C (2:38)

I love it.

B (2:39)

I love that. It's remarkable. 49,000. So speaking of the automotive industry, folks, automotive industry analysts are very tentative on the year that 2026 will bring to that key industry. Of course, we know how important the automotive sector is to the US economy. It's estimated to be 4.8% of our GDP, Marty. The US auto sector hit 17 million units sold for five consecutive years prior to the pandemic. You see that there? But recovery has been slow for a variety of reasons. Sales were 16.3 million vehicles in the US last year in 2025, and analysts are expecting to hit that mark or drop below it here in 2026. We shall see. Secondly, also, and with that said, we shared urgent needs from the American Logistics Aid Network and we are looking at doing that every week. Marty, you know, Allen helps a wide variety of needs, but each week we're trying to gather two or three of their priority needs and share that with our global audience. So if you're in position folks to use your supply chain infrastructure or other resources to contribute towards the help, venture over to allenaid.org and also you can check out the priority needs in our with that said, finally, Marty, we got a hit on our hands. Our Never Normal series, which started with an episode featuring three or four chief supply chain officers. Well, it's drawn a ton of great feedback. So installment number three has been scheduled. Now get this who's who list here, Marty. Douglas Guerram, global Vice President of Supply chain for one of my favorite companies, the Hershey Company. Oh Chocolate. Corey Knox, Vice President, North America Personal Health Care Supply Chain Operations with png Shay Nessler, Vice President, Supply Chain, CPG and Beauty with Dannon Love the yogurt and Eduardo Adame, Vice President, Global supply chain at 3M. Folks, this panel session, home Run panel session is going to be hosted by the One Only, Corinne Bursa on February 18th at 12 noon. It's free to join. You just got to register and we're going to drop the link so you can do just that. All right, so Marty, back to what got started. All with that said, did you read that this weekend as you were staying in off the roads and what stood out to you?

C (4:48)

Yeah, so we we've been doing digitization for a long time in supply chain and now with these generative AI bots and the technology around that, we've got people starting to use it to make decisions. I remember reading about forecasting and often people would take the forecasting reports and Only actually use them about half of the time.

B (5:12)

Right.

C (5:12)

And so that stood out from a serious. But I want to show you a not so serious. That stood out. That's what I'm talking about right there, my friend. That is what I'm talking about. The Bondi nine.

B (5:25)

Yes. All right. So, Marty, we got to bring people into the inside joke there because one of the things we included in this edition with that said were some thoughts I shared last week and to some long story short, I've worn dress shoes as I go to trade shows, and I'm standing on my feet for, you know, all day long. And I discovered by going after lots of foot pain, that orthopedic surgeon said I was getting stress fractures. It wasn't just normal foot pain. So to Marty's point, I switched over the. My orthopedic surgeon said, you got to have hocus, hocus, hocus, hocus. And. And he had nothing to gain. I switched over to hocus, just like per Marty had. And Marty, my feet had never felt better. And that's a. It's not a paid endorsement. Nothing to do with hoka. It's just what happened to Marty. Think you're a big HOKA fan too, huh?

C (6:08)

Yeah, you should ask your professor fan who is on his feet, you know, on those. It's carpeted, but it's that really thin stuff. And I had the same problem early on in teaching because I had just been mostly like behind a desk or out in manufacturing locations. So good for you, Scott, it. It. Because those foot problems just get worse and worse. So I'm, I'm glad you've done that. Well, plus, you look awesome and you're like 2 inches taller, my friend and I could use.

B (6:37)

I Wish I was 2ft taller as 2 inches taller as is. All right, so Marty, now that we've kind of put everything out there so folks, you can. You can find out more about anything we just tackled there via. With that said, and let us know what you think. We'd love to get your feedback. Just like our dear friend T Squared, who hails from the Baltimore area, says nourishment is definitely needed after the hammering we got by the snow. Well, hey, man, T Squared, hopefully y' all didn't get too much and it's not too disruptive up there. But I agree with you, a lot of places did get and March. I think you were talking earlier in the pre show about friends and family up in Tennessee. I think you saw some big nephew in Nashville.

C (7:14)

It's a. It's A disaster up there.

B (7:17)

Oh, it's terrible to hear. Terrible to hear. Well, and Robert, great to see you here via LinkedIn. Let us know where you're tuned in from. Robert, great to have you back again. And folks, on all of these things, Trisha is dropping links, so you're one click away. Trisha shared information on Allan like we talked about earlier on the Never Normal series on the newsletter on epg, you name it. We're going to try to make it really easy for folks to track down additional information. Okay, so Marty, tell you we've covered the gamut, just getting started today. A couple more things we talked about. Trade show trade shows and trade show season is here. Once again, great article here from our friends at Easy Post. I think we did 13 trade shows last year, Marty, in terms of could be an ad covering them participating and I'm still tired. But you know, I love them, I love trade shows and I hit them all if I could and If I had 27 pairs of hocus, maybe. But check out folks, this Easy Post guide for some of the best logistics trade shows and conferences coming up this year. They they share information on RELA and Manifest, Vegas Shop talk, Modex, Parcel form, many, many others and they've got a helpful calendar. And my hunch, Marty, is that folks are going to learn at least one trade show that wasn't on your radar. I learned a new one, maybe a couple new ones. So I want to ask you, we're dropping that link to the article right there in the chat. But Marty, what has been one of your favorite trade shows out there in the market that you've enjoyed over the years?

