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

Scott Luton and Sophia Rivas Harari with you here on Supply Chain now.

Welcome to today's live stream.

Hey, Sophia, how you doing?

Doing good.

How about you, Scott?

Doing great.

And as Tricia says, happy buzz day all and let us know where you're tuned in from.

So, Sophia, it has been really warm after a milder spring.

Man, the heat is here now in the metro Atlanta area.

I think it's been in the 90s most of the last week or so.

How about where you are, Sophia?

What's the weather like?

So I think we're 82, something like that.

So finally, very nice weather, rainy season here, lots of fl.

Everything's green again.

So because we spent several months of a very dry season, weather that went up to 110.

So finally, and I'm so sorry for the rest of the world that's getting their heat waves, but we already went through it.

So I'm so happy it's over.

Well, I'm jealous.

82 and green sounds great.

But hey, fall is going to be here soon, along with football and and you name it.

But so great to have you here on the Buzz, Sophia.

We got a lot of great stuff to get into here today.

So folks, you know the Buzz every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time, we discuss a variety of news and developments across global supply chain and business news that matters is what we like to call it.

We've got a terrific show here today.

We're going to be discussing a mover and shaker in the cosmetics industry and perhaps what sets them apart from the rest.

We're going to be talking about the Gartner supply chain top 25.

We're going to be talking about some upcoming food trends that might be impacting supply chains everywhere.

And we're going to get a really neat sneak peek at the new season of supply ch now in Espanol that is going to be released this week.

Sophia, should be a big show here today, huh?

It is.

It was a couple of stressful weeks because one and you'll know it later, but we also relaunched our Instagram account and we're jumping into other social media so now you can find us there.

And that was a big project to undertake, but we made it.

We partnered with some great companies to do so.

So we're very excited for that.

We're excited, too.

We admire the work you and Andrea have been doing.

Quite the one, two punch.

And we're going to talk more about that here on today's edition of the Buzz.

Folks, two quick things before we dive in.

Number one, give us your tech in the comments, whether you're tuned into LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch, no matter, let us know what you think.

Just like our friend DC is with us here today via LinkedIn.

DC, safe travels, wherever you are.

You've been traveling the world.

Great to see you here.

Great.

Michelle says happy Buzz Day from up in Chicago.

Michelle, welcome back.

Looking forward to your takes here today.

And Maria, hola.

Cheers from Madrid.

And by the way, the heat is everywhere in Spain.

I know.

Maria says, oh, look here, Sophia.

Even Gino Pledger, the rock and roll drummer is back with us here today.

Gino, hope this finds you well.

Now back to Maria's point.

Sophia, the heat is everywhere in Spain.

If you've been to Spain yet.

I have.

I was there in May 2023 and I thought it was going to be warm, so I packed how I was going to dress in May here in Mexico.

But it was a mistake because it was still cold or at least cold for me.

And then I left and they, they, then they started their heat wave and I was like, maybe I should have gone there.

Yeah.

Timing, timing, Sophia.

It always gets us.

One more quick comment here from D.C. d.C. Says she's back home for two.

Who?

Wow.

And trainings coming up.

She's staying busy.

Oh, and she's doing a LinkedIn course.

I saw her recording it.

So please drop the link or tell us when it's live because I'm interested.

That's right.

Dc, great to see you.

All right, so I've got a fun warmup question for you in just a second, Sophia.

But to set that up, I want to talk about the most recent edition of.

With that said, look at that beautiful sunset.

So we started with a theme of vacation.

In this edition, since my family just got back from a great trip to Edisto beach, we offered up a few nuggets on pioneering companies that were early adopters of paid time off for their teams, which is really cool.

And we touched on how important vacation is not only to job performance, but also to help maintain that healthy work life balance.

Get this, Sophia.

Harvard Harvard Business Review published this nugget in an article from a year or so ago.

Quote, in a study of 749 women, researchers found that those who took vacation less than once every six years were eight times more likely to develop heart problems compared to those who went on vacation twice a year.

So beyond that, we also included our latest data points which included mixed signals on the US manufacturing sector in June 2025.

Output and new orders are up.

So our input costs and of course we also included some of our live upcoming events.

We're dropping a link right there in the chat so you can check that out.

But here's a fun warm up question.

Sophia.

I just said we got back.

Me and Amanda and her family got back.

This is all of our gang there at the beat, one of our all time favorite places to go.

Well, here's what I want to ask you, Sophia.

So a vacation top of mind.

And you're a world traveler as well.

What's one of your favorite places to go?

Spend some vacation time.

Maybe I'm traumatized or I don't know, I'm just like so obsessed.

