July 18, 2025 • 31 mins
Today we dive into the intricate dynamics of supply chain orchestration, drawing a compelling analogy between the orchestration of supply chains and the harmonious and complex performance of a symphony. Welcome to The Buzz!
Hosts Scott Luton and Jake Barr dive into the critical issues of the day including:
- The challenges currently threatening global copper supply, emphasizing the implications of water shortages in key producing regions and the rising incidence of copper theft
- The European Union's initiatives to bolster its chemical supply chains in response to international trade tensions, particularly with China
- How effective supply chain leadership necessitates continuous learning and adaptation to foster resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges
- Recent trade tensions, particularly between the EU and China, highlight the necessity for companies to remain agile and informed amid evolving geopolitical landscapes
- How decision-making within supply chains can be streamlined through orchestration
Join us as we underscore the imperative for supply chain leaders to adopt a proactive approach in an increasingly volatile environment and illuminate strategies that can empower organizations to thrive amidst the chaos of the modern supply chain landscape.
Additional Links & Resources:
- Superman March: https://youtu.be/utik6dYSf3Y?si=agLimZo-atNz7544
- WTS: https://bit.ly/4lrGPwJ
- U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index: bit.ly/scn-us-bank
- Climate change could disrupt copper production – and that spells bad news for global chip supplies: https://bit.ly/44FYREc
- Thieves Target Copper by the Truckload as Prices Rise: https://bit.ly/44xxL3q
- EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance to secure supply chains: https://bit.ly/44NmyKS
- Enable Tariff Price Planner: https://www.enable.com/tariff-price-planner
- U.S. tariffs take center stage but China and the EU are quietly clashing: https://bit.ly/3IsuzgH
- Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com
- Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now
- Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join
- Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now’s NEW Media Kit: https://bit.ly/3XH6OVk
- WEBINAR- Real Stories: How an Australian Powerhouse Unlocked Millions in Capex Using Advanced Supply Chain Planning: https://bit.ly/3TsxBUF
- WEBINAR- Unleash Your Inner Pioneer: How to Transform How You Lead: https://bit.ly/45X3ax3
- WEBINAR- Still in the Dark? 4 Shipping Visibility Fails You Can’t Afford This Peak:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to supply chain nowthe number one voice of supply chain.
Join us as we share criticalnews, key insights and real supply
chain leadership from acrossthe globe.
One conversation at a time.
Hey, good morning, goodafternoon, good evening wherever
you may be.
Scott Lewton and supply chainhall of famer Jake Barr with you
here on supply chain now.
(00:22):
Welcome to today's live stream.
Hey Jake, how you doing today?
It's another glorious week andbringing global supply chains to
bear.
That is right.
And we've got a big, bigedition of the Buzz today, Jake in
that, in that regard.
So folks, as you know, EveryMonday at 12 noon Eastern time it's
the Buzz where we discuss avariety of news developments across
(00:42):
global supply chain andbusiness news that matters is what
we like to call it.
We've got a terrific show here today.
We're gonna be talking aboutSuperman and supply chain orchestration.
Hey, how are those two things connected?
Hey, just what is threateningglobal copper supply and why it's
important The EU is planningsome big moves to secure its critical
chemicals and spe you itstrade disagreements with China are
(01:03):
starting to simmer a bit more.
All that and a whole bunchmore, Jake should be a great addition
to the Buzz, huh?
It's another day and never normal.
Another day and never normal.
So true.
Folks.
Stay tuned for a great show.
Two things before we get going.
First give us your take in the comments.
Whether you're tuned in viaLinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch,
no matter, let us know whatyou think.
And secondly, if you enjoytoday's show, we'd love for you to
(01:25):
share it with your friend oryour network.
They'll be glad you did.
Okay, so Jake, I've got a funwarm up question to ask you in just
a minute but to set that up,I'm going to share the latest edition
of our newsletter.
With that said now we startedwith a quick review of the global
blockbuster Superman.
Ben and I. Ben is my residentcomic book consultant and expert.
(01:46):
We went and saw the movie overthe weekend.
We both gave it two thumbs upbut it's debatable out there for
what I'm here so now one of myfavorite elements though to the whole
Superman franchise is JohnWilliams legendary film score including
the majestic theme songSuperman March.
We're going to drop a link tonot only with that said but also
to a great YouTube edition ofJohn Williams leading orchestra in
(02:09):
Japan from a couple years ago.
But you watch that performance Jake.
It is mesmerizing to see allthe oboes and the flutes and the
French horns, the Percussion,the violins, you name it, all come
together in perfect harmony inrhythm to deliver extraordinary and
inspiring performance ofSuperman March.
And you know, there's a supplychain orchestration analogy there.
(02:31):
So hang on to that thought forjust a second.
But folks, check out with thatsaid for our latest data points,
tools, resources and ofcourse, some of our live upcoming
events, which we alwaysinclude for the week coming up.
So we're going to drop a link there.
Okay, Jake, back tosuperheroes first.
This edition of Superman islike the third or fourth reboot.
I'd recommend you go out andcheck it out.
(02:52):
I want to ask Jake.
Jake, are you a fan, thumbs upor thumbs down on superhero films?
Thumbs up.
Without question.
Are you kidding me?
Without question.
And your favorite is.
Oh wow, the man of Steel hassome allure.
It's Batman.
Okay.
Batman.
And your favorite actor thatperformed in that Batman role was
(03:15):
who?
Keaton.
Without question.
Michael Keaton.
Yes.
Well, you know that 1989, hisfirst film as Batman when Jack Nicholson
was the Joker.
That was one of the biggesthype movies and movies that delivered
in my lifetime and delivered.
But I go back in true supplychain fashion to the very genesis
(03:37):
of many of these characters, right.
So I've been around for thatmany decades.
So my John Wayne perspective,I've seen them in living color even
on tube before and in theirpage based method of a comic book
series.
Right.
So I can walk you through allof the dimensions of those.
It is good to see themrecreate and try and add additional
(03:58):
dimensions because that's whatthe world is about, right?
Trying to find how to bringmore insight, more spin to what they've
already created.
So true.
Folks, we'd love to get you toweigh in whether you're Maharaj is
tuned in From India on LinkedIn.
Hey, let us know what yourfavorite movie is or if you've seen
(04:18):
Superman 2025 yet.
Let us know this user.
Amanda, let me know who this.
Oh, this is Charlotte.
Charlotte, who's tuned in from France.
Charlotte, let us know ifyou've seen Superman 2025 yet or
what your favorite superheromovies are.
Okay, we got a lot to get tohere, Jake, but hey, well, I want
to circle back.
We have dropped the link tothat performance of Superman March,
(04:39):
folks.
Check it out.
Brilliant.
It really is.
So with that in mind, Jake,and going back to Supply Chain Orchestration,
which of course we've had lotsof conversations, action driven conversations
here at Supply Chain now aboutif you had a captive room full of
supply chain leaders at theWaldorf Astoria hotel up in New York
City and they were justwatching and hanging on your every
(04:59):
word.
What would be a couple of keyconsiderations related to supply
chain orchestration that youwould share with that room?
Supply chain orchestrationreally is a way to deal with never
normal.
And in fact, if anything, it'sa linchpin foundation element that
you have to understand is aprerequisite for actually moving
forward.
(05:19):
If you cannot bring togetherthat end to end basis of your ecosystem,
regardless of whether you ownthe assets or the partners or not,
to be able to manage theamount of chaos that we have to work
through, regardless of itssource, you're really again, and
I've used this analogy before,you're really endangering hanging
(05:40):
up or going out of businessShangle today.
It is that fundamental to howyou do business.
Well said.
