A (3:12)

Absolutely.

B (3:13)

All right, fair warning, because I'm about to make everybody really hungry because on the latest episode, latest installment rather, of with that said, our almost weekly newsletter, which we published over the weekend, we touched on National Peanut Butter day, which is March 1st every year. Now, Tandrea, I can't think about peanut butter without thinking about one of my favorite candies of all time, Reese's Cups. Are you a big Reese's Cups fan?

A (3:37)

Not so much.

B (3:39)

Okay. All right. Well, folks, when it comes to peanut butter supply chain, did you know peanuts are some of the most efficient food products out in industry with less than 2% waste in production? That's largely because almost every part of the peanut plant is used. The shells are even used, animal feed and other things. How about that? Now this edition of with that said also touched on the 50,000 people attending promat. In a few weeks, we'll be there interviewing folks on trade show floor. Lots of upcoming programs. There's a new Women in Supply chain awards program from Patrick Van hall and our friends at Interos AI. Great shows from our friends at Logistics with Purpose and Supply Chain. Now in Espanol. All of that and a whole bunch more. You'll check out the link we're dropping in in the chat and give with that said, a read today. And by the way, hey, Greg, back with us from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hope this finds you well, Greg, and looking forward to your perspective. Also, Andrew from Shropshire, England. Hey. Hey, Andrew. How you doing? Great to see you. All right. So Tandrea, not a big Reese's Cups fan. What is the one candy, whether it's got peanut butter in it or not, that's just one of your weaknesses, you know.

A (4:48)

And I don't even know if this candy bar is still made from a peanut butter standpoint. It was Fifth Avenue, okay.

B (4:55)

Way back in the day.

A (4:56)

And then candy, you know, dark chocolate with almonds. So whether whoever does it, I'm all in.

B (5:04)

Oh, I love dark chocolate, just with almonds, without almonds, you name it. And one for me, one old candy bar that's no longer around I don't think is the Score bar. Oh yeah, back in the day, Score and Heath, they were like combating like Pepsi and Coke. And I think Heath Barr won because I hadn't seen score around in a long time. All right, speaking of great perspective here, check this out. I'm gonna get your thoughts on this, Andrea. I love what Joanna says here. So Joanna Masachuska is a author and a video game enthusiast. And check out this quote what she says about AI Quote, I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.

A (5:49)

I'm all in with that statement.

B (5:52)

Same, same, same. I think she nailed it. So, Joanna, we're going to have to get you on a future show. I love that perspective. Hey, one more thing before we get going with news. And of course our esteemed guest is joining us here momentarily. I love a good use case. Tange, you love a good use case?

A (6:06)

Absolutely.

B (6:07)

I almost love it as much as a fifth Avenue or a Score bar. But check out this use case from our friends over at @EasyPost. Are you looking folks for smarter, more efficient ways to optimize your warehouse operations? Wait, check out how FABFIT run. Had to slow down saying that FabFit fun leveraged magic Logic and Easy Post Enterprise to streamline load planning, boost fill rates and improve overall efficiency. Folks, you can watch the full video case study and learn more about these game changing solutions. Check that out from our friends at easypost. Tandra, I had to slow down there or I have to get another cup of coffee. Vowels and consonants are throwing me a challenge this Monday morning, huh?

A (6:48)

And from earlier, names were also challenging you names too.

B (6:52)

That's right. Names always tell me for a loop. All right, Tandria, let's dive into our first news story before we have Richard Howells join us here today. And Supply Chain Dive is reporting that domestic warehouse capacity is good news, showing resilience even with all the retail front loading in our ports that's been going on. Now, we all know front loading freight meaning pulling cargo in early to mitigate and navigate all sorts of concerns. Well, none of that's new, but a lot of retailers that have been worried about where we're headed with tariffs and overall trade complications, well, they're turning regularly to this tool in the tool belt and it's not so much the potential tariffs when it comes to Canada and Mexico, that's driving ocean cargo front loading because those cross border moves largely utilize other freight modes. But the new tariffs on China, which, you know, there was initially 10% added, there's another 10% just in the last few days added, and potential tariffs everywhere else seemingly are driving action, especially when it comes to front loading. Now, the warehousing sector, I should say, is saying Tandria, bring it on. Hackett Associates was quoted in this article as saying that the industry in general was caught in a bind during the pandemic due to a serious shortage of warehousing space. However, due to all the investment and construction over the past few years, there's now a lot more capacity and it's able to handle this front loading activity and then some. So Tandrea, all of this leads me to asking you, you've been in millions of warehouses in your incredible hall of fame supply chain career, your thoughts on what we're seeing here?