C (8:43)

Yeah, it's Modex because it's here in Atlanta and I take my students to it and you see all of the latest and greatest technologies. You see, you know, just fantastic leaders in the space. But you know, being a professor, it's hard to get around the world. And you know, my old career, I did. But I love Modex. I love taking the students.

B (9:03)

I do too. And you know what? The best, one of the best parts, besides they're going to be having, they're projecting almost 40,000 people to Modex this year. Right. But it's free to attend, folks. It's not free to exhibit and stuff. There's great opportunities to do that, although I think all the exhibit floor space is sold out. But it's free to attend. And a great event like that, you gather market intel, network, sit in on some sessions, it is not to be missed.

C (9:26)

So yeah, best practice is prepare because it's overwhelming. And make sure you've got sort of your map set up and know who you want to talk to and when you want to talk to them. Otherwise you'll just get overwhelmed quickly.

B (9:40)

Oh gosh, Marty, you are right. You are right. But speaking of being prepared, which is a great rule of thumb Marty just shared, go check out the article. They've got lots and lots of events to put on your radar, including information on targeted rents. And if you're joining us at Manifest, will be there in a couple weeks. You can come meet Lori and the innovative Easy Post team at booth. Get this, booth 777 in Vegas. Marty, that is a great booth number for Las Vegas, huh?

C (10:07)

We were talking about predictive markets earlier and so that seems like the jackpot right there.

B (10:12)

That's right. So, Lori, Kevin, Easy Post team, folks, buy a lottery ticket with a booth number like that in Vegas. Okay, one more thing before we bring on our outstanding guests here today. First off, Robert, tuning in from South Africa, that beautiful country. I've enjoyed going to Cape Town a couple of times. Let us know what part we got. One more question for you, Robert. What part of South Africa are you at? We love connect the dots there. Gino Pledger, the pride of North Alabama. Great to see you today, my friend. All right, Marty, one more resource for folks because we got big news from our friends over at U.S. bank. They released their inaugural Freight Payment Index rates edition in partnership with DAT Freight and Analytics. They released that on Tuesday, January 6th. Now, as we do with the quarterly U.S. bank freight payment Index, we enjoyed a terrific live stream where we reviewed the rates addition data with Bobby Holland from US bank and Dr. Chris capless with DAT is a hall of famer, I hear. Bona fide hall of famer. The podcast replay of that discussion will publish January 28th. So that's this week, Wednesday this week. So look for that. But in addition, U.S. bank will release its Freight Payment Index for Q4 2025 on Tuesday, February 3rd. And we it's going to be really interesting. First off, to see how the freight market I perform some key takeaways there from the last three months of of 2025. But we're going to be discussing all the data, all the stuff, all the the market moves and shifts, you name it via live Stream. On Thursday, February 12th at 12 noon Eastern Time, we've got Bobby Holland backed by Popper Demand, but also Nick Palmucci, senior director of Supply Chain Logistics and Final Mile at Ferguson Enterprises. And in the meantime, you tune in for that show for key takeaways from the Q4 Index and Domestic freight market. But in the meantime, you can download the Q3 Freight Payment Index or the brand new rates edition publication from US bank@freight usbank.com Marty, we got to keep our finger on the pulse of the freight market, ain't that right?

C (12:09)

Yeah, absolutely.

B (12:11)

So I'm delighted. So now that we've got all our homework done right, we share some resources with folks. We've got a great guest friend the show joining us here on the Buzz today. Heidi Benko has over 25 years of experience in supply chain product management, solutions, strategy and marketing, all of which she has used to deliver innovative supply chain solutions to companies across industries to help them transform their supply chain operations. Please join me in welcoming Heidi Binkow, Vice president of product management and strategy for N4 nexus.

C (12:45)

Hey.

B (12:45)

Hey, Heidi. How you doing?

D (12:47)

Good. How you doing?

B (12:48)

Wonderful. I'm tired. We had a, we had a busy pre a block here today on the Buzz, Heidi. But hey, but Marty, as he always does, sees us through. He's a steady hand. Got him the whole show. Marty. Looking forward to a great chat here with Heidi, huh?

C (13:02)

Yeah, looking forward to learning a lot.

B (13:04)

Me and you both. Okay, so let's do this. Let's start with a fun warm up question. Heidi and Marty, you know how we do things around here. Now today is Australia Day. So to all our friends across Australia, happy Australia Day. It's bubble wrap appreciation day, which is an interesting one if you remember Papa Nose as a kid. Yeah, sometimes some adults still do it. I've done it every once in a while. International Customs Day, folks. Love on those compliance professionals. They're your secret weapons. It's National Bible Day and it's also National Peanut Brittle Day. Heidi and Marty. So on that last one, here's my question. I know a lot of folks love peanut brittle, but I'm one of those that do not. And I even love peanuts, but I don't like peanut brittle. So I want to ask each of you, Heidi, I'll start with you. What is one food that everyone you know just loves it to death but you do not? Heidi, what's that food for you?

D (13:53)

I think mashed potatoes.

B (13:55)

Really? Now that is intriguing. Do tell. More. What, what do you not like about them?

D (14:00)

The texture, you know, just something about the. I can eat smashed potatoes but not mashed potatoes. And I feel like so many holidays where he's like, why are you not eating these?

B (14:12)

You know what, when you first said it, it didn't make sense. Now it makes perfect sense because how much other food do we mash into that kind of texture? Not much, right? Marty, if it's not mashed potatoes for you, what is it?

