Good Food, Great People

"People who love to eat are always the best people." --- Julia Child

Good Sunday afternoon all and welcome to this edition, No. 86, of "With That Said" (WTS), an almost-weekly newsletter powered by your friends here at Supply Chain Now. Today, we'd like to start with delicious food and a few travel tips.

As many know, our SCN team is based in the Metro Atlanta area. While most of our production is conducted remotely, thanks to wonderful people found throughout the world, we do like to meet in person and enjoy the incredible food scene in Atlanta. Making time to sit down, eat good food & talk with people is one of life's simplest and most powerful pleasures.

Given that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest in the world, many of our friends may find themselves passing through or spending a little time in our neck of the woods. So to that end, we wanted to recommend a few great places that we've enjoyed eating at...and we bet you will too:

South City Kitchen Midtown "serves Southern classics with a sophisticated spin from an iconic bungalow in the heart of Midtown Atlanta." Be sure to check out the King Biscuit or the fried chicken, amongst other things. For those that are just as focused on the logistics as they are the food: there is a big paid parking lot just across the street (but you better get there early).

Ray's In the City just so happens to be the site of Scott Luton & Amanda Luton 's first date. This white tablecloth venue is known for its steaks & seafood, and is located within walking distance of Peachtree Center MARTA station. We're big fans of the mussels, the shrimp & grits and the salmon oscar.

Nuevo Laredo Cantina gets many votes as the best Mexican food in Atlanta. From it's website: "In its campy, off the beaten path location, Nuevo Laredo Cantina opened its doors with the sole intention of offering authentic, home-cooked Mexican food to the lunch patrons of the surrounding industries". The tortas, the holy tacos, the huevos rancheros, all of it: you just can't go wrong.

The Optimist has hosted a variety of our team dinner meetings in recent years. From its website: "Ford Fry’s The Optimist brings a seaside fish camp experience to landlocked Atlantans. From fresh oysters from the Alabama coast and Maine sea scallops to whole roasted Georgia trout, guests enjoy high-quality, sustainable seafood from the country’s best suppliers". Amongst our favorite dishes here: the whole shrimp a la plancha, the mussels, of course the oysters and the scallops.

There are SO many other outstanding places to eat: Mary Mac's Tea Room, Chops, Crescent City Kitchen (named for Crescent Avenue, not New Orleans), Atlanta Fish Market, we could go on and on. But if you get a chance, venture out from ATL and get some good grub. And let us know some of your favs!

Now let's move on to some news and a few views:

--- FedEx is preparing for the end of its 20-year relationship with the United States Postal Service, as their contract expires in September 2024. And the company has their work cut out for them, as FedEx EVP and CFO John Dietrich says the parting of ways has created about a $500M headwind for fiscal year 2025. Read more here via Supply Chain Dive .

--- It wasn't too long ago that U.S. automotive dealerships had empty lots. That's not the case anymore, as inventories are beginning to swell. Sales for the first half of 2024 are up 2.9% over last year, but analysts are projecting that YOY growth rate to slow to 1.3% over the second half of the year. And interestingly enough: commercial sales (not private consumer sales) are what's driving growth in the U.S. Read more here via CNBC .

--- Have you heard the term "permacrisis" yet? It reflects the constant state of disruptions that business leaders have come to embrace in recent years. That and many other factors are forcing the aviation industry to prioritize supply chain management in new ways. Airbus Commercial Aircraft Chief Operating Officer Florent Massou was at the Paris Air Show earlier this month where he was quoted as saying: "Supply chain management is coming higher in our priorities." Aviation Week Network shares that the aviation industry leaders "have factored the notion of permacrisis into their strategy and are endeavoring to make their supply chains more resilient. The balance between outsourcing and insourcing is part of the picture, but the effort is more about simultaneously helping current suppliers and finding new ones." Read the full article here.

--- If you've been tuning in to our SCN programming for a while, you know that we have several team members that are big fans of Costco Wholesale . The retailer has made some big moves with one of its most popular products: the Costco rotisserie chicken. By reworking its packaging, the company has eliminated 17M pounds of plastic from its operations. Costco also says: "The bag also takes less space to transport; one pallet of the new bags is equivalent to five pallets of the old packaging, so Costco can remove 1,000 of its freight trucks from the road each year. The use of fewer transportation vehicles will eliminate over 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually." Read more here via Fox Business Network .

--- In Scott's most recent "Good News" message, he shares: "Having worked in the manufacturing industry during big chunks of my journey, I've seen plenty of old-school approaches to leadership; which unfortunately oftentimes overlooked any organizations most critical asset: the people. In several recent podcasts with forward-looking, innovative manufacturing leaders: I've been refreshingly reminded of a tremendous movement afoot. I see a far greater appreciation of the front line; and a far bigger focus as to how digital transformation can make their days easier, safer & more successful." Read more here.

