For this episode of the eCom Logistics Podcast, we welcome Brian Glick, Founder and CEO of Chain.io. He digs into the complexity of global B2B market logistics and how it can be difficult for new players to enter due to EDI and compliance issues.

Brian also dives into the differences between fulfilling an order in the US and fulfilling orders in Southeast Asia where more than 100 parties are involved—and these parties change with every transaction. 

He gives advice on how midmarket brands are best matched with midmarket service providers, as well as how to peel apart the different services to optimize payment terms or routing, an uncomfortable yet necessary process as the company grows.

ABOUT BRIAN

As founder and CEO of Chain.io, Brian Glick has made a career of simplifying complex supply chain and trade compliance IT challenges. Whether analyzing complex coding issues or rationalizing the compliance impacts of a vendor direct drop ship program, Brian brings a rare combination of executive perspective and deep technical knowledge to today’s supply chain challenges.

From the early days of web-based visibility platforms and into today’s connected ecosystem, Brian has been an active leader in each phase of the connected supply chain evolution. With a focus on retail and apparel supply chains, Brian has brought his expertise to bear as an IT leader both within logistics service providers and through independent software companies.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 06:08 The complexity of global B2B logistics and tiers of fulfillment
• 11:19 Defining First Mile, Middle Mile, Last Mile Logistics
• 13:36 The challenge of setting standards and pushing for innovation in 3PLs
• 24:34 Choose the right investors for your supply chain tech company

QUOTES

10:21 Midmarket companies are best served by midmarket service providers - Brian: "The companies that are more midmarket that you have to do some research and find often will give you an account manager. You'll be a big enough account to them that they will treat you well and help you, when all of this chaos is going on, help you understand, take the time with you that the biggest guys can't."

25:58 Supply chain companies must establish trust with brands - Brian: "Supply chain is a very trust-based industry, whether if you're a service provider or software that supports a service provider, people are putting their brand in your hands. It's not a consumer app that if you screw up... If you screw up Twitter tomorrow, just stop using Twitter. If you screw up the thing that delivers my product to Macy's, I got a problem. So you need investors who understand that." 

Find out more about Brian in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansglick/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bglick
• Website: https://chain.io/

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