Welcome to Supply Chain now, the number one voice of Supply chain.
Speaker AJoin us as we share critical news, key insights and real supply chain leadership from across the globe.
Speaker AOne conversation at a time.
Speaker BHey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be.
Speaker BScott Luton and Allison Giddens here with you on Supply Chain now.
Speaker BWelcome to today's live stream.
Speaker BHey, Allison, how you doing today?
Speaker CHey.
Speaker BHey.
Speaker CGood.
Speaker CHow are you?
Speaker BWonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker BWe were just talking in the pre show.
Speaker BYou're fresh off attending the Savannah Bananas and their big performance at Truest Park.
Speaker BIs that right?
Speaker CYes, it was fun.
Speaker CIt was an over stimulation of lots of noise and colors and action, but it was a lot of fun.
Speaker BI'm with you.
Speaker BAll right, so on a scale of one to ten, and I'll let this go after this question, one to ten, what would you give the experience?
Speaker COh, gosh.
Speaker CAn eight and a half.
Speaker BOh, wow.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker CI mean, I think what would probably would have made it better was better seats maybe.
Speaker BOkay, so the Savannah Bananas folks, if you're new to what they're doing with the game of baseball, is quite the performance.
Speaker BYou'll have to Google it and follow up with Allison.
Speaker BGet her expert take after today's buzz.
Speaker BWell, Allison, we've got a jam packed show here today, folks.
Speaker BIt's the Buzz where every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time, we discuss a variety of news developments across global supply chain and business.
Speaker BWe got lots of great topics here, Alison.
Speaker BWhether we like it or not.
Speaker BWe're gonna be talking about the new automotive tariff ripple effect.
Speaker BWe're gonna be talking about the latest on British steel's troubles.
Speaker BRetailers making big moves with supply chain tech.
Speaker BIt's not a new story, but a new wrinkle on that.
Speaker BAnd you'll never guess who is conducting one of the biggest Easter egg hunts in history.
Speaker BAll that and a whole bunch more.
Speaker BAllison.
Speaker BShould be a great show, huh?
Speaker BIt will be.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker BWe want to wish Eid Mubarak to all of our friends across the globe that are celebrating this very special day.
Speaker BSo best wishes to you and your families.
Speaker BOkay, Alison, we're going to get started by sharing some resources.
Speaker BAre you good with that?
Speaker CLet's do this.
Speaker BAnd how about a chicken drive in a pickup truck?
Speaker BHow about that for an image?
Speaker CI did.
Speaker CI did like that when I saw that.
Speaker CAnd I went.
Speaker CThat's got to be Scott's post.
Speaker CYep, sure is.
Speaker BWe named this chicken Henrietta.
Speaker BHenrietta the pickup truck driving chicken.
Speaker BBut there's a reason, folks.
Speaker BSo all this came via the latest edition of with that said, our almost weekly newsletter, which published over the weekend, we touched on a lot of interesting things, starting with a friendly reminder, National Supply Chain day coming up, April 29th.
Speaker BWe're less than a month out, folks, so come join us.
Speaker BCelebrate it wherever you may be and all the people that make Supply chain happen.
Speaker BBut come join us at 12 noon for a live show that day.
Speaker BNow back to chickens, the chicken tax.
Speaker BThat's why we included that picture.
Speaker BWe, we dove into the backstory of the chicken tax.
Speaker BI mean, there's a reason that chicken there is driving that pickup truck.
Speaker BLimes.
Speaker BHey, did you know that Mexico supplies about 92% of all the limes coming into the U.S.
Speaker Bso with the pending increases on tariffs, the prices could as much as double, making those margaritas everywhere a whole bunch more expensive.
Speaker BWe feature some perspective from Will Quinn, AKA the distribution guy who reported on Coach prime, coach Deion Sanders in his session at Promat.
Speaker BYou're gonna find great resources from our friends at Altium and Zebra, and you'll also find a lot more live programming coming up we'd love for you to be a part of.
Speaker BBut Allison, I want to touch on one thing that we dove deep on.
Speaker BAnd folks, Trisha's dropping link so you can check out with that said and National Supply Chain Day in the comments.
Speaker BBut there's a great article from NPR that gave examples of how companies have been working for years, decades to get around tariffs forever.
Speaker BCompanies have turned to tariff engineering, reclassification and recategorization of the products.
Speaker BFor example, Marvel persuaded the US Government back in the day that it's X Men action figures were, quote, non human toys rather than dolls, which allowed them to reduce the tariff rate almost in half.
Speaker BHey, the Snuggie.
Speaker BYou know what the Snuggie is?
Speaker BWell, there was lots of costly debate as to whether it was a blanket or a garment.
Speaker BIn fact, the U.
Speaker BS.
Speaker BCourt of International Trade ruled that it was a blanket in 2017, which lowered its tariff over 6%, which are serious things, cost millions of dollars.
Speaker BAnd then, did you know Columbia Sportswear added pockets below the waistline of some of its women's shirts, all to help ensure that the products do not get categorized as blouses, which in turn saves them some 10% in tariff rates.
Speaker CAnd Scott, let me just say, as a woman that loves pockets, pockets should have been there all along.
Speaker BYou know, Alison, in particular, I hear that at trade shows, right, where you're kind of in one set of clothing all day.
Speaker BOh, man, a lot of women have come and Said I wore something without pockets and it drives them crazy.
Speaker CI mean, pockets.
Speaker CIt's not fair that guys, every single bit of your clothes has pockets.
Speaker CDo you own a pair of pants without pockets?
Speaker BThat's a great question.
Speaker BI was not prepared this Monday morning to answer that, but I'm gonna say no.
Speaker BI really, I love pockets.
Speaker COkay, well, I bet you that there are far more women that own pants with no pockets than there are.
Speaker BI think that's a safe bet.
Speaker BBut in a broader sense, we've lived in tariff purgatory for weeks now.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd I think it's so important to understand vi history, like the chicken tax, which was put back in the 60s and wasn't meant to be permanent.
