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Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you may be.

Scott Luton and the one and only Kim Reuter here with you on Supply Chain now.

Welcome to today's live stream.

Hey Kim, how you doing today?

I'm doing great.

Happy new year.

We have not seen each other this new year.

It's been a busy start I think for you and for us and, and it's great to reconnect because we've got a great show here today.

Kim.

Great show.

So folks, you all know what it is.

Every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time, it's the buzz where we discuss a variety of news and developments across global supply chain and business.

We got tons of great topics, Kim.

Key takeaways from NRF's big show, supply chain leadership priorities for 2025.

Hey.

The startup environment across supply chain.

Get ready for a big year we think there.

All that and a whole bunch more.

Plus about 12:15pm Eastern time we've got a special guest joining us, PAM Simon with Manifest 2025.

We're gonna get a sneak peek of what's taking place at this rock and roll industry show in just a few weeks, Kim.

Should be a jam packed hour, huh?

Lot for covering it all today.

Yes we are.

We're earning our paycheck and then some here today.

So folks, stay tuned.

Two things before we get going.

Hey, give us your take in the comments just like Amanda, Trisha and the team are sharing this comment here.

Say hello where you're watching from.

All that good stuff just like rib shared here.

Rehab via LinkedIn from oman.

Hey, great to see you.

Looking forward to your perspective throughout the conversation here today.

Speaking of two things, give us your take in the comments like re just did with your tuned in via LinkedIn, YouTube x Facebook, Twitch.

No matter, let us know what you think.

And secondly, if you enjoy this show, if you learn from this show because I promise you between Kim and Pam, you will a share it with your friend or your network.

They'll be glad you did.

Okay, Kim, are you ready to get going?

Yes, always ready.

You are always ready.

That's like a battery brand if I'm not mistaken, right?

All right, couple things before we hit our first story.

First off folks, we shared the latest with that said, our almost weekly newsletter published over the weekend.

And folks, mark your calendar.

National Supply Chain Day is coming up once again, April 29th.

We shared a little bit of the backstory related to nscd.

Y'all know we love our acronyms as well as where its founder, Mary Kate Love is taking this special day in the years ahead.

We also touched on Kim Deep Seek, China's big foray to ramp up its AI game, trade and tariffs, including a recently announced economic development plan that Mexico is laying out.

Hey, how about how to make your CFO a supply chain super fan.

Great article by Corinne Bursa.

All that plus news, views, resources, events and more.

Kim, did you get a chance to take a quick glance through with that said over the weekend?

I did have a quick look at that.

I think the thing that stuck out with me the most was what's going on down in Mexico.

Yes.

So we're seeing our partner down there.

We're all part of North America, the North American way as we like to say.

And we see Mexico making some pretty massive moves.

They're going to start moving into more internal nearshore moving manufacturing in.

They're going to try to become more of a distribution point for North America.

They're really making some great moves, which I think are somewhat complimentary to the moves that we're seeing happen in the United States.

We're also making similar moves here as well, so it's interesting to see how these things are going to play out.

I think they could very well balance each other out and make a really strong partnership since we both are kind of thinking about things the same way.

Kim, Love it.

The North American way.

How about that?

And we're going to touch more on what Mexico is planning towards the end of today's show.

So good stuff there Kim.

Ok.

Okay, we got big news from our friends at easypost.

The most reliable shipping API is taking things to the next level, folks.

Easypost is just about ready to launch luma, the first multi carrier shipping AI trained by billions, yes, billions of historical shipments to revolutionize the way you ship.

Now with Luma, you're going to get performance insights, predictive simulation so you can test those carrier combinations and automated rate selection to guarantee the best label every single time.

It's not just shipping is what I'm hearing.

It's smarter shipping.

And folks, it's launching February 10, 2025 and it's ready to transform your shipping strategy.

If you want to be a part, you want to be ahead of the game, check out the link we're dropping here and you can Join the wait list.

You can be among the first to kick the tires.

Now, Kim, I bet when you kick the tires on something, you kick it real hard.

Is that right?

I do.

Very hard.

I don't want to kick it once.

That's my philosophy.

All right, so, folks, we'll have to see.

We'll get Kim and Lumina together.

We'll see.

All right.

We got so much to get into here today.

So much.

We got one story that we're gonna hit before Pam Simon with Manifest joins us.

But before we hit that, let's do this.

Kim, have you ever been to the big show?

I have not been to the big show.

I will say that's the one show that I have not been to yet.

It's on my list to go to, though.

Okay, let's me and you plan maybe we'll take the whole gang and we're gonna go to the big show next year.

How's that sound?

That sounds great.

Well, check out this.

Now, this is an interesting story.

Want to cover before Pam Simon with Manifest joins us.

As reported by Retail Brew, business leaders were talking about all kinds of stuff at the big show, which for those that may not know, that's okay.

It's a massive trade show hosted by our friends at the National Retail Federation each and every year.

But what were some of the key takeaways when it comes to what is on the mind of fashion executives that attended?

Well, Kim, here's a couple things from this article via Retail Brew.

Tommy Hilfiger.

