Talking Logistics Podcasts

When it comes to working with suppliers, customers, and logistics service providers, most companies still take a “What's In It for Me?” approach to business relationships instead of a “What's In It for We?” approach. The problem is with the mindset and approach each side has traditionally taken, according to Kate Vitasek, faculty member at ... Read more The post Rethinking Business Relationships in Supply Chain Management appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

We're still in the first quarter of 2025, but we already have a strong contender for Word of the Year: tariffs. Since inauguration day, tariffs have dominated the headlines, with so many back-and-forth changes happening almost on a daily basis, it's been difficult for supply chain and global trade professionals to keep up. One of ... Read more The post [Video] The Logistics of the De Minimis Entry appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Here we are at the beginning of 2025. What developments and trends will shape the year ahead? Well, if we learned anything from 2020 is that predicting in January what will happen in the weeks and months ahead is a fool's errand. All we can say for sure is that 2025 will be unpredictable, risky, ... Read more The post [Video] Crisis, Chaos, And The Road Ahead: The New Era Of Supply Chains appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

In April 2024, we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — if they had experienced cargo theft or other types of freight fraud in the past year. Almost half said they had experienced theft or fraud in ... Read more The post [Video] Combating Fraud in the Freight Industry appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Waste and inefficiencies still exist in many areas of transportation management. One area that is getting a lot of attention, especially in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, is transportation procurement. Why has the time come to reimagine and transform transportation procurement? What factors are driving this need? How can technology help make transportation procurement ... Read more The post [Video] Reimagining Transportation Procurement: Leveraging Data and Technology for Smarter Freight Decisions appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you've seen the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you know the following quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Nowhere is that truer than in the supply chain and logistics realm, and especially when it comes to technology. With so much ... Read more The post [Video] Navigating the Big Trends in Logistics Technology: How to Position Yourself for Implementation Success appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

2025 is just around the corner and many companies are developing their transportation budgets and strategies for the coming year. Are you going to be proactive in driving change and continuous improvement in 2025 or will you take a “let's wait and see what happens” approach? Mike Regan, Co-Founder and Chief of Relationship Development at ... Read more The post [Video] The Dangers of Doing Nothing in Transportation Management appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

So, how resilient is your supply chain? The honest answer for many companies, which they learned the hard way during the Covid pandemic, is that their supply chains are not very resilient — that is, not able to adapt and recover from disruptions very quickly and effectively. That is why, over the past few years, ... Read more The post [Video] Operational Resilience in Action: A Practical Guide for Supply Chain Leaders appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

One of things companies have learned about e-commerce is that everything can go right up to the time a customer clicks the “Buy” button, but if you don't get the rest of the order fulfillment process right, it can have negative consequences — not only with regards to customer experience and satisfaction, but financially too. ... Read more The post [Video] Omnilife: An E-commerce Fulfillment and Delivery Success Story appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

There is a common thread among many logistics professionals: they almost all fell into this industry — that is, they didn't study supply chain or logistics in college, or they didn't start their careers in the field, but they eventually landed in the industry, fell in love with it, and have never looked back. Why ... Read more The post [Video] Choosing A Career In Logistics appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you're a transportation executive, you're always looking for ways to reduce costs, improve service, satisfy customers, and help the business meet its financial and strategic objectives. There are many ways to reduce waste and improve efficiencies in transportation management, and in this latest installment of “Profiles in Transportation Management Excellence,” Jeff Bishop, Category Manager ... Read more The post [Video] Profiles In Transportation Management Excellence: Molson Coors' Success With Drop And Hook appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Forced labor has been a problem in supply chain management for a long time. The good news is that over the past few years governments and companies have been taking action to help eradicate this problem. That said, it's not an easy problem to solve. In a survey we conducted with members of our Indago ... Read more The post [Video] Mitigating Forced Labor Risks: Strategies For A Resilient Supply Chain appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you're on the front lines of transportation management, you know there's never a dull moment in this industry. Whether you're navigating the ebbs and flow of capacity and rates, or you're dealing with new regulations or customer requirements, finding the right balance between cost, service, risk, and compliance is more difficult than ever. Since ... Read more The post [Video] Key Factors Shaping Transportation Management in 2024 appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

