Art of Supply
Art of Supply, hosted by Kelly Barner, draws inspiration from news headlines and expert interviews to bring you insightful coverage of today's complex supply chains.
Episodes
Too big to merge? Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Try Again
Can a mega merger of peers increase competition in their market? Case in point: the proposed rail merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. Both are Class I railroads, among the largest by revenue in North America as defined by the Surface Transportation Board. According to a 2001 Surface Transportation Board rule, their merger must enhance competition - but that's not usually how mergers
FedEx Freight's Independence Day
On Monday, June 1st, FedEx Freight CEO John Smith rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the fact that the company is now operating (and trading) independently. This story dates back to the summer of 2024, when the idea of separating out FedEx's LTL operating unit was just a very believable rumor. Now they are the largest LTL provider in North America, and what one outle
Red Lobster's Comeback Gamble
Endless Shrimp is BACK at Red Lobster… a headline few people in the business world would have predicted. The promotion played an over-hyped role in the company's 2024 bankruptcy filing, mostly because it was easier to explain than a bad real estate leaseback deal led by investors at the time – the actual cause of Red Lobster's financial trouble. Their new CEO, Damola Adamolekun, is best known for
Why is nobody talking about China's new supply chain regulations?
China's new supply chain regulations may be one of the biggest global trade and sourcing stories that almost nobody is talking about. Decree 834 and 835 quietly took effect - immediately - on April 7th and 13th. If China decides to enforce them, they could fundamentally change how multinational companies approach sourcing, reshoring, compliance, and supplier diversification. In this episode of Art
Consumption Challenges at Boston Beer Company
During the pandemic, some buyers and suppliers made aggressive bets about the future. Demand was surging, capacity was constrained, and everyone worried more about shortages than oversupply. For a while, it looked like the logic was sound, but now one of those agreements has turned into a $175.5 Million jury verdict. Boston Beer Company (through its subsidiary American Craft Brewery) has been fou
Social Value as Strategy in Public Sector Procurement W/ Guy Battle
"We have seen a transformation between the public sector and the private sector in terms of their relationship. We've seen enormous change in this country." - Guy Battle, CEO of Social Value Portal The U.K. Social Value Act of 2012 requires all public sector buyers to ask suppliers how much their business will contribute to the community if they win the work up for bidding. It has not just become
Pricing the Last Mile: Amazon, USPS, and the Fight for Profitability
Amazon packages represent 15% of the United States Postal Service's package volume, but about 7.5% of their revenue. Amazon is USPS's biggest customer, even though Amazon passed the USPS to become the largest domestic parcel carrier in 2025. The current Amazon - USPS agreement expires on September 30, 2026, just days before the USPS may run out of the cash required to operate. Amazon has signaled
UPS Picks Profitability Over Volume, and The Teamsters Push Back
"This was a company that was once all about volume, was all about customer service, was all about growth, was all about sales, was all about creating jobs." - Sean O'Brien, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters In 2024, Amazon accounted for 11% of UPS's revenue but between 20% and 25% of U.S. network volume. When UPS announced that they were planning to reduce their Amazon pack
Everyone Has a Role in Growing the Value Chain W/ Andrew Quincey
"If you focus too much on efficiency, you might get something cheap – but it doesn't deliver what you want. If you focus too much on effectiveness, you might spend more than you need. Those two sides need to be balanced." - Andrew Quincey It is much more difficult to measure value than savings, so even the most skilled procurement professionals tend to focus on savings instead of value. If, howeve
From Ports to Geopolitics: Protecting U.S. Cargo Worldwide with Chairman Laura DiBella
"What happens clear across the world has a very, very big impact, potentially, to U.S. cargo. We've had to take a wider lens look at all of the risks." - FMC Chairman Laura DiBella The Federal Maritime Commission is an independent, bipartisan agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for overseeing the international ocean transportation system as it relates to U.S. cargo. The FMC's jurisdi
Building Ethical Leaders in Freight: Inside TIA's Freight Leadership Lab
"If you don't figure out a way to treat your carriers ethically and help them make money, you're not going to have them." - Michael Riccio, former TIA Chairman and founder of More Than Miles Consulting In this episode, Kelly Barner is joined by two leaders from the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA): Michael Riccio, former TIA Chairman and founder of More Than Miles Consulting, and Da
Foreign-trade Zones Explained & Applied
"With tariffs in the news again and the trade policy environment shifting, folks are back to wanting to relearn about the [foreign-trade zone] program." Foreign-trade zones (FTZs) allow companies to bring goods into secure U.S. locations without immediately entering U.S. commerce for customs purposes. They allow businesses to defer duties, taxes, and fees until goods officially enter the market,
Brewing Uncertainty: The Coffee Supply Chain Shock