Speaker BI think it's so important that we seek out that historical perspective right now as we try to better understand the landscape and how to find a successful path forward.
Speaker BWe're going to touch on that in just a second.
Speaker BAllison, before we leave, anything else stick out to you from this edition of with that said, just that you hit.
Speaker COn a couple of things.
Speaker CNot just that chicken tax, but there are certain pieces, I think, whether it's taxes or whether it's tariffs or.
Speaker COr just these kind of sneaky little fees.
Speaker BYes, that.
Speaker CIt just seems to me like in my industry for a while, there was a fuel tax that some vendors were tacking on when gas got pretty pricey for a little while.
Speaker CAnd most vendors took that off as things came down, as fuel came back down, but some of it kept adding it.
Speaker CAnd so it's kind of funny to see how some of these tariffs or how some of these taxes are just going to become kind of part of our way of doing things?
Speaker BSo true.
Speaker COnce people start getting used to paying it, how many of us as consumers are going to speak to sellers and say, okay, well, this is what we're willing to pay?
Speaker BSo true.
Speaker BThere's going to be a sense of normalization and we'll see.
Speaker BI am not an economist, nor am I an electrician.
Speaker BAnd my father in law told me there's two types of electricians, those professionals and morons.
Speaker BI'll call it.
Speaker BI'll kind of soften it on this Monday morning.
Speaker BSo don't practice electrician arts at home if you're not a professional.
Speaker BBut to your point, there is going to be some normalization.
Speaker BYou know, clearly so many of us thought that the threats of all these tariffs were going to be not solely, but largely used for negotiation purposes.
Speaker BAnd as we're all finding out, that doesn't look to be the case.
Speaker BSo, Allison, your final word.
Speaker BAnd then we're going to move on to an easy topic, NCAA's.
Speaker CEvery day is a new, new crazy.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker CI guess it's just always fun.
Speaker BThat's true.
Speaker BSo true.
Speaker BWe're gonna get through it, folks.
Speaker BTogether, we're gonna get through it.
Speaker BAll right, so let's dive in, Allison, to our first story.
Speaker BAnd folks, if you don't like tariffs, just tune out for the next ten minutes or so.
Speaker BBut there's some really important developments that we want to tackle here, and we're going to start with automotive tariffs.
Speaker BSo, Alison, I'm going to kind of unpack this interview here from the PBS News and a few others, and I can't wait to get your take.
Speaker BSo as many of y'all out there know, because we got the smartest audience in all of global supply chain, the White house is implementing a 25 tariff, automotive vehicles made outside of the U.S.
Speaker Bwhich becomes effective this week as in Wednesday, April 2nd.
Speaker BNow, this interesting interview here from PBS featured Amna Nawaz talking with Gavin Bade, who is a trade and economic policy reporter with the Wall Street Journal.
Speaker BNow, BAID called this perhaps the biggest disruption for the automotive industry since the North American free trade deal, NAFTA, back in the early 90s.
Speaker BNow, the White House, Allison, the White House is hoping that many of these tariffs will help bring manufacturing back to the US but at what cost, both in the term and the long term?
Speaker BThat's what a lot of folks out there are wondering.
Speaker BSo I'm going to try here, Allison.
Speaker BI'm going to try to capture reaction from across the spectrum.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BNo matter what your thoughts are, starting with the United Auto Workers released a statement in support of what they said was, quote, a long overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework.
Speaker BNow, of course, they're hoping this is going to create jobs here in the US over the next couple of years.
Speaker BBut on the other hand, the price of autos for consumers are expected to be impacted, maybe not so much in the short term because a lot of dealers have been accumulating inventory to to be more prepared for the tariff moves.
Speaker BHowever, according to data from S and P Global Mobility, trying to say that just one time fast, 46% of cars sold in the US last year could be subject to these new tariffs, 46%.
Speaker BSo from an automotive supply chain professional standpoint, Allison, large degree of uncertainty doesn't even need to be said.
Speaker BFor example, automakers are expected to ask for a tidal wave of exemptions especially for vehicles assembled in Canada and Mexico or for parts that come in from our friends there.
Speaker BThe White House is expected to finalize its tariff schedule on the parts, right, not the whole vehicles, but the parts themselves, millions between now and May 3rd.
Speaker BSo there's still a lot more to come and a lot more to be figured out.
Speaker BAnd we all know that uncertainty can be paralyzing.
Speaker BOne last thought, because all of this new complexity has no end in sight.
Speaker BSteel and aluminum tariffs are set to take effect this week, too, and there are plans to add new tariffs to add more products in the coming weeks and months.
Speaker BI'm talking pharmaceutical products and microchips.
Speaker BThose are said to be two of the sectors being targeted.
Speaker BSo, Allison, whether you want me to ask you or not, I'm going to ask you for your take on what we're seeing here, what we may see here, or just your thoughts here.
Speaker CALISON well, first off, I found it interesting.
Speaker CI was seeing a lot in a few articles about how some automakers had front loaded a bunch of inventory and they kind of saw the threat of some tariffs.
Speaker CAnd so they had tried to put a bunch on their lot ahead of time, especially in really as early as what, November?
Speaker CDecember.
Speaker CWhich to me was fascinating because typically December you're trying to get rid of inventory for tax reasons, but they had front loaded a bunch and they sat on things.
Speaker CBut as recently as a couple weeks ago, I was driving through my local Toyota dealership for an oil change and the parking lot was half empty, which I found kind of interesting.
Speaker CAnd I don't know if it was just poor timing on my part or what, but I think it's going to be really interesting.
Speaker CAnd I don't know that we're really going to truly get a full picture of effects and connecting dots until maybe decades later, because there's so many things that are happening that I don't know that you're going to feel immediate impacts.
Speaker CYou know, there's things that are going to take time and almost as if the conversation with the union talking about how we're looking forward to, you know, more manufacturing here at home and here in the US and yes, that's great.
Speaker CYou know, obviously more jobs, local, terrific.
Speaker CBut that's not something you can just snap your fingers and turn on tomorrow.