Yes, that Tommy Hilfiger, he was touting the immense value of focus and making big bets on artificial intelligence.

In fact, he said, quote, AI is going to change everything.

AI is going to propel business ahead and there's danger in it also.

But I think that you have to stay abreast of what is going on in the tech world because the tech world is going to sort of be the horse that pulls the wagon.

When we started doing 3D design almost 15 years ago, it sped up everything in terms of product development, supply chain, and it changed the way we designed, end quote.

So talk about a tough sector, Kim, to manage supply chains in.

You know, think of trends that come and go like ships in the night in the fashion world.

Now guess some of my fellow Gen Xers out there know what I'm talking about.

Guess the company behind those famous guest jeans back in the day.

Well, a couple of their executives, we're talking about using tech to optimize a personalized customer experience.

And then, Kim, I'll get your Thoughts Here you had Tony Spring, the still relatively new chairman and CEO of Macy's, who was defending and rationalizing the role of physical department stores in the modern retail landscape.

Now, Kim, with all of your leadership experience, Amazon, Nordstrom and so much else, I can't wait to get your take on some of these topics.

They were talking about the big show.

So super fascinating, right?

Because fashion, when we start to look at fashion and fashion manufacturing, fashion, supply chain, we have this really interesting intersection of creativity, which is the fashion part of it, and then the actual technology and physical processes that have to happen in order to make that creative vision come to life.

And so I get really excited when we start talking about fashion and technology, especially fashion and supply chain, because you just talked around inventory turns, fashion turns, style turns, all related to supply chain.

But when we start to look at AI and what Tommy Hilfinger was talking about and how they're using AI, it's super interesting.

And that they're using it to speed up the creation of new products.

They're using it to be more efficient in their manufacturing, and they're using it to do pattern cutting and designing to eliminate waste.

That is super interesting here that Tommy Hilfinger is not only using AI to kind of touch maybe a little bit in the creative space, but more about driving efficiency in the supply chain.

Oh, I love it.

I love it.

Kim, you and I both have been talking a lot and offering up use cases and best practices for those industry leaders, leveraging AI and lots of other cutting edge technology to better execute and operate on the visions that supply chain and business leaders have.

And on that last point, because you were Talking about Vision 2, it's so important, you know, being creative and having a vision, folks, that's not good enough.

We got to find ways of communicating that vision and telling that story and better yet, figuring out how to execute on that vision and the art of the possible.

And Kim, that's where the rubber meets the road.

Because humanity is seeing all sorts of really big ideas, but far fewer folks that can bring them into reality.

Huh?

Right?

To bring them reality and then also make them to scale.

Like you can produce something once that's cute, you can produce it a hundred times, it's super cute.

But can you produce it a million times, 100 million times at the same cost, at the same effort?

Maybe less cost, less effort.

So I think, you know, that's where we start to see where technology really is starting to really influence in the fashion industry, is that there are aspects of fashion that are hard to scale.

And we're able to use technology to.

Help with that, you know, Kim, Love it.

We could have several hours staying on this one topic.

I want to close with this.

Amanda and Trisha, if y'all could.

We had a great live stream a few months back with two supply chain leaders and technology leaders that spent lots of time at retail and they talked in.

In particular, we had some intriguing conversations around retail planning, Kim, and you know, accounting for all the fads and the trends, you name it.

So if we could drop a link to that show there in the chat, that would be wonderful.

Okay, Kim, we got an outstanding guest joining us here.

Now.

Are you ready to go?

We are going to swoosh our guest in.

Our guest is a successful entrepreneur and business connector with more than 20 years of experience in content creation, producing, successful tech conferences, and a whole bunch more.

And some call her the connecting queen.

Want to welcome in Pam Simon with manifest.

Hey, Pam, how you doing today?

I'm good.

Thanks for having me.

You bet, Kim.

We really enjoyed our pre show conversation with Pam the gang earlier, didn't we?

We did.

We got off on a couple of key tangents.

It was great.

We did.

And we talked.

Of course, we don't have any pre show conversations that don't touch on food.

And we're talking about how we prepare for the big game coming up now that it's set.

And that's what I'm gonna get both of y'all to weigh in on.

Pam and Kim, the Super Bowl.

That's right.

It's the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was all nailed down yesterday, right?

The celebration of many and to the chagrin of some.

But it should be a good game.

Eagles and Chiefs.

So I'm gonna ask you both.

Pam, who you got?

Who's gonna win the Super Bowl 20, 25?

I mean, I'm a Dolphins Patriots fan.

Sorry, guys.

Go with the Chiefs again.

Okay.

All right.

And they would do.

If your prediction comes true, it'll be the first team, I think, in all of NFL history to win super bowl three years in a row.

That's remarkable.

That is remarkable.

All right, Kim.

Pam calls Chiefs.

Who you got?

I'm gonna go with the Eagles.

I'm not a huge football fan, but I do relatives and Philly.

So are they still in Philadelphia?

Yeah, they are.

It's been a tough team.

It's gonna be a great game.

I'm hope that's what I'm pulling for.

I'm pulling for the great game for my dear friend Greg White.

I'll shout out to the Chiefs because I know that he is, I'm sure, excited about pulling off a never before seen feat.

Also, one quick thing, folks, if you want great recipes on what you want to roll out at your football party, Pam and Ken both got some great tips, so feel free to comment in the chat.

We'll see if we can't make that happen.

Some are easier to make happen than.

All right, Pam and Kim, we got so much to get into here today.

So much.

And by the way, the team did drop that episode.

I mentioned key trends shaping the future of fashion, retail.

Y'all check that out.

You're gonna love that conversation.

Pam, for context, right, we got the smartest audience in all of global supply chain, I promise you.

But for context about you and your background, would you tell us about your journey and of course, what you do over at Manifest?

Of course.

So as you mentioned, I love connecting people and I've been doing that in a variety of ways throughout my entire career.

Prior to Manifest, I was a venture investor at Lab Ventures and while I was there, we started a series of conferences as we started to do some company building and one of them was future of logistics tech.

So that was acquired by Connective in 2019 and now we are with, it's now called Manifest.

So Manifest is the largest global end to end supply chain event and it's a full ecosystem.

So we're expecting about 6,000 executives from over 50 countries.

Okay.

Investors, startups, tech, and then for shippers, anyone that's moving goods around the world.

So every big box, cpg, cold fresh storage, you name it.

If you're moving goods around the world or investing in that process, then you should be joining me and Scott and Kim at Manifest and two weeks at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

Oh, I love that.

And folks, it's just around the corner.

She said two weeks.

Let's see, February 10th through the 12th at the Venetian, Las Vegas.

Gosh.

Now, Kim, I know you do a ton of events, but I'll tell you, Manifest, they've been on a roll.

I think this is the fourth one coming up.

Pam, is that right?

That's right.

So, Kim, all that sounds good.

And folks, Red 19, you head to Vegas.

You want a tip?

Bet the farm on Red 19.

Kim, are you looking forward to manifest 2025?

We're going to get you in Vegas sometime soon.

It is.

It's one of the biggest events and as Pam mentioned, like it covers everything from soup to nuts, which is great.

It's probably one of the only events I know of that covers supply chain from beginning to end.

A lot of them sort of focus, you know, TPM as an example.

Focus on an aspect of it.

So great conference.

Glad to see that it's on year four and looking forward to year 40.

Oh, I like how you think Kim.

I bet Pam does too.

Here in crunch time of year number four.

It has been exciting to see.

We're going to touch more on manifest 2025 here towards the end of today's appearance by Pam, including some reasons you gotta check out this year's versus previous years.

But for now, Pam and Kim, I want to shift over to talking about supply chain leadership priorities here in 2025.

So our friend Richard Howes.

Richard, hope this finds you well.

If you're tuned in, recently published a great read in Forbes where he touches on a few supply chain predictions and and priorities for the new year.

So check this out folks.

Get both y'all, Kim and Pam to respond here and give us your thoughts in just a second.

He points out the ultimate supply chain balancing act.

How companies must effectively activate and leverage their supply chain for competitive advantage while supply chain leaders are managing risk, all sorts of risks, optimizing operational resilience, controlling costs and of course fueling change and digital transformation.

Everyone's heard that term once or I don't know, 2 million times.

Richard points out a few thoughts shared by our friends Lisa Anderson and Sarah Barnes Humphrey on past podcasts, including the need for ensuring supply chain decisions are rooted in data.

Of course that's been a big time trend in recent years, especially our ability to make decisions easier and more successful and faster.

The continued evolution of supply chain tech to allow for predictive operational intervention.

That's quite a phrase.

So you can prevent some problems from happening before they ever, ever start to emerge.

How important it is not to lose the human element in digital transformations.

And folks, I guess y'all know I like good news better than bad news, but little bad news.

If you're sick of hearing about cyber security, we've got some bad news because as Lisa Anderson says, quote, cyber security will be the cornerstone to supply chain strategy.

So Pam, when it comes to chief supply chain officers, chief procurement officers, chief operations officers, chief folks, moving stuff, as you were saying earlier, what are some of the things they are prioritizing that you're seeing here in the new year?

So there's a beverage of different topics that they're looking into from supply chain management, organizational design capabilities and adoption of technology for effective decision making.

Of course, sustainability and cybersecurity with resilience are top of mind.

And I think we talked about this earlier, but there'll definitely be a lot more M and A activity.

So I think there's more consolidation coming, more collaboration, so to speak.

That's right.

More connecting.

Right.

Going to your DNA there, Pam.

And we're going to touch on that in just a second.

Kind of like the startup landscape in a second with our next story.

But Kim, weigh in.

I mean, you're working with a variety of movers and shakers across the industry.

What are some of their priorities here in the new year?

The biggest priority I've seen and companies are working on is really predictability and trying to figure out what kind of supply chain do we need.

We have a lot of moving parts.

We have a new administration which is shaking things up a little bit.

We see Mexico making some big moves.

A lot of US importers are using the Mexico corridor to optimize their duty payment and savings.

