Welcome to Supply Chain now the number one voice of Supply chain.

Join us as we share critical news, key insights and real supply chain leadership from across the globe.

One conversation at a time.

Hey, hey.

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

Scott Lewton.

And hey, it's Enrique Alvarez with you here on Supply Chain now.

Welcome to today's live stream.

Enrique, how you doing today?

I'm doing great.

Thank you very much, Scott.

It's always a pleasure.

It's been such a long time since I've been in this amazing bus that I thank you for inviting me again.

Oh, great to have you back.

We caught you for like one of seven days out of the year that you're in Atlanta.

Most of the time you're traveling, making things happen, dealing with the movers and shakers and of course the great vector team all across the globe.

So it's great to have you in the atl, my friend.

Thank you.

I really like being here and I'm actually trying not to travel as much, so.

Good, good, good.

Hey, speaking of people we love, dear friends, Christy Porter tuned in from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Christie is always on the move, huh?

She's always in a different city.

I think she's been on the road for almost a year and a half now.

Wow.

Christy, safe travels to you.

Safe travels.

Look forward to catching up with you soon.

And Trisha says a happy buzz day.

That's right everybody.

Happy buzz day.

Let us know where you're tuned in from.

And we've got a jam packed show folks.

You know the buzz comes to you Every Monday at 12 noon Eastern.

We discuss a variety of news developments across not just global supply chain, but really global business.

Enrique, we got some great topics here today.

We're going to be talking about how the manufacturing industry, especially here in the States is trying hard to rebound but it's going to hit some speed bumps.

Hey, how are truck brokers leveraging AI?

That would be interesting.

It's also B Corporation Month and you're going to hear from Enrique and again, just why that matters, all of that, which is fantastic.

But folks, there's more about 12:15, 12:20pm Eastern Time or so.

We've got a very special guest joining us, the one and only Jenny FR with UP management, Enrique.

Jenny is going to be updating us on the SAFIX annual conference in Cape Town as well as the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards which are now in their fourth year.

Should be a great show, huh, Enrique?

Amazing show.

Jenny's amazing.

If you guys have not heard of her, she's very interesting and she's of course, the highlight of today's show.

And talking about Africa, that's very important.

As well as we know in supply chain Africa, it's going to keep growing exponentially into the future.

So I'm really excited about the show and being here.

I am too.

Folks, you're going to be hard pressed to find two more positive forces of nature than Enrique and Jenny.

I'm telling y'all, you're going to want to connect with them after today's show.

They're doing such great work out in industry and I'm delighted to have them both here with us.

So stay tuned.

Tuned, folks.

Hey, two quick things before we get going here today.

Number one, give us your take in the comments.

Whether you're tuned in via LinkedIn, YouTube X Facebook, Twitch, no matter, let us know what you think.

And secondly, if you enjoy the show today, we'd love for you to share it with a friend and your network.

They'll be glad you did.

Okay, Enrique, you ready to go?

I'm ready.

Go ahead.

Let's do this.

I want to share some resources with everybody.

I want to start with the latest edition of with that said that we dropped over the weekend.

How about that picture, Enrique?

The picture's great.

It looks powerful and it looks pretty good.

Well, then we captured it because this is one of the most powerful teams in all of global business.

I'm telling y'all folks.

With that said, it's our almost weekly newsletter.

We published it over the weekend.

We celebrated international Women's day, which is March 8th each and every year, and Women's history month, which is March now.

One day, one month, one week, one quarter.

None of it doesn't do it justice.

We really try to stay focused on the incredible contributions and leadership and innovation and sheer brilliance that women bring in all industries, not just global Supply chain.

And these people here, Enrique, Trisha, Laura, Catherine, Jess, Mary Kate, Vicki, and Amanda that all make what we do possible at Supply Chain Now.

Now we also touched on kind of as an also ran Enrique, the importance of user experience when it comes to supply chain tech.

New tools to help address three pl profitability problems.

That's the thing, folks.

And Vin Visishta, one of my favorites.

He shared some interesting perspective on layoffs.

Get this, he says layoffs cost 10x to 100x more than they save.

Enrique and Vin also offered some perspective on how to protect your team from the chopping block.

You got to check all that stuff out.

And our Supply Chain now team is excited to be serving as a formal media partner for Gartner Supply chain symposium in Orlando coming up in May.

Two full days of interviews and a whole bunch more with movers and shakers across global supply chain.

So watch out now.

Enrique, did you happen to get a look at the latest edition of what that said?

I did, I did.

And one of the things that really caught my attention, two of them.

One, I'll start with a quote for people that know me.

They know that I love quotes.

And this is from Theodora Lau.

And I thought it was very powerful at the beginning.

Celebrating once again the International Women's Day.

And she said, just be present.

It's okay to just feel and just be and be there together.

And of course she probably was thinking about women in general.

But I think that that could be extrapolated to anyone in this planet.

Just be present.

I think that is important, right?

Love that.

What's the second quote?

Well, the second part is not a quote.

I actually like the recap on Manifest and you and I had a chance to be there together and I actually thought that it was very interesting.

We were going to talk a little bit more about AI, but again, technology is just incredible these days and it will continue to grow exponentially.

