C (2:29)

I used to be a Georgia resident and Sandy was one of the first people I met upon moving to Atlanta.

B (2:35)

Now, I didn't know that. How about that? Okay, well folks, get ready as Sandy will bring a lot of good news and insights with her as she joins us in about 15 minutes. But before we get there, we've got a lot of pre work to do. I'll call it on this edition of the Buzz powered by DOS on April 6th. The buzz for April 6th, 2026. How we're in April already, I have no idea.

C (2:56)

I know.

B (2:56)

So, Mary Kate, we got four things we want to hit on the front end of of the Buzz here today. So starting with our newsletter. With that said, took a break over the weekend. Even newsletters need to unplug a bit and relax and break into a family. Maybe. I want to start today with this popular venture that Amanda here at Supply Chain on the team few months ago. I'll call it between the Lines. Essentially, it's the Supply Chain now book club. And back in the first edition which we're going to share here, we had three big reviews, starting with Trisha brought Garden City Work, Rest and the Art of Being Human by John Mark Comer. I think it is. It's what Trisha reviewed. Amanda reviewed Devotions by Mary Oliver. And then you reviewed the Anxious Generation, how the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by John Haight. I'm going to call it Hate Height.

D (3:47)

Yeah.

C (3:47)

Yeah.

B (3:48)

So Mary Kate, tell us that sounds like a big 800 page book. Give us takeaways.

C (3:53)

I was just going to say I guess it's not the most fun book to read, but I think it's necessary to read. And while it focuses on, you know, teens, adolescents and even young children, as an adult I found myself just diving into the data that really, I mean the main takeaway is that when smartphones and not cell phones, but smartphones when smartphones were introduced. So around that 2010 timeframe, depression and anxiety rates in adolescents doubled. So that's just. And everywhere, not just in the United States. So and you can see in all the data, you know, it's actually doubling. It's crazy. It's always around 2010. And it was just a real eye opener for me as an avid user Right. Of my phone. But I think it's something that we all have to focus on being more intentional Around.

B (4:40)

That's an excellent perspective. Sounds like a great book. Very timely read.

C (4:44)

Yeah.

B (4:45)

You know, as you apply that to global business. Right. There's some really important decisions that leaders and companies and cultures have to decide. And one of them, Mary Kate, is one that we try to protect is that work, life balance.

C (4:56)

Yeah.

B (4:57)

Mary Kate, as you may know, sit on my email and my slacks too often on weekends, too. But, you know, I think we're. We're pretty good as an organization.

C (5:06)

Yeah.

B (5:06)

Kind of protecting that. You know, that all right.

C (5:09)

Too. Right. You know, and I actually, I just thought of this. I wasn't going to share this, but I. I have this. I don't know if you've ever seen this. It's called the Brick. And so I block all my social media apps until noon, so. Sounds insane, right? That I. You just. I'm an adult. Why can't I just not open up Instagram?

B (5:24)

Right.

C (5:25)

Blocks everything unless I scan this to get in. So just little things. I think that book made me change of. I want to be. I still want to use social media, but I want to use it when I want to use it. I don't want to just, you know, be with my kids and opening up Instagram for no apparent reason. And, you know, all these apps are now designed to get our attention in that way.

B (5:44)

That's right.

C (5:45)

Yes. And so while I love just like you being efficient in communication, trying to find ways to make it stop is, I think, really important.

B (5:54)

Agreed. Especially since work follows us home, unlike perhaps, perhaps never before.

C (5:59)

Right.

B (6:01)

Managers and teams and leaders and professionals, we all have to come up with the proper set of boundaries. And of course, that's on a variety of fronts, but of course to include electronics. So, folks, check out between the Lines. That was our first edition. Yeah, we published a couple since then. Trisha's dropped a link, so you can go check that out. And hey, we'd love to hear your review or your take on some of these topics. Books, you name it.

C (6:26)

Yeah.

B (6:26)

Okay. Let's see here. That was number one. Number two, I mentioned some of the big events coming up, folks. Modex. Modex 2026. Come join us here in Atlanta, April 13th through the 16th, where the largest manufacturing and supply chain event this year will be right here at the Georgia World Congress Center. Some 40,000 people, Mary Kate, are projected to attend this year.

C (6:47)

This show is always a flagship show. Right. You can see anybody you want to see there.

B (6:53)

You're right. You're right. We're going to be interviewing some of the movers and shakers as we're going to sit on podcast row in the Sea hall and we invite you to come join us and a lot of our innovative friends. In fact, one of our neighbors in the Sea hall is the four Flow team will be in booth. Write this down. Booth C as in Charlie 14490. Right. Right around the corner, I think, from. From delicious food offerings at Modex, the 4 Flow team will be on site to share insights and discuss how organizations can successfully transform their logistics operations, supporting everything from automation strategy to warehouse and distribution center design to network optimization and even material flow engineering. They're a vendor agnostic consulting partner and 4 Flow focuses on identifying the solutions that best fit your operational and strategic requirements. Again, you can visit the 4 Flow team at booth C as in Charlie 14490 at Modex. And Mary Kate, we're going to see you some other events this year. You're covering Modex from afar this year, is that right?

C (7:53)

That's right. That's right. And we've got a few of our team members joining, so you'll definitely see some supply Chain now people. And if you track down Scott or Katherine from the Supply Chain now team, they may have a cool giveaway for you.

B (8:06)

Oh, man. How about that?

C (8:07)

So that's a challenge. You got to go find them.

B (8:09)

Would it be a new car?

C (8:11)

Possibly. You'll have to see.

B (8:13)

Maybe not.

C (8:13)

If you're giving away new cars, I might. I might have to come.

B (8:17)

You'll be there?

C (8:18)

Yeah.

B (8:18)

Awesome. All right. But one big event that you'll be front and center for, of course, is National Supply Chain Day, folks. Is that time of year again. April 29th.

C (8:29)

So soon.