A (8:23)

You know, we had a, a conversation on a previous version of the Buzz and we talked about all of the warehouse space that was being constructed. I think it's interesting how the perspective is here that the capacity is resilient. Kind of leads me to think that if we didn't have these external forces, we would have too much capacity. We're able to absorb this and again, with absolutely no capacity issues. It's kind of saying that we were in a state of almost being overbuilt and now we've had this external event that is allowing them to utilize the existing capacity.

B (9:02)

Interesting. We're seeking a symbiotic environment. Right? Don't want too much capacity. Don't want not enough. But we, we shall see kind of how long this warehousing sector resilience can last. Andrea. Huh?

A (9:16)

And I think some of that is going to also just be a outgrowth of the economy. They're resilient, they're able to absorb it. However, if consumer spending slows down, if housing starts slow down, if any of that slows down, then you're going to be in a situation where there's once again overcapacity. It just shows you how important, having been dynamic, understanding and being able to project out, having good forecasting in the face of all of this uncertainty is just extremely important.

B (9:50)

Excellent point, excellent point. And that folks, there's the so what right? It's always good to find the so what in any story we cover here. And Tandra just offered that because my buddy Ray Atia Ray Hope this finds you well. You're not tuned in here today, I don't think. But I got a text from Ray over the weekend. Ray's kind of like you, Tandra. Really smart, savvy, been there, done an individual. And Ray was pointing out that here in Atlanta, the local federal bank was showing signs of a deceleration. So we shall see kind of where the data comes in. But, folks, take Tangeri's advice, I promise, and you'll be better off, you and your organization. All right, Tandri, are we ready to bring on a great guest in front of the show here today?

A (10:30)

Can't wait.

B (10:31)

Can't wait. So we have a wonderful industry leader, folks, joining us here in just a moment. So Richard Howells has been working in the ERP supply CH management and manufacturing space for over 30 years. He's implemented ERP and supply chain management systems at some of the most successful and largest companies in the world. He also hosts, as I mentioned, the Future of Supply Chain podcast, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. So I want to welcome in Richard Howells, vice president for ERP finance and supply chain with SAP. Hey. Hey, Richard. How are you doing?

C (11:01)

I'm great. Thanks, Scott. Thanks for having me.

B (11:03)

Great to see you. All right, so Richard and Tandria, y' all know me. I like to start with some fun warmup questions, right? We got so much good stuff to get into, but I want to start with this. So last night, the Oscars, right, the Academy Awards, and me and Amanda watch from start to finish, and I'm a big Conan o' Brien fan. But I want to ask you, Richard, what was one of your favorite moments from the Oscars last night?

C (11:26)

Well, my favorite was actually Conan o' Brien himself, because I live in Boston. He's a fellow Bostonian, and I thought he did a great job. But the other favorite moments were we have all these great actors, and when they hear they don't win, they forget how to act and they just give. They show what they really feel sometimes. So it was good to see that. Sometimes, yeah, I think they take themselves too seriously, to be honest.

B (11:49)

Man, Richard's coming in hot. I love it. Yes.

A (11:52)

I love that.

B (11:54)

Well, I tend to agree with you as well. You know, Hollywood by its nature is so good at, you know, fooling people and acting. That's what acting is, right? Convincing people you're a different character. I like those real, human, authentic moments you're pointing out last night, Richard. That is a great observation, Tangeria. Now, you did not watch Oscars Last night, however, you have got a favorite new movie or relatively new movie to share with us. What would that be from the critics corner with Tanjira Bellamy?

A (12:20)

Well, my favorite movie of, I guess last year was Six Triple Eight. You know, the story of the black female battalion that went in to get all of the backlog of mail out, improve the morale of the troops. So you had a combination of history and logistics, and I thought it was great.

B (12:41)

I'm with you.

A (12:41)

It also reminded me, Scott, of how we met, because it was an article called I'm Not a Hidden Figure. Again, the title was a playoff of the movie Hidden Figures. So as soon as 6888 came out, it immediately took me back to that and our initial engagement.