So it'll be interesting and I really had a good time.

And Manifest, very interesting.

We could spend the next couple hours with either Jenny or talking Manifest.

Both topics deserve it.

But two quick thoughts.

You mentioned Theodore Lau, One of my favorites, folks.

She is about to publish her latest book, but she's got some good ones.

Beyond Good is what she published a while back.

How technology is leading a purpose driven business revolution.

And then this one here, the Metaverse Economy.

I'm telling you, Theo is.

Is so smart that she takes these really tough topics, complex topics and breaks it down to where anyone folks slow like myself can understand and enjoy.

So folks, check that out.

And then second, Enrique, I'm gonna tell on you here first.

Let me make sure folks.

Hey folks, check out with that said, it publishes almost every weekend and we'd love to get your take.

Just like we got Enrique's take on some of the topics.

We'd love to get your take on this last edition.

We dropped a link right there in the comments.

Now Enrique, you mentioned Manifest.

Now folks, I'm gonna tell on Enrique a little bit here.

So Enrique was so supportive of this session.

I was leading, right?

And great panel, great panel.

And we were taking Q and A at the end of this panel.

Now the questions started rolling in throughout the whole session and Folks, it was like Dan Rather or it was like a intense questions.

I was like, wait, wiping my brow.

The panelists saw these questions too, because on one of those monitors facing the stage and most of them were anonymous.

And so we picked one or two of the safer ones because, you know, we want to protect any, any panel, especially in the live chat about some tough topics.

And after the session, I was telling Enrique about these great questions, but tough questions that were on the board.

He goes, yeah, that was me.

You're hit this all the toughest questions known to humanity.

But Enrique, all kidding aside, it was great to see you there in Vegas and one heck of a job that the Manifest team did, huh?

Absolutely.

No, it was great.

I just for the record, there were only two of mine, maybe a couple others where someone else's questions.

But you're very, very good at managing all this panel.

So it was a good test, which you completely, completely successfully passed as well.

Hey, we try.

We try.

Okay, Enrique, you ready to jump into the news, my friend?

Oh, I got one more, One more thing.

So necessity is a mother of invention.

I love this snapshot of Deborah Dole, who founded the Circular Supply Chain Network and who, in a recent keynote, Enrique was making a case for circularity.

She says, quote, what if we circulate instead of import?

We have lots of new ways of becoming competitive.

End quote.

Love that.

Right.

She went on to discuss the ways that circular ecosystems could help protect against supply chain vulnerabilities and disruptions.

Man, there's so much opportunities.

Debra, great.

Appreciate you sharing this.

We included some more thoughts here related to her keynote in with that said, appreciate what she does.

But Enrique, we have so many opportunities when it relates to true circular thinking and doing.

Is that right?

Absolutely.

And I actually was just recently talking to someone at Caught Opaxi and they mentioned the same thing.

It's.

We already have too many things, so I think we have to start thinking outside the box.

And circularity is a good way to resolve not only supply chain issues, but really a lot of other issues as well.

So.

Yeah, and speaking of issues and the latest disruption, we're keeping our finger on the pulse of the workers strike that's impacting German airports everywhere.

I was reading this morning, Enrique, that the airport in Frankfurt, if I read this right, is not going to launch a single flight all day.

How about that?

Gosh, the hits keep on coming.

But to all of our friends in Germany and beyond, this has impacted.

Our thoughts are with you and we're gonna keep our finger in the pulse and See how that develops.

Okay, let's shift gears before we welcome in Jenny Froome.

In about seven, eight minutes, I want to talk about one of my favorite topics of all time.

That is the manufacturing industry.

So, Enrique, check this out.

Reported by Manufacturing Dial, the manufacturing industry in the US Expanded in February.

Now S and P Global's February Data via its US Purchasing Managers Index reached 52.7 in the month.

That was the reading that was up from 51.2 in January.

In a similar set of data, the ISM Purchasing Managers Index came in a bit lower at 50.3.

And according to their data, that was actually down from a January reading of 50.9.

Now you ask, give me some context.

Well, according to both of those sets of data, anything over 50 indicates that economic growth is taking place in the sector.

Right?

So that's an important frame of reference.

It's not meant to be the holy grail of indicators.

And we talked a lot about this, Enrique.

Hey, take these types of research pieces and add it in with dozens, if not hundreds of other things you look at.

But before you get your hopes up, many say this is a temporary, temporary bump.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news spurred by anxiety and angst over tariffs and how they'll drive up many things, including input prices, says Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S and P Global Market Intelligence.

Quote, there's much to suggest that this improvement could be short lived.

Production and purchasing were often buoyed by companies and their customers building inventory to beat price hikes and supply issues caused by tariffs, end quote.

Now, Timothy Fiorent, who is the chair of ISM's manufacturing business survey Committee, which is related to the ISM data I shared earlier, spoke about how their data showed supplier deliveries slowing, driven in part due to suppliers not wanting to be on the hook for paying the tariffs.

Fior said, quote, you can see that there's anxiety in the community because there's disagreements about who's going to be paying for this.

End quote.

S and P data also showed input cost inflation for manufacturers reaching, get this folks, their highest level since November 2022.

