Comfort Food

“Food is our common ground; a universal experience.” --- James Andrews Beard, American chef, cookbook author, teacher & television personality. The prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards were named for Beard in 1990. He was born in Portland, Maine in 1903; passed away in New York City in 1985.

Good Sunday afternoon all and welcome to this edition, No. 99, of "With That Said" (WTS), an almost-weekly newsletter powered by your friends here at Supply Chain Now . Today's edition is powered by Enrique Alvarez and our friends at Vector Global Logistics , who are moving mountains out across industry. They have built a sterling reputation (and podcast) on the noble idea of Logistics With Purpose?.

Before we get into some news, views, resources & more, let's honor International Chef Day, which is recognized on October 20th each and every year. Who are a few of your favorite chefs or culinary professionals? A few of our favs from over the years: José Andrés, Gordon Ramsey, Julia Child, Hugh Acheson, Ina Garten, Anthony Bourdain and Jeffery Williams (founder of "Old School Soul Food" over on YouTube ).

Let's take a look at the critical intersection of culinary arts & global supply chain:

--- Chef Junya Yamasaki, the Head Chef at Downtown Los Angeles’ YESS , is transforming the seafood supply chain in Los Angeles. "When he arrived in LA and couldn’t source fish that were dispatched using his preferred technique, called ike jime and shinkei jime, he taught local fishermen how to do it. Through his teachings, he has created a more efficient supply chain and has made better quality fish available in the region," writes Andrew Watman in a recent Forbes article. Read the rest here .

--- Have you ever stopped to think about restaurant supply chain management? Interesting read here from our friends at NetSuite , entitled "10 Strategies for Restaurant Supply Chain Management", which includes this passage: "The NRA [National Restaurant Association] reported declining sales and customer traffic in the first half of 2024. Separately, independent restaurants recently cited rising food costs and supply chain shortages among their Top 5 pain points. Strong supply chain management addresses both of these issues, driving closer supplier relationships, more accurate forecasting, order automation and other best practices. Looking ahead, in its “Restaurant Industry 2030” report, the NRA predicted that margin pressures will motivate greater digitization and integration of supply chain systems across the range of restaurant technologies, with dramatic results." Read the full article here by Abby Suder Jenkins at NetSuite.

--- Chef José Andrés offered wonderful perspective at ProMat 2023, where he served one of the keynotes. Some of his advice included: the ability to adapt is more important than the ability to plan; the importance of empowering your people and being perfectly clear about your mission. Read more in this summary by Susan Lacefield , which published in DC Velocity .

--- DYK: the global food market is valued at over $9 TRILLION and is growing at an annual clip of around 6.7%. But how do we make the food supply chain MUCH more sustainable? That's the trillion dollar question that Temidayo Akenroye, PhD with the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Adegboyega Oyedijo with Baylor University tackled in an intriguing recent article published via World Economic Forum . On one reason why sustainable practices fail, they write: "Knowledge gaps among multi-tier supply chain partners are another issue. Complex interconnectivity in the multi-tier food supply chain can hinder the transfer of knowledge about sustainability and its implementation. Firms often have different areas of emphasis based on what they perceive to be important to them, with less information about other parts of the network." Read the rest here .

--- Some new culinary gurus have broken onto the scene: The AI Chefs, who cook up tips to help you get the most out of AI tools like ChatGPT! In this episode, David Maldow and Kevin Kieller share two powerful techniques to elevate your AI game. We love this fun approach at unpacking the complicated world of Artificial Intelligence: watch it here .

--- "You are only as good as the supply chain of your suppliers. Knowing that we've got 'A players' who are out there moving forward, thinking about ESG, and how they can innovate and take their business forward really helps us," says Lilah Taha-Rippett , Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, with First Watch Restaurants . As of August 2024, this popular chain of restaurants that offers delicious brunch & daytime dining, has more than 535 locations in 29 states and 14,000 team members. Lilah is a dynamo, and she joined Scott Luton on an episode of "The Buzz" back in August 2023. Check it out here . Make sure you don't miss this one (or any of our SCN programming): learn more here .