C (14:24)

I'm going to keep the same thing going.

B (14:26)

Heidi.

C (14:27)

It is guacamole and avocado. Oh my gosh. Putting that junk on toast and smushing it all in chips. But I gotta say, the peanut brittle, the peanut brittle ones just left me. I don't know. I don't even know what to do with that. Scott. My, my best friend's mom used to cook it and we'd go in eating it hot. Oh, that's something. But anyway, mashed potatoes and guacamole. I'm, I'm with you, Heidi.

B (14:55)

So you're saying I lost some esteem in your eyes with my disdain for peanut brittle. I had to let anyone down, but especially Marty Parker. So I'll try to get better at it. But wait, one quick note on guacamole. So Heidi and Marty, I wasn't growing up really until my early adulthood. I was not a fan of guacamole. And Amanda, thank you. Big thanks. Amanda Church behind the scenes. Make It Happen Today turned me on to it and I fell in love. We went to D.C. we ate at a famous Mexican restaurant, I can't remember the name of it. And Marty and Heidi, I've never had guacamole as good as it was there. We could not eat enough of it. I turned green. So. But mashed potatoes, guacamole and peanut brittle. So folks, don't ask us for their, your, our opinions on any of those foods. That would be the worst meal on earth, wouldn't it? So here's I think this is Amanda. My weird food ick is cookie dough. Everyone else loves it, but I am not a fan. You know it's funny because when she does buy and she makes her own cookies, but when she does buy pre made cookie dough, it slowly disappears as me and the kids are always all taking slices of it. I don't know. Okay, we got a lot of work to get to here today. So Heidi, great to have you back with us. We enjoyed you being on the Buzz about six months or so ago. Really appreciate what you do out in industry. So I want to start with as we dive into new stories here on the Buzz, powered by our friends at EPG with this retail Brew story where they reported last week on some of the ways that Walmart was preparing for the winter storm that has hit so many areas here in the states in recent Days again, we got lucky here in metro Atlanta. I think Walmart used AI driven technology to anticipate demand changes from winter storm. Fern I think we're naming winter storms these days. Fern F E R N the AI driven system forecasted demand shifts using historical weather data in advanced simulation models. All of which allowed Walmart to act much faster than in years past. Ahead of the storm, the big retailer utilized anticipatory inventory staging for storm related essentials. Think ice melt water probably generated some of this stuff and rerouted other goods to secure facilities so that during the storm the AI driven approach helped optimize delivery routes. So navigating through some of the stretches of infrastructure including providing for what they call jump trailers, mobile units, all pre stocked with essential items. So Heidi, I'm thankful we did not get a dose of what you see in the shot here, at least in my neck of the woods. But your thoughts on Walmart's approach at optimizing their performance during these tougher times?

D (17:27)

Yeah, that kind of looks like my street without all the pretty trees here in Manhattan. But that was my trip to work. I mean I just think it shows the power of AI. I mean there's no way this, they could have done this before and I think that's basically essential now for companies to really run their supply chains and with so many disruptions and really enables them to have that competitiveness to now they can be proactive instead of reactive and have the right goods to where they need to be. And if you think about the volume of data and scale they would need throughout their entire network with the, you know, this storm and the amount of coverage area that it had, I think it's essential.

B (18:03)

Yes, no doubt that's not a nice to have anymore it seems. Marty, your thoughts on the story with how Walmart got ready to navigate through the storm.

C (18:11)

Now I mentioned in pre show that I read a stat that about 40% of people have the forecasting information but they don't use it, they don't, they ignore it. And so if you're using these tools, they're not only doing it faster but they're actually making the execution which is really mission critical when you're facing something that's happening this quickly.

B (18:34)

That is right. That is right. Planning is great but we got to execute on the plan. By the way, Trisha dropped all the links to these stories so you don't take me and Heidi and Marty's word for it. You go check it out for yourself and let us know your take on these topics and These news stories, okay. From the storm to this story that comes to us from cnbc, and it points to some of the impact that tariffs are having on supply chain organizations. So get this. According to a survey of supply chain professionals conducted by both CNBC and the association for Supply Chain Management, aka ASCM. You can learn more ASCN.org Many are reporting that new tariffs and their related costs are creating layoffs in a challenging environment for companies looking to invest in their supply chain organizations. So I'm going to share some of the data factoids from the survey. Okay. And I'm getting Heidi and Marty to weigh in here. So looking at numbers here, over 220 supply chain pros participated in this survey. And the timeframe is important. It ran from December 15, 2025 to January 7, 2026. So about three weeks there, 65% said their supply chain increased 10 to 15%. 34% of those surveyed reported an increase in costs greater than 15%. Again due to the trade policy and the tariffs. 32%, unfortunately, are reporting layoffs. And an interesting note about that, it's double the amount that reported Layoffs earlier in 2025. In April 2025, which came in at 16%. And in these latest numbers, 32% were reporting layoffs. When it, when it comes to the economic outlook, folks, I'm glad I got Marty and Heidi here because I failed every economic class in college I took. So when it comes to the economic outlook for the months to come, 38% had a negative view as opposed to 35% had a positive view. I think those are interesting context for the Overall numbers here. 56% are concerned about a recession. Of those, about two thirds believe a recession will kick in during second quarter 2026. That's scary. Finally, a lot of concerns that even if the Supreme Court rules against the White House on the tariff issue, the potential refunds talk about a headache and a massive, massive tidal wave of work. The potential refunds, a lot of concerns won't make their organizations whole. So that is a lot there to digest and share. But Heidi, when you see surveys like that and see some of the findings, what are your thoughts?

