The SupplyChainBrain Podcast

Should foreign-flag vessels and crews be allowed into the U.S. domestic maritime trades? They've been barred entry for nearly a century, thanks to the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act. The law states that all goods moving by water between U.S. ports must be carried by ships that are built, flagged and crewed in this country. It has been subjected to repeated attacks over the years, including during the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A recent report by the Heritage Foundation argues that repeal of the Jones Act would save the American economy $682m per year. Others say that number doesn't account for the thousands of jobs that the act reserves for American workers. In this episode, attorney and Jones Act expert Charlie Papavizas provides valuable background on the Jones Act, and clears up some key misperceptions about the law.

There's a new method for benchmarking the resiliency of your supply chain. It's called the Global Resilience Index, created by commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global. More than a year in development, the index ranks the business resilience of 130 countries. It was designed to help executives assess and manage supply-chain risk in those regions, as well as identify weaknesses within their own organizations. Results are tied to nine key drivers of resiliency, covering such factors as economic trends, political conditions and potential natural disasters. FM Global chief operating officer Jon Hall (he was executive vice president at the time this podcast was recorded) discusses how the index was developed, and how it can help companies to shore up their operations against unexpected occurrences. He also talks about some of the index's key findings.

Fraud can happen anywhere in your supply chain. Are you doing enough to stop it? As companies extend their supply chains through partnerships with distant suppliers and manufacturers, the risk of fraud increases. So, too, does the possibility of misbehavior within the organization. Adding to the complexity is a sea of data that can be tough to sort through and utilize in an effective manner. One solution lies in the use of sophisticated analytics, which can help companies make sense of all that information, establish strict metrics for ethical behavior, detect any wayward activities, and allow for instant action. In this episode, John Joseph, vice president of marketing with Lavastorm, talks about how analytics can be deployed within global supply chains to tackle the many forms of fraud that can plague an organization. Billions of dollars are at stake, he says.

When it comes to assessing supply-chain risk and opportunity in emerging markets, the landscape never stops changing. Today, China is the go-to country for cheap manufacturing. Tomorrow, it's somewhere in Southeast Asia, or even Latin America. Shifting political, economic, legal, environmental and labor conditions make it tough for businesses to decide the best places for sourcing and selling their products. One key resource is the Security Supply-Chain Risk Outlook report from the Christian Science Monitor's Monitor Global Outlook service. It examines dozens of ''frontier or emerging'' markets, providing detailed reports on local conditions. MGO supply chain specialist Joseph Schatz joins us on this episode to discuss the findings of the 2014-15 report. He identifies the current hotspots where risk is highest, as well as the locations with the high potential for sourcing by global companies.

The shift is happening. Baby Boomers are beginning to retire, and Millennials are on the rise. But how to entice them into a career in supply chain? One way is to recognize excellence in those younger individuals who are already on the job. ThomasNet.com has joined with the Institute for Supply Management to create a ''30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars'' recognition program. The idea is to highlight accomplishments by high achievers, as well as attract other Millennials – job seekers between the ages of 18 and 32 – to the field. Joining us on this episode are Linda Rigano, executive director of media relations with ThomasNet, and M.L. Peck, senior vice president of programs and product development with ISM. They describe the ''30 Under 30'' program, and also talk about how Millennials differ from their predecessors in their expectations of job security and career satisfaction.

There's a new tool for ranking the world's best supply chains. The Supply Chain Index was developed by Lora Cecere, founder of Supply Chain Insights, in partnership with Arizona State University. The idea, she says, was to come up with a way to benchmark global supply chains based on hard financial data. Thousands of publicly traded companies are rated on the basis of economic strength, balanced portfolio, resiliency and peer ranking. The result is a tool that can be accessed by all companies, regardless of size. The three-year effort culminates with release of the very first Supply Chain Index, at Supply Chain Insight's Global Summit in Scottsdale, AZ on September 10-11, 2014. Lora joins us on this episode to explain how the index was developed, and how companies can use it to improve their supply chains in the years ahead.

Is the use of nanotechnology in manufacturing and poisoning workers? A recent report in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine discusses the case of a 26-year-old American factory worker who developed symptoms of throat irritation, nasal congestion and skin rash from exposure to nanoparticles used in the making of ink fluids. It's the first published case in North America of serious health effects arising from the use of materials that are one thousand times smaller than a human hair. Our guest on this episode, Dr. Shane Journeay, chief executive officer and president of Nanotechnology Toxicology Consulting Training, is a co-author of that report. He joins us to talk about its widespread implications for worker health and safety. More than 1,600 consumer products on the market today already incorporate nanoparticles, and total sales of nanotechnology are expected to reach $48.9b by 2017. Yet little is known about the long-term health effects of those materials, and regulators are still playing catch-up. Should manufacturers implement expensive precautionary measures now, or should they wait for more data?

Without question, creating sustainable global supply chains is a daunting challenge. But the biggest roadblock might be at the retail shelf. For all the progress that's been made, there remains a ''huge discrepancy'' between the supposed willingness of consumers to support sustainable products, and their actual buying habits. Until that gap is closed, items carrying the fair trade label will remain a ''niche market,'' according to Andréanne Grimard, director of economic development with Solidaridad North America. In this episode, she traces the work of Solidaridad in promoting a remarkable range of products, including coffee, tea, cotton, palm oil, soy, gold, cocoa, textiles, fruits and vegetables. She relates how Solidaridad formed its own importing companies for fair-trade bananas and bluejeans, when it couldn't find private interests to undertake the task – creating profitable ventures in the process. And she offers a candid assessment of the current state of public awareness of the sustainability issue. The verdict: there's a lot of work to be done.

Talk all you want about the deeper aspects of supplier-buyer relationships. But doesn't it always come down to price? Well, maybe. But supply-chain partners aren't doing an especially good job of managing that critical piece of the puzzle. In fact, the current approach is in many instances ''myopic and inefficient.'' So says Kate Vitasek, a member of the faculty in the University of Tennessee's Graduate and Executive Education program. The lead author of a new UT white paper on ''Unpacking Pricing Models,'' Vitasek joins us on this episode to explain how buyers can craft long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers, without ignoring the all-important element of price. She outlines the differences between controllable and uncontrollable costs, and shows how a considered approach to pricing models can address the underlying nature of cost structures, and avoid some of the traps that frustrate true collaboration.

Looking to implement new supply-chain software? Without proper change management, you're bound to fail. The most dazzling I.T. package will never deliver on its promise unless managers factor in the human element. That means dealing with a natural resistance to change. It's not just about the possibility of lost jobs, or the fear of becoming irrelevant to the organization. Many people simply resist being shaken out of their routines. Or they might be suffering from ''change fatigue'' – a common affliction within companies that are struggling to keep pace with ever-shifting markets and consumer behavior. Whatever the reason for employee pushback, executives need to pave the way for new technology, while creating a culture of teamwork and trust. Joining us on this episode with some tips and best practices are Joe Couto, senior vice president and general manager of Accellos, Inc., and Blake Barthelmess, chief information officer of Columbia Colstor, Inc.