Coffee is one of those products people think of as routine, almost automatic. It is part of the morning, part of the commute, part of the office, part of the café economy. So when something changes in the coffee supply chain, people feel it. In late 2025, coffee prices started rising thanks to a combination of forces: weather shocks in major producing countries, tariff policy changes that altered
The Panama Canal Power Struggle
The ports of Balboa and Cristóbal bookend the Panama canal. They don't control the canal, and they have been privately operated by CK Hutchison's Panama Ports Company for decades. Those old contracts are now in the middle of a legal fight, a sovereignty debate, and a live test of how far national power competitions can reach into commercial infrastructure. Panama's Supreme Court recently ruled th
How iRobot's Supply Chain Became Its Last Resort
At its peak, iRobot generated nearly $1.6 Billion in annual revenue, and by 2022 Amazon believed the company was worth $1.7 Billion. By just a few years later, the company that pioneered consumer robotics would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company that ultimately took ownership of iRobot wasn't Amazon or another Silicon Valley tech firm or even a U.S. competitor. It was the company's own ov
National Security Starts in the Supply Chain
"There are a lot of different ways to hold all of the conspirators who are involved in the effort to intentionally smuggle counterfeit goods into the U.S. and into U.S. systems accountable." Most modern supply chains are complex, sprawling beasts. Their global scale is highly strategic, but it also creates opportunities for criminal organizations to threaten companies, the Federal government, war
How a $3M Company Destroyed $17B in Freight Market Value
How could a company worth about $3 Million wipe out more than $17 Billion in transportation market value in a single day? On February 12th, a press release from Algorhythm Holdings, a company that started its life as a karaoke machine manufacturer, announced that its AI-enabled freight platform SemiCab could reduce empty truck miles by more than 70 percent. By midday, major logistics firms were do
Sanctioned at Sea: Addressing the Shadow Fleet
"Shipping in 2026 is going to get darker." - Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst, Windward Right now, somewhere between 900 and 2,000 aging oil tankers are operating in the shadows. They are carrying sanctioned crude from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. This so-called "shadow fleet" often sails under false flags, spoofs its locations, turns off monitoring systems, transfers
Freight Capacity v. Paperwork & Politics
"Capacity reduction is clearly under way. Regulatory enforcement of qualifications and safety standards was arguably the most welcome development in 2025 for our industry." - Adam Miller, CEO of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings The trucking industry has been flooded with headlines about enforcement: English language proficiency checks, non-domiciled CDL restrictions, immigration raids, and cou
One Railroad to Rule Them All? Inside the Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern Merger
Imagine a single railroad company that could move freight seamlessly from the ports of Los Angeles to the ports of New York without handoffs, interchange delays, or needing to switch carriers mid-journey. That's the promise behind the proposed merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads. If the deal is approved, it will create the first single-line transcontinental railroad in
Cautious Optimism in the Suez Canal
In late 2023, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints effectively broke. After Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel, Houthi militants began targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Initially, their target was Israel-linked vessels, then they increasingly started targeting anything that passed through. What followed was a near-collapse of confidence in the Suez Canal, a route that
Tracking the Logistics of a $400K Lobster Heist
In early December of last year, two thefts took place in Taunton, Massachusetts, that involved two usually wonderful things: lobster and logistics. The stolen property was valued at $400,000: approximately $250,000 worth of lobster and $150,000 in crabmeat. Both thefts took place at the same warehouse. The crimes were a massive hit to all of the businesses involved at one of the most critical tim
Enlightenment Thinking in an Age of Disruption
"When the Wright brothers got their airplane up in the air for the first time, it wasn't because they overcame the laws of physics, it was because they figured out how to harness those laws." - Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles The rate and scale of change taking place around us are so destabilizing that it would be easy to think that 'old ideas' no longer apply
Incoming! 10 Supply Chain Predictions for 2026
'Tis the season… for making supply chain predictions. Given how volatile 2025 was, anyone willing to share their opinions about the coming year deserves an award for courage. In this episode of Art of Supply, the last of 2025, Kelly Barner shares her curated list of picks for the most compelling 2026 supply chain predictions, not ranked in any particular order, and with no guarantees for how like
Reshoring Success at GE Appliances Shaded by Tariff Fraud Allegations
GE Appliances has been making news for years for the success of their reshoring program. It is a great story: a well-known consumer brand that is bringing production home, both to their own benefit and also to the benefit of customers and employees. But even while GE Appliances has continued to make investments and earn positive headlines for continuing their commitment to reshoring efforts and pa