But I love being in Cape Town, South Africa, and I think that has been the best place ever to go on vacation.

There's so many things to do from going to the beaches or hiking, which I don't like that much.

But it was a nice view or looking out wild animals as well as the wine country.

I think like everything there is just perfect.

But if I'm going to say something from where do I like to go here in Mexico?

I would say so.

I and it's also a wine country, but Ensenada in the north part of Baja of Mexico.

It's in Baja California.

That's a very good place to go and also enjoy from the wine scenery.

And there's also like desert, I would say like desert beaches.

So it's okay.

It's kind of weird to see the sand, the cacti and then the ocean, right?

And the ocean is like completely light blue.

The sand is wide.

There is, oh, it's gorgeous.

That's a nice place to go.

You're painting quite the picture in my brain.

I don't to go visit those beaches, desert beaches.

Well, hey, we're going to have to get a rundown you and Andrea as you are traveling the world.

We're going to have to get lots more pictures, a travel update, travel diary.

Very jealous.

But a lot more to come here.

We're going to talk about some of those trips, I think over the next hour.

But folks, before we dive in with the one and only Sophia Rivas Herrera here, I got one more resource I want to mention from our dear friends over at Easy Post, folks, the rules of peak season where they've changed.

It's not like last year or maybe even the last five years.

It's not peak as usual.

So old playbooks, well, they're not going to cut it.

The brands that come out ahead in Peak 2025 won't just move faster, they'll move smarter.

That means flexible carrier strategies, sharper cost controls, and yes, using AI to spot problems well before they hit your bottom line.

Check out this new ebook by our friends at easypost which breaks it all down for all of you out there.

Even for those that may be slow like me, it breaks it all down and shows you how to stay ahead without burning out your team or your budget.

Download it for free here today.

Sophia, Speaking of vacation and speaking of burnout from the easypost there, we gotta manage burnout not just for ourselves, but our teams.

That's a really important thing here in this ever f moving world of global business, huh?

Yes, for sure.

And that reminds me of an episode we did in Supply Chain.

Now in Espanol, we did a one that completely dedicated to talking about burnout in the industry.

We also asked some of our listeners to share their own burnout stories and we read them and discussed them how to with an expert on how to deal with it.

And we can definitely share those resources.

Sylvia Ramos, she has this company called Dale Hype in which she has identified ways in which you can manage burnout or prevent it.

She's recently launching a report on 2025 burnout in Mexico and Latin American countries, as well as a card game.

So she does everything with like gamification and cards.

Okay.

Yeah.

And she has this card game in which you can play and identify at which level of burnout you are.

I like it.

We're gonna have to have Sylvia on, but we'll look forward to you sharing those resources.

And I love how you're listening to your audience because I tell you burnout is a universal topic.

It impacts everybody.

And if you don't think it does, you're in double danger because you're ignoring the signals.

Okay, maybe more on that in a minute.

I want to get down to some business here and we've got a wide variety of topics.

Eclectic, we said yes.

You beat me to it.

Eclectico.

I was gonna use the Spanish version, but I want to start with the cosmetics industry.

Sophia, the cosmetics industry.

I think this is an image here from your first visit to Ulta Beauty.

Now specifically the beauty, cosmetics and fragrance stores industry here in the U.S. ulta Beauty owns about 18% of that market.

Goodness gracious.

And they're on the move, opening new locations in Mexico and the Middle East.

So tell us, I was reading some of your own takeaways from this visit here where you're kind of diving into what sets them apart, what helps build their competitive advantage, both from a consumer experience and a supply chain management standpoint.

What's a few of your, your key takeaways there, Sophia?

Yeah.

Well, first of all, I know that some people might say like how is it your first time on an Ulta beauty store?

Well, there's none here in Mexico.

And whenever I travel, sometimes I don't have time to go.

But this time I had time and I went, paid a quick visit and looked at it and found out what was different about it.

And I compare it to one of their, I would say biggest competitors, which is Sephora, which has been around in Mexico for a while.

And I would say like first there is more focus on highlighting new brands, new companies and startups that are doing their own products.

And one thing that I found recently from their chief supply chain officer, the Reuters event in Chicago was he was sharing we not only like give them a space for them to sell their products, but we also work with them to make their supply chains more resilient so that they can keep up with the peaks in demand.

So talking about peak season right before.

Right.

But I think that's something very interesting that I haven't heard about and I think that's important because when you give them these space or this platform that makes their product more visible, then they'll have to be ready for that production increase or a demand increase.

Additionally, one of the other things that was interesting was the layout.

The layout is completely different.

So you have the cashier at the front of the store.

