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Hey, hey.

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

Scott Luton and Kevin L.

Jackson with you here on Supply Chain now.

Welcome to today's live stream.

Hey, Kevin, how you doing today?

Go Commanders.

Man, what an impressive slate of games.

Some of them close, most of them not.

But what a great win for the Washington commanders yesterday.

I bet you got to be just tickled.

Yeah, the cardiac commanders are coming through.

And that rookie quarterback, Jaden Daniels.

Yes, yes, yes.

Crazy.

Well, hey, almost as good as that commander's playoff performance.

We've got an outstanding show here today, Kevin.

Folks, today is the Buzz where every Monday at 12 noon Eastern time, we discuss a variety of news developments across global supply chain, across business.

And we got a lot to get into here today.

The buzzword that continues to be digital transformation, the state of digital twins in supply chain.

Hey, when it comes to future supply chain leaders in our classrooms, what's top of mind for them?

Also, on the back end of today's show, we're going to be talking about securing the semiconductor supply chain.

All that and a whole bunch more.

Plus, Kevin, at around 12:15pm Eastern Time, we've got two very special guests joining us.

Dr.

Sarah Sengupta with St.

Cloud State University and Chris White with SCM Blocks.

Kevin, should be a great show, huh?

Oh, no, absolutely.

I think focusing on education is a big plus and it's needed.

You know, you gotta learn this stuff.

No, there is theory and there is practice and they go together.

Together.

That's right.

Well said.

Like peanut butter and jelly, for sure.

Hey, two things before we get going here today.

Give us your take, folks, in the comments, whether you're tuned in via LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch, no matter.

Let us know what you think.

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

They'll be glad you did.

Hey, just like Amanda here.

Look, check this out.

Amanda is tuned in from Tokyo here today.

Kevin, can you pronounce the Japanese phrase that Amanda just shared there?

Oh, yeah.

Oh, Konishiwa.

All right, I gotta brush up on Spanish and Japanese now, but Godspeed and safe travels to Amanda and Gracie behind the scenes here today.

All right, really quick, Kevin.

Yes.

So today, of course, is Inauguration day here in the U.S.

but as important, if not more important, today we recognize the third Monday in January each and every year where we celebrate Martin Luther King Day here in the US And I've got this great image.

Check this out.

This was from our last visit last year or maybe a year before to Washington D.C.

on this gorgeous day with the new MLK memorial there.

And it's incredibly important to honor this titan of a human and celebrate with action Dr.

King's legacy.

Your thoughts there, Kevin?

Yeah, MLK day of service.

Right.

That's what's really critical to remember on this.

I mean, I pray to great.

But providing service to something that's greater than yourself is really important to remember on MLK Day.

Yeah, well said.

Service deeds, not words.

Special.

We say that a lot around here.

It's kind of weird things say.

But it's all about action.

Right?

That's what really, really will keep that legacy of that incredible consequential human alive and well.

Still in one of your phrases there, Kevin.

Okay, we got a lot to get into for our guests here, so I want to do this.

Let's offer up some resources to our friends and the supply chain now family all across the globe.

The latest edition of our almost weekly newsletter with that said dropped over the weekend.

We covered a lot.

You see pictures of spreadsheets there because we picked on spreadsheets a little bit because they don't power supply chain transformation.

We also celebrated, get this curiosity whiffs, a bit of a twist on being intentionally present with your surroundings.

We shared one.

I'll call it Warm Take it.

Maybe a hot take.

But get this, Kevin.

Quote.

Gen AI is dead.

Long live agentic AI.

End quote.

Folks, you have to give it a read.

Learn more, including who said it and why they said it.

We included lots of resources such as the forecasting and inventory benchmark study from our friends at e2open you can check out.

With that said, we'll drop the link right there in the chat.

It's right here.

And let us know what you think.

Kevin, did you get a chance to dive into the edition of the weekend?

Well, you know, one of the things I think is really important people are not recognizing is agentic AI is a real thing.

These are agents run and driven by artificial intelligence that are acting on your behalf.

And sometimes you don't know they're acting on your behalf.

It's an exciting thing and it's a terrifying thing.

But we got to learn it and we got to lean into the tremendous opportunities that are out there.

All right, Kevin, we're going to be moving fast.

Got a lot to get to here today.

One more resource though, I want to make sure folks are aware manifest 2025 runs from February 10th through February 12th.

It's back in Vegas.

I think it's the fourth year in a row it's been growing each and every year.

I mean, I'm looking forward to hosting this incredible panel session and I invite y'all to come join us if you're there.

Make sure you say hello and let's break bread together and talk supply chain.

All right, so Kevin, moving right along to our first article as we get to work here on the third edition, second edition of the Buzz here in the new year.

And I want start with this interesting read that I bet will get Kevin's attention as reported by USA Today.

Great article that's entitled Digital Transformation beyond the Buzzword in Supply Chain Management.

Now let me share a few thoughts and then, Kevin, I'm gonna circle back around and get your perspective as well.

So now we all know it's not a buzzword for much of the industry, right?

As we are in what I'd call one of, certainly one of, if not the golden age of supply chain technology.

But it isn't just about using this platform or that app or this digital tool.

True digital transformation is much more than that.

