Melanie Salter [00:00:00]:

I can design the most beautiful supply chain ever. But if my people are not engaged, if they're not productive, if they can't bring their full fantastic selves to work with all of their amazing thoughts and diversity of thought that they bring with them, you're never going to realize all the potential of that supply chain.

Narrator [00:00:20]:

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.

Scott W. Luton [00:00:34]:

 Hey, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Wherever you may be Scott Luton here with you on supply chain. Now, welcome to today's show folks. We've got an excellent show here today. We're gonna be talking with an exceptional industry leader who will be sharing critical insights on strategic network design, complex problem solving, how data can tell a compelling story, actual advice on advancing into the C-suite.All of that key takeaways from recent. Supply chain research and a whole bunch more.

Scott W. Luton [00:01:04]:

So stay tuned for an informative, enlightening and entertaining conversation. But I've got to introduce my dear friend who's joining us here to make all that happen. So our guest has worked in the global supply chain space for more than 25 years. She's lived and worked in Europe, Africa and North America. Our guest get this is a self proclaimed self supply chain nerd. Where have you heard that before? Who is always happy to discuss the benefits of inclusive supply chains. Now she currently serves as director of inclusive supply chain research at boom! Global Network. The go to online network connecting a cross industry community of female supply chain professionals from around the world.

Scott W. Luton [00:01:47]:

So please join me in welcoming Melanie Salter. Melanie, how you doing?

Melanie Salter [00:01:51]:

I'm doing really well Scott. Thanks so much for having me today. This is so, so exciting. So much fun.

Scott W. Luton [00:01:57]:

Same, I feel the same. I echo all that. And I gotta say when I say boom! I kind of want to make a boom! Global Network. Do you have that same thing? It's like I got.

Melanie Salter [00:02:09]:

boom!

Scott W. Luton [00:02:10]:

Yes, Global Network.

Melanie Salter [00:02:12]:

Global community for women in supply chain.

Scott W. Luton [00:02:14]:

That's right. Love it. Hey, kidding aside, love the work you are doing over at boom! Love getting to know you and some of the pre show conversations we've had as we might share at the end of today's chat. We've got a great event coming up soon that folks will have to join us for. But before we get to all that, let's get to know you a little bit better Melanie. And there's two things that may surprise or at least one thing that may surprise Folks, and that is your passion for kickboxing. Now, I don't know how many folks know that you're a regular kickboxer.

Scott W. Luton [00:02:47]:

Melanie, tell us, what do you get out of kickboxing, those exercises?

Melanie Salter [00:02:52]:

Well, it was kind of a surprise, something I'd wanted to do for years. And then I had a major milestone birthday and I thought, okay, this is it. I need to finally do the kickboxing before I'm too old to be able to do it. And it just. It's so much fun. It is such a brilliant way to release.

Scott W. Luton [00:03:13]:

I believe it.

Melanie Salter [00:03:14]:

Tension, anger. You know, I had a, you know, tricky phone call. I got out, I did a few punches as like, okay, it's. It's. I mean, it makes me sound a bit like a psychopath. I get that. But it's. It's interesting because it's also quite intellectual because you've got to, you know, I'm good with working with my brain, but using my brain to coordinate my body to do different movements, combinations and stuff.

Melanie Salter [00:03:37]:

Yeah, yeah. So it's quite intellectually challenging at the same time because, yeah, I'm not always that well coordinated. So it's. It's quite negative.

Scott W. Luton [00:03:46]:

I believe it. So folks out there, one of y'all at least is going to steal this notion of kickboxing to get for all the good that Melanie just described. And you're gonna have to send this video of Yalls routines, the combos that Melanie is describing. We'll see. But I think it's, you know, as we talked about pre show. I've got. I've had relatives that have hung up. My uncle hung up a boxing.

Scott W. Luton [00:04:09]:

It's like a full body bag, right? Full body bag. The hangs real heavy. And he always said that that was wonderful for stress release. So maybe I have to check up and. And follow up what you're doing Melanie, with kickboxing.

Melanie Salter [00:04:22]:

It's lovely.

Scott W. Luton [00:04:23]:

Let me ask you about this. Your hometown is the beautiful world city of London in the UK. Now, London probably has ranks up there, probably top five, top 10 in terms of tourists and all that. But apart from all the top places to visit and do when you're in. When folks are in London that they'll find in any. Any blog out there. What's one thing from a. A hometown person, someone from London that you would suggest to folks that visit your city?

Melanie Salter [00:04:55]:

I'm very lucky in that I was born in the southwest of London in a place called Kew, which has the largest botanical gardens in the world. It's like it's world famous. It's unbelievably stunning. You know, you can go around central London and you can see the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London and, you know, Piccadilly Circus do all of that. But if you've got a day go, whether it's raining or not, it. Because the glass houses are extraordinary and some of them are hundreds of years old and they're just so beautiful. You can go and get lost in a park and it's still on the tube. You don't have to go all the way outside of London.

Melanie Salter [00:05:29]:

And it's. Yeah, it's one of my happy places in the world.

Scott W. Luton [00:05:33]:

Wow. That's. That's what we call inside baseball here in the States, where we're getting in critical intel from. From the insiders, right? And. And Melanie, I think you hit that out of the park to continue that. Thank you.

Scott W. Luton [00:05:45]:

You're very southwest, Southwest London in the. And Kew. How's that spelled?

Melanie Salter [00:05:50]:

K E W, Kew. I'm sounding very British suddenly, aren't I?

Scott W. Luton [00:05:57]:

You're raising the eloquence of our show here at Supply Chain Now. All right, folks, if you go to London, go check out those botanical gardens in the southwest part of the city called place called Kew, right? And, and I love the glass houses. So even if it's raining, you can, you can still enjoy it and not get wet. All right, so, Melanie, unfortunately, I'd love to pick your brain on. On lots of other of your personal background, but we got a lot to get to in your professional background here today, right? Yeah.

