Welcome to the recent episode of Grounded! Join us as we hear from top-tier producers in the food service industry to hear their perspectives from all links throughout the supply chain. Each guest will discuss their brand development, company culture, global supply chain strategy, culinary innovation, and leadership. Please welcome our guest, Jacquelyn Howard! Jacquelyn was previously the Vice President and Direct Sourcing Global Supply Chain at Starbucks. Jacquelyn was voted in 2020 for the 100 most influential women in the supply chain by global women in the supply chain, a prominent global supply chain executive with leading consumer brands, McDonald's and Starbucks.

Takeaways:

• In the food industry, companies handle a lot of raw ingredients called agricultural products. One of Jacquelyn's responsibilities is to understand the underlying commodity cost drivers and the input costs to any of the products and oversee the ethical treatment of employees, animals, and the environment.
• When Jacquelyn worked with other industries, she would research who their suppliers were, the supplier's business approach, and how they impacted the supply chain. She would find the potential weak spots.
• The greatest need in the food service industry that Jacquelyn believes should be prioritized is focusing on the people. Focus on recruiting, retaining, nurturing, and developing because they can not operate accordingly without people.
• Jaquelyn would bring her colleagues on field trips to their supplier's factories and farms to learn about the ins and outs of the supply chain. Jacquelyn believes that this is essential to understanding what happens daily. If you don’t know what happened, you fail as a company.
• The worst thing a company can do is not having enough knowledge to prepare for future problems. Develop a crisis management team and a crisis business team to advert from these issues.
• A best practice to follow is to set up a meeting with your company's team leaders and learn about the history and their products. Understanding the company gives you an idea of what happened before, what was resolved, how it got resolved, and what was the outcome.

Quote of the Show:

• “I think people are our biggest opportunity and our biggest blessing.” - Jacquelyn Howard

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynhoward/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2I7EoKaVff3SnW3CoIXjJ6
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grounded/id1680909033
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/451edb13-5534-43ee-b46c-be36a7581460
• Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2dyb3VuZGVkLTg0Y2M3YjQ0LThhMDMtNDc3YS1hYTBkLWI5NWQ0ZDQ2YjRmYg== 
• Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/grounded/PC:1001064441 
• Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/4332106 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/grounded-5259267 
• Player FM: https://player.fm/series/series-3464024 
• Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/show/5932587 
• Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/106444
• Listen Notes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/grounded-ringmaster-tuPfo9prIdN/ 
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/XwGmbA4AEs8
• Transistor: https://share.transistor.fm/s/f448b0f5

Grounded is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/