Speaker CIt's not like everybody's going to have jobs in the next four weeks.
Speaker CIt's not like everything's going to be made in America in the next three months.
Speaker CSo I don't know.
Speaker CI mean, I'd love to be hopeful on this kind of thing, I'm just kind of hesitant that a lot of this stuff, There are going to be a lot of rough days ahead as kind of my projection.
Speaker BYeah, I'm with you.
Speaker BIf we had a magic wand and if unicorns and puppies and all that, all that stuff, if we just knew exactly what we were facing.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BNo matter the complexity, if we knew it.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BGoing back to whoever the smart person said, a problem well defined is a problem half solved.
Speaker BThe greater challenge that I'm finding as ripple after ripple, sooner than some expected, later than some expected, as it keeps going out across the global supply chain, pond, so to speak, we're still figuring out what the precise challenge is going to be.
Speaker BMuch less different sectors, different geographic locations, uncertain future tariff actions.
Speaker BI mean, this is a perfect storm in many ways, but we're going to work through it.
Speaker BWe're going to unpack it day by day.
Speaker BRight, Allison, that only thing we can do right now other than, yeah, you.
Speaker CDon'T have another choice.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker CWhat's the other option?
Speaker CRight.
Speaker BGosh.
Speaker BBut to that end, and let's say David, now David's a friend from Toronto, says the bait and switch is unreal.
Speaker BSo much arguing over HS codes and classifications.
Speaker BIt's been an everyday adventure.
Speaker BThat's right, David.
Speaker BSure has.
Speaker BI've said this a lot in recent shows, but one retail CEO called it rules of the moment.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd it's so true.
Speaker BIt is so true.
Speaker BLet's see here.
Speaker BClaudia says, hey, there's the idea of design for sustainability and this concept of design for tariffs compliance.
Speaker BVery unique, Claudia.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker BAnd you know what?
Speaker BIt will become lesser and lesser, unique and much more commonplace probably in the months and years ahead.
Speaker BOkay, so stay tuned, folks.
Speaker BWe're dropping a link to that story, the PBS news story.
Speaker BYou'll enjoy that interview, the transcript.
Speaker BYou also can watch it as well.
Speaker BAll right, Allison.
Speaker BWe are going to move from tariffs to steel.
Speaker BSteel.
Speaker BAnd you know what?
Speaker BIt's all interrelated, right?
Speaker BIt's all interrelated.
Speaker BBritish steel in particular.
Speaker BSo as reported by Reuters, British Steel, which is owned by China, is looking at closing its two blast furnaces in northeast England.
Speaker BNot only would that come at a cost of some 2700 jobs, sadly, but it would make the United Kingdom the only country in the G7 that doesn't produce steel from scratch.
Speaker BHow about that?
Speaker BThe operations have been losing money for reportedly years.
Speaker BI think one figure I saw is they're losing close to US$1 million every day, Allison.
Speaker BAnd of course, new US tariffs aren't going to help that at all.
Speaker BBritish Steel has been in talks with the UK government for months looking at a variety of options that hasn't led to a remedy yet.
Speaker BSo they're looking at a shutdown plan.
Speaker BThe earliest of a potential closure for these facilities we're talking about would be June.
Speaker BSo we've got a bit of a window here.
Speaker BThe United Kingdom was the world's biggest steel producer in the 19th century.
Speaker BMan, how the market industry has shifted.
Speaker BThe country is now looking to shift its production processes to leverage less carbon intensive electric arc furnaces which make new steel from recycled steel.
Speaker BHow about that?
Speaker BThat will be driven in part by 2.5 billion pounds of earmarked funds from the UK government, which is supposed to be releasing its plans for its domestic steel sector in the next month or two.
Speaker BOne last thought.
Speaker BAnd Allison, I'm not going to pronounce this word right.
Speaker BIt's not stop me from trying.
Speaker BNippon Steel, right, The Japanese company and U.S.
Speaker Bsteel are still trying to salvage their $14 billion merger.
Speaker BNow, according to Semaphore and folks, if you have been checking out the great content Semaphore has been putting out there, add it to your list.
Speaker BBut according to Semaphore, they are negotiating with the White House, who is supposedly seeking billions of dollars of investment in outdated US Manufacturing sites like Rust Belt, as well as more clarity on the impact of any possible merger.
Speaker BAll right, Alison, back on this British Steel story here, your thoughts?
Speaker CYeah, this is sad.
Speaker CI've got a bunch of friends in the UK and I know how hard they've been working to really push and really to just to support UK manufacturing.
Speaker CAnd I know this has got to be a blow.
Speaker CThis is one of those, I think that it's really going to be.
Speaker CWe're going to see the play with domestic steel here at home.
Speaker CWe're going to see those interwoven pieces of the supply chain.
Speaker CIn general, in the aerospace market, we have to pay attention to domestic material and we have to pay attention to where we're getting material.
Speaker CAnd it's not just about US material.
Speaker CBut if everybody is paying more attention to where they're getting material based on tariffs, then that just means that the demand for that local material is going to go up and so is the price.
Speaker CSo all it takes is now the supply for the material elsewhere and your supply for your choices to go down and you've got kind of a compounded problem.
Speaker CAnd this is going to be really interesting.
Speaker CI know that Nippon Steel, I guess for a long time there was question as to whether or not the US Administration was going to allow for an investment or not.
Speaker CAnd I guess now we are going to allow for a little bit of an investment for a few reasons.
Speaker CAnd so I think that kind of overcomplication with more of international fingers or cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, that's going to be interesting.
Speaker CAnd I think from an aerospace manufacturer perspective, it's going to be fascinating to see how that's kind of allowed, because those are really big pieces of the market and those are big pieces of the supply chain.
Speaker CYou can't just all of a sudden say, okay, now that, you know, British steel is no longer an option, or, hey, now that these people are now owned by countries that were no longer on this list or are on this list, you can make F35 parts out of this material.
Speaker CThis is going to be a wild ride.
Speaker BIt's so true, Alison.
Speaker BIt's so true.