UPS Gambles on Gig Workers
UPS is currently stuck between dropping parcel rates, rising union leverage, and stiff competition from their peers. Unlike their peers, UPS is unionized (part of the Teamsters), adding additional complexity and bottom-line pressure. Not one to give up after 120 years in business, UPS has been looking for creative ways to make ends meet without disappointing the public. They created a massive buyo
Rubber Stamped CDL Regulations
Commercial Driver's Licenses have been in the news a lot lately, and not for good reasons. A number of fatal accidents have been caused by questionably licensed drivers. These high profile incidents have caused a number of states and the Federal government to start digging into who is getting these licenses and how. Much of the current situation dates back to a regulatory change made in 2022 that
OceanGate and the Limits of Supply Base Innovation
On June 18, 2023, the OceanGate TITAN, a submersible on its way to the Titanic wreck site, imploded, killing all five passengers, including OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush. There were a number of factors leading to this tragic event, including a horrible disregard of basic safety measures, a deliberate effort to work outside of regulatory and inspection protocols, and a toxic company culture. While
Asset Optimization Isn't a Destination – It's a Discipline
"No trucking company in the history of trucking companies has ever made money if their wheels aren't moving basically all the time." - Sean Devine, Founder and CEO, XBE When costs are high and competition is tight, how companies think about opportunities and challenges determines how successful they will be. They must deal with the never-ending push and pull between procurement and sales, the rol
Inside the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics: Harnessing Creative Destruction
"Capitalism, then, is by nature a form or method of economic change and not only never is but never can be stationary." - Austrian Economist Joseph Schumpeter (1950) The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was recently awarded to Joel Mokyr, an economic historian at Northwestern University, Philippe Aghion, who is affiliated with universities in France and the U.K., and Peter Howitt, a professor of econ
Intermodal by Design: How Coordination Drives Efficiency W/ Anne Reinke
When it comes to moving freight long distances, you can go from ship to drayage to rail to over-the-road trucking… or you can go intermodal. Intermodal freight transportation combines the advantages of sea, air, and land transport to facilitate a preplanned end-to-end journey. Understanding the relative cost, security, and emissions benefits of intermodal transportation is key for companies lookin
The Soybean Economy: What's at Stake in the U.S.–China Trade Talks
Global trading of steel, lumber, and rare earth minerals makes our companies and industries and economies work. And yet, right up there with those examples is an agricultural commodity many people don't like and won't eat: soybeans. Soybeans are a huge focus of the trade talks between the U.S. and China, and there is a lot at stake between now and the end of the year, especially for U.S. soybean f
Kodiak's Road to IPO: AI, Defense Contracts, and the Future of Autonomous Trucking
On September 25, 2025, Kodiak, an autonomous truck software company founded in 2018, went public with a $2.5 Billion valuation. Unlike other companies that make the whole truck autonomous, Kodiak retrofits existing equipment with their sensors and software. Also, unlike other companies in their space… they have revenue, something that is a challenge in any emerging industry. In 2024, Kodiak became
Reimagining Reshoring With the Help of 3D Printing
In conversations about reshoring, people usually assume that it means building or retrofitting facilities for U.S. manufacturing, bringing in equipment, and hiring people to operate it. But what if that isn't what it is going to look like at all? The costs and uncertainty associated with tariffs may be changing attitudes about global trade enough that 3D printing, also known as additive manufact
Truck Drivers, Trade Deals, and Denials: Sorting Fact from Fiction in Nebraska
"Werner Enterprises wishes to clarify that we are not involved in any agreements of discussions regarding the recruitment of Kenyan truck drivers to the United States. Any claims suggesting otherwise are just false." - Werner Enterprises on X, September 9, 2025 In early September, rumors started to swirl that Werner Enterprises, a $3 Billion transportation and logistics company based in Omaha, Neb
Target Steps Back from 'Stores as Hubs' Digital Fulfillment
"It's also important to note that while our stores are fulfilling more digital orders it's not coming at the cost of in-store sales…our stores as hubs strategy isn't putting our core business at risk. It's simply helping us grow faster." - Brian Cornell, Target CEO, in 2019 In August, Target announced that they would be backing away from their 'stores as hubs' program. The program started in 2017
Honk If You're Qualified: Understanding CDL Safety
If you want to operate a truck over 26,000 pounds, earn money for doing it, and cross state lines… then you need to have a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Truck drivers are essential to the economy, and so having a CDL is a real asset. It offers job security and flexibility, as well as solid earnings and great benefits. In fact, CDLs are so valuable that even people who haven't earned one are w
Can Apple Reshore the iPhone?