Scott W. Luton [00:06:26]:

So prior to your current role with boom! that we're going to talk about here a little bit later, I want to explore a few things about your professional journey that I think our listeners and viewers, valued audience members are going to really be interested in. And I want to start with your extensive background in strategic network design and complex problem solving inherent in much of global supply chain. Those two critical, critical skill sets would you offer up based on what? On your expertise and your experiences. Would you offer up a tip or a piece of advice on each of those things? Let's start with strategic network design.

Melanie Salter [00:07:07]:

I think the thing about strategic network design is it's seen as this nice to have it seem like the big organizations, it's something that sits in the center of excellence and you have to be a multinational to have it. And the thing is, that's not true. You know, you, you wouldn't build a supply chain and immediately think, no, I don't need planning software. I don't need route optimization. I mean, you just wouldn't go there. So. But supply chain network design is kind of. No, it's not strictly necessary.

Melanie Salter [00:07:35]:

We can let our supply chain grow organically. And I find this mind blowing with my background, I suppose, just because I've seen the power of IT time and time again. And my advice is those small and medium company startups, because I lived in Berlin for a while, it's the city of startups, right? It's like thousands of them. It's really famous for it. It's also in the northeast corner of Germany, far from most of the major cities. But the startups start there and they build their warehouses there because it's close to where they are if their target audience, if their customers are in France or southern Germany, it couldn't be in a more wrong place. And it's not rocket science to do a very, I mean, you know, I come from an IT background as well. You can do a quick and dirty supply chain network design.

Melanie Salter [00:08:23]:

You can do a century of mass. You can say, hey, here are my suppliers, here are my customers. I want to be able to offer, get to them within this time frame. Therefore, where should my warehouse be? It's not, it's such a simple thing, but it's incredibly powerful and you know, will really give you competitive advantage, save you money. It's more sustainable, all of this stuff. And it's like I'd love to see supply chain network design just become absolutely standard, as standard as, as I say, route optimization or planning.

Scott W. Luton [00:08:55]:

I love that. So folks, don't be thinking as she's suggesting that she's telling us that it's a nice to have, you got to do it. And what I'm hearing from Melanie, beyond the technology that's available and some of the core simple ways to do strategic network design, don't let the fear or the complexity stop you from doing it. It's got some powerful outcomes and returns, Melanie, ight.

Melanie Salter [00:09:21]:

Yeah. And it's not that complex if you've got a simple supply chain. It's actually, you just need some, you just need the addresses and some off the shelf, very cheap software that you can rent for a month and you're done.

Scott W. Luton [00:09:33]:

How about that?

Melanie Salter [00:09:34]:

I mean it's, it's just so powerful. And I, yeah, I wish more companies would do it because it, you know, startups go bust.

Scott W. Luton [00:09:41]:

Melanie, one other thing you mentioned that I want to call out before we move to complex problem solving, because I think it's important is you mentioned the value of being intentional about it too. Rather than letting maybe your supply chain organically decide how it designs itself, it's really important that we kind of take back control and being intentional about how we design our networks. Would you agree with that?

Melanie Salter [00:10:03]:

Yeah, absolutely. And this is something, I mean, I will keep coming back to this. It's like, what is the purpose of your supply chain? Get back to the absolutely fundamental. I mean, you can go back to agile supply chain theory and start with the customer. What are you going to offer them? What's your, you know, what is it? Order, qualifier and competitive advantage. What are those? Define those and then build your supply chain from that.

Scott W. Luton [00:10:30]:

Love it. Okay, folks, we got so much more to get into. I wish we had. We might need a three hour podcast today, Melanie. I'm not sure, but let's.

Melanie Salter [00:10:41]:

Dirty. Told you I was dirty.

Scott W. Luton [00:10:43]:

Hey, well, it. As I kind of shared there in your intro, we're kindred spirits in that regard and I'm looking forward to nerd out on the rest of this episode with you. Let's talk about complex problem solving. Some things don't change, you know, while I would argue some problems have gotten simpler thanks to all sorts of innovation, we still find plenty of complexity in global supply chain management. It's kind of inherent, right? Because as some of our approaches have made problems easier, some of the customer demands and our capabilities keep adding more complexity into the, the black box, so to speak. So what's a piece of advice when it comes to complex problem solving that you'd offer with us, to us, Melanie?

Melanie Salter [00:11:29]:

I like that. I just thought of something as you were speaking that don't go for the perfect solution. You know, there are some things that off the shelf software can't solve. You know, you just, you know, there's some amazing bits of software out there. I've worked with a lot of them and they're things of beauty. But there are some problems that are just too complex and at that point find a solution that's good enough. It's that 80, 20 rule. It's not worth designing the software, building the algorithm, putting it all in there because yeah, you could do that, but it's not going to give you that much of a, that much more.

Melanie Salter [00:12:06]:

Go for the 80%, go for the good enough because it's already a hell of a lot better than nothing at all, which is probably where you are at the moment and a lot better than any of your competitors will have. Because if this is problem you've discovered and there's not off the shelf software for it, chances are your other competitors are facing the same one So get it good enough.

Scott W. Luton [00:12:27]:

Love that. Get it good enough. New T shirt. Ism new T shirt. You know, and that can. I think that's that advice. Been there, done that Advice I think is not only really powerfully applicable to supply chain management. I think that's, there's a lot of good life advice there, right? Because how many folks out there will stop until they've made the perfect decision? And oftentimes they don't get back to finding the perfect decision, so they just stop. It's paralysis, right? By over analysis. All right, good stuff. I want to talk data, right?

Scott W. Luton [00:13:01]:

As we move forward in this conversation with Melanie Salter. So this is, this is like your love language, one of them, Melanie, right?

Melanie Salter [00:13:08]:

Yes, very much so.

Scott W. Luton [00:13:11]:

Now more and more as we as kind of evolution has been a kind of a theme of this first part of our conversation as an industry and really as, as, as global business, we've more and more were able to find signals versus the tidal wave of noise. And always reminds me when I say that always reminds me of those math questions that we all got back in middle school where they give you way too much information and then they have you pick what you need to, to get the right answer right. I always go back to that because that it, that's part of life. So when we're able to ignore the noise and get to the signals, then we can start to really understand the story, the powerful story that the data is telling us. And then we can make decisions, we can inter. We can find competitive advantage, we can find new products, we can serve the customer new powerful ways. We can understand what the customer values. How about that for revelation? So is this what you have found in your career I guess?

