Logistics Matters with DC VELOCITY

Our guest on this week's episode is  Todd Skiles, senior vice president of global sales and supply chain solutions at Ryder System. Today in the United States we honor military veterans for their service to our nation. Once their time in the armed forces has concluded, veterans must transition back to civilian life, including finding suitable employment. Skiles, a veteran himself, shares what Ryder does to help other veterans make a leap into supply chain careers.

After years of experience with ordering products online at Amazon and other vendors, most consumers have come to expect free shipping on their e-commerce purchases – but is that a sustainable model? At the same time, there are other services that are important enough to consumers that they may be willing to pay to receive them.

Black Friday is just around the corner, meaning that we are facing peak season for most retailers and many other companies. Employers note that it has been difficult this year to find the usual army of seasonal workers that they rely on to get them through most peak times. For those workers who are available, what will convince them to on-board with a particular company?

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The third season of eight episodes has launched with new episodes each Tuesday . The focus this season is on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ryder System
• Consumers turn to package tracking technology for e-commerce security
• Survey shows nearly half of online shoppers would choose a package delivery firm with electric vehicles.
• Report highlights holiday staffing struggles
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast produced by:  DC Velocity

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Paul Lord, senior director, supply chain research at consultancy Gartner. Inflation has hit everyone, and the supply chain problems we have experienced the past two years are contributing factors. Higher costs for materials, fuel, transportation, and distribution not only increase prices of the products we buy, but they also lead to higher costs to deliver those goods. How has inflation affected supply chains and what can managers and supply chain planners do to mitigate the pain?

Self-driving vehicles have been in the news this week. One well-known company has shut down, another faces lawsuits, and still another is making progress on developing their autonomous technology. We sort out the negatives from the positives as these promising technologies may still make small inroads before seeing full adoption.

Change is coming to transportation and freight markets. The pandemic has revealed many bottlenecks and inefficiencies in current transportation networks. New research shows how managers are responding by redrawing how those networks are designed, including re-shoring and near-shoring operations to reduce risk and improve speed to market.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The third season of eight episodes has launched with new episodes each Tuesday . The focus this season is on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Gartner
• Stumbles by autonomous car startups could slow rollout of self-driving trucks
• Freight market poised for radical change, report shows
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast produced by:  DC Velocity

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Shawn McCloud, senior vice president of operations at Coyote Logistics. While peak holiday shopping season is just getting underway for most consumers, peak season for shippers has already been going on for a couple of months. How is this peak season progressing compared to last year and what are the expectations for shippers and carriers for the time between now and the end of the year? 

Supply chains have endured a lot in 2022. We still face many challenges, including capacity and product shortages. What are the prospects for meeting those challenges through the end of 2022 and what are the forecasts for 2023?

Third party logistics providers, better known as 3PLs, continue their strong growth and performance this year. What are some of the things they are doing right to grow their volumes and profitability?

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The third season of eight episodes has launched with new episodes each Tuesday . The focus this season is on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Coyote Logistics
• Report shows supply chain challenges are not over yet
• 3PLs are investing in WMS integration, technologies survey shows
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Signode

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Dannie Lynn Fountain. She is the author of the new book End Checkbox Diversity: Rewriting the Story of Performative Allyship in Corporate America. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. She shares how hiring people with disabilities can enhance a workforce and bring new skills that might often be overlooked.

Retailers are preparing for peak season and trying to guess how consumers will respond. New research shows that consumers are concerned about rising prices and the overall economy, but they also want to continue with many of the conveniences and retail services they learned to enjoy over the past two-plus years of the pandemic.

While imports overall are slowing, our nation's ports continue to be busy. Volumes, however, seem to be shifting from West Coast ports to those in the East and Gulf regions. What is causing the shifts and which ports are winners and which are seeing declining volumes?

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). The third season of eight episodes has launched with new episodes delivered each Tuesday. The focus this season is on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dannie Lynn Fountain's book link on Amazon
• Holiday shoppers swap pandemic worries for economic concerns
• Retailers recalibrate physical stores to meet demand of the digital shopper
• East & Gulf ports face delays and disruption
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Signode

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Dan Pellathy, an  assistant professor at Grand Valley State University. The past two years of pandemic and economic uncertainly revealed many weaknesses in our supply chains and pointed to the need for greater agility. But while everyone seeks supply chain agility, what is the reality in the market and are companies as diversified and resilient with their supply chains as they should be?  Pellathy and a team of supply chain researchers have studied the ROI of supply chain agility and have released their findings in an industry white paper (see the notes below to access the white paper).

The Labor Department has proposed new rules for classifying contract workers. The new rules will probably reclassify many current independent contractors as employees of the companies for which they perform work. This could have a tremendous impact on independent truck drivers and gig workers who do last mile deliveries.

For years, warehouses and distribution centers in countries where land is scarce, such as in Europe and Japan, have been built as multi-story facilities to better utilize the footprint of the available land. As companies in the U.S. move distribution closer to urban areas, they are looking to copy the multi-floor designs to better serve these urban markets with faster deliveries.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The third season of eight episodes launched this past Tuesday with a new episode each week. The focus this season is on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Grand Valley State University
• Download site for white paper on agility - University of Tennessee
• Labor Department proposes new rule on independent contractors
• Industry weighs impact of proposed independent contractor rule
• Multi-story warehouses sprout in Chicago & New York
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Signode

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Kathy Fulton, executive director of the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). Hurricane Ian has brought tremendous devastation to Florida and the Southeast region. It is times like these that the logistics community can rally together to provide logistical services to assist in the recovery. Spearheading those efforts is ALAN. Fulton shares what is being done and how you can help. 