So we're seeing a lot of shifting happen and a lot of people are hedging.

Do we pull in early?

Do we wait?

Contract negotiations are coming up for Ocean Freight.

So there's a lot out there around predictability and a lot of people are talking about how do we use AI to predict customer behavior.

Right.

Because that is what's going to drive our forecast, our buys, our budgets, everything.

So there's a lot of focus out there on how do we get a clearer picture on what we need.

Kim, love that.

And as you shared your perspective, I think when some folks hear a five syllable word like predictability, they may kind of be turned off.

But I think to put it in really layman's terms or just bare bones, I mean, think about it.

I love working with predictable people, right.

I love working with predictable suppliers or customers or gosh, if I knew exactly what problems I was going to have in 2025 because I could predict them.

I mean, imagine all the headaches and stress we would save.

So naturally, supply chains, they crave predictability, Right?

Because to your point, we can deliver and delight our customers like never before if we have a better idea of where we're going.

Does that get all that right, Kim?

Yes, absolutely.

Okay, wonderful.

And Pam, your last word.

Pam, you were, I think you were nodding your head too.

Predictability is a wonderful thing, whether it's supply chain or people or all points.

Is that right?

Yes, across the board.

I think predictability when it comes to the entire process that you're running in your organization and inventory and shipping and then, yes, of course, with people as well.

But it's not just predictive anymore, it's also prescriptive.

So, ooh, figure out, you know, where we're going.

What if something happens?

What are some of the things like how do you plan ahead even further to, you know, anticipate when those disruptions happen?

Excellent point.

Anticipation.

Who sing that song?

I feel like we've said that before when that came up.

I'm sure.

Amanda, Trisha, y'all let me know.

All right, so Pam and Kim, let's shift gears.

Let's talk about one of my favorite topics, not just startups, but supply chain startups.

So check this out.

We all have been working hard, Kim and Pam, to increase and enhance all of our blogs at Supply Chain Now.

So this comes to us from Supply Chain now dot com.

How about that?

So a few factoids related on the startup scene in our industry.

Did you know for 2024 venture capital investments in supply chain tech and tech based logistics companies, well that totaled somewhere around 15.4 billion.

Now, according to a report by Kearney, the biggest capital investments have been in delivery technology, warehouse automation, supply chain digitization, and artificial intelligence.

Now, generally speaking, here's some good news.

Goldman Sachs and a whole bunch of other experts say signs are pointing to a faster pace and lots more activity when it comes to mergers and acquisitions here in 2025.

Some say there's going to be a surge of M and A activity this year, including those infusing capital into supply chain startups.

Now folks, check out this blog because the three startups we referenced that are kind of in different points in time in their journey are Dos, Drum Kit and Verison.

So, Pam, we're all entrepreneurs here, so I can't wait to get you and Kim's perspective.

What are some of your thoughts when you consider that investor, startup landscape, ecosystem, you name it, what are you seeing?

I mean, I completely agree, which is why I always do an investor session at Manifest.

But this year we're adding an M and A panel.

There's so many companies that are going through this process and you, you need to be prepared not only, you know, as the CEO and founder, but then for your company.

You know, when you go through an acquisition, all the different moving pieces that are involved and how to do it in the most smooth, efficient way.

We'll dive further into that at Manifest as well as when it comes to connecting with investors and startups at Manifest, we already have over 200 different funds in attendance of all different sizes.

So from super early stage investing all the way through your investment bank, family office, you mentioned Goldman.

They'll all be at Manifest.

So a lot of these relationships and investments, they actually get started by conversations that have taken place on our show floor and you never know who you're going to meet or when that will come to fruition.

So there are a number of investors that have met startups that manifest, you know, the first year and are now in the process of deploying capital or running the next M and A for them, you know, four years later.

So it's really exciting to see there's a lot of interest.

It is, it is.

And a couple things I picked up on there, Kim, what Pam was sharing, she talked about the importance of the wiring of organizations, right.

When, when companies come together via M and A, you name it, that wiring, especially from an execution and operational standpoint, is critical.

We've seen some really big deals that looks great on paper, but they really missed on the wiring.

Right.

She mentioned the value of having the conversations and meeting people, making those connections, 200 funds, that manifest thing.

Also, one last thought, Kim, is she talked about kind of this notion of creating our own luck, right?

Creating our own serendipity.

Some of the most successful people I know have been the biggest believers of the importance of doing just that on this journey we're on.

So Kim, what'd you hear there and what are you seeing in the world of M and A and venture capital, you name it.

So what I heard from PM is that if you want some money, go to Manifest.

But you know, what we're seeing in the startup world, it's interesting that we're having a lot of conversations about M and A, because if you look at this, we're about three years post pandemic, right?

And we had a lot of supply chain startups come out of the pandemic.

So after about three years is when a startup is gonna make it or not gonna make it.

That's about the tipping point for most true technology startups.

So it makes sense that we're gonna see a lot of M and A in the, in the market today.

If you are a startup, if you are thinking about a startup, don't let this hold you back.

Don't let this M and A action that's going to be happening.