One of the things many companies learned during the height of the Covid pandemic is that they really didn't have good visibility across their end-to-end supply chain — at least not beyond their Tier 1 suppliers and partners. Fast forward to today and having multi-tier transparency and traceability is more important than ever. What trends ... Read more The post [Video] The New Visibility: Unlocking Multi-Tier Transparency And Traceability appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Chris Jones, Executive Vice President, Industry at Descartes shares insights and advice from a research report published by Descartes titled, “What Are Companies Doing to Survive the Supply Chain and Logistics Workforce Challenge?” Podcast version (click to play): The post [Video] Labor Shortages: What Are Supply Chain and Logistics Companies Doing to Survive the Challenge? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

After almost 30 years in the technology field, Fab Brasca recently launched TriSuccess Advisory, which among other things, provides fractional executive leadership and career/life balance coaching. How has Fab been able to succeed both as a business executive and an Ironman triathlete, which both demand a lot of time, energy, and commitment? What lessons has ... Read more The post [Video] What Supply Chain Execs Can Learn From An Ironman Triathlete appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Over the past four years, due in large part to the Covid pandemic, there has been a lot of discussion about the importance of risk management and how companies need to create more resilient supply chains, with logistics being a key enabler. We were reminded of this again just a few days ago, when a ... Read more The post [Video] The Important Role of Logistics in Enabling Risk Mitigation and Resilience Strategies appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Labor shortages were among the top of supply chain challenges companies faced during the Covid pandemic. In fact, back in January 2022, we had Chris Jones, Executive Vice President, Industry at Descartes on the program to discuss this problem in an episode titled, “The Labor Shortage Problem: Why It's Bigger Than You Think.” Here we ... Read more The post [Video] Labor Shortages: What Are the Challenges for Supply Chain and Logistics? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

When I started as an industry analyst almost 25 years ago, relatively few companies were shipping via parcel. You can say it was a niche mode for a small segment of the market. Fast forward to today, and with the rise of e-commerce, parcel shipping is now a critical mode of transportation for retailers and ... Read more The post [Video] Parcel Shipping Best Practices appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you're a distributor, you know that fleet performance has a direct impact on your financial performance, your ability to differentiate yourself from the competition, and your ability to deliver an enhanced customer experience. What separates the leaders from the laggards in the industry? What are some signs that a distributor isn't employing route planning ... Read more The post [Video] How Can B2B Distributors Improve Fleet Performance? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence, many companies are still in the learning phase — that is, they're trying to understand the technology landscape and what's possible, and it's a bit challenging because everything is evolving very fast. At the moment, all the buzz and hype is about Generative AI, thanks in large part to ... Read more The post [Video] Going Beyond The Hype: Successful AI In Supply Chain Management appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

We've got horrible roads where I live, lots of bumps and potholes everywhere. Not surprising, I've had to replace the shock absorbers on my car more than one time. What does a shock absorber do? They dampen and absorb all those bumps in the road so that your car can travel as smoothly as possible. ... Read more The post [Video] How To Prevent Your TMS From Becoming A Shock Absorber appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Companies across virtually all industries are looking for ways to drive profitable growth. They're also looking for ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence technology to improve their operations and achieve business benefits, but to do so without having to rip out and replace their existing systems and processes, which would be very expensive and disruptive. In ... Read more The post [Video] Pricing Optimization at Delly's: A Case Study in Successful AI Enablement appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

When it comes to freight transportation, certain modes tend to dominate the spotlight. Trucking because it carries the most freight; Ocean because it's the gateway to global trade; and Parcel because it's the fastest growing mode thanks to e-commerce. But there's another way to transport freight that often doesn't get the spotlight it deserves — ... Read more The post [Video] How Shippers Can Successfully Navigate The Intermodal Transportation Market appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

For B2B and B2C companies alike, delivery is becoming a competitive differentiator and a key driver of customer experience. How well do you engage with customers about their deliveries? We explored that question recently with members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, ... Read more The post [Video] How Are Companies Engaging With Customers Around Deliveries In 2023? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

The boxer Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Similarly, everyone has a great supply chain plan until exceptions and disruptions occur — and then you have to adjust that plan or come up with a new one. That's easier said than done, because, historically, there's been ... Read more The post [Video] Disconnect Between Planning and Execution: The Journey to Achieving Cohesive Supply Chain Management appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