And you know, one of myfavorite elements, and I've said
this before too, but you knowhow redundant I like to be.
Jake, one of the favoritethings I've talked about that we've
talked about in recent monthsis, you know, there's so much, and
rightly so, so much focus onoptimizing decision making, right?
(06:02):
And it's really cool to seethe latest approaches and technologies
help us do that.
But my favorite parts, one ofmy favorite parts about supply chain
orchestration is it caneliminate the need to make a lot
of decisions and it frees upthat time to focus on other priorities
and other decisions that haveto be made, including humans.
Jake, I know you appreciatethat value too.
It turns your people intodecision shapers as opposed to firefighters.
(06:26):
Love it.
Love it.
Okay.
All right, folks, we got a lotto get to here on the buzz.
I want to share before we moveon and get into the news.
You're going to not want tomiss Jake's take on some of these
stories.
I want to share a great freeresource, folks.
We're Talking about the U.S.bank freight payment Index, which
is really powerful when itcomes to helping folks better understand
what's going on with thedomestic freight market.
(06:48):
It's released every quarterand it helps to unpack key supply
chain and economic takeaways,especially from a data driven perspective,
folks.
The next release is August 5thas a Q2 2025 version is published.
You can learn more at Freightusbank.com and I invite you to join
us live on August 6th.
(07:09):
Almost said October 6th.
We're moving fast.
Not quite that fast.
Join us live on August 6th at12 noon Eastern Time as we're featuring
Bob Costello, chief economistwith the American Trucking associations
who's going to be offering upmust see analysis and market commentary.
That should be an outstanding session.
And Corri, one of myfavorites, Craig Burst is joining
us as well.
Jake, it's gonna be a greatshow, huh?
(07:30):
Even between here and now,you're gonna see Bobby, Bob and Bobby
talk honestly about a verydifferent dynamic that's spinning
it up somewhat is an outcomeof the terror situation.
That is right.
And of course Bob, Bobby,we're talking about Bobby Holland,
the famed analyst and datascientist from US bank who always
joins us for these quarterly shows.
All right, so folks, you canget your copy of the Free US Bank
(07:54):
Freight Payment Index rightthere, one click away.
And I also want to make sureyou are aware of the with that said,
we dropped in earlier.
That comes out about everyweekend and you're not going to want
to miss the resources, toolsand shows and perspective that we
include right there.
Okay, so Jake, we're going toget into the news.
We're going to start with thiswhat's going on in the copper industry.
I'm going to summarize at ahigh level, two quick stories and
(08:18):
then we're getting Jake'stakeaway here.
So copper global supply isbeing threatened by a couple of continued
and increasing risks.
So firstly here as reported byIT Pro, analysis from PwC shows that
about 32% of globalsemiconductor production will be
dependent on copper suppliesthat are at risk of water shortages
(08:38):
over the next 10 years.
One particular market that's abig supplier to the copper industry
is Chile and that's at bigrisk due to water shortages.
In fact, some copper miningoperations in Chile are already investing
in water desalinationtechniques to help address water
and potential production shortages.
Secondly, copper theft is alsoposing a growing risk to global copper
(09:01):
supply.
As reported here by the WallStreet Journal, copper prices have
increased globally.
For example, here in the U.S.copper is up about 35% this year
alone.
But not only are procurementpros noticing this, but thieves are
tracking it and have turnedtheir attention to getting into the
copper game to make a buck ortwo or 10.
Varusque Cargo Net says copperthefts in the US and Canada are up
(09:23):
61% in the first six months of2025 when compared to the same timeframe
last year.
Lastly, the so what?
For some of you out there maybe asking that copper is instrumental
in the production of a wholebunch of stuff including electrical
wiring, industrial machineryand oh yeah, semiconductors.
It's kind of a big deal.
So Jake, we were talking preshow you've Got a lot of takes here
(09:44):
on what's going on in thecopper industry.
Give us your thoughts.
This is a big problem, guys.
You must understand there is afinite amount of rare earth materials,
copper being one of them.
There are fundamentally theglobe depends upon about five principal
sources for being able toderive its requirements for copper
(10:05):
at the moment.
Chile, as you mentioned, bythe way.
Let's put some dimension on that.
23% of the global consumptionfor copper is derived from shipments
out of mines and Chile right now.
So you would say, wait, ohGod, you know, yeah, it's an issue,
but you can destroy it.
No, no.
The last major copper find ofany kind of relevance occurred in
(10:28):
2020, okay?
And that was only about, if Iremember right, it added about 15
million metric tons, okay.
To the global cover supply,you should say, well, wait, 15 million
metric tons, that's a lot.
No, hey guys, back up, let'sback up the truck and unpack this
for a second.
That just the difference.
And I'll forget aboutindustrial uses, etcetera, which
(10:49):
it's a mainstay for wiring andinfrastructure and mechanical machinery,
etc.
H vacs that cool and you know,heat your home, et cetera, et cetera.
But let's focus on from asupply chain perspective where we're
going in terms of masscomputing power, et cetera.
The amount of copper that isneeded for interconnects for next
(11:11):
gen level AI processors isdramatically more than a single traditional
chip, a data processing center.
AI based data processing center.
I mean, it will take onaverage about 50,000 tons of copper
just to bring it online.
Wow.
(11:31):
One facility.
One facility.
Wow.
And we have hundreds of thesefacilities that are currently not
in visionary mode.
They're on delivery road mapsover the next four years just for
the US alone, guys.
So we have made a market outof the constrained supply and the
(11:53):
theft market of turning thatinto a resale business, right?
So I date back.
Look, necessity, the mother ofinvention for anything, right?
I've lived through literallycontainers of health care products
where they took apart thecontainer in route, took everything
out of it and welded it backtogether without breaking the freight
seals on it, right?
(12:13):
So when you think about at itscurrent price of about $10,000 per
metric tonight, just do themath for yourself, what one truckload
of copper is worth rollingdown the road.
Wow.
I need a calculator and maybean abacus and definitely an Excel
spreadsheet to do that math.
But anyway, kidding aside,it's a big, big deal.
(12:35):
It's a big deal.
But look this up.
Copper is the backbone of theelectrical grid because it's the
second best conductor ofelectricity after silver.
Of course, it's a lot moreaffordable than silver.
So we're, we're using it rightnow, Jake, that's, we're sitting
there delivering the news, butwe're going to keep our finger on
the pulse of this story.
Let's put a capstone on atleast a couple of outcomes that our
(12:56):
viewers really need to understand.
From a supply chainstandpoint, the price is going to
continue to go up because wehaven't found another big wealth
of rare earth minerals to beable to bring into the chain.
From a procurement standpoint,the cost just to process and make
it available is you alluded toin the Chile example.
Right.
(13:16):
It's not an inexpensiveelement to actually go through and
do the separation and do thefinal cultivation of it.
So you're going to have higherprocessing costs that are going to
go into per ton yields.
And so anything you're talkingabout that's tied to electrical grid,
industrial equipment, etcetera, you need to be proactively
(13:39):
thinking future forward.
How can I buffer myself with,for example, backup capacity, etc.
That'll help me to offset this issue.
Yep, that's a great capstone.
And adding to that, just thelatest reason why we've got to invest
in freight security.
Right.
Because those rates are takenoff and infrastructure security.
Right.
That bad folks aren't justtaking them from freight and transit,
(14:01):
they're taking them right outof facilities.
Oh, yes.
So good stuff there, Jake.
Bad stuff, but good information.
All right.
John Peterson tuned in fromMarietta, Georgia.
How have you been, my friend?
Great to see you.
I'd love to get your take onwhat we're seeing here in the copper
industry, you and David andeveryone else.