B (12:59)

You know, I had forgotten the name of that title because that Hidden Figures, talking about great movies, that's a great movie. Some of it was filmed here out in our neck of the woods. But I loved your perspective there, and you were kind enough to take my email and then come on the podcast. Right. Which was. We had less than 100 episodes at the time, and we've been collaborating ever since. I've been learning from you ever since. And that was a special start of a chapter. So I appreciate you sharing. Tandria. Great movie, too, by the way. I'll just add Richard and Tandria, as I mentioned, I watched Oscars. The whole thing, the whole start to finish. Who the thong. I could have gone to bed after the start because I think it never got as good as the start throughout the rest of the show. And that was with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in particular. Cynthia Erivo. Now, Amanda and I, as we were watching that last night, and my middle daughter, my middle child took me to see Wicked in the movie theaters, and we've seen it on Broadway. But how she performed. Cynthia Erivo. Amanda, nailed it. It is almost effortless. Now, we know that it's difficult, right? But she has mastered it so well. It's like you get the impression she can just get up out of bed and knock out, like this operatic moment. It is really impressive, gave us chill bumps. But, Richard, did you like the opening?

C (14:11)

I did. I think Cynthia could take the phone book and sing it and it would sound wonderful with you.

B (14:17)

I am with you. All right. Alan. Jacques. Hey, Alan. Great to see you. Our dear friend from Canada agrees with Tangeria. Really good movie. And folks, you can find that movie. Was it six Triple Eight? Was that Tangerine?

A (14:28)

Name of it, yes.

B (14:29)

Find it on Netflix, I think. Great. Great movie. We also Have Amin tuned in from Morocco. Great to see you here today. Let us know your thoughts on the topics we're about to get into. Richard, before we get into more news and developments and get perspective both from y', all, too, as well as from folks in the comments, if you would, let's level it a bit. Tell us a little more about your professional background.

C (14:50)

Sure. So I'm based in Boston. You can probably tell from my accent. I like to tell people I have the original Boston accent. You have to think about that one a little bit. I'm from Wales. So to give you a complicated name, the town I grew up in is called Dynbeche Pisgard, which in English it means little fishing village by the sea. And I've got a degree in computer science. My father encouraged me to go into computer science before computers existed, and I've thanked him every day since I moved to the US about 30 years ago. And I'm responsible for thought leadership and awareness for SAP's ERP Finance and Supply chain solutions. And I used to say my job was to make boring things sound interesting and complex things sound simple. But supply chain hasn't been boring in the last few years for sure, right? And now people know what supply chain is. I don't have to explain what supply chain is anymore to everyday people. I've implemented software systems, ERP systems and supply chain systems for the first 10 years of my career all over Europe in companies like Gillette and Colgate, Bon Molly, Nestle, British Petroleum, Castrol and several other companies. And then I decided that I've used these systems forever. I thought it was forever for 10 years. And I thought I could do a better job of helping design software systems. And I moved to the us to the headquarters of the company I was working for at the time to help design ERP and supply chain systems. And as they say, the rest is history.

B (16:11)

The rest is history. So we're looking forward to that book coming out as you document those 30 exciting years. And I want to go back to Tangerine, to something he shared on his educational background. Because I started, yes, me of little mathematical skills started in computer science. And I thought I was going to take over the world, learn how to program, build stuff. But Tangerine, I found out that the iterative programming requirement, that's core to, you know, building a foundation, learning on top man, it just was not a good fit for what I wanted to do or what my skill sets was. Tangerine, your background is in engineering and equally as tough. Did you start in engineering and Stay in engineering. What about your major back in the day, Tandria?

A (16:54)

I did start in engineering, but the beautiful thing with engineering is there's so many different disciplines. So I had no idea what industrial engineering was when I graduated from high school. But I found out through trial and error that I did not want to be an electrical engineer. Mechanical got a little closer. But to be able to blend people, systems and mathematics, industrial was the spot for me.

B (17:18)

Okay. All right, Richard, great to have you here. Looking forward to diving into a lot of stuff with you and Tandria. Let's do this. We're going to get Yalls thoughts and reactions to a variety of stories. But Richard, this is where I want to start. Take a picture of that image right there. How about that tsunami? We are just talking about the topics that are top of mind for so many supply chain pros out there, especially folks in the U.S. tariffs and general trade policy. And we're also just talking, Richard, about that front loading phase that so many retailers are leading into right now. You recently wrote, you write in Forbes quite a bit. I enjoy reading your articles. You wrote a recent article where you were asking supply chain leaders if their organizations were tariff ready. Share a few observations with us if you would.

C (18:02)

I think when we look back on 2025, this time next year, I think tariff will be the word of the year.

B (18:08)

That's right.