That ain't good.

All right, Enrique, your response to what we're seeing here in the US when it comes to the manufacturing industry?

Well, I can attest to that being in supply chain and moving different products for our clients around the world.

And it just feels like people don't really know what to expect.

And they put it very clearly, they're anxious about this.

So we see the kind of more production and more orders come through trying to get ahead of the tariffs.

And now that we have the tariffs upon us, then we're really trying to figure whether they're going to apply, not going to apply, what industries are they going to apply to?

What's the number?

So there's still a lot of ambiguity out there, Scott.

And I feel like the supply chain and the manufacturing are basically just reflecting what the world's living.

Yeah, well said.

Very eloquent there, Enrique.

The disruption would be easier to digest if all the tariffs were announced start of the year when they were going to go into place and gave our planning industry something concrete to plan against.

But hey, we can't have everything we wish for.

And we're going to keep monitoring the ebb and flow of the negotiations, you name it.

So we'll see.

All right, let's keep driving.

Enrique.

We got one more story we want to hit, and let's hit that next.

Hey, if you ever ask AI to paint a picture, draw a picture of a truck, this might be what you get.

This is what.

This is what I.

I got this morning.

And notice Enrique on the back end.

I count.

There you go.

Like five tires.

Five tires in that trailer.

That must be a really heavy.

I thought you were looking farther in the back and notice the two cranes there from before.

Well, that's what got my attention.

It's fascinating what AI can do these days.

With that said, I want to shift over to the art and science of logistics, especially the freight broker sector.

Now, Enrique, I always enjoy seeing solid, practical examples of how supply chain leaders are leveraging artificial intelligence.

A great read here via Trucking Dive that shares several examples, five of them in fact, of how freight brokers are using AI.

I'm going to walk through these and Ricky, then get your response here.

Number one, freight and load matching.

And in particular where they're leveraging AI to add a forecasting element to the conversation.

Hey, how about that quoting C.H.

robinson in particular is using generative AI to read and reply to tons of emailed quote requests.

The article set up to 2000 a day.

I wish I had that back in the day when I was quoting on metal stampings.

Oh my gosh.

Trailer management company ITS is using AI to manage its grow fleet of over 3,000 trailers, including using AI models to help determine where trailers should be located.

Peter Weiss, CIO and SVP of Supply Chain Services at its says, quote, we can't pay for a bunch of empty trailers all spread out in their long locations, end quote.

Also rounding out five of the ways carrier Recommendations and chatbots.

And on the last point, Ricky, as I've shared plenty of times, it's great to see chatbots that finally are really effective and actually can offer more enhanced customer service than the first generation.

Huh.

But what do you see when it comes to AI and how it's being leveraged and moving stuff?

Your thoughts, Enrique?

Well, complimenting a little bit of what you said with the chatbots, I was really interested to see on that article that you mentioned that they're not only used towards the clients or the customer service, which is what I thought initially was the main work or job for this chatbots, but they're used internally as well.

So if you are an operations executive now, you have a chatbot, you can ask and then the chatbot will go into all the data that these brokers have and then come up with some questions and solutions based on the proprietary data that the companies have.

So it's a tool.

We fear a little bit about AI and how it's coming to replace, but at least that's one very clear example of AI interacting and making people more efficient, more successful.

So, yes, I like that one a lot.

That's my favorite part.

How we can use all technology, old and new, to put our people in positions to find more success more easily and be able to lessen the pressure that's on our teams across the globe as they look to get stuff done every single day.

It's my favorite examples.

So because up there, Enrique.

Okay, are you ready to bring on the one and only Jenny Fr.

Absolutely.

That was the main reason I actually agreed to come here today.

So.

That is right.

Absolutely.

That is right.

Well, we have a wonderful industry leader and immense friend of the show joining us here today.

Jenny Froome has served the global supply chain community in a wide variety of ways for over 30 years now.

I've had the pleasure of collaborating also in a wide variety of ways ever since we met in Chicago, what a wonderful city, about 10 years ago.

Now look, folks, Jenny's way too humble, right?

I'm not gonna let her get away with that.

But I'm gonna tell you, without Jenny, there would be a lot less impactful and trusted relationships all around the world.

And you know, those are the ones that really change how business is done.

Really important and blessed are those connectors.

And there'll be a lot less home run events that allow those important connections to be made.

So I want to welcome in Jenny Froome, director with Uphaven Management.

Hey.

Hey, Jenny.

How are you doing today?

I am blushing thank you very much.

Well, hey, we meant every syllable or we don't say it here at Supply Chain now.

And we are big admirers, as you know, me and Enrique co chair the Jenny Froome Fan Club Atlanta chapter.

And it's great to have you back.

It's great to be here.

Thank you.

So, Jenny, I'll tell you, Enrique, I want to travel like y'all one day.

So I'm working on it step by step.

But if you would, Jenny, you completed a wonderful trip to Ghana, I think last month.

Tell us a little more about that.

So we went off to Ghana looking at venues and we went to Accra and it was very reminiscent for me because I first went to Accra when I was six weeks old.

My parents were there working for.

My dad was working for Varples bank and they were there in the swinging 60s and I think had a thoroughly lovely time and I spent the first four years of my life there.