All right, so Jake, we'regoing to move right along and we're
going to talk about, on a bitof a related note, protecting critical
(14:21):
chemicals and what the EU isdoing in that regard here.
So as reported here byReuters, the EU will launch a critical
chemical alliance this yearbringing together the commission
member states, industry groupsto strengthen 27 nation organizations
Industrial chemical supply chains.
Key goals include identifyingstrategic chemical sites in need
of support, reducing import dependency.
(14:43):
For example, 80% of methanolis imported to meet their needs there
across the EU and addressingtrade challenges.
Of course, chemical productionhas declined significantly.
In fact, over 20 plants,especially petrochemical and ammonia
facilities, have closed in thepast two years across the EU due
to competition from lower costUS and Chinese producers.
(15:05):
Now, the aim of the criticalchemical alliance, the policies themselves
are focused on integratingchemicals into future trade deals.
Tightening import monitoring,extending state aid to offset energy
costs, speeding up permittingand approvals is something Jake just
spoke about, because there'sno overnight solutions.
We gotta speed up thoseregulatory processes.
It's also focused on embeddingEU content requirements in procurement
(15:28):
and contracts and all, andreducing European Union chemicals
industry costs.
So Jake, your thoughts on whatthe EU is doing to address some of
these chemical shortages andindustry shortfalls?
Well, I think first, you know,we should back up and say, hey, this
is a parallel activity of whatothers have undertaken in non chemical
(15:49):
sectors.
Because if you look at thecriticality that chemicals represents
to a minimum of at least threelarge scale industrial sectors verticals
wise in Europe, I mean, youcould rattle off pharma and life
science, you could talk aboutall the sustainability efforts across
the continent and thenobviously, but in a defense context
(16:14):
as well.
So you look at that and yousay, hey, what they're doing is they've
woken up to the fact thatthey're exposed on the availability
of the products in questionand they've realized they can't do
this in a haphazard way.
They need to actually bindtogether so that they're looking
at a WHO holistic solution forhow they can help protect what their
needs are across these things.
(16:36):
And I actually support whatthey're doing because I also think
it's helping streamline whathas been the contributing factor
for why some of thoseinstallations and production facilities
actually shut down.
Right.
Because they were dealing withdifferent rule sets.
Right.
And it made it a little bitmore difficult for them to viably
operate across the larger geography.
(16:58):
So they were being undercut byexternal competition.
Right.
But at the same time theycouldn't fight back because the rule
sets were also there.
Right, Good stuff.
We'll see when it launches andearly returns.
And but it sounds to echo yoursentiments there, Jake.
It sounds like a smart andoverdue set of actions by the EU
and probably something thatother parts of the world can probably
(17:20):
benchmark study and act on intheir own.
Right.
But if you look at some of theeffort, you'll see some terminology
they offer up and I try tomake sure I paraphrase it correctly,
but it's call it buildingblock molecules, Scott.
So their focus is really fromthe ground up and saying, hey, these
ingredients and these elementsare going to be critical to us long
(17:41):
term across a number ofsectors and we need to make sure
we have a viable way to havethem available and to protect the
sourcing of it.
Great addition there, Jake.
And it just reminds me for themain time why I should have paid
more attention in chemistry class.
I'm letting Ms. Beckham down,but good stuff.
We're going to keep our fingeron the pulse of the story as well.
(18:02):
All right, Jake, we're goingto stick with the EU here.
We're going to talk about alittle different twist of a topic.
Tariffs, trades, headaches,negotiations, frustrations.
Yeah, we're going to dive moreinto all that.
So as reported by cnbc, whilethe volatile US Trade policies and
actions have taken of coursecenter stage this year, the EU and
China may have fireworks oftheir own Brewing.
(18:22):
Recent EU restrictionsblocking Chinese participation in
public RFPs for medicaldevices, well, that prompted China
to impose curbs on EU medicaldevice imports.
Along with new duties on thatdelicious EU brandy.
These tit for tat measuresreflect a shift, according to many
trade analysts out there.
What was once an optimistic EUbrandy China trade relationship is
(18:45):
now marked by escalatingprotectionism and mutual investigation.
Some predict that ahead of theEU China July 24 summit in Beijing,
tensions are unlikely to beresolved, casting doubt on a growing
trade relationship that somepointed at as a leverage point for
both groups.
Negotiations with the U.S.well, as we all know, global trade,
(19:07):
it ain't easy.
Jake, your thoughts on whatwe're seeing here?
I don't anticipate any deescalation in what's going on between
the EU and China.
In fact, if anything, I thinkit will end up being a little bit
stirring the drink of why theEU and the US actually come back
and coalesce on a number oftopics because fundamentally that
(19:29):
will be the answer when youlook at the major trading sources
in the world, businesseconomics ultimately play out win.
And I think you'll see thatplay out here.
Yep, well said.
We'll see what comes out ofthe summit, but there's a lot of
practical pessimism out there.
We shall see.
All right, so Jake, onlyrelated note, tariffs, headaches,
you know, and supply chain,how that all rolls into supply chain
(19:52):
management as we navigatethrough these volatile times.
We've got great resources here.
Tariffs, of course, are top ofmind for distributors and manufacturers
across supply chains everywhere.
They're wrecking havoc onpricing and margins while a lot of
companies are still in waitand see mode.
That's a dangerous mode to bein if you're looking to get ahead
of all the chaos or thecontinued chaos.
Enable's new tariff priceplanner lets you turn all that uncertainty
(20:14):
into opportunity.
This tool gives you real timeinsights into how changing tariffs
impact your costs and pricesand lets you adjust pricing instantly
to protect your margins.
There's lots of research outthere that talks about how margins
are taking a hit because folkscan't make price changes fast enough.
With this tool, you can evensimulate pricing strategies before
making any moves, maximizingyour control and your ability to
(20:35):
see around corners.
I wish I had somewhat some of that.
We're dropping a link in thecomments so you can learn more about
both our friends at Enable andwhere you can demo this innovative
and practical new tool.
Check it out folks.
And Amanda, thank you fordropping a link.
Right there.
Jake, we got to find a way.
Whether you use that tool orother tools or new approaches, innovative
(20:56):
approaches at navigating thisVUCA environment, we can't sit on
our hands.
You've got to be constantlydoing scenario evaluations in my
view, if you don't havenominally about a dozen live scenarios
in play.
Constantly.
Right.
Because as you know, it's nota single point.
It's not.
Well, I can predict it can gofrom 5 to 15.
(21:18):
Right.
It may go from 5 to 28 andthen back off to 20.
It could have tiers.
It's not your multi variableanalysts analyzing data.
And you can't do that simplyon an Excel spreadsheet.
I am so glad you brought thatpoint up because it reminds me of
a recent conversation you andI had with a leading organization
(21:39):
out there.
And by reinvesting, reallydoubling down, tripling down in their
ability to run scenarios andget them off spreadsheets, they were
able to take scenario planningfrom, as I recall, from weeks and
weeks to 40 minutes to get results.
40 minutes for their entireglobal network.
Right.
And Jake, of course that'simportant on its face, but the point
(21:59):
they made as part of thisconversation was in many cases because
it was taking so long to comeup with answers driven by spreadsheets.
By the time they arrived atthe answer, it was irrelevant, right?
Absolutely.
Because you're walking in toanswer a question that got asked
a few days earlier and thecontext of the question has changed
again.
Yeah, there's lots of great,innovative, powerful platforms out
(22:21):
there that can help.
You got to find one and put itinto practice.
The stakes are massive.
Okay, Jake, speaking of greatconversations we've been having.
Right.