"We're committed to supporting U.S. suppliers involved in every key stage of the chip-making process — from the earliest stages of research and development, to final fabrication and packaging." - Sabih Khan, COO at Apple In April, President Trump said that he wants the Apple iPhone to be manufactured in the United States. The iPhone's 2,700 components currently come from 187 suppliers in 28 count
Shipments Under Siege: The Growing Problem of Cargo Theft
The supply chain faces a lot of challenges right now: geopolitical unpredictability, tariff uncertainty, the end of de minimis exemptions, and constantly changing regulations worldwide. It doesn't need one more problem - but it has one anyway. And that's cargo theft. According to Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb), since 2021, there has been a 1,500% increase in cargo theft incidents in the U.S., costing
Lost at Sea: Can the U.S. regain maritime dominance?
"Today, the U.S. ranks 19th in the world in commercial shipbuilding, and we build less than 5 ships each year, while the PRC is building more than 1,700 ships. In 1975, the United States ranked number one, and we were building more than 70 ships a year." - Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (2021-2025) The Trump Administration is on a mission to make shipbuilding great again… a bipartisan ef
From Billable Hours to Measurable Impact: The GSA's Push for Outcome-Based Contracts
"If you're as good as you say you are, you should be able to keep your cost structure down, deliver the mission and the outcome, and still make a margin." - Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the GSA The General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for Federal contracting, has been making DOGE-style headlines of their own this year. In late June, they sent a l
Coming Unchained to Embrace Global Supply Networks W/ Tim Richardson
"We've had this whole period of trying to manage supply chains for lowest cost, whereas I think now we're managing for resilience at a managed cost and at an acceptable cost." - Tim Richardson, Founder and CEO, Iter Consulting Supply chains aren't really chains anymore. They're complex, interconnected networks. Supply networks are anything but predictable. What used to be straightforward relation
What Restaurants Can Teach Us About Procurement & Supply Chain
"The way you do one thing is the way you do everything, and we found, over and over, that precision in the smallest of details translated to precision in the bigger ones." - Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality There are a lot of opportunities for crossover learning between running a restaurant and working in procurement or supply chain. Both fields are highly operational and process driven, not
Making the Pivot to AI-enabled Global Sourcing W/ Anthony Sardain
"There is a world where we can have a much more dynamic supply chain. Certainly, the current set of brands that are experiencing the squeeze from the tariffs would definitely benefit from being able to pivot their supply chain pretty quickly." - Anthony Sardain, Founder and CEO of Cavela For all of the enthusiasm about AI, global sourcing is one of the processes that has remained predominantly hum
Remembering Fred Smith: FedEx Founder & Supply Chain Visionary
"Life is short and it ends, the clock is ticking. Don't get all wrapped up in your personal self, that's a very unhealthy thing to do." - Fred Smith, Founder of FedEx (1944 - 2025) On June 21, 2025, the business world - more specifically the supply chain world - lost a giant. FedEx Founder Fred Smith passed away at the age of 80. Frederick Wallace Smith was born in Marks, Mississippi in 1944. Acco
How Transportation & Logistics Companies Are Tackling Network Security W/ Ken Rutsky
"This is a long standing discussion within the networking and security industry: is there a perimeter? I think the reality is the perimeter still exists because it's a data and logical perimeter, but it doesn't exist anymore as a physical perimeter." - Ken Rutsky, Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka As the world becomes increasingly digital, ensuring network connectivity and security become parallel
Down but Not Out: California's Fight to Regulate Emissions
There have been a number of efforts to regulate a transition to lower logistics-related emissions, and all of them involved the state of California and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). California always plays a unique role in these debates because they have the most air pollution in the country and also the toughest emissions regulations. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) predat
A Procurement Crime at Intel: Loopholes and Lessons Learned
While true crime has gained traction as a genre in the literary world, it's not often we see it applied to procurement. Yet, a fascinating and unsettling procurement fraud case has recently come to light within Intel Israel's operations. Every criminal investigation seeks to uncover means, motive, and opportunity, and this case checks all three boxes, with implications that go far beyond one compa
