Rethinking Supply Chain

Sustainability, going green, managing our carbon footprint--all of these concepts are highly influential not only in how consumers make buying decisions, but how they live their daily lives. In the latest episode of Rethinking Supply Chain podcast, host John Abrams of Venzee and Diana Chen discuss some of the unexpected ways companies reckon with sustainability in their supply chains.

After a brief discussion about vaccine distribution, John and Diana explore all the factors that can contribute to sustainability efforts in supply chain--emissions, raw materials, fuel costs, distribution of product, and more. Consumers tend to focus on ethically sourced raw materials and fair trade standards when making determinations about sustainability, but there are other factors in play.

John shares a unique example about how climate change is impacting the way companies warehouse goods and forcing them to consider alternative energy sources to heat and cool warehouses. He also reminds us that while supply chains are generally optimized for goods from manufacturer to consumer, the process of returning purchased goods is wildly inefficient in comparison.

Listen now to hear John’s perspective on why a big part of sustainability is simply giving consumers enough information to make the right purchase the first time.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See you in the next episode.

There is no doubt that blockchain is here to stay. In this latest episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, host John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen continue the conversation about blockchain in supply chain. The discussion began back in Episode 23 featuring guest Sean Copeland, founder of Boex.

In this episode, Diana notes that there are some out there who believe blockchain is overrated and won’t live up to the hype when it comes to deploying this technology in supply chain.

John disagrees with this notion for several reasons. First, as of today, blockchain has a very narrow use case in supply chain. Blockchain has an abundance of potential, but we’re still very early in the process of developing tools to leverage it effectively.

Why is it important to not underestimate the power of blockchain? Many technologies that have foundational elements to them are difficult to imagine at scale. John remembers how back in 1990, HTML was in its early stages of testing and development. At that time, it was difficult for many to see how this type of technology could be applicable in a range of circumstances.

Given that we still have websites today, clearly the hype was not misplaced. The same can potentially be expected of blockchain. It’s still new, and still difficult to imagine how it could potentially impact all types of companies, jobs, and processes.

Listen to this new episode to hear more about how groundbreaking technologies can transform over the years into something we all know and use every day, and for John’s predictions for how blockchain might begin to take hold in supply chain strategy.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See you in the next episode.

In this latest episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, host John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen look forward by looking back. They revisit podcast Episode 23 (featuring guest Sean Copeland, founder of Boex) and discuss how blockchain technologies can benefit the supply chain.

John takes a few minutes to review the nature of online transactions historically - for many years, nearly everything could be audited and traced. Every device on the internet has an identifier. You can even track web traffic in your own home with the right software.

In terms of supply chain, John discusses how virtually all of global trade today is based on the possession of physical things. Companies are responsible for items they possess, such as when those items are on company-owned trucks or stored in a company’s warehouse.

Blockchain technology has the potential to change the way supply chain and logistics practitioners use this type of data by providing visibility to the movement of a product beyond physical barriers.

Listen now to learn more about how blockchain can be a disruptive force in supply chain, and why it’s so different from the physical supply chain as we know it today.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See you in the next episode.

In this new episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen take a look back at some key takeaways from Episode 35 featuring guest Phil Renaud, Executive Director of the Risk Institute at The Ohio State University.

As Phil shared in that episode, nobody really builds a “just in case” or secondary supply chain. It seems reasonable if not obvious that organizations should have a backup supply chain, but how does that look in reality?

John agrees. He and Diana discuss the myriad of reasons why a “just in case” supply chain never really works. When existing relationships with vendors or service providers suddenly become unavailable, it’s nearly impossible to simply pick another vendor and keep things moving.

This hasn’t stopped supply chain and logistics teams from dreaming up secondary supply chains for the benefit of executives who want them, but unless those paths are routinely exercised and active, they will fall short in the event of a major disruption (much like we’ve seen with COVID-19).

Listen to this new episode to learn new strategies for building flexibility and resiliency into the supply chain. Some are easy enough for you to implement today, such as using multiple vendors for similar tasks.

How probable is the improbable? How unforeseen is the unforeseen?

In the midst of a global pandemic, it’s easy to assume we never saw this coming. In fact, many of us didn’t… but those of us in supply chain did. In the latest episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen discuss how different organizations plan for the unexpected.

