It's Go Time!

"In order to grow, you must accept new responsibilities, no matter how uncertain you may feel or how unprepared you are to deal with them." - Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summitt

Good Sunday morning all and welcome to this edition (No. 71) of "With That Said" (WTS), an almost-weekly newsletter powered by your friends here at Supply Chain Now . March Madness is in the air, as NCAA basketball tournament time is right around the corner. Who are your picks to win both tourneys? Here at SCN, the reigning brackets champion is Clay Phillips , as he won both of our contests last year. We'll see if he can defend his crown!

Scott Luton isn't looking much past the top of the rankings, as he says 美国普渡大学 is his favorite to win the men's tournament. And he's picking his alma mater, University of South Carolina , in the women's tournament. It's stunning to consider how dominant South Carolina has been over the last 3 years, as the Gamecocks have gone 102-3 since the 2021-2022 season.

All right, let's dive into the news:

--- Let's start by taking a look at the U.S. freight market, where many analysts are suggesting that business leaders should find ways soon to lock in those trucking rates. "While customers still find themselves in a heightened state of uncertainty heading into 2024, virtually no one believes the current demand and capacity cycle is a new normal, or even that it’s durable,” says Mark Rourke, President and CEO at Schneider . A more carrier-friendly market is projected for the months ahead. Read more here via Supply Chain Dive : link

--- Check out the latest edition of "Freight Forward", where Cathy Morrow Roberson offers up some key takeaways from TPM 2024, which included an appearance by Cam Newton, as the former NFL star has gotten involved with the logistics industry in recent years: link

--- Speaking of #freight, don't forget to check out Eric Olson 's appearance on SCN, as we reviewed the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index for Q4 2023. Eric & the Total Quality Logistics team brought a ton of valuable, practitioner perspective to our quarterly livestream: link

--- The grocery wars continue! According to data from Numerator , as of 2023, Walmart has the largest share of the grocery market in the U.S., with 23.6%. They are followed by Kroger with 10.1%. But don't sleep on Target, which is looking to increase it hold on 2.7% of the market. When it comes to HOW, read more here via CNBC : link

--- Shifting over to the #manufacturing industry: "Global-wide manufacturing levels as depicted in the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI? began 2024 with output levels rising for the first time in eight months...output reportedly rose in China, India and Brazil and fell more slowly in the Eurozone, Japan and the United States," says Bob Ferrari , who offers a great read on the global manufacturing market via Supply Chain Matters : link

--- Each year, March 8th is celebrated as International Women's Day. Check out these 5 facts about the annual day via Euronews : link

--- Theodora Lau shares powerful POV related to International Women's Day and offers perspective on this year's theme of "Inspire inclusion", as well as a few thoughts as to where things stand when it comes to opportunities for all. Theo shares "Maybe what we’re missing isn’t inspiration — but that we are often placed in impossible situations that are not set up for success, in a system where odds are already stacked against women." Read the full article: link

--- "A #supplychain loophole that you may or may not know about: packages with contents under $800 in value can enter the U.S. with very little red tape, avoiding tariffs and forced labor scrutiny. According to the WSJ: 485 million packages have entered the U.S. under the "de minimis" provision so far this year. That rate significantly outpaces the 685 million packages that used the provision ALL YEAR in 2022." Read more in Scott's Midweek Market Rundown: link

--- "Here's a billion dollar idea & not-so-much-a-secret that more folks should know: surround yourself with good people...and then, oh the places you'll go." Scott shared a quick Good News message last Friday, as Tyler Ward joined the team for meetings in Atlanta: link

SURVEY SAYS: 89% of supply chain leaders cite that digital transformation is a priority for 2024 - and 75% believe that real-time shipment visibility is a key component of their broader digital transformation efforts. Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3Iwvycz

We invite you to join us for these upcoming LIVE events:

--- MONDAY, March 11th @ 12 noon ET / 6 pm CET: Join us for our weekly episode of "The Buzz", a show focused on global news & analysis. As always, the 2nd Monday of each month is a special "Digital Transformers" edition of The Buzz, where Kevin L. Jackson, CISSP?,CCSP? joins Scott to offer expertise on all-things-technology. On Monday, Scott & Kevin will be joined by Mary Kate Love , a member of the SCN leadership team and founder of National Supply Chain Day? . Join us at noon on Monday on any Supply Chain Now social media channel (including LinkedIn via this link).

--- THURSDAY, March 14th at 12 noon ET / 6pm CET: In this intriguing livestream discussion, the "OG of SCN" is back, as Paul J. Noble, founder & Chief Strategy Officer with Verusen joins us, along with his colleague danny ramos to answer the critical question: "Why is MRO the gold mine that NO ONE is talking about?" To learn more & to register: click here

--- THURSDAY, March 21st @ 12 noon ET / 6 pm CET: In this informative livestream discussion, we'll dive into "5 Reasons to Rethink Your Freight Auditing". Make rate tolerances, auditing invoices one by one, past due balances, and overbilling a thing of the past. Out with the old way of auditing freight invoices and lean on technology to audit freight invoices faster and more accurately so you can become Shipper of Choice with your carriers. Join us for this live session that will feature Natalie Rekow with Ecolab and Shannon Vaillancourt with RateLinx. To learn more & to register: click here

--- NATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN DAY is April 29th. Join us to celebrate our global industry, and especially the people that make it all happen! Reach out to Mary Kate Love and learn how you can get involved: [email protected]

CELEBRATE GREATNESS: The deadline for nominations for the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards is coming up fast: March 27th, 2024. Learn more: https://www.ascea.co.za/

#supplychain #logistics #leadership #freight #manufacturing #sourcing #news #retail #nearshoring #tech #technology #podcast #procurement #workforce #Africa Jenny Froome Liesl De Wet Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards (ASCEA) Tive Kim Winter Sally Eaves Antonio Vieira Santos