D (21:04)

I mean this, the past year has been so much about the uncertainty. Well, everything in the tariffs and the planning. So even just like we're talking about, you know, Supreme Court may reverse the tariffs. Well, how do you plan for that? If the plan, if they do enough, they don't.

C (21:17)

Right.

D (21:18)

You know, the cost impact of tariffs and even just some of the things that the article was talking about that, I don't think everybody always thinks about with international trade, it's not just the tariffs themselves, but you know, for companies managing customs and like the customs bond, there's a lot of underlying costs in that. So to offset costs, you know, companies often go for headcount and it's that immediate, you know, immediate cost implication and not really being able to think about planning for more future to look at the various scenarios which companies need to factor in all these different costs into.

B (21:50)

Planning that the planning processes and the crystal ball aspect of that has just gotten more and more challenging. And, and you know, a perfect example there, Marty, I want to get your take here too. But a perfect example is last week the White house rolled out 10% tariffs, right? Just to take them back off less than 24 hours later. You can't win for losing sometimes. Marty, your thoughts on this, this survey data related to the impact they're having.

C (22:17)

You may not remember this skit, but SNL's Debbie Downer skit, your manufacturing chart is a downer. The freight cost is a downer. This is a downer. And you know, you know, you've seen me in these podcasts. I'm not a fan of tariffs, their tax and that's reflected in pricing or costs. And on the cost side, companies need to make money. And I've seen manufacturing jobs going down, not going up today or yesterday. 100% tariff announced on Canada if it allows Chinese EVs in. I mean it, it doesn't stop, right? And it has to stop because we're bleeding jobs as a result of it. And we'll continue to, you know, just like that horrible Debbie Downer SNL skit.

B (23:03)

Marty, first off, on a note, to your point, I'm like you and Gino Pledger both say, Gino says full of good news, Scott, full of good news. So, all right, I'll try to let me Debbie down throughout the rest. But to your point, and kidding aside, I think we've all, we've all mentioned uncertainty and gosh, if anything, I'm not sure if anything else out in the marketplace that's creating more uncertainty than our trade policy. It's almost a minute by minute update and you know, as we all know, business owners and leaders, they like to know what's coming as much as they can, right? To make investments and educated bets and stuff. In my opinion, a very challenging environment to do just that. A couple quick comments here and again, going back to what we're using to discuss. This is a great joint study survey between CNBC and ascm. So folks check out the link. Tricia dropped it right there in the chat right? And then hey Jennifer Clark Follow us ascm thanks for the mention Scott. Hey you bet Jennifer. Appreciate the work you are doing and y' all can go check out ascm.scm.org a couple of comments here. I think it's gonna cut anybody off and let me know who this user is. Amanda and Trisha they say AI has done one thing. Everything that is digital could be replaced by AI like predictions about weather and customer demand in correlation to multiple factors. I believe that part of the supply chain is replaceable by AI but the decision making is still with us, the humans. I love that. Excellent point there. Big show. Bob Bova says unpredictability breeds fear. Without a stated strategy regarding tariffs, it becomes impossible to plan properly. Laying all folks and then rehiring is the easiest strategy and quickest to this knee jerk diplomacy. Well said Bob and great to see you here today. The previous this was Ruit Ro it had shared the comment about the decision making is still with us. Have you here ro it okay and we're going to try to hit some of one of these comments. Y' all stick with me. We got a little more to get to here today with Heidi and Marty here on the Buzz. And next up, we're going to tackle this story from Supply Chain Dive in kind of two ways. First, I want to share because the the article looks at some of the major manufacturing projects being built out across the country right now or soon to come. Now here's my obligatory disclaimer, folks. Just because there's a press release with a big number followed by lots and lots of zeros doesn't mean it's going to 100% come to fruition, right? So just keep that in mind. Grain of salt until you see products rolling off the production line. But anyway, the article talks about how overall manufacturing construction spending has actually gone down after peaking in 2024. But there's still a ton of current factories that are supposed to be breaking ground soon. Here's a couple of these. Heidi and Marty Micron is investing $200 billion to make memory chips in Idaho, New York and Virginia. Samsung Electronics is committed to investing $17 billion to make semiconductors in Texas. Stellantis is investing 13 billion to make vehicles in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Lily is investing $27 billion to make pharmaceuticals in Alabama, Texas and Virginia. So there's a smattering of projects. But here's where I want to get Heidi and Marty to weigh in. You know, getting folks to run those plants is going to be challenging. Many point to workforce challenges as one of the manufacturing industry's top priorities. To that end, we just enjoyed folks, a great addition of our webinar series called the Bridge, which focused on the manufacturing workforce. I was joined by Allison Giddens who runs and owns a local Atlanta area manufacturing plant. And we featured Dr. Alan Amling and Daryl Edwards who wrote this white paper Wrong graphic. This white paper Reshoring the Workforce Bridging America's Manufacturing Talent Gap. Folks, this is free. Go to the UT site there and you can download it and check it out chock full. Great information. But here's a couple of key findings from the research. Heidi and Marty There's a tremendous gap when it comes to supply chain management knowledge, especially for companies that have not reshored production when you need it. There's a shortage of data analytics skill sets that doesn't probably surprise many folks. But on the soft skill side, leadership and communication were both cited as big needs especially for companies that have reshored production. So check out, we're gonna drop a link to that webinar. But Heidi, y' all work with a ton of folks across industries, but what are you seeing as it relates to workforce or other challenges with from some of your manufacturing customers?