And I like Kevin how Andy Schenck, I think is his last name.

I got that right with Spot Inc.

Puts it here.

He says, quote, successful transformation requires more than just adopting new technologies.

It's about fostering a culture of innovation, investing in talent and building partnerships that align with your long term goals.

End quote.

That's right.

When done right, it certainly reinvents the art of the possible.

Kevin, I can't wait to get your take on digital transformation and global supply chain.

Well, in supply chain particularly, we were forced to do a lot of changes based upon the pandemic.

And the use of technology was one of them.

I mean, no one really used zoom and teams before you couldn't leave your home.

So we had to just adopt that technology.

And the same thing with supply chain.

Organizations need to see digitalization as a strategic priority, not just a tech project.

And this actually highlights the fact that it's not a passing trend.

It's really a fundamental shift in logistics management that requires organizations to, to rethink how they deliver value, how they adapt to change and how to stay competitive in this accelerating dynamic world.

And people don't like change.

So as leaders, as leaders, you have to Recognize that there's going to be resistance to change.

There are going to be financial constraints that you have to deal with.

And the war for talent is real.

So those shortages in skill sets or the need to reskill can make it difficult for organizations to implement these initiatives effectively.

So all of these things require a focus on leadership.

That's what we have here on supply chain now.

And our audience is full of leaders.

That's right.

So that's what I think is important for them to know.

I appreciate your thoughts there.

And it generates two quick thoughts for me, one less serious one, because you mentioned how everyone hates change, and it's so true.

If all the things of life were on a candy owl.

Right.

I think change would be the black licorice in that aisle, right?

Yeah.

Well, some people like black licorice, not me.

Yeah, we'll have to unpack that in a different show, but on more serious thoughts just because we don't like it.

It's what unlocks so many opportunities, and it's how we reinvent how life, business, you name it, gets done.

And I want to paraphrase here, on Inauguration Day, jfk, we've all heard the speech.

I think it was at Rice University when he was challenging the country to put someone on the moon by the end of the decade.

And to paraphrase what he said, we don't do it because it's easy.

We do it because it's hard.

Right.

And for the great rewards when done right, you know, the good parts of it, the tougher parts of it, the unsuccessful parts of it.

But it all delivers.

It all delivers.

And we gotta keep that in, I think, as an industry and for leaders out there, that's leading change.

Right.

Kevin, we've talked about this before, but I think it's really important that we do it with our people instead of to the team.

To the people.

Your last thought, Kevin, before we move on?

Well, as in many things, think about the WIFM from your team's point of view.

What's in it for them?

Digital transformation is not done just for the technology.

It's done to make things better for all.

So focus on that.

Love that.

And we can't leave anyone behind.

All right, folks, we shared kind of our take on that article in USA Today, but we included a link right there in the chat so you can check it out.

And you can also let us know what you think about the perspective there.

Hey, we try to be the easy button all the time.

So along those lines, we also shared the manifest events coming up In Vegas.

The link is right there as well as with that said, the first thing we tackled here today on the Buzz, you can learn more right there.

Okay, Kevin, we have got an outstanding one, two punch in terms of guests here on the Buzz, are you ready for me to introduce them?

Yeah.

I was wondering, putting out so much, you know, we got to bring the guest on board.

We do.

We do.

So I've got the honor of introducing our guests here today, starting with Dr.

Sara Sengupta, who is an associate professor and the management program lead at St.

Cloud State University's Herberger Business School.

Now, with over 15 years of supply chain experience, she is highly involved in current research projects as well as board leadership, amongst other things.

She is joined by Chris White, co founder and CEO of SCM Blocks, who brings over 25 years of leadership experience to the table.

And get this, Kevin, his fourth book is set to be published next year.

Four of those things, you can relate to that.

You've got a few.

Yeah.

It's a lot of work, though.

Never doing that again.

Not for the faint of heart, no.

Let's welcome in Dr.

Sarah Sengupta and Chris White.

Hey.

Hey, Sarah.

How you doing today?

I'm great.

How are you?

Thanks for having me.

Wonderful to have you here today from the frigid temperatures of Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

Great to see you.

And Chris White, I think it's a bit warmer where you are in DFW.

How you doing today, Chris?

20 degrees, not negative 14 or whatever.

That's cold for Dallas, that's for sure.

It is cold for doubts.

Oh.

I'll tell you, these weather events, and they're coming at us faster and more furious, but we'll save that for another show.

Sarah, Chris, great to have y'all here today.

This is where we want to start.

Kevin and I were just talking on the front end of the show.

Of course, it's Martin Luther King Jr.

Day here, the third Monday of every January.

And I want to ask all three of y'all, and Sarah will start with you, one thing that you would suggest that we can all do to honor Dr.

King's legacy.

Thank you so much for bringing this up because it's such an important consideration for the day.

And as a mom of five children, I have two teenagers still at home.

And we will be watching one of those speeches later and carrying that together as we will for some family time.

I love that, man.

I love that.

It's so important to pass along what we learn, what we've known, and also the new Learnings from someone.

The titan of humanity.

Dr.

King was such an incredible change agent.

There's always something new to learn and really quick.

Before I get to Chris's and Kevin's thoughts, this marks the spot right here where he delivered those iconic words related to I have a dream.