And folks can find our librarywherever you get your podcasts, of
course, our webinars over atsupply chain now.com but in the front
windshield, in terms of what'scoming up, we've Got some great shows,
folks.
Get a load of these.
(22:42):
Starting with my dear friend,Regine Vallee, chief supply chain
officer at Ochsner Health.
You've seen Regine with us inthe past.
She's a hall of famer, muchlike Jake in the health care industry.
She's done some really bigthings there.
In the run up to the pandemic,she was changing how supply chain
gets done and it saved lives.
So join us on July 25th as wetalk about how we can really lead
(23:04):
with boldness and overcome thenaysayers out there.
So stay tuned for that.
We've got Kevin, Omara, dearfriend, coming up August 15th.
Jake, it's amazing what Kevinhas been doing.
He's co founder of Zero100.
If you don't know Zero100, one of.
The most brilliant supplychain strategists that exist in the
globe.
Wow, that is high praisecoming from John Wayne, a global
(23:27):
supply chain.
You hear that, Kevin?
So join us.
August 15th and we're about tobe publishing this big event that
we've got set for September 3rd.
So stay tuned.
But Jake, we've got a like anight's roundtable of supply chain
Dynamos.
We're talking CS Co fromFortune 1000 companies.
So Jake, when you think aboutthe first two events and then this
(23:49):
big panel event we've got setfor September.
3Rd, I believe it is women insupply Chain.
Absolutely.
The some of the best womenleaders that are out there, but more
importantly, the mostsuccessful supply chain leaders on
the planet.
That's right, September 3rd.
It's going to be an incrediblepanel session featuring notable women
(24:10):
in supply chain doing big things.
And as Jake said, not justbecause they're women, because they're
incredible people, incredible leaders.
So folks, circle September3rd, August 15th and July 25th.
But Jake, when you think aboutthese conversations coming up, what
are some things that you'relooking forward to from these discussions?
I'm especially looking forwardto the.
(24:31):
Well, first, let's, let'sstart in the order that you kind
of laid them out.
Look, Regine, she is one ofthe most pragmatic supply chain leaders
out there, okay?
So you can throw the end ofthe world type problems at her and
she will literally diagnose itdown into a number of manageable
steps.
Okay?
So I love the way she thinksthrough her problem.
(24:52):
Second, the piece with 0 100.
And Kevin, look, if you'rereally trying to understand where
the puck is going currentlyfrom an AI perspective, I mean, he's
doing a whole session aroundthe age of agentic AI.
You really need to absorb whathe's going to be walking through
because fundamentally that'show we're going to operate the supply
(25:15):
chain.
We're going to operate thesupply chain aided by AI productively
in a way that turns our peopleinto decision shapers so that we
can actually stay ahead of thenever normal, which is tough to do,
but Kevin's brilliant at that.
Well said.
Cap it off when you get the panel.
I'm telling you guys, this isan all star panel.
(25:38):
We're talking Rene, our CEOand VP of supply chain at Lenovo.
We're talking the chief supplychain officer from Kimberly Clark,
the chief supply chain officerfrom Weston Lamb, the chief supply
chain officer from Hasbro.
These are folks that are notonly seasoned veteran, but exceptional
leaders that I think you'regoing to walk with some.
(25:59):
Great insights fromundoubtedly Jake.
And folks, we want to make iteasy for all y' all out there.
Angelina's here.
She says, love it.
I'll be there on July 25th andagain in August.
Wonderful, Angelina.
Hope this finds you well.
But if you're like many peopleout there and you get a thousand
emails a day and you're tryingto get your role, your job, leading
supply chains done, you know,getting that done day in and day
(26:21):
out, we're happy to make iteasy for you, Amanda, if you drop
that link where you can signup one time and then we'll make sure
you get registered for all ofour big upcoming events, that makes
life easier.
No need in continuing toregister and, and go through all
of that.
We're here to make your lifeeasier and also help inform, educate
and, and hopefully, hopefullyentertain a bit as well.
(26:44):
I'd actually encourage Scottviewers to turn a couple of these
upcoming events into what Icall lunch and learn opportunities.
It's not just for you as anindividual, which is great, but it's
even better when you actuallybring your supporting, you know,
lead team that you're workingwith or some of your operations folks
around so that you canactually listen, absorb together
(27:05):
and then have a debate aboutafter you sign off, hey, how does
this fit for us?
Because that's where you gettrue breakthrough from Jay.
That's an outstanding idea.
How can we get thosediscussions not only some legs, but
some actionable consequencesor actual follow up activity.
Actually, we should make it acontest where the first person that
(27:27):
actually says they're going tobring their entire lead team, Scott,
will actually send you free PBand JS for the entire team.
Hey, I love that Jake and Ifyou don't like PB and J, we'll send
you pizzas or something.
So let us know.
Reach out to us.
And Amanda, I see the, thelink that you put out there, I think
in the private chat.
But drop that link where youcan register once, just once, and
(27:47):
it makes your life easier ifyou put that.
There we are.
There we are.
It's right here.
Register once, right here forall of our events.
But I want to go back toJake's offer.
Hey, if you're bringing yourwhole team and you're going to have
that discussion after theevents, shoot me a note and we'll
try to deliver some tastyfood, make that easier.
Okay.
Hey, Dan, you're sharing yourtake on bricks and tariffs.
(28:07):
I'm going to read this whenI'm we're out of here, but thank
you for sharing.
I appreciate that.
All right, so Jake, before wewrap, before we wrap here, when you
think about the stories andthe conversations and the events
and the anecdotes we've kindof walked through here today, or
you think about some of ourpast conversations, feature some
people that are really doingglobal supply chain different.
(28:29):
What's one thing that youwould like to share with our audience
that they can really takeshare act on until we talk with them
next time?
What's one thing that reallysticks out to you, Jake?
Well, I'm going to say not tomake light of your superhero theme
with your son earlier, but ifyou're going to be the superhero
in a never normal environmentthat we have found ourselves in,
(28:53):
you really have to be aconstant learner.
You have to pull down as aleader on your personal investment
to absorb more so you canunderstand more, so you can bring
more to the table to solveproblems with your team.
Well said, Jake.
Well said.
And you know, along thoselines, I had a chat.
Bo Groover appeared on the busa couple weeks ago.
(29:15):
And I've known Bo a long time.
I've seen him in actionleading teams and organizations a
long time.
But one thing, several things,but one thing in particular really
stood out to me as he's beeninvolved in training folks and teams.
And one of his sayings helikes to, especially when he's talking
to leaders, is before you goout and try to train up your people,
you got to start with yourself.
(29:35):
And that's kind of what one ofthe points you were making there,
Jake.
Folks need to hear that.
Absolutely.
Leaders have to invest as muchin themselves as they do in the organization
today because we're in thefast and the Furious in terms of
the pace of information,download, etc.
You got to be the conduit forhow to rationalize that to your team.
(29:56):
So that's right.
Conduit.
Back to the copper story.
How we can't leave copper alone.
But Jake, well said as always, folks.
Check out that episode with Bo Grover.
I think we published that aweek or two ago.
Check out these events comingup, right?
I know we're in contentoverload, but I'm telling you, these
events that we justhighlighted are going to bring strategies
and ideas and real momentsthat you can take and act and share
(30:16):
with your team.
So, and the offer stands, ifyou plan on bringing your team and
have that post eventdiscussion, shoot me a note and we'll
find ways to make it easier.
All right, big thanks, JakeBarr, AKA the John Wayne of global
supply chain.
We're always efficient whenyou join us, Jake.
You're just.
That's how you're wired, huh?
Time is money, my friend.
Time is money, folks.
