known for their commercials, but if you look at a lot of those, none of those are product first, it is the story, right, that pulls you in. And seeing all your work throughout the years, you get it and I think a lot of the other sectors and a lot of the traditional industry, I’ll call it, they’re coming around. They realize that okay, this needs to be a big shift.

Danny:

Well, yeah, I agree 100%. I mean story telling, I think a big piece, I think this is what you guys are doing really well, is that it’s not about selling. You know, when you think of marketing or advertising, okay, we’ve got to hit him, we’ve got to sell, we’ve got to sell, super transactional. What you’re doing is you’re offering that platform for people to be able to, talking about you share ideas.

I love how you were talking about how these are busy people, executives, everyone’s busy and so the ability to go to one of these dinners or something like that, it’s really hard. But there’s so much value and there’s so much expertise that people have to share, that creating these different types of forums, these different opportunities, are really where it’s at. And I think that’s what you guys have really done a tremendously great job of doing through the podcast. So, tell me, you made that transition, what are some of the biggest things that you’ve learned by doing this, maybe from some guests or different things? What are those takeaways?

Scott:

Yeah, that’s such a great question and right when you asked, I think about the 230+ podcast episodes and each of those stories and individuals. But if I had to pick just a couple of things, I think one of the biggest learnings for me has been the exceptional paramount need for more diversity and more folks who are willing to help provide opportunities for all.

Through the course of, on the very first episode, and who still retains the championship belt for most appearances is Elba Pareja-Gallagher who founded Show Me 50 here in Atlanta. And I have learned so much from Elba and thought leaders like Elba can not only state the case from a data standpoint of why we need, and it’s not just a male and female, it is diversity in all walks of life. But not only can thought leaders like Elba share why the bottom line benefits from diversity, but from a personal experience, we’ve really learned how the brightest and some of the most capable leaders almost often times can be overlooked and not given opportunities to make a huge impact.

And it takes everyone to get working together to really work, and it’s not easy, but work to figure out a way to make sure opportunities are enjoyed by all. Very transparently, we’re not where we want to be from a, how can we really showcase a very well thought out, wide, I want to say diversitude, but I don’t think that’s a word, Danny.

Danny:

Well, it is is now, you can just make it, it’s all good.

Scott:

But you know, we want to continue to diversify the content we produce. I don’t think of ourselves and our firm as a marketing firm, we pride ourselves on the ability to go out and find the stories, find the content, find the people, the technologies, the companies, that need the spotlight. And the stories that should be told, and then work very hard and diligently to produce that content. And then by and large we have built an engine and continue to add to the engine that helps maximize the ears and the eyes that those stories, that pick up those stories.

But, so the need, the very real need for great diversity across, especially supply chain. And then, probably the second big lesson learned for me, if I had to pick just a couple, is lip service leadership vs really action-based leadership. Until you go through all these conversations and you’re getting recorded, right, so you’re really thinking hard about every word and phrase and story you’re sharing. I think this notion of lip service vs action based is something that’s really been core to me for quite some time, but as you sit down and meet with a wide variety of leaders that have a wide variety of different approaches, it really dawned on me those that, I mean there’s so many lip service leaders that can talk the best game, but fail miserably in execution.

And not only do the leaders fail, but their teams, the organizations, the shareholders, it impacts so many of the people vs the folks that not only talk a good game, but more importantly they make it happen, they do it. The servant leaders, the folks that work hard, not just for the bottom line, but to help everyone win. I mean that, episode in and episode out, we see leadership observations and insights that, maybe someday we can write a book, there’s so many of them.

DANNY:

I’m sure there’s a lot that you’ve discovered with that for sure. It’s certainly been my experience, on this set, you said, 230 episodes?

Scott:

Just over 230.

Danny:

That’s awesome, we’re not there yet. So you guys are a good 100 above us in our front.

