FutureChain

Listen to this informative podcast where Meagan Cunningham of FutureChain interviews Saket Saurabh, an entrepreneur with a passion for data and infrastructure who co-founded Nexla — a provider of reliable, consistent, and trusted data products. Learn how today’s best-in-class data technologies have revolutionized supply chain management from an entrepreneur and data scientist’s perspective.

Timestamp:

01:23 How Saket’s Passion for Data Integration Started
03.07 Saket’s Experience Working with the World Bank
04:57 Challenges of Data Integration (Poshmark Success Story)
07:51 How Integration Makes Analytics Better for Companies — “Three Things”
10.03 What Is Data Streaming?
12:33 What Is the Interface for Engineering if Hard Coding Is Not Required?
15:38 What Levels of Errors Are You Seeing from Your Data Monitoring?
18:26 What Impacts Data Integrity — and How?
20:45 On the Insights Nexla Delivers to Poshmark
23:25 Describing the Ideas from the Flow of Data Pipelines — Analyses to Insights to Decisions
24:29 The Future of Spreadsheets — Will They Stay?
26:40 What Does Data Integration Make Possible in Terms of AI?
29:11 Who Benefits Most from Nexla’s Solution — Engineers, Data Scientists, or Executives?

Listen to this informative podcast where Meagan Cunningham of FutureChain interviews Saket Saurabh, an entrepreneur with a passion for data and infrastructure who co-founded Nexla — a provider of reliable, consistent, and trusted data products. Learn how today’s best-in-class data technologies have revolutionized supply chain management from an entrepreneur and data scientist’s perspective.

Timestamp:

00:00 Introduction01:23 How Saket’s Passion for Data Integration Started
03.07 Saket’s Experience Working with the World Bank
04:57 Challenges of Data Integration (Poshmark Success Story)
07:51 How Integration Makes Analytics Better for Companies — “Three Things”
10.03 What Is Data Streaming?
12:33 What Is the Interface for Engineering if Hard Coding Is Not Required?
15:38 What Levels of Errors Are You Seeing from Your Data Monitoring?
18:26 What Impacts Data Integrity — and How?
20:45 On the Insights Nexla Delivers to Poshmark
23:25 Describing the Ideas from the Flow of Data Pipelines — Analyses to Insights to Decisions
24:29 The Future of Spreadsheets — Will They Stay?
26:40 What Does Data Integration Make Possible in Terms of AI?
29:11 Who Benefits Most from Nexla’s Solution — Engineers, Data Scientists, or Executives?
30:40 Outro

A Textiles engineering professional specialising in advanced e-textiles and Smart textiles.

Episode Notes:

00:08 – Introduction
02:18 – Hobby or Personal Passion
04:04 – RFiD Thread Overview
05:14 – Challenges in Retail 2021
07:50 – Challenges in Garment Recycling 2021
09:21 – Barcodes & RFID Challenges
10:18 – What is RFiD Threads
12:50 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Manufacturing
14:26 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Retail
18:29 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Brands
19:13 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Customers
20:06 – Adding Value to the Circular Economy
22:01 – Global Recognition for RFiD Threads
23:00 – What Adetex ID Can Offer
23:22 – Current Manufacturing Plans
23:47 – Ramp up Plans Post Investment
24:06 – RFiD Threads USP
24:43 – Additional About RFiD Threads
25:33 – Textile’s Supply Chain
28:09 – What Makes Technology Smart
33:33 – How The Technology Achieve That Goal
35:12 – Closing Thoughts

Listen to the visionary for the only automotive trade association that represents OEMs, suppliers and mobility companies. Get the inside track on the evolution of internal combustion (ICE) supply chains to electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous vehicle (AV) supply chains.

Episode notes:

• 3:31 the automotive supply/value chain. Operating at the intersection of innovation, production and policy.
• 4:55 semiconductor supply shortage impact on automotive supply chains resulting in loss of 1-2M units of production (after auto production had ceased completely in 2020).
• 8:28 reinforcing US domestic semiconductor/automotive supply chains to address disruptions.
• 9:53 evolution of industry to electrification and autonomy.
• 10:20 shift from drilling for oil, to mining for minerals.
• 11:21 impact on exhaust systems, fuel systems and emissions.
• 13:38 impact on labor.
• 15:12 policy critical to this transition.
• 16:14 regulatory blueprint to drive adoption of EVs & AVs.
• 18:12 fleets as a ‘vehicle’ to scale new markets.
• 19:22 adoption will come from a combination of regulation and economic factors. 20:02 Automatic Driver Assist Systems (ADAS). 22:02 building an EV charging infrastructure. 24:21 new supply chains for EVs/AVs and the batteries that power them.
• 27:10 domestic supply chains for lithium-ion/solid state batteries (Panasonic, LG Chem).
• 31:35 total cost of ownership threshold, “cost-parity” and “convenience-parity”.
• 33:24 timeline for scale. 35:25 global leadership for US in AVs.
• 37:12 sensors and ADAS technology for vehicle safety.
• 39:12 environmental impact/sustainability of sourcing.
• 40:45 competition between US and China for OEM production of EVs.
• 42:26 global competitive landscape for AVs, US needs to seize its technology advantage. 44:00 innovators in EV and AV space achieved through partnerships (convergence of mobility and technology).
• 47:10 GM’s and Honda’s investment in Cruise, Ford’s investment in Argo, Toyota partnering with Uber.
• 48:07 AI as a key technology input for AVs through awareness and perception algorithms (enables accessibility as well).
• 49:33 FCC needs to address importance of connectivity (V2V critical).
• 51:19 achievability of Paris Climate Accord GHG/emissions goals depends not just on the automotive industry but the entire ecosystem (grid resiliency, reimagined supply chains, industrial retooling, workforce evolution, consumer awareness, access/affordability).
• 53:12 Biden administration, Gina McCarthy communicating the needs for reduced emissions and transition to electrification.
• 53:40 Autos 2050 conference on the intersection of innovation and policy to address environmental, economic and safety goals.