Time is money.
(30:37):
Also, big thanks to Amanda andJoshua behind the scenes.
They're the ones that dropped,not only made this happen, but they
also dropped.
All the comments are in thelinks that help you go back and take
action on some things weshared here today.
Big thanks to our globalaudience, the smartest global audience
all of global supply chain.
Great to have you here today.
But you know the homework yougot, folks.
You know the homework.
Take one thing.
Jake dropped a litany of things.
(30:58):
17 things at least by last count.
Trying to keep up with him,that's impossible.
Take one thing that we sharedhere today.
Share it with your team.
Put it into practice, deeds,not words.
That's how we're going to keeptransforming global supply chain
management.
With all that said, on behalfof the entire supply Chain now, team
Scott Luton, challenging you.
Do good, give forward.
Be the change that's needed.
We'll see you next time rightback here on Supply Chain Now.
(31:20):
Thanks everybody.
Join the Supply Chain now community.
For more supply chainperspectives, news and innovation,
check out supply chain now.comsubscribe to Supply Chain now on
YouTube and follow and listento Supply Chain Now.
Wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to supply chain nowthe number one voice of supply chain.
Join us as we share criticalnews, key insights and real supply
chain leadership from acrossthe globe.
One conversation at a time.
Hey, good morning, goodafternoon, good evening wherever
you may be.
Scott Lewton and supply chainhall of famer Jake Barr with you
here on supply chain now.
(00:22):
Welcome to today's live stream.
Hey Jake, how you doing today?
It's another glorious week andbringing global supply chains to
bear.
That is right.
And we've got a big, bigedition of the Buzz today, Jake in
that, in that regard.
So folks, as you know, EveryMonday at 12 noon Eastern time it's
the Buzz where we discuss avariety of news developments across
(00:42):
global supply chain andbusiness news that matters is what
we like to call it.
We've got a terrific show here today.
We're gonna be talking aboutSuperman and supply chain orchestration.
Hey, how are those two things connected?
Hey, just what is threateningglobal copper supply and why it's
important The EU is planningsome big moves to secure its critical
chemicals and spe you itstrade disagreements with China are
(01:03):
starting to simmer a bit more.
All that and a whole bunchmore, Jake should be a great addition
to the Buzz, huh?
It's another day and never normal.
Another day and never normal.
So true.
Folks.
Stay tuned for a great show.
Two things before we get going.
First give us your take in the comments.
Whether you're tuned in viaLinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch,
no matter, let us know whatyou think.
And secondly, if you enjoytoday's show, we'd love for you to
(01:25):
share it with your friend oryour network.
They'll be glad you did.
Okay, so Jake, I've got a funwarm up question to ask you in just
a minute but to set that up,I'm going to share the latest edition
of our newsletter.
With that said now we startedwith a quick review of the global
blockbuster Superman.
Ben and I. Ben is my residentcomic book consultant and expert.
(01:46):
We went and saw the movie overthe weekend.
We both gave it two thumbs upbut it's debatable out there for
what I'm here so now one of myfavorite elements though to the whole
Superman franchise is JohnWilliams legendary film score including
the majestic theme songSuperman March.
We're going to drop a link tonot only with that said but also
to a great YouTube edition ofJohn Williams leading orchestra in
(02:09):
Japan from a couple years ago.
But you watch that performance Jake.
It is mesmerizing to see allthe oboes and the flutes and the
French horns, the Percussion,the violins, you name it, all come
together in perfect harmony inrhythm to deliver extraordinary and
inspiring performance ofSuperman March.
And you know, there's a supplychain orchestration analogy there.
(02:31):
So hang on to that thought forjust a second.
But folks, check out with thatsaid for our latest data points,
tools, resources and ofcourse, some of our live upcoming
events, which we alwaysinclude for the week coming up.
So we're going to drop a link there.
Okay, Jake, back tosuperheroes first.
This edition of Superman islike the third or fourth reboot.
I'd recommend you go out andcheck it out.
(02:52):
I want to ask Jake.
Jake, are you a fan, thumbs upor thumbs down on superhero films?
Thumbs up.
Without question.
Are you kidding me?
Without question.
And your favorite is.
Oh wow, the man of Steel hassome allure.
It's Batman.
Okay.
Batman.
And your favorite actor thatperformed in that Batman role was
(03:15):
who?
Keaton.
Without question.
Michael Keaton.
Yes.
Well, you know that 1989, hisfirst film as Batman when Jack Nicholson
was the Joker.
That was one of the biggesthype movies and movies that delivered
in my lifetime and delivered.
But I go back in true supplychain fashion to the very genesis
(03:37):
of many of these characters, right.
So I've been around for thatmany decades.
So my John Wayne perspective,I've seen them in living color even
on tube before and in theirpage based method of a comic book
series.
Right.
So I can walk you through allof the dimensions of those.
It is good to see themrecreate and try and add additional
(03:58):
dimensions because that's whatthe world is about, right?
Trying to find how to bringmore insight, more spin to what they've
already created.
So true.
Folks, we'd love to get you toweigh in whether you're Maharaj is
tuned in From India on LinkedIn.
Hey, let us know what yourfavorite movie is or if you've seen
(04:18):
Superman 2025 yet.
Let us know this user.
Amanda, let me know who this.
Oh, this is Charlotte.
Charlotte, who's tuned in from France.
Charlotte, let us know ifyou've seen Superman 2025 yet or
what your favorite superheromovies are.
Okay, we got a lot to get tohere, Jake, but hey, well, I want
to circle back.
We have dropped the link tothat performance of Superman March,
(04:39):
folks.
Check it out.
Brilliant.
It really is.
So with that in mind, Jake,and going back to Supply Chain Orchestration,
which of course we've had lotsof conversations, action driven conversations
here at Supply Chain now aboutif you had a captive room full of
supply chain leaders at theWaldorf Astoria hotel up in New York
City and they were justwatching and hanging on your every
(04:59):
word.
What would be a couple of keyconsiderations related to supply
chain orchestration that youwould share with that room?
Supply chain orchestrationreally is a way to deal with never
normal.
And in fact, if anything, it'sa linchpin foundation element that
you have to understand is aprerequisite for actually moving
forward.
(05:19):
If you cannot bring togetherthat end to end basis of your ecosystem,
regardless of whether you ownthe assets or the partners or not,
to be able to manage theamount of chaos that we have to work
through, regardless of itssource, you're really again, and
I've used this analogy before,you're really endangering hanging
(05:40):
up or going out of businessShangle today.
It is that fundamental to howyou do business.
Well said.
And you know, one of myfavorite elements, and I've said
this before too, but you knowhow redundant I like to be.
Jake, one of the favoritethings I've talked about that we've
talked about in recent monthsis, you know, there's so much, and
rightly so, so much focus onoptimizing decision making, right?
(06:02):
And it's really cool to seethe latest approaches and technologies
help us do that.
But my favorite parts, one ofmy favorite parts about supply chain
orchestration is it caneliminate the need to make a lot
of decisions and it frees upthat time to focus on other priorities
and other decisions that haveto be made, including humans.
Jake, I know you appreciatethat value too.
It turns your people intodecision shapers as opposed to firefighters.
(06:26):
Love it.
Love it.
Okay.
All right, folks, we got a lotto get to here on the buzz.
I want to share before we moveon and get into the news.
You're going to not want tomiss Jake's take on some of these
stories.
I want to share a great freeresource, folks.
We're Talking about the U.S.bank freight payment Index, which
is really powerful when itcomes to helping folks better understand
what's going on with thedomestic freight market.
(06:48):
It's released every quarterand it helps to unpack key supply
chain and economic takeaways,especially from a data driven perspective,
folks.