Don't let that bring your spirits down because it's the cycle.

We see this cycle quite often.

We saw an M and A cycle, you know, about 10 years ago around, it was door delivery with doordash and all of those kind of companies.

There was a big consolidation around that.

So we're just seeing the next cycle of it and it happens to be around supply chain because that's what came out of the pandemic.

Love that.

Been there, done that perspective.

An encouraging message there, Kim, and so much good truth there.

Pam and Kim, here's a question for y'all.

Tomcat asked a great question and folks, we may not have the perfect answers top of mind this morning and we'll see if we can't follow up.

But Tomcat says, hey, are there specific platforms, networks or accelerators that cater to introducing seed and angel investors to supply chain focused startup?

Well, I think Pam has already shared one.

Certainly Manifests and other trade shows are great places to be.

Pam is someone that really loves this space.

Any other resources that you might want to drop that come to mind?

I mean I'm happy to share in the comments after because there's so many different funds and accelerators and programs that are looking at technology and you're also seeing, you know, more CPC and then also some of these brands and companies that are doing their own technology dive outreach.

So for example, I mean Walmart just hosted something in India so that they were able to meet with a bunch of startups related to technology and supply chain for their operations in India and now they're working with them.

So we're seeing a lot more companies actually leaning in to solve their own problems in a more efficient way.

That's right.

Come to manifest is the largest group of people in one for you to meet.

Well and I think one of the things you mentioned there, that is one of the trends that has been around for, I don't know, I'll call it 15 years, but we could probably make it.

Other time frames is the appetite for big companies to find ways of working with startups.

You know, years ago that appetite was a lot different.

That tolerance was a lot different.

And now, gosh, think of some of the most successful relationships that came out of big companies.

Willingness to invest in new ideas, new companies, new leadership, new ways.

And it hasn't always been like that.

Kim, your final comment here on startups appetite for companies using startups new ideas, you name it.

Your final word here.

So you know, obviously I work for the biggest startup in the world, so I've got a little bit of experience with it.

But you know, you talk about, you know, companies partnering with startups and bringing together either collaboration, sometimes that ends up in a gobble festival or they just eat up the smaller company.

But we do have a lot of Examples out there of companies that have big companies partnering with small companies.

And the biggest one that comes to mind is Amazon almost 15 years ago starting to partner with small regional carriers.

That's when we started to really define the last mile.

We started to bump out UPS and FedEx and DHL and started to work with lightning logistics and little tiny guys that had 10 or 15 trucks, or not even trucks.

Some of them were just driving around on their cars, like very early days were cars.

We had customers complaining because you know, there's somebody at my door at 9pm, oh my God, they have an Amazon package.

What do I do?

But that's what it was 15 years ago.

Right.

But that is a great example of a big, huge company partnering with little tiny companies to completely change the market.

Love it.

I love it.

You know, UPS comes to mind another large behemoth that has created investment funds for seeding and eventually working with folks from across the startup ecosystem.

So probably the first two points we're making, I think Kim and Pam is going to manifest.

Right.

But also Tomcat, great question, by the way.

Check out some of the corporate initiatives.

They aren't all the same.

Some are really not well done.

Some are really well done.

And then of course, there's no shortage of podcasts and certain specific innovation centers, certain investment firms that really specialize and help serve as powerful resources for supply chain startups.

So check that out.

Great question.

Okay, I want to encourage folks to not only check out this article we just talked about, but check out all of our blog series.

You'll find that right on our website at supply chain now.com and stay tuned.

Got a new website coming out.

Not soon.

We'll say let's target 2026.

I don't want to give anybody heart attacks.

Behind the scene.

January 2026.

Let's target that.

All right, so Pam, if there's been one theme through the first part of today's show, it is go to Manifest and Manifest 2025 coming up soon, like in two weeks.

As we talked about February 10th through 12th at the Venetian in Las Vegas, we're dropping a link.

You check that out right there.

We've got the Link to manifest 2025 as well as a link to the previous article we were talking about.

And as we're also sharing, we've all been to a ton of supply chain events.

This is my first time at Manifest.

I'm delighted.

I can't wait.

And better yet, Pam, thanks to you and your team, I am facilitating this roundtable with some dynamos folks talking about unlocking and acting on true end to end visibility.

So check that session out if you're going to be there.

But two part question for you, Pam.

What are some of the things you're most excited about this year at Manifest?

And let's be sure for you to share some details on a very special women's luncheon set for this year.

I mean, for me, I'm always excited because we work on this event all year round.

So seeing everything come to life and bringing everyone together, I think the best compliment that I've gotten was that when you go to Manifest it feels like your LinkedIn coming to life.

It does though.

You really, it is.

It's such an amazing environment and everyone is really open and excited to hear about what you're doing and talk to you.

So I'm obviously very excited to see everything come to life.

And we are expecting, you know, 6,000 attendees from over 50 countries.

So is global.

Yep.

So those are the things that are very exciting for me.

I think from an audience perspective, an attendee perspective.

You know, we have 150 sessions.

So depending on whatever part of the supply chain or area that you're interested in, there's something for everyone and a number of case studies as well.