Melanie Salter [00:14:11]:

Yeah. I mean, you said it that beautifully is what I say too, which is like data tells the story. Data is, I always say data is power. It's, it's like give, give me loads of, give me loads of data and I'll tell you the story. It's telling you about your business. I think the longer you're in a business, the more, the better the story you can tell. So, you know, that's something I've learned along the way. But it's just looking at the data. You know, we talk about critical thinking a lot and we talk about, you know, just a boom! and how it's, it's an art that it's not necessarily being taught, but it is greatly needed.

Melanie Salter [00:14:43]:

You know, just all the information on the Internet. How do you use critical thinking to get the wheat from the Chaff, as it were. And with data, it's that same. It's like you've got to look at everything and really think about it. And the example I like to give is I was shown a bar chart, simple bar chart. I was in South Africa. I was working for a company, E Commerce, but they also use their last mile delivery to deliver food. So it was a lovely business model that.

Melanie Salter [00:15:11]:

So you, you've always got something for your, for your motorbike delivery guys to, to take. And I was looking just, it's like six months worth of data. Bar chart. How many guys have we got in the daytime shift and how many times in the evening? And we. I know more people want food in the evening, so I know that there's got to be more people in the evening. But when I look at this bar chart, it says we've got approximately the same guy, number of guys all, all day. Why? So I go back to the data and I say, you should write because, you know, this is what I expect. And he went, oh, that doesn't look wrong.

Melanie Salter [00:15:45]:

Doesn't it? I'll get back to you. We got, came back to me. He said, no, that's right. I said, any idea why? And he said, no, that's the data. That's the data he'd been showing, creating, putting into reports. I was going, but something's off, we've got to find out why. So I went out and I talked to the branch managers, I spoke to the motorbike riders. The guys weren't being paid enough.

Melanie Salter [00:16:11]:

They had to do double shifts to be able to make a living wage. And they had a major issue around driver retention. So it's one bar chart tells a massive story about, you know, a major business issue around retention. It's like, well, okay, so we just pay them 20 rand more a delivery, 10 rand more delivery. You know, just a few dollars, right? And it will make a world of difference and, you know, save all of that cost of repeatedly hiring more and more drivers. People drop out. And I love that it's such a simple bit of data, but it tells such a powerful story about the business.

Scott W. Luton [00:16:51]:

You know, what I heard there, Melanie, is by taking the time to find the right data and build the right way of communicating the data, it helped you and that business leader, especially you, determine the right questions to ask the right people so you could eventually get to the root cause which clearly hadn't been defined or hadn't been identified or even maybe attempted to be identified until you created that simple bar chart. And the Power of simplicity. Melanie, one quick thing I want to ask you in just a second. Let me plant the seed, and I'm gonna come back to it. Good story or bad story? We got to know both, and both were equally powerful. But I'm asking your favorite one to find good story, bad story. So hang on to that. I'm gonna come back to you.

Scott W. Luton [00:17:39]:

But what you illustrate there with that simple bar chart of how we can visualize a story that data is telling us, it is so much easier said than done. And I think the really gifted people like you are able to really help convey. Kind of take the input in one ear or one eye and then out the other, you're able to convey and tell that story. That is a gift. That's a superpower. It reminded me of a former colleague of mine, Peter Sherman. His father had gone in the hospital and had a awful experience, right. And as the caretaker and he.

Scott W. Luton [00:18:14]:

I heard a story a lot. It was a really powerful one for me. Peter talked about after his father had gotten better, he was trying to explain to the hospital staff so that the same mistakes weren't made again for other patients, and it just wasn't clicking. So eventually he was able to get an audience with, like, the CEO of this healthcare or this hospital, whatnot. And Peter took the time to storyboard the experiences, the data, the process. And in a very powerful way, that CEO then understood exactly what had gone wrong that shouldn't go wrong for other patients moving forward. And it really helped drive change, right?

Scott W. Luton [00:18:57]:

And. And, you know, all change isn't, really. Isn't equal. You got some small changes and you got some big changes, but if we aren't able to convey what the data is telling us, then our chances of driving any change, big or small, is near nil, right?

Melanie Salter [00:19:14]:

Absolutely.

Scott W. Luton [00:19:15]:

Your comment there. And I want to circle back to the good and the bad, because I gotta have both your comment there on. On the ability to tell and communicate the story.

Melanie Salter [00:19:25]:

I see it in PowerPoint slides with so much data without a key message at the top. And, you know, and I. I mentor quite a few people, and it's just like, tell me the story. What's the story? I want to have a narrative here, and it's something I've learned. You know, I didn't. I wasn't born with this, but it's. It. It is something that I've.

Melanie Salter [00:19:46]:

I've always naturally done anyway. But it's. It's been refined over the years. But getting that story, what does it mean to the business? It's you know, as my, as my lovely boss would say, it's the "So what? So what?"

Scott W. Luton [00:19:59]:

I love it pro tip. You heard it here from Melanie. Take this to heart. Having the data isn't good enough, right? Go the extra mile and work on that superpower of being able to put together a concise, highly accurate and compelling narrative or story of what the data is saying, right? Melanie, million dollar advice already answer that "So what?" So one quick follow up and then we're gonna get into a big eureka moment. You had as you built a supply chain framework masterpiece. But you know, I love this mantra and any of our listeners or viewers know I talk about this a lot, but there was a famous food company chairman built a really big. Vlasik is a company and, and Bob Vlasik was the son of the founder. And Mr. Vlasik really made Vlasik into the company that folks recognize. Everyone's seen the stork eating the pickle. That's Vlasil, right?

Scott W. Luton [00:20:54]:

And he had this mantra, you know, give me good news fast, but bad news faster. And so that always makes me think, you know, what you're sharing about the importance of telling a story. Well, you know, we've got to. There's so much value whether it's good or bad, but we got to know it and we got to lean into even when it's bad and no one wants to talk about it, no one wants to take down the understanding kind of back to your example, that's probably when we need to take the most action and the most interest. Your thought there?

Melanie Salter [00:21:24]:

Yeah, I totally agree. And it's, you know, I haven't always been the bearer of good news, even though data doesn't always tell a happy story, especially with network design. You know, you could be taking out footprint, which means potentially layoffs, redundancies, and that is a hard one to live with. But ultimately it's going to keep a business going and keep more people in jobs than not. Is the. Is how I've kind of rationalized it. Is it. It has to be done.

Scott W. Luton [00:21:54]:

Yeah. Being the bearer of good or bad news is a really important leadership role that we all have to lean into for sure. I appreciate that, Melanie. All right. I'm looking forward to learning from this. This eureka moment you had. Here we were talking pre show about this aspect of your journey. You had designed this supply chain framework masterpiece that once you finished, you were given it the chef's kiss.

Scott W. Luton [00:22:20]:

Your colleagues might were as well. But upon reflection, you did. You had determined and learned. You kind of left one Important element out, which ended up being a really seemingly we're going to learn story. Seemingly a big impact of kind of a big part of the rest of your journey. So tell us that if you would tell us that story.

Melanie Salter [00:22:39]:

Yeah, I, I mean this is hardcore nerd fest, but you've asked it, so. Okay, let's go strap in. I mean, I've touched on it briefly. You know, just talking about that as in the middle of lockdown, I'm stuck in 120 square meter flat with two children under the age of eight, unable to work and my chains were falling down around me. You know, it just, you know, you know what it was, it was extraordinary. And I was looking at that and it's like, how do you design a supply chain to survive that? What does that look? And that kind of started this. I think it was the need for my brain to be used as well as doing homeschooling. Just like this brain needs action or bad things happening.

Melanie Salter [00:23:25]:

And I kind of pulled in the lots of different elements. So it's like resilience was something I'd come across, but it never come to the forefront like that before, had it? And sustainability was something passionate about. It's like, you know, supply chains contribute so much to carbon footprint. How can we reduce that? I know from my supply chain network design that companies are really good at sort of corporate strategy and sometimes supply chain strategy. But that bit in the middle, the competitive strategy, the bit that says how is our company and supply chain going to compete in the market? So the order qualifiers and order winners, that's the bit that's missing. And so I was pulling this all together and I, and this is the bit I was a bit embarrassed to tell you about. I built a temple like the academics do, and I had the foundations of the corporate strategy, the competitive strategy and I had pillars. It was, it's a thing of beauty.

Melanie Salter [00:24:25]:

I'm not sharing it. And you've got the pillars of resilience and sustainability and innovation. So that basically I designed this beautiful supply chain that is going to be sustainable, it's going to be resilient, it's going to be based on, in, built on innovation, open to innovation and change. And then I applied these to all the different elements of a supply chain. If you get into really classic supply chain, you know, product design, infrastructure, process, demand systems. And then there was the sixth one, people. It was genius. Okay, I'm taking the mickey out of myself a bit here.

Melanie Salter [00:25:03]:

What design? You know, I talked about all those three areas I could talk about infrastructure in those three areas. But when I got to people, I mean, is it fascinating to look back on my work and it's basically a blank. It's this complete blank. It's like there's sort of TBC underneath it. And I look at it now and it's only since I've started working for boom! and looking at inclusive supply chains that I was like, oh, oh, I really didn't get it at all, did I? And I don't think, and I'm slightly part of me slightly embarrassed that I didn't. I mean, you know, I'm not, I'm not stupid. I know that, right? Like, you know, a business is only as good as the people that work in it. You know, I know all of that stuff.

Melanie Salter [00:25:46]:

But I hadn't. I separated people from supply chain. And I think that is a massive mistake. And I think it's one that we keep making over and over again. It's like, h, oh, it's an HR problem. You know, that's the soft, fluffy stuff. It's not important. The heart.

Melanie Salter [00:26:01]:

The important stuff is resilience. It's AI, it's. And the key, you know, the penny dropping was like, I can design the most beautiful supply chain ever, but if my people are not engaged, if they're not productive, if they can't bring their full fantastic selves to work with all of their amazing thoughts and diversity of thought that they could bring with them, you're never going to realize all the potential of that supply chain. And I just found that it's like, why did I what I think that wasn't important. And that's basically what I've been doing for the last three years, is to look at that people piece. How do you make a supply chain inclusive?

Scott W. Luton [00:26:46]:

First off, I appreciate you sharing that with this here. And you shouldn't all of us do the same thing. It's just in different ways. And what I mean by that, we all miss on things. We all get infatuated with certain elements of any equation in supply chain or elsewhere. And so we've all had similar experiences to what you shared. And to your point, it's also very common, especially here in the golden age of supply chain tech. And it's one of the reasons we like to talk about people all the time, to try to help to keep it more front and center.

Scott W. Luton [00:27:19]:

So I'm so glad you, you brought that up here. And one of the best parts of the story is what you've been doing since, reflecting on that critical experience and how you're you're helping. Same thing, same way. Helping to make sure industry doesn't lose sight of the people that, that push our industry forward in so many ways. So, Melanie, with that segue, I can't wait to learn a little bit more about what you do now and what the boom! Global network does. And then we're getting into a lot more good stuff. So tell us more what you're up to now, day to day.

Melanie Salter [00:27:55]:

So I work for boom. It's a global community for women in supply chain. It's online. It's, you know, you've heard my background is quite mathematical. I was very much always the only woman in the room all the way through my career. I've worked all around the world. Some places were easier to work than others. And there was, there were no women above me I've met in my entire career.

Melanie Salter [00:28:18]:

And I've met an awful lot of women now in this role. I met one woman who vaguely works in the same area as me, but there was like, it was just me out there. And now I get to help all of the women coming up behind me and saying, hey, you know, I've got this, I've got some lessons I've learned. Let me share that with you. So I do, I do research, like full on academic, you know, I look at the academic papers out there and the reports that come on out about how to make supply chains more inclusive. So, you know, we talk about gender, but it's for everybody because everybody, you know, men, women, whatever, everyone's discriminated in some way. How do we make supply chains as inclusive so that you can bring your full, fabulous self to work instead of having to spend the energy hiding it, which means you're not able to do the best work. And as part, you know, other parts, you know, I hang out with our lovely members.