Speaker BYou know, your comments reminded me of my time in metal stamping, where I was introduced to the very complex world of metallurgy.
Speaker BAnd folks, I can barely spell metallurgy, much less.
Speaker BBut all kidding aside, to be able to validate and audit all the different types of metals and steels and certify it, all the different suppliers, I mean, very complex, to Allison's point of, you know, the maker of the F35, which is.
Speaker BWas it Boeing or is it.
Speaker CIt's Lockheed and Northrop, are kind of partnering on pieces of it.
Speaker BSo when they are calling for a certain type of components made out of a certain type of metal, or you name it, you've got to be able to authenticate that.
Speaker BAnd when these big industry shifts start taking place and you move to making and manufacturing from different facilities with different, you know, dynamics at each, you know, based on where they are or who's running it or, you name it the day of the week, things get shaky in a hurry.
Speaker BNow, Alice, I'm gonna ask you another question.
Speaker BThis image here, now this is not from British Steel, but you'll see that big old.
Speaker CA smelter, maybe something like that.
Speaker CFurnace.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BHave you ever been to a still foundry, Allison?
Speaker CNo.
Speaker CAnd it's funny.
Speaker CI've actually tried to figure out how to get a tour at one or two when the opportunity kind of came up.
Speaker CI've never been able to.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BI have been exactly one time.
Speaker BAnd I'd love to get back.
Speaker BLove to take my kids, in fact.
Speaker BWhat the work that out.
Speaker BIt was here in Georgia.
Speaker BIt was up in the Rome area.
Speaker BAnd I'm not sure.
Speaker COkay.
Speaker BBig old facility, not sure if it's still here or not.
Speaker BThis was probably 10, 12, 14 years ago anyway.
Speaker BI mean, you got molten steel going across on the gantry cranes and stuff, and all these loud sounds and smells.
Speaker BI mean, I needed a marble red and a Budweiser fully loaded to the end of it.
Speaker BIt is that type of.
Speaker BYou know, I've been in and out more than 300 plants, facilities in my lifetime, and that by far, even some of the car plants I've been in wasn't nearly as, I'll call it, intimidating as a still foundry.
Speaker BSo, Allison, we're going to have to get in.
Speaker BWe're going to have to check, see if that foundry is still around.
Speaker BAnd I know you've been in and out of probably a thousand facilities in your journey.
Speaker BHuh?
Speaker CI don't know.
Speaker CAbout a thousand.
Speaker CProbably half as many as maybe a third of yours.
Speaker CMaybe 50 or 100.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CNot.
Speaker CNot nearly.
Speaker BWe're going to get Arthur Anderson, if they're still around, to audit.
Speaker BI bet you're laughing me a couple of times.
Speaker BBut regardless, folks, if you get a chance to tour any plant, but especially a foundry, check it out.
Speaker BOkay?
Speaker BSo we're going to keep our feet on the pulse of what's going on with British Steel.
Speaker BAnd gosh, I certainly hope all those families behind those 2700 jobs hope there's a plan to salvage the current operations.
Speaker CIt's tough.
Speaker CLike I said, it's heartbreaking, too, because there's a need for these types of pieces of the puzzle and manufacturing and that step.
Speaker CAnd then there's the steps of the afterma manufacturing process, like the finishes, the chemical finishes.
Speaker CThose are two types of things in manufacturing that you can't really make pretty.
Speaker CYou know, you can't make glamorous manufacturing.
Speaker CYou can clean up.
Speaker CYou can talk about 3D printing, and you can talk about how cool it is, but, you know, okay.
Speaker CSmelting, chemical film.
Speaker CThese are things that they are smelly.
Speaker CThey are to a degree, they are kind of dangerous.
Speaker CYou know, there are things that Yadosha coming in now and then, or more than now and then.
Speaker CAnd I just think that those are the things that, workforce development wise, those are the things that are suffering most.
Speaker CAnd so when you hear stories like this, you just kind of like you got everything working against you.
Speaker CIt's tough.
Speaker CI don't know what the future holds for that.
Speaker BMe nor you both.
Speaker BBut speaking of workforce, folks, stay tuned.
Speaker BWe had a wonderful session edition of our new series called the Bridge last week it was fascinating.
Speaker BSo check out that On Demand, one of our future sessions, I think we're scheduled for May.
Speaker BAllison.
Speaker BWe've got a couple of experts along with Allison to talk workforce management both now and in the future, including some innovative best practices that organizations, unique organizations and unique leaders are doing.
Speaker BSo stay tuned for that.
Speaker BOkay?
Speaker BDavid says it's dirty casting sand up to your knees.
Speaker BOne last comment about this foundry experience, Allison.
Speaker BSo as we spent an hour or more walking away through this massive, highly industrial facility, right.
Speaker BI mean, my eyes were just on a swivel.
Speaker BI was just trying to take it all in.
Speaker BAnd as I mentioned, it was really intimidating.
Speaker BBut I was trying to act like, oh yeah, I've been here before, you know.
Speaker BWell, we get to a certain point and I'm watching, it's like an observation deck watching, I guess a crucible being poured, right?
Speaker BAnd it's, it's straight out of a movie scene, right?
Speaker BAnd all of a sudden a loud air horn comes over right over my right shoulder and a whoosh of air down my neck and I thought I was a goner.
Speaker BIt was all I could do to fight every urge from jumping right out of my socks.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BEspecially around all those, all those folks.
Speaker BSo boundaries, folks.
Speaker BI'm telling you what.
Speaker BAll right, let's see here.
Speaker BWe're going to move over to a lighter topic.
Speaker BLighter topic.
Speaker BI love talking about retail and I think it's mainly because, Allison, we talk about it and have done it in many cases on the supply chain side.
Speaker BBut we're all consumers of retail and it gives you that extra layer to learn from.
Speaker BSo this third story here.
Speaker BToday, retail behemoths continue to invest in the golden age of supply chain tech.
Speaker BInteresting read here from our friends at Modern Retail.
Speaker BNow, fast, reliable delivery is still atop the list, the wish list rather, for many consumers everywhere.