Don't remember any of it, but it was very nostalgic going back and seeing the stories that my parents told.

Oh, man.

Can you think of one, just one food, dish or restaurant that you absolutely just loved as part of your trip to Ghana?

I think it's the atmosphere that the food generates.

You know, you've got this big argument about the jollof rice and is that Nigerian or is it Ghanaian?

And there's a certain pride to all, all the different foods and the fruit is always an absolute stand out.

Just the pride with which the local food is served and, and the expense of the Internet and the imported food as well, that was pretty eye watering too.

Oh, man.

Anything with rice has my attention, Jenny.

I'm a big rice and bread.

You'd enjoy it.

All right, Enrique, on a similar note, maybe not quite as exciting, but hey, Miami is quite a city and I think you spent a big chunk of your week there last week, is that right?

That is correct.

I actually was there for the Disaster Expo and then I had the opportunity and pleasure to invite my son who was on spring break and he came with me as well as my mom.

So I had a really, really good time just being with them.

Oh, you had your son and your mom.

That's like a double bonus.

Love that, Enrique.

And I'm not even going to ask you about the delicious food and drinks in Miami.

Between Miami and Ghana, we might be here all week, but I want to do this.

We got a lot to get to here today.

In particular, two can't miss events that Jenny and the team lead and facilitate and I want to start with this though, Jenny, to level set a bit, share a little bit more about your background that we were talking about in the green room pre and some of the other events we may not have a chance to talk about as much here today.

So thanks.

I have been in the event management industry since I can't even remember when I started off in London.

And then when we moved to South Africa, we started up Avon, which is an event management company.

And our very first customer when we moved to South Africa was Sapix.

And so we have been managing the SAPIX annual conference.

This will be our 29th year.

Wow.

I know it's impossible to believe because I only look 21, but it holds a very special place in our history and so we are really looking forward to.

Particularly for me though, what was really interesting was in 2004 when we actually were approached to do the administration of Sapix as an organization.

And that really spurred in me an interest in supply chain management and kind of made sense of the conference because he understood the importance of supply chain management.

Yes, yes.

And I'm so glad it did.

I'm so glad that connection was made.

And Jenny, you know, we're going to talk about the Sapiex conference here in a minute.

We're going to talk about the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards here in a second.

But what's a couple of events that you want to mention folks can check out?

Well, there are some really great events coming up.

I think the one that's probably the most topical at the moment is the Amtech event, which is specifically focused on African healthcare manufacturing.

And we all know that that has been hit quite hard with the reduction of aid and donor funding.

And it's even more important now than ever to try to shift this statistic that only 3% of global pharmaceutical production happens on the continent.

Wow.

Wow.

Folks, you can learn more about that.

Very timely, very relevant, important event right there.

Trisha dropped link and we invite you to do that.

And if you're there, make sure you run into Jenny Froome, okay?

You'll be better off if you do.

All right, Jenny, Enrique, Enrique first gets you a comment on that last event that Jenny was talking about.

And the factoid, Jenny, only 3%, you said, of pharmaceuticals are made on the continent of Africa.

It seems like going back to what Deborah is talking about, you know, circularity and how, you know, investing in more circular ecosystems that could move numbers like that up, we could remove some disruptions from supply that would, you know, offer a higher standard of living.

Especially if you're in need of some of these pharmaceuticals.

But Enrique, your comment on what Jenny was just talking about.

Well, something that Jenny mentioned briefly is just the aid that has been taken out from some of these organizations down in Africa.

And for me you can see it in two ways.

One, it is a shame and we should probably think a little bit more about that.

But I'm not going to get too political here.

But the other thing is there's a lot of opportunity, right?

So if you're listening to this and you're actually having a chance to go to this conference or at least do some research around it, there is a huge, huge opportunity for everyone from investors to logistic companies to invest in Africa.

I have absolutely no questions whatsoever that Africa is going to be the future for the world in many, many different ways.

So starting with the amtech.org CA is important and think that could give you a little more information about that.

And thanks for that.

Bring it up on the link.

We're listening to every syllable you and Jenny say in Ricky.

I promise you one last thought.

Actually this ties in well with where we're going next, Jenny, whether it's the pharmaceutical numbers or if you look at manufacturing and we've talked about a lot of this on previous episodes, you know, how can we increase the level of production that takes place on the African continent amongst all the different countries there rather than all resources being offshored for production elsewhere?

I think manufacturing a big opportunity and will be a big part, I believe, of Africa's bright future, as you point out.

Enrique all right, we're going to dial it in on a couple things here.

As we talked about, we're going to start with the 47th annual say Picks conference.

Folks, write this down.

It takes place 8th through 11th June, 2025 in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa.

And 47 years.

Oh my gosh, if the walls could talk.

Jenny Froome but you know, there's so much as we're all talking about so much sheer innovation and brilliance and change being driven across the continent of Africa, right?

We've thoroughly enjoyed our long running series here.

Supply Chain Leadership Across Africa, very creatively named, huh.

Which seeks to amplify all of that then some.

Now Jenny, before we start talking about the Sapiks conference, when you travel the globe as you Enrique, do so much when you get asked about the supply chain community across the entire contin, what are a couple of the first thoughts that come to your mind?