Scott:

That’s the beauty, what you’re sharing there, is the beauty, I think, of not just podcasting, but digital media. There are millions of different approaches, whether it’s how you put content together or whether the cadence that we’re talking about, or whether it’s the style or the positioning. Or for that matter, just all the subject matter. I’ll be the first to tell you that in the world of podcasting, I bet supply chain, which I’ve had people say, “You do a podcast on supply chain and you have listeners?” And that’s okay, one of the beauties of this digital space is there’s so many different ways to get there and to tell the stories and it’s so rewarding all along the way.

Danny:

Yeah, no, absolutely. Again, same shared experience, you’re like, “What, you, huh, this? Okay, I don’t know, I don’t know about this.” But it’s true, you keyed on something important, giving the spotlight and having that ability for those companies, those organizations that need it. Or they’ve got amazing innovations and different things that are going on. So, I’m curious, and this was something, podcasting in general, I think, is one of the fastest growing trends right now, and I think it’s going to continue to grow. I can’t remember, there’s a stat about it’s growing by 30% or 40% in terms of viewership from this year to last year, it’s a huge number of new listeners that are coming in and they’re adopting that. Why do you think that is the case?

Scott:

You know what I love about it, and what I believe is a tailwind for the podcasting industry, is number one, it’s the democratization of content. Whether you have ten dollars to spend or $100 to spend we’ll call it, vs a million, you can jump in and you can build content and have your voice heard. Or seek out the voices you want to have heard and publish. There’s a very low barrier to entry which we love about it, and I love about the industry, because there are so many folks that don’t have the resources that have stories and perspectives that need to be told. So I think that’s one of the big tailwinds.

I think, again, I’ll defer to the marketing geniuses in the room, but I think that the spoken word and also the video word continues to, it’s not like it’s been this week, but for years it’s continued to garner more and more influence. And if you look at how consumers want to consume the content, the spoken word, via whether it’s audio or video that continues to dominate, especially as we see some of the generational transfer influences take root, which we talked about in the last conversation. One last thing, when I think about podcasting in particular, if you live in Atlanta, you know traffic well, right? Really well, some days more than others, right? And I think, I won’t attribute this to generational transfer, but I think in general, many folks, especially professionals, are looking to maximize their time, right?

Danny:

Oh beyond a doubt, yeah.

Scott:

So while they’re making an hour and a half commute for some, or 30 minute commute, or they’re spending that time in the gym or maybe they’re in the dentist’s office waiting that proverbial hour before you’re being seen, which Amazon effect is changing by the way, on demand is where we’re going right for everything. Folks are using that time differently, and one of the ways that they’re using that time is by the consumption of podcasts. I agree with you, I think while podcasting has been around for a long time, I think we’re still kind of in its infancy in terms of just how many players will be there.

We’ve seen some big gets here recently, between Spotify and many others that are doubling down on the investment in the space, and I think some industries, including the end to end supply chain industry, are still really in their infancy when it comes to how they’re leveraging. It doesn’t mean that it’s invisible, there’s plenty of outstanding companies involved in supply chain that have great digital products, however, many of them are product or service first, and they’re not agnostic. And if not agnostic, I mean who wants to listen to an infomercial for an hour into their commute? I love Ron Popeil, I still love some of his infomercials, “You’re going to set it and forget it”, but that’s tough to listen to day in and day out.

Danny:

Oh yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think there’s an element of value and I think, as you mentioned on there, it’s really just the way that we kind of buy now, and pairing in that that shift, it’s like everything you mentioned, the Amazon effect, right, on demand, we want that, and I think that as that experience we have is, whether you’re buying a consumer product or even a B2B product, that’s changing, and that expectation to have… The net net is that we are self educating, and so if this is a way that we’re now buying, and I don’t want to hear the infomercial, we’ve got to learn how to provide value and share that expertise. I think it’s just a fantastic way of being able to… I love podcasts, but I don’t listen to them as much as I should. Half the time I’m on the phone in the car, hands-free, hands-free by the way.

Scott:

You know there’s that saying that the shoe peddler that wears holes in his shoes–

Danny:

Yeah, that kid that has no, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Scott:

Whatever that saying is, I usually butcher all the cliches, but there’s so much truth there. We are, I believe we’re kindred spirits here, we’re so busy spotlighting and creating content, all these stories and these great people, and these great companies, that rarely do we, at least I try to. And when we’re not doing that, we’re doing quality checks on what we have to do to try and get better.

Danny:

I think you get a pass for that, like you know, I think that’s, you’re creating a lot…

Scott:

But you know, one other component I think that’s really important and driving digital media including podcasting is the global consumption, right? If you look at, I want to say we just, well we publish in the 230’s when this interview airs maybe, so if you look back at episode one and maybe the first hundred that we did, we were very internally focused, especially in Atlanta, especially what’s right here and based on feedback we got, and other opportunities. We said, “We’ve really got to cover the global end to end supply chain industry, and let’s not have every story, as much as we love Atlanta, supply chain city, how can we really broadcast from here vs broadcast on here all the time?”

So with that shift, and with some of our content shifts and some of our other partners, both internally and externally as our team grew, we’ve continued to really diversify that thought leadership to where, you want things as entrepreneurs, we measure ourselves in a variety of different ways. We just hit our 41st country and when we look at all the charts, all the leadership charts that Apple and Spotify offer, you can get a sense of how your content’s landing. With Thailand this past week, we just hit our 41st country in terms of charts globally for business podcasts.

And that, we want to be at 400 next year, but that, from where we started, we’re very proud of that journey and proud of how we’ve tried to get out of our comfort zones to cover more content and stories that, we’re not even remote experts in. We still have a long way to go when it comes to the journey, whether it’s global content or diversity of thought leadership, or featuring more non-mainstream stories, we’ve come a long way and we look forward to making 2020 even a bigger year making sure we’re covering that global end to end supply chain.

Danny:

That’s awesome, well congratulations on that, that’s fantastic.

Scott:

Great team.

Danny:

You have to have a great team for that–

Scott:

Have to, have to, Amanda and Greg, and Chris, and Jessica, Clay, Michelle, Kelly and several others. These folks have really come together. In start up mode, you’re constantly experimenting, and if you’re not, then you’re going to be in trouble, right? But to work with all of these incredibly bright people that get, they get the feedback cycles, they get experimentation and get, they’re willing to try new ideas and bring new ideas and lead new things. It has been an absolute, the best learning experience of my entire life, which again, going back to where we started, this is where–

Danny:

That’s awesome.

Scott:

I think we were born to be, and while we’re really excited to where we’ve gotten today, the sky’s the limit and we’re looking forward to doubling down on all of these, these wins we’ve had and seeing where it takes us next year.

Danny:

That’s super, that’s awesome, that’s super, and you know I think it’s awesome that you’ve found your passion with that. Sometimes it’s like you kind of come at it from a totally different way, I don’t know how this happened but it somehow happened.

Scott:

Serendipity sometimes, right?

Danny:

Yeah, exactly, but I think the key thing is, you said, experimenting. I think that maybe, this is maybe shifting the topic a little bit, but on that entrepreneurial spirit, and I think that there’s always, in your DNA, that I’m guessing that even before you said you got pushed out of the tree, or whatever, I can’t remember what you said there, that there is that, I’m guessing, that that sense of experimenting and just like always looking for something a little bit different. And how can I even, maybe I’ve got a traditional nine to five, but ooh, how can I do this still different over here or that, is that something that you identify with?

Scott:

So I think there’s two things, I think as I listen to kind of how you’re posing that question. I think number one, I think I saw a Harvard Business Review article, that based on research, showed that entrepreneurs have more faith than many other aspects. I didn’t really think about that until I sat back and said, you know, based on all the conversations and collaborations, that probably is something there.

And I know for us and our family that you do have to be willing to not only take on the risk, which is only one step, but believe in it. And faith is a big part of that. But secondly, you let go whether you’re pushed out of the tree, or whether you make that leap. And sometimes you’re not going to make the leap unless you’re pushed out of the tree. You’ve got to be willing to embrace the notion of a cape, there’s no safety net, or maybe there’s a safety net for six months. Or maybe for six weeks, and it creates this environment, that most entrepreneurs can probably speak to, you can probably in part resonates with you, that you can’t let that get in the way of executing and operating and investing, whether it’s time, blood, sweat, tears or money and performing.

