Podcast Summary: Supply Chain Now — "The Buzz: How to Quantify Uncertainty in Global Business"

Episode Date: November 7, 2025
Hosts: Scott Luton & Jake Barr
Special Guest: Shannon Vaillancourt, CEO of RateLinx

Main Theme

This episode of "The Buzz" dives into the ever-increasing uncertainty in global supply chains—examining why it's so difficult to measure, what it means for leaders, and how companies are responding. The hosts are joined by Shannon Vaillancourt, CEO of RateLinx, who unpacks emerging industry insights, the shift away from traditional freight audit, and practical ways organizations are using data, AI, and collaboration to reduce chaos and create actionable certainty.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Supply Chain Leadership Pulse Check

[07:00]

• What’s Top of Mind for CSCOs: Top supply chain officers are focusing on building capability among frontline employees—helping their teams “bring calm to the chaos.”

  • Quote (Jake Barr, 07:01):
    “The majority of them are trying to double down and invest in capability for their people on the floor, as I call it. It’s called: how do you bring calm to the chaos?”

• AI Adoption & Simplicity: AI is being leveraged not to replace humans but to amplify their abilities.

  • Quote (Scott Luton, quoting Bart De Muynck, 04:36):
    “AI might play the notes, but humans make you feel the music... The future of supply chain isn’t about choosing between man or machine. It’s about using AI to amplify what people already do best.”

• KISS Principle & Thought Leadership: Keep AI simple and digestible for all levels.

  • Jake Barr recommends following Alex Wang for her accessible insights on AI. [05:37]

2. US–China Trade Deal & Agricultural Commitments

[14:40]

• The US and China reach a tariff and trade deal: US lowers certain tariffs and suspends actions; China commits to major soybean purchases.

• Skepticism remains about long-term adherence and the feasibility of shipping such large quantities in a short time frame.

  • Quote (Jake Barr, 15:44):
    “Too little too late, Scott… To be able to get the amount that we’re talking about transferred in that kind of short time... will it stick?”

• Underlying concern: Unpredictable policy changes make long-term planning nearly impossible.

3. Quantifying Uncertainty in Global Business

[16:45]

• There are indices and surveys, but “uncertainty” remains qualitative and emotionally destabilizing.

  • WEF Economist Outlook says 82% of surveyed chief economists feel current business uncertainty is “very high” (2025).

• Behavioral Impact: Uncertainty is causing businesses to freeze decision-making or postpone changes.

  • Quote (Shannon Vaillancourt, 18:25):
    “I think it’s funny that I’m certain that there’s uncertainty... what I’m seeing is a whole lot of just no decision... nobody’s making a change, they’re going to stick with whatever they got.”

• Real-World Example: Companies are importing products without price tags because they don’t know what prices will be viable.
  [19:53]

• Consumer Reaction: Demand is chilling, with consumers trading down, delaying purchases, and causing further volatility.

  • Quote (Jake Barr, 20:07):
    "The uncertainty has had a chilling effect on demand... we’re playing Russian roulette right now."

4. Porch Piracy and Last-Mile Security

[21:53]

• Statistics: $15.7B in package thefts in the US in 2024 (241M parcels). Most targets are <$100. Only a fraction refunded.
• Consumer adaptation: Using lockers, shopping less online (with skepticism from hosts), and choosing retailers with better refund policies.
• Technology as Defense: Carriers (e.g., UPS) offering APIs to rate safe delivery likelihood; more insured deliveries.
• Anecdotes: Engineering ingenuity—e.g., viral glitter-bomb “trap packages” deterring pirates.
  • Quote (Jake Barr, 25:33):
    “The cost of the technology to support alternate methods for ensuring secure delivery continues to come down.”

5. Insights from RateLinx & the Evolution of Freight Audit

[28:43]

• Event Highlight: RateLinx Insight 2025—record collaboration between customers, even cross-industry, strengthening the ecosystem through idea-sharing.

  • Quote (Shannon Vaillancourt, 28:43):
    “Companies in different industries, different business models, they all have the same basic wants and needs when it comes to logistics... it’s kind of cool seeing them be able to talk to each other and bounce ideas off.”