Speaker BIn fact, get this.
Speaker BWalmart CEO Doug McMillan recently said that he wished more consumers knew about their increasing delivery speed.
Speaker BThey're not stopping.
Speaker BIn fourth quarter 2024, Walmart expanded its same day delivery to reach 93% of U.S.
Speaker Bhouseholds.
Speaker BSame day delivery to 93% of all U.S.
Speaker Bhouseholds.
Speaker BAnd get this, that's a massive improvement over the 80% of US households it was just about a year prior.
Speaker BNow Target and others are also engaging in the same day delivery arms race.
Speaker BHow are these retailers making gains?
Speaker BWell, a mixture of old new things they're investing in things like data management and analytics.
Speaker BInnovative demand forecasting never is easy.
Speaker BMaking artificial intelligence investments that target improving pickup and delivery options at stores and improved inventory reliability that eliminates more of those pesky stockouts.
Speaker BThey're also expanding the use of RFID to improve fulfillment speeds.
Speaker BAs most y'all know out there, a lot more automated facilities, a lot more urban fulfillment facilities, and leveraging machine learning and other technologies to share more accurate delivery updates to customers.
Speaker BTalk about customer experience.
Speaker BSome retailers are just outsourcing delivery entirely and letting their partners figure it out.
Speaker BBut Alison, here's my favorite passage from this article amidst what I would call the race to the bottom when it comes to deliver speeds that I feel like we're kind of in that race.
Speaker BTom Enright, a retail supply chain analyst with Gartner, said that three to five years ago, all the retailers were racing to keep up with Amazon and that proverbial Amazon effect.
Speaker BBut since then, some organizations have learned that customers actually don't mind waiting.
Speaker BSounds weird to say, but hey, experts, that's what they're saying.
Speaker BEnright says that 70% of e commerce spending, 70% is spent by folks who wait more than three days for shipping.
Speaker BNow, it doesn't mean that they quote unquot happy weight, but I'll take a quote unquote willing weight.
Speaker BSmall wins, right?
Speaker BSmall wins.
Speaker BOne last thought.
Speaker BI've talked about this countless times, Alison, probably with you sometimes.
Speaker BI love the greener shipping options that Amazon has rolled out in the last couple years and would love to see more and more retailers and E commerce players do the same.
Speaker BBecause as Tom Enright suggests, that undercurrent of folks that are okay with waiting a week for a pair of socks that they may not need until it gets cold again.
Speaker BBut Allison, your thoughts on what these retail behemoths are doing?
Speaker CYeah, I can see that too.
Speaker CI've noticed the same.
Speaker CAnd I'm with you on the waiting.
Speaker CThere are very few things that like I need yesterday.
Speaker CBut it's funny, the stuff that I need yesterday, like I really do, I need yesterday.
Speaker CBut that kind of stuff I really do need to justify just walking into the stupid store and buying it.
Speaker CYou know what I mean?
Speaker BI do.
Speaker CRight.
Speaker CBut I mean things like the other day my husband really needed to buy something for work and needed to buy something and be at work the next morning.
Speaker BYep.
Speaker CBut he had worked a very, very long day and so he justified being able to order from Amazon and do next day delivery between 4 and 7am so then he wouldn't have to wake up earlier to go to the store.
Speaker CSo it saved, you know, he was able to sleep an extra hour.
Speaker CSo that was nice.
Speaker CSo those kinds of things are convenient.
Speaker CBut I'm with you.
Speaker CThere are plenty of times throughout the week that I'm like, oh, I need vitamins, or, oh, I need this.
Speaker CI don't need it today.
Speaker CBut if I can choose, okay, everything just be delivered on that one day a week for Amazon's, you know, save a box and whatever.
Speaker CIt just makes my life easier because admittedly, my laziness.
Speaker CThen it's one less thing I have to pick up from the front porch.
Speaker COr it's also one less thing that the delivery person can leave out in the rain, you know, so those kinds of things.
Speaker CBut no, I've noticed with other delivery people or other companies as well, it does feel like they're trying to keep up with the Joneses in a way.
Speaker CDoes feel like I ordered a shirt the other day and within two days it was there.
Speaker CI'm like, I didn't pay for quicker shipping.
Speaker CI didn't need this that quickly.
Speaker CBut thanks.
Speaker BGiven those examples and you know, it's difficult to draw highly generalized learnings when all of us have different preferences, different needs.
Speaker BAll orders aren't alike.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BBut I'm going to take a pulse check out there.
Speaker BSo, folks, Joshua, Tricia, Claudia.
Speaker CHey.
Speaker BI see my mom.
Speaker BLeah Luton.
Speaker BYour mom's here.
Speaker BMy mom's here.
Speaker BHow about that?
Speaker CNow we know we have to.
Speaker CWe have to be on our best behavior, right?
Speaker BWe need to have a summit, a summit of the moms.
Speaker BHere's what I want to take a pulse check on.
Speaker BDo you find yourself as the E Commerce age has continued to evolve because we've been ordering online now for what, 10, 10 years?
Speaker BMaybe 12 years, maybe 20 years.
Speaker BI can't keep count.
Speaker BBut do you find yourself tend to be more willing to wait and less in a rush, generally speaking, or are you kind of on the other side of the coin where you're going to get it as fast as they're going to get it, especially if it's free each and every time, no matter when you need it.
Speaker BI'd love for you all to weigh in.
Speaker BAnd let's maybe let's call that on a scale of 1 to 10, number 1 being give it to me next hour, or number 10 being, hey, order ahead of time.
Speaker BI'm okay waiting a little bit.
Speaker BAnd when it comes, I forgot what I ordered anyway, so 1 to 10, let us know what you think.
Speaker BAnd you know, Allison, you're laughing because you've done that.
Speaker BI know.
Speaker BI'VE done that.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker COh, there are plenty of times.
Speaker CMatt will pick something.
Speaker CWhat'd you order?
Speaker CI don't know.
Speaker BAll right, so Amanda's already weighing in.