C (18:08)

It's certainly in business because it's been the talking point in boardrooms for the last few weeks. For sure. It's the top thing because it's being used as a hammer to force through geopolitical topics. And I won't get into any politics, but that's the reality of the situation. And it's another example of why supply chains and supply chain executives need to be resilient because it's just another thing that's thrown at us to disrupt our supply chains and our business processes and make us rethink the way that we do things. And the article really talked about different strategies and different tools that you could leverage, like inventory optimization scenarios, alternate sourcing strategies, scenario planning, and doing what ifs so that you could simulate different supply chain scenarios. And all of those come into play, whether we're talking about tariffs, whether we're talking about port closures, whether we're talking about global pandemics. So companies have been getting ready for disruption and preparing for disruption for the last four or five years out of necessity. And it's just another example of that.

B (19:08)

It was a great read, a great read. And I'm going To make a note here on scenario planning in just a minute because that's probably one of my favorite call outs in the article. But, Tandria, what Richard just shared kind of pairs well with your commentary on the warehousing story previously. What'd you hear there, Tandra?

A (19:22)

That it's certain, it is absolutely certain that we're always going to have uncertainty.

B (19:30)

That's right. That's right. Just like when I was in Vegas a week or so ago. Speaking of things, we know the house is always going to ultimately win. You might have a nice moment here, a nice moment there, but they know the odds very, very well. But kidding aside, Tanger. That's right. You can be certain that there are always going to be uncertainty. Richard, I mentioned scenario planning, right? That ties in with something I was reading and writing about the other day. So I was watching this documentary on one of my favorite topics. Tandra, you know I'm a big old space nerd, right? I love anything space related. And whether it's a current, different and innovative space age or the one, you know, from decades ago, I was watching this documentary on the Apollo mission where one of the astronauts were talking about how they practice for every aspect of those missions, right? Every single one. Dozens of times, if not hundreds of times, with one glaring omission. According to this astronaut, it was that rod atop the massive Saturn 5. And the astronaut said that none of them were prepared for the sheer violence and the chaos of what it's like to ride on a rocket like that. They couldn't even communicate within their cabin on top of the rocket. And you know, of course, practically speaking, there's probably some limitations in terms of how often you could practice with a Saturn 5. I get that. But for me, my brain went straight back to supply chain management and straight back to the point that Richard made in the article, which in this day and age, with all the incredible technology we've got out there, we can avoid many of The Unexpected Saturn 5 Rocket Rods by leaning into the supply chain scenario planning opportunities. Richard, I'll give you the last word and then we're going to move right along to some megatrends.

C (21:05)

That's a great example and a great analogy because you can prepare and you can prepare and you can prepare and you can't simulate everything, but you can simulate categories of things so that you can relate back to one of those if the issue occurs.

B (21:18)

So true, Richard. So true. Also, Tangeria, have you been to, I think it's Epcot. At Epcot, they've got this mission To Mars. Rod, have you been on that Tangeria?

A (21:28)

Yes, I have.

B (21:29)

Okay. Have you been on it more than once?

A (21:31)

No, I have not.

B (21:34)

I'm about the same. I would own it twice because my kids want or. Two of our three kids were ready. But Richard, if you hadn't been to Epcot, you got to go. This ride does a wonderful job creating geforces. And they've got an easy one and they've got a tough one. There's no way me and Saturn 5 would not be a practical duo, folks. And that's right, Allan Allen says everyone has a plan until that first punch in the mouth. Good old Mike Tyson. Allen's one of my favorites. One of our go tos. Okay, Tandrea and Richard, let's see here. How about we go into some supply chain mega trends from our friends at Supply Chain Dive? Patrick Kelleher. I think I said that right. The North America CEO for DHL Logistics. Well, he was talking about five supply chain megatrends at a panel session at Manifest in Vegas a few weeks back. We were there as well. Did about, I don't know, 2000 interviews, but I did not. I missed this panel session. Anyway, in no particular order, Kelleher shared these five items. One, changes in global trade patterns as supply chains diversify. Two, growing e commerce activity with an increased emphasis on local fulfillment. Three, addressing climate change through low carbon logistics solutions. Four, keeping up with digitalization, leveraging technology for success. And five, an evolving workforce with new skills to consider. Now, beyond those five mega trends that he cites, Tandri and Richard Kelleher also spoke about how supply chains, in his view, are getting longer. Now that's interesting because I've been reading a lot of research and speaking to a lot of supply chain leaders where their focus has been on shortening supply chains and removing certain nodes and touches. Now I imagine both trends or directions can be happening at the same time. Richard, love to get your thoughts on these five mega trends that they cite here or another one that you have on your radar.

C (23:20)

Yeah, that first one, the changes in global trade patterns supply chains diversity was an interesting one because as you make this, that's making the supply chains more complex, I would say because he was talking about partially manufacturing something in one country and then moving to another country to, to do the next stage and then moving it to a third potentially. And that surely can't be good from a sustainability and carbon emissions perspective.