Walmart has just bought Alert Innovation, a robotic shuttle company it has been using to support its e-commerce and grocery pick-up orders. This is just the latest in acquisitions and consolidations we are seeing with automation companies. We report on what this move by Walmart may signal to the industry and what other consolidation may be coming.

The latest Logistics Managers' Index is out and it shows that while growth is continuing in the industry, it is not the surge we saw over the past two years. We look behind the numbers to see what they mean for our supply chains and what the outlook might be for the coming year.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The third season of eight episodes is launching this Tuesday and focuses on attracting and retaining labor in our supply chains.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• American Logistics Aid Network
• Walmart acquires its AS/RS provide to handle hot grocery demand
• Teradyne merges two robotics firms to create a stable of rolling AMRs.
• Logistics economy expanded in September
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Signode

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Troy Basso, VP, Fleet Maintenance at Quantix.  We have witnessed the spike in diesel fuel prices over the past year, and those prices and a desire to turn to more environmentally-friendly fuels have led some companies to move to electric vehicles for their fleets. What does it take to transition from diesel to electric power for a fleet’s trucks? Our guest shares what his company has done to add its first electric trucks to its current fleet.

Companies continue to  embrace new technologies to counter some of the supply chain stressors they are feeling. Supply chain professionals are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to navigate those challenges and “future-proof” their companies’ supply chains. This is according to a recent IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey of more than 1,500 chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) and chief operating officers (COOs).  We discuss some of the interesting details from the report.

Last week the Senate approved a new administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA. We will hear what her priorities might be for the agency and how the industry is reacting to this new appointment.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The second season of eight episodes is fully available and focuses on supply chain digitalization.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Quantix
• Companies embrace technology to fight supply chain stressors
• Transportation industry groups applaud Robin Hutcheson as new FMCSA chief
• Regional Emergency Declaration for Florida truckers due to hurricane
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Hyster

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Mark Dancer, CEO of the Network for Business Innovation. He is a speaker for two sessions at next week's CSCMP EDGE conference in Nashville. He shares some of his insights and previews his presentations, including his view that supply chains are not really broken, but are being reborn. He also discusses the need for resilient, responsive, and regenerative supply chains and what they will look like in the future.

An important labor agreement was tentatively reached this week between America's railroads and labor unions. A threatened strike has been averted. While not yet final, the agreements assure that products continue to ride the rails for now. A strike would have devastated supply chains and further hurt the economy. We will tell you what is involved in the agreement and what it means for the industry to have labor peace.

While supply chains are beginning to get back to normal, there are still thousands of containers stranded at our nation's ports. We will tell of some new efforts being made to get those containers moving again, which should soften supply chain disruptions. The problem is that partners are not sharing data properly to meet the new federal regulations in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which is designed to avoid the container congestion.


DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The second season of eight episodes is fully available and focuses on supply chain digitalization.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Network for Business Innovation
• Tentative agreement averts railroad strike
• Looming railroad strike threatens supply chains
• Ports need better data sharing to meet OSRA requirements, groups say
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Hyster

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Melissa Williams. She is an independent owner-operator truck driver. She shares why she was interested in becoming a trucker and what life on the road is like for a woman driver who owns her own rig.

Peak retail season is fast approaching and retailers are trying to figure out whether shoppers will be returning to stores after two years of heavy pandemic-induced online shopping. A new survey of consumers shows that growth in both areas might lead to a  successful holiday season for retailers. We break down the numbers from the survey and what they may mean.

The latest figures from the Logistics Managers' Index are in and they show that the supply chain industry continues to grow, but at a slower pace than earlier in the year. We explain what is in the latest report and predictions for the near-term future.


DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The second season of eight episodes is fully available and focuses on supply chain digitalization.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Vorto
• Retailers hope to handle peak season surge with more diverse fulfillment channels
• The logistics industry sees slower growth in August
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Hyster

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Our guest on this week's episode is  Simon Geale, chief procurement officer at supply chain consultancy firm Proxima. China has been suffering under a severe heat wave and drought, with daily temperatures in many regions above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat has shut down factories on top of the Covid-related shutdowns that are part of China's zero-tolerance Covid  policy. How will this latest blow  affect  production out of China and what are the short and long-term implications to our supply chains?

The latest employment figures are out and show more jobs have been created, but other reports add that the United States is lacking skilled workers. How does this affect logistics and what can be done to help fill the ranks?

Shifting demographics are having an impact on supply chains, and it appears to be causing acute problems in our warehouses and distribution centers. Among the issues are generational differences in employment preferences, with younger workers shunning warehouse jobs.


DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly  offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The second season of eight episodes is fully available and focuses on supply chain digitalization.  Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Proxima Group
• Businesses struggle with shortage of skilled labor, study finds
• CSOCs say generation gap is leading cause of warehouse labor shortages
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. 
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to [email protected].

Podcast sponsored by:  Hyster

Other links

• About DC VELOCITY
• Subscribe to DC VELOCITY
• Sign up for our FREE newsletters
• Advertise with DC VELOCITY
• Top 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts