Supply Chain Radio

3D-printing spider robots in space: science fiction or manufacturing future? Industry experts Guy Courtin of GT Nexus and IDC Manufacturing Insights' John Santagate discuss the coolest emerging technology in manufacturing today.

GT Nexus VP Guy Courtin discusses the power of networks with industry analyst John Santagate of IDC Manufacturing Insights in this episode of Supply Chain Radio recorded live from CSCMP 2016.

A live recording from the Supply Chain Executive Conference in London, where Gartner predicted that by 2018, the deployment of end-to-end supply chain visibility solutions will increase by up to 50 percent. Visibility has ranked on top of the agenda for most supply chain executives for many years. So why has visibility been so hard to achieve and what’s fueling the massive growth that Gartner predicts? Greg Kefer and Boris Felgendreher dive into the issue.

The newly launched Galaxy Note 7 left several customers burned and Samsung's reputation in flames after a manufacturing flaw in some of the devices led to a number of batteries catching on fire. The incident led to a recall of about 1 million of Samsung's flagship smartphone. We explore how incidents like this affect the global supply chain in a world where social media and instant access means news travels fast.

Brexit happened. And more protectionist measures may be on the horizon if the proposed trade policies of US presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump ever become laws. A recent survey of US executives gauges retailers’ anxiety levels on these types of risks. In this episode we take a look at the results, and examine how businesses prepare their supply chains for sudden, unexpected change.

Consumer products have had years of innovation in marketing and sales - from new digital channels to sentiment analysis to customization. All of it is to keep up with rapidly changing consumer demand. But what about the support structure for those innovations - the supply chain? Supply chains in consumer products have been struggling to keep pace with the front-end innovations and demands.

While Dow Chemical is 119 years old, they've transformed how they operate by moving their supply chain onto the cloud. Boris Felgendreher and Bryan Nella talk about how supply chain visibility enabled Dow Chemical to save $85 million by improving service quality by 35%, reducing cycle times, and having the ability to respond to disruptions in the supply chain. Summary: The cloud enabled Dow Chemical to transform their supply chain, bringing visibility that led to a savings of $85 million.

Adidas is one of the most iconic retail brands in the world, and one of the oldest. Yet, they're able to market themselves successfully to both millennials and traditional customers. Bryan Nella and Matt Gunn talk about how Adidas's production and shipping techniques impact their success.

Syngenta is a major player in the global food supply chain. At Bridges 2016, Marion Matthewman, Syngenta’s Head of Global Logistics, spoke about its mission to feed the world. From large industrial farms to small, individually-owned plots of land, Syngenta is able to fulfill demand for agricultural products. GT Nexus’s Boris Felgendreher and Bryan Nella break down the supply chain significance of Syngenta’s massive operations.

Michael Kobori, VP of Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co speaks on a special live episode of supply chain radio about the profitability and sustainability journey Levi's has undergone in the last five years. He goes onto describe a vision of sustainability that includes healthy suppliers, raw materials providers, and brands working together in a cyclical supply chain.

Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS on the premise that a for-profit company could succeed while supporting a mission greater than itself. For every item sold, another is given away to someone in need. But he wasn’t prepared for instant success. In this episode of Supply Chain Radio, recorded live from Bridges 2016 in New York, we listen in on Mycoskie’s story of growing a brand with a mission – and a supply chain to support it.

Boris Felgendreher sat down for a live interview with Dr. John Gattorna at the Supply Chain and Logistics Summit in Barcelona. John Gattorna is considered the godfather of dynamic supply chain alignment and supply chain segmentation along customer buying behaviors. In this interview, John talks about his new book “Dynamic Supply Chains”, how to segment your supply chain for disruptive innovation and what technologies will transform the supply chain in the next five years. Dr. John Gattorna’s new book “Dynamic Supply Chains”: https://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Supply-Chains-people-centric-networks/dp/1292016817/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466593638&sr=8-1&keywords=dynamic+supply+chains

There are 3 ways to increase value to shareholders: increase revenue, reduce costs, and reduce invested capital. Supply chain visibility accomplishes all three. More than just a nice tool, visibility is a way to drive value and growth.

With innovations like Dash and Prime Now, Amazon is reinventing retail fulfillment. But its upheavals go deeper. Amazon is looking at logistics end-to-end, and is poised to redefine infrastructure that has been in place for decades.

The Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference is one of the most important events in the industry. The key message this year: Supply chain is no longer about reducing costs and putting out fires. It’s about finding new forms of value and ways to service customers. This starts with digitizing processes in the supply chain and harnessing data in innovative ways to deliver new services to customers.

A new maritime safety regulation threatens to shake up the entire global shipping industry, leaving stakeholders across the supply chain scrambling to find a solution. This podcast covers how shippers, carriers, and port terminal operators are preparing for the SOLAS verified gross mass rules that go into effect this summer.

Can a major manufacturer of consumer goods be as agile as a startup? Popular new brands like Everlane have proven that customers care about the supply chain. They want to know where products come from, who makes them, and what kind of impact businesses have on the ecosystem. And it's caught the attention of some of the world's biggest brands. Here's how companies like Unilever and Apple are injecting purpose into their brands and improving the bottom line along the way.

Why shop at a brick and mortar store? Traditional retailers are finding themselves in the tough position of having to answer that question, as ecommerce giants like Amazon eat away at their customer base. Ecommerce has many advantages - the convenience, variety, cost, and now fast and excellent delivery. But all hope isn’t lost for brick and mortar - technology can help traditional stores keep up.

Resistance to cloud adoption used to be a question of cost or simplicity. Now companies are eager to solve complicated problems using the cloud. They want to see what’s happening, and gain visibility in real-time. They want to use cloud to orchestrate and optimize, and learn how to move products and information faster through the network. There’s still some barriers, but there’s been a huge step change in cloud adoption.

We are seeing a convergence of several powerful technology trends: cloud computing, big data analytics, IoT, robots, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Their performance increases while the costs continue to fall. Put these together, and you have a perfect storm of digital disruption. Boris Felgendreher and Greg Kefer discuss new research on the impact of digital transformation in supply chains in this podcast. Read the full report here: http://www.gtnexus.com/digitaltransformation.