Melanie Salter [00:29:15]:

I host webinars like this. So it's, as I've said, it's very weird to be on the other side. I'm usually doing your job, Scott, so thank you for giving me the microphone.

Scott W. Luton [00:29:25]:

It's very exciting, but it's rewarding for all of us. So I think it's important, you know, we're, we're kind of talking about the, the host guest dynamic pre show. You kind of get in. I don't know if you can relate to this, Melanie, before you share more about global boom! Global network. But we kind of have our own processes. All of us have different processes, some the same, some different. You don't always get a chance to express your thoughts on what the guest is sharing, right?

Scott W. Luton [00:29:51]:

Because the focus is on the guest. As it should be. So to flip the script sometimes I've been there. You're much better at it. And I am. Sometimes I can be at a loss because I'm always pulling information out from others. So I think it's a good thing to flip the script and turn the tables because, Melanie, I tell you, you need to be as much of a guest as. As you are a host.

Scott W. Luton [00:30:12]:

I think you've got a wealth of stuff folks need to. To learn from you. So do you see the same thing? Kind of what I'll share in there in terms of maybe the. The side. The psychology of being a host versus being a guest and kind of how sometimes we're building barriers in our own brain because we kind of get in host mode too much.

Melanie Salter [00:30:31]:

Yeah. Because there are sometimes. And you kind of have to stay within certain parameters. But actually part of me and you can hear, I get overexcited. I really want to drill down on something. And sometimes that not appropriate because it's details of the business that we're not allowed to share publicly. But part of me is going, oh, that's fascinating. I really want to know more.

Melanie Salter [00:30:50]:

But you have to hold yourself in, don't you? You have to kind of raise and.

Scott W. Luton [00:30:54]:

Yes.

Melanie Salter [00:30:55]:

Yeah. It's such a privilege to meet lots of people doing incredible things and finding out about them.

Scott W. Luton [00:31:01]:

So true. It is one of the most fascinating chapters of my journey. It sounds like we're where kindred spirits there. So you've kind of shared in a nutshell. boom! Global Network. Anything else you want to add about what the organization does before I get on to that captive audience question here in just a second.

Melanie Salter [00:31:21]:

It's the. It's the organization. I wish had been there when I was younger because I didn't have much of a support system. I didn't have. I didn't know what I didn't know really. I just muddled my way through the best I could. And boom! Offers this lovely.

Melanie Salter [00:31:39]:

Because it's got this huge resource library about professional development and it can tell you, you know, role models. It's like got tens, hundreds of interviews with female chief supply chain officers. So you don't have to. You don't have to start with one role model. And you can have men too. I don't. But it's just so much there. And then there's a community that you can chat with that you can reach out and say, hey, you work in the same field as me.

Melanie Salter [00:32:05]:

I'd be, you know, let's have a chat, you know, because it's got all this. So it's, it's. I wish it had been there. It might have completely changed my career if I'd found that 20 years ago.

Scott W. Luton [00:32:17]:

Wow, that's a powerful statement. And going. And going back to what you were describing earlier in this, in our conversation here about kind of being the only. The only one in those different segments of your journey, which I guess, and I'm asking it, that can create a lot of professional loneliness. Is that a accurate way describing that?

Melanie Salter [00:32:40]:

That's a love, lovely and slightly sad way of putting. Yeah, it was quite lonely. I mean, I think the area working anyway, complex problem solving is quite lonely anyway, because if you're not in a team and you just, you're there with a whiteboard, you've got a problem to solve that not that many people that can come in and get into the details. It's already lonely role. I think it would have been lovely to have a network of people working in that same area that would have understood that loneliness.

Scott W. Luton [00:33:09]:

And the best part of this, other than you sharing that experience and I bet so many people can relate to, is you're building that network that can help cure and solve and address this professional loneliness. And that's got to be some of the most rewarding part of what you do day in, day out, week in, week out, huh?

Melanie Salter [00:33:28]:

I love my job. I love it. I love speaking to the members. I love, love being able to help people, you know, because now people say, I've got this problem. I'm looking for something like this. I've now got the network so I can match everybody up. And, you know, isn't that lovely, just to be able to help people?

Scott W. Luton [00:33:44]:

Yes.

Melanie Salter [00:33:45]:

And it's relatively easy, you know, it's just like, oh, lovely, come. Come and talk to me. Yeah, I know. Somebody give me a moment. And yeah, it's every day, you know. You know, I may not completely change the world, but if I can change it for one person, make it a bit easier for them, that's. That's a result for me.

Scott W. Luton [00:34:02]:

That is probably my favorite part of our conversation thus far, right? There's lots of folks out there and I'm just kind of speaking in broad general terms. It's like the old adage I go to all the time that I saw on the Andy Griffith show forever ago. And it's attributed, this quote's attributed to one of the presidents or Mark Twain or no one knows who said it. Everybody talks about the Weather, but no one does anything about it. And that always reminds me of all the lip service we've got in all of humanity, but certainly in global supply chain. And how refreshing it is when you come across people like yourself and the folks at boom! that are doing something about the issues of the day and the issues from the journey.

Scott W. Luton [00:34:41]:

And that has got, like you said, it's best. You love your job and I know why you do.

Melanie Salter [00:34:45]:

It's very fulfilling. I'm incredibly lucky to be doing it.

Scott W. Luton [00:34:50]:

We can see that. I can see that in the passion just in the last 30 minutes or spending with you, Melanie. So I want to ask you a little tweak on this. So if you will, imagine this, you're in a room at the. I like to say that Waldorf, Waldorf Astoria up in New York City, right? This big old highfalutin room, and you got thousands upon thousands of young female supply chain professionals that have just entered industry and they all want to be. And make their way up into the proverbial C-suite, right? They all want to be those chief supply chain officers, as they should. So, based on your experience, based your expertise, your own journey and what you see really across the boom! community, what's a couple of tips that you would share? That nice ballroom of incredible talent.