And the best part about that speech, by the way, is there was a musician, and her name escapes me right now, but she urged Dr.

King, tell him about that dream.

Tell him about that dream.

And it prompted him to share some of the most iconic words in all of US History, if not world history.

So, Chris, I'd love to get your thoughts on how one way we can honor Dr.

King's legacy.

Well, for me, it's more of a every day.

And I don't know if you can see I kind of got some gray hair.

So I'm a middle aged white guy who unfortunately, you know, the system is very much geared towards.

So my job every day I can is to.

You mentioned action, and Kevin mentioned service is to be an ally and dismantle that system wherever and however I can.

So it's a daily thing.

I love that, Chris.

A lot of good words there.

I don't see any gray hairs at all, my friend.

I see experience.

All right, Kevin, Sarah, and Chris really, I think, set our conversation on the right path.

What would you add in terms of a great way we can honor the immense legacy?

Yeah.

So, you know, as I said before, it's a day of service, but it's also a day to focus on supporting something that's bigger than yourself.

And one thing, you know, many speeches I've heard were very, very boring.

But Dr.

King's speeches were very enlightening.

They gave purpose.

Every year I've listened to these speeches and I learned something more, not just about Dr.

King and his life and what he's delivered, but about myself.

So I would urge you on this important day, listen to one or two of his speeches and learn about him and what he's done.

Learn about what society needs, because, you know, year after year, we need the same thing.

And then think about how you can provide service to leave our society better than it was when you came.

So, well said, all three of y'all really appreciate that.

And Amanda saved me.

She's sharing Mahalia Jackson, that was the famed musician that was standing behind Dr.

King and urged him to.

To share that dream with all of us.

And I am so glad she prompted him to do just that.

Okay, Kevin, Sarah, and Chris, we got so much to get into here today.

So much to get into.

What we want to do is I want to get a little more context for our audience members out there.

Right in this ever faster moving world where it's change and complexity and disruption and innovation moving faster and faster, we don't get enough context.

So Sarah, would you start by sharing a little bit more about yourself and your organization?

Hi Scott.

Thank you.

I am Dr.

Sarah Samgutta from St.

Cloud State University.

I'm a program lead for management area and I'm also really involved in the Decision Sciences Institute.

This summer I chaired one of our pedagogy conferences that is looking at how can we advance education in decision sciences, which we all know supply chain is one of those areas.

And I am recently on the association of Supply Chain Management academic committee.

I have served on the board in the Twin Cities for a number of years as well as other boards as you mentioned earlier.

So thank you.

I'm delighted to be here and share anything that I can with you.

Love that Sarah.

Decision science.

I am so glad we got some smart minds diving into ways we could take that decision science to new levels.

It's such a critical whether it's supply chain or elsewhere across the business world.

Yeah, I sort of lean towards the delay and delay science.

You know, delay science.

I think a lot of us are probably have been students in that school one time or another.

Don't make that decision for Chris.

Chris, same question.

Now that Sarah's kind of shed a little bit more light on her background and what she does tell us about yourself, Chris, and your company.

All right.

Co founder and CEO of SCM Blocks stands for Supply Chain Management Blocks.

It's a structural simulation for supply chain.

So it's strategic long term what if scenario planning.

Not trying to do anything real time but looking at longer picture resilience of the supply chain, topics like that, transitions as you add suppliers onshore, all those kinds of scenarios.

And we have a free version Beer Game on Steroids which connects with Sarah that we offer universities to use for free in their classes.

And when Sarah mentioned the DSI pedagogy conference, I spoke there on behalf of Sarah and the work that we were doing with Beer game on Steroids there at St.

Cloud.

Love that.

And it sounds like it's something that more folks can take advantage of.

We'll touch on that towards the end of yalls time with us.

Okay, Chris and Sarah and Kevin, we got a lot to get into here today and I want to start with talking about digital twins and global supply chain.

How about that graphic?

Love the actual physical plane and the digital version there.

So Raconteur, I think I said that right.

Published an interesting article recently that was entitled will Digital Twins ever become standard in supply Chains?

So that we're all on the same page, though level setting is important to me, a digital twin, at least in my words, is essentially a virtual replica of an entity or a process or a system, or an entire supply chain network.

Digital twins can offer all sorts of value, especially the ability to simulate vast scenarios, plans and contingencies.

There are plenty of barriers to industry creating, implementing, adopting and using digital twins.

Some of it was captured in this article.

But it's a long list.

Sheer technical challenges, right?

Including the ability to successfully store and leverage tidal waves of data.

Got talent?

Considerations, you know, having the ability within a team to implement and manage digital twins.

Modeling challenges, for example, ensuring complexities are accurately factored into any scenario, modeling and simulation.

So Chris, I'd like to get your thoughts on digital twins and how they're being used and potential there within global supply chain.

Couple of thoughts.

You know, you mentioned models and George Box has a famous quote, goes something along the lines of all models are wrong, some are useful, so it kind of depends on how you're using it.

And so with digital twins there's really a spectrum of these models or these copies of whatever processes that could be supply chains, like you said from real time connections.

So they're real time twins that are supposed to be operating concurrently and grabbing real time data, which is where the mounds of data are needed and pushing that back and forth and even driving some systems, which when Karai Kosei mentioned agentic AI, a lot of it is geared at that level of trying to help do additional take information and drive decisions based on policies and things like that.