B (8:30)

It's unbelievable. It's already here. Plan to join us 12 noon for a virtual event. Maybe a maybe in person event next year, but a virtual event this year that will feature a wide range of supply chain leaders. Our keynote is the amazing Billy Ray Taylor, author of the bestselling book Winning Link. And this is, I think, first time we've shared this. We're going to be recognizing three incredible people and or organizations for their significant contributions towards our industry. Mary Kate, your thoughts on National Supply Chain Day.

C (8:55)

I love National Supply Chain Day because it really is a day that we step back and think about the people that connect the supply chain. Right. And the supply chain really connects our world. So, you know, we always uncover really cool stories from companies, from people, naturally. We've always talked about doing awards and I'm so excited that we've got three this year. So you'll see kind of three highlights from the industry and something else new this year is our website is a hub of kind of gathering any other national supply chain celebrations. So you can go right on our website and you can see all the other events and register for our live stream.

B (9:31)

So folks, check it out. We have got, let's see, you got, you have like an in person gal in Atlanta. Our friend DC's hosting that. We've got a book launch. Someone reached out. Mary Kate, you'll get a kick out of this. A dear friend reached out and I'm gonna keep it under wraps for now. And he said, hey, I know that y' all meaning supply chain now is all about April 29th. It's kind of yalls day. But I've got, I want to release this book. I'm like, hey, I'm telling you, that's not our day. That is global Industries day. It's the people's day. So please, not only launch your book on April 29, but make a blurb about it on, you know, our site so we can help promote it. So Mary Kate, that's pretty neat, huh?

C (10:05)

Yeah, that is really cool. And that's really the whole point, right, is to really highlight this industry and it's this idea of, you know, all of us together speaking about supply chain. We'll attract new talent to supply chain. We'll find new ways to make the supply chain better. So I love hearing stuff like that.

B (10:21)

I do too. I do too. So get ready as the warehouse guy publishes a book soon on April 29th. It's just as easy as that. All right, so one more thing. Before joined by the wonderful Sandy Lake here on the Buzz, powered by dos. And I say DOS because they, Mary Kate, maybe even inarguably had the best month ever because last week I think it was amazing, they announced their successful 55 million Series B funding round which of course is going to fuel their mission to build the operations cloud for the real world. And we've been delighted to partner with Wiley Jones and the DOS team for a couple years now. But including on our Enterprise Unleashed series, which folks gotta check out, it goes live again tomorrow. We've got a recorded interview with Zubin Apu with who leads wisetech Global. And it was Mary Kate. This was a fascinating, fascinating interview. And at some point, Mary Kate, I'm not sure if you've ever, you know, you're a lot smarter than me, so it may not happen to you, but sometimes because we got Zubin and Wiley together, these folks are probably seven levels more intelligent than I am. Right. Especially when it comes to technology. So I had to sit back and just take notes with a Diet Coke and some popcorn. You ever have be sitting on conversations like that?

C (11:32)

Oh, yeah, all the time.

B (11:35)

So.

C (11:35)

All the time.

B (11:36)

Oh, folks, Trisha's dropping a link to the next edition of Enterprise Unleashed which goes live tomorrow at 12 noon Eastern Time. So check that out. Okay. So, Mary Kate, we are delighted to have a terrific guest here with us on the buzz here today. We've been, we've already kind of let the cat out of the bag, folks. Sandy Lake is the director for the center of Innovation Logistics team at the Georgia Department of Economic Development where she helps companies take advantage of the state's world class logistics industry so that they can improve supply chain efficiencies, support growth and increase global competitiveness. That's a big one. Sandy is a certified supply chain professional and currently leads the center of Innovation Industry Advisory Board. She also serves on a variety of advisory boards, including Georgia Tech's Supply Chain and Logistics Institute. Please join me in welcoming Sandy Lake, Director Logistics with the Georgia center of Innovation. Hey. Hey, Sandy, how you doing today?

D (12:32)

Hey, thank you for having me. Yeah, this is great.

B (12:35)

You bet. And you've been busy, huh? I tell you what, a little bit. Well, we're looking forward to celebrate with you. What's terrific annual event being the Georgia Logistics Summit, which we'll touch on in a second April 17th, folks. If you want to get a jump on that, we'll touch on on that in a minute. But Sandy, before we do, and Mary Kate, I know you're up in Illinois, the wonderful city in Chicago, which is also pretty this time of year. But here in Georgia with the farms and the vegetables and just everything but the pollen basically is beautiful this time of year. So on that note though, Sandy and Mary Kay is to start. Today is the start of community garden week around the world. That's cool. Today is also California Poppy day. But in what should be a terrific global celebration, it is fresh tomato day. Look at these tomatoes we got a couple years ago. You got our farmers market. All right. So as I mentioned, we're on the precipice of several months of delicious tomatoes as the farmer's market season is upon us. It's almost here. A little bit too early for the best tomato season, which is going to be later this summer. I want to ask you, Sandy, what is one of your favorite all time favorite spring and summertime foods?

D (13:42)

Well, fruit in general. But the first thing that popped in my Head was watermelon.

B (13:46)

Oh, yes, yes. Now, Sandy, do you put salt or no salt? Because this is very divisive.

D (13:52)

Yeah, I know. I'm a no salt. My dad put salt on his. But I'm a salt person.

B (13:57)

All right, Mary Kate, really quick watermelon before we get to your food. Watermelon, salt, no salt.

C (14:02)

I think I'm no salt.

B (14:03)

Okay. All right. So you've never. You've probably never put salt on there.

C (14:06)

I was going to say, I don't think I've actively put salt on it. So I guess I'm a no salt. But I'm a. I love salt. So now maybe I'm going to try it with salt.

B (14:15)

You got to try it. A lot of my family members growing up would use salt. Salt shakers everywhere to get all sticky, but folks swear by it. Mary Kate, what is. When it comes to this beautiful time of year and moving into summer, what's one of your favorite foods?

C (14:28)

Well, it's funny because. Can't make this up. Mine was actually watermelon, but it was specifically watermelon feta salads. Have you guys ever had that?

D (14:36)

Oh, yes.