Speaker BI should have expected this.
Speaker BI want my orders as quickly as they can get them to me.
Speaker BAs long as it's free.
Speaker BThat probably is going to be the plurality, if not the majority of folks out there.
Speaker BAllison, do you think that's a safe bet?
Speaker CYeah, probably.
Speaker CWell, it's an instant gratification thing, too.
Speaker CI think it just speaks to us just as a population too, you know, I mean, it's.
Speaker CWe're all.
Speaker CMyself included.
Speaker CI have no patience.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BLet's see.
Speaker BWe're getting our first number.
Speaker BJim says he's a three.
Speaker BOkay, I bet that is probably.
Speaker BI would have figured both folks are one to five.
Speaker BYou know, I'm not sure how many tens or nines or eights you know, they're gonna be, but Jim's being fair.
Speaker BHe's about a three.
Speaker BMy mom, Leah Luton, the product, Aiken, South Carolina, says, I'm spoiled.
Speaker BI want it now.
Speaker BSo Leah and Amanda, same bucket.
Speaker BAnd David's asking, why start now?
Speaker BAlice?
Speaker CSee?
Speaker CSee, he's right.
Speaker CHe's right.
Speaker BOh, my sense of time.
Speaker BYou know, I've just read an article, can't remember where it was.
Speaker BIt was in a European magazine over the weekend about how depending on what you're going through in life, we have different perceptions of the passage of time.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd clearly mine, I'm having a less accurate version of the passage of time because Claudia Sundays, according to A.I.
Speaker Bat least, the first documented secure online e commerce Transact occurred on August 11, 1994.
Speaker BHow about that?
Speaker BAnd the item was Dan cone sold a CD compact disc.
Speaker BFor those of you may be new to that of stings, 10 summoners, tales to a friend for $12.48 plus shipping.
Speaker BHow about that, Claudia?
Speaker BExcellent.
Speaker BJohn Bell says he's a six.
Speaker BHey, it's the first time someone over.
Speaker BI like that.
Speaker BI bet I'm a six.
Speaker BOr seven.
Speaker CJohn, teach me your ways.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BJim says that three means just in time.
Speaker COkay, I see what he did there.
Speaker CAll right.
Speaker BDavid says the novelty of instant delivery has wore off.
Speaker BHe's a three.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker BAnd finally, Amanda, I've been ordering online since I was in college in the early 2000s.
Speaker BLots of eBay.
Speaker BHow about that?
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BA lot of.
Speaker BHey, I think e commerce and retail and supply chain, that intersection is.
Speaker BIs one of the most fascinating parts of all of global business.
Speaker CI just think about how rich I would be if it weren't for Amazon.
Speaker BOh, gosh.
Speaker BYou'd be like Scrooge, my duck diving in his coins, huh?
Speaker CI have so much money.
Speaker COh, my gosh.
Speaker BWell, let's talk about another timely topic, Allison.
Speaker BI want to talk about this interesting story via food manufacturing, and it may not be a true Easter egg hunt, but the USDA, the U.S.
Speaker Bdepartment of Agriculture, is on a massive egg hunt.
Speaker BIn fact, the USDA has countries such as Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden in a search for more egg imports to help with egg supply and prices.
Speaker BHere in the U.S.
Speaker Bsome industry experts say.
Speaker BSee what I did there, Allison?
Speaker BSee what did there.
Speaker BSome industries say there's a shortage of, get this, 50 million eggs a day here in the States.
Speaker BThat number is a lot bigger than I would anticipate.
Speaker BHowever, one specific challenge exists that may need a workaround.
Speaker BThey will need a workaround.
Speaker BNo, we're not talking about the avian flu outbreaks that comes.
Speaker BThis comes in cycles, right?
Speaker BThere's still.
Speaker BIt's impacting a lot more countries than just the US and no, I'm not talking about the surge in demand.
Speaker BWith the Easter holiday around the corner, everybody's going to be dying those Easter eggs or making deviled eggs.
Speaker BI'm talking about safety standards.
Speaker BSo this article speaks to this.
Speaker BIn the U.S.
Speaker Bregulations require that fresh eggs be sanitized and refrigerated before they're able to be purchased in stores.
Speaker BIn Europe, EU regulations call for grade 8 eggs to be UNW and without refrigeration.
Speaker BIn fact, in most of the 27 EU member nations, eggs go uncleaned because of concerns that any washing may remove the natural protective coatings that eggshells have, making the eggs more vulnerable to bacteria.
Speaker BAll right, Allison, your thoughts on the great egg hunt, man.
Speaker CSo I had Waffle House this weekend, okay.
Speaker CAnd I had scrambled eggs.
Speaker BEggs.
Speaker CAnd about halfway through my scrambled eggs, I was full.
Speaker CI was done.
Speaker CAnd I felt guilty for not eating the rest of my eggs because I thought there is a starving child somewhere out there in.
Speaker CSomewhere probably in the US that wishes that they had these scrambled eggs.
Speaker BYou know what?
Speaker BI am glad you feel guilty.
Speaker BWas it two eggs?
Speaker CIt was two eggs, Allison.
Speaker CTwo eggs.
Speaker CToast and hash browns.
Speaker CAnd I was full.
Speaker BTwo eggs is like three spoonfuls you could not finish.
Speaker CI'm sorry.
Speaker CWell, it was also three pieces of bacon, and I.
Speaker CTwo of the prisons.
Speaker BGuilty as charged.
Speaker BI get that now.
Speaker BI get that.
Speaker CRight?
Speaker BSo what do you think?
Speaker BThat 50 million shortage of eggs per day that just.
Speaker BThat Seems way too high.
Speaker CThat's stuff's got to go into thing.
Speaker CLike, I don't think it's just flat out people buying eggs to do.
Speaker CI think those eggs are going into things.
Speaker CIf you think about, I mean, fresh eggs to make baked goods.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker CYou know, if you think about all those kinds of.
Speaker CBut I do find it really interesting, the whole.
Speaker CThe safety pieces, because I've got.