D (27:28)

It's definitely one of the top issues on top of mind for them. Right. And it has been for a couple years and it's certainly, you know, seems to be even more of a focus given many things. One we were just talking about, you know, there's also been some companies, the layoffs. Right. Just now you have to rehire, you know, with bringing all the manufacturing back. It's the right skill sets. It's, you know, I think what was interesting about the University of Tennessee paper was the things like supply chain management, the soft skills on communication, leadership and things like that. So it's. You have to upskill your workforce. You also have to bring in those, you know, skill sets that we really haven't been training for the last few years. So it's. Everyone's been concerned for years and the concern just seems to be accelerating and growing. And now companies are, if they're going to reshore, have to really rethink their whole supply chain practice in addition to what the right skill sets are.

B (28:22)

Heidi, well said. And you know, we're all have been waiting and watching for the manufacturing renaissance. Well, if we've got trade policy we can't count on and we got big workforce challenges that's going to further exacerbate the challenge of finding and hiring great talent. We gotta solve those things. Marty, your thoughts when it comes to the manufacturing workforce?

C (28:42)

So I thought the paper also was terrific. And you know, our economy is 80% services and 20% making things right and it's been that way for quite a while. And so just flipping on a dime is just impossible. Right. If you look at education systems and all of that. But the sad reality is so many Americans don't want to drive trucks, work in manufacturing plants, work in warehouses. And the stark reality, if you look at manufacturing plants these days, they're highly automated and you, you need engineers, you need, you know, people with data analytics skills. And the other thing we're doing is this nonsense with H1B visas and we're taking engineers that are here, that are coming here and we're getting rid of them. So it, it's, you know, Debbie Downer yet again. But it's, it's a, it's a mismatch that you just can't do that in a year. It's going to take many years to fill the pipeline.

B (29:42)

Well said. No shortage of challenges and developments when it comes to factors that impact our really the, the broader workforce, not just manufacturing, but the broader workforce. Let's see here a couple quick comments. Gino that's right. Data centers. We got to keep our eye on data centers. They're fast and furious build outs. And one interesting thing as a relate actually two quick interesting things related data centers I saw over the weekend, number one is that there is a shift in certain part of the country with a power provider that supplies 13 states and they're having a hard time meeting massive electricity growth. Well regulators and government is looking to shift the burden for the construction of a bigger infrastructure to tech companies. That's an interesting thing. I'm not sure right and wrong but it's very interesting. And then number two, Heidi and Marty, we're talking coffee pre show. Heidi for I was reading a couple weeks ago that data centers to get over the PR hurdle that in some circles they have, they're looking at building like coffee bars and gatherings places to make them more multifunctional other than just serving its main purpose. Heidi, I find that fascinating. Would you want to meet for a cup of coffee at our local data center?

D (30:56)

I mean is it exceptional coffee?

B (30:59)

That's, that's the billion dollar question.

D (31:02)

Exceptional at the right price coffee. I don't know. I hadn't, I mean it's, we're gonna find out. Not really following. Exactly.

B (31:10)

And Marty, your quick thoughts with data centers are popping up. Left, right. Georgia's, of course, is a big target for data centers. Your thoughts there, Marty?

C (31:17)

Yeah. The energy is the bottleneck. Right. And we're starting to figure out how to build small nuclear power plants, which is great. I hate that we ceded production of, you know, solar and all those things to China. We've not, you know, we've basically given them windmills and, you know, solar panels and all of that, which I think was a big mistake. But we've got to figure that out. And onerous regulations certainly have kept us from building the nuclear power plants we've not built. So I think that part of it's definitely going to help.

B (31:50)

Yes. And make no mistake about it, all of us enjoy products powered by electricity, whether you're in supply chain or you're in a different industry and you enjoy scrolling on your phone or powerful apps at home. And we're going to have to solve the infrastructure challenge and not just in the States, but around the world. So we'll see what innovation comes out of this because we, we love the AI that data centers power and all the innovation that brings. Let's see here. Row it again. I'm going to share this comment. This might be a long one, so I'm just going to read this. He's on a roll here.

D (32:18)

Row.

B (32:19)

It says companies investing in the US Is it feasible for any company or any customer? In general, companies are investing now, but I seriously doubt they will absorb the cost without passing it on to customers. Companies still have to get raw materials from other parts of the world, like Asia, which still presents a costing problem. Although companies are investing now, their supply chains are still intertwined with other parts of the world. That's right, Rohit. I shared last week I stole this from somebody somewhere. Heidi and Marty. But as much as I love American football, global supply chain is the greatest team sport in all the world.

C (32:50)

Right?

B (32:51)

And it's for that sentiment right there that Rohit shared. So we'll see, we'll see what how this it plays out. But hey, have a leg up, folks. Check out this white paper reassuring the workforce, bridging America's manufacturing talent gap. You will learn no matter where you are in this world, you'll learn some really interesting nuggets on what is driving challenges and successes. All right, Heidi and Marty, we got a lot more to get to, including some of the cool things that Infor is doing this year. Talking about bringing innovation to global supply chain. But really quick, I want to share an update from our friends at EPG, the innovative supply chain technology leader is announcing new AI driven logistics solutions which are powered by Nvidia AI infrastructure and EPG's deep logistics expertise. The company has introduced its new supply chain execution AI environment called EPG Aura. These new rollouts will help organizations optimize decision making, stability, resilience and speed. All this points to an exciting new chapter at EPG where they're on a mission to set the pace for the logistics of the future. You can learn more about EPG and this innovation via the link in the chat. Check that out. Okay, one more comment here. Gino Data centers require chips and boards, causing pressure on normal PC supply chain. That's right, Gino tell you, all these things are so intertwined, kind of like what Roet was sharing. All right, so Heidi and Marty. Heidi, you didn't know this little surprise? We got a snapshot of Marty's closet right here for this next story. He's a big cowboy boot fan. We didn't know that.