C (14:37)

So watermelon with feta, maybe some mint. That is my favorite summer salad by far because I love feta, too. And paired with the watermelon, that's my favorite.

B (14:47)

Well, you know, I think Amanda has made that salad. And shout out to Amanda and Trisha. Amanda probably gonna. I bet she's about to drop a recipe there in the comments. We'll see. You know, I'm not a big feta fan.

C (14:58)

I love feta.

B (14:59)

And the mint you mentioned, that's got to be like in tea. I don't. I don't like. I don't like mint in food. I don't know. It's kind of weird like that.

C (15:06)

Yeah, I guess the mint has to be real light in it. Very, very light.

B (15:11)

I like that. I like how you think. All right, so really quick, I want to show these tomatoes once more. But more importantly, this is a snapshot of our. The farmers market we always spend time at. That is in Monroe, Georgia, where they've got, I don't know, a couple dozen vendors. And it's still early, but, man, come to summertime, it is a wonderful place to be. And Sandy and Mary Kate, they've even added live music. So there's acoustic usually every Saturday morning. It's my comfort food on the weekends. So we'll see. All right, so we got a lot to get to work here today. We've got a lot of Work to do. Hopefully y' all had your Wheaties or your vitamins or you name it. And we want to start first here on the Buzz, powered by our friends at dos. We want to take a look at the US Retail industry. So while it's going to be a week or two before the official data for March retail sales comes out, but in the meantime, we do have some preliminary data which indicates that March retail sales were up 0.6% from February and 3.5% from last year. So year over year, and as reported by Chain Store Age, the Fiserv Small business index for March 2026 shows that small business year over year sales grew about 1.3%. However, their data also showed that in the bigger picture, right, in the broader picture, retail sales in the bigger picture in March were driven by increases in building materials, which makes sense right this time of year. Motor vehicle parts, furniture. And this last one's not so fun, gasoline sales, which some folks are projecting some bad news in the weeks ahead. We'll see. The data shows that grocery sales decreased both month over month and year over year as consumers are really being driven by discounts. And I can feel that in my bones. Maybe y' all can do one last thing. I'm gonna get both y' all to weigh in here. Persona door. Hope I got that right. The chief data officer at Foster said, quote, march reflects a small business economy that remains durable, supported by continued growth in consumer spend. But with signs of cautious behavior. With energy prices rising, households began weighing trade offs carefully. Their selectivity was visible with consumers eating out less and making more deliberate purchases. End quote. So, Sandy, as I think I shared with you, pre show, I've never been confused as an economist. Right. I'd like to give the practical supply chain view maybe of economics. But your thoughts when you hear some of those that retail reporting.

D (17:23)

Yeah, of course, inflation 10 used to continue to be a sticking point for consumers. But I was glad to hear that, that it is remaining strong for small business. But I think that it'll be interesting to see what happens next month because I think this month is really pivotal in sort of what we see coming into it with what April produces after we've been a month, you know, under the current conditions and you know, kind

B (17:50)

of to that point, we also had an early Easter this year. So that's gotta be factored in, especially when you consider March retail sales. Mary Kate, your thoughts on kind of a mixed match of industry data points there?

C (18:02)

Yeah, I agree with Sandy's take and it might be kind of what you just said, Scott, is it's a little bit, you know, artificially pulled forward, a little bit on the demand with Easter. Right. And tax returns. But, you know, reflecting on my own house and trying to weigh the decisions of all these increased costs between inflation and I just think the overall, everything seems very volatile right now. It always does. But especially now, I really do think that could have somewhat of a negative effect as we go into next month.

B (18:32)

Yeah, unfortunately, I think you're right. And I also believe just with so many different factors, you know, we see. And not to be the bearer of bad news, but we got to keep it real.

C (18:40)

Yeah.

B (18:40)

We got a variety of experts and economists, analysts that really track the probability of a recession. And as we shared a week or two ago on the buzz, that probability has increased a little bit based on different factors. And, and there's a lot of projections that the energy prices, you know, tied to a number of factors, but including the military conflict in the Persian Gulf, that there may not be a quick and easy fix. In fact, there most likely is not, no matter how that plays out. So we're going to keep our finger on the pulse there because, you know, that energy and whether you're looking at, you know, the price per. I think everybody, Sandy and Mary Kate, everybody's probably tired of hearing about the hour by hour, you know, where the oil barrel pricing is. But it touches everything whether we like.

D (19:22)

Yeah, it does.

C (19:24)

Yeah. It's always, it is always center of the news. And like you said, it can be like, okay, come on. But it really does just touch everything else.

B (19:31)

All right, so let's see here. Trisha dropped a link to that, that chain store age article. Good folks, check that out. And Gino Pledger from North Alabama, great to see you, my friend. Would love to get your thoughts on economic or supply chain or any stories we're gonna be talking about as well as. Hey, Audrey, let us know where you are tuned in from via LinkedIn. I know, I know Gino because he's, he's joined us numerous times. I could almost tell you his address. Sandy and Mary Kate. And also of course, he's a rock and roll drummer. So when we form the supply chain band, maybe Gino will have to sit in on some of those jam sessions. All right, so where are we going next? Well, you know folks, if you're looking for, and I would say in this era, in this disruptive Vuca landscape that we are living through and leading through and working through, we gotta find good trusted sources of information. And I would argue, Sandy, one of those that I look forward to each month is the logistics market snapshot. The Georgia center of Innovation team's been publishing, I think for years now. Now Sandy and Mary Kate, as Sandy knows. But Mary Kate, you, as you saw too, this is probably 10 pages or more. Yeah, right. A lot of information. So I cherry picked a few and I love to get I look forward to getting y' alls what see what y' all cherry pick. To the couple I looked at here, the consumer confidence index, which is published by the conference board, went up in March. That's going to surprise a lot of folks, including myself. The conference board said, quote, consumer confidence ticked up again in March as modest improvement in consumers views of current conditions outweighed a slight downshift in expectations for the future, end quote. Okay. The manufacturing PMI was also one of the data nuggets in there and that showed expansion for the US Manufacturing industry in February. And folks, and data just released a few days ago, it shows that the manufacturing sector according again to PMI data and there's lots of different takes out there, but that it expanded for the third consecutive month in a row in March. And then one last thing, Sandy, I'm so glad you and your team put this in here because this is another thing I felt in my bones this was a little nugget from inbound logistics. And getting this quote, By 2030, automation will reshape how logistics companies plan and move freight, especially as major ports adopt fully automated crane and yard systems that speed up container unloading and improve schedule reliability. At the same time, the shift towards smaller, more efficient aircraft will reduce cargo uplift across many lanes. Logistics teams will need to plan earlier, secure space sooner and optimize routing to keep major moves on schedule. And here's my favorite part, Sandy, Mary Kate, the days of running your business on static spreadsheets and dumb documents are numbered. End quote. Now, I think we can all, we're all shaking our heads at that because we can probably feel that every day, Sandy. But we go back to the broader thing here. There's so much data here in the March edition of the Logistics Market Snapshot. What stood out to you?