In June 2023, we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — if they are using control towers in their supply chain operations. 40% of the survey respondents said they have implemented one or more control towers, and ... Read more The post [Video] The State of Supply Chain Control Towers: Insights from Indago Supply Chain Research Community appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Finding available trucking capacity is often a challenge, especially when demand is high. The sad truth, however, is that a lot of capacity gets wasted too. We see this, for example, in the number of empty backhauls that happen every day. There is another form of wasted capacity, however, that many shippers overlook — that ... Read more The post [Video] Riviana Foods: Using Optimized Load Building to Reduce Transportation Costs and Improve Sustainability appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you follow the surface transportation market, you know it's really a collection of markets, including truckload, less-than-truckload, dry van, and temperature controlled. Each of these segments is impacted by different trends and challenges related to demand, capacity, seasonality, regulations, and other factors. Today we're putting the spotlight on the temperature-controlled segment of the market. ... Read more The post [Video] Insights On The Temperature-Controlled Shipping Market appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you're a transportation executive, you've always been tasked with developing a strategy and execution plan. The difference now is that maybe your CEO and CFO are more interested in what you're doing. Since the transportation market is cyclical, every year is different, and 2023 is no exception. What dominates the transportation management agenda today? ... Read more The post [Video] What Dominates the Transportation Management Agenda in 2023? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

For a long time, parcel was the little brother or sister of transportation modes. Then e-commerce came along and now parcel is the fastest growing mode of delivery, and this is creating both challenges and opportunities in the industry. This is particularly true for newspapers. What makes parcel delivery a good business opportunity for them? ... Read more The post [Video] The Parcel Delivery Revolution: How Newspapers Can Leverage Technology and Infrastructure to Diversify Revenue Streams appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Like its sibling Supply Chain Visibility, Supply Chain Control Towers continue to garner a lot of interest and discussion in the industry. As new technologies and capabilities are introduced, such as AI and machine learning, are we evolving toward a new type of solution, what some are calling Cognitive Command Centers? What is a Cognitive ... Read more The post [Video] Beyond Control Tower: How Cognitive Command Centers Are Revolutionizing Supply Chains appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Delivery has always been part of the order fulfillment process, but it's only been in recent years that it has emerged from the shadows, from being a cost center and a back-end process to becoming a competitive differentiator and a key driver of customer experience. Everything can go perfect on the front end of the ... Read more The post [Video] Home Delivery Performance: Ticking Time Bomb Or Market Opportunity? appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Benjamin Franklin is often credited with the quote, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” It wouldn't surprise me if he was talking to a transportation professional at the time. A lot has changed over the years, but Franklin's advice remains as relevant and important as ever for transportation professionals. As we ... Read more The post [Video] How to Enhance Your Transportation Strategy in 2023 appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

A conversation with Maria Villablanca, Co-Founder & CEO of Future Insights Network, on the “Top of Mind Challenges and Opportunities for Supply Chain and Logistics Executives.” Podcast version (click to play): The post [Video] Top of Mind Challenges and Opportunities for Supply Chain and Logistics Executives appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

We all know that there are a lot of dimensions and moving parts to supply chain management, and one area that I don't think gets enough attention is channel management — that is, the way companies connect, communicate, and collaborate with their distributors, resellers, and other channel partners. Like in other areas of supply chain ... Read more The post [Video] The Connected Channel appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

I've argued over the past few years that we have a trust problem in supply chain management. For example, in a survey we conducted with our Indago supply chain research community in September 2021, more than half of the respondents (56%) either agreed or strongly agreed that [quote] “you can't be too careful when dealing ... Read more The post [Video] How to Turn Low-Trust Business Relationships into High-Performing Partnerships appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

In September 2022, we surveyed members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — to get their perspective on the important lessons learned over the past two years that will help them successfully navigate the transportation market in 2023 and ... Read more The post [Video] Discussing the Lessons Learned in Transportation Procurement Management appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Supply chain executives, technology companies, and consultants have been talking about supply chain visibility and execution for many years. What's changed and different today is the operating environment — which is more dynamic, global, and uncertain than ever — as well as the technology landscape, where applications have evolved into platforms. Where are the biggest ... Read more The post [Video] The Road Ahead in Supply Chain Visibility and Execution appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