C (34:17)

So Scott, I actually own that tall brown one to the right. I. I literally do.

B (34:23)

I like it. I love it. All right, up next, Anna Friedlander from N4, Heidi's colleague wrote an interesting blog or a blog article recently focused on a few key takeaways from NRF 2026. That's right, the Big show in particular, how technology is shaping the next era of apparel, footwear and retail leadership. Here's a few key takeaways that I gathered from the blog and we're going to get Heidi and Marty to weigh in too. First, intelligent tech is now central with Gen AI, transforming planning, design, supply chain finance and merchandising into a dynamic, predictive, automated series of workflows. Agentic AI. If you've heard that a thousand times to begin with this year, get ready. You're going to hear for a thousand times a day through the rest of the year, agentic AI continues to emerge, enabling proactive actions like automated replenishment and risk flagging across the enterprise. Unified data, the power of unity and process intelligence are foundational, linking product demand, supply and financial systems to reduce that pesky friction and improve decision quality. Automation at scale, from robotics to digital shelves to real shelves, plus end invisibility is shaping a more resilient, responsive retail operating model. So Heidi, I thought your colleague Anna did a really nice job on this blog piece. There's a thousand things always that the Big show brings each year. Your thoughts? Heidi?

D (35:43)

Yeah, I mean, it's AI and intelligence being the theme and we're seeing it like we started the call today talking about Walmart and leveraging it and not just in, you know, the predictive forecasting, but actually on the execution side. And you know, I think when we talked last year, everything was starting to switch from just generative to agentic AI. And we're seeing that come more into play, like actually finding the use cases and companies are getting value from the various use cases. And I think some of the other things that it calls out specifically are, you know, key enablers of truly, you know, kind of transforming your supply chain and decision making are things like single platform platforms, right? Because to really, you know, align planning with an execution, to make the best decisions for the business, you do have to align the information on supply, demand and finance and have access to that on one platform. And the other thing I think it called out that was great was, you know, process mining and process intelligence. So a lot of companies are getting to the point they're digitizing their supply chains, but really leveraging intelligence to really understand all those workflows and those interconnected workflows, workflows where there's bottlenecks and opportunities is really a way to help optimize those further.

B (36:52)

Heidi, that was poetic. Your key takeaways from that blog there. Shakespearean. Marty, your thoughts related to this great blog? Some key takeaways from nrf?

C (37:02)

Yeah, I can't add to that. You're, you're exactly right. But I took students to the NRF student program and I jokingly now in class say, every time I mention AI or generative AI, we have to put a buck in a jar. I think we're up to like $300. They had all kinds of examples, you know, like associates in a Home Depot that are getting real time information to help clients that then trigger deliveries to the store that then trigger decisions in their supply chain. And like Heidi said, it's the whole thing, right? Looking at the Home Depot example, it's the finance data, it's the customer data, it's the external data, like the impact of the storm right now, all in one platform, well coordinated. And so, you know, we're, we're now actively teaching our students how to write the right kind of prompts, looking at sort of big systems like what INFOR does and understanding the whole picture instead of just, you know, little small pieces of it. And so I think, I think the blog was excellent around those points.

B (38:11)

Good stuff, Marty. And you know, I would say kind of some of the themes y' all both shared lean into Your data silos, your silo data at your own peril. Because the immense value of integrated data from all these different systems and parts of the ecosystem that Marty and Heidi are both pointing to, leveraging it in a uniform is going to enable more holistic decision making rather than making decisions for one particular functional area of an enterprise. Get a bigger picture and it'll lead to better data driven and business driven decisions for sure. Okay, T Squared shares. See we mentioned data centers and it hijacks conversation everybody. I think we're all fascinated with data centers. T squared says risk hedging and agile supply chains along with co generation may come into play with data centers with heat creation and increased water usage. That's right. Did you know I was at speaking on the heat creation and the water usage and I'm not getting the right number here, but I was at a Schneider Electric event, great event, late last year in Vegas and I didn't realize that semiconductors used for AI purposes I believe generates 10x the amount of heat than non AI semiconductors. So water usage at data centers that are really focused on AI, we've got to solve that element of the water problem. So it's all interconnected. I'll tell you what, it's hard to be Debbie Downer. Marty and Heidi, apologies. I can't, I can't stop. All right, so hey, this will bring I think a smile to a lot of faces out there. Let's have some fun with this story because let's see here, Yahoo Finance and Fortune magazine were reporting this that a lot of big names were talking about how AI, another buck in the jar there. Marty is going to dramatically shorten the typical human work week out of all of them. Microsoft co founder Bill Gates, I think you've heard of him, probably created the biggest stir when he suggested that humans may be looking at a two day work week in less than 10 years from now. All thanks to AI. Now before I ask Heidi how she plans on spending all that extra time, I want to just share for a few folks that may not know that image is actually a time clock. And in my several of my first early jobs I use these. A lot of us use time clocks to punch in and punch out. That is still around in, in certain circles but some folks may not recognize that being for what it is. But Heidi tell you two days a week life would be good. Your thoughts on that prediction?

