The SupplyChainBrain Podcast

Are you certain that your sensitive exports aren't falling into the wrong hands? In today's world of global, multi-tiered supply chains, it can be a challenge determining who the end buyer really is. In the case of certain high-tech products, or items for military use, regulators demand that companies maintain the highest possible degree of vigilance. But complying with the rules is getting tougher all the time. These days, there are hundreds of lists containing the identities of denied parties. What's more, companies can be punished for selling to suspicious buyers that aren't on any list. They can even be in violation of the law for disclosing the wrong information in a speech. On this episode, Ken Harris, head of denied-party screening with Descartes Systems Group, talks about what companies must do to ensure that their products or sensitive information aren't going astray. The potential fines and penalties, both civil and criminal, make it essential that exporters demonstrate an extraordinary level of care.

It's a dangerous world out there for global supply chains. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, labor stoppages, terrorist threats and general congestion all conspire to hinder the flow of product to market. The situation calls for a renewed commitment to risk management and, most of all, supply chain resilience. Joining us on this episode is MIT professor Yossi Sheffi, director of the school's Center for Transportation and Logistics, and author of the new book The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected. Sheffi reveals how leading companies are protecting themselves against supply-chain disruptions. He lays out some of the key elements of a successful resilience initiative – just in case your company is one of the many that have yet to make a serious effort in that area. Learn why it's just possible that Intel's Andy Grove was right when he said that ''only the paranoid survive.'' Welcome to the 100th episode of The SupplyChainBrain Podcast!

The Reshoring Initiative would like to slap the ''Made in U.S.A.'' label on a lot more products. Can it succeed? The organization's mission is to convince companies to bring manufacturing jobs back from China to the U.S. Recent economic trends in China, including a growing labor shortage and rising factory wages, are helping to make that dream a reality. At the same time, China's recent devaluation of the yuan appears to be drive by a desire to make its manufacturing exports more competitive. So are the jobs really coming home? On this episode, we speak with Reshoring Initiative founder and president Harry Moser. He discusses the group's efforts and talks about some recent successes. And he addresses the real challenges that stand in the way of a wholesale shift of manufacturing to the U.S. The big question: does the U.S. have the people and the skills to handle a big influx of work from China? For that matter, what will those returning jobs look like? Will automation undermine the benefits of reshoring for American workers?

A message to procurement managers: Your job is about to be transformed ''almost beyond recognition.'' Those are the words of Kai Nowosel, managing director of the Sourcing Procurement Practice of Accenture Strategy. On this episode, he talks about the big changes that are coming to procurement, spurred by developments such as digital platforms, sophisticated analytics and the Industrial Internet of Things. All of this promises to boost procurement's position in the organization, beyond its traditional role as a cost-cutter. Expect procurement managers to gain new respect in the executive suite, Nowosel says. Hear what a select group of high-level executives, academics and technology providers thinks the future holds for procurement. And discover how a combination of technology and business-process change will create ''the marketplace on steroids'' – all in just five to seven years.

U.S. West Coast ports are being ''held hostage'' by longshore labor. So says one noted economist. Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a former chief economist with the U.S. Department of Labor. Today, she serves as director of Economics21, in addition to acting as senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She believes it's time for a change in the way that longshore labor is regulated. The National Labor Relations Act, which currently governs activities by U.S. dockworkers, doesn't prevent them from bringing port operations to a halt at will. But their actions – as in the case of the recent slowdown at West Coast ports – can have serious consequences for the U.S. economy. Furchtgott-Roth says ports should fall under the same law that governs rail and airline labor, and prohibits strikes under the theory that those sectors are vital to interstate commerce and the nation's economy well-being. Disputes under the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act are settled through mediation and, if necessary, a board of arbitrators selected by the President of the U.S. Ports, she says, are no less crucial to commerce than railroads and airlines, especially at a time when international trade is so vital to the nation's interest. But is a change in the law politically feasible?