B (23:43)

Right.

C (23:44)

And I'm not sure if that is also a workaround for the China tariffs. I'm not sure if you start manufacturing in China and finish it in wherever in Thailand, whether you avoid the tariffs or not, that would be an interesting, interesting strategy.

B (23:57)

If that works is true. Richard, I think I was talking with a me, Daniel with Windward, right big source of data and especially trade trends and he was talking about how some companies have been slapping on a different country of origin, although a lot of their true first mile sourcing still starts in China. So all sorts of reindeer games going on, probably Tindria with these mega trends, whether it's these five megatrends or one of Richard's observations. Your thoughts here.

A (24:25)

You know, with Everything's Got, I think the people part is extremely important and here talking about the evolving skill sets and that is going to come to play whether we're looking at these megatrends. Our earlier conversation because you know, when we look at technology in any way, shape or form, ensuring that we have the right skill sets so that we can do the scenario planning so that we can find alternative sourcing that doesn't impact cost or quality, having the people involved and ensuring that the people have the right skill sets and that they can proactively help to run the business is extremely important. You know, even with your last discussion with the gentleman from Best Buy, rarely have we thought about a people component of sustainability. But again, extremely, extremely, extremely important.

B (25:18)

Well said. And that was a great interview folks. If you have missed Mark Irvin, the chief supply chain officer with Best Buy, joined us on the Buzz. I think two weeks and you'll find on YouTube or our podcast has a great, great segment talk about the so what factor that we're talking about earlier, Tandria, when you talk about powerful outcomes and what it means for the people, to your point, and customers, man, he answered that by the truckload for sure. Okay, Richard and Tandria, let's see. Here's one other thing I was going to oh, I know. I was going to mention, I was going to mention some other Manifest takeaways. This last article that we just talked about that was kind of rooted in what the message Patrick Kelleher shared at Manifest. And I wanted to offer up a few Manifest takeaways from friends of the show here, starting with Richard McDonald, former Chief Supply chain officer with the Clorox company. One of his many takeaways was, quote, tech founders need to continue to hone their pitch when speaking to those who know nothing about their company and their gear. Pithy, focused, clear, with a less is more mindset. End quote. That's good stuff there, Richard and I Can only imagine Tandri and Richard, all the pitches going on at Manifest. And by the way, that should be Rick, not Richard. Richard Howells, Rick McDonald. See, my brain's getting a slow start here on Monday, but good stuff there from Rick McDonald, Sandy Lake and Tandra. You may know Sandy Lake with the Georgia center of Innovation helping to make supply chains and all the ecosystem here in Georgia be really successful. Sandy said, quote, people will not be replaced by technology, but people will be replaced by the people who embrace the technology. A professor at Harvard Business School said, quote, AI won't replace humans, but humans with AI will replace humans without AI, end quote. That's a good one from Sandy. And finally, good old Tevin Taylor, my buddy with Pegasus Logistics Group. Focusing on being customer centric is no longer a tagline, but a must for any company handling supply chain business. Good stuff there from Tevin, Sandy and Rick. My buddy Rick McDonald's can get mad at me. All right, so Richard, speaking of key takeaways, I would love for you to share a few of your eureka moments from your podcast, which we got a graphic here. The future of supply chain folks you can find on Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts. But Richard, what are some of your favorite eureka moments from shows over the last few months?

C (27:29)

Okay, so since the start of the year, we've been doing a lot of predictions podcasts and we've invited people on to talk about where they see supply chains going in 2025 and beyond, which is the real purpose of podcast anyway. But several things jumped out. Managing risks and mitigating costs being more sustainable and supply chains being at the center of the supply chain. But one of the eureka moments we got as a result of is that it always comes back to improving visibility. I need to improve my visibility to be more resilient. I need to improve my visibility to be more sustainable. And I loved some of the quotes that Noah had from Gartner when she was on a few weeks ago about supply chain organizations are now reporting that decisions are 71% more complex, but they must be made 57% faster and they must be made 52% more frequently. And that's the world we live in. And it's all grounded in data. That's the other ah, moment is we have so much data, whether it's business data, whether it's unstructured data, and bringing all of that data together and leveraging then technology like AI to enable better decision making and to Tandra's point, bringing the people into that, the people are always in the middle of the supply chain. That is not going to change whether we're talking about AI or automation even because we can always need people in the supply chain and having them trained and having the right tools. That's the other moment that we hear a lot is that's the key component of both recruiting and retaining talent is providing the right tools so that they can do their job better and get fulfillment out of their jobs.