IN TIMES OF NEED: When disaster strikes, time is critical, and getting emergency relief where it’s needed most requires expert precision. Vector Global Logistics specializes in Emergency Relief Logistics, ensuring swift, efficient, and customized solutions that support communities and enhance resilience in times of crisis. Ready to choose the right logistics partner for your emergency response? Download their Insights Report, a step-by-step guide to help you make the best choice. Learn more:?https://vectorgl.com/emergency-relief-logistics/

DON'T MISS IT: ProShip's Annual "ProS Who Know" virtual event is coming October 28-29! Join ProShip, Inc. for 5 insightful webinars on shipping trends, strategies, and technology featuring Backcountry , K?rber , Fulfillment IQ , Open Sky Group , and more. Register now: https://bit.ly/3UgyVdL

Now plug in to these resources & perspectives from across the SCN ecosystem:

--- October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, as you may know. Helen Yu shares a wonderful message: "In this cloud-first, interconnected world we live in, cyber security has turned out to be our number one nemesis. But there’s a shift unfolding: Imagine withstanding anything, from cyberattacks to power outages, with minimal downtime, fast recovery and uninterrupted operations. Imagine knowing that before a crisis strikes, you’ll be . . . just fine (cue the gasps). Imagine holding your head high after a cyber-attack. Imagine not being afraid – and instead feeling confident about your network security when you go to work each day. No matter what unfolds. This is true cyber resiliency, and it’s not a fairy tale dream." Read more here from Helen and be sure to subscribe to the CXO Spice newsletter .

--- In his most recent "Good News" message, Scott writes about a wonderful meal & conversation he shared with Harshida Acharya and Ninaad Acharya , as well as the power of the front line across global industry. Read it here & give us your take .

--- RateLinx , a market leader and Gartner top-ranked TMS solution, multicarrier parcel management, and freight audit solution, and Supply Chain Now , the #1 voice in supply chain, have officially released the 2024 Transportation Management (TM) Technology Report at RateLinx’s Logistics Leader Conference, INSIGHT. This report gathers insights from supply chain professionals in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, and eCommerce industries across the United States to explore emerging trends, challenges, and technology developments shaping the future of transportation management. Some of the key findings included: significant delays in carrier onboarding time, with 39% of respondents indicating a one-week onboarding time, but nearly 39% reporting a month or longer when “not applicable” responses are excluded; when it comes to cost analysis & management, 43% of shippers report it takes one week to understand why shipping costs fluctuate; only 30% of shippers use a TMS for spot quoting, with over 56% relying on phone calls and emails. Learn more here, as the full report will be released to the public in a few weeks .

--- Somen Jagtap recently wrote about the fascinating story of LEGO, including what went wrong, "how it impacted every aspect of the supply chain, and, most importantly, how LEGO managed to turn things around and build one of the greatest comeback stories in business history." Give it a read here . And add one more acronym to your vernacular, as a recent SCN guest ( Jon Cwiak ) shared with us that when you hear "AFOL", that it means "Adult Fan of LEGOs". Check out the rest of Scott & Kevin's conversation with Jon and Amy Dale from 凯捷咨询 here, where they focus on transforming the future of energy with AI in supply chain .

--- Last week, on a Digital Transformers edition of "The Buzz", host Kevin L. Jackson, CISSP?,CCSP? welcomed special guest Dr. Christopher Smithmyer , CEO of Black Wallet Ltd to the show, and they delved into the transformative potential of tokenization in the supply chain sector. Learn more here , and give it a watch on YouTube here .

--- David Shillingford with Everstream Analytics and Richie Daigle with Tive Inc joined Scott Karin Bursa on a livestream last week, where we dialed it in on "Confronting Ever-Changing Dynamics in Freight Security". Sign up to watch the on-demand replay at your convenience here , check out David's helpful summary of the conversation here , and be sure to register for the upcoming webinar, where Scott & Tevon E. Taylor will be joined by Richie once again, as well as Michael Caney with Highway : learn more here .

--- "Sing it, sister!" is what Kimberly Reuter exclaimed as we heard spot-on expertise & perspective from Amanda Nazareno with Apex Logistics International last week. Amanda shared a ton of helpful POV with Kim & Scott, on a wide range of topics, including how we can optimize final mile, as well as technology's role at fueling end-to-end supply chain excellence. Amanda also shared a few insights on the ever-complex and evolving air freight industry. Take a look at the on-demand replay here and also learn more about the new APEX TMS here .