Melanie Salter [00:35:45]:

It's a lovely picture you paint a lovely picture. I can see it really clearly. I can't do the Astoria, but I've read, yeah, Eloise. I can see the Plaza in my head. You know, that children's book. We ran a webinar at the end of last year and we had three amazing women. One woman in China, one in Singapore, another in the uk, I think. And the webinar was about making the jump to leadership.

Melanie Salter [00:36:11]:

And we asked the three speakers, these very senior women, what was the thing that held you back the most? And I was expecting kind of the stuff that you always read about, like lack of sponsorship, lack of network, whatever it was. And all three of them came back with the same thing. The single biggest thing holding them back was their own internal voice telling them, no, don't go for that. Don't take that opportunity. You're not right for it. You're not ready yet. And so, you know, to this room of amazing women out there, it's like. And this is the bit I always talk about, which is the constellation of support.

Melanie Salter [00:36:51]:

Get your constellation of support in place. The bit that I was missing, have those people, men, women, have them there. You. Most people have them in their private life. You know, it's like you want to go dancing, you've got friends, you ring, you're earring tears, you've got a friend to ring. You know, you've got that. But you need the same thing in your working life as well. So you've got basically cheerleaders.

Melanie Salter [00:37:14]:

I think you've got your cheerleaders. If there's an opportunity and the voice inside you is going, no, I'm not ready. Go and check in with the cheerleader. Go and check in with the people with you. Because my guess is they'll say, no, of course you're ready. Go for it. And that's what these three speakers all said. It's like they went and checked and it was taking on, you know, it was moving, accepting, running a manufacturing plant or moving to China or whatever it was.

Melanie Salter [00:37:41]:

It was one thing that they thought they couldn't. You know, did they really want to do this? Were they really ready? And their cheerleader said, yeah, of course you are. Go for it. You can be great and call me if you need help. So put those things in place and just be aware of that voice holding you back.

Scott W. Luton [00:37:56]:

I love that. I think that resonates with me. I think we all have professional doubts or even personal doubts at various times of our chapter on new things and old things, at least in my experience. And I think that is. I love that that eureka moment came up in that conversation you had with those very successful leaders. Because everyone makes assumptions about successful people that they have full confidence and they never have that little voice saying, but, but what if. Fill in the blank. We all have that.

Scott W. Luton [00:38:29]:

Love that. What else? So again, back at the. You got all the captive attention of these folks that are just writing down every word you're sharing. What's one other tip beyond identifying that voice you hear and telling it to sit up and get out the. Jump out the window. What else would you add?

Melanie Salter [00:38:48]:

I think it's the. I mean, it's a cheesy one, but it is the authentic self. It is. Because I spent so many years, basically, I think I said this to you before, betting myself into a pretzel, trying to fit in. And I was never going to fit in. I mean, I'm just. My brain works a bit differently to people anyway. I recognize that now.

Melanie Salter [00:39:11]:

I, you know, I'm the only woman in the room. I'm just. It's like. And just lean in, lean into it. Just be different. Turn up and be a little bit kooky. That is actually what I lean towards. That is what draws me.

Melanie Salter [00:39:24]:

It's like so be that. Because if you're hiding yourself, if you're trying to be someone else, and I remember saying that very early in my career, I've got my work self and I've got my at home self. It's like, no, that was always going to be a disaster. I mean, obviously you tweak your behavior for the workplace.

Scott W. Luton [00:39:41]:

Sure, sure.

Melanie Salter [00:39:43]:

But it's be you and it's okay. And if it's not okay, you're not at the right place. If it doesn't work, it's not for you.

Scott W. Luton [00:39:52]:

That's such million dollar advice. Because what it makes, where it takes my brain is when we can be comfortable in our own skin and be comfortable with our own personality and all the quirks. Because we're all different in all beautiful ways and very different ways. If we can't be that person, then that same uncomfort that we take into the toughest parts of the job or the easiest parts, it detracts from our, our abilities and our superpowers and our what we know and what we don't know in our process to do our job and performance. And we shouldn't let any of that suffer based on our authentic self and being able to showcase that, right?

Melanie Salter [00:40:36]:

Yeah. You're trying to fit yourself into a mold that you're just never gonna fit into. So not gonna make everybody happy and energy on that if it's a culture that does not fit with yours, you know, and I've been in some toxic, you know, one particularly toxic culture and it's just like that was never gonna work, but you can't know that. And I gotta say, I recognize the privilege, you know, because there is privilege to be able to say I need to move jobs and being able to do it. So not everybody has that privilege.

Scott W. Luton [00:41:04]:

Right.

Melanie Salter [00:41:05]:

But if you possibly can get out of there.

Scott W. Luton [00:41:09]:

Sure. And kind of what you're saying, I mean, everyone's had a time in their career where you've got to protect the paycheck, right? And it's not one that you love. Maybe it's not the job you love or the culture you love, or the boss you work for or the people you work with. We've all had those moments, some several moments, you know, but your advice is spot on. And, and that whole Waldorf Astoria, which this, this podcast is not sponsored by, Waldorf Astoria is giving you a raving applause. It's really, you're keeping it real.

Scott W. Luton [00:41:41]:

You're keeping it real. And I really appreciate both of those big pieces of advice. So I want to get to both your research. You do great research over at boom! And I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about that in our next conversation. But also, I know you consume a lot of research from across industry. So whether it's your own or research from, from others, what's a eureka moment or two that you'd like to share with us?

Melanie Salter [00:42:09]:

I think the biggest one is an article I just came across and then kind of followed it down the hold trying to get hold of it. It was research done by the Oxford Business School, Saeed Business School and Harvard Business School. And it talks about how taking care of your employees, what the benefits are. And to me, you know, taking care of people, I translate as. It's inclusion, it's being, it's that authentic self. Being able to rock up. An inclusive means that you bring in full self, which means you high productivity, greater engagement, which means the company literally makes more money. I mean that's the business case for inclusivity.

Melanie Salter [00:42:53]:

Your business will make more money, you'll be more innovative, all of that stuff. The other thing is you've got happy workers and they're healthier. So the people are feeling better, they're not sick as much. The company's doing better. And the knock on effect of society is that people access healthcare less and live longer because they're happy at work. Just the, the scope of how creating an inclusive culture benefits wider society, I gotta say, really blew my mind. And it's, maybe it's intuitive if you think about it, but it's like, and they've got the research to back it up. I just found, I found that really exciting.