This is a ''watershed year'' for cybercrime, according to a new survey on the topic. Yet many companies are falling short in their efforts to battle it. The state of corporate cybercrime protection is mixed at best. Government agencies and boards of directors are taking an increased role in the adoption of good preventive practices, according to a new survey by PwC, CSO, the U.S. Secret Service, and the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. On the other hand, many companies still aren't fully aware of the threat presented by hackers, terrorists and foreign governments. Shockingly, one in five of the surveyed executives said they aren't worried about the risk that cybercrime poses to their supply chains. Even some of the more forward-thinking organizations haven't progressed very far on the maturity curve. On this episode, we discuss the implications of the survey with PwC partner Quentin Orr. He outlines the various kinds of cyber threats, addresses the critical issue of third-party risks, and reports on the level and types of corporate investment in people, process and systems. Finally, he answers the key question: Given the sophistication and persistence of cyber-criminals today, is there any hope?

Are robots taking over the warehouse? The science of robotics has long been critical to manufacturing. It has had less of a presence in the logistics sector, where automation has often taken the form of state-of-the-art conveyors, sorters and systems limited to directing the picking process. One reason for the disparity is safety. Another is cost. But all that might be about to change. New robots are being developed that can perform some of the numbingly repetitive tasks that have been the responsibility of humans. One of the newest companies on the scene is Fetch Robotics, which has developed two models of robots that can pick from inventory and efficiently move items to the shipping area. On this episode, we speak with Fetch chief executive officer Melonee Wise, who traces the development of robotics in logistics environments. She also discusses the changing public perception of robots, which in their early days were seen as a threat to the jobs (and even the lives) of people. Only in the last decade or so, she says, has that view begun to change. Increasingly, robots are being developed that can work side by side with humans. But just how smart are these machines? And are they fated to edge out people entirely?

Change in the organization is inevitable. So how do you get your employees to stop blocking it? Shifting consumer markets, a constant stream of new products, technological innovation, personnel changes, economic upheaval, mergers and acquisitions: they all contribute to the ceaseless march of transformation within every business. Yet managers find themselves battling the natural human tendency to avoid it. Such reluctance is entirely understandable, given the increasingly shaky nature of job security today. But companies must find a way to confront people's fears and enable change. On this episode, we speak with Renée Robertson, founder and chief executive officer of Trilogy Development, a consulting firm specializing in talent development. She outlines her strategy for effecting change in business, including a reliance on internal coaches. She explains where those individuals can be found, where they sit in the organizational chart, and what their job entails. Maybe change isn't so scary after all.

Multi-tiered manufacturing supply chains can end up in some unexpected places – including prisons. The use of unauthorized subcontractors, even prison labor, is a disturbingly common practice in China and elsewhere in Asia. The problem surfaced a few years back, when an Oregon woman discovered a hastily scribbled note in the Halloween decoration kit that she had purchased at a local Kmart. The writer purported to be a laborer in a Chinese prison. And while the source of the note was never traced, it highlighted a pervasive problem of which many retailers and original equipment manufacturers are unaware. Greg Hallahan, senior director with FTI Consulting, is an expert on the problem of unauthorized subcontractors in Asia markets. He joins us on this episode to detail the severity of the trend, caused by lax supplier vetting on the part of buyers. He also shines a light on the practice of rigged bidding among suppliers who are nominal competitors. (You'll never guess what the number-one product made in Chinese prisons is.)

What's going on behind the veil of secrecy that masks China's economy? Recently we've seen a steep plunge in share prices on China's stock markets, signaling the bursting of a bubble that was long in forming. Meanwhile, questions persist about the condition of China's banks, which have long been rumored to be saddled with large amounts of non-performing loans. Does all of this threaten China's economic future? Can the nation sustain its massive investments in infrastructure, both at home and abroad? And how is the yuan, which China recently devalued, performing against the dollar these days? On this episode, we hear from one of the leading experts on China, David Dollar, senior fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. He helps us to understand what's behind China's recent economic woes, how serious they are, and what impact they might have on the nation's quest to become the world's largest economy.