So you will actually be able to hear how these companies are working together.

One that comes to mind are immediately was, you know, Zipline and Cleveland Clinic and how they're actually deploying drones for medical and critical time related issues.

So that's very exciting.

And the app is live.

So now people are scheduling meetings and you know, preparing in advance, which is always good.

We have a lot of fun things on the show floor.

From Coffee Bars by Viho and Return Pro to a Beer garden Rose all day, the famous Puppy Lounge, the backyard barbecue.

And you know, of course we have Flo Rida performing for our closing party.

I'm also, you know, partial.

I'm always excited about our women's luncheon.

It is something that is super unique to Manifest and I think for the industry, like we're still hearing from people saying thank you.

They learned a lot from the previous ones.

So we'll be very excited to have the president of the Ohio Girl Scouts of America.

And then for the first time we're having a man as a speaker.

So the head of operations for Mary Kay and we're going to be leaning into mentorship.

So even if you're coming to Manifest and you downloaded the app, if you're interested in being a mentor or a mentee, we will be launching that program at the show.

So you can choose whichever kind of role you would like to be or both.

Maybe you want to be a mentor and a mentee so you can start that process now.

And I'm really excited to just to see how the conversations that start at Manifest really build and become these incredible relationships and businesses in the future.

It's music to my ears.

But I got to be honest, Kim, when she mentioned Girl Scout cookies, my brain went to Thin Mint and I had a trouble following anything else.

Kitty, Kitty.

A lot of good stuff.

And of course, Rose all day.

Hey, enjoy it, but be careful.

I got stuck there, to be honest with you.

Like, okay, please.

And then the Puppy Lounge kind of tripped me.

But then Rose all day was.

Was.

That's right.

That was a killer.

Tons of great sessions, tons of special events, kind of events within events.

And the best thing, I think my favorite that you mentioned is the ability to finally meet these folks that we've been meeting digitally for years and man the relationships, how we can microwave new collaboration opportunities that come out of that.

About Maharaj, he's going to be there in Vegas for Manifest.

Great to see you via LinkedIn.

Let us know your favorite thing you're looking for.

Maharaj.

Love to get that real.

Kim, anything else on your end that Pam shared that you'd call out for folks as being someone that's been and spoke at lots of events around the.

Globe, you know, go to as many events as you can and network, network, network.

I mean, that's what you're here for.

Stay out of your hotel room.

Put your email down.

It can wait.

You're there to network.

You're there to meet people.

You're there to learn.

So many times I have, and I'm also guilty of this.

You know, gone to an event and then just worked the whole time and didn't really get anything out of it.

Right.

I'm at Pam's making that.

Make mad faces at me.

Right.

I know I can't control my face.

Sorry.

Don't do that.

Don't do that.

Right?

Yeah.

There's so much to learn and you will always be able to take at least one thing back to your company.

That should always be your goal when you go to these events.

Take one thing back to your company.

That's a value.

Excellent point.

And to that end, gosh, we could be here all day, but there's so much value and I'm so glad in person, events are roaring back.

Right.

But you may need the folks out there.

I've seen people Very successfully put together the value proposition and deliver that to their organizational leaders that may be springing for their travel.

That's a great idea, right?

Time and dollars, travel dollars can be tough sometimes.

But that's been a great best practice that I've seen folks do.

Also, just like Kim said, I got to stress this, no matter what event you're going to be at, right?

Yes, those can be some long days.

Yeah.

Especially when you start at breakfast, lots of sessions and then D center.

But the meeting people and exchanging perspectives and trading stories and even talking about non supply chain stuff, that's where some of the greatest value is.

So like Kim said, don't you dare go back to your hotel room and jump on email.

I was gonna say at Manifest on the badges you have a tile.

So when you meet someone all you gotta do is tap.

It'll share all your contact information.

A lot of times like as you said, you're going to sessions, you're in meetings, you're kind of running around, maybe you get to go to the bathroom if you're in between and you get to talk to someone but you don't have enough time.

Great tap.

It'll send you an email to remind you to follow up with them.

And then following up is nice.

Network follow up.

Nice.

All right, couple quick things here.

Claudia heard return Pro.

I think that was one of your session sponsors.

That's great.

And to that end, kind of going back to our last topic, you talk about tons of investment in certain parts of global supply chain.

It's so great to see returns management, reverse logistics getting get more and more attention and dollars.

So good call out there.

And Shelly says Manifest truly sounds like a great experience, an engaging event and she appreciates that takeaway you were sharing earlier, Kim, about hey, get out of the hotel room, get out and engage with folks.

Okay, let's do this.

Pam, we dropped the link to Manifest right there in the chat.

So folks one click away.

If you haven't registered, there's still time to do so.

But if they want to connect with you, Pam, maybe they want to share an idea about something for next year or get you to come in and speak to their organization or event.

You name it or compare notes.

You name it.

How can folks connect with you?

Pam Simon.

LinkedIn is probably the easiest and kind of quickest way.

So feel free to message me on there anytime.

Wonderful.