The next release is August 5thas a Q2 2025 version is published.
You can learn more at Freightusbank.com and I invite you to join
us live on August 6th.
(07:09):
Almost said October 6th.
We're moving fast.
Not quite that fast.
Join us live on August 6th at12 noon Eastern Time as we're featuring
Bob Costello, chief economistwith the American Trucking associations
who's going to be offering upmust see analysis and market commentary.
That should be an outstanding session.
And Corri, one of myfavorites, Craig Burst is joining
us as well.
Jake, it's gonna be a greatshow, huh?
(07:30):
Even between here and now,you're gonna see Bobby, Bob and Bobby
talk honestly about a verydifferent dynamic that's spinning
it up somewhat is an outcomeof the terror situation.
That is right.
And of course Bob, Bobby,we're talking about Bobby Holland,
the famed analyst and datascientist from US bank who always
joins us for these quarterly shows.
All right, so folks, you canget your copy of the Free US Bank
(07:54):
Freight Payment Index rightthere, one click away.
And I also want to make sureyou are aware of the with that said,
we dropped in earlier.
That comes out about everyweekend and you're not going to want
to miss the resources, toolsand shows and perspective that we
include right there.
Okay, so Jake, we're going toget into the news.
We're going to start with thiswhat's going on in the copper industry.
I'm going to summarize at ahigh level, two quick stories and
(08:18):
then we're getting Jake'stakeaway here.
So copper global supply isbeing threatened by a couple of continued
and increasing risks.
So firstly here as reported byIT Pro, analysis from PwC shows that
about 32% of globalsemiconductor production will be
dependent on copper suppliesthat are at risk of water shortages
(08:38):
over the next 10 years.
One particular market that's abig supplier to the copper industry
is Chile and that's at bigrisk due to water shortages.
In fact, some copper miningoperations in Chile are already investing
in water desalinationtechniques to help address water
and potential production shortages.
Secondly, copper theft is alsoposing a growing risk to global copper
(09:01):
supply.
As reported here by the WallStreet Journal, copper prices have
increased globally.
For example, here in the U.S.copper is up about 35% this year
alone.
But not only are procurementpros noticing this, but thieves are
tracking it and have turnedtheir attention to getting into the
copper game to make a buck ortwo or 10.
Varusque Cargo Net says copperthefts in the US and Canada are up
(09:23):
61% in the first six months of2025 when compared to the same timeframe
last year.
Lastly, the so what?
For some of you out there maybe asking that copper is instrumental
in the production of a wholebunch of stuff including electrical
wiring, industrial machineryand oh yeah, semiconductors.
It's kind of a big deal.
So Jake, we were talking preshow you've Got a lot of takes here
(09:44):
on what's going on in thecopper industry.
Give us your thoughts.
This is a big problem, guys.
You must understand there is afinite amount of rare earth materials,
copper being one of them.
There are fundamentally theglobe depends upon about five principal
sources for being able toderive its requirements for copper
(10:05):
at the moment.
Chile, as you mentioned, bythe way.
Let's put some dimension on that.
23% of the global consumptionfor copper is derived from shipments
out of mines and Chile right now.
So you would say, wait, ohGod, you know, yeah, it's an issue,
but you can destroy it.
No, no.
The last major copper find ofany kind of relevance occurred in
(10:28):
2020, okay?
And that was only about, if Iremember right, it added about 15
million metric tons, okay.
To the global cover supply,you should say, well, wait, 15 million
metric tons, that's a lot.
No, hey guys, back up, let'sback up the truck and unpack this
for a second.
That just the difference.
And I'll forget aboutindustrial uses, etcetera, which
(10:49):
it's a mainstay for wiring andinfrastructure and mechanical machinery,
etc.
H vacs that cool and you know,heat your home, et cetera, et cetera.
But let's focus on from asupply chain perspective where we're
going in terms of masscomputing power, et cetera.
The amount of copper that isneeded for interconnects for next
(11:11):
gen level AI processors isdramatically more than a single traditional
chip, a data processing center.
AI based data processing center.
I mean, it will take onaverage about 50,000 tons of copper
just to bring it online.
Wow.
(11:31):
One facility.
One facility.
Wow.
And we have hundreds of thesefacilities that are currently not
in visionary mode.
They're on delivery road mapsover the next four years just for
the US alone, guys.
So we have made a market outof the constrained supply and the
(11:53):
theft market of turning thatinto a resale business, right?
So I date back.
Look, necessity, the mother ofinvention for anything, right?
I've lived through literallycontainers of health care products
where they took apart thecontainer in route, took everything
out of it and welded it backtogether without breaking the freight
seals on it, right?
(12:13):
So when you think about at itscurrent price of about $10,000 per
metric tonight, just do themath for yourself, what one truckload
of copper is worth rollingdown the road.
Wow.
I need a calculator and maybean abacus and definitely an Excel
spreadsheet to do that math.
But anyway, kidding aside,it's a big, big deal.
(12:35):
It's a big deal.
But look this up.
Copper is the backbone of theelectrical grid because it's the
second best conductor ofelectricity after silver.
Of course, it's a lot moreaffordable than silver.
So we're, we're using it rightnow, Jake, that's, we're sitting
there delivering the news, butwe're going to keep our finger on
the pulse of this story.
Let's put a capstone on atleast a couple of outcomes that our
(12:56):
viewers really need to understand.
From a supply chainstandpoint, the price is going to
continue to go up because wehaven't found another big wealth
of rare earth minerals to beable to bring into the chain.
From a procurement standpoint,the cost just to process and make
it available is you alluded toin the Chile example.
Right.
(13:16):
It's not an inexpensiveelement to actually go through and
do the separation and do thefinal cultivation of it.
So you're going to have higherprocessing costs that are going to
go into per ton yields.
And so anything you're talkingabout that's tied to electrical grid,
industrial equipment, etcetera, you need to be proactively
(13:39):
thinking future forward.
How can I buffer myself with,for example, backup capacity, etc.
That'll help me to offset this issue.
Yep, that's a great capstone.
And adding to that, just thelatest reason why we've got to invest
in freight security.
Right.
Because those rates are takenoff and infrastructure security.
Right.
That bad folks aren't justtaking them from freight and transit,
(14:01):
they're taking them right outof facilities.
Oh, yes.
So good stuff there, Jake.
Bad stuff, but good information.
All right.
John Peterson tuned in fromMarietta, Georgia.
How have you been, my friend?
Great to see you.
I'd love to get your take onwhat we're seeing here in the copper
industry, you and David andeveryone else.
All right, so Jake, we'regoing to move right along and we're
going to talk about, on a bitof a related note, protecting critical
(14:21):
chemicals and what the EU isdoing in that regard here.
So as reported here byReuters, the EU will launch a critical
chemical alliance this yearbringing together the commission
member states, industry groupsto strengthen 27 nation organizations
Industrial chemical supply chains.
Key goals include identifyingstrategic chemical sites in need
of support, reducing import dependency.
(14:43):
For example, 80% of methanolis imported to meet their needs there
across the EU and addressingtrade challenges.
Of course, chemical productionhas declined significantly.
In fact, over 20 plants,especially petrochemical and ammonia
facilities, have closed in thepast two years across the EU due
to competition from lower costUS and Chinese producers.
(15:05):
Now, the aim of the criticalchemical alliance, the policies themselves
are focused on integratingchemicals into future trade deals.
Tightening import monitoring,extending state aid to offset energy
costs, speeding up permittingand approvals is something Jake just
spoke about, because there'sno overnight solutions.
We gotta speed up thoseregulatory processes.