Prioritizing Dispute Prevention Over Problem Solving
After spending years reviewing business books, Kelly Barner knows how to recognize authors who truly move the needle–and Kate Vitasek is one of them. Her latest work, Preventing the Dispute Before It Begins: Proven Mechanisms for Fostering Better Business Relationships, co-authored with James Groton, Ellen Waldman, and Allen Waxman, takes on a surprisingly neglected topic: dispute prevention. Whil
High Velocity Lessons on Lobbying and Trade W/ Samir Kapadia
"In this climate of being a trade professional in Washington, expect to be in an Uber for about half of the day and then the other half of it sitting in rooms making cases of why people either should be not paying tariffs or how other people should be paying tariffs." - Samir Kapadia, Managing Principal at Vogel Group and Founder and CEO at India Index Supply chain professionals have always had to
Tariffs as a Girder for Domestic Fabricated Steel W/ Stephen Capone and Hollie Noveletsky
"We need to be able to tolerate this uncertainty and the fluctuations that we're undergoing right now and keep our eye on the long term goal of strengthening American manufacturing." -Hollie Noveletsky, Owner and CEO of Novel Iron Works While many consumers and business owners feel uneasy about the Trump Administration's use of tariffs, there is at least one group that views them as essential: ste
Semiconductor CHIPS, Checks, and Challenges
"Even though the world's advanced economies are largely considered post-industrial, chipmaking is an area where domestic manufacturing is now being treated as a high priority for economic and national security reasons." Jon Martin, Writing for the 'More than Moore' substack The CHIPS and Science Act, which took effect in August of 2022, is an ambitious Federal program that will inject $52.7 Bi
How U.S. Tariffs Are Reshaping Global Freight W/ Judah Levine
Global supply chain leaders and consumers alike have watched for months as the U.S. tariff rollercoaster starts and stops, impacting imported goods. While these policy changes are expected to directly impact supply chains, what about their impact on the cost and availability of freight? As companies hold their breath and wait to see if and/or when their imports will be subjected to tariffs, many h
Supply Chains & Second Chances: Human Trafficking Aftercare
In recent years, a lot of work has been done to raise awareness about the massive problem of human trafficking as well as to start to attack that problem. In this week's episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner interviews two women engaged in an important part of that fight through an organization called Gift of Freedom: Sharon Siar and Nicole Glenn. Sharon Siar is the Founder and President Gift of
Building a U.S. Solar Supply Chain
"Between 2008 and 2013, China's fledgling solar-electric panel industry dropped world prices by 80 percent, a stunning achievement in a fiercely competitive high-tech market." - John Fialka, Scientific American In March, Corning, Suniva, and Heliene announced a partnership that will allow them to build a U.S. supply chain for solar panels, from polysilicon to wafers to cells to panels. In a global
Manufacturing Labor Market Insights in an Uncertain World
Economic commentators often look at consumer spending as a barometer for confidence and outlook - how good or bad financially do individuals and families think the broader economy is, and how profitable it will be for them? The same can perhaps be said for companies and hiring managers. How confident are they that they will be able to keep people employed in uncertain times, and what skills are th
Beef with the Big 4: McDonald's vs. the Meat Monopoly
In October of 2024, McDonald's sued four of the world's largest meat producers – Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef Packing – for allegedly conspiring to inflate the price of beef by creating artificial scarcity in the market. This is not the first time McDonald's has sued these meat producers, and it is not the first time these meat producers have been sued. Over 200 cases have been brought b
In Defense of Lean Thinking W/ Thomas Goldsby
Everything runs in trends, supply chains included. What was once considered a critical strategy can be cancelled in a heartbeat if conditions change - only to be rediscovered and reapplied to great advantage a couple of years later. In this week's Art of Supply interview, Kelly Barner welcomes back Professor Thomas Goldsby. Tom is the Dee and Jimmy Haslam Chair of Logistics at the Haslam College o
Scope 3 Showdown: Green Century v. Ford
On May 8th, at Ford Motor Company's annual shareholder meeting, they will face a proposal focused on how they report their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on their way to being carbon neutral by 2050. The proposal was made by Green Century Capital Management, a sustainability-focused activist fund that regularly challenges recognizable companies about their emissions reduction eff
LTL Shakeup: Will Amazon join the fray?