So it's kind of you enter and then you'll have to go around and then come back to the to the beginning of the store to pay.

And that's a strategy for them to one, make you look at the whole store and say second, make it easier for you to pay.

Interesting.

Yeah, I was reading about it and that's like from a store perspective.

But there has been many articles shared around Ulta Beauty strategy.

I've been lucky to also been hearing from their executives, from their team and learning about what they're doing.

But I think their success lies on their partnerships as well.

So I think they're successfully partnered with for example, Lucky for managing their omnichannel in a frictionless way and making sure that the right product in the right quantity is at the right place at the right time.

Additionally, Locus Robotics also works with them in their warehouses, making them more productive and allowing them to have more speed for them to respond to shifts in demand.

So I think there are different use cases that I've been reading about Ulta Beauty that makes them very interesting.

And they keep innovating, which I think is something that that's the way to do it.

Right.

And now they're coming to other regions now starting in Mexico, and they're coming here through Grupo Axel.

So Grupo Axel has been bringing us brands to establish in different malls or areas in Mexico.

Yeah, so like I think they've brought like Abercrombie or in other brands, but, well, and now they're bringing Ulta Beauty with them.

So that's also an interesting partnership.

They're acknowledging the growth of the beauty industry in countries like Mexico and in other countries in Latin America.

And also they'll face that it's different.

Right.

So our skin is different, our brows, our lashes, our hair, our preferences are different.

Some parts of Mexico, like a lot of, I would say heavy makeup, others want it lighter.

They'll have to balance and understand what we prefer, which that will be interesting and also face or bring into their assortment the local brands that are doing great not only here, but also in.

The US Sophia, I love it.

And one big theme I think we're all picking up from you here today and your visit and your analysis of what makes them different is they truly there's few companies that really put the consumer number one, the true North Star.

And you can see it ripple out across not only their operations, but how they lay out the store, how they bring new products into the markets, various markets.

And we're going to be keeping tabs on Ulta Beauty, just like Amanda says.

She loves Ulta, Amanda says, and she had no idea about all these cool things they are doing.

So, Sophia, I look forward to your next visit.

And folks, if you want to read more of Sophia's take on what she has observed and seen in the Ulta Beauty business, check out this LinkedIn post and offer your own take.

I know she'd love to hear your comments, whether you love it or hate it or somewhere in.

But we'd love to hear from you.

Please share.

Sophia, you mentioned Locust Robotics.

I think I've got a image here.

So I caught up with Kate Peterson From Locust Robotics Promat 2025.

It had 50000 people there.

Goodness gracious.

But really enjoyed my chat with Kate.

I don't know why I'm being so serious in that picture there.

I'm way too serious sometimes, Sophia.

But Kate, it's a great supply chain chat.

But more importantly, she is leading a great podcast called the Feminist Exec.

So you can check that out wherever you get your pod and tell Kate we sent you her way.

Sophia, have you met Kate Peterson yet?

I haven't.

I would love to meet her.

And I'm definitely checking her podcast because I think at the end we all do things differently and we can learn from each other.

So that would be amazing.

Another thing about Locus Robotics with Ulta Beauty is that they're offering multiple languages to operate their robots.

Oh, very cool.

So that operators can select the language that they want and that they feel comfortable with.

And that way it's more inclusive and diverse.

So that's something that we love in supply chain now in Espanol.

So, you know, I love it for all those reasons, but I also love it because it cuts down on that learning curve to when they can really be, you know, showing their worth and contributing to any organization.

Plus, I would assume that the safety gains you could make when there is zero communication translation having to happen.

I love that, Sophia.

I think more and more companies should look into making similar features available.

Okay, so Sophia, let's shift.

We're going to be talking about one of your favorite topics.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

It's the Gartner supply chain top 25.

And perhaps Ulta Beauty will find itself on the list at some point soon.

The list just came out for this year, released a couple weeks ago.

It is, in my view, it's always interesting to kind of dive into the research, learn what some of these top performing organizations are doing or not doing, and the benchmarking and, and the debates that the top 25 can create, I think we can gain from that.

But new companies entering the top 25 this year include Novartis, General Mills, Sanofi and GSK.

And four companies fell out in the text.

Zara, Pfizer, Dell and Nike all fell out.

So had a little attrition there.

All four companies in the Masters category retained their status.

There's a four masters.

Amazon, Apple, P and G and Unilever.

And in this year's list, I'm gonna go back to this.

Gartner found three big macro trends that were embraced by not just the four masters categories, but all the top 25 supply chain organizations.

And this probably isn't gonna surprise anybody.

The third one might, maybe, maybe not.