Obviously it's the people and it's the skills and the genuine hunger to learn more and be more and to be recognized as well, I think.

And that's where organizations like People that deliver come to the fore because that's what they're doing for the people in supply chain management is advocating for them.

And especially at the moment during difficult times of redundancy and furloughing, etc, I think that these organizations form a hub that kind of brings the community together.

Sapiks2 the power of community is so.

Powerful when you bring people in a room together, off zoom, off email, off social, face to face, it's amazing.

The problem solving, the innovation, the relationships, the trust that gets built.

Not taking, you know, anything away from all those platforms that you know, that's how global business happens these days.

But man, in person, it's irreplaceable.

Enrique, the people, I love the start of Jenny's response there.

The people of any industry and for that matter any region across the globe.

But man, having been there in person and done lots and lots of shows illustrating those incredible people.

Your thoughts?

Yeah, no, culture and people.

Right?

You know that those are two of my favorite topics.

And I think that's of course why traveling is important, why visiting other countries is important, and why organizations like SAPEX are so important to the future of the world.

Bringing people together, making sure that all ideas are heard and making sure that all these great ideas are somewhat equally valued and applied and everyone has an opportunity to grow them.

So no innovation in action I think is the perfect motive for this year's conference as well, because it captivates that what Jenny has said, which is people.

People, people, people, people, people.

That's right, Enrique and Jenny.

And on a lighter note, if we didn't get together in person, we couldn't duke it out over a couple adult beverages at a lounge in Vegas, could we?

Enrique?

That was fun.

It manifests back in the day.

Going back to pharmaceutical manufacturing in particular across Africa.

Mesfin is pointing out an interesting perspective.

Beside the high tariffs, the exchange rate dynamism cripples down the financial sustainability of the pharmaceutical manufacturing community.

Excellent point, Mesfin.

And I'm hoping, Jenny, to that end, the cross continental trade agreements that we've seen in recent years, we're hoping maybe that addresses some of those.

Those complexities.

Huh?

The theory is there.

We've yet to see the practice, but we remain hopeful.

That's right.

Endlessly hopeful.

And we'll see what happens.

But it's about to your points about results.

About results.

Okay, let's go back.

I want to make sure, folks, for you visual learners out there like me, 8th through the 11th, we got the 47th annual Sapix conference coming up.

The theme this year as you see it right there in front of you folks, Innovation in Motion.

Jenny, what is in your mind some of the message behind that theme?

I think the theme came about and I think it's a really great theme for where we are right now.

And it's all about the dynamic approach and the dynamic out of the box thinking that we all need to do in order to survive, not just thrive in these VUCA times, but we've got to adapt to stay ahead.

How do we do that?

We do it with innovation and we have to keep on moving.

So I think that's basically what the theme is all about and what we're all doing on a day to day basis right here, right now.

That's right.

Well said.

And if that theme is not about all that stuff, it should be about all that stuff.

Jenny, Enrique, respond to what we heard there from Jenny from Innovation in Motion, your thoughts?

Well, we're seeing it day in and day out right now with everything that's going on in the world.

You mentioned the Frankfurt airport just a couple of minutes ago.

We see like tariff Tuesdays.

We see that this whole global landscape is changing very, very rapidly.

So yes, motion definitely being the key AI which complements everything.

And of course people, as Jenny mentioned.

So no, definitely if you have a chance to participate, I would highly encourage people to attend and of course a great country too to host it.

So it should be fun.

Undoubtedly.

And speaking of countries generally, I want to say last year we had close to what 50 countries participated.

Yeah, it was just over 40, I think all over the world.

And that's what's so exciting for me is to see that evolution that's happening happened and that for me is an attention on Africa.

But it's also a what can I learn from Africa?

And I hate people who talk about Africa as one country.

I'm not doing that just for the ease of discussion, but I think that that's something that's really changed in that we always used to look east and west to learn about supply chain management, best practice.

And now people are coming to us to learn more about what's going on in Africa, which is hugely exciting.

It is.

It sure is.

I want to go back though, Jenny, Enrique, to something Enrique said.

I didn't know this is a thing Tuesday.

Tariffs or tariffs Tuesday.

Yeah, I like Taco Tuesday a lot better than tariffs.

Can we all agree on that definitely.

But that's kidding aside, Jenny, I love your comment there because instead of going east and west, we can learn so much from what's taking place across the continent of Africa, dozens of countries and really in some ways you find industry leaders across the globe.

Right?

Depending on which sector and technologies and challenges, innovation, you name it.

But drone technology.

You know Jenny, I've really enjoyed some of the stories that's truly cutting edge and how drones are being used and certain technologies being used across the Africa supply chain ecosystem.

Okay, I want to switch gears and I'm going to ask you not a very fair question, Jenny, but I want to share this image first.

I just found this this morning.

Who is this talking head last year.

Oh man, it was scary, isn't it?

So Jenny gave us an opportun to share a message on the front end of last year's when we couldn't be there in person.

And we had a lot of fun sharing in the enthusiasm and the kindred spirits that really make up Sapiks community.

Jenny, back to the unfair question though.

