Transform Talks: The Supply Chain Transformation Podcast

#150 - Aligning Internally Before Innovating with Felix Vicknair of Kenco Group

On this episode of Transform Talks, Felix Vicknair, Vice President, Supply Chain Solutions at Kenco Group, joins host Maria Villablanca.   With multi-decade experience in supply chain consulting, Felix shares lessons he's learned through changing times.   Digital transformation or automation turns up the speed for companies. If businesses aren't aligned with what they need in a digital transformation, they'll be going faster, potentially in the wrong direction. The need for planning and understanding the level of dynamics involved in the digital transformation is critical.   Also vital to the success of a digital transformation project is team alignment. Felix speaks about the ideal team for executing digital transformation projects. Communication and alignment are key. A team that is self-aware of each other's strengths with communal communication is more apt for success. He also highlights leadership and its relation to the success of large-scale projects.   Felix shares real-time examples of applying advanced analytics with forecasting. He's used drones on projects and expects robots to be utilized next. In the end, it all comes down to understanding the needs of the customer and the direction they're headed.

#149 - Seeing the Signs of Change with Brian Hatch of Flowserve Corporation

On this episode of Transform Talks, Brian Hatch, Supply Chain Manager at Flowserve Corporation, joins host Maria Villablanca.   Brian is a seasoned global manager in supply chain. He has 30 years of experience in purchasing, transportation, inventory, materials management, negotiation, contract execution, and operations management.   In these unprecedented times, Brian provides insights into the changing dynamics of supply chain. Just-in-time inventory and doing things last-second no longer work. Many companies hoarding materials and products have led to ripples felt throughout the global supply chain.   Brian challenges people to look at what they can do to impact their company's supply chain. From accounting to purchasing to end consumers, the breadth of supply chain goes beyond the manufacturers and distributors.   There’s now a need to factor in 'lumpy' demand when forecasting. Demand cycles are no longer just seasonal or annual. There’s now more ups and downs due to inconsistent scenarios like panic-buying. A deep look into forecasting should determine the continuance or discontinuance of a product. We have to understand the supply chain is connected beyond single businesses. We have to work together.

#148 - Rethinking Mental Wellness with Ardeshir Mehran of Human Work Studio

On this episode of Transform Talks, Ardeshir Mehran, Founder and Principal at Human Work Studio, joins host Maria Villablanca.   Maria and Ardeshir dive into mental wellness or, as Ardeshir sees it, emotional wellness. Mental implies the mind or only the brain. In reality, mental health and mental illnesses are composed of feelings that radiate throughout the body.   Anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are a few examples of mental illnesses. All of them impact more than just the mind.   Ardeshir illuminates the subject that is often taboo to discuss or even admit in leadership positions in the business world. Depression fought is actually a gift, he says.   He addresses the issue or common thought of having too many problems or fires going on in life to consider emotional wellness. Ardeshir breaks down this mirage of complacency around your body's health. Your mind should follow your body's messages rather than the other way around.   Listen to the entire episode to learn more and hear Ardeshir walk through an exercise to determine if you have anxiety.   References: Human Work Studio Body Keeps the Score

#147 - Patience, Problems, and Digitization with Zach Greenberger of Lyft

On this episode of Transform Talks, Zach Greenberger, Vice President, Strategic Business Development & Supply Chain at Lyft, joins host Maria Villablanca.    Zach has been part of a few large-scale digital transformations, branching out from IBM and Tesla earlier in his career. He gives a resolute answer to his understanding of digitization. “It means turning analog processes into digital ones by establishing master data that aggregates your information across your entire supply chain and other business activities.”   Digital transformation is such a hot topic because it is a potential key to extracting data insights from complex datasets and using those to inform business operations.   Zach believes that communication with the entire organization is critical for success in digitization. He shares his direct experience at Lyft with its ERP implementation.    Maria and Zach delve into attracting new talent into supply chain industries. Once it's realized the level of impact possible to deliver to society, it can be exciting for folks who desire a robust and rounded business acumen. 

#146 - Planning for Variability with Trevor Miles

On this episode of Transform Talks, Thought Leader Trevor Miles joins host Maria Villablanca.  Trevor gives his views on what has changed in the past year. The necessity for visibility is now at the forefront. He says that visibility can be seen as an early warning or a spidey sense of what's changing and the potential impact.  The massive shocks of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made obvious impacts across supply chains. Trevor examines the potential ramifications not yet realized of the war. This leads to discussing the differences between operational effectiveness and strategic preparedness.    Variability is a key factor often overlooked with scenario planning. Companies are creating contingency plans with their supply chain. What's missing is a mechanism for determining the likelihood of success.    Maria and Trevor highlight predictive modeling and how statistics is an approximation, not pure science.    Trevor also delves into why he sees the great resignation as a positive; it's an opportunity for both the younger and older generations to learn.    Listen to the full episode to learn more about strategic planning and variability in the supply chain.