• Freight Audit Is Dead: Old style audit (hunting for errors to nickel-and-dime carriers) is obsolete.
  [31:52]

  • RateLinx focuses on frictionless, collaborative solutions that use data to fix processes upstream and automate error detection, freeing humans for value-added work.
  • Quote (Shannon Vaillancourt, 31:52):
    "Freight audit comes in and that’s what they do. They just audit... they don’t really give you a solution... We take a different approach. We’re doing the freight audit to capture the information and make it more frictionless. Carrier doesn’t want to bill wrong. Customer wants to pay the right amount."

• Productivity & AI: AI’s real value is automating non-value-added manual work and enabling faster business decisions, not replacing strategic human thinking.

  • Quote (Shannon Vaillancourt, 38:15):
    “That’s really what I think the AI is for. It’s to do the non value added work... Most of the math we do, by the way, is third grade math...”

6. Industry Resources & Continuing Education

Throughout

• Hosts repeatedly mention the importance of ongoing learning, “benchmarking with businesses that aren’t like you” to trigger innovation.

  • Quote (Jake Barr, 30:22):
    “The only way the profession gets better is by benchmarking outside of your domain... It causes you to get out of your comfort zone.”

• Supply Chain Now offers resources, links to e-books (“Making AI Work for You”), and encourages participation in future events (including Gartner’s 2025 Planning Summit, Nov. 20 RateLinx case study livestream).

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Calm is a supply chain superpower. When chaos hits, breathe, delegate, trust your team. Make composure and clarity operational advantages, not just soft skills.”
  — Amy Augustine, as quoted by Scott Luton [03:34]

• “AI might play the notes, but humans make you feel the music.”
  — Bart De Muynck, as quoted by Scott Luton [04:38]

• “I think it’s funny that I’m certain that there’s uncertainty. Like, I love that we’re measuring something that’s uncertain.”
  — Shannon Vaillancourt [18:25]

• “Supply chain is always built to deal with a level of uncertainty... but we’re playing like Russian roulette right now. It’s not even uncertainty—it’s, on any given day, what do I wake up thinking we might need to respond to?”
  — Jake Barr [20:07]

• “Freight audit is dead... This is about information now, especially with AI. Forget it. If you don’t capture more—and the context—you can go to the bank with completely wrong numbers or initiatives.”
  — Shannon Vaillancourt [31:52]

• “Why am I wasting these precious bodies? Let the data and AI actually find the mismatch and do the corrective action, even before the freight is out the door…”
  — Jake Barr, on eliminating manual freight audit [35:20]

• “You need to be a student of the game and start lifting the skill set of your operation, because this chaos is not dampening.”
  — Jake Barr [44:54]

Important Timestamps

• [07:00] Supply chain leadership priorities: building “calm” capability
• [14:40] US–China trade deal: what it means, skepticism, agricultural commitments
• [16:45] Measuring uncertainty: WEF, surveys, “uncertainty index”
• [19:53] Real-world example: importing goods with no price tags
• [21:53] Porch piracy: impact, consumer adjustments, security tactics
• [28:43] RateLinx Insight 2025: cross-industry collaboration
• [31:52] “Freight Audit is dead”: explanation and implications
• [38:15] Role of AI: automating manual math, increasing speed/clarity
• [44:54] Key career advice: “be a student of the game”; industry innovation & skill-building

Memorable Moments

• Dog Banter & Relatability: The hosts and Shannon swap dog stories, offering a human touch before deep diving into complex topics. [10:34]
• Glitter Bombs & TikTok: Anecdotes about viral countermeasures to porch piracy bring levity to a serious topic. [26:40]
• Math Jokes & Dewey Decimal Nostalgia: Hosts joke about math skills and the library Dewey Decimal System, linking past & present in supply chain data use. [38:29]

Resources Shared and Recommendations

• Follow Alex Wang for digestible AI insights. [05:37]
• OMP eBook: "Making AI Work for You: From Explainable to Agentic"
• Upcoming Events: Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit (Denver, 2025); RateLinx livestream with Supply Chain Now (Nov. 20, 2025)

Overall Episode Takeaway

This episode offers a candid, practical look at the challenge of uncertainty in global supply chain—from boardroom to loading dock. The panel encourages supply chain professionals to embrace simplicity with AI, invest in team resilience and capability, benchmark outside their domain, and use data-driven systems to automate manual waste. By doing so, companies can move from “reactive chaos” to measurable, actionable certainty—even when the “new never normal” is the only certainty.

Tune in for deeply informed—but always approachable—discussion and actionable insights to help elevate your supply chain game, no matter what uncertainty comes next.