The problem isn’t a lack of planning. Rather, John believes, the problem is that plans don’t necessarily incorporate the level of resiliency and flexibility required to cope with even the most fundamental challenges.

For example, many organizations made the massive switch to work-from-home relatively smoothly. Others were suddenly faced with what to do about desktop computers that couldn’t be moved, missing contact information for key employees, and even access to documents or files that were only available on company networks.

Listen to this episode to learn the difference between planning for the unlikely vs. the absurd, how John’s experience at the Chicago Herald changed his expectations for “disaster planning,” and why companies should address flexibility in their internal operations first.

If you ask the experts, they’d say the holy grail of supply chain is visibility into the inner workings of the supply chain at all stages. Imagine, hypothetically, if a box could make it from manufacturer to consumer with just one barcode.

Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. In this episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, John Abrams, CEO of Venzee and Diana Chen continue unpacking the challenges associated with digitizing the supply chain.

John identifies common ways entities at varying stages of the supply chain work to optimize their own processes. For example, a simple barcoding system might transform the operations of a singular warehouse, but if that data doesn’t factor in what happens to that product before it arrives and after it leaves, we’re missing huge opportunities to create more efficient logistics systems and better experiences for the end consumer.

There is no quick fix, but John assures us we’re in the exciting early stages of what will be a rapid transformation. Listen now to hear John’s recommendations on how companies can take small steps toward digitization and work toward better business outcomes.

It’s been nearly a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. What have we learned about supply chain so far?

In this episode, John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen take a minute to reflect on what the global pandemic has taught us about supply chain management in unprecedented circumstances. John discusses how even backup plans for worst-case scenarios may have accounted for weeks-long disruptions, but year-long? Unimaginable.

John and Diana also continue their conversation on digital vs. physical supply chains. John addresses the deep fragmentation that exists within the supply chain as a result of individual entities optimizing their own footprint without full visibility into the end-to-end process.

Listen now to hear how end-to-end digitization in the supply chain can help reduce losses from unexpected downtime and what the future of a digital supply chain might look like.

In nearly any industry vertical, digital transformation is inevitable. Previous episodes of Rethinking Supply Chain have featured guests who share one common recommendation: new technologies can’t just make one person’s job easier. To be successful, those technologies must support better processes that align with the business’s strategic goals.

In this episode, John Abrams, CEO of Venzee, and Diana Chen continue their discussion of how organizations can derive the most value from implementing digital solutions to age-old supply chain problems.

John identifies the need for a massive paradigm shift in the way supply chain leaders and doers think about common challenges. For example, companies shouldn’t just take losses from product recalls for granted. There are technological solutions that can help mitigate those costs and improve the customer experience.

Listen now to find out why digitization isn’t really about moving the stuff (or taking it back!). It’s about how streamlining other functions like marketing and communications can better support supply chain disruptions.

Supply chain challenges and innovations have never been more relevant to our daily lives. In this episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, Venzee CEO, John Abrams, and Diana Chen discuss the supply chain from a different angle--history.

Consider this piece of trivia: Why is Chicago such an important logistics hub?

John provides the answer--railroads. As a rail hub, Chicago didn’t only provide an important home to early catalog retail giants like Sears. It also spurred the growth of adjacent industries like photography studios and printing presses.

Listen to this episode to take a closer look at why some industries tend to cluster in certain geographic areas and how those clusters can affect how organizations attract and retain talent.

In this episode of Rethinking Supply Chain, Venzee CEO, John Abrams, and Diana Chen continue their conversation about what can be changed when it comes to improving the supply chain. Rather than just thinking about what could change, John and Diana give business leaders some practical, applicable advice.

Diana recalls the example of a large company still using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets manually to communicate product data to distributors and retailers. John explains the inefficiencies associated with such a system and then dives deeper into how the entire selling process goes on. Once a seller receives their barcode, any product on sale should be able to be digitized, but we still don’t see it going on. 

Finally, John goes through what the ideal process could be today. Manufacturers should still meet face to face with their customers, but the next step in the process should be digitized. Once quantities and prices are determined, the paper processes should take the back seat to technology. Information should be held in master data management systems so product information is organized efficiently.