But anyway, agentic AI, especially how organizations are pairing that with other forms of AI aut operations.

And here Gartner sees a growing distinction between basic automation and truly autonomous operations.

I do too.

And then water stewardship, you know, to power both of those things and many others.

Of course, it takes lots and lots of resources, including water.

And companies are finding new, creative ways to optimize their water stewardship strategies.

So, Sophia, when you survey these top 25 companies that we're seeing there, courtesy of our friends at Gartner, what's a couple of thoughts that come to your mind?

I think this list gives us a North Star, especially for the companies that are constantly being announced or awarded like spots and they should trigger something or some action.

Right?

So if you see that you fell from 2024 to 2025, two spots, then you go to the analysis and you kind of dive in and what happened that we dropped down so.

Or we fell out of the list.

Right.

Like the companies that you've just mentioned, I think it will be interesting for them to also understand what happened that made us not being part of this list anymore.

And how can we be part of the list again?

No, I think they're all companies that are all present in my life.

So you see them on your daily life.

So it's interesting, I think, like from a consumer perspective, if you see this list and you don't understand, like what are they measuring?

I'll encourage you to go and see what they're measuring.

And also see, okay, yeah, I'm using l', Oreal, I'm using Colgate, I'm using Microsoft, so on.

And do I feel that, Do I also feel from what they're being featured from my consumer perspective and from my usage, is that also reflected?

No.

Yeah, that can also be an interesting way to look at it.

From the trends, I think it shouldn't be a surprise that water stewardship is there, especially because of how much water is being used to power all these data centers for AI and how if we were towards fulfilling our sustainability goals, how we're now falling back because of all these increasing water usage and other resources.

So how can we turn the shape around and be better at it?

Everyone, if not many of you, or if you don't know, I'm a huge fan of l' Oreal and I know that they have a lot of dry, or they call it dry plants in which they either reuse or stepped aside from using water as a single use or disposing water in their plants.

So that's an interesting use case.

Check it out.

Dry Plants.

L'.

Oreal.

But yeah, definitely, that's something that's interesting.

And it's also tied to, to our next topic, our next eclectic topic, which we'll bring up in a second.

We sure will.

And I love that.

I hate that I'm not taking advantage of that segue, but I want to add a couple more thoughts.

Sophia.

I'll repeat it.

I'll repeat it.

And please do.

I'm gonna hold you to it.

You know, when I survey this list, and folks, if you don't see this list, a lot of times you'll see the pyramid way they illustrate the partners.

But to echo Sophia's point, go check out the research itself.

Go sit in on the, on the Gartner webinars, where they kind of walk through the methodology and some of the specifics.

It's really important.

May if you're not there, like, self assess yourself with this methodology that could be also interesting and see, like, where do you fall there?

Yeah.

So I've had the pleasure of hearing from or interviewing a couple of Schneider Electric executives this year.

And it's really fascinating to hear them in terms of what they're doing and how they really, truly, and from what I can tell, really doubling down on the power of culture and how selective they're being when it comes to their digital transformation.

And I'm going to paraphrase what their North American chief supply chain officer told us, but look, we're not ripping everything out.

We're calling time out, figuring out what's working, what isn't working.

And we're taking a very targeted approach that really, it sounds so obvious.

But more companies, more leaders need to hear that.

So that one stands out to me, Walmart.

And I'm telling you, Walmart is building a story, a business story, a supply chain story that we're going to be studying for a long time.

How they're able to predict what customers are ordering and the flexibility that is giving them in their inventory carrying.

That's amazing.

And then lastly, Sophia, the Coca Cola company that sits there at number 14, you know, we haven't talked about, at least I haven't talked about SKU rationalization in a long time.

And if you remember during the pandemic, we were talking about that every week, every day.

And of course, a Coca Cola company with all of its thousands of flavors that, you know, are common and universal in some cases, but are very regional and account for some of those differences in other cases.

I would love to revisit their current approach to SKU rationalization.

And what decisions stuck and what didn't stick.

That'd be an interesting supply chain conversation to have, huh?

That would be very interesting.

I know that.

Well, my approach is maybe keep doing skew rationalization because sometimes, especially when you're not in consumer packaged goods, it's even harder to like, okay, yeah, we bring thousand types of products, but are they really consumed at the pace that you expected for them to turn around faster?

I don't think so.

So maybe revisit that strategy.

We're going to have to have that conversation now.

That's stuck in my brain.

We're going to have to revisit it.

But.

All right, Sophia, I'm going to mention Nadine's comments here and then I'm going to get you to give us that segue again.

So, Nadine, great to see you from Saudi Arabia once again.

