The SupplyChainBrain Podcast

The age of the driverless commercial truck is coming. It's just a question of when. Someday you'll look in your rear-view mirror and see an 18-wheeler bearing down on you with no one in the cab. But there's nothing to fear, according to Gary Girotti, executive vice president of Chainalytics. He believes the technology already exists to make self-driving trucks safe and viable for everyday use. What's more, he says, they're a solution to the driver shortage problem, and are 15 percent more fuel-efficient than traditional trucks. So what's holding them back? It's largely a matter of public perception, Girotti says. (Which wasn't helped by the recent fatal crash of a supposedly self-driving Tesla Model S.) He joins us on this episode to discuss the development of the driverless truck, and when it might become a regular sight on roads and highways. ''I would feel much safer if the computer was driving the truck [rather] than a human being,'' he says.

When it comes to assessing the impact of business practices on the environment, the bar is being raised. Mere sustainability is no longer enough: now it’s all about becoming ''net positive.'' The idea isn't new, but has recently taken off with establishment of the Net Positive Project. It's the product of a collaboration among Business and Social Responsibility (BSR), Forum for the Future and the Sustainability and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise (SHINE), based at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. On this episode, we speak with two principals behind the effort: Eric Olson, senior vice president of BSR, and Zoe Le Grand, principal sustainability adviser to Forum for the Future. They explain how the project intends to promote net-positive activities, which companies are already on board, and how supporters plan to attract additional participants. Currently there's no multinational that can claim a net-positive impact on the environment, society and the global economy. But such an entity isn't that far in the future, according to Olson and Le Grand.

The long-term impact of Brexit on European supply chains is yet to be determined, but some early results are in. Just days after the U.K.'s controversial vote to leave the European Union, the Institute for Supply Management polled procurement executives to learn how they felt about the move. According to ISM, it was the first publicly available analysis of the impact of Brexit on U.S. companies, drawing on data collected directly from them. Two weeks after the historic June 23 vote, we spoke with ISM chief executive officer Thomas W. Derry about the results of that survey. He joins us on this episode to discuss how supply chains and distribution strategies in Europe might shape up in the post-Brexit era. Surprisingly, the ISM report reveals relatively little concern over the impact of Brexit on U.S. procurement managers. At the same time, it addresses potentially explosive issues such as the health of financial markets, currency movements, capital spending and labor-use patterns. Discover how U.S. companies might have to shift their European distribution strategies without Britain being part of the E.U. In addition, Derry shares his view about whether Brexit represents an about-face of the decades-long trend toward globalization.

What stands in the way of a solution to the nation's crumbling, outdated and inadequate transportation infrastructure? Judging from the decades of debate surrounding the issue, the obstacles are immense. Legislators can't seem to agree on a way to fix crumbling roads, bridges and highways, let alone built new infrastructure. The sticking point, as usual, is the argument over how we'll pay for the work. But there are also questions about where the money should go, and how eligible projects should be selected. On this episode, we speak with Beth Osborne, vice president for technical assistance with Transportation for America. A transportation policy veteran, she was formerly acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also oversaw DOT's successful TIGER competitive grant program for infrastructure investment. Now she has a four-point plan for solving the crisis. It's contained in her new report, published by The Century Foundation's Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative, which provides a path to funding key transportation projects, while ensuring that taxpayers get a higher return on their investment.

Employment rules and regulations have failed to keep pace with innovation in the American workforce – especially with regard to the growing number of independent workers. There are approximately 40 million independent workers in the country today, but uncertainties surrounding their status make them vulnerable to exploitation, and hinder employers' efforts to hire them. An outdated regulatory system is to blame, says Gene Zaino, chief executive officer of MBO Partners. He joins us on this episode to propose a new way of treating the self-employed, in a manner that will clarify issues such as taxation and benefits, while addressing employer concerns about drawing on this pool of talent. Zaino is calling for a ''Certified Self-Employed'' (CSE) classification, which would essentially allow independent workers to become employees of their own companies. In the event, it would protect them against exploitation while unleashing the potential of the entrepreneurial spirit. No more ''one-size-fits-all'' approach to the manner in which government and business treat workers. Is it workable?

