The SupplyChainBrain Podcast

Struggling to determine whether there's forced labor lurking in your supply chain? There are some new tools available to help you do it. Global companies have long striven to uncover violations of human rights – and human slavery in particular – throughout the multiple tiers of their supply chains. Two new publications offer benchmarks, assessments and methodologies for achieving success: the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, and a series of reports from KnowTheChain on the existence of forced labor. On this episode, the second of two covering forced labor and slavery in supply chains, we speak with Pierre-François Thaler, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ecovadis. He returns to the podcast to explain how these new rating systems will work, and how they can provide a competitive incentive for compliance by manufacturers and retailers. He also discusses the latest regulations in this area, and offers tips on how companies can proactively assess, measure and eliminate forced labor from their products. Failure to do so entails severe consequences, and the regulatory regime is only going to get tougher.

Forced labor continues to be a serious issue in global supply chains today and it's extremely tough to root out. The problem exists worldwide, in developed and developing nations alike. Estimates of the number of people engaged in forced labor today range from 21 million to 35 million. Illicit traffickers are profiting from the practice to the tune of some $150bn. So how can this blight on the global economy be erased? In this first of two podcasts on the issue, we speak with Kilian Moote, project director of KnowTheChain at Humanity United. He describes three new reports being released over the summer of 2016, covering the presence of forced labor in information and communications technology, food and beverage, and apparel and footwear. The reports' authors polled global companies in an effort to divine best practices and policies for eliminating forced labor and human slavery worldwide. Moote reveals where the biggest risks lie, and talks about the challenge of identifying the presence of forced labor in global, multi-tier supply chains. When it comes to eliminating the practice, he says, ''We're at the end of the beginning.''

Up in the sky – it's a solar-powered plane! But what does it mean for the sustainability of the commercial transportation sector? The Solar Impulse 2 is currently on a 21,747-mile journey around the globe, powered only by the energy of the sun. But the project, 10 years in the making, is about more than proving that a small, specially designed plane can successfully draw on a renewable energy source. The aircraft consists of a wide range of innovative materials, many created by Covestro, a supplier of high-tech polymer products. Richard Northcote, chief sustainability officer with Covestro, joins us on this episode to explain how the company dramatically reduced the plane's weight while installing materials that provide an unprecedented degree of insulation and comfort to the pilots. Even more importantly, the innovative materials used in the Solar Impulse 2 have major implications for the transportation industry as a whole. They're lighter, stronger and more sustainable than anything used in traditional aircraft and ground vehicles. Even carbon dioxide can be used in the production of mattress foam, leading to a 30-percent cut in the use of oil. Find out what the Solar Impulse 2 means for the future of all modes of transport.

Retailers are shelling out huge amounts of money to keep today's omnichannel customer happy. They're spending an average of 18 cents out of every dollar to meet customer expectations of ''buy anywhere, pick up anywhere.'' That's according to a new study from EKN Research in partnership with Aptos, Inc., which set out to determine to true costs associated with the modern-day order-management lifecycle. On this episode, we're joined by Dave Bruno, director of marketing with Aptos, and Sahir Anand, vice president of research and principal analyst with EKN. They explain the findings of the study, which can be found in a new e-book, Threat … or Opportunity: Seven Steps to Overcoming the Shockingly High Costs of the Order Management Lifecycle. They explain how retailers are racking up costs as they struggle to balance store fulfillment with online orders, and home delivery with in-store pickup. The complications of the omnichannel aren't going away, they say. And it's about more than just free shipping. Will they be able to stay in the game against Amazon.com, Inc.?

The ride-sharing service Uber is threatening to disrupt, if not dismantle, the taxi business. Will it do the same to the package-delivery sector? Uber, Lyft and similar ride-sharing services fully deserve that already overused word, ''disruption.'' Their success is due in large part to their founders' ability to perceive a failure in the way that traditional taxis have operated. Now, there's talk that the Uber model could be similarly applied to freight transportation. In theory, Uber drivers can just as easily carry packages from retailers to the consumer's door. Perhaps they could even skirt many of the regulations that hamper that business. On this episode, we talk to Scott Nelson, vice chairman and founder of Trax Technologies. He explains why an Uber-like service can't necessarily work for logistics. It's all about the need for ''perfect information,'' he says. At the same time, Nelson offers his view on the real transformation that logistics is undergoing today – and how the business can be reshaped to create a ''win-win'' model for buyers and sellers alike.

Too many ships, too much rate discounting, and too many service providers for the market to support: the outlook for ocean carriers is ''pretty bleak indeed.'' Those are the words of Foster Finley, managing director of AlixPartners, who joins us on this episode to discuss the consultancy's new study on the state of the oceangoing container trades. Its conclusion: Carriers' financial state ''will likely worsen in 2016, and the only thing apt to cure the industry's malaise is further consolidation.'' Years of emphasizing market share over profitability, coupled with a relentless increase in vessel size, are taking their toll on carriers. The argument that bigger ships slash operating costs only holds water if supply and demand are in rough balance, and carriers can exercise some measure of discipline in their ratemaking. Neither of those requirements is in evidence today. Rates are far below what carriers need to break even, let alone make back their cost of capital, and overcapacity persists. How did they get into this state of affairs, and what will it take to right the sinking ship?

Does a big grocery retail chain have anything to learn from a leading automaker? Apparently so. Toyota, with its well-known emphasis on Lean supply-chain practices, was a key inspiration for U.K.-based Tesco, when the latter set out to overhaul its processes. In particular, Tesco was determined to align production and inventory with customer needs – something virtually every company claims to do, but few have managed to achieve with any degree of success. The company's journey is told in a new book, The Lean Supply Chain: Managing the Challenge at Tesco. Its authors, Barry Evans and Robert Mason, join us on this episode to describe the initiatives that Tesco has embraced over the years to build a world-class supply chain. In the process, they challenge some conventional wisdom that has dominated traditional business practice. Evans has held multiple positions at Tesco and is a senior research associate in the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardiff Business School, where Mason is a senior lecturer in the Logistics and Operations Management section. Learn how Lean Six Sigma can be applied to grocery retailing – and the caveats that come with the concept.

Is 3D printing poised to bring about ''the next industrial revolution?'' So says attorney John Hornick, author of a new book on the subject. Titled 3D Printing Will Rock the World, it doesn't mince words about the potential for this emerging technology to transform the manufacturing landscape and consumer purchasing practices. Hornick believes 3D printers are nothing less than ''the most powerful machines human beings have ever invented.'' Is he being hyperbolic, or visionary? On this episode, he explains his reasoning. We discuss the types of industries and products that will be most affected by the 3D printing revolution, the differences between industrial and consumer-grade printers, the state of the technology today, problems of quality and consistency that have yet to be solved, and the ''dark side'' of 3D printing – the ability to create perfect knockoffs of products, thereby undermining intellectual property protection.

Supporters of a longtime proposal to privatize the U.S. Air Traffic Control system have failed again. But the issue is far from dead. The latest measure to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration included a proposal to remove the ATC from direct agency control. In its place would be a private, non-profit corporation, funded by fees placed on airlines and owners of private aircraft. Supporters argued that the new body is the only way to rescue a dysfunctional FAA, ensure efficient operations, cut costs, streamline procurement and promote safety of the nation's air routes. But opponents countered successfully that a privately run ATC would raise questions of financial stability, accountability and continuity of service to smaller communities. In short, they said, the public would lose. So the idea was kicked out of the latest funding-extension bill. Laying out the arguments against privatization, and guesting on this episode, is Selena Shilad, executive director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America. She explains why the ATC should remain in FAA's hands – as well as what should be done to fix the agency's chronic problems of funding and bureaucratic inefficiency.

We might not have to wait that long to see self-driving vehicles become a familiar sight on American roads and highways. By some estimates, the so-called autonomous car won't appear in large numbers until sometime between 2020 and 2030. But there are signs that it could be arriving a good deal sooner than that, with limited production beginning as early as 2018. That's the view of Matt DeWolf, director of product innovation at Runzheimer, a provider of programs and technology in support of mobile workforces. On this episode, he lays out five trends that could speed the arrival of the autonomous vehicle. Technology, competition and supply and demand are all factors that could quickly bring it to market, he says. And there are ramifications for commercial vehicles as well. Find out why DeWolf says that, ''step by step, the autonomous car of the future is coming together.''