A few weeks ago, rumors started to swirl that Amazon might be standing up their own for-hire less-than-truckload (LTL) operation to compete with the likes of FedEx Freight, Old Dominion, XPO, and Saia. So what are these rumors based on, and how likely are they to be true? More importantly, what would such a move mean for other national LTL carriers? In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barners
Who owns the Panama Canal?
The Panama Canal is a 51 mile long waterway that allows ships to cut about 8,000 miles off of a trip from New York to San Francisco around the route around Cape Horn. The country of Panama owns the canal, which is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government, but who owns the ports located on either side of the canal? Until now, it has been CK Hutchison, a Hong Ko
Decoding the DOGE Savings Calculator
The Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, was created by executive order on President Trump's first day back in office. It immediately became one of the most controversial parts of the administration's first couple of months. Love it or hate it, if you work in procurement, you have to watch what DOGE is doing. And if you can't bring yourself to review their objectives, strate
Investing in People-powered Safety in Food Manufacturing W/ Nathan Walts
"Everyone at the plant has a duty to protect the products that we're sending out to the customer. Ultimately, you really have to think about it as sort of a 'circle of life.' What's my responsibility with what I'm doing in this part of the process, and what's going to happen when this product reaches the consumer?" - Nathan Walts, CEO, WorkForge The food supply chain is uniquely complex and critic
East and Gulf Coast Port Strike – Part 2
Back in October, when the East and Gulf coast port strike ended after 3 days, we knew there would be a part 2. Short though it was, the strike is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy $3.8 - 5 Billion per day, but that wasn't seen as the greatest 'cost' at the time. With the Presidential campaign in full swing, all eyes were on the impact it might have on the candidates' relative popularity. Now
A Narrow Path Towards Noninflationary Tariffs
Since President Trump took office on January 20th, speculation about tariffs has been omnipresent in supply chain planning conversations. But we do have a guide to the administration's philosophy, A User's Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System, written by Stephen Miran and published by Hudson Bay Capital in November of 2024. Miran is Trump's pick to lead his Council of Economic Advisers
Lessons in Listening from Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God
"I talk to people and I record it. That's it." - Joe Rogan People often say that we all need to learn to communicate better, and that is true. But we need to invest more effort on the listening side than the talking side. Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God are standout media personalities and cultural icons. They are also fantastic listeners and exceptional conversationalists. Their ability to pre
Who will decide the future of EV trucking?