But we've always actually had digital twins, believe it or not, a spreadsheet can be a digital twin supposedly of a supply chain.

As you get further from that real time, there are disconnected digital twins that are representations, but we're going to take them offline.

So a lot of the stuff we do with SCM blocks and beer game on steroids is not directly connected.

But yet they are still digital twins in the sense that they represent the system that you're modeling and the policies in that system.

And we're going to see how that system acts and reacts and adapts and things like that.

So the digital twin I want to keep in mind, it goes all the way from real time connections to disconnected longer term strategic planning types of views.

Excellent, excellent.

And I love Some of your thoughts there around the digital petri dish for supply chains everywhere Sarah, what would you add?

So I guess I would add that I don't have a crystal ball so I can't exactly give a 0:1 solution on whether they're going to be widely adopted in global supply chain or not.

I do think that there are some relevant applications in various scopes across the supply chain and perhaps for the a full supply chain but as Chris was saying, you know, whether you get a real time or not and how far away you are from that with your directly engaging information from sensors and other information depends on what you're going to get out of it and the purpose that you have for using it.

I will say though, it sounds like there's some new technology that is coming out that's quite powerful that can open the opportunity for more firms to use this across their supply chains.

Looks like Nvidia has an omniverse platform that's out.

Cosmos just came out and was launched within the last few weeks and I'm also finding that Nvidia's got a new computer that's launching soon with trained model fully implemented.

Yeah.

So some rich environments to work from.

It sounds like it.

And I don't know Kevin, I think Sarah's crystal ball is working really well.

Maybe I can get a consultant session with you so I can listen.

Yeah, no kidding, anytime.

Same.

No, it could be like Blockchain though where there was a lot of hype and then cost was prohibitive and it ended up being widely, you know it has some relevant applications in certain circumstances you but isn't widely adopted.

So yeah, you know there's always that scenario.

That's right Sarah.

And not yet I bet.

You know it's interesting but I think we're about to see a blockchain 2.0.

Yes.

And see some new powerful applications based on some of the technology is going to make it easier and it's going to let the light bulb of how organizations can adopt it in real outcomes driven manners.

A lot more light bulbs are going to be going off.

I think we'll see.

My crystal ball has been broken for years, Kevin.

Sarah and Chris both shared some good thoughts around digital twins.

Current state, future.

State your thoughts.

So you know, like Chris said, all models are wrong but some are useful.

So the question is what makes them useful.

And I believe all the magic is on the edges those interfaces of the model and as we get more digital twins and as they interact with other digital twins, some that you build, some that your members of your supply chain network build.

And as you build trust in those other digital models, then that's when the edges get, you know, better.

All the magic starts to happen and these models actually become more and more useful.

And I, like Sarah mentioned blockchain.

Blockchain is one of those pieces of magic on the edges that I think will make these models work much, much better.

Yeah, magic on the edges.

I'm going to steal that phrase from you, Kevin.

We got to sign a contract.

You can't be asus in any words.

Any of my words.

Kevin, you said you didn't want to write another book, but that's another book right there.

It is.

And I'm sorry, but my visuals include Michael Scott from the office as he's out on edge.

A lot of good stuff there, folks.

We need several more hours to really do this topic justice, but we invite you to check out this, what I think is an interesting read on digital twins and the opportunities and the challenges as they further permeate global supply chains.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

And we've got the link right here, conveniently one click away.

So y'all check that out.

We're gonna make a hard shift.

I'm excited to learn a lot more about how both Chris and Sarah are helping light bulbs go off in some of the brightest minds around the country.

Right around the world, probably.

And we all share a passion for engaging what we like to call the now generation here.

You know, Kevin, you're familiar with the students in colleges.

Universities are often called the next generation.

But from what we've seen, having engaged with dozens of schools over the years, if not hundreds, these bright minds are already making an impact on industry.

Hence the now generation.

Plus, it works out well with our brand.

I was spending time the other day with leaders and students from Georgia Tech.

Right.

And their impressive supply chain and logistics institute, which is actually, they're building a whole new structure to kind of bring a lot of elements under one building the intelligence, action oriented leadership, and purpose driven mindsets that the students shared.

I'm telling y'all, it is a big breath of fresh air.

And I've found that largely the case is that that's a common thread through all of our episodes when we sit down and learn from these students as part of our now generation series.

So, Kevin, you're around students, engaged students all the time.

Your quick thoughts on Are you seeing the same thing?

Yeah, absolutely.

I teach for Tulane University, and the thing that I found is as our information society grows and as it gets easier and easier to get access to information and, you know, things like YouTube.

You just think about it and you can learn by just looking at a video on YouTube.

People no longer have to wait to learn or wait to do something or wait to satisfy their curiosity.

And I think that's why the generation is now and then, no, who hasn't been challenged by that child?

You say something, they say, mom, dad, I'm going to Google that.

God, that's so scary.

But that's also your employees, that's everyone that's around you.

So it's really, really important to stay connected with not only what they see, what they feel, what they believe, but what the rest of your industry is doing.

Because it is very, very dynamic.

And it's connected.

Everything's connected.