D (22:17)

Of course, consumer. I'm always keeping an eye on that. But the other thing right now, especially that I'm keeping an eye on is the diesel prices in the, in the truck, what is it called? The Truck Conditions Index.

B (22:28)

Yep.

D (22:29)

We've been seeing for a while that capacity and trucking is tightening and they expect that as diesel is really, you know, shot up in the last month it's going to probably tighten even further. But that was a trend that we were already seeing. And so it's, it's really, you know, they're saying that what's happening in trucking, we haven't seen probably the likes of this type of restructuring since the 1980s.

B (22:52)

Wow.

D (22:53)

So this is pretty significant. And you know, it's not really top of news because there's so many other newsworthy things that, you know, have kept our attention. But it's interesting to sort of see what's, no pun intended, running in the background and, or not running in the background and how this is going to, you know, impact as prices and all of the inputs into trucking are driving out more and more truckers from the industry.

B (23:16)

That's right. That is right. And by the way, really quick, two quick things before I get your thoughts, Mary Kate, Trish has dropped a link to folks, y' all can go check out, download, subscribe to the snapshot. And also Sandy mentioned diesel fuel prices. So there's a quick Google showed on this pre show, but the national average approximately right this minute is somewhere between $5.40 to $5.61 per gallon. How about that?

D (23:42)

Yeah.

B (23:43)

Mary Kate, your thoughts again on the wealth of information that was contained in the snapshot?

C (23:48)

Yeah, I think, you know, this is super interesting, agree with what you both said, but a lot of times it feels like companies are focused more on how they can be resilient within supply chain. So, you know, a place like Georgia that is very global, right. But also can be regional too, is poised to respond to uncertainty in supply chains, which I think is very important because, you know, like Sandy said, people are having to remap and rethink entire systems because of things like fuel prices or tariffs or, you know, God knows what else. So I think it is really important and I know we say this all the time, but it just feels like it's becoming even more important to be more resilient. And that means that you have to have obviously a global perspective, but also a regional plan makes you more, you're closer to your end consumer. Right. And that's incredibly important when being resilient.

B (24:40)

Well said. Well said. And kind of in addition to what you shared there here in this golden age of supply chain tech, isn't it great to be able to be proactive more and more almost by the day we gain more abilities to reliably and successfully and quickly and confidently not have to react to all the disruption that continues to play out. But be more prepared. Kind of to your point. Practical resilience, right? Not the cliche resilience that we've heard about. Really quick, San Francisco Fox businesses Reporting becomes the first US city where diesel prices topped $8 a gallon. My goodness. Okay, well, we won't, we won't dwell on that bad news, but we've got Tricia dropping a link again. Go check it out. As well as all other things we talk about here today. And one more thing. And Sandy, I think your colleague Moosa does great work. If folks, if you're interested in the logistics market snapshot or other work that the Georgia center of Innovation is doing, we are sharing Moose's content information right there on the screen for folks that are viewing it. If you and if you're listening in it, folks, if you're listening to the podcast Replay or listening to live here today, you can go to georgialogistics.com is all that right, Sandy?

D (25:50)

That's correct. And thank you for the shout out. Yes, that is something that continues to be well received out there. So we're, we're proud to be able to produce it and, and glad that it's being used by the industry.

B (26:03)

You know, one more quick little blurb on that. I think it was either January or February edition that I was reading. And Mary Kate, as you may know, we do a, well, we do a variety of, of reporting driven content around here with some longtime partners. And Sandy, I took that whichever edition that was and forwarded it to this one group that has its finger on the pulse of more data points than most people in this street. I can very confidently say that. And it was the first time they saw it, Sandy. And better yet, after they read all 12 pages or whatever it was, they found nuggets that they've been baked into their very heavy duty industry reporting. So great job to you and Moussa and the whole team there. And folks, go check it out.

D (26:42)

Thank you.

B (26:42)

Up next, we're going to kind of take a, a left hand turn. We're going to move from data metrics in the market to what I think is a wonderful, wonderful documentary that's turning some heads. And folks, that is the chain how the world Works. So Mary Kate and Sandy, let me ask you this, ask you both this and all y' all out there if you've ever struggled to explain what you do in supply chain right then this is a series to share with your friends, family and those cocktail party folks that just can't wrap their head around industry. Now, Sandy and Mary Kate, y', all get those blank stares too. Right. When you start to share what you do. Right. We've all been there. Maybe not as quite as much as we did.

C (27:16)

Right. Five years ago.

D (27:17)

Yeah.