How Bid Ops has automated supplier negotiations and brought artificial intelligence to supply chain management. Strategic sourcing trends for 2021 and so much more!

Episode notes:

John Cooper/Industrial Exchange on increased SKUs increasing management costs 7:12. ‘Spend fragmentation’ 8:17. Volatility and disruption 8:43. Massive congestion at ports 9:07. Instability associated with economic inequality 9:46. Strategy for identifying mission critical processes 10:09. Increasing optionality and process speed 10:52. How AI can automate supplier negotiations 11:33. Smart defaults 13:38. Cunningham’s law 14:06. Default pricing 15:23. Winners curse 16:23. AI and ML make automating intelligent price recommendations at scale possible 16:50. 2-5x cost saving 18:23. Adaptive target pricing 18:31. How behavioral economics informs the development of AI 20:49. Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow” 21:14. Fair Markets and Ariba 22:29 Leading with ‘best outcome’ 23:39. Inefficiencies in supplier negotiations 26:09. Adverse and auspicious selection 26:41. Sourcing enablement 28:39. Sourcing collaboration 31:31. Criteria for selecting strategic sourcing solutions 35:26. ROI from Bid Ops solutions 41:15. UCB Biopharma 45:40. BASF chemical manufacturing 48:15. Holman ARI Automotive 50:29. Bell Food and Beverage 52:18. Consumer Packaged Goods 53:14. The importance of a digital strategy 54:34. Embracing the cloud 55:34. Prepare for volatility 58:45. Optionality + Agility = Resiliency 1:04:22. Agility 1:08:07. Building deeper supplier relationships 1:09:56. The rise of sustainability as a business imperative 1:13:08. EV sustainable procurement  (Lordstown and Nikola) 1:16:39. The most talented workers are drawn to companies with a mission for social good 1:17:28. CSR measurement companies EcoVadis and IntegrityNext 1:18:25. Role of data management in AI 1:20:42. Coupa and Netsuite ERP solutions 1:27:53. Procure to play companies SourceDay and Procurify 1:28:07.

Randall Pappal, veteran of OEM (GM) and Tier 1 supply chains talks about the global automotive supply chain.

Episode notes:
Shape’s role in the Automotive supply chain 3:05. Body exterior supply chain 4:14. GM supply chain 5:22. Automotive supply chains in Mexico (Nemak, Metalsa, Vitro) 6:15. Automotive supply chains in Asia 7:53. Single sourcing 10:23. Obstacles to nationalizing supply chains 12:11. Continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and Kaizen 12:44. ROI from process methodologies 14:17. Supply chain management solutions (Plex) 15:17. AI/ML critical to solutions 16:15. Metrics to evaluate success 17:01. Digitization 17:40. Pandemic influence on elevating supply chain as a business concept 18:15. Economic outlook for automotive industry 20:02. Policy to foster development of electrification and autonomy 21:29. Shape’s role in new markets 22:46.

PeakSpan supply chain and procurement growth-stage investment strategy. 

Episode notes: PeakSpan mission 6:37. PeakSpan supply chain technology platforms 9:54. Efficiency targets for investments 13:46. Distinction in investments at 3-5M vs 25M+ 17:29. Value of Zenefits, Netsuite and Oracle perspective 18:27. Why supply chain? 21:01. Cold chain 23:35. Front of the house vs back of the house software adoption 28:03. Omnichannel 29:10. Valuing cost-saving as much as revenue generation 29:40. Importance of data 32:42. Coupa spend management 34:50. ERP market penetration 36:33. Logistics value 38:49. Importance of Labor 42:06. Thesis for XOi investment 46:09. Trends to watch for in 2021 50:54.