And you know what, we're going to help you.

One click away, we drop Pam's LinkedIn profile right there and encourage you to reach out and Connect.

I'll tell you what Pam, it has been amazing to see the first one come together and then to see the evolution over the last four years and I'm delighted to be able to finally see it firsthand right in person.

So I'm looking forward to meeting you and 6,000 of my newest bestest friends from 50 countries here in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for being here with us.

Pam Simon.

Thanks so much for having me.

I look forward to seeing seeing you guys in two weeks.

We'll see you in two weeks.

Big thanks to Pam Simon with Manifest.

Pam, we'll see you soon.

Kim, that was good.

I enjoyed the topics but also enjoyed you with all the events these days.

I don't know about your schedule but I'll be at Manifest, I'm going to be at Promat, I'm going to be at Gardner Supply Chain Symposium.

I'm going to be at SAICS in South Africa.

I'm looking forward to that one.

Yeah, how about that.

And I think your advice and Pam, both of yalls advice on just the mindset to take at these in person events.

I think it's not talked about enough and so I'm glad that you shared that here today especially get out and connect, right.

Have real conversations.

But I want to ask you this.

Out of everything we talked about and all that Pam shared, what was one of your favorite takeaways from her segment with us here today on the Buzz?

I think what was most interesting is the increase in M and A that we're going to see.

So much so that we're going to host a session about it at Manifest and I think it's spot on.

I mean if you look at the cycle of startups and you know the three to five year cycle, that's the first round when they're going to make it or not like it is.

The market is very ripe for a huge amount of M and A supply chain activity to happen and I think we're even going to see it even in some of the bigger players as well.

I don't think this is going to be just left to small startup ish type companies.

Yep, I tend to agree with you as usual.

Good stuff there Kim.

Okay, we got one more topic that we want to hit here today after a great session with Pam Simon with Manifest.

Folks, make sure you connect with Pam and that's we're going to touch back on something we were talking count on the front end.

So folks y'all check this out.

There's been a ton of talk about what the Trump administration will be doing when it comes to global trade and tariffs.

Right.

But here's an interesting story as Mexico has recently announced an ambitious new economic development plan.

And here as reported by Supply Chain Dive, Mexico President Claudia Sean Bomb has announced the launching, I guess of a 1.4 billion dollar near shoring incentive package aimed at strengthening the country's role in global supply chains everywhere.

Now get this Kim, we're kind of talking about this pre show.

Our friend Sophia Rivas Herrera who leads Supply Chain now in Espanol folks, find that wherever you get your podcast, she shared a few thoughts about this plan the other day on LinkedIn.

We're going to drop link to Sophia's perspective here, some of her observations.

The plan aims to ensure that 50% of products consumed in Mexico is of local origin.

It seeks to expand vaccine manufacturing in Mexico, opening jobs and production, distribution, warehousing and more.

And speaking of jobs, the plan seeks to create 1.5 million skilled jobs.

Love that.

So here in a broader context we're talking about this.

Also pre show, going back to kind of that North American way phrase you shared earlier, a lot of talk and there's going to be some sort of action follow up when it comes to trade and tariff actions that will be coming between the U.S.

canada and Mexico.

And hey, the best of neighbors have fences.

So we got to do what we got to do, right?

But my hope is this, let's find a way to strengthen this most unique and powerful region and trifecta of allies, true allies, so that we can use the power of this region to combat much bigger problems that bad actors are causing elsewhere in the globe.

Kim, your thoughts?

I agree with your point on that.

Like let's all come together and fight the fair fight.

I think a lot of what we're going to see in Mexico and what the president of Mexico just introduced for us is very similar to kind of what we're talking about in the United States.

I mentioned this earlier in the podcast.

You know, what we're looking on too is trying to move manufacturing back into the United States, trying to drive jobs for people in the United States.

So I see a lot of synergy between what Mexico is trying to accomplish and what we're trying to accomplish accomplished.

And what I really hope is that we can put those two things together to make a very powerful partnership or a throuple, so to speak, if we can get Canada in here.

So and then Mexico is also very uniquely positioned to be a big distribution center.

We have all of Latin America that it can service as well as it can service United States and Canada.

And I'll tell you folks, if you are outside supply chain or outside of manufacturing production, you may not be aware of just how much of a rock and roll market the country of Mexico has been for several years.

Long time.

But certainly in the last couple years, it's been amazing.

Okay, good stuff there, Kim.

I'm looking forward.

I think we're, we're very kindred spirits in what we hope to see play out because we got some big challenges, supply chain related and otherwise, to figure out in the months and years ahead.

Okay, Amanda, I'm checking a few notes.

Amanda and Trisha behind the scenes helping make production happen.

Amanda loves a throuple.

So they're going to steal that word, that phrase from you, Kim.

Carly Simon is who's saying Anticipation, that song that we referenced earlier.

And I got something wrong.

I talked about the supply chain now new website and I mentioned next year.

Oh, no, she says second half of 2025.

That's awesome.

So I appreciate that, Amanda.

Got to make sure I don't make any mistakes.

Kim, as we talk a lot every Monday, right.