Melanie Salter [00:43:37]:

It's like, hey, hey, be nice to people. It pays, it literally pays to be nice to people to make sure that they can be themselves at work.

Scott W. Luton [00:43:47]:

It does sound so, so much like common sense. But everyone doesn't follow that common sense and you know, we shouldn't be surprised. You know, common sense, I can't remember the old phrase that someone said, but it's not so common. But I love the flywheel that you kind of the, the grand flywheel that you kind of envision there. Because it doesn't just stop when, when we're inclusive and we, and we celebrate what everybody brings to the table and we try to provide opportunities to all that does manifest itself and produce outcomes on a variety of levels, not just within the four walls.

Melanie Salter [00:44:25]:

Yeah.

Scott W. Luton [00:44:25]:

So I love what you shared there. I want to ask. In a second, I'm gonna wrap on some good news and then we're gonna make sure, folks, and I connect with you, Melanie, but is there anything else as you. I can just see you now on Saturday morning. The kids are preoccupied, you've already done your kickboxing, you're getting some tea or some coffee and you got a stack. I'm a hard copy person. You either stack of research or it's all on your laptop and you're consuming it electronically and that's your happy place as you use that term earlier. Is that a Saturday morning for you?

Melanie Salter [00:44:58]:

Yes. That's slightly scary that, you know, that.

Scott W. Luton [00:45:02]:

We do our homework really well here at Supply Chain Now.

Melanie Salter [00:45:04]:

Well now that's quite, you know, that's disturbing.

Scott W. Luton [00:45:12]:

Well, we're kindred spirits. That's kind of, you know, we work on Saturday. We work get better, get smarter, absorb information on Saturday mornings too over loads and loads of coffee. So maybe we're third cousins or second cousins or something. Anything else you want to add in terms of a eureka moment, A data point, you name it, from the research that you consume and conduct out there across industry, you know, we've talked about some intuitive commonsensical stuff. Is there something a data point or a perspective or an insight from any blog or research or anything you've been reading here lately that really surprised you?

Melanie Salter [00:45:51]:

We did some research into AI just because we often run, every year we run a survey on the voice of the profession. So it's like actually giving the supply chain profession the mic and saying, hey, how's it going out there? How's it looking? And you know, we just asked, we wanted the supply chain professional's perspective on AI and how, how you're feeling about it because it's everywhere. It's, you know, if you read all the headlines, it's like it's coming for your job. Apparently, you know, it's, it can be quite scary. And yet, so we, we put this survey out and we got a few, you know, the headline data points was 70 of supply chain professionals are actually kind of excited about, was quite positive. We kind of, we didn't know how that one was going to go, but they said no, we're feeling really positive or excited about it with 50% of the professionals then saying, you know, the biggest impact AI will, it'll allow me to have better insights, to make better decisions. And the, you know, the data analyst in me is like, yes, yes, brilliant. But then if you drill down further right, you get to.

Melanie Salter [00:47:05]:

Yeah, but only of the people who answered, only 20% of their organizations actually have a clear and well communicated strategy for AI and only 23% of the respondents said that they have the skills they need. So you've got this disconnect. So you've got the excitement, which is great actually and they can see the benefits. But are our people prepared? Are they ready and are the businesses really ready if they kind of worked out how. How we're going to use it. So there's just so much noise about AI, but the practicality of it is still just not there for so many companies.

Scott W. Luton [00:47:49]:

You got to preach that louder to the folks in the back. I've had this different versions of this same conversation, the same point so many times, especially in the last. Especially in 2024, right? Which was kind of seems like we had hit the tipping point after decades. And that leadership failing that you're speaking to that's proven in the data there is so common and we see it come to the forefront with AI engineers right. That are. There's a lot of burnout because they're getting lack of direction and lack of inputs in terms of.

Scott W. Luton [00:48:23]:

Of how they're going to be measured and the lack of direction. You know, how what return on investment are we after? And the, and of course all the pressures to use these big investments that organizations are making in artificial intelligence. Some to, to, to the 20%, right? That you're roughly that rough number. Some companies, a minority are really well crafted into communication. Why are we doing this? What's in it for you? And here's how, right?

Scott W. Luton [00:48:53]:

But so much, so many others are probably and just. Just my opinion, see if you agree with it or disagree with it. Some of the others are so still have that shiny object syndrome where they, they see everyone else using it and they're going to go get it, but they're not sure exactly how they're going to use it, how they're going to apply it, what problems are trying to fix with it, whether the right ones or the wrong ones. And all of that leads to how one CSCO told me it wasn't really this notion wasn't related to AI, but it was return on energy is what. How he put it. Any project that they do that he likes to measure it in terms of return on energy, right? And I thought that was such a great way of putting it because it's not always about the dollars.

Scott W. Luton [00:49:36]:

It is, but it isn't. But what are we creating emotionally positive or negative to our teams when we don't deliver as leaders? And the AI thing we're seeing some of that, all the good stuff, all the innovations and there's some really cool things that companies are doing, but a lot of folks are still struggling to your data points to find. You know, they're ready to do it, but they don't know how to bridge that gap. Your thoughts here before we make sure folks know how to connect with the one and only Melanie Salter.

Melanie Salter [00:50:08]:

I think, you know, I think coming from a technology and data side, I've seen this hype cycle so many times and I get that this is different. You know, generative AI really is something different. But this, you know, it's like it's, as you said, it's a shiny object and people go, oh, everybody's jumping on the AI wagon. And then the part of me is just going, yeah, but I know what your data looks like. I know what your. I know your data is a nightmare. And certain cynicism in me.

Scott W. Luton [00:50:46]:

Which is healthy, which is healthy. Cynicism is good. Is good.

Melanie Salter [00:50:50]:

This is what it takes to get people to clean up their data. And you don't have to do big Bang. You know, I lived in Africa. It's like, how do you eat an elephant? Just one part at a time. You can't do it all in one go. But because coming back to my point, data is power. You've got to have clean data for that. And I've spent a ridiculous amount of my career just cleaning up dirty data.