It's also focused on embeddingEU content requirements in procurement
(15:28):
and contracts and all, andreducing European Union chemicals
industry costs.
So Jake, your thoughts on whatthe EU is doing to address some of
these chemical shortages andindustry shortfalls?
Well, I think first, you know,we should back up and say, hey, this
is a parallel activity of whatothers have undertaken in non chemical
(15:49):
sectors.
Because if you look at thecriticality that chemicals represents
to a minimum of at least threelarge scale industrial sectors verticals
wise in Europe, I mean, youcould rattle off pharma and life
science, you could talk aboutall the sustainability efforts across
the continent and thenobviously, but in a defense context
(16:14):
as well.
So you look at that and yousay, hey, what they're doing is they've
woken up to the fact thatthey're exposed on the availability
of the products in questionand they've realized they can't do
this in a haphazard way.
They need to actually bindtogether so that they're looking
at a WHO holistic solution forhow they can help protect what their
needs are across these things.
(16:36):
And I actually support whatthey're doing because I also think
it's helping streamline whathas been the contributing factor
for why some of thoseinstallations and production facilities
actually shut down.
Right.
Because they were dealing withdifferent rule sets.
Right.
And it made it a little bitmore difficult for them to viably
operate across the larger geography.
(16:58):
So they were being undercut byexternal competition.
Right.
But at the same time theycouldn't fight back because the rule
sets were also there.
Right, Good stuff.
We'll see when it launches andearly returns.
And but it sounds to echo yoursentiments there, Jake.
It sounds like a smart andoverdue set of actions by the EU
and probably something thatother parts of the world can probably
(17:20):
benchmark study and act on intheir own.
Right.
But if you look at some of theeffort, you'll see some terminology
they offer up and I try tomake sure I paraphrase it correctly,
but it's call it buildingblock molecules, Scott.
So their focus is really fromthe ground up and saying, hey, these
ingredients and these elementsare going to be critical to us long
(17:41):
term across a number ofsectors and we need to make sure
we have a viable way to havethem available and to protect the
sourcing of it.
Great addition there, Jake.
And it just reminds me for themain time why I should have paid
more attention in chemistry class.
I'm letting Ms. Beckham down,but good stuff.
We're going to keep our fingeron the pulse of the story as well.
(18:02):
All right, Jake, we're goingto stick with the EU here.
We're going to talk about alittle different twist of a topic.
Tariffs, trades, headaches,negotiations, frustrations.
Yeah, we're going to dive moreinto all that.
So as reported by cnbc, whilethe volatile US Trade policies and
actions have taken of coursecenter stage this year, the EU and
China may have fireworks oftheir own Brewing.
(18:22):
Recent EU restrictionsblocking Chinese participation in
public RFPs for medicaldevices, well, that prompted China
to impose curbs on EU medicaldevice imports.
Along with new duties on thatdelicious EU brandy.
These tit for tat measuresreflect a shift, according to many
trade analysts out there.
What was once an optimistic EUbrandy China trade relationship is
(18:45):
now marked by escalatingprotectionism and mutual investigation.
Some predict that ahead of theEU China July 24 summit in Beijing,
tensions are unlikely to beresolved, casting doubt on a growing
trade relationship that somepointed at as a leverage point for
both groups.
Negotiations with the U.S.well, as we all know, global trade,
(19:07):
it ain't easy.
Jake, your thoughts on whatwe're seeing here?
I don't anticipate any deescalation in what's going on between
the EU and China.
In fact, if anything, I thinkit will end up being a little bit
stirring the drink of why theEU and the US actually come back
and coalesce on a number oftopics because fundamentally that
(19:29):
will be the answer when youlook at the major trading sources
in the world, businesseconomics ultimately play out win.
And I think you'll see thatplay out here.
Yep, well said.
We'll see what comes out ofthe summit, but there's a lot of
practical pessimism out there.
We shall see.
All right, so Jake, onlyrelated note, tariffs, headaches,
you know, and supply chain,how that all rolls into supply chain
(19:52):
management as we navigatethrough these volatile times.
We've got great resources here.
Tariffs, of course, are top ofmind for distributors and manufacturers
across supply chains everywhere.
They're wrecking havoc onpricing and margins while a lot of
companies are still in waitand see mode.
That's a dangerous mode to bein if you're looking to get ahead
of all the chaos or thecontinued chaos.
Enable's new tariff priceplanner lets you turn all that uncertainty
(20:14):
into opportunity.
This tool gives you real timeinsights into how changing tariffs
impact your costs and pricesand lets you adjust pricing instantly
to protect your margins.
There's lots of research outthere that talks about how margins
are taking a hit because folkscan't make price changes fast enough.
With this tool, you can evensimulate pricing strategies before
making any moves, maximizingyour control and your ability to
(20:35):
see around corners.
I wish I had somewhat some of that.
We're dropping a link in thecomments so you can learn more about
both our friends at Enable andwhere you can demo this innovative
and practical new tool.
Check it out folks.
And Amanda, thank you fordropping a link.
Right there.
Jake, we got to find a way.
Whether you use that tool orother tools or new approaches, innovative
(20:56):
approaches at navigating thisVUCA environment, we can't sit on
our hands.
You've got to be constantlydoing scenario evaluations in my
view, if you don't havenominally about a dozen live scenarios
in play.
Constantly.
Right.
Because as you know, it's nota single point.
It's not.
Well, I can predict it can gofrom 5 to 15.
(21:18):
Right.
It may go from 5 to 28 andthen back off to 20.
It could have tiers.
It's not your multi variableanalysts analyzing data.
And you can't do that simplyon an Excel spreadsheet.
I am so glad you brought thatpoint up because it reminds me of
a recent conversation you andI had with a leading organization
(21:39):
out there.
And by reinvesting, reallydoubling down, tripling down in their
ability to run scenarios andget them off spreadsheets, they were
able to take scenario planningfrom, as I recall, from weeks and
weeks to 40 minutes to get results.
40 minutes for their entireglobal network.
Right.
And Jake, of course that'simportant on its face, but the point
(21:59):
they made as part of thisconversation was in many cases because
it was taking so long to comeup with answers driven by spreadsheets.
By the time they arrived atthe answer, it was irrelevant, right?
Absolutely.
Because you're walking in toanswer a question that got asked
a few days earlier and thecontext of the question has changed
again.
Yeah, there's lots of great,innovative, powerful platforms out
(22:21):
there that can help.
You got to find one and put itinto practice.
The stakes are massive.
Okay, Jake, speaking of greatconversations we've been having.
Right.
And folks can find our librarywherever you get your podcasts, of
course, our webinars over atsupply chain now.com but in the front
windshield, in terms of what'scoming up, we've Got some great shows,
folks.
Get a load of these.
(22:42):
Starting with my dear friend,Regine Vallee, chief supply chain
officer at Ochsner Health.
You've seen Regine with us inthe past.
She's a hall of famer, muchlike Jake in the health care industry.
She's done some really bigthings there.
In the run up to the pandemic,she was changing how supply chain
gets done and it saved lives.
So join us on July 25th as wetalk about how we can really lead
(23:04):
with boldness and overcome thenaysayers out there.
So stay tuned for that.
We've got Kevin, Omara, dearfriend, coming up August 15th.
Jake, it's amazing what Kevinhas been doing.
He's co founder of Zero100.
If you don't know Zero100, one of.
The most brilliant supplychain strategists that exist in the
globe.
Wow, that is high praisecoming from John Wayne, a global
(23:27):
supply chain.
You hear that, Kevin?
So join us.
August 15th and we're about tobe publishing this big event that
we've got set for September 3rd.
So stay tuned.