And I like the now versus next.

And I think this is within the supply chain.

It's just so exciting and very different within supply chain domain right now.

This is a big time where, like, if you think back to Covid and kind of the general approaches that we had sort of failed us a little bit, most people would kind of agree with and we're looking for new ways, but yet we're also kind of falling right back into that.

So in most of the time when students are graduating, they're basically learning, here's how it's done now, let's just kind of keep doing.

Let's just keep the status quo going and you're going to learn how to do it and you're going to fit in.

This is one of the first times we've really seen it definitely in supply chain is no, we need you coming in with new ideas and new ways of doing things to show us how to break from some of these old patterns and these old techniques and tools and methodologies that we've used.

And I really like to focus on now, and I'll let Sarah build on that, but that's the way I see it, is this is a real opportunity for some of these students to learn things that are different than the way they've done.

Like maybe appreciate what's been done and hold it in context, but offer some new skills and approaches.

I would build on that a little bit more with, you know, the transformation that's happening in our classrooms right now and how we've always done supply chain.

The fundamentals don't change, but how students are expected when they hit that career milestone and go into the workforce to be able to perform at a higher level of analytics skills.

And I'm also going to say Soft skills.

Because I hear that a lot from employers that they're looking for both.

They want well rounded individuals coming into the workplace.

That's like the course I'm teaching is managing change.

And much of that is the soft skills.

I want to make a quick comment then I've got a two part question for Sarah and Chris and we'll get Kevin's thoughts more on around the now generation.

But you just shared, Sarah, that the fundamentals don't change.

You know, and that reminds me, I'm a big fan of standardization, right.

Because it can really make our days easier.

It can shorten learning curves, it can ensure consistent quality and.

But as we standardize things, it doesn't mean we lock it in.

And it's that way until the end of time.

Right.

It's so important that we constantly make sure we're asking the question why?

Why do we do it this way and continue to search out a better way?

Because as three of you are talking about, and I see it in every one of these conversations we have is they are challenging these bright minds in our programs around the world are challenging how we do things here today.

And I think that's a beautiful behavior and a much needed behavior.

So with that, Sarah and Chris and Kevin.

Sarah, I got a two parter for you.

Given all of your great work daily, almost daily engagement, I guess with bright students, if I'm, if I had to guess what's top of mind for them in terms of what's important to them.

And then secondly, you're just talking about hiring managers out there and they're always part of our shows, whether it's replays or live shows, you name it.

What would be a tip for engaging and recruiting top talent?

What's your response during that two parter, Sarah?

I love the question.

Thank you, Scott.

And my two cents on it is that engaging students, from what I've heard from my students, is that they want to feel heard.

So given our labor shortage right now, where it's hard to get people across most sectors, but when you have canned responses to resumes, they don't like that they want personalized approaches from employers before they'll even talk to them.

And so I think that is important.

But I said that the fundamentals don't change, but that doesn't mean that we don't have continuous improvement all the time.

And we are always reconnecting classroom to practice and those techniques and simulation is a great way.

And I bet through all the research you do and your board leadership roles, you're Able to keep that finger on the pulse of not only the fundamentals, but how we're innovating, how industry is innovating, and being able to share that in a more digestible manner with students who will continue to get out there and break the model as they assume leadership positions in the industry.

Kevin, your quick comment and I'm gonna switch over to Chris for his responses to the same two questions.

So Chris talked about context.

Context is critical, but history is also part of this change.

You have to understand where you've been so that you can know where to go and the context.

When you apply context, current context, to history, then you get the roadmap for the future.

And I think that's what the students of the noun generation are learning.

So the managers need to get on board.

That's right.

Got to get on board.

Resistance is futile for good reason.

Sarah, one last thought because I think I didn't mean to conflate standardization with fundamentals.

It's a really important point.

You mentioned, you know, fundamentals, good leadership, right?

Fundamentals, constant planning, lots of fundamentals in terms of things that never will change about global supply chain.

So I didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

That's an excellent point.

And also the canned responses, Sarah, you talked about on the responses to resumes, much like it seems like every other part of industry, whether it's consumer facing, supply chain facing, you name it, personalization at scale, massive customization efforts are certainly underway.

It's changing supply chain, changing the consumer experience for sure.

All right, Chris, same two parter.

What in your conversations with students, what's really important to them and what's a tip for hiring managers that really want to get out there, engage and recruit top talent?

All right, first, all this talk about standardization has my spidey senses tingling.

I'm a, I'm a lean sensei and a six Sigma master black belt.

So I'm all about processing and standardization and that improvement.

Standardization just means give me something that can be a baseline that I compare to.

I want to do better than that and I will do better than that.

But, you know, so standardization, like you said, Scott, doesn't mean lock it in, but with the students today, in a broad sense, where I see the industry go and I talked about now generation versus next generation and bringing in new skills and new thoughts, there's this spectrum of efficiency and resiliency and they really are opposite ends of the spectrum.

And we've very much been on the efficiency end of the spectrum and the way we've run our Supply chains, very cost oriented, safe cost.

And supply chains are an afterthought once you work.

And I get the cheapest part.

It might be, you know, in another country, but so be it.

That's cheapest cost.

I don't not take in consideration that I've added risk by having, you know, something offshore.