And that is what I have found, while every day is not equal, there are some days that are much more challenging than others because maybe you get more bad news, or some days are much easier and you get good news. You’ve got to compartmentalize and at the end of the day you’ve got to make it happen and everyone approaches that differently, that’s why some folks never venture into the world of being an entrepreneur and small business and all that stuff, and that’s fine. We need everyone, however, for us that’s the journey we’re on and being able to compartmentalize is such a critical component that’s required to make the journey.

Danny:

Yeah, it totally makes sense, and I think it’s, I would actually would liken that spirit as well to an organizations need to be thinking themselves relative to, you mentioned earlier on, as far as getting their message out there and doing that, I think that it’s taking that risk, having that faith. I think that’s a very difficult thing, especially when you go into digital media.

This is new, this is different, we don’t know if this is going to work, we think it’s going to work, it probably should work, I don’t know. It seems from an outside perspective, hearing and looking at your content that you’ve been able to transmit that spirit and really kind of communicate that and have it reciprocated by virtue of having all these guests, these great companies coming in and sharing that because that is, if you think about it, a little bit of a nervous, kind of scary thing. Then the effect of inspiring other companies, even us as well saying hey, wow, what they’re doing over there is really good, that’s awesome. We need to continue doing this over here and other companies I know for a fact, looking at that and saying, you know what, maybe we need to take that jump to. Maybe we need to do that for our own marketing efforts, or content, digital media, you know.

Scott:

I think some folks out there in the marketplace are constantly looking for kindred spirits to collaborate with, ’cause in this day and age, whether it’s digital media or else where there’s always a way to collaborate with folks that are kindred spirits and want to collaborate. And that’s one of my big lessons learned since day one of being an entrepreneur. I think… I think secondly it is such a new space, right, digital media, especially for industry, and you’re going to have these early adopters that get it and not only are they kindred spirits, but they love what you’re doing, they want to be a part. But then you still have, every study I see, I see this word ‘laggards’ and I don’t love that word–

Danny:

Laggards, great word.

Scott:

Especially for technology, in this day and age of digitization. You look at Gartner’s and these others that publish this research, a lot of times they refer to folks that are slow to embrace new technologies. So, there are lots of folks that are slow to embrace digital media, and I guess the way, whether it’s with what we’ve seen or how we’re geared, I believe that social media and your digital footprint that exists, that you’ve got to cultivate, and very intentionally and deliberately. I see that as the website 20 years ago where it becomes table stakes–

Danny:

100%, no I agree 100% with what you’re saying, that’s the opportunity. It’s a land grab, the table stakes right there. It’s wide and it’s open for right now, and it’s not going to be ’cause there’s a limited window and opportunity.

Scott:

That’s right, yeah. So either you get it and you’re with it, even if it’s not how you’re geared. Even if you, we pick on the ’80s all the time because we probably both grew up in the ’80s, even if you’re geared like it’s 1985 and you’re enjoying your Christmas vacation and you want to stay right there, the world is changing at a pace that arguably has never been seen before. And the same thing applies with getting your message out there. Whether you’re a service company or a manufacturer, or 3PL or a logistics firm or you name it. Many professionals and leaders are quick to wrap their head around that and embrace it and figure out what needs to change. And others, it’s still going to be 1986 in a few weeks, and hey, that’s okay, we’ve got to work with folks that can’t work with everybody.

Danny:

Totally makes sense, so I’ve got just like, one or two other little questions that are… This great backstory, just getting to understand, I love all this stuff, in the supply chain space, obviously you’ve talked to a lot of leaders, a lot of executives, a lot of companies, what are you seeing going into 2020, 2021? Some of those big shifts from a technology standpoint, obviously that’s a pretty big topic, what are those trends that you’re seeing moving into 2020?

Scott:

Such a great question, and you know, that’s one of the questions I usually wrap up with in a lot of our episodes, and now I feel how the tables are turned.

Danny:

I totally turned the tables there.