B (28:57)

Richard that's a bunch of good aha moments. Tandria I loved his call out on the people and not leaving them out of the equation. You do so at your own peril. What'd you hear there? Tandria Absolutely.

A (29:09)

And the thing with people and AI and automation, you can automate a bad process very easily and still not get the outcome that you need. I have seen far too many post cost analysis on something that was implemented and nobody knows why we missed a mark. If we don't have people who fundamentally understand the process, then we can easily automate a very imperfect process. You're going to have the privilege of going to prome. You're going to see thousands and thousands and thousands of different solutions. There are great solutions. If you don't pair that solution to the right problem or the right process, you're going to have a really, really, really great piece of technology that does nothing for you. So having good people that understand your processes and technology is extremely important.

B (30:03)

Well said Tanrea. And especially when those people know your why and the with them. What's in it for me? Oh gosh, you can really catch some momentum and move mountains. You mentioned Promat? Of course Promat's up in Chicago folks. Hopefully it's on your radar. The week of March 17, 50,000 people expecting up there at Promat and better yet it's free to attend. But Tandrea you shared that folks would see thou it's like the grand circus of global supply chain at events like that and how folks would see thousands of solutions. Well Tandria, what I'm also going to see there in the great city of Chicago is lots and lots of delicious pizza and I cannot wait. Tandria and Richard all right, let me do this. Let me make sure folks know folks find the future of supply chain hosted by Richard and some very talented colleagues. Find it wherever you get your podcast and you will enjoy it, I can assure you. Richard appreciate you sharing those eureka moments. Now I think this is Andrew was talking about and correct me if I'm wrong. Amanda and Joshua Big thanks to Yalls behind The scenes work today. Andrew's talking about better decision making, but don't forget better risk management. Hey, I love that. Excellent point there, Andrew. Okay, where are we want to talk next? This is a great kind of a home run topic to finish on, especially given all of our emphasis on the people and the talent that the first part of our conversation is really focused on. There's a great article here. 5 essential skill sets for the next generation of supply chain leaders. That's the topic of this article via. Check this out. IoT for all. It's like IoT for the people. Love it. The five skill sets they identify are and these are in no order. I don't think embracing digital literacy and data analysis, two cultivating agility and flexibility, three is prioritizing sustainability practices. Four, enhancing cross functional collaboration and five, building robust risk management strategies. I want to add one quick comment on number four, that cross functional collaboration, I would add that identifying silos so they can be at least taken into account if not eliminated, that's a timeless talent that's like still a critical need here today. And it's interesting on that note, Tangerine and Richard, when it comes to silos, you would think with all the incredible technology we've got these days that perhaps there would be less silos. But I am finding that there's actually there could be more silos, technology driven silos. So anyway, on those five skill sets of the next generation supply chain leaders. Richard, your thoughts on these?

C (32:28)

I think data literacy is table stakes for a supply chain leader and for everyone coming into the supply chain moving forward. And the data analysis part of that. I've been saying for several years that the supply chain leader of the future is a data scientist with domain expertise, which is exactly what Tandria said earlier on. And bringing those two together are the magic source for individuals moving into supply chain.

B (32:51)

I believe that's an excellent call out there. Tandria, your thoughts on these or other essential skills for the next generation of supply chain leaders?

A (33:00)

You know when you talked about that silos should be getting less prevalent with all of the data that's available. It's the data that can drive the silos because data in and of itself can be used any way you want to. I've played with numbers enough to know how data in the use, however good information can't be skewed. And when everybody is going out and buying their own system or every function is using a different part of the system, that cross functional collaboration becomes more difficult because there's not a foundation of information. There's just a collection of data that each function is using independently. So being able to pull the groups together and again level set and ensure that everybody is working from the same foundation of information makes cross functional collaboration a lot better, a lot more effective.

B (33:58)

So it's the data's fault. Good stuff there, Tandria. Y' all check out this read. It's a good one. Let us know what you think. I would argue that there's probably 17 essential skills for the next generation of supply chain leaders, but these are a good five to focus conversations around. One other thing I wanted to mention that's directly related into your perspective, Tangerine and Richard's Richard, you mentioned Noha Samara with Gartner, and on the heels of a great keynote she gave at Gartner's Supply chain planning summits, she joined us on our new monthly webinar series we call the Bridge. And she focused Tandria and Richard on supply chain storytelling. And Richard, those metrics you shared earlier about complex decisions and faster decisions, I mean it was chock full of really good data driven perspective. But at the core of it all, Noha mentioned these three Personas that if you embrace and you really learn into knowing how to work data and then knowing how as an alchemist to be able to mix and come up with powerful versions of the data rooted in truth and numbers. And then thirdly, it all kind of crescendos into the powerful storyteller that can take the data, really understand the story that the data is trying to tell us, take out the stuff that's irrelevant, like those old word problems from our middle school days, and then inform their colleagues or folks making decisions of what the story is. And she really punctuated her perspective by talking about how according to research, we all humans will forget data and percentages, numbers a lot, but we don't forget the story behind them. Just more reason why to really lean in and develop those storytelling skills. Tandria does the art of storytelling. Has that come up a lot in your successful supply chain career? As you've mentored folks now, being able.