We always enjoy your perspective.

And Nadim says something very truthful.

When it comes to the Gartner supply chain top 25, what is visible is always saleable.

That's right, Nadine.

That is right.

Okay, so Sophia, what is that segue?

So we can move into a really cool, innovative company.

So again, one of the greatest things from this year's gardener top 25 list is that they are now measuring how we use water and if we can do it more efficiently.

And that brings us to this next topic, which is an example of how to use water in a very efficient way.

So Sophia is going to give you the rest of the story, the important rest of the story.

I'm going to share a little nugget from this company we're talking about, which is Ruby Laboratories, which really stood out in my brain.

So, Sevilla, Bloomberg covered something cool that Ruby Laboratories has been doing with Walmart for a couple of years.

It's articles from a couple years ago, but evidently the two companies have been working together to capture carbon dioxide from Walmart's supply chain operations, convert it to cellulose, and use that cellulose to make yarn, essentially creating carbon negative textiles.

How cool is that?

I love that.

So, Sophia, we're dropping a link to that Bloomberg story.

You can dive more into that initiative.

But Sophia, when it comes to the company Ruby Laboratories, what else should folks know about what they're doing?

So why I found this story so cool is not only their technology of literally taking CO2 and turning it into textiles and then potentially clothes or other materials that we use, but also because it's owned by twin sisters.

And if you don't know, I'm a twin as well.

So I got really excited to see that there are other twins around the world working together, creating successful business models and also contributing to our planet so that it's really moving and motivating.

I will call them out and say, like, hey, reach out.

Please tell us what happened with that pilot project that you did with Walmart.

We'd love to know what are the next steps or who are you working with now?

Maybe we'll tag them here, Scott, and then reply and be in supply chain now.

Podcast, that would be amazing.

But yeah, I think one of the things that they've been able to achieve is the way they create these textiles has very little usage of water as well.

So it's not only okay bringing down CO2, but also being very responsible in the way they use water.

So that brings us an alternative for us to, I mean, start doing better.

Right?

We got to.

It is fascinating to me to think about semiconductors and those foundries that make all the computer chips around the globe, how much water that goes into the production process.

And then.

And again, I'm not an engineer.

You know, I've been in plenty of plants and factories and all kinds of sites in my career, which is one of the coolest parts of it.

But I'm still trying to make the leap into why all those foundries end up in Arizona that have some, you know, water management issues.

Really, the US west out there all has lots of water challenges, but we'll save that for another show.

But Sophia, we've got to do better.

It was really cool to see water stewardship not only be found in the culture of these two here, the founders of Ruby Laboratory doing some really cool, innovative things.

But going back to our previous topic, it was great to see it being identified as one of the three top macro trends that make up those leading companies.

We've got to be better stewards.

Not just what are all of our resources, but what do we learn back in chemistry, Water is a universal solvent.

Does that sound about right, Sophia?

If I'm being honest, I was very bad at chemistry.

Oh, me too.

That makes two of us.

Yeah, I was better at other topics, but chemistry, oh, my God, it got tricky.

We'll move along fastly then, so.

But it's precious.

That's the point.

And it's finite.

So we need to do better.

Got to do better.

All right, so we dropped.

Let's see here.

Learn more about what Bloomberg reported on in terms of creating that carbon negative.

And help us tag Ruby Laboratories.

Maybe we'll pop in their LinkedIn notifications.

And maybe if we can do so without letting them know how bad we.

Are at chemistry, we'll cut that part from these.

Yes.

Okay, so we're going to dive more into the cool things going on over at supply chain now in Espanol in just a second.

But first, Sophia, I want to have a little food fun and I want to explore some trends.

What some of the big trends were at the annual summer fancy foods show up in New York.

So in fact, CNBC here has put together six food and beverage trends from the show that might be impacting dinner tables and supply chains everywhere in the next few months.

2000 exhibitors.

2000 exhibitors at this year's show in New York.

Again, that's the summer fancy food show.

I love the title.

All right, here we go.

I'm gonna walk through these six and then, Sophia, I'm gonna get you to tell us what's one of the trends that you hope will stick around.

So we'll see.

Number one, new creatively fused olive oils.

That sounded really old to me, but it's one of the six trends they, they identified.

Number two, Mustard.

Mustard.

Mustard.

And you see some of the cool, what they call the caviar of mustard right there pictured in front of you.

Number three, a 2.0 take or multiple takes on plant based food really leading with taste in this next chapter.

Number four, chef led brands which really gathered steam during the pandemic as restaurant chefs had to stand up new channels to reach their stuck at home customers.