If you're a transportation or logistics professional, you probably already know and follow Mike Regan, Co-Founder and Chief of Relationship Development at TranzAct Technologies, who has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry. It's not every day that we have a CSCMP Distinguished Service Award recipient on the program, which Mike received in ... Read more The post [Video] The New Supply Chain Landscape: Why Moving Up the Supply Chain Spectrum Is Imperative appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Looking back at the past two years, one of the big lessons learned is that companies can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines of digital transformation. This applies to shippers, carriers, freight brokers, and others in the industry. As we move forward in 2023 and beyond, how will technology help facilitate and improve ... Read more The post [Video] Leveraging Technology to Source Capacity Faster and Build Stronger Carrier Relationships appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

As we near the end of 2022, supply chain and logistics executives are busy preparing their strategies, plans, and budgets for the year ahead. One key objective for many of them is improving supply chain resilience, which includes improving their supply chain visibility capabilities and developing stronger and more transparent relationships with carriers and other ... Read more The post [Video] Improving Supply Chain Resilience: How A Digital Supply Chain Orchestration Platform Can Help appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

When it comes to procuring freight, rates and capacity almost always takes center stage. This is especially true when freight demand exceeds available capacity, which was the case most of 2021 and earlier this year. But market conditions are different today. Is this affecting the way shippers are approaching freight procurement? When it comes to ... Read more[Video] Beyond Rates: Important Factors in Carrier Selection The post [Video] Beyond Rates: Important Factors in Carrier Selection appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Last September, we asked members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — Is your company becoming more supply-driven? A majority of the respondents (58%) said that they had become more supply-driven in response to the current market challenges. We've ... Read more[Video] Mitigating Supply-Side Service Risks with AI The post [Video] Mitigating Supply-Side Service Risks with AI appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

We all know the freight market is cyclical, impacted by many factors. Right now, inflation and slowing economic growth are dominating the headlines. How is the current state of the freight industry impacting logistics service providers and the carriers and shippers they work with? What actions can they take to successfully navigate these changing times? ... Read more[Video] Navigating Changing Times in the Freight Industry The post [Video] Navigating Changing Times in the Freight Industry appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

As I've said in previous episodes, parcel is no longer the overlooked mode of transportation management; it is now a critical mode for many companies, retailers and manufacturers alike, especially because last-mile distribution plays an important role in helping companies to compete on customer experience. What are some key trends companies need to consider as ... Read more[Video] How to Max Out Your Peak Season Parcel Performance The post [Video] How to Max Out Your Peak Season Parcel Performance appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

There are a lot of words associated with supply chain management, like agility, responsiveness, and flexibility. There's one you don't hear very often, but is also important: consistency, which is defined as “conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness.” Why is consistency important, ... Read more[Video] The Unintended Consequences of Inconsistent Freight Procurement The post [Video] The Unintended Consequences of Inconsistent Freight Procurement appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

So, here we are, a little past the halfway mark of 2022, and we're still dealing with a lot of risk and uncertainty in the world of supply chain management. And if you're an importer or exporter moving goods via ocean carriers and ports around the world, it's safe to say that every day is ... Read more[Video] International Supply Chain Trends and Challenges The post [Video] International Supply Chain Trends and Challenges appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

How do you best determine how long and how often to have transportation sourcing events? It's a question many shippers are asking today as they try to figure out how to best navigate this ever-changing market. The good news is that companies today have greater access to real-time benchmarking data and market intelligence. Why is ... Read more[Video] Why Benchmarking is the First Step to a Successful Freight Procurement Event The post [Video] Why Benchmarking is the First Step to a Successful Freight Procurement Event appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

As if transportation and logistics executives didn't have enough challenges to deal with already, high fuel prices have been added to their plate. As reported in a recent CNBC article, “Diesel prices are contributing to inflationary headwinds due to the fuel's vital role in the American and global economy. Tankers, trains, and trucks all run ... Read more[Video] High Fuel Prices and Logistics: Actions Companies Can Take to Mitigate the Impact The post [Video] High Fuel Prices and Logistics: Actions Companies Can Take to Mitigate the Impact appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.

Last-mile delivery is tightly linked with customer experience, which is becoming a greater competitive differentiator across many industries. Which employees are in the driver's seat to deliver the best customer experience? The answer is delivery drivers! How does driver satisfaction impact customer satisfaction? Why does driver satisfaction matter? What actions can companies take to improve ... Read more[Video] Why Driver Satisfaction Matters in Last-Mile Delivery The post [Video] Why Driver Satisfaction Matters in Last-Mile Delivery appeared first on Talking Logistics with Adrian Gonzalez.