Melanie Salter [00:51:10]:

And it's boring, it's a waste of my time. So we can get that, you know, the power that it unlocks, you know, so it's like this. I'm just kind of riffing slightly. It's just like, yeah, you go with AI, but you also get really good quality data that comes with it. Think, you know, think of the additional benefits with that, whether you're using it for your AI application or not. It's just like, hey, think of the stories we're going to uncover that we just had no visibility of before. Sorry, I've come back to full nerd mode.

Scott W. Luton [00:51:42]:

Hey, we got to go full nerd mode more often. There's lots of good value there. Melanie and I can just where you started your response here. I can see you now. A couple executives are sitting at the table, having lunch with them or whatever, breaking bread, and they're all talking about old places will go with AI, all the places with things we're going to do, and then they get to you. And I can see your sneer at someone. I know what your data looks like. And you're just a spelling, you know, and that's kidding aside, but that kind of takes us Full circle, going back to the bar charts.

Scott W. Luton [00:52:17]:

Right. And it's so important to lean into the realities where we are. And I think the more we do that, the more we can deliver on the art of the possible. And I'm trying to, not trying to get too fluffy here but, but in this golden age of supply chain tech, it's so easy to get out and head of our skis. And oftentimes it's not the leaders, it's the people that feel that probably more so than anything else. Melanie, let's finish on. Good, some good news. I love sharing good news.

Scott W. Luton [00:52:45]:

All this, this whole time spent with, with you has been good news. A lot of good stuff there. I think a lot of folks are going to be able to rate, relate to and be inspired by and know how to improve their, and refine their careers to enhance their chances of, of advancement. So what is one kind of along those lines? What's one supply chain trend that is supported by data as only you would approve that you're really excited about here in 2025?

Melanie Salter [00:53:13]:

I'm going to overlap intersect AI and supply chain network design.

Scott W. Luton [00:53:16]:

Okay.

Melanie Salter [00:53:17]:

And be models that you can talk to. It's so exciting, isn't it though? It's so exciting because it's such a black box and it means that it's not just me, you know, the user. It means your boss can come in. It means the CSEO can come in and have a chat with your model. And for a stakeholder engagement point of view, that is huge because it's like I'll give it to the, you know, the nerdy analyst to go, they'll answer the question. It's going to take them a bit of time. They'll come back, they could sit there and have a chat, they can talk to the model and that is going to be so incredibly powerful.

Scott W. Luton [00:53:56]:

Wow.

Melanie Salter [00:53:56]:

And the speed, the time it will save. Yeah, I'm really excited about that one.

Scott W. Luton [00:54:02]:

I would jump out of my seat if I wouldn't be too distracted to our conversation on that last point. Saving time, saving our people time, protecting that work life balance which is so important, right? So important. I think we all, we probably all think, but going back to the first part of your response that I bet part of our audience is like, yes, I can't wait. And the other part's like, wait a sec. My CSCO is going to be down in my business or down in the, in the trenches, but it is technology itself and especially for the companies that are going to get that right and use that right to advance the business, to enhance the people and the mission and to, you know, drive all sorts of innovation on so many different levels. That is exciting. That's good news. That is good news. Melanie, I wish again, we're gonna sit down, do a three hour podcast one of these days. Okay. And me and you might be the only ones that enjoy it, but it'll be fun.

Melanie Salter [00:54:59]:

We'll have so much fun.

Scott W. Luton [00:55:01]:

That's right. But for our wonderful, the smartest audience and all of Global Supply Chain, all the folks out there watching and listening. Melanie, how can folks connect with you? And of course, all the great things you're doing at boom!

Melanie Salter [00:55:18]:

You can find me on LinkedIn, just Melanie Salter, find me on the boom! website, boomglobalnetwork.com and I'm going to be speaking and moderating panels at Lochem in the Netherlands next month. So if you're going along to that, come and find me and say hi.

Scott W. Luton [00:55:36]:

Oh, outstanding. Outstanding. Melanie, I've really enjoyed your very honest and reflective and expert take here today and thank you for again for sharing. You know everybody, like in these interviews, I bet you see this too. Everybody wants to talk about the good stuff, but I think it's really important that we're very authentic and transparent. Talk about some of those hard lessons learned and of course how that benefits our journeys. And I appreciate you sharing the good and the bad and all points in between right here in my time with you, Melanie Salter, director of Inclusive supply Chain Research at boom! Global Network. As she mentioned, you can connect her with her on LinkedIn.

Scott W. Luton [00:56:19]:

I suggest you do. You'll miss some good stuff if you don't. You can go learn more atboomglobalnetwork.com and, and if you're on the event circuit like Melanie mentioned, she's out there keynoting serving on panels. However we can get her vast intellect out in industry. Be sure to say hey, hi as you see her in action. Melanie, thanks so much for spending some time with us here today.

Melanie Salter [00:56:43]:

Well, thank you so much for the opportunity. It's lovely of you to give me the mic. Thank you.

Scott W. Luton [00:56:48]:

Well, it made my day. It made my day and folks too. I'm looking forward to the next one and, and it gets, and it's going to get even better. So stay tuned. We've got a great event coming up in March where we're going to be featuring Melanie's research and expertise and perspective more in a live event. So you can bring your own voice. We're going to give you the mic, Melanie. We're going to give our audience a mic maybe with some comments and some Q and A there.

Scott W. Luton [00:57:13]:

So folks, if, if that appeals to you, you'll be able to find that event at supplychainnow.com so big thanks to Melanie Salter. All right, folks, as we wrap here today, if you enjoyed this conversation as much as I have, you got to take something you heard today, just one thing and put it into practice, right? Let's work to together to create opportunities for all. And you know how that happens, right? Deeds, not words. So with all that said, Scott Luton, challenging all of our listeners. Do good, give forward, be the change that's needed and we'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now. Thanks everybody.

Narrator [00:58:03]:

Join the Supply Chain Now community. For more supply chain perspectives, news and innovation, check out supplychainnow.com. Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain Now wherever you get your podcasts.