Number five, swicy food and drinks, meaning all new takes on sweet and spicy is where that spicy comes from.

And then number six, beef tallow.

I don't think any of us want to know what goes into beef tallow, but some, some are claiming it to be a healthier alternative to other fats.

Okay, out of those six, Sofia, what do you wish might stick around or not stick around?

Your thoughts.

So first of all, Swie c has been around.

Yes.

Forever.

Okay.

It's not new.

It's not new in Southeast Asia.

It's not new in India.

It's not new obviously in Mexico.

So.

But okay, it might be new to North America.

So that obviously will stay forever.

So that's not even a contended.

It will stay forever because it is amazing.

And I'll share some of my favorite Mexican candy that have done it for more than 100 years.

But.

Well, the one that has to go is that beef tallow.

It's just.

Well, maybe that's just me.

I don't find it very Attractive, the one that should stay.

And then this will be an unpopular opinion.

I love mustard and I know some people hate it.

I don't understand why I can eat everything with mustard.

Well, not everything, but almost everything.

So I prefer fries with mustard.

I prefer everything with mustard.

So that should stay.

I'm interested to taste that more.

And that also reminds me, because Scott and I, we prepare for these live shows.

Okay, it may not look like it, but I promise that we do.

But we do.

When he showed me this story, I was like, I feel like we live in the Matrix.

Because I've been constantly talking about this for the last couple of weeks.

We've interviewed Elsie Osejo from ILUS Food, which is a company that innovates in food industry, but specifically in creating flavors.

So before that I didn't know that there were companies that created flavors or even smells.

And this is one of the companies that does that.

So I interviewed her.

Then I met other competitors from her.

And yeah, I've been discussing this topic a lot and it's just a fun coincidence.

And there's another food, it's called Food Tech event in Mexico City and I'm dropping the link that you should definitely go check out.

They basically have also stands of companies that have different smells, flavors, innovations, techniques, and they exhibit there.

It's a very interesting show happening.

So love it.

You're here.

Go and check it out.

We'll drop that link in the chat.

Folks can check out, especially if you love the food industry and all the food tech that helps not just consumers make their hard decisions and their choices, but helps endear the sights and the sounds and the smells, helps endear products to consumers around the globe.

We're dropping a link right there in the chat.

You can check out that Food Tech.

Event in Mexico, our interview with Elsie so that you learn about flavors, some other like I would say trends that are quicker and that they don't last forever.

But for example, the matcha flavor things or everything pistachio or now everything is about yuzu, which is like a citric fruit from Japan.

So we discuss that there and that's really interesting.

Outstanding.

I'm going to tune in to you and Elsie talking about the science that goes into the tastes and smells that we love.

Okay, we got the event, we got interviews.

Want to scroll back up here?

Let's see.

Big show, Bob.

Boba says our household is in love with dill pickle mustard.

Wow, check that out.

I hope this finds you well.

My friend Amanda says beef tallow is very much a beauty trend too.

I almost want to say, do tell, Amanda.

And I kind of, on the other hand, don't want to know any more about.

Don't use it in your face, Amanda.

I don't think.

I don't know.

I don't know.

I tell you.

Maybe you'll prove me a lot wrong in a couple years when you look younger than me.

We shall see.

But I am certainly a fellow mustard fan.

I put mustard on all kinds of stuff and I gotta check out these gourmet mustard.

We'll check.

We'll learn more about those horseradish spicy old fashioned ballpark.

We shall see.

Okay, speaking of interviews and the great one you had with Elsie, which I'm gonna have to check out, I want to dive into this new big season of Supply chain now in Espanol that's coming up soon.

Folks, who you can find and you better find Sophia and Supply Chain now in Espanol wherever you get your podcasts, especially on Spotify.

But check that out.

So what's been Sophia, before we talk about the season coming up, let's talk about all the shows you've already done.

What's been one of your favorite moments of inspiration with a maybe a past supply chain owner spaniel guest.

So I think we have been lucky to have so many amazing guests in our show.

One of them is, and I found that whenever I share their story, a lot of people are very interesting in getting to know them and working together.

That company is someone somewhere.

So if you don't know them, there are Mexican brands that have created value chains around the craftsmanship and all the artisans in Mexico for them to have constant and fair labor all the time.

And how have they done it?

They found out that big companies have very big goals in terms of sustainability and social impact and they have not been able to achieve them by themselves.

So by connecting them with artisans in Mexico, they've done collaborations for them to achieve those goals and also for the artisans to have this constant amount of work coming to them and also making their business more formal and more, I would say, efficient and as well replicable.

Okay.

So if you don't know them, they have collaborated with brands like Adidas, like Lacoste.

