The Frictionless Podcast

New Technology Won't Fix Old Processes | Kevin Speers | The Frictionless Podcast Ep. 4

As co-founder and CEO of Splice, Kevin Speers has seen firsthand how introducing new technology can expose challenges in the very processes it's designed to improve.

In this episode of The Frictionless Podcast, Kevin joins IBIS founder John K Chang to share the contrasting experiences of two freight forwarders implementing the same workflow automation technology. While one struggled to adapt its existing processes, the other embraced the new capabilities and discovered opportunities to improve operational performance beyond the original scope of the implementation.

The difference wasn't the technology. It was how each organization approached change.

John and Kevin discuss:

• Why automating an existing process doesn't necessarily make it better

• How two companies can achieve very different outcomes with the same technology

• Why organizations sometimes resist changing established workflows

• How new technology can reveal unexpected opportunities for improvement

• Why changes to one workflow can create friction in other parts of the business

• The importance of challenging assumptions before implementation

• Why AI agents can't simply replace people within existing processes

• How connected data and integrations can make AI more effective in logistics

The central idea: successful technology adoption isn't just about making existing processes faster. It's about recognizing when new capabilities create an opportunity to work differently.

The Frictionless Podcast explores the realities of implementing technology inside logistics and supply chain operations with the people who have actually done it.

AI Can’t Replace Human Judgment in Supply Chains | Aviva Kosansky | The Frictionless Podcast Ep. 3

As AI becomes more capable, the question is not just what it can automate, but what still requires human judgment.In this episode of The Frictionless Podcast, Aviva Kosansky, Vice President at Profit Point, joins IBIS founder John K Chang to discuss a supply chain planning implementation that revealed how much critical operating knowledge lives in people’s heads, not in systems or process documents.

John and Aviva discuss:

- Why supply chain implementations often uncover hidden business rules

- How iterative design improves adoption

- Why AI can dramatically speed up implementation work

- How AI frees teams to spend more time on design, testing, and users

- Why competing priorities across sales, finance, manufacturing, and logistics still require human alignment

- Where subject matter expertise remains essentialThe central idea: AI can make supply chain technology faster and more powerful, but human judgment still determines whether it actually works.

The Frictionless Podcast explores the realities of implementing technology inside logistics and supply chain operations with the people who have actually done it.

Why Great Technology Feels Like Less Change

After nearly four decades in logistics operations and technology, Wai Wong has lived through generations of technology change, from major TMS implementations and the move away from physical shipment files to today’s adoption of AI.

In Episode 2 of The Frictionless Podcast, Wai joins John K Chang to discuss why the best implementations often feel like less change, not more.

They explore how designing around the operator’s actual workflow can make adoption easier, why frontline users should be involved before a system is rolled out, how training gets diluted as teams change, and why earning trust will be critical as AI begins making more operational decisions.

Wai’s advice is simple: work in smaller increments, involve the people doing the job early, test frequently, and make the technology fit the work rather than forcing the work to fit the technology.

Automation can create impressive local gains while quietly shifting administrative effort to another part of the network. This conversation examines what happens when shipper-side AI agents change the work arriving at freight forwarders, carriers, and frontline logistics teams. Operations and technology leaders will leave with a practical way to evaluate automation across the full process, begin with bounded experiments, and preserve visibility and control for the people absorbing the change.