And of course now we're seeing some of that.

Now all this is becoming relatively obvious.

And that's where I talked about COVID and before that we kind of had brittle, efficient solutions that really didn't do well in this VUCA world that we're now coming into where disruptions are common.

So I think what we're seeing, and this is what we're trying to do with beer, game on steroids.

And Sarah can talk more about that, is bringing in this more long term strategic view of supply chains as a system.

And no individual company is an island.

They are connected.

Kevin made that comment where all everything's connected and it's no different in supply chains.

And you talk about edges of the models, you're talking about edges or all the transitions between one company and another.

How did all that work?

How do those handoffs work?

So that as a system, this system is resilient because resiliency is not an individual trait.

Yeah, I mean, you can be resilient, but in this context of the supply chain, it's a system phenomenon.

The resiliency is how does my system as a whole act, react, respond, recover.

And so that's what we're trying to do in that view right there, getting us off the end of the spectrum of efficiency.

Not that we need to go all the way to resiliency in a spectrum.

It's never good to be on the ends, by the way, in a general sense.

You know, we want to be somewhere in the middle where we're balanced with some efficiency, but we've got some redundancy and things like that for the resiliency aspect.

Kevin, I see you.

Looks like you want to jump in there with something.

Well, hey, really quick, hang on a sec.

Really quick.

So brittle.

That's an excellent word.

I think we all found out how global supply chains are much more brittle than we thought they were a couple years back.

VUCA, folks.

Vuca's been around.

We love our acronyms.

Been around for a while.

If it's new to you, you want to embrace it.

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.

We can all feel that.

Right.

And then lastly, you mentioned it's good to be in the middle.

Chris.

That's right.

All My academic career, I was right there in the middle somewhere between D's and F's, you know, far away from the A's and the zeros.

But Kevin, I think you're misinterpreting there.

But okay, go ahead.

Sarah and Chris shared a lot of good stuff and their responses there.

What'd you hear, Kevin?

I heard the famous Greek philosopher Socrates who said nothing in excess.

Right.

Moderation is key.

Moderation is key.

So since we're talking famous philosophers, to throw another one out there, famous, I'll call 21st century philosopher Mike Tyson.

We all have a plan until you get punched in the face, right?

The paraphrase, maybe.

Okay, next we're going to learn how Sarah and Chris are collaborating in a really innovative fashion.

But first, Tomcat is back with us.

Kevin, we love all of our audience members, but Tomcat is like Shakespeare of supply chain.

So today Tomcat feeling a kinship with Chris White, Six Sigma black belt after my own experience as a white belt.

Love seeing lean six Sigma principles drive improvements in a D supply chains and beyond.

But they say I'm not nearly as squared away as Chris though.

So Tomcat, everything I do now has this process system orientation.

And so when we talk about supply chains, SCM blocks for commercial, but beer game on steroids for universities, it's all a system view of how everything as a call, a process, a system or a process, how all those work together.

And if we're not appreciating that, then, you know, no one's an island, no company is an island and you can't be isolated like that.

I think that's a good segue because I want to learn more about how you are collaborating to engage students, help them advance their skill sets, especially when it comes to supply chain management.

Shed some light on that.

Let's start with you, Chris.

Sarah and I met almost been a couple of years now and she was the first that really jumped on when we talked about beer game on steroids and doing this free version for schools and universities that introduced the system concept and treating it as a supply chain and beer game on steroids.

By the way, if you've heard of the beer game, that's typically something that's used in supply chain comes from the field of system dynamics and industrial dynamics.

But they played it.

You're a retailer, you're the wholesaler, you're the factory, something like that.

And you learn that the structure of the system generates the behavior, not the individual players.

There's where the system concept comes from.

And so we were Taking that.

And that's why it's beer game on steroids.

It allows you to go beyond the four entities of the beer game and have 50 entities, 100 doesn't matter.

And you start to learn the physics of the supply chain.

Longer supply chains do this.

And it's good under these situations, bad under these short supply chains do this.

You know, extra inventory at these levels do this.

And so talking with Sarah, she was the first that really sort of got that.

And it was good timing with her that she was going on sabbatical to redesign their supply chain program.

So I'll let her build more on that.

But she saw this as a good tool to incorporate into that program to begin to get that off the efficiency and more in that middle resiliency system view short term versus long term.

And so that's how we got connected.

So Sarah, I'll let you build off that.

Hey, really quick though.

Really quick before we hear from Sarah.

Sarah, I applaud what you're doing.

I think bodies of knowledge, especially in education circles everywhere, not just at college, university level professional associations, they can oftentimes get stagnant, right?

Not intentionally, but you know, we try to build it, build a curriculum which is tough as is, and then focus on the student experience.

Right.

And years can pass.

So applaud Sarah to redesign a supply chain program.

It's not for the faint of heart, I bet.

So I wanted to celebrate that first off.

And please tell us more about Yalls collaboration with Chris.

Thank you both.

Actually, we just recently launched our supply chain concentration.

It's not a whole program within our mba, but it is a concentration.

And I rebuilt one of our courses is using beer game on steroids within the MBA students.

They love it.

It gives them an opportunity to dig in and really create their own scenarios from scratch.

I do some prescriptive things with them.