The latest shirt of Lacoste is done by artisan Hans from Mexico.

Also, if you've ever been to business class in Delta Airlines, which I haven't, but please take me Delta.

No, but their travel pack is made by artisans from Mexico.

Buy someone somewhere and many other beautiful brands have collaborated with them and it's Such a success story.

And I find it amazing that they have created these value chains around that and they're fulfilling two beautiful goals from two different communities.

So that's one of the stories that I really enjoyed.

And then we have a very popular episode about logistics of pets.

So this former executive from a transportation company stopped working there and decided to pursue her other passion, which is veterinary.

And she created this company in which she literally moves special cargo, which is your dog, your cat, even horses.

And wow, she makes all the logistics from point A to point B and with a special care so that they are not transported below the plane but in the main cabin with all the safety protocols for them to arrive alive and good to their destination.

Sophia, those are two fascinating shows.

On the first one with someone somewhere, I think I got that right.

Right.

Yeah.

I love how they are protecting the human component globally as these campaigns launch that lead to some really popular and some very nice items found in some of the leading brands interactions across the globe.

And then secondly, when you think about some sectors or niches that have always been there but are just really in the blind spot for so many folks outside of supply chain, so many folks inside supply chain.

And I think about pets.

I had a good fortune of grabbing dinner with a dear friend whose spouse acquires horses from around the globe and has to move horses around the globe.

And well, you know, more about it, the logistics of that.

And not just to your point, they arrive, you know, safe and injury free.

But you know the psyche of these animals.

Right.

A lot of care has to go into make sure that they're, you know, not terrified as they arrive at their destination.

That is a fascinating component, one of millions probably in this global supply chain industry that we're in.

Huh?

Yeah, completely agree.

But yeah, multiple stories that we've shared, I can mention even more.

I will just mention one more about our first webinar ever which was a huge success.

Thank you Amanda, Joshua and everyone from Supply Chain now team and they as well for making it possible.

And despite all of our nerves of things that could go wrong, everything went well.

That one we did with our great friends from Aduana.

So customs in Spanish is called Aduana app.

So you know, an application.

So what they're doing is they are finding ways to apply AI and different data analytics analytics to improve processes within customs and one of them is in the classification process and maybe in English is not directly translated that way.

But how can you identify from the product that you will be moving what are the applicable cherries for IT and they have this technology in which they can.

With AI, you can learn about that in a few seconds and more accurately than with a human person.

So that's something that we touched on, we shared, and many people were very interested about learning more and how can they collaborate with them.

So that was a great event from last season.

I know it was, because I've had several people come up and ask about it and said they sat in on it and they really enjoyed and we need to do more of it.

So all that leads us to this next big, big season of Supply Chain now in Espanol.

So, Sophia, I know you've already got some interviews you cannot wait to publish.

We'd be here all day because you've got just that much intriguing content to unleash on the rest of us.

But give us a sneak peek of what's coming up.

So we're focusing.

I think the first episodes that we're launching are very focused on the human part of supply chain and how can we be better leaders if we focus on that?

So I know it's very broad, but.

Well, our first episode ever, the second season, is coming up this Wednesday.

It's with a company called Airbag.

And what they're doing is basically, they identified an issue in truck drivers, and it happens here in Mexico, it happens in Colombia, it happens in Peru.

It happens in other places where regulations are not protecting our drivers.

And the incentives that company have for higher productivity are counterproductive in terms of their health, in terms of their safety, and in terms of also caring for the other people in the road.

Right.

So what they're doing is, again, with gamification, they're finding ways to create positive incentives that allow them to be safe behind the wheel.

I love it.

Is that early in the queue?

Yeah.

These Wednesday.

Oh, coming up this week.

This week, we gotta love on our drivers, folks.

I mean, I'm not sure the latest figures, but at least here in the States, I want to say, like 80% of all products are moved at some point in time by our wonderfully talented, talented truck drivers.

We got to find ways of taking care of them, especially as the industry evolves and as the generational preferences continue to evolve.

Who wants to drive?

Who doesn't want to drive?

We've got some big challenges to solve.

Move forward, Sophia.

Cannot wait to tune into that episode.

Hey, one more thing I want to clear up.

Maybe a discrepancy that sometimes I get asked about.

I'd love for you to speak to.

So Supply Chain now in Espanol is not just the Spanish version of shows you'll find on supply chain now.

No, no, no.

It's all in the same family.

Me and Sophia are second cousins, but it's its own vibe and voice.

And Safiya, that was very intentional.

That was a big part of your vision.

Would you speak to that for a second?