Scott:

So here’s some general observations, and this comes from lots of conversations, lots of different initiatives. We were on a supply chain talent webcast a few weeks ago with some folks I deeply respect, and here’s some general observations. I think number one, the war for talent, which some folks have told me doesn’t exist, which I love that counter prevailing–

Danny:

The war for talent?

Scott:

Yeah, the war for talent.

Danny:

The war for talent, okay, yes, gotcha.

Scott:

The war for talent, a lot of folks will say that’s alive and well and we’re going to continue to see whether it’s the well known brands, or some of the newer companies, change their approach to not just attracting talent but realizing how ever more important it is to develop that talent if you want to retain the talent. I saw in the last few weeks that Ford Motor Company, which is going through an $11 billion transformation of the company, is now allowing 1,300 folks to bring their dogs to work, at Ford.

Danny:

Really?

Scott:

Yes, and they’re also reinventing their campus in Dearborn, Michigan, to be better suited for some of the collaboration that some of these newer generations really crave, and that’s Ford. So I think you’re going to continue to see a lot of organizations reinvent how they attract and retain talent, which is great. Hopefully in that same vein, and maybe inarguably, because millennials are now the plurality of the workforce, and Gen Z’s right behind them. I heard a great supply chain leader that owned this webcast say that millennials are constantly dumped on. And you know, that was well put because they are. You go to an industry event and if you’re there all day you’re going to have at least three or four conversations where folks are taking potshots–

Danny:

Millennials! Blah blah blah!

Scott:

And you know, we’ve got to change that as an industry, from a supply chain standpoint, we’ve got to change it, we’ve got to embrace it, we’ve got to figure out what we need to do to better embrace and engage all the new generations that are coming to work for us. So I think that will continue to be a trend.

And then from a technology standpoint, I’m no technologist, but as you might imagine, supply chain is technology these days, it drives a lot of our conversations. AI is what I’ve learned, is for months we heard of it as still future state, what’s around the corner. AI is powering so much today, not just because it’s innovative, but really out of necessity. We’re seeing how computer manufacturers are changing up how they build their devices to take better advantage of some of these forces that give the products more power, or give the processes more power. AI is, it’s incredible to see how active it is and how supply chains are getting time back, and resources back, by very practically deploying that.

Blockchain, you know I think it’s, as we may have joked about when we were together last, I think it’s federal law to drop the words ‘supply chain’ or ‘blockchain’ in any and every supply chain conversation these days. But you know, it is, I believe as we have spoken with more people and done more researching and seen more and more practical use cases. You know Walmart in Canada is doing something where they’re really saving time, money and resources and providing more transparency for everybody using blockchain.

And we’re seeing more and more of these practical use cases come out around blockchain, I think 2020 and beyond we’re going to see a lot less folks and professionals that view it as the flavor of the month. And better yet, look to embrace it and figure out how they can plug in this very powerful, transformational technology and segment, really, of supply chain technology and figure out how to use it in a very meaningful, practical way with bottom line results.

And one last notion, I think something we’ve been, is inarguable, the globalization of supply chain, the globalization of business for that matter. Between that trends and the Amazon Effect, holy cow, it’s changing life minute by minute, right? So I think what we’re seeing is many companies that may have not had as much of a, a global culture, a global welcoming culture, a global talent acquisition strategy, a global effort at really making business happen today with taking the blinders off if you’re based here in the States and many companies have those American blinders on. That’s changing dramatically from what we’re seeing, we’re seeing more and more global strategies, whether it’s technology related, talent related, or go to market messaging related, and that’s going to continue to impact so many components of making supply chain happen today and in the future. So those are some things that are top of mind for me, and we’ll knock out 100 more episodes and we’ll be back and and share more maybe.

Danny:

Well, we’ll report on that, see how that, that all sounds good to me. Definitely hearing the same things, seeing very, very similar things, especially on that war for talent piece. And obviously of course across all the technology there’s a lot of amazing things coming down the tracks, a lot of challenges.

Scott:

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one more thing.

Danny:

Okay, all right, go for it.

Scott:

We’ve got a lot of wheels turning, but sustainability, green supply chain. This is something that, well, I’ll blame, I poo-pooed maybe the notion years ago, right?

