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State of 3PLs & Women in Supply Chain · The Intermodal Logistics Podcast

0:03
SPEAKER_01: Thanks very much for joining us on this edition of the Intermodal Logistics Podcast.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm Kevin Baxter with my co-host today, InTech Logistics, CEO of Rick Lagore.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: Hey Rick, hey, good to be back.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: And on this episode, we are talking about the state of three PLs, running two major freight and logistics publications and a few more under that as well.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: And women in the supply chain with Iron Markets Content Director and Food Logistics and Supply and Demand Chain Executive Editor in Chief for Marina Mayer.
0:32
SPEAKER_01: Hey Marina, thanks very much for joining us.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: Hi, thank you so much for having me today.
0:37
SPEAKER_02: It was nice to finally put a name uh face to a name.
0:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: So um first off, we we like to always start with uh a little bit of background on our guest.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: I I went through some of the the titles, and uh there there are plenty of things that it seems like irons in the fire for you.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: But uh yeah, tell us tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background uh in uh the supply chain space and and how it led you to where you are today.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, you hit it, you hit it correctly.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: I'm the editor-in-chief of food logistics and supply and demand chain executive, and we operate online and oversee a lot of the awards programs that a lot of um companies, including Intech, have been a part of, including the top three PL and Cold Storage Providers Award.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: Um I'm also the content director for Iron Markets, so we kind of oversee a lot of verticals in publications in different markets, such as construction, landscaping, and OEM off-highway.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: Um and I also serve as the co-founder of our Women in Supply Chain Forum, our in-person conference.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: Um but I have been covering supply chain and logistics landscape market for um close to 14 years at previous companies.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: So I'm very familiar with um the landscape of what this looks like and the innovation and all the companies that are kind of coming in and out of the space on a regular basis.
1:57
SPEAKER_01: So uh for those particular uh supply chain publications that we talked about, um, food logistics, uh, I mean, I think actually the names of them are somewhat self-explanatory, but uh tell us a little bit more about uh about what they cover, uh who they're targeting, and uh and what the the differences are between the two of them.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: So food logistics only covers the cold food chain space.
2:21
SPEAKER_02: So it's the perimeter of a grocery store, it's your food service outlet that um takes in cold chain, anything that's temperature controlled.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: Um so we cover everything from the transportation and storage of to the manufacturing of to the safety and security of it, um, and even sustainability measures that kind of go behind it.
2:40
SPEAKER_02: Um so it's strictly just cold chain and the food, food and beverage.
2:44
SPEAKER_02: Suppliance managing executive, I like to say it's kind of everything else.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: It's your e-commerce, your retail, your manufacturing, your automotive, your pharmaceutical, anything that doesn't really require temperature control, um, but does require a truck to move it or a distribution center to store it, or um any kind of rules and regulations to manage it.
3:05
SPEAKER_02: So we have a lot of crossover companies that kind of are in both space, um, but you know, we do have separate segregated audiences.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: And uh so with all of that, and and you mentioned the other the other verticals, uh uh in looking at the Iron Markets page, uh, as you mentioned, uh a lot of other industries that that sort of dovetail, I mean every industry dovetails with frame logistics in some way.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: Um but uh so so what is a typical week like for you with with covering all of that as as content and then your your producing content for for some of these publications as well, editorial for for the two that we just mentioned.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: And uh and you mentioned the Women in Supply Chain uh Forum organizing that along with awards that you uh you also uh cover as well.
3:53
SPEAKER_01: So so what's a week look like and and how do you manage all of those things?
3:57
SPEAKER_02: Well, I don't know how I manage it.
3:59
SPEAKER_02: I don't have the secret figured out.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: Um, so I don't have any secret sauce to share.
4:03
SPEAKER_02: Um I think I think I manage it because you know you just have to stay organized and follow deadlines.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: And I have a good team underneath me who um directly oversee a lot of those publications in the construction and landscaping space.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: So I'm not as hands-on in a day-to-day basis as they are, um, which does help.
4:20
SPEAKER_02: I think you need good people who are responsible and professional and can do their job without being babysitting.
4:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, but um, you know, the typical day is, you know, I and I'm sure you guys can relate as well, being actually in the supply chain space.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, you wake up and you think you have a to-do list and a list of things you're gonna do, and then it just takes one email or one phone call or one fire to put out to just kind of derail the whole day.
4:48
SPEAKER_02: So I don't have it figured out.
4:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't think anybody really does.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: I think staying organized and being surrounded by good, hardworking professionals is is the key.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: I know your story all to well.
5:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just one email.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: Sure, you can relate.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: Best laid plans, right?