Who will decide when EV trucking goes from being an option available to anyone to an enforceable mandate that everyone must comply with? That question is at the heart of this week's interview. Kelly Barner had the opportunity to speak with Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilgers. His state is on the front lines of a legal effort to ensure that if regulations end up driving the EV transition, th
Dylan v. Goliath: The Freight Essentials RICO Case
"If anyone thinks that they know it all, they're in the wrong place." - Dylan Admire The series of relationships that make the freight industry work is like a supply chain in and of itself. Under the freight agent model, agents help shippers find capacity through brokers who hold carrier contracts, facilitate financing and payments, and carry the MC number under which the agent operates. When this
Misfortune on 34th Street: Accounting Issues at Macy's
"It is almost always the cover-up rather than the event that causes trouble." - Tennessee Senator Howard Baker, in reference to the Watergate scandal Whether you shop at Macy's or not, you surely know the brand. In 2023, Macy's was the leading department store in the United States by revenue, with sales of approximately $23 Billion. On November 25, 2024, Macy's delayed an earnings announcement p
Nebraska v. California: The EV Trucking Transition
"Now an unelected group of powerful actors has opened a three-front effort to transform the nation's logistics fleet from diesel-powered to electric-powered at a breakneck pace. This terrible policy is being crafted almost entirely out of public view. Nebraska is fighting back." -Mike Hilgers, Nebraska Attorney General (WSJ Op Ed, Jan 17 2025) If you expected the transition from diesel-powered to
The Dawn of a New Era in U.S. Trade Policy
"India is putting their money where their mouth is. If they're able to execute upon a free trade agreement or a pseudo free trade agreement...then that would create the fluidity to buoy all of those ships in that harbor." - Samir Kapadia - Managing Principal at Vogel Group and Founder and CEO at India Index Regardless of the topic, 2024 was filled with 'what if' conversations. We were waiting to f
Reenvisioning Robotics for Warehouse Optimization
"We have that emotional pull to group together as humans and fight the automation. The reality is you cannot have one without the other, and they are very much working together." -Matt Naslund, Chief Commercial Officer, Mytra As businesses look to streamline operations and optimize decision-making, a combination of hardware, software, and automation offer a solution. The challenge then becomes fig
Re-reading Good to Great at the Start of a New Year
In 2001, Jim Collins published the book 'Good to Great.' He was supported by a team that invested 10.5 'people years' over the course of 5 calendar years to figure out what allows some good companies to become great companies. Their research revealed key findings about leadership, use of technology, building a team, company culture, and vision. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly
Supply Chain Stories to Watch at the Start of 2025
Many of the supply chain news stories we covered in 2024 look ready to carry right over - or even rise to the top - as we start a new year. Some of these stories are likely to re-emerge with the incoming Trump Administration, while others are ready for a change in direction thanks to geopolitics. Supply chain professionals that already have an eye out for breaking news will be best positioned to r
Solving Supply Chain Puzzles: Insights from a Year of Interviews
This year on Art of Supply, we welcomed a fantastic group of guests. Each interview episode creates two kinds of challenges: asking questions worthy of the guest's expertise and capturing a conversation that lives up to audience expectations. Looking back on the interviews we ran in 2024, there are a few key messages that stand out, as individual points of view and what they collectively offer sup
Supply Chain Forecast: Volatile with Tim Richardson
"I think if you could summarize what the trend is going to be in the future - It's going to be volatile. That's the trend." - Tim Richardson, Founder and CEO of Iter Consulting In order to be influential with the C-suite, someone must have experience and expertise in a given subject. They must do detailed technical work and analysis to prepare their strategy recommendations and to be ready to answ
In Defense of Outliers
"Polling is a science of estimation, and science has a way of periodically humbling the scientist. So, I'm humbled, yet always willing to learn from unexpected findings." - J. Ann Selzer, President and Owner, Selzer & Company Data and analysis are at the heart of nearly everything attempted in modern business. And while human skill is critical in the process of converting data into insight, hu
Walking a Mile in Another Supply Chain's Shoes W/ Alex Jennings
"The reason I like listening is I think, 'If I'd have been CPO there or in other organizations, what would I have done to try and prevent that? And what red flags would I have held up? And what can we learn from that so that it doesn't happen again?'" - Alex Jennings, CEO and co-founder of The Alchemie Network We all consume content for different reasons–education, entertainment, or otherwise. The
BONUS: Indictment in the 2022 Tractor Trailer Human Smuggling Case
When we cover a news story on Art of Supply, we stick with it, even when it seems to have gone cold. In late August, we got an update on the case of the 53 migrants who lost their lives as a result of illegal attempted smuggling over the Mexico border back in 2022. On June 27th, 2022, an abandoned tractor trailer was found near Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The truck had mechanica
Liverwurst, Listeria, and Liability: Food Safety at Boar's Head
When something goes wrong in the supply chain, it is never good news. It always leads to disruption, often costs a lot of money, and sometimes people get hurt - or worse. In July of 2024, the USDA suspended production at a Boar's Head processing plant in Jarratt, Virginia. A listeria outbreak, the worst such outbreak in over a decade, had started in the plant. The facility has been closed indefini