One more thing I want to do before we wrap.

Jim says, I would much rather enrich Mexico with America's manufacturing outsourcing than China.

I can get behind that.

Kim, could you get behind that?

I could get behind that.

I mean, I'd much rather see us do more manufacturing in the United States as my first preference.

But yes, if we can move from China to Mexico, that would be fabulous.

I agree with you.

And every country, manufacturing is such a wealth generator, right?

Every country wants production within its borders.

Going to Jim's point, Jim, the pride of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Flagstaff.

When I've met people from Arizona, when they talk about Flagstaff, it's just flag.

That's kind of cool.

So if you want to sound like an Arizonian and talk about the city of Flagstaff in casual conversation and Jim, check me if I'm wrong, but going to more serious, going to Jim's point about China, it's amazing because, you know, we've heard for years, right, about folks decoupling from China, you know, moving production.

And there has been that activity, right.

But get this.

I wish I had my factoid handy.

The United Nations, Kim, is projecting that in terms of the market share of global industrial production that China I think this year right now is like at 27%.

And by 2030, they're going to be approaching 45, 46%.

So Kim, to me, that's a just a billionth example of why you can't read in the headlines and assume that that's what's happening and widespread because this headlines can be really misleading.

So despite all the movements and all the sourcing shifts, China's still doing pretty good.

Kim, huh?

China's still chunking along.

All right.

They have a big plan that they have been executing for what, 20 plus years, the China nomination plan.

And so they're executing to that.

Their goal is to do all manufacturing for the whole world if they can.

And I think we need to be cognizant of that in the United States.

I think it's estimated that 80% plus of what we consume here in the United States is actually made in China.

So we need to even look at ourselves, right?

Check your underwear is what I tell people right when they want to start arguing about import.

You know where my stuff comes from.

I'm like, check your undies.

I bet they're from China.

So we already have all this infrastructure and everything built.

Like moving away from this is going to be challenge.

And then the other thing we see, you know, we see this mythical shift to Southeast Asia, right?

Like okay, we're just going to move to Vietnam, but China owned companies working in Southeast Asia, we're not really getting away from China yet.

We're shifting the perspective, but we're not there yet.

When you go back to thinking regionally and especially what we have here in North America, in light of what Kim is just sharing there, I hate to say something as callous as, you know, that we have bigger fish to fry, but in many ways we do.

We do.

I tend to agree with Jim, me and Kim both Do you know when he talks about hey, let's enrich Mexico with the US As a manufacturing outsourcing and I stand corrected.

Jim was talking about Northern Arizona University.

The Lumberjacks, as LK was saying earlier, is based in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Really cool.

Kim.

You've got lots of events coming up, lots of parts of the world you'll be visiting.

Is there one event that you want to make a quick plug at in case folks are at they should come shake your hand and and know you.

The event that's going to be coming up, I'm going to be at TPM in March.

Okay.

So I will see you there.

And then also I will be planning to be in Salzburg in May with the WC again with WCA E Commerce.

Those are my two big events I have working on right now.

A couple little small ones in there.

But if You're a tpm.

If you're going to be a tpm, I hope to see you.

All right, folks, if you're at tpm, if you're at WCA events, go track down.

Get out your hotel room and go.

Get out of your hotel room.

I'm guilty of that.

That's why I called it out.

Like I'm guilty of hiding in my hotel room.

Hey, we all are sometimes.

All of us have maybe those introverted moments, right.

And tendencies.

We all have that.

Or if we're just exhausted, we got to change our approach.

One final comment here.

Shelley says right on, Kim.

More manufacturing in the US but it seems like wishful thinking.

I've been much more open to more in Mexico due to the proximity and cost.

And I would just add to that, Shelly.

We've got wonderful allies and people and partners in Mexico and Canada.

Right.

And there's so much more opportunity there.

Okay, Ken Mortar, really enjoyed today's session.

Really appreciate all the shows that we do together.

I'm looking forward to our next one already.

So, Kim, order, thanks for being here today.

Thank you very much.

Great to be here.

You bet.

Always a pleasure, folks.

Our guest, Pam Simon with Manifest.

Be it manifest.

If you can't be there this year, be there next year, right?

Connect with Kim.

We dropped Kim's LinkedIn right here.

So folks, make sure you connect with Kim.

See, I'm wrapping up my to do list here at the end.

We've got the link to learn a lot more about Supply Chain now and all the different things that we do.

We're trying to make it easy right there.

Claudia, I really appreciate you stopping by.

Great session.

I agree.

I learned a lot from Kim and Pam here today.

But folks, here's the deal.

Thanks to all you that tune in.

Whether you're on a live version or if you're listening to the recorded podcast, we appreciate you.

Keep the feedback coming.

There's lots to talk about in Global Supply Chain, but better yet, there's a lot to be done to change how business happens.

And you know that is driven by by deeds, not words.

So with that said, on behalf of the entire team here at Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton, challenging you do good, get forward, be the change that's needed.

And we'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now.

Thanks everybody.

Thanks for being a part of our Supply Chain now community.

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