Speaker CGot friends of mine who raise chickens and I've had fresh eggs from them before and they've told me, you know, they've given me eggs in cartons and they're like, don't put these in the refrigerator.
Speaker CDon't wash these eggs.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker CAnd I listen to them.
Speaker CI do.
Speaker CAnd knock on wood.
Speaker CI'm still here.
Speaker CI mean, I, you know, I'm okay.
Speaker CI've not gotten sick.
Speaker CBut, you know, do I want the US to change their safety standards?
Speaker CI don't know.
Speaker CI don't think so.
Speaker CI do.
Speaker BI'm kind of with you.
Speaker BYou know, when we go to the farmers market and I didn't really think about this until you just shared that.
Speaker BLove the farmer's market.
Speaker BAs many of our folks out there know.
Speaker BI love the farmer's market.
Speaker BIt's coming on in the next.
Speaker BWe get eggs.
Speaker BAmanda leaves them on the counter because since they're farmers eggs, they can last longer like that.
Speaker BAnd I guess probably also to that safety component.
Speaker BI don't know, something about eggs that makes me like extra particular about temperatures and all that stuff.
Speaker BAre you the same way, Allison?
Speaker COh, yeah.
Speaker CThere's.
Speaker CI'm not gonna gross anyone out on a bad experience I had in 2018.
Speaker CIt's a long story.
Speaker CNo.
Speaker CBut I did see a funny little short on somebody painting an avocado, joking and saying that because eggs were so expensive this year, they would be painting avocados.
Speaker BBut avocados are going to be going up, too.
Speaker CExactly.
Speaker CBut I think that was kind of.
Speaker BThe joke, is that, oh, I'm a little slow sometimes.
Speaker BI got you now.
Speaker COkay.
Speaker BBut you know, you walk through the produce section and just about everything you set your eyes on.
Speaker BWe're going to be seeing price increases here in the States, right?
Speaker CYep.
Speaker BLet me ask you this on the topic of eggs.
Speaker BAnd hey, here's another question to our audience out there.
Speaker BI'm curious whether it's for Easter or any other family get together.
Speaker BDeviled eggs, do you love them?
Speaker BLet's call it a 10, right?
Speaker BYou love them.
Speaker BCan't get enough of them.
Speaker BWould eat them every day.
Speaker BOr are you A1, because you're not a big fan of deviled eggs.
Speaker BNow, Allison, Amanda's probably a 10.
Speaker BI'm probably like a four.
Speaker BI like one or two.
Speaker BI gotta have hot sauce on them because I don't like them plain.
Speaker BIt's a little too eggy for me.
Speaker BHow about yourself?
Speaker CProbably a five or six.
Speaker CLike I'll have one.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker CIt's got to be really cold.
Speaker CLike they've got to be really cold.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker CDon't have them sitting out for.
Speaker BYeah, same.
Speaker BAmanda says I've seen a bunch of egg substitutes for dying eggs this year since they're so expensive.
Speaker BArtificial eggs, fabric eggs, etc instead of hard boiled eggs for coloring with the kids.
Speaker BOur kids are, you know, middle school, high school.
Speaker BI'm not sure how.
Speaker BHow cool dying eggs are anymore.
Speaker BWe shall see.
Speaker CI still dye eggs with my mom.
Speaker BReally?
Speaker CHeck yeah, I do.
Speaker BI feel like I hadn't died an egg in 40 years.
Speaker BI could be wrong.
Speaker CI don't think we did last year because of schedule craziness, but we have plenty of times.
Speaker CAnd in fact, we like the ones where you take the wax crayon and you write secret messages to each other.
Speaker BYeah, those are good.
Speaker BThat was cool back in the day.
Speaker BLet's see.
Speaker BTrisha says 1.
Speaker BNo deviled eggs for Trisha.
Speaker BThat's where I was kind of growing up, Trisha.
Speaker BI was not a big.
Speaker BA big deviled egg fan.
Speaker BI've softened a bit here.
Speaker BClaudia says a 10, so her and Amanda best buddies.
Speaker BBecause Amanda loves deviled eggs too.
Speaker BI get this.
Speaker BJim says an 8.
Speaker BI would date deviled eggs.
Speaker CAll right, Jim, this is a judgment free zone.
Speaker BThat's right.
Speaker BJudgment free.
Speaker BJim says he's an 8.
Speaker BI would date deviled eggs if society didn't judge me and my lifestyle choices.
Speaker BI love that.
Speaker BJim.
Speaker CThis is terrible.
Speaker BAll right, so back on the supply chain, adult side, the one and only Korai Kozay.
Speaker BFolks, before I read this comment here, if you're not following Karaz blog articles, I'm talking it.
Speaker BYou know, folks talk about keeping it real.
Speaker BKorai brings it each and every time.
Speaker BKorai, you need to drop the link to one of your latest ones in the comments so I can share that.
Speaker BBut great to see my friend.
Speaker BKarakosa says egg resilience.
Speaker BEurope's decentralized egg production softens the impact of avian flu.
Speaker BUnlike the US where concentrated farms worsen shortages.
Speaker BBack to supply chain resilience.
Speaker BExcellent comment there, Korai.
Speaker BGreat to see you, my friend.
Speaker BAll right, we've got one More really important thing to get to.
Speaker BSo we're going to cut out all the egg.
Speaker BFun.
Speaker BAllison, you know I'm a huge fan, huge fan of the Dave Creati Foundation.
Speaker BI love the work you are doing.
Speaker BSo I got a two part question for you.
Speaker BFor any of our new audience listeners and watchers that weren't with us, one of your previous appearances where we talked about it, would you tell us what y'all do at the Dave Kreche Foundation?
Speaker BAnd secondly, how can folks jump in and help support the mission?
Speaker CAbsolutely.
Speaker CThanks so much and we really appreciate your tremendous support.
Speaker CSo the Dave Krehy foundation helps kids play sports when their families cannot afford it.
Speaker CWe're focused in the metro Atlanta area.
Speaker CWe're starting to see lots of other nonprofits like us pop up all over the place.