Danny:

I think a lot of people did.

Scott:

Yeah, but now that we’ve looked, heck, as consumers are more and more willing, and really demanding companies to see their sustainability initiatives and to know where certain ingredients came from, know what they’re doing with the waste that’s a byproduct of so many things. I think sustainability is going to continue to be a huge issue that more and more companies, not just want to grapple, but they have to, because the markets are demanding it. So I probably would be remiss if we didn’t mention that in terms of some of the biggest priorities in supply chain.

Danny:

A lot of big challenges coming up, that’s for sure, but a lot of great solutions and innovations. Well Scott, I think we could probably go on for another hour or two, I think we’ve gone on for an hour, but there’s a ton. But I really appreciate you coming on on IndustrialSage, so if anyone would like to, and I highly recommend that the audience they check you guys out, supplychainnowradio.com and I’m sure you can find it on a near podcasting station whether it’s iTunes, you mentioned Spotify, and all the like. Android devices, I think they’ve got their thing out there, I dunno, I’m an iPhone user. If there’s any other place that’d be best to find you?

Scott:

All that works and also I’d invite each of your listeners to 2020 Atlanta Supply Chain Awards.

Danny:

Oh yes.

Scott:

We are driving, really enjoy the partnership there we’ve got there with a variety of folks, but to include the Metro Atlanta Chamber, CSCMP Atlanta Roundtable and Apex Atlanta. Second year awards, atlantasupplychainawards.com Nominations are open, registrations are open, sponsorships are open, we’re being hosted by MODEX, which I know you and I both–

Danny:

Yes, that’ll be in March, right?

Scott:

Yes, March 10, 2020, and we’d love and welcome any professional or especially organization that has a presence in the Metro Atlanta area, to plug in with us.

Danny:

Excellent, no that is great, so I highly encourage anyone you’ve got nominations, or you want to sponsor, go check that out. Fantastic, what year is this?

Scott:

Year two.

Danny:

Year two, okay.

Scott:

Year one was creating it from scratch, with some help from resources and we’ve benchmarked some of the different programs that are out there, but we failed to see one that really represented the true end to end supply chain across metro Atlanta.

Danny:

Awesome.

And folks would be surprised just how much takes place in the 29 county metro Atlanta area, so I look forward to collaborating with you. By the way Dan, this is, I admire what you do. We have been benchmarking and observing from afar, I’m glad now we’ve just, in the last few weeks, been able to really sit down and catch up meaningfully.

Danny:

Absolutely.

Scott:

If you’re listening to this and you’re still figuring out a way to plot your path forward from a go to market messaging, from storytelling, from how can you put what you do in front of more people effectively and successfully, Danny is an incredible resource. And I mean that very genuinely and I look forward to our continued collaboration.

Danny:

Well, I really appreciate, thank you very much. You know, the feeling is very mutual, so I feel the same way about you guys. Thank you so much for coming on.

Scott:

All right, thank you Danny.

Danny:

All right, so another great episode. Listen, we’re making some changes here at IndustrialSage. We’re going to learn a little bit more storytelling and hearing people’s stories, and I just really, really loved hearing Scott’s story as he literally has created this thing and it’s driven through his passion. And a lot of companies, they’re wildly successful, if you haven’t checked them out you need to supplychainnowradio.com you can go find them on all the podcasting stations. They do a phenomenal job and they’re really keeping a pulse on the industry and what is going on. So I just loved hearing the story, I loved hearing about the trends, and the different things that are coming down the pipe that they’ve been hearing and seeing from all the leaders in the space. Anyways, check them out.

So thanks so much for watching or listening to today’s episode. If you have any questions you’d like us to answer on the show, you can reach out to us at IndustrialSage.com/questions be happy to answer them for you. And that’s all I’ve got all for you today, thank you so much. We’ll be back next week with another episode of IndustrialSage and I’m signing off, goodnight, good day, good morning, whatever time you’re watching this. All right, I’ll see you later.

(Each episode’s blog article will now be published on Thursdays. Check back soon for this one!)

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