Guest: Maggie Barnett of LVK on managing supply chains with on-again off-again tariffs; The logistics economy picks up speed; The challenges of applying Generative AI

Our guest on this week's episode is Maggie Barnett, CEO of third party logistics company LVK. It has been a whirlwind week in Washington. First the administration announced shocking new tariffs. Then within hours those new tariffs for Canada and Mexico were called off and postponed for a month. New Chinese tariffs remain. With all of the back and forth and uncertainty, how are supply chains to plan for their future? Our guest offers some advice and also discusses the changing de minimis rules for importing small-value items that had formerly been exempt from tariffs.

Economic activity in logistics expanded in January, growing at its fastest clip in more than two years; that’s according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week. We look at the solid numbers and what they mean for the near-term future of supply chains.

Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest buzzwords of the year, but a new study shows that although most supply chain organizations are testing it out, a lot of them are running into challenges. This news comes in a new survey from the analyst group Gartner that found that generative AI (GenAI) is being deployed by 72% of supply chain organizations, but most are experiencing just middling results for productivity and ROI. 

Supply Chain Xchange  also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. A series of ten episodes is now available on the "State of Logistics." The episodes provide in-depth looks into the current states of key transportation modes, such as trucking, rail, air, and ocean. It also looks at inventory management, 3PLs and more.  All ten episodes are available to stream now. Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes. The podcast is also available at www.thescxchange.com.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• LVK
• Logistics Managers' Index
• The logistics economy picked up speed in January
• Gartner says GenAI tools create anxiety among employees
• Visit Supply Chain Xchange
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Xchange's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [e-mail]

Podcast is sponsored by: Zebra Robotics Automation

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