You've got no shortage of sessions and speakers and reasons to attend.

But if you had to pick a couple, right, what comes to mind, Jenny, for the 47th Sapiks conference?

So one of the really exciting things I think think is the involvement of the Demand Driven Institute in with Demand Driven World.

It's the first time that this event has taken place in Africa.

Carol Patak, who I'm quite sure a lot of you know of as a real industry leader woman in supply chain management who has been a real trailblazer.

She doesn't like it when I say that, but it's true.

And she's going to be at the conference for the first time in a long time.

So that's super exciting.

Obviously we've got Scott Lewton who's going to be there which is really exciting.

And we've also got another industry, real really recognized person, Linda Reddy who works, she's the supply chain director for Nando's, which I know there's one in Chicago.

I don't think there's one in Georgia, I'm not sure, but I'm not sure where in America they are.

But it's a very well known safety African brand that we're exceptionally proud of and she is one of those hugely motivational people.

If you don't follow Linda on LinkedIn, do yourself a favor and do it because she asks the difficult questions and gets you thinking not just about supply chain but about life in general.

And I think that that will be a really exciting addition to the conference program, to say nothing of all the other exciting stuff.

I love the couple that you picked and there's so many more to your point.

And we're not putting these any kind of order, folks.

And Trisha and Amanda, if you would be so kind.

First off, thank you for what you do behind the scenes, but if y'all could drop the link to the speakers.

I think Enrique just shared that behind the scenes.

Let's drop that so folks can take a look.

Enrique, going back to some of the things that Jenny was sharing.

Carol Patak, which is a Hall of Famer in supply chain, is interesting.

Thank you for mentioning me.

But it's like you got Elvis or you got Alanis Morissette.

I don't know why that name came to my mind.

True hall of Famers.

And then you got me.

So.

But folks, a lot of great speakers and sessions.

And of course, Linda, Jenny mentioned as well.

Enrique, what'd you hear there?

What makes you want to book your travel today?

First and foremost, we do have Nandos in Atlanta.

It's somewhat recent.

It is amazing.

So highly recommended.

If you're in Atlanta, then some of the other speakers, of course, Brenner Paul, director, Africa, DHL supply chain.

I mean, dhl, big player around the world, of course it's going to be there.

And again, Africa, having its own complexity to deliver products, will be interesting to hear.

And there's plenty of other people.

So, yes, I saw briefly that I think you did drop the link to the speakers.

Yes, I sure did.

And so definitely, if the speakers are not motivation enough for you, just the fact that there's going to be people from like around 40 countries around the world, there's.

And just the fact that Jenny is involved should be more than enough to book the flights right away.

It's like a stamp of approval if Jenny's involved.

It's like, you know, it's going to be well done and you're gonna, you're gonna be around a wonderful community of people.

So not only are you going to learn from the sessions, but you're going to have fun and you're going to network and you're going to leave with countless pages of things you can put in practice.

And it's a beautiful country, too, Scott, so if you're going to have the chance to go, it's amazing.

So it is highly recommend.

I will say that the thing that you pinpointed is the community, and the community really is outstanding.

And there is something, I mean, you saw it at Manifest, you see it at every one of these in person events that we go to where there is something so exceptional about getting a group of people who have immediately one thing in common and that's supply chain management.

And there's an atmosphere that is very hard to describe unless you've experienced and experienced it.

It's the same for every industry.

I know.

But this is ours and this is what makes us passionate about it, is the gathering of the community.

Cheers.

Best part, I missed it last year.

We made it two years ago.

Missed it last year and I will be back in June.

I cannot wait.

Speaking of Jenny and Enrique, I tell you storytelling is one of the early nominees for theme of the year.

I've spoken more about storytelling so far this year and you know what, Jenny?

We're going to be talking more about it because one of the many sessions that you and I and the whole team are collaborating on is to instead of a more traditional keynote or presentation or whatever inspired by a great series called the Moth, folks go out and check out the Moth.

And it's not science fiction.

Think of how the Moth is attracted to light, right?

Positivity stories, you name it.

All right, so as if that's not all of that about Sapics is enough good stuff.

And good news, Jenny.

We have got the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards coming up for now, the fourth year in a row.

I'm going to share a couple dates with folks to make sure we plug it in.

The ASCEA, one of our favorite new acronyms.

Entries close folks, 17th of April.

So get them in.

And secondly, the awards banquet for the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards will be on the 7th of August.

But so now that we got that out, Jenny, I'm backing up for a second share a little bit of information around last year's winners.

Yeah, so we had some amazing and diverse winners.

Things that you don't really think about from a supply chain point of view.

One of the ones that won the judges spotlight award was the Loop Commission based in Eswatini where they basically delivered a submission that was all about supply chain excellence saving lives.

And I think that's something a lot of us don't really think about.

I know Covid brought front of mind how did the these injections get to us?

But there's a whole bigger picture and they're an organization that doesn't sit back and say oh shame, I've got a problem, can somebody please help me?

They get up and do it themselves.

So their story about building their own oxygen manufacturing plant during COVID because there is no oxygen manufactured in Eswatini is something that really struck a lot of the judges.

And a lot of.

Of a lot of us really admired their tenacity and their spirit, etc.