The recall of a single food ingredient can have massive implications for manufacturers and retailers, ranging over multiple supply chains. Take the May 2016 recall of sunflower seeds, triggered by the discovery of Listeria, a bacteria that can cause multiple serious medical issues, especially for pregnant women, children and the elderly. That one action affected dozens of retailers and more than 100 brands and manufacturers, according to Kevin Pollack, vice president of recall with Stericycle ExpertSolutions. He joins us on this episode to discuss the impact of tainted products on public health and supply chains. Such incidents are occurring with alarming frequency, against a backdrop of enhanced public awareness, tighter regulations and more complex supply chains. Pollack offers advice on how companies can reduce the risk of a recall, as well as which steps to take when one occurs. Learn how to combat the dreaded ''multiplier effect'' of supposedly isolated incidents.

The new set of locks at the Panama Canal is open for business. How will it affect North American shipping patterns? A year and a half late, hugely over budget and bearing serious questions about its design and construction, the widening of the Panama Canal is finally complete. When first announced a decade ago, the project promised to alter the way in which ocean cargoes moved in and out of North America. U.S. West Coast ports, in particular, were expected to lose large volumes of business to their East and Gulf Coast counterparts, with shippers opting for the cheaper (if slower) all-water option from Asia. But what is the actual impact, both short-term and long, of a wider canal? On this episode, we get a perspective from David Egan, head of industrial and logistics research for global commercial real estate giant CBRE. He speculates on who the winners and losers will be – specifically, what East Coast ports must do to take advantage of the improved route, and how West Coast ports can defend their market share. But the shift might have begun long before the new locks opened, he says.

U.S. businesses have been given another legal recourse, in their never-ending battle against trade-secret theft. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 was signed into law by President Obama in May. It provides companies with a civil cause of action, in addition to the federal criminal statutes that are already on the books. The measure is especially important because it allows business to act more quickly than before, with a successful resolution depending on law enforcement's ability to act before the thieves get away with their ''loot.'' On this episode, we speak with Frank Cullen, executive director for U.S. intellectual property policy with the Global Intellectual Property Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He explains why the law represents a major victory for American business innovators. In addition, he helps us to understand just what constitutes a ''trade secret,'' and reveals some of the findings of a new report by the U.S. Chamber on the global impact of counterfeiting.

A higher minimum wage – in some cases, as much as $15 an hour – is a certainty. How can businesses, especially retailers, cope with it? The minimum wage is rising fast, mandated by new laws at the federal, state and local levels. Some retailers are voluntarily raising their own workers' wages, either because they consider the move inevitable, or are looking to polish their brand. They might have even come to the realization that there's a price to be paid for low wages, in the form of high turnover, low productivity and inadequate talent. Voluntary or not, retailers are facing mandated wage increases of between 30 and 40 percent, only a small portion of which can be recovered through higher prices. On this episode, we talk with Deniz Caglar, a principal with PwC's Strategy practice. He shares some strategies that companies can adopt to offset higher wages, and remain profitable. Bottom line: They'll be forced to question their entire business models, and look at operations – including the extended supply chain – holistically.

Levels of risk in global supply chains continue to rise – even as companies' commitment to managing it goes in the opposite direction. A new report by A.T. Kearney and Rapid Ratings International finds that supply-chain risk management has declined as a priority within procurement organizations. Given the rash of supplier failures that occurred during the Great Recession, that's a difficult trend to understand. The top performers have implemented aggressive programs to deal with any number of potential supply-chain disruptions, but many others are falling short in that effort. On this episode, we talk with the co-authors of the new report, Rose Kelly-Falls, senior vice president of Rapid Ratings, and Carrie Ericson, vice president with A.T. Kearney Procurement and Analytic Solutions. They offer an explanation as to why companies aren't paying sufficient attention to risk management, discuss the macro trends affecting global supply chains, and lay out a means of quantifying the financial health of suppliers. Find out why ''there’s no glory in supply-chain risk management.''