To start, they build the beer game traditional model and then they have one where I tell them what they need to build and then I let them have a little free for all.

And they can build whatever modeling system they want.

And they can really see how if their competitors demand changes, how that affects their supply chain in receipts.

So it really is a cool tool that has helped students understand that massive bullwhip effect in modeling that I would say in practice so that they can.

Use in practice the beer game on steroids.

I gotta ask you one quick follow up, Sarah.

Is any beer.

I know no steroids are ever involved, but any beer ever involved in the simulations?

In the simulations, no, considering it's A grad class.

You know, I do tend to take my in person classes on a brewery tour because you can learn on, you know, the sourcing aspect and the front house and back house operations and, you know, whether they choose to taste or not afterwards.

I'm not judging Scott along those lines.

We've got Beer Game on Steroids, but we also have exact same thing.

We call it SCM free.

So it's our SCM blocks, but it's the free version.

And some universities don't like hearing beer or steroids.

So even though it's kind of a tongue in cheek play on the beer game, you know, that's fine, we get it.

And so we've got a version that's SCM free that folks can download.

Folks can download.

This is free.

We've got a Beer Game on steroids page on LinkedIn.

If you just do a search for Beer game on steroids on LinkedIn, you'll go to that page.

There's links to the installation file.

We've got a website beer gameonsteroids.com go to that beer gameonsteroids.com that'll take you.

You can request the installation, all that's there, lesson plans, you know, things like that.

So wonderful.

Wow.

I'm going to have to look into that.

I'm revamping a course at Tulane School of Professional Advancement on change, like I just said.

And I think if you took this Beer game on Steroids and introduced how that change affects the entire supply chain, instead of being fearful of change, that's why we don't change things, because we are fear of it.

But if you can anticipate change, then you can be a better leader of that change.

And I think a model, a simulation like Beer Game on Steroids could actually prepare someone for anticipating change.

I'm with you.

Hands on learning is fun.

It's effective.

It unlocks what the cells in the brain is.

Neurons.

Yeah, there you go.

Thank you.

Plasticity.

All right.

Y'all are well above my pay grade.

Okay.

Hey, really quick, we're gonna see before we make sure folks know how to connect with Sarah and Chris.

I'm sure they will based on the great things they're doing out in industry.

Tomcat is asking us to link.

So Trisha and Amanda Joshua appreciate all yalls help behind the scenes if y'all could do exactly what Chris shared.

And Chris, you can also drop it in the chat if you'd like.

But Sarah, really admire what you're doing in the industry and I love how you are much like we were talking about the students, how they constantly change or challenge how things are done in a similar fashion.

I love how you're challenging how we train and educate and enlighten and motivate the now generation.

So Sarah, how can folks connect with you?

After today's session feel free to contact me on LinkedIn.

I'm fairly active and I think that my link is in the chat that you're welcome to reach out and engage and I'm always looking for new ideas and appreciate free flowing conversation.

Oh you bet.

I wish we had a couple more hours to free flow even more Sarah.

And by the way Kevin, I really wish I had professional educators earlier in my journey that would take us to breweries for supply chain lessons learned.

That is so cool.

Dr.

Sarah Sengupta.

Not sure if I should share that with that.

Hey, your secret is safe with us.

Your secret is safe with us.

Safe with us and the whole Internet.

No big deal, right folks, be sure to connect with Sarah.

We got her link right there on LinkedIn.

Chris also dropped bear game on steroids dot com.

It's right there one click away.

And Chris, same question.

I know you get out and about.

You're at the CSCMP conference one of the last times we talked about you were sharing some of your key takeaways there.

But how can folks connect with you no matter where you are?

Chris I think the LinkedIn profile kind of like Sarah said is the easiest way.

I've also got and I'll go ahead and put this in the chat but we've got a website scmblocks.com and so just jc whitecmblox.com I got a first name.

It's you.

Sometimes you see me as J.

Chris White folks that'll look at on LinkedIn.

Jay first name.

I don't really use that unless I'm in trouble by my mom or something like that.

You know that's but anyway so yeah, love it email or LinkedIn it definitely.

We'Re dropping all that information in the chat.

Your folks are all one click away from connecting with the talented Sarah and Chris here today.

Kevin, before they go.

Yeah I want to go back to how they're collaborating and how of course Sarah is reinventing the program and adding new cool bells and whistles that are going to be effective at getting those synapses to fire.

New synapses of fire.

Your quick thoughts are Kevin, before we bid adieu to Sarah and Chris, when.

Are you going to make tours to you know, wine tastings coming soon.

Hang on we need wine.

Game on steroids for the wine.

Game on steroids.

Bourbon.

I think there's a whole series here.

You did, Kevin.

You just opened up a whole new world.

We got bourbon.

Game on steroids.

We got vodka.

Game.

Why not?

Yeah.

Oh, man.

You know we're going to get in trouble.

It's all supply chain.

It is all supply chain.

It is all supply chain.

We could tell we're 90s kids.

Well, folks, big thanks once again.

We're gonna have to have them back so we can keep our conversation moving.

Dr.

Sarah Singupta with Saint Cloud State University.

Sarah, thanks so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

It's been a pleasure.

You bet.

Great to have you.

Stay warm up there in the beautiful state of Minnesota.