Yeah, I think I also get asked that question, like, is it like the shows that or the episodes that have been already done translated to Spanish?

Unfortunately not.

Maybe that could be something that we look into it and maybe.

There we go.

Sophia.

Yep.

But no, we focus on untold stories from Spanish speaking professionals that are also not necessarily only in Latin America because.

And you'll see in this next season because will have a lot of Spanish speakers that are in different parts in the world and also that speak Spanish for different reasons.

So spoiler alert, we'll have a guest from.

She's originally from the Philippines and if you don't know the Philippines was before conquered by Spain.

Their own language has words in Spanish, but she learned Spanish for a different reason when she was doing some volunteer work in Colombia and because she studied languages.

Okay.

And one of them was Spanish.

So that's also very interesting for folks to learn that it's not that we're just focusing in Latin American markets, but in the language itself, regardless of where you are.

And also in topics that are not necessarily very discussed.

We're also having an episode that might be talking about faith and God and that has been the success story of someone working in a tripio.

Okay.

So it's very interesting how we have found amazing guests with amazing stories.

Yeah.

I mean, you haven't checked the episodes because you think it's a duplicate.

Go check them out.

Check them out.

Don't walk, run.

Check them out today and check out the new season on Wednesday.

And I love, I love the vision you've got, Sophia, and finding these stories that need more amplification and really told by strong Latin leaders that are doing big things in the industry.

So, Sophia, I'm looking forward to this next season.

Appreciate the opportunity to have you on the buzz here today.

Sophia.

How can.

Before I got a couple of comments I'm gonna close here with.

But before I do, how can folks track you down?

Safiya?

Of course they can go get the podcast on wherever they get their podcast, especially Spotify.

Would that be your advice there, Sophia?

So Spotify has a lot of features.

If you have the version on your phone, you'll also find different things that we're implementing There you'll have the opportunity to see the episode as well.

So the video version, the transcript, other links that we share on Spotify, if you listen to Apple podcasts, then that's fine.

We're there too.

And also we encourage you to check our YouTube channel.

Well, it's a YouTube list within the Supply Chain now family.

Yeah.

And that's also a great place.

I know people sometimes work and see YouTube videos at the same time.

And don't tell those people.

Don't tell on those people.

Guilty is charged.

But if you're that kind of person, then I encourage you to watch and see that episode as well there.

And you can also connect with us through our new Instagram or, well, relaunch Instagram where we'll be sharing stories and sharing as well all of our posts there on video, all the video clips that we do and we have already started.

So if you go now, you'll see all those things right now for this upcoming episode on Wednesday.

And yeah, and how can you connect with me Also here on LinkedIn is easier.

We're starting also with my reviving my Instagram account on Lightning and it's here.

You can check it out.

There's no shortage of ways for folks to connect with you.

And we can share also the email of Supply Chain Now Espanol, in case you're like interested in collaborating and doing fun stuff with us.

Tomorrow we're announcing a live event that I think people will find very fun.

And we have few spots, but if you are quick to register, then you'll be there.

It is a beer game competition.

Okay, that sounds fun.

Anything with beer.

Anything with beer, right?

Or some of that South African wine you were talking about earlier.

Exactly.

Folks, we're dropping all those links right there in the chat so they're conveniently at your fingertips.

And I know Sophia welcomes your input, your comments and your participation in their shows in this upcoming big time season.

So as we wrap the buzz here today, I want to thank Sophia Rivas Herrera, the one and only and her executive producer.

I think that's the official official title, Andrea Rivas Herrera.

But Sophia, really appreciate what you and the team are doing.

We are very happy to be participating, doing all this fun stuff.

Andrea, as you bring a picture of her.

We'Ll get here on the next buzz.

That would be great.

Yeah, folks, we got big things coming.

Big things coming to what the Supply Chain now and Espanol team is doing.

So big thanks, Sophia.

Big thanks to Amanda and Trisha behind the scenes here today as they always are making production happen.

And of course, most importantly, big thanks to our global audience for being here with us.

Keep the feedback coming.

But folks, hope you enjoyed learning from Sophia here today as much as I have.

Hope you enjoyed the show.

You got one thing.

You got homework.

You got to take.

One thing.

You heard here from Sophia here day.

Put it into practice, share it with your team.

Check out the new season.

Whatever it is.

It's all about deeds, not words.

That's how we're going to not only transform global supply chain, but how we're going to do so and leave no one left behind.

So with that said, on behalf of the entire team here at Supply Chain Now, Scott Lewton, challenging you.

Do good, give forward, be the change that's needed.

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

Thanks for buying.

Join the Supply Chain now community.

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