But Jake, we've got a like anight's roundtable of supply chain
Dynamos.
We're talking CS Co fromFortune 1000 companies.
So Jake, when you think aboutthe first two events and then this
(23:49):
big panel event we've got setfor September.
3Rd, I believe it is women insupply Chain.
Absolutely.
The some of the best womenleaders that are out there, but more
importantly, the mostsuccessful supply chain leaders on
the planet.
That's right, September 3rd.
It's going to be an incrediblepanel session featuring notable women
(24:10):
in supply chain doing big things.
And as Jake said, not justbecause they're women, because they're
incredible people, incredible leaders.
So folks, circle September3rd, August 15th and July 25th.
But Jake, when you think aboutthese conversations coming up, what
are some things that you'relooking forward to from these discussions?
I'm especially looking forwardto the.
(24:31):
Well, first, let's, let'sstart in the order that you kind
of laid them out.
Look, Regine, she is one ofthe most pragmatic supply chain leaders
out there, okay?
So you can throw the end ofthe world type problems at her and
she will literally diagnose itdown into a number of manageable
steps.
Okay?
So I love the way she thinksthrough her problem.
(24:52):
Second, the piece with 0 100.
And Kevin, look, if you'rereally trying to understand where
the puck is going currentlyfrom an AI perspective, I mean, he's
doing a whole session aroundthe age of agentic AI.
You really need to absorb whathe's going to be walking through
because fundamentally that'show we're going to operate the supply
(25:15):
chain.
We're going to operate thesupply chain aided by AI productively
in a way that turns our peopleinto decision shapers so that we
can actually stay ahead of thenever normal, which is tough to do,
but Kevin's brilliant at that.
Well said.
Cap it off when you get the panel.
I'm telling you guys, this isan all star panel.
(25:38):
We're talking Rene, our CEOand VP of supply chain at Lenovo.
We're talking the chief supplychain officer from Kimberly Clark,
the chief supply chain officerfrom Weston Lamb, the chief supply
chain officer from Hasbro.
These are folks that are notonly seasoned veteran, but exceptional
leaders that I think you'regoing to walk with some.
(25:59):
Great insights fromundoubtedly Jake.
And folks, we want to make iteasy for all y' all out there.
Angelina's here.
She says, love it.
I'll be there on July 25th andagain in August.
Wonderful, Angelina.
Hope this finds you well.
But if you're like many peopleout there and you get a thousand
emails a day and you're tryingto get your role, your job, leading
supply chains done, you know,getting that done day in and day
(26:21):
out, we're happy to make iteasy for you, Amanda, if you drop
that link where you can signup one time and then we'll make sure
you get registered for all ofour big upcoming events, that makes
life easier.
No need in continuing toregister and, and go through all
of that.
We're here to make your lifeeasier and also help inform, educate
and, and hopefully, hopefullyentertain a bit as well.
(26:44):
I'd actually encourage Scottviewers to turn a couple of these
upcoming events into what Icall lunch and learn opportunities.
It's not just for you as anindividual, which is great, but it's
even better when you actuallybring your supporting, you know,
lead team that you're workingwith or some of your operations folks
around so that you canactually listen, absorb together
(27:05):
and then have a debate aboutafter you sign off, hey, how does
this fit for us?
Because that's where you gettrue breakthrough from Jay.
That's an outstanding idea.
How can we get thosediscussions not only some legs, but
some actionable consequencesor actual follow up activity.
Actually, we should make it acontest where the first person that
(27:27):
actually says they're going tobring their entire lead team, Scott,
will actually send you free PBand JS for the entire team.
Hey, I love that Jake and Ifyou don't like PB and J, we'll send
you pizzas or something.
So let us know.
Reach out to us.
And Amanda, I see the, thelink that you put out there, I think
in the private chat.
But drop that link where youcan register once, just once, and
(27:47):
it makes your life easier ifyou put that.
There we are.
There we are.
It's right here.
Register once, right here forall of our events.
But I want to go back toJake's offer.
Hey, if you're bringing yourwhole team and you're going to have
that discussion after theevents, shoot me a note and we'll
try to deliver some tastyfood, make that easier.
Okay.
Hey, Dan, you're sharing yourtake on bricks and tariffs.
(28:07):
I'm going to read this whenI'm we're out of here, but thank
you for sharing.
I appreciate that.
All right, so Jake, before wewrap, before we wrap here, when you
think about the stories andthe conversations and the events
and the anecdotes we've kindof walked through here today, or
you think about some of ourpast conversations, feature some
people that are really doingglobal supply chain different.
(28:29):
What's one thing that youwould like to share with our audience
that they can really takeshare act on until we talk with them
next time?
What's one thing that reallysticks out to you, Jake?
Well, I'm going to say not tomake light of your superhero theme
with your son earlier, but ifyou're going to be the superhero
in a never normal environmentthat we have found ourselves in,
(28:53):
you really have to be aconstant learner.
You have to pull down as aleader on your personal investment
to absorb more so you canunderstand more, so you can bring
more to the table to solveproblems with your team.
Well said, Jake.
Well said.
And you know, along thoselines, I had a chat.
Bo Groover appeared on the busa couple weeks ago.
(29:15):
And I've known Bo a long time.
I've seen him in actionleading teams and organizations a
long time.
But one thing, several things,but one thing in particular really
stood out to me as he's beeninvolved in training folks and teams.
And one of his sayings helikes to, especially when he's talking
to leaders, is before you goout and try to train up your people,
you got to start with yourself.
(29:35):
And that's kind of what one ofthe points you were making there,
Jake.
Folks need to hear that.
Absolutely.
Leaders have to invest as muchin themselves as they do in the organization
today because we're in thefast and the Furious in terms of
the pace of information,download, etc.
You got to be the conduit forhow to rationalize that to your team.
(29:56):
So that's right.
Conduit.
Back to the copper story.
How we can't leave copper alone.
But Jake, well said as always, folks.
Check out that episode with Bo Grover.
I think we published that aweek or two ago.
Check out these events comingup, right?
I know we're in contentoverload, but I'm telling you, these
events that we justhighlighted are going to bring strategies
and ideas and real momentsthat you can take and act and share
(30:16):
with your team.
So, and the offer stands, ifyou plan on bringing your team and
have that post eventdiscussion, shoot me a note and we'll
find ways to make it easier.
All right, big thanks, JakeBarr, AKA the John Wayne of global
supply chain.
We're always efficient whenyou join us, Jake.
You're just.
That's how you're wired, huh?
Time is money, my friend.
Time is money, folks.
Time is money.
(30:37):
Also, big thanks to Amanda andJoshua behind the scenes.
They're the ones that dropped,not only made this happen, but they
also dropped.
All the comments are in thelinks that help you go back and take
action on some things weshared here today.
Big thanks to our globalaudience, the smartest global audience
all of global supply chain.
Great to have you here today.
But you know the homework yougot, folks.
You know the homework.
Take one thing.
Jake dropped a litany of things.
(30:58):
17 things at least by last count.
Trying to keep up with him,that's impossible.
Take one thing that we sharedhere today.
Share it with your team.
Put it into practice, deeds,not words.
That's how we're going to keeptransforming global supply chain
management.
With all that said, on behalfof the entire supply Chain now, team
Scott Luton, challenging you.
Do good, give forward.
Be the change that's needed.
We'll see you next time rightback here on Supply Chain Now.
(31:20):
Thanks everybody.
Join the Supply Chain now community.
For more supply chainperspectives, news and innovation,
check out supply chain now.comsubscribe to Supply Chain now on
YouTube and follow and listento Supply Chain Now.
Wherever you get your podcasts.
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