D (40:38)

I mean I think right now folks are looking for AI to make a reasonable work week, right? I don't know about you, but with Technology in the last few years, everyone I know and you hear about burnout is, you know, 40 hour work week. I mean, what's 80 hours? Whatever, you know, you're always on all the time. So I see AI changing the nature of work. Right. And you know, as we talked about freeing up people for more strategic tasks, more intelligent decision making, but, you know, two days seems like a stretch. Plus I don't, you know, companies in the way they function and you know, how you look at work cost, etc. I don't know, two days. I mean four. I thought the four. I'm like, I could maybe go for the four. Do the four, 10 day or whatever.

B (41:22)

Yeah, I'm with you. I think we may be on Mars before we hit a two day work week in terms of what AI delivers, but who knows? I could be wrong, but I like your thought about a reasonable work week. Marty, your thoughts? Two days and less than 10 years. You see it happening?

C (41:36)

No, but I'm a student of history and we used to have seven day work weeks and then, then we went to six and companies lost their minds. We can't have people only work in six days.

B (41:49)

Wow.

C (41:49)

And then we went to five days and it was the same. So I do fully expect four days. And there's a lot of movement around that. There are a lot of organizations pushing that. And you know, and if generative AI does, along with robotics, along with camera technology, along with IoT, along with all that stuff really does change things. As fast as it seems like it's changing right now, then I think a four day work week's inevitable. I think companies will whine and cry about it like they always do, and they have for over 100 years, but I think it's going to be reality. You also have all of us baby boomers retiring and we are very affluent and a lot of us are working a lot longer. If we can get our butts out of there and spending all the money we got, you know, that's good for the economy. So I mean, that's a lot of stuff. But we went from seven to six to five. I think we'll go to four. I don't think we'll go to two that fast.

B (42:44)

Interesting, interesting. Marty, you and Heidi both in your perspective, you know, I have no idea. I think two in less than 10 years certainly sounds strange. And I tell you, some of us wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we didn't work, you know, five days a week or six days a week. I'm one of those. But I mentioned Mars earlier. I got to put this because you talked about history, Marty. Folks, if this is on your radar, Artemis, the Artemis campaign has started, right? Artemis 2, the second mission is going to send humans around the human the moon orbit for the first time in 50 years. But what's interesting about that, and maybe a supply chain analogy, Heidi, and Marty, is we had to unlearn our space program and then relearn his history. Right. Just to do something that humanity did do 50 years ago. And I find that to be fascinating. I wonder what else we need to unlearn and relearn in global supply chain that could help us see new feats, you know, because Artemis 2 is going to circle the moon. Come back. I believe the whole aim of this campaign is to have humanity's first base, permanent base on the moon. Exciting times to folks that's supposed to launch as early as February 6, so be checking it out. All right. Speaking of things we got to check out, Heidi, we got throw party. We've got to congratulate you and the N4 team for being recognized as a leader in the IDC MarketScape for global trade management for retailers and importers for 2025 and 2026. So I hope I get my invite to the pizza party. But beyond that, give us a sneak peek of some innovations that you and the M4 team will be bringing to global supply chain here later this year.

D (44:22)

Yeah, and we were very excited to be a leader because I think, I mean, and the way IDC covered the report, I mean, global trade is so many things and obviously companies really need to, you know, if you look at all the, the variability, uncertainty, disruption and everything going on in global supply chains today, global trade technology is really critical for that.

B (44:41)

Yes.

D (44:42)

And I love the report because I looked at it holistically. Everything from logistics, various aspects of compliance, and even the finance aspect. So like we were talking about earlier with intelligence and bringing things together, you have to bring together supply, demand, finance, logistics, all together. So that's, you know, where I think global trade and bringing all this technology comes into play. So, you know, 2026, some of the things that we even talked about, really continuing on with agentic and continuing on with AI and you know, getting first that data, foundation and platform and good data. So we're also doing a lot more and putting, you know, more data quality intelligence to help our customers make sure their data is good and getting all the data in from their various partners and supply chain and then working on both the various use cases when we're talking about silos within the various business areas but making sure they can connect on the data more broadly as well to make cross decisions in supply chain.

B (45:38)

I like it. Bless be the ties that bind because we got a lot of data, we got to build bridges around. Kind of to your point. And Marty, we're not getting any less data. We're going to the opposite. All of it isn't. I may be maybe getting wires crossed. You get data, you got information. Just because you got tidal wave of data doesn't mean you need everything. It's like, it's like the math problems from fifth grade. You know, two trains leave Chicago. Y' all remember those, those word problems, right? You didn't need every fact in the word problem. You only needed a couple. Well, we've got similar challenges today. Marty, your thoughts when you heard some of the innovation, some of the cool things are working on at Infor.

C (46:17)

So I'm not going to be a Debbie Downer this time. I'm very positive about how, you know, we're taking this sort of siloed information that we really didn't have the tools to deal with these sort of connected networks of, you know, our vendors, our suppliers, our customers, ourselves, our other partners, like, like say even government entities, things like that and bring it all together and whole industries I think are going to come out of this where we have opportunities that we just don't see today. And I'm going to tell you one you're not going to read about, but I've been thinking about early in my career as a chemical engineer, did a lot of work on reverse osmosis and the idea of desalinization plants. Places like Israel that, you know, desalinate seawater. You know, Texas is out of water, Arizona is out of water. We're going to really build data centers there. You know, I think we're going to have a huge desalinization opportunity. Just as an example, you know, many nuclear plants, I mean it just goes on and on. But you know, with what, what N4 is doing to bring all the information together for companies, they'll be able to make great decisions around things that create those opportunities.