Etc.

And then there was another winner, which was a movement of vultures.

And again, we don't think about supply chain being so important in this.

And these birds are sensitive creatures and they had to be relocated.

What do you need to do?

You need to get in a really good logistics provider to help you move the birds.

And so that's what they did.

And that was a really fabulous story.

But equally, there are others that involve rail and involve procurement and involve all the challenges that we face on the continent to really be able to have effective supply chains.

And what we try to do is build the confidence in local capabilities because there's some fabulous, fabulous work being done out there that people don't really look at Africa as having strong supply chains.

And that.

That's something that we just.

We have to change that narrative.

Oh, Jenny, I'd love to talk for three hours just about your response, Enrique, going back to two things, and I'd love to get your thoughts on this.

First off, the Luke Commission, we have had them on the show before.

And when you think about the power of supply chain leadership and you think about literally, for my dear Brantley, literally life and death, literally the.

The longevity and the health of a population.

Eswatini, folks, if you're geographically challenged like I am, is a small country down in South Africa just to the east northeast of South Africa.

I'm looking over on the map over here and just to the south of Kruger national park, which you may hear a lot about.

And that is a remarkable story.

So check out Luke Commission.

And then secondly, on a lighter note, Enrique, you had me at birds.

Jenny, you know, I'm a big old bird nerd.

Yeah.

But you know, kidding aside, a lot of folks may not appreciate the criticality of vultures and how they keep us all healthy and protected.

And you know, what they do, what they're put on earth to do.

So taking care of vulture populations is really important.

Enrique, what'd you hear there?

Well, I didn't know that they were that important, but now I know.

And also, I'm sure you got how you were talking about storytelling.

And then of course, Jenny made the whole story about the birds and how she could actually highlight the importance of supply chains and that amazing continent by using a great story.

Oh, thank you.

And Jenny, you should teach classes on that.

Think you are a wonderful storyteller.

And we've got to get better as an industry, as supply chain practitioners, we gotta get better at that.

And as Jenny points out, Eswatini used to be Swaziland.

Is that right, Jenny?

Yeah, that's correct.

That might ring a few bells for folks too.

But love those real stories of innovation and outcomes that you're going to find at the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Award.

So folks, I want to make sure, you know, we're by the numbers here.

Entries closed, there's still time to nominate.

Got about a month and almost a month and a half to nominate.

So do that.

And then the banquet you can attend there in person.

The banquet's coming up on the 7th of August and we're dropping the link to the awards, which will do this right here, Ascea Co Za.

And you can learn a whole bunch more right there.

Is that right, Jenna?

Yeah, that's it.

Absolutely.

And if I can just say one thing about the judges, because they're really the backbone of this and they are a group of incredibly diligent, total volunteers who are supply chain experts in their own right.

But what they do is they don't just judge, they mentor, they guide.

And they're managed by the fabulous Liesel de Vet, who keeps the thing on the straight and narrow.

But really the judges, they give back so much.

And that's really what the intention of this is, is to give back to the community.

And you saw it by the industry, for the industry.

And that's what it's all about.

Well said.

If I may say something to complement that, we should do Africa a lot and also inside Africa.

And it's just the things that you face in the continent and some of the things that are just amazing.

So when it comes to the Supply Chain Excellence Award, I really think that some of the companies out there in Africa and actually managing and challenging situations like this bird situation.

Yep.

Are really second to none around the world.

Yeah.

So very important.

Completely agree, Enrique.

And we can get some of Yalls customer stories, for example, Books for Africa, one of our favorites.

They were a winner also last year.

Jenny and Enrique, you know, well known, the great folks over at Books for Africa.

Right, Absolutely.

Shout out to Patrick and the team.

That's right.

And if you're ever up in Minneapolis and you want to enjoy a fascinating conversation and delicious food, look up Patrick and the Books for Africa team.

They've been at it for a long time.

I want to say Enrique and Jenny, I want to say 30.

I don't want to shortchange anybody.

At least 30 millions of books have been sent.

What an excellent, excellent thing.

Okay, I'm not going to do this justice, but I do want to mention this because it's someone we both admire, Jenny, and that is, folks, we need your help.

We've got a wonderful friend that's leading a powerful research project and she's gathering responses from around the world.

Dr.

Ramatu Abdul Kadir is leading a global survey and research project on talent management and workforce development for logistics.

Logistics and supply chain professionals.

And we need your input.

Right?

We need your input.

So we're dropping the link to this survey.

Enrique took it this morning.

I think I took it over the weekend.

And it really, folks, it'll take, what, five minutes of your time?

Is that right, Enrique?

Seven at the most.

Seven at the most.

And folks, the research will come out of this.

I'm telling you.

It's going to be actionable.

So stay tuned on that.

Tricia has shared a link to the survey, so check that out.

And Christy says, hey, Books for Africa remains the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent, shipping over 60 million books to all 55 countries on the African continent since 1988.

How about that?

Quick math tells me 37 years.

37 years.

How about that?

Okay, Jenny, I wish we had booked you for a double episode here.

There's too much to talk about.

Really admire what you do for industry, you and your team, and all the work in your incredibly long and proven track record.