#145 - Cybersecurity Policy Progression with Eric Greenwald of Finite State

On this episode of Transform Talks, Eric Greenwald, General Counsel at Finite State, joins host Maria Villablanca.    Eric brings an extensive background, with 20 years serving as a lawyer and working his way up with the U.S. Federal Government; from chief counsel at Capitol Hill to national security council at the White House. He also served as senior director for Cybersecurity and as special assistant to President Obama.   With this wealth of experience, Eric shares intriguing perspectives on cybersecurity. He agrees that the question is more of a business risk issue than an IT issue. It's only in recent times that businesses are widely accepting this view. If IT systems fail, entire companies could go offline. This greater liability brings attention and also policy change.   Eric sheds light on the most pressing policy changes likely to occur in the near term. He also recalls several instances in the past, where companies dodged the lack of regulation while knowingly committing 'toxic torts.'    With supply chain, Eric believes that the most significant risks relate to software and hardware. Many people are still unaware of the vulnerabilities that could impact their business. Listen to the episode to hear more of Eric's expertise. 

#144 - Noel Kinder on Operationalizing Sustainability at Nike

On this episode of Transform Talks, Noel Kinder, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nike, joins host Maria Villablanca.    Noel says he has the most fun job at Nike. He oversees sustainability across the enterprise.    Noel breaks down his role, with 13 specific targets that Nike has set to meet on sustainability. How does it all come together with a company at the scale of Nike? Noel points out that the most significant advantages Nike has are speed and scale. One of the biggest benefits Noel cites is the amount of employee passion for sustainability. This spurs the engine of creative innovation, additionally sparked by bold, science based sustainability metrics.   Every primary function and its respective leadership are aware of the sustainability metrics. Moreover, department heads are aware of the metrics that they have an impact on. Noel credits this to a superior level of accountability from a performance management standpoint.    Noel details specific changes Nike has made to reduce its carbon footprint. He also tells how collaboration has been key in solving sustainability challenges.  Resources: Nike Impact ReportSpace Hippie Design VideoAdditional Sustainability Reading on Nike NewsNike’s CEO John Donahoe on Sustainability as a company priority

#143 - Optimizing Supply Chain Waste with Stephanie Benedetto of Queen of Raw

On this episode of Transform Talks, Stephanie Benedetto, Founder and CEO at Queen of Raw joins host Maria Villablanca. From a family background with over 100 years in fashion and textiles, Stephanie saw the beauty and perils of the industry at an early age. Converting from a Wall Street lawyer, she founded Queen of Raw in 2018, turning pollution into profit.  Stephanie emphasizes the strong likelihood of not only saving but also making money through sustainability. Too often, companies get hung up on the notion that being sustainable means costing money. At Queen of Raw, the software and tools ease circularity. Plus, it offers quantitative analysis to understand where the waste comes from and how to minimize it going forward. As passionate about fashion as sustainability, Stephanie advocates blockchain technology. Imagine future supply chains where everything is on-demand, more local, personal, digital, and connected to the end consumer. Imagine QR codes on consumable goods that show the history of production; the water used, toxins created, carbon emissions, and the dollars saved. Listen to the episode now to learn more from Stephanie and hear more sustainability and fashion tech opportunities.  Resources: Queen of Raw Stephanie Benedetto contact info: +1 (646) 583-0076 stephanie@queenofraw.com Enterprise Software

#142 - Unlearning and Relearning with Thomas Udesen of The Sustainable Procurement Pledge

On this episode of Transform Talks, Thomas Udesen, Co-Founder and Ambassador of The Sustainable Procurement Pledge and Chief Procurement Officer at Bayer, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Thomas and Maria discuss sustainability surrounding procurement and supply chain. Thomas makes the point that sustainability concerns begin with acknowledging past faults. People in power need to embrace vulnerability and curiosity and accept that the road ahead may not be as abundant as in the last few decades. The Sustainable Procurement Pledge was founded to address sustainability as a group of industry peers instead of as an individual company. Thomas says the pledge is about incentivizing companies to take action toward sustainability.  Of course, profits and associated costs of the supply chain are at the forefront. Thomas points out it's a process of unlearning with the openness to relearn.  Both being Gen Xers, Thomas and Maria challenge their generation and highlight that their age range has a unique opportunity to shift this mindset and impact change.  Thomas delves into some of the most significant hurdles toward rethinking sustainability. Listen to the episode now to learn more.

#141 - Digital Transformation: Getting it Right With People, Process, and Partners with Sid Guha of Tada Cognitive Solutions

On this episode of Transform Talks, Sid Guha, Senior Director at Tada Cognitive Solutions, joins host Maria Villablanca.  Sid has 17 years of transformative experience in supply chain. He shares a plethora of knowledge on digital transformation and critical factors to consider in implementation.  One is synchronizing customer expectations of solving a problem with the actual business use case. Then, it’s about understanding the economic value of that change.  When dealing with multi-year transformation projects, Sid emphasizes the necessity of breaking them down into smaller chunks. Clarify what the two-week business case is, and only move forward once that’s been successfully implemented. If there’s a hiccup in the change, no problem—dealing with the smaller scale of change makes it easier to revert back to how things were before and to try again.  Sid gives insights into the recipe for an optimal digital transformation. Consider the process, the data, the partners, all coming together. How will people interact with it, and how will they make decisions? Sid and Maria delve into supply chain control towers and their function in digital transformation. Sid also highlights other tips to maneuver and respond successfully during project implementation.