B (27:18)

Right. And that's good news. I wish we didn't have to have a pandemic to do that, but it was still one of the silver linings. But get this. The Chain is a new documentary produced by ASCM brings your work to life turning complex systems into real stories that your friends and family can finally understand. The Chain does a great job at emphasizing the message that we already know. Supply chains matter. And even better yet, everything has a supply chain. You can go check this out. It's streaming now on Amazon Prime. It's a bold, engaging exploration of the work that the wonderful human element does every day to keep global supply chains running. It includes interviews from industry leaders and highlights real world stories giving really a rare behind the scenes look at just how important every aspect of the supply chain really is. Now this is a six part series right? I'm going to share a couple of episodes of note, but the six part series that dives deep into the challenges and innovations that continue to shape the current state, but also the future of our industry. And here is a couple of episodes that put on Yalls radar out there. Let me read these off. I think they resonate. The sports industry isn't all about the game. It's a high stakes global supply chain. The global grocery run, how fresh fruit travels thousands of miles to your plate. Also should do one on that note on the floral industry. It's amazing what gets done in the flowers on demand industry. And then finally, how can a T shirt made on the other side of the world only costs $10? The folks go check it out. Kudos to ASCM who created the documentary that so that supply chain pros can help educate the masses while elevating our profession and highlighting the absolutely critical role that supply chains play across the globe. You can check out the Chain how the World Works on Amazon or you can learn more@ascm.org so Sandy, have you seen one of those episodes of the Chain yet? First question and your thoughts about it.

D (29:03)

Well, I was glad to learn about it through you because I did not know that existed. So I think it's phenomenal what they've done. And one of the I've watched the first two episodes I've not seen all but given that today is tomato day, one of the things that stood out to me on the first one was the supply chain for ketchup. I Had no idea. I thought that tomatoes were probably grown here in the States somewhere, some local farm. They come from China. I just thought, yeah. Yes. And so that amazed me. And you know, there's just nugget after nugget after nugget. No matter what supply chain you're looking at, you just don't realize how deep the tentacles go with within suppliers and how critical and interconnected it is until you really see it, you know, laid out in a. In sort of a chain fashion. It really is amazing that anything gets anywhere on time and in the right place and in the right quantity, you know, and all of those things. It truly is an orchestration behind the scenes that, you know, we really don't have any idea that's happening. And I work in this every day. So you know, my husband, I've been working in this industry for over 15 years and my husband still has no idea what I do. Yeah, that's. That's because it is such a hard to explain concept and every supply chain is unique and so it's very difficult to put a label on it. You know, like you can engineering or teaching or ketchup, you know, anything. So who knew ketchup was so complicated? I really did not know that.

B (30:31)

Well. So Mary Kate, before I get your take here. And I have not seen that episode that Sandy's talking about when it comes to ketchup, but I hope they focused on the world's best ketchup and that's Heinz. There's no substitute for Heinz ketchup. It's kind of like a mix of little vinegar test. Is that debatable? Mary Kate and Sandy, you know what?

C (30:49)

One of my friends hosted a blind ketchup tasting party. This was like probably five years ago.

B (30:55)

Okay.

C (30:56)

And I think Heinz did win is the.

B (30:58)

It's the best.

C (30:58)

I'm pretty sure it was Hines that one the best.

B (31:00)

And better yet, it's the McDonald's version of Heinz because I think they have a special recipe. But anyway, Mary Kay, back to. I enjoyed hearing Sandy's thoughts here about the chain, the documentary series here. Several episodes are already out on Amazon and you can learn more@ascm.org Mary Kate, what did you your take here?

C (31:16)

Yeah, so number one, I can't wait to watch this for all the reasons that you guys have seen said. But also number two, I think it's just back to this bigger theme that we talked about about supply chain being it used to be the story that was just behind the scenes that nobody honestly really cared too much about.

B (31:33)

Right?

C (31:33)

And then obviously the pandemic, but also things like us being able to trace our packages on Amazon, us wanting to understand was this ethically sourced with, was this ethically made. I think that supply chain is now moving from the background to the forefront. And something like this, I can't wait to dive in because I love having data points or actual examples to explain what I do and why it's important or why I care about it.

B (31:58)

Right.

C (31:58)

And you definitely don't have to be in supply chain to care about it. Right. It's. It affects all of us every day.

B (32:04)

That's right. And I think for folks that aren't, I've never been in supply chain ever. I think from what I've seen, y' all may have seen it too, once they start connecting the dots that the global supply chain really touches everything and all, all the products we hold dear and count on. And, and even more impressively, it impacts the conveniences, the amazing conveniences of the modern day consumer. It really is remarkable. Then it starts to click. Start to click. So folks, and one more little thing here, Mary Kate, it also, I mean there's some similar inspiration I think that you probably had as you created the National Supply Chain Day initiative and mission. There's some parallels there, Mary Kate.

C (32:41)

Huh? For sure. Yeah. I mean, exact same mission. Right. Is to spread the word about supply chain and highlight the stories and the people.

B (32:48)

That is right. Okay, well, Sandy Lake, Mary Kate, love, we're going to compare and contrast our key takeaways from those episodes. We'll have to have Sandy back and we'll go through all six of them. All right, really quick. We're about to dive into the B block with Sandy Lake and learn more about what the cool things going on here in Georgia. But before I do, we want to share an important mission that we are delighted, very really honored to support. We're collaborating with the American Logistics Aid Network as they continue their noble mission to help families and communities in need. This powerful nonprofit has been creating incredible outcomes for years now. This week, their priority needs to support preparedness and recovery efforts include. There's two things here, folks. There's two things. The transportation of one pallet from Pennsylvania to Texas. One pallet. If you've got resources that can help make that happen or you make a donation, let's make that happen. And then secondly, they're seeking longer term warehouse space for 40 pallets in the Los Angeles area. So if you can donate your resources or your dollars, please reach out to Alan aid rather.org operations and we encourage you to do just that. Kathy Fulton serves as executive director there. Her and her team are doing incredible work. And Sandy, I think we've got, I think you have rubbed elbows and are well aware of Kathy and Alan, is that right?

D (34:06)

Absolutely there. It's a wonderful, wonderful mission that they have. So I would agree with you. Anybody that can participate in that, I think is.