I can't wait to see you in person in June.

How can folks connect with you?

Jenny Froome, LinkedIn.

There we go.

Aren't they brilliant?

Amanda and Tricia, Fantastic.

There's my LinkedIn.

It's the best way to contact me.

Right there.

Right there, folks, check that out.

Jenny Froome, always a pleasure.

Director with Uphaven Management.

Folks, connect with Jenny.

Follow Jenny and come see her in Cape Town in June.

Thanks so much, Jenny Froome.

Thank you both so very much.

You bet.

Talk to you soon.

One of the best, Enrique.

One of the best.

I'm telling you, she was great.

Hey, folks, sometimes I talk in.

Is it hyperbole?

I say that right, Enrique?

Sometimes I do.

But I meant every single syllable with Jenny Froome.

I'm telling you, I'm convinced she's got a couple clones because her and the team stay really busy.

But they do such a great job connecting the world.

All right, two quick things in before we wrap.

Number one, Enrique, what is your favorite takeaway?

From the Jenny Froome segment from earlier today.

Just one.

I got 18.

Just one.

There's plenty of notes that I took.

But just the fact that she continues to organize this for SapIex after 29 years, she said, it's just unbelievable.

I'm just a testament of like her excellence doing it.

Well said, my friend, well said.

So folks, please seek out Jenny if you are at the same event and come see us in Cape Town at Sapiks, the 47th annual conference.

All right, Enrique, we got one more big thing I want to share.

I want to celebrate this with you and the Vector Global Logistics team because your organization, Vector Global Logistics is celebrating their one year anniversary of the company's hard fault B Corp certification.

That is tough to get and it's something that should be celebrated.

So tell us if you would, two questions to follow up with this.

Number one, Enrique, what does B Corp mean?

What's the.

So what there?

Tell us more.

Yeah, BCE Certified corporations are basically dedicated to maximize the stakeholder value as opposed to shareholder value.

So it means that, that you are committed legally and throughout the organization to make a positive impact in our communities, in our planet, in the world.

And we believe strongly that by doing the right things for the right reasons, then all the economic profits and revenues and money will come.

That's what the B Corps are all about.

And that's what the B Corp movement and community is so important in the world.

Outstanding.

And folks, this is a snapshot from the Vector Global Logistics profile page on the B Corp site.

We're dropping some links right here so you can learn a lot more.

But I got to ask you, Enrique, prestigious certification, Purpose driven certification, which I like even better because that's since the first time we met.

That was Enrique Alvarez first thought that comes to mind is how purpose driven you and the team are.

How are you all going to celebrate?

Well, we have different things planned.

Christy, who I believe is listening to this, can tell you a little bit more.

But it's really both outside with the B community and then also internally we have a couple, couple of really fun contests for our team.

We're very proud.

We are humbled to be part of such an amazing community.

And so we're going to take this very seriously.

And we'll also celebrate hard because the team at Vector earned it and I'm just happy to be part and they let me be part of their company.

So thanks to the team.

Congratulations to everyone at Vector.

This is a huge, huge milestone and look forward to many, many years being at B Corporation Corp.

Love that.

On the lighter side, it should have been named A plus Corp.

But I will have to learn the story to B Corp later.

But kidding aside folks, one thing you definitely got to check out is Logistics with Purpose, a wonderful podcast that Enrique and Christy and the whole team have been leading for years now.

They celebrated 100th episode last year and I'm telling you, these are some of the most uplifting, purpose driven, outcomes driving life changing conversations that you'll ever find on podcasts anywhere.

So find Logistics With Purpose wherever you get your podcast.

All right?

So Enrique, if folks want to track you down, where can folks find you?

Best way is probably through LinkedIn but also through the Vector website@vector gl.com wonderful, wonderful.

We're dropping links about Vector's special one year anniversary.

We're dropping links to Enrique on LinkedIn and you'll find, I promise you, much like Jenny, you'll find Enrique at some of the leading conferences around the globe.

So make sure you go up and shake his hand and if you're lucky, you might have a beer and some good food with you.

See as we start to wrap here today on a very special episode of the Buzz, I promised y'all would meet and talk with and hear from two of the most positive outcomes driving leaders across industry.

And I think we've delivered there because Enrique and Jenny are special.

So I want to thank Jenny Freeman with Up Aven Management.

Also want to thank Enrique Alvarez.

Be sure to check out Sapicks.

Check out the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards.

Check out Vector Global Logistics and Logistics with Purpose, the podcast.

Of course, Enrique.

We got to thank Amanda and Trisha behind the scenes that make what we do very possible.

And of course, big thanks to all the global audience for being here today.

Enrique, there is homework for our audience today.

I hope I don't ruin anybody's day, but there is homework.

Folks.

You gotta take one thing, just one thing.

You heard here today from Enrique and Jenny.

Share it with your team.

You can put it in practice.

And you know that's how we change industry, right?

Deeds not words.

No one's got time for lip service leadership.

So with all of that said said, on behalf of the incredible Supply Chain now team that I'm so grateful to be part of, this is Scott Luton challenge.

You do good.

Give forward.

Be the change that's needed.

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

Thanks everybody.

Join the Supply Chain now community.

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