A (35:44)

To effectively convey a message is extremely important. If you get too caught up in the data, you completely lose your audience. And most decision makers don't want the numbers. They want to know the whys, they want to know the hows, and they want to know what results is it going to drive.

B (36:03)

Love that from someone that's been in no shortage of boardrooms at the movers and shakers. Richard, your final take here on the importance of storytelling along lines of what Tandra shared with us, I'll go back.

C (36:15)

To what I said my job was earlier, making boring stuff sound interesting and complex stuff sounds simple. Because that complex stuff sounds simple is exactly what the storytelling point is. It's to be able to take all of the information and boil it down to the nuggets that are important to make decisions.

B (36:31)

Well said. And I'll tell you, simplicity is underrated. It will always be underrated. And some of the most talented people I've ever rubbed elbows with are the folks that are able to take a very complex problem or situation or you name it, and boil it down to where anyone could understand what's going on and the decisions that got to be made. Kind of to both of Yalls points. Okay, folks, we'll see if Amanda and Joshua can drop the link to that wonderful webinar with no ha. If you've missed it, you got to go back and check it out. If we can drop that in the comments. Okay, I wish we had a couple more hours here on the Buzz, but I'm sure Tandri and Richard got places to be. Richard, I want to ask you before we bid you adieu, how can folks connect with you and SAP team and connect with the podcast programming can find.

C (37:16)

Me very easily on LinkedIn just searching for Richard Howells and SAP. The podcast is available. Just search for the future of Supply Chain Podcast on your streaming channel of choice. And SAP.com is the place to find all things SAP.

B (37:30)

It's just that easy. And folks, we're gonna make it even easier. We're gonna drop Richard's LinkedIn profile right there. You're one click away from connecting and following Richard and you will not want to miss the perspective he drops on Social or the PODC podcast. So check that out. Richard, so glad you could join us. Look forward to the future editions of the podcast. And I look forward to the next event we're going to be at the last event we were at, Richard, I think it was a supply chain event hosted by SAP. And it's interesting, Tandra, we had as part of the panel discussion, as I recall, and Richard, correct me if I'm wrong, we had Chat GPT tell us some of the most important tools that fuel supply chain success.

C (38:10)

I asked Chat GTP the same question I asked the panelists and see who came up with a better answer. And they were very similar.

B (38:16)

That's right. Except Richard, Chat GPT didn't mention AI, which we all thought was really interesting.

C (38:23)

So it doesn't like the Boast.

B (38:27)

Oh. All right, Richard, it's been too long. Looking forward to your next appearance. Really appreciate you and Tangeria's thoughts here today.

C (38:33)

Thank you both.

B (38:34)

Richard Howells, vice president for ERP Finance and supply chain with SAP. Richard, we'll see you soon.

C (38:38)

Thank you.

B (38:39)

All right, Tandrea man, this is why we put the buzz on Monday. Our slow, sluggish weeks need a keeping it real conversation on the front end to get things going. Would you agree?

A (38:50)

Absolutely. What a great way to start a work week.

B (38:53)

I'm with you. I am with you. Folks. The team, we ask the team, they deliver. Love that good news. The rise of decision makers. That webinar is right there. One click away from checking that out. If you do, let us know what your take is of the great perspective that Noha Samara with Gartner shared. So Tanria, speaking of wonderful perspective, I've enjoyed yours and Richard's here today. We covered a lot of gosh in like a 30 minute segment. We covered a wide range of things. What was one of your favorite takeaways from the segment with Richard?

A (39:23)

We kept referring back to the people and the importance of the people. We hear a lot about AI, we hear a lot about technology, we hear a lot about automation, we hear a lot about data analytics. But when it boils down to it, you still need very talented people with the autonomy to actually do their jobs.