B (34:14)

I'm with you. I am with you. And Trisha's dropping a link right there, allen aid.org and also as I mentioned, Trisha dropped a link on that previous topic where you can find a lot more information about the chain. Okay? So as promised, we're going to dive in a little bit deeper with Sandy Lake, the Georgia center of Innovation here today on the Buzz powered by dos. And that what I want to do, Sandy, for starters, I tell you, Georgia, there's no shortage of growth and expansion and success stories. But when you maybe think of those stories that are kind of tied to, you know, global supply chain and supply chain industry, what are some of your favorite, your favorite stories that come to mind, Sandy?

D (34:51)

Well, I'll just cherry pick a couple because there's a lot. Toto, for example, Toto USA that makes the luxury toilets, they just expanded their US headquarters and increased their manufacturing. Well, I'm sorry, they built a state of the art, increased their manufacturing capability here, okay. In Morrow county. And they increased their production capacity by 150% and now they can produce 300,000 toilets a day.

B (35:20)

Wow.

D (35:21)

Kind of amazing. And of course, in all of their operations just in the Americas, they produce like a million toilets a day. But that's, you know, in response to the demand for their product. So, you know, that's been an exciting expansion here in Georgia and I got to tour their facility.

B (35:37)

Okay.

D (35:38)

And who knew how much robotics could go into making a one piece toilet. But it's incredible, it's amazing. They didn't lose a worker, okay. In all of their workforce. So they increased production without losing a worker and were able to elevate, you know, their workforce to be able to manage the robotics that they introduced in this new facility. Very cool.

B (36:00)

That is cool. And you know, it's been years. It's probably been, let's see here, was it 2026? But it's been eight years that I've toured that Morrow, Georgia facility, Sandy, and it was amazing at the time. And it sounds like they've continued to invest in all sorts of innovation and protect the opportunities for the workers. You don't always get your cake and eat it too it sounds like they've been able to do just that. Sandy, Mary Kate, sounds like Tuttle USA has been growing left and right. Your take and have you checked out this might be interesting conversation for the buzz but they're very, they're innovative toilets, Mary Kate. And maybe unless you all go out and check one. So you have one.

C (36:39)

What are the odds, right? Yes. We redid our master bath when we moved into this house two years ago.

B (36:44)

Okay.

C (36:45)

So my husband had heard about them and yeah, we have one. So. And then actually I had heard about them through you Scott, because I think we talked about you touring the facility when you did years ago and I remembered it was a standout facility to you.

B (36:59)

It was.

C (36:59)

I had looked into them because you know I was previously in manufacturing before supply chain so that I love a good manufacturing efficient use of technology place like that. So I had looked into them but that's amazing. I didn't realize how much of the up and up they were on.

B (37:15)

Well so we didn't plan that at all. Unless Sandy and Mary Kate did y' all talk pre show about that?

C (37:20)

I did not think I was what kind of toilet. Yeah.

B (37:26)

But I'll just say no truer words have been spoken. When Mary Kate was talking about how much she loves efficiencies.

C (37:32)

Yes.

B (37:33)

When it comes to production. So that's very, very true.

C (37:35)

Manufacturing plant like that, I'll never. When someone mentions one, I always remember it.

B (37:40)

And Sandy, I had a couple of nuggets but I didn't want there was anything else you wanted to share in terms of growth. Expansion before I shared.

D (37:46)

Well I was just going to say, you know even that shifted some supply chain. Obviously it had some real supply chain impacts for Toto. When they did that as well I was, you know just Another example is Kings Hawaiian. They've expanded their operations about six times since 2010.

C (38:03)

Wow.

D (38:04)

So you know that's just another good growth in their supply chain story as well.

B (38:09)

Well and you know Mary Kate, our dear friend Marty Parker, one of our esteemed co host here at supply chain now he's been out there. In fact he went out to I think a supplier celebration day. Sandy and Marty spoke about the incredible culture on full display between the the team members and the suppliers and the whole ecosystem. And of course who doesn't get enough of those tasty, slightly sweet buns and rolls and whatnot. Including the new jalapeno ones, the spicy ones. Mary Kate, have you had one of those lately?

C (38:39)

I haven't had the spicy ones but we always use Those rolls to make, you know, if we're going to the beach or we're going somewhere, we always use those to make a ton of sandwiches for the kids and us too, honestly.

D (38:49)

They're the best.

B (38:51)

All right, so Toto Kings of Wine. These are products that are, that everyone can relate to. And Sandy, good things usually come in threes, but you may not have a third story and that's okay. Anything else stuck out, Sandy?

D (39:02)

Well, my third one was stored. You know, they're amazing startup in Georgia and, and have, you know, just they're currently valued at what, one and a half billion dollars and they've not even been around but about 10 years maybe.

B (39:15)

And they are on a roll. I know that they're.

D (39:18)

Well, they're, they're on a roll and they're transforming, you know, how supply chains and particularly Omnichannel E Commerce are being fulfilled and making it possible for the smaller E commerce players to compete against, you know, an Amazon style of fulfillment. And so that it's pretty amazing. The software combined with the physical logistics that they're trying to do is really transforming a lot of supply chains out there.

B (39:43)

It is. Mary Kate, your comments there.

C (39:45)

Yeah, I mean that's been a company that I follow closely even when I was in Atlanta and it has been great and actually not surprising to see their growth over the last few years. It's. Yeah, that's really exciting.

B (39:57)

I'm a big fan of any company that helps the smalls compete with the bigs. Right. That's a fascinating modern day trend. It's really caught lightning in a bottle and caught up some and added lots tons of momentum in the last four or five years it seems. Let's see here. Hey, Frank. Frank Tucker on YouTube from Birmingham, Alabama. Frank, let us know what the weather report in the beautiful city of Birmingham is. And great to have you here with us here today, Frank. So Sandy, those are three great stories. I know you've got probably thousands of more and folks, you have to reach out to Sandy Lake and the team to learn more or learn how to build your own story here in the great state of Georgia. I want to share a couple quick nuggets. There's not a short list here of factors that really fueled success, but a couple of things that were really important, especially from a supply chain perspective. The Port of Savannah, right. It continues to be one of the fastest growing ports in North America. Most of the world knows about the world's busiest airport most of the time. Sometimes it goes back and forth most of the time atl is the world's busiest airport, but some folks don't know it handles over 600,000, sometimes as much as 650,000 metric tons of cargo. Annaly. Right. And then in a kind of a different realm, Georgia has become a major US Data center hub, driven in part by Transaction Alley. That's not new. Transaction Alley has been around quite some time. So did you know about 70% of all US payments are processed by companies based in Georgia? How about that? All right. So, Mary Kate and Sandy, we'll be here all day talking about great business stories here in Georgia. But I want to shift gears, Sandy, because you all have one of the big annual events not to be missed. The Georgia Logistics Summit's coming up on April 17th. So, Sandy, I've enjoyed this event going back years and years. What are a few elements of this year's edition of the Summit that you're looking forward to the most?