And Chris White with SCM blocks.

Chris, I hope this cold weather passes quickly and it's back to warmer temps there.

Thanks for being with us.

You bet.

Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

All right, we'll see y'all soon.

Yeah.

Thank you for a great show.

Really enjoyed Sarah and Chris's perspective here today.

And, hey, Greg up there in Milwaukee, great to see you.

Always great conversation.

Have a great week.

I appreciate that, Greg.

We got one story we're gonna briefly touch on and.

Yeah, Tomcat, man, so much for dry January.

That's right.

We've got all, all sorts of beer, wine, you name it, with supply chain, lessons learned.

And as Greg says, hey, let's not forget distilleries.

That's right.

Those are great tours.

Great tours.

All right, Kevin, we got one really important story that I want to fit in here towards the end.

And we're talking about the semiconductor supply chain.

Real clear policy here.

Reported this story the other day, and it's focused on how the US Needs to secure the semiconductor supply chain.

So it references the supply chain warfare being waged on various levels between China, the US and our allies.

Some of the key facts.

Right, regardless of your take on that phrase, supply chain warfare, some of the key facts that's undeniable related to the computer chip industry.

90% of semiconductors are manufactured in East Asia.

90% of advanced chips within that, you know, the most advanced chips are manufactured in Taiwan, where, of course, industry tightened.

TSMC is based.

Now, many experts point to stronger and more aggressive Chinese posturing as it relates to the country's intentions of bringing Taiwan back under the communist umbrella.

Right.

Perhaps.

Some are saying they may well use force.

And, Kevin, I'll tell you, the global ripple effect of that.

I don't know about you, but it Scares the heck out of me.

Now, one of the main thrusts of this viewpoint, we're dropping it in the chat there, so y'all take a look, is given the criticality of semiconductors, they're incredibly important to our entire way of life.

Right?

Well, they're urging action, especially urging the US to take action to address its roughly 10% market share of global chip production.

And they say the Chips act is only one step in that direction.

Kevin, I can't wait to get your thoughts on this incredibly important sector.

Well, I think the focus is important not only to our lifestyle but to our national security.

And I was very, very pleased to see that TMSC is actually opening a global center for the production of semiconductors in Arizona.

And I think maybe we can put that link in the share.

So, I mean, having such a critical resource on an island that China has said they were going to take over, they're ready for physical war against the United States by 2027 so that they can take over Taiwan.

I mean, as you've heard before, the red lights are flashing everywhere.

So it feels like those Pre World War II days in many ways.

And our supply chain semiconductors are on everything that we do, everything in the house.

They are a key component of our live and our communications now, information society and, you know, our competitors in the world know that.

So it's an important aspect of what we need to focus on.

Yeah, well said, Kevin.

And it's tough to talk about, I think, this highly complex mix of national defense, innovative technology, the supply chains that fuel it in the current events of what's going on in terms of the difference of positions between, you know, some of the largest countries in the world would have equally large militaries.

And I would agree with you.

One more thing.

I was just talking to my son over the weekend as we're driving down the road.

He's a big World War II buff and we were talking about some of the similarities, unfortunately, with what we're seeing now and in the run up way back then of what led to World War II.

So here's what I'm hopeful for.

I'm hopeful that cooler heads will prevail and we can prevent a regional conflict that could easily springboard into something we haven't seen in a very, very long time.

And one element of that, Kevin, of course, is the supply chains that are involved.

Right, because you think of health care, you think of not just how we run supply chains and the technology that requires, but, you know, health care, our schools, I mean, every aspect of Our life is leaning on rapidly increasing and more powerful technology and of course, the chips that power those devices.

So I'm confident we can navigate through the situation and not only protect our global supply chains, but also protect humanity.

For the fear of sounding too dramatic there, Kevin, your last thought on this.

Inauguration day, all the talks of terrorists is scary and a linkage between our economy to global economy and global society is there.

So let's all, you know, move forward to support the entire global society.

Well said, Kevin.

A pleasure.

I really enjoyed being with you today.

Kevin L.

Jackson, host of Digital Transformers no, our time is up.

We're getting pushed off.

Kidding aside, though, connect with Kevin L.

Jackson.

You can find Digital Transformers wherever you get your podcast.

We've got a big slate of programming coming up this year and really excited about that.

So, Kevin L.

Jackson, thanks for joining us here today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Also want to thank our guests again.

Please find and connect with Dr.

Sarah Sangupta with St.

Cloud State University and Chris White with SCM Blocks.

We dropped those links earlier.

It's right there in the chat.

And man, Tomcat is dropping some great MLK quotes from the arc of the moral universe bends back towards justice for all and and then this other one.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

That's right.

MLK's incredible words and how he challenged us all to be better people, to be better countries and to build a better future for sure.

Big thanks to Tricia and Joshua and Amanda behind the scenes, helping to make the buzz happen each and every week.

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

We sure do appreciate all that you do.

Now as we wrap, Kevin want to challenge everybody.

We got to keep very intentionally the extraordinary legacy of Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Alive and well with deeds, not just words, right?

And anyone out there can drive change, right?

Especially when they put their mind to it or better yet, when they put their actions to it.

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

Hey, do good, get forward, be the change that's needed.

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

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