B (47:28)

Yes. And we can maybe finally solve beyond all the innovation that Marty shared, things to come, which I find exciting. I like your vision, Marty. Maybe we can finally solve that train problem. There's two trains leaving from Chicago. Heidi, where were you in the M14 when I needed you in like fourth grade? Trying to pass math class. But kidding aside, Heidi, congrats on Yalls continued Success. We've enjoyed having you on and getting you to share your expertise over the years. So great to have you back here today. We're going to make sure, folks, you know how to connect with Heidi Binko and Marty Parker in just a minute. And you can also learn more about the big news we just released there, the celebration via the link that Tricia just dropped in the chat. So, folks, if you like sessions like this, right. If you like sessions like this where in a live format, right? There's nowhere to hide in a live format. We got Heidi and Marty sharing some really cool things. Expertise, perspective. Well, I got good news because over our new site. That's right, Supply chain now dot com. Brand new. Well, still brand new. How long you can say brand new. I think we're about four months into a new site. We've got up all of our upcoming live programming right there on that tab on the site. And in something I'm particularly proud of, the new resource hub, you're going to find all kinds of written interviews, blogs and white papers such as my interviews at events like Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit, like the one there I just shared with the one only, Rob Haddock. Check that out, folks. We're trying to continue our mission not to Mars, not even to the moon, but for informing supply chain professionals out there. Informing, educating, putting things on your radar and also offering some proven expertise for navigating more successfully these crazy, disruptive times that we're all living through together. All right, I want to say this is still Rohit. Thank you so much here. I think Rohit says the last time I joined the podcast three years ago. I have to say, Scott, you still bring the same energy. Keep it going. I'll be a regular from now on. Hey, that makes our day. Makes my day. Thank you so much. Appreciate you being here. All right, so let's do this. Heidi, I bet you've got no shortage of trade shows. You'll be speaking at and being at and meeting people and probably sharing some of the cool things you're doing. But how can folks track you down, Heidi?

D (49:42)

So definitely LinkedIn. Find me on LinkedIn. You can also reach out my email directly, Heidi bencor.com but yeah, and you mentioned trade shows. Be at Manifest in a few weeks.

B (49:55)

Outstanding.

D (49:56)

That'd be the next one, I think.

B (49:57)

All right, we're gonna see you there. I tell you, Manifest has grown left and right over the last few years. And we're dropping Heidi's LinkedIn. Trying to make it really easy. Trisha is on the money here today. So we got Heidi's LinkedIn right there. Marty, you're, you're every. You got a thousand things going on. I think you're like the rest of us, not slowing down a single minute working folks. Besides Modex, how can folks get in touch with you?

C (50:22)

Marty, I think the easiest thing also, you know, I'm a top voice on LinkedIn. Follow me, connect with me. I love talking about the leadership challenges and supply chain challenges we're tackling. And that's the easiest way to, to connect, folks.

B (50:34)

You got to. Because he is a bone when he says top voice. He is a legit top voice like only a handful of people around the world. Earn this and what you're not going to want to miss. And Heidi, I'm not sure if you've seen this, but Marty cranks out videos. So many of us learn the best via video. Some are audio somewhere you know other. But you see Marty talk about leadership and supply chain, many other topics. So folks, go check that out and every once in a while you'll see him battling the Christmas tree. Marty captured some of his posts post holiday chores, working on the reverse logistics there. Very good. All right, folks, we're gonna try never to be Debbie Downers, but we, we're gonna tell you, we're gonna keep it real with each and every week. Some weeks certainly are better than others, but, but folks, we welcome your feedback. Keep it coming. We get, we get tons of feedback from all of y' all and that's why we do what we do. So as we wrap here today, I want to thank Heidi Binko, Vice president of Product Management and Strategy for Infor Nexus. Thanks for being here, Heidi.

D (51:35)

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Always enjoy it.

B (51:37)

Well, I look forward to seeing you in Vegas at Manifest and my esteemed co host, one of the top voices on LinkedIn, Marty Parker. Marty, thanks for being here.

C (51:45)

Thanks for having me, Scott.

B (51:46)

You bet. Big thanks to our friends at EPG powering the buzz all month long in January. Of course, big thanks to Amanda, Trish behind the scenes, all the wonderful production work they do. Most importantly though, big thanks to our global audience for being here with us. I love the comments and the great insights we've got there. Not just in the chat section. We hear from you all long. Y' all keep it coming. But you know your homework to do because Heidi and Marty brought it here today. They backed up the truck. Lots of insights and actionable takeaways here. You gotta take one thing you heard here from Heidi or Marty and put it into practice. Share it with the team, do something with it. Deeds, not words is how we're going to continue transforming global supply chain, leaving no one behind. So with all that said, on behalf the entire supply Chain now team Scott Luden challenge you do good. Give forward. Be the change that's needed. We'll see you next time right back here on Suppache. Now.

A (52:37)

Join the Supply Chain now community. For more supply chain perspectives, news and innovation, check out supplychainnow. Com, subscribe to Supply chain now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain Now. Wherever you get your podcasts.