D (41:38)

Well, we obviously were excited for all the speakers, but a couple of things I think that are very relevant and hot right now is we've got a gentleman from Washington, D.C. coming down to talk about what's happening in trade policy and tariffs and trade and all of that, and why. Give us some of the reasons why some of these decisions are being made.

B (41:59)

Right.

D (41:59)

You know, we're just hearing the results, but there's some little bit of science

B (42:04)

art headaches, complex headaches.

C (42:07)

Yes.

D (42:08)

But even if you don't agree with the logic, maybe kind of hearing the logic might help in some form or fashion in understanding, you know, what's happening and, and what they see coming, you know, because it was crazy time for a while, then it took a little bit of a breather. But, yeah, it's continuing to ramp back up again. So.

B (42:26)

It is. And, and you know, regardless of your take, and you said it well, Sandy, regardless, if you approve, disapprove somewhere in between. We all, as businesses here in the States are impacted, especially if you import, export stuff and, you know, it changes. That's the thing that I hear probably the most about. The uncertainty that it's created has really been a lot to digest. Mary Kate, really quick, we'll get your reaction to that. Sounds like Sandy. You know, they've got someone with their finger on the pulse of the why behind. Mary Kate, your thoughts?

C (42:55)

Yeah, I, that's something personally I would love to hear or be a part of because I think, you know, the more connected our world is and the more volatile our world is in all of our jobs, we have to understand we don't have to agree with. But we do have to understand the different points of logic behind these things because it really, it affects our business decisions and let alone our day to day life. But I think it's important for all of us to understand deeper than we do now.

B (43:22)

I'm with you. I'm with you. And folks, we want to put this back up here. The Georgia logistics summit for 2026, April 17. And it's being held this year at the Savannah Convention center, which I think has been expanded. Sandy, if I'm not mistaken. Is that right?

D (43:35)

It has. They've added a whole new ballroom.

B (43:38)

Outstanding. And we're going to share some of the speakers here. See?

D (43:41)

Yeah, that's another panel that we're excited about. We've never had all the various modes of transportation together. You mentioned air cargo. So we'll have air cargo as well as the ports, the roads, the rail, all together in one sort of roundtable. That'll be another session that we're excited about.

B (43:56)

Outstanding, folks. And here's a little flashback. Sandy and Mary Kate. I'm not sure if you remember this, Sandy, but This is the 2018. Make sure I got this right. Is this 2018?

C (44:07)

I love it.

B (44:07)

Oh my gosh. That was a the 2018 Georgia Logistics Summit where I was hosting a women in logistics panel session.

C (44:15)

That's very cool.

B (44:16)

And Sandy, I could barely keep up with that quartet of business leaders right there doing big things in industry. First off, Sandy, how can folks register for the summit this year?

D (44:26)

It's real easy. Go to galogistics summit.com.

B (44:30)

that's just. Man, that is easy. And Trisha's drop link is right there. And yes, Amanda, telling on me here, that might be the last time Scott was in. I think you're probably right. What we didn't know was coming back in 2018. Goodness. So I want to talk really quick and we might go over a minute or two, but I'll talk about how cool of a city and logistics hub that Savannah is now. Sandy, of course, has been down there. Me and Amanda been down there. Mary Kate has not. We're getting, we're going to get Mary Kate down Savannah. But get this, the port of Savannah manages 14 to 16,000 truck moves every day from Monday to Friday.

C (45:03)

Wow.

B (45:03)

And because of that and many other factors, Savannah is generally considered one of the best connected ports in the U.S. ocean, rail trucking, you name it. Great workforce. And here I said earlier something almost rhymed. How about this? Give this for a try here. From ship to truck to rail, Savannah is built or Flow at scale. Sandy, is that.

C (45:22)

There you go.

D (45:23)

You need to patent that. Yeah, yeah, that's great. Copyright that one.

C (45:27)

The T shirts.

B (45:28)

That's right. T shirts coming.

C (45:30)

Yeah.

B (45:30)

Sandy, really quick. I'm sure there's a reason, obviously there's a reason you're in Savannah this year for the summit. So it's a peacock. And really not just the Georgia economy, but the Southeast and really the country's economy. Your quick thoughts about Savannah? Sandy?

D (45:43)

Well, you're right. They, they sort of set the standard in shipping, and one of the things that they do there at the port of Savannah is that they work really hard on being predictable and that that predictability of throughput sometimes is of more value to consumers and to customers, to their customers, than knowing what their maximum throughput is at capacity. So I think that's one of the key things that Georgia has to offer that other ports just can't compete against in terms of their predictability of throughput.

B (46:13)

And on a related note, Mary Kate, we're talking about your passion for all things efficient efficiency. The port, as I was reading earlier today, I may not have this exactly right, but they have really cut down. It used to take 28 hours to unload a vessel and have its containers on its way. I think they've gotten that down to 22 hours just from 2024 to 2025. How about that? I wish I could find six hours times millions each day. Mary Kate. Huh?

C (46:39)

Yeah, that's significant. And I think this predictability thread has been in all the articles that we talked about today and just how important that is. You know, efficiency is always going to be important, but predictability, I think, is equally, if not more important at this time.