ICYMI: Our friend & industry dynamo Maria Villablanca released her first ebook a few months ago entitled "The 10 Definitive Laws of Transformation: The Ultimate Guide to Build the Synchronised Supply Chain". Maria also includes a list of some of the top voices in transformation to follow, which included several SCN hosts: Sofia Rivas Herrera , Vin Vashishta and Scott Luton . Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/MVebook1

THE SUSTAINABILITY IMPERATIVE: As sustainability becomes a crucial focus for businesses globally, the critical role of supply chain planning in achieving sustainability goals is increasingly evident. But how can supply chain planning help companies reduce their supply chain’s environmental impact without sacrificing profitability? Check out this intriguing new resource from our friends at OMP entitled: "The CSCO Guide to Green Planning" https://tinyurl.com/OMPgp1

Now check out these resources and tools from across the SCN ecosystem:

--- Have you heard the news? Digital Transformers with Kevin L. Jackson is going even bigger & better! A bold new chapter is being led by Kevin L. Jackson, CISSP®,CCSP® , as he seeks to spotlight those exceptional leaders doing big things to transform their organizations to be better prepared to thrive in the digital age. In one of the most recent episodes, Kevin sits down with Alan Seid, a visionary leader from Palau, to explore how small nations can utilize blockchain for environmental protection, economic growth, and education. Give it a listen and let us know what you think.

--- The power of spend visibility cannot be overstated. In a recent livestream, we welcomed in our friends from OMNIA Partners , a pioneering & innovative group purchasing organization that is on the move. One of the many key takeaways from the conversation was how a logistics service provider was able to secure about $4M in savings in their first year of being a member of the OMNIA Partners community. As if that's not remarkable enough, here's more: it is FREE to be member! Learn more about CJ Logistics & their $4M in savings here and be sure to check out FREE membership here

--- We all need to better understand what's going on in the domestic freight market. To that end, here's a great resource: check out the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index for Q1 2024, which offers up actionable insights and valuable data from across the freight market. Sign up to get a free copy each quarter: https://bit.ly/scn-us-bank

--- From our friends at Nulogy : Contract manufacturing production averages 32% of a brand owner’s total production. Despite the significance, however, contract manufacturers operate primarily on an island between trading partners, supported largely only by spreadsheets and email. This lack of automation and synchronization of data flow is a growth opportunity for all trading partners in the external supply chain. In this comprehensive report by Supply Chain Insights Founder and industry veteran Lora Cecere, learn how investing in network technologies—and improving interoperability in the external supply chain—can yield tangible benefits for all partners in the external manufacturing network. Check out the report here.

--- From our friends at VillageReach : Gender inequity in the supply chain workforce is something that has been visible and discussed in our field for years, but there hasn’t been much evidence to quantify the problem, or understand the barriers women face in entering the PHSC field. New research from VillageReach explains some barriers women face to joining the supply chain workforce, and why women only make up 26% of supply chain leadership positions. Increasing women’s participation in the PHSC will take intentional and tailored efforts and our report offers concrete recommendations for governments, supply chain employers, academic institutions, implementing partners and donors. Check out the new research report here.

MONDAY AT NOON: Join us for a new episode of "The Buzz", where Scott & Kimberly Reuter - Global Ecommerce-Supply Chain-Startup Ops will share news & analysis from across global industry. We will be discussing: Amazon is about to ramp up its competition vs Temu; a 4-day work week in the manufacturing industry and a whole lot more. Join us at 12 noon ET / 5 pm CET: https://tinyurl.com/5d8c49v7

ONE MORE THING: Executive producer and host Dirk Beveridge is on a mission to discover the purpose-driven visionaries leading distribution businesses with impact and innovation. In particular, Dirk is sharing the stories of the front-line workforce, which keep things moving across global supply chain. If you see the "We Supply America" tour bus rolling across our country, say hello to Dirk & his team, who are on a noble mission, for sure. Learn more: https://wesupplyamerica.net/

Mark Gilham , an executive leader at our friends over at Enable , has been able to accompany Dirk through recent parts of his "We Supply America" tour. Mark shared the following message with Scott & the SCN team, after his time on tour:

"I recently had the pleasure of visiting NIBCO INC. and Liberty Pumps with Dirk. Both are family-owned manufacturers that truly embody exceptional company cultures. It’s difficult to describe a great culture into words and give it justice; often, it's the small, seemingly insignificant things that collectively create an environment you feel deeply in your soul. Dirk excels in capturing and sharing the stories of the remarkable people working in these businesses. While these companies may be family-owned, every employee is a part of the family.

Under the leadership of Ashley Martin at NIBCO and Robyn Brookhart at Liberty Pumps, these companies are truly a force for good. Ashley and Robyn are two of the most amazing leaders I’ve met, and their approachable leadership style echoes throughout their organisations, fostering a strong, inclusive culture.

I have been reminded of the craftsmanship on the factory floor, where everything is created with care, precision, and pride by amazing hard working people. It led me to a moment of reflection; in commercial negotiations many ask for discounts without good reason and are sometimes successful, but why should the work of these amazing people be discounted? A discount is a reduction in value, are we saying they are not as valuable? I think not!

And so I’d encourage commercial operations to remember this when negotiating, aim to create sustainable win-win agreements, that recognise the contribution of everyone in the supply chain, and make sure the value is communicated to the end consumer, thereby protecting value in our supply chains.

Thank you Dirk for everything you are doing with We Supply America, providing a voice to the hidden heroes in the economic backbone of the economy is truly noble, and you are a force for good, my friend."

NOTE: check out a SCN webinar from late 2023 that featured Scott & Greg talking with Mark Gilham and Dirk Beveridge on the topic of "Unleashing the Potential of Distribution for a Better Supply Chain": view on demand here

Scott & Mark recently met up for brunch at one of our Atlanta favorites: South City Kitchen!

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