Speaker CSo we're really excited to see that and we encourage others all over the country to copy us and pop up all over the country.
Speaker CThere needs to be US's all over the country.
Speaker CSo please look at our website, copy things and go do your thing.
Speaker CBut yeah, we've helped over 1800 kids.
Speaker CWe help pay the registration fees so that they can stay on the court, stay on the field and we appreciate your support.
Speaker CSupply chains now support Scott Luton, Amanda, y'all support and they can connect with us on LinkedIn through the website.
Speaker CLove to see you.
Speaker CLove to.
Speaker CYou know, we've got a couple of fundraisers local to Marietta area and the Atlanta area coming up.
Speaker CWe've got a pickleball tournament coming up.
Speaker CDate change might be happening so I'm not going to share that just yet.
Speaker CBut we've got a wine market fundraiser coming up on derby day.
Speaker CSo lots of little things but we'd love to see anybody around.
Speaker BI love that the mission is so beautifully geared towards practical, powerful outcomes.
Speaker BAnd you know, simplicity is a great thing.
Speaker BSo I mean, this is a comment, but the simplicity of yalls mission problem meat solution and it's for the kids.
Speaker BOver 1800 kids have been enabled to get the equipment they need or the fees picked up because gosh, y'all parents out there or anyone should know these organizational fees, the activity fees, the, you know, medical fees.
Speaker BOh, to play sports.
Speaker BIt's just, it's expensive.
Speaker BSo the Dave Kreche Foundation.
Speaker BI'm gonna call out the website folks.
Speaker BThe davecrace.com.
Speaker Bright, right.
Speaker CYep.
Speaker BYou got it, Dave.
Speaker BD A V E Krechy K-R-A C-H-E.com it's just that easy.
Speaker BAnd going back to Your other comment, Allison, this is a huge opportunity we had.
Speaker BRebecca from Tel Aviv.
Speaker BWell, my point is we got folks from all around the country and all around the world tuned in with us here, man.
Speaker BStart a local chapter, local organization, doing this in your own neck of the woods.
Speaker BAnd Allison, I'm putting you on the spot, but it kind of put you on the spot.
Speaker BIf folks wanted to call you, reach out, pick your brain a bit, get some best practices of how they can do a similar mission in their own neck of the woods, would you be open to that?
Speaker CWell, to be honest with you, everything is really transparent on our website, so you're welcome to email me.
Speaker CBut to be quite honest, with as crazy busy as I am, I would love to respond, and I probably will, but you're going to get a lot better, quicker responses.
Speaker CJust stealing stuff off our website.
Speaker CI hate to say it, but please, I would love for people to take stuff off our website.
Speaker CWe've got our application there, so you can kind of see how we operate.
Speaker CWe've got our frequently asked questions, so you can kind of start there and see how we operate and get a lot answered there.
Speaker CBut I encourage you, please check it out, copy us and help more kids throughout the country, throughout the world.
Speaker BDavecrace.com Good stuff.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BWhat an outstanding edition of the Buzz.
Speaker BAlison, we have a blast each and every time you come back and join us.
Speaker BI love your perspective.
Speaker BOf course, you're leading a manufacturing organization.
Speaker BYou, you're from industry.
Speaker BYou know more about this stuff than a lot of folks out there.
Speaker BAlways learn plenty of stuff here.
Speaker BLet's see, we're dropping your LinkedIn.
Speaker BFolks can connect with Allison there.
Speaker BClaudia's asking a good question.
Speaker BWho was Dave Gracie?
Speaker CThat would have been helpful for me to tell you.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker CDave Gracie is my late dad.
Speaker CHe was a sports fanatic.
Speaker CAnd when we lost him unexpectedly in 2009, we thought, my mom and my sister and I, we wanted to do something in his honor, in his name.
Speaker CAnd we thought, thought, let's do a scholarship.
Speaker CAnd then we were like, no, that's not really.
Speaker CHe was a fun guy, so let's do something more fun.
Speaker CAnd I was volunteering at the time for a softball, little kid softball team.
Speaker CAnd one thing led to the other and we knew that how much he loved sports.
Speaker CI mean, if it wasn't March Madness, then it was baseball, then it was football, then it was you name it.
Speaker CSo one thing led to the other and thus the Dave Kreche foundation was born.
Speaker BLove it.
Speaker BLove the story.
Speaker BLove the mission, love the outcomes and love that you're willing to share and be transparent so other folks can learn and hopefully do some similar things out there.
Speaker BAll right folks, I hate to wrap, really have enjoyed all of yalls perspective and responses.
Speaker BI know we couldn't hit everybody's here today, but thank you so much.
Speaker BIf you want to learn more about our Supply Chain now ecosystem, you can find us via that link right there from our friend Trisha, Trisha and Amanda behind the scenes today helping to make production happen.
Speaker BBig thanks to them.
Speaker BBig thanks to Allison Giddens with Win Tech Inc.
Speaker BAnd the Dave Kreche Foundation.
Speaker BAllison, thanks for being here.
Speaker CThanks so much for having me.
Speaker BYou bet.
Speaker BMost importantly, big thanks to our smart, savvy global audience, smartest in all of global Supply chain for being here with us and all the great comments and perspectives that y'all shared.
Speaker BFolks, hope you enjoyed the show as much as I have, or maybe even like half as much.
Speaker BI'd be really pleased if you enjoyed it half as much as what I enjoyed today.
Speaker BBut we're going to work together.
Speaker BWe're going to find a more successful path forward despite all the friction, the complexity that we have by the container load right now.
Speaker BWe get it.
Speaker BAnd you know that's going to take action.
Speaker BReal action.
Speaker BDeeds, not words.
Speaker BAnd lots of goodwill.
Speaker BI'm keeping the faith every single hour.
Speaker BHow about you?
Speaker BSo with all that said, on behalf of the entire Supply Chain now team, Scott Luton here challenging you, do good, get forward, be the change that's needed.
Speaker BAnd we'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now.
Speaker BThanks everybody.
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