B (46:54)

All right. So, Sandy Lake, there's one more question before we start to wrap here, given all the conversations you're having with business leaders everywhere, especially those that have some part of their operations or new operations here in the state of Georgia and especially in the logistics industry. Point to, if you would, a couple of, you know, two or three major themes that are really common threads in those discussions you're having with companies on the move. Sandy?

D (47:19)

Well, right now it's, of course, trade and tariff policies. AI is a big one. And then of course, right now it's, you know, this conflict and what's the length of this conflict, where is this going to shake out, where's it going to lead and that sort of thing. So just this uncertainty, again, it's a word we've already used a lot. Even today's conversation is a Big is a big worry or is a just a constant risk that has to be managed is uncertainty.

B (47:45)

It's so true. If we know it's tough enough to solve problems, if we don't know which problems are around the corner, it's even tougher to solve problems. Right. And then especially when you think of folks with global operations that have. Have team members and suppliers and customers running through different parts of the world that have different traditions, customs, opportunities and challenges, whole nine yards. This uncertainty that we've been talking about, I mean, there's a reason that a lot of experts and analysts and folks that track these uncertainty levels, it's really approaching historic, historic levels in terms of business uncertainty. But, Mary Kate, your final word here. You heard some of the key themes that are a regular part of the conversations with business leaders that Sandy's having. Of course, AI in all of its different. You know, it's like 7D chess when you're talking AI. What'd you hear there, Mary Kate?

C (48:33)

Yeah, I think the resilience, right. Is through everything we've talked about, resilience and predictability. Predictability. Those are the two words that are coming up as my key takeaways. It's, you know, make your supply chains resilient and predictable as possible, and that'll get you through the ups and the downs.

B (48:50)

That's right. That's right. And going back to that. Who said that in the snapshot? Sandy and Mary Kate. I got to go back and find this little note. This was our friends at Inbound Logistics. Right. But folks, go check out Inbound Logistics. I loved how they said, I'm gonna use a portion of this. The day, quote, the days of running your business on static spreadsheets and D documents are numbered, end quote. Because you know what? Mary Kate and Sandy is, as both of y' all know, in an uncertain environment where there's disruption everywhere you look, including around the corner. If we're relying on the way the business was done in 1982, you're going to have bigger problems and, and even worse, your team, your hardworking team is going to have worse problems. So we got to find a better way here in the golden age of supply chain tech. All right, we're going to wrap here in just a second. We're going to make sure folks know how to connect with both Sandy and Mary Kate, for that matter. But before we do, we touched on earlier how important it is for folks to find good information they count on. I want to share two quick resources from the new supply chain now. Dot com. And folks, go check out. You can find our upcoming live programming which is constantly evolving much like today's live program. You can learn here where the sandies of the world will be joining us in weeks and months ahead. And I love this Resource hub. I know that's not a real sexy name, right? It's not Hollywood esque, but I love the collection of blogs and ebooks and white papers and perspective you're going to find at the Resource hub. So check that out. So Sandy, how can folks connect with you and the Georgia center of Innovation team?

D (50:17)

Yes. Simple. Go to georgia.org and their search on logistics and you'll go straight to us.

B (50:23)

Man, that might, that might be Mary Kate, the most simple and straightforward URL we've ever shared.

C (50:28)

I think so. I think so.

B (50:31)

Folks don't even need, they don't even need Trisha to drop this link. I don't think georgia.org check that out. And as we said earlier, Sandy, specifically for logistics topics and conversations. I think that was George logistics.org Is that right, Sandy?

D (50:47)

Georgalogistics.com is another. It'll get you there. Yeah.

B (50:51)

All right. It's just that easy. And folks, we hope to see you April 17th at the Georgia Logistics Summit. And we also hope Mary Kate see folks on April 29th at National Supply Chain Day. How can folks connect with you, Mary Kate?

C (51:03)

So connect with me also. Very easy. Just Mary Kate Love on LinkedIn and then if you want to register for National Supply chain day, that supply chain now.com NSCD outstanding.

B (51:15)

We're dropping those links right there in the chat. Check that out. Hey, Sandy Lake with the Georgia center of Innovation team. I've really enjoyed, as I know I would, your perspective here today. We go back quite a ways and I admire what you do out in industry.

D (51:29)

Likewise, I admire what you do and I admire what you've done. Congratulations on your expansions here and all the influence talents that you continue to wield out there. That's great.

B (51:37)

You're too kind. I, you know, I just stand in a, this is gonna sound weird. I stand on Mary Kate's and Amanda's shoulders and Catherine, I mean we've got an outstanding team.

D (51:46)

Yeah.

B (51:47)

Very smart people. Back to those conversations I was telling my earlier seven or eight rungs above mine. I'm glad we've got a bunch of smart leaders here at Supply Chain now. But I appreciate that. Mary Kate Love, let's, let's make sure it's not Sandy. We were talking in the pre show, I think before you joined us that it was about 379 days since Mary Kate joined us for a live show. We got congregate down the 79 days, maybe. Mary Kate, how's that sound?

C (52:12)

That sounds great. We got it. We did a marketing buzz, but I. It had to be a long time ago now. I think it was last year's super bowl.

B (52:19)

Long time ago. I think we got one coming up, so we'll see. I appreciate what you do and. And the fearlessness with with which you do it here at supply Chain Now. Mary Kate, Love. As I mentioned, big thanks to our friends at Doss. You can learn more about the innovative things they're doing at Doss. D O s s Doss. Com. Of course, big thanks to Amanda and Trisha behind the scenes. Most importantly, big thanks to our global audience for being here with us. SCN global fam. But here's the deal. Sandy and Mary Kate brought actual perspective here today. You got to take one thing that they shared. Just one thing. You get seven if you want, but one thing. At least share it with your team. Put it into practice. Right? Do something with it. Be's not word. SL will continue to transform global supply chain. And with that said, on behalf of the whole team here at supply chain Now, Scott Luden, challenging you. Do good, get forward. Be the change that's needed. We'll see you next time right back here on supply chain Now. Thanks, everybody.

A (53:07)

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