--- For 25 years, the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index has been published quarterly to inform its readers on freight shipping and spend volumes on national and regional levels, as well as some of the critical trends shaping the data. The Freight Payment Index for Q2 2024 was released a month or so ago, offering up actionable insights and valuable data from across the freight market, like this nugget: "For the first time since the second quarter of 2022, three of the five regions reported increases in quarterly shipment volumes, which might indicate that the freight market may be nearing its bottom." Download a free copy: https://bit.ly/scn-us-bank

--- From Kimberlee (Kim) Humphrey and our friends at The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) : We invite you to join us in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 28 - October 31, 2024, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the AME International Conference. Learn more about the Conference here . Veterans interested in the manufacturing industry: we have limited FREE registrations to offer you. This is an excellent opportunity for networking & professional development. Interested? Comment below & we'll reach out to you to make it happen.

--- We are proud to serve as a media partner for TFEST24, which is coming up soon: November 11th through the 13th, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Maria Villablanca & the Future Insights Network team have assembled an incredible, in-person event that should be on your radar. TFEST24 is your go-to event for: Senior supply chain leaders driving innovation across the entire ecosystem; Procurement, manufacturing, and logistics professionals seeking to optimize operations; And anyone passionate about shaping the future of a more resilient and efficient supply chain. Use code "TFEST25" for 25% off of registration: click here.

--- Scott & the SCN team will be attending and speaking at Manifest: The Future of Supply Chain & Logistics in February 2025. In fact, one hundred and fifty of the most influential leaders across end-to-end supply chain and logistics, twenty percent of which are?CSCOs, COOs and CPOs from the largest shippers in the world, are all taking the stage at Manifest Vegas, being held at The Venetian, February 10th - February 12th, 2025. Register now to join us & save $200 on your All-Access Manifest Vegas attendee pass (that's $1000 off the on-site price)! Learn more about Manifest 2025 here .

MONDAY AT NOON: Join us for the latest live edition of "The Buzz", where we'll take a look at some of the leading news stories from across global business. On Monday, Scott will be joined by Kim Reuter & Dave Food , who will offer observations as to how the U.S. election is impacting and influencing the global supply chain industry everywhere. Tune in: https://bit.ly/4hbrrmk

TUESDAY AT NOON: Join us for a talk that explores approaches to integrating social considerations into procurement and business practices. This session goes beyond compliance, talking about valuable tools and resources to enhance ESG practices within the supply chain. We will share industry best practices and successful case studies, which will help you learn actionable strategies for fostering responsible supply chains and making meaningful changes within your operations. Scott & Tandreia Bellamy will be joined by Barbara Dirnberger and Irene Gari Chia from Sedex : https://bit.ly/4eOyJLj

WEDNESDAY AT NOON: Join Scott Luton and Karin Bursa, along with experts Kerry Fogarty from PartnerLinQ & Ellen Meiner with Ellen Meiner Consulting , as they explore the latest trends transforming fashion retail forecasting and demand planning. Learn how AI and machine learning are enhancing forecasting accuracy, automating complex processes, and making real-time adjustments to stay ahead of consumer trends. The discussion will also highlight the importance of data integration from various sources and how brands can leverage it to understand shifting consumer behaviors, such as the growing demand for gender-fluid fashion: https://bit.ly/3A97oUX

THURSDAY AT NOON: With just 23% of SMBs using AI, Netstock 's latest Inventory Management Benchmark Report reveals a golden opportunity for businesses to enhance operations and optimize resources. As SMBs grapple with complex supplier networks and fluctuating demand, staying updated on market trends and adopting smarter inventory management strategies is crucial! In this live Supply Chain Now webinar, hosts Scott Luton and Jake Barr are joined by featured guests Barry Kukkuk and Ara Ohanian with Netstock, who will reveal the report’s key insights: strategies for maintaining lean inventories, smart capital investment decisions, and how AI-powered software can be the golden ticket for SMBs! Register now: https://bit.ly/4eMKba4

JUST ONE MORE THING: Scott ventured out to Phoenix this past week, where amongst other things, he enjoyed delicious Southern food at Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe. Scott writes that the Golden Rule "is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. And when I think of some of my interactions with many of the most successful organizations over the years, be it in global supply chain or otherwise, their leaders operate with this principle in mind. Further, given all the multi-party problem-solving that supply chain professionals have to do almost every single day, I think the remedies & solutions would come easier if the Golden Rule were applied in each and every conversation. In fact, I know so. I've been there & done that!" Read more here ( https://bit.ly/40dMsXC ) and give us your take in the comments.

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