B (39:46)

Ooh, I like that. I like, I love all that. I especially like that last phrase. With the autonomy to do their jobs, to make the decisions that are empowered, all that empowered by leaders that get it right and they do it with their people, not to their people. Tangerine, excellent stuff there. Speaking of the people, Tandra, we really appreciate you being one of a handful of incredible leaders that have opted to be National Supply Chain Day ambassadors. Folks, I hope this isn't new to your radar. I really hope it isn't. National Supply Chain Days coming up. It's coming up fast too. April 29 is just around the corner. I will be joined by many folks on a show on that day, but including I'll be joined by the founder of National Supply Chain Day, the one only, Mary Kate Love. And we're also appreciate our friends over at Charlie Pesty for helping helping us get the word out. So Tandrea, I want to put the show aside for a minute, right. We want everyone to join us. Send us pictures of your favorite segments of end to end supply chain, so to speak, or your favorite people that make it happen. We'll take pictures and videos we want to celebrate with you, but the people beyond the show, it's about the movement. It's about the need to recognize not just all the technologies and organizations and the skill sets or whatever, but Tandria, I think, think we've got to lift up the people that do things every hour that enable our, as consumers, our conveniences. I mean, it still blows my mind. All the things that we can take advantage of, getting stuff in two hours. And if we don't like the socks, we sit on our front porch and they go back to wherever it came from. I mean, if you call time out and stop for a minute, it is nothing short of extraordinary. And the people that make it happen make our industry happen. That's one of my favorite things to celebrate and recognize. But why should folks, Tandria, amongst all the things out there that vie for our attention and our hard earned bandwidth and focus, why should folks join our movement to establish and grow a National Supply Chain Day?

A (41:47)

So I challenge everyone listening to this, watching this to look around, to get up, walk around and look around and find a single thing, a single object, a single machine, a single piece of production equipment, a piece of paper, a Twinkie. Find anything that got there outside of some supply chain.

B (42:17)

We dare you, folks. We dare you Twinkies and all little Debbie Swiss cake rolls at all. I appreciate you throwing the gauntlet down. We have so much to be grateful for. I'm hoping that as Richard had alluded to on the front end of his appearance, fol more and more know what supply chain is these days. Right. And that's a blessing. At the same time, they know who to point a finger to maybe at sometimes. But those lessons we learned during the pandemic of, you know, protecting our workforce and recognizing our workforce and bringing folks kind of out of the invisible blind spots. Right? I hope those lessons stick around a lot longer than many others that have already been forgotten. And part of this effort here is to help ensure that we celebrate. We take time to celebrate, not just our industry, but especially those incredible people that make it happen. So, folks, join us. Join us National Supply Chain Day. Join us on 29th. But more importantly, join us year round as we look to really pick up the momentum of this movement that Mary Kate started years ago. All right, Tandria, thank you for your leadership and thank you for your support and ambassadorship of National Supply Chain Day. But also thank you for all the perspective that been there, done it, perspective that you've shared here today. Always a pleasure learning from you.

A (43:29)

Tanria and Scott thank you for another opportunity to participate and to learn and to learn.

B (43:36)

Constant learning. It's the only way we can do it around here. All right, as we wrap here today, folks, really appreciate nobody couldn't hit everybody's comments here. Thanks for being here. Thanks for adding to the conversation. We also dropped the link to National Supply Chain that you can check out the landing page. You could reach out if you want to be a part of what we are planning. Want to say big thanks again to Richard Howells with SAP. Make sure you check out the future of Supply Chain wherever you get your podcasts. Big thanks to the one and only Tandria Bellamy. Be sure to follow this Supply Chain hall of famer on social where she especially likes to talk leadership. Tandria, always a pleasure.

A (44:12)

Thank you Scott.

B (44:13)

Big thanks to Amanda and Joshua today behind the scenes helping to make all the production talk about folks. Bunch of hard work that goes into making production happen. Really shout out to both of them. You can also learn a lot more about Supply Chain now wherever you get your podcast, we got a link right there. But here we go. Most importantly, big thanks to the smartest audience and all of global Supply Chain out there. Thanks for being here with us. Oh, I had another challenge to Tandria's challenge about trying to find something Supply Chain didn't can help make happen. Well, the other corollary to that, the corollary challenge of that phraseology makes sense. I don't know Tandria, but take one thing that Tandria or Richard shared here today. Share it with your team. Put it into practice. Right? You all know it's about deeds, not words. That's how we drive change. That's how we drive innovation and evolution in this industry we all know and love. With all that said, on behalf the entire team here at Supply Chain now, Scott Luden challenge you do good, get forward. Be the change that's needed. We'll see you next time right back here at Supply Chain Now. Thanks everybody. 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.