Master class on innovation. Footwear and apparel supply chain to surprise and delight customers 2:47. Innovation at PVH to build in sustainability to dress shirts with Unify 3:55. Influence and negotiation to build global supply chain for 10M units of “whiter white” fabric 7:23 (largest sustainability success story). ROI of top line sales and market share 8:07. Challenge of operating in real time addressed by influence from “legal to landfill” 10:11. Apparel and footwear as a relationship business 12:03. KPMG model to drive innovation connected to strategy, mission and vision 12:30. Consumer centricity 17:20. Ecommerce penetrations of 20-30% 18:43. COVID impact on supply chains 19:48 (cancellations, sell-offs of raw materials, closure of factories, pent-up demand). Responding to increased demand from K-shaped recovery 25:23. Dollar General opening 1,050 doors to address value end of consumer-base 28:15. Concept of circularity 28:48. The “messy middle” 29:20. Digital transformation through connected product and connected experience 29:54. Product as a service as illustrated by Lululemon’s white space division/acquisition of Mirror driving new revenue streams 35:55. AI & ML in supply chains is ubiquitous as illustrated by Stitchfix demonstrating that brands know their consumers 41:29 (Shelly Palmer futurist). Super Apps in China demonstrating tradeoffs of privacy vs convenience 44:43. Singulaarity ushering in AI 45:49 (Tim Urban podcast “Wait, but why?”). Supply chain ecommerce solutions, including social prospecting, to identify consumer intent 53:04. Supply chain optimization tools (C3, IBM Watson), including automated manufacturing to lower operational costs 56:52. Speed over cost 1:00:24. Circularity as illustrated by fast fashion making new fiber from old fiber 1:02:09. Upcycling 1:05:32. Value chain of the future to meet customer expectations 1:06:25. Ambient computing (EA, FIFA, Adidas & Google gamification) 1:10:22. Strava 1:13:13. COVID as an accelerant for supply chain innovation powered by 5G (voicification, shoppable closets, real-time holograms in store, etc.) 1:15:12. Importance of closing the digital divide 1:18:44.

Episode Notes:

Retail supply chains 3:56.
Omni-channel for top-line growth 6:49.
Holiday retail 7:58.
Optimizing processes for demand forecasting 8:42.
AI analysis for demand planning/forecasting 9:47.
Curbside retailing 11:21.
Supply chain optimization 13:30.
Right product, price, inventory 14:41.
Leveraging existing investments in tools and solutions to maximize ROI 15:34.
Internal processes vs external partners 19:10.
Finding ‘best of breed’ solutions to offer customers omni-channel options 20:35.
Breaking down the omni-channel experience 22:17.
‘Headless approach’ 26:26.
Digital transformation for frictionless commerce 27:16.
Importance of “fixing” data 27:58.
Case studies (improved efficiencies resulting in savings of $4M/yr) 30:51.
Exposing inventory to a customer, wherever they are 33:07.
Importance of platforms over point solutions 33:47.
10x ROI targets 36:28.
Pandemic impact on retail 37:13.
Differentiating against Amazon 38:32.
Transforming malls into online marketplaces 39:30.

Early and late-stage supply chain investing in software and hardware. 

LeanLogistics 2:24. Kiva Systems (robotics) 2:55. Steelwedge (supply chain planning) 3:09. Optiant (inventory planning) 3:20. Macropoint (supply chain visibility) 3:28. Llamasoft 3:34. Shipmonk 3:41. Pre-COVID investing climate 4:59. Virtual brokerage of freight 5:23. Ecommerce logistics 5:28. Blockchain, robotics 5:30. Flexport valuation $1B Softbank investment 5:38. AI/ML supply chain decision-making for optimization/efficiency investment theme 6:12. COVID impact on investing 7:35. Crisis, normal, crisis product development cycle 8:39. Supply chain disruptions/adjustments to COVID 10:22. Shifting sourcing and distribution 10:37. Real time data challenges for legacy systems 11:27. AI/ML decision-making systems sitting on top of legacy systems 13:20. LeanLogistics first Saas/TMS solution 14:36. Different ERP systems for different functions 16:01. AI/ML impact on supply chain, FANUK robots building robots 17:00. Levidata using AI to identify pricing seasonality 18:15. Wise Systems 18:47. Criteria for assessing investments 20:35. True Load Time 21:37. Investment assessment, existing vs new companies, post-COVID 24:31. “Don’t listen to Steve Jobs” 26:02. 12-month trends 29:02. Taking care of the workforce 30:29. Forecasting a challenge in this climate 31:46. Ecommerce is 40% of retail in UK 32:18. $20B invested in supply chain, $27B in AI, last year 33:15. AI importance to autonomous vehicle functionality 34:46. Elevation of supply chain leadership 36:32. Importance of organizational inclusivity 38:09. Winners and losers going forward 39:39. Is globalization dead? 42:10. Domestic labor can compete when industry is labor-intensive 42:48. TSMC US manufacturing for Apple chip 44:42. How will immigration limits impact supply chains? 49:01. Strategic reserves over nationalization of supply chains 53:27. Investment focus going forward: real-time data; accelerating process automation; execution and planning apps; AI/ML-based tools; sustainable and resilient supply chains; integrating robotics and AVs into supply chains 55:15.