5:07
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: You gotta have them for those occasional days where that email doesn't come, but uh, it doesn't happen too much.
5:14
SPEAKER_02: It's always I gotta put out fires and people don't understand what that means.
5:18
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, you know, when and it's not in journalism, it's not, you know, something, well, we posted online and we weren't supposed to post it.
5:24
SPEAKER_02: It's stuff that happens behind the scenes that nobody really sees, you know, and it's glitches with third-party platforms, it's it's glitches with the system, it's technology sometimes as our friend, and sometimes it just can grow in your day.
5:36
SPEAKER_02: So there's that.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: Understood.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: I think we can all sympathize there too.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: So um recently you just you just finished up a series on uh the state of the cold chain 3pl market in food logistics magazine.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: And and you mentioned the awards, the top 3PL and cold storage providers.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: So you went back to some of the the prior um honorees there and and went through a few different um sort of uh subject matter areas in that.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: So uh first of all, what what prompted you to go that direction to do this series at this time?
6:15
SPEAKER_01: Obviously a pretty good time to do uh do a series when the market is sort of shifting around a little bit.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: And uh and what were you trying to uh touch on in particular?
6:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and that's a great question because we we have run the top 3PL and Cold Storage Providers Award for about 10 years now, could be more than that on the food logistics side.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: And this year we kind of took a break from running it.
6:39
SPEAKER_02: Um there were a lot of things going on with trying to build the forum and we were trying to really reassess our awards programs and put kind of our efforts um and better streamline.
6:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, what had happened was, you know, we kind of sunset the award and expected everybody to kind of just go in their respective corners.
6:56
SPEAKER_02: And I had a lot of emails from people.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, I'm so upset.
7:00
SPEAKER_02: I love this award, I love participating.
7:02
SPEAKER_02: We've won it for 10 years in a row.
7:04
SPEAKER_02: You know, you're really screwing up my stuff.
7:07
SPEAKER_02: So I thought to myself, well, yeah, this award is really important to a lot of people in the cold food chain space.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: So we are bringing it back next year.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: But what I did as a result is I went back to some of those winners and I said, okay, let's let's have a conversation because you know, you you have won this award for the past 10 years or five years or whatever the case is.
7:25
SPEAKER_02: You know, let's drill down and talk about the real hard-hitting specific challenges that are impacting 3PLs.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: And it's not just impacting 3PLs, it's impacting 3PL's customers.
7:37
SPEAKER_02: And we don't really talk about that when we do the awards, we just focus on the 3PL.
7:42
SPEAKER_02: But a lot of what we're seeing in the market is that 3PLs have their own challenges as a company, but then they're being challenged by working with their customers because their customers have their own set of challenges.
7:52
SPEAKER_02: So there's a lot of moving pieces.
7:54
SPEAKER_02: So I brought, I did some kind of a four-part series interview.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: It's on foodlogistics.com, and it was to kind of really have that conversation with these winners and say, okay, that's great that you won in the past, but let's let's talk about what you're doing as a company to move the needle forward.
8:09
SPEAKER_02: So that was kind of the purpose of it.
8:11
SPEAKER_02: Next year, we'll figure out next year, but we are doing the award next year, so everybody can calm down.
8:16
SPEAKER_02: I have never received so many emails about something in my entire time here at Iron Markets.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: So, what what did you see as some of the key points that they were struggling with or their customers are struggling with that they were trying to get over?
8:30
SPEAKER_02: So, a lot of the food safety regulations are becoming a struggle because the the timelines keep changing.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: But then a lot of the three PLs we talked to, they work with small companies.
8:41
SPEAKER_02: They may not have the funds to get in front of those um regulations.
8:45
SPEAKER_02: They may not have, you know, the people in place to kind of deal with it.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: We're seeing technology as a big driver in opportunity, but it's also a big driver in challenge because it's it's um, you know, keeping up with the Joneses and the 3PL set sector, so to speak, you know, and there's a lot of moving pieces.
9:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we're seeing a lot of the driver regulations that are coming into play that a lot of companies are trying to scramble to try to get in front of before things go into effect.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: But again, those regulations keep changing too.
9:18
SPEAKER_02: It's, you know, here's the hard set date, it's in July 1st.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: Nope, just kidding, it's actually gonna be in August.
9:22
SPEAKER_02: Just kidding, it's probably gonna be next year.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: It's it's a lot.
9:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, and we're also seeing obviously the tariffs, inflation.
9:29
SPEAKER_02: That's a big thing.
9:30
SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of their customers are reaping a lot of that and trying to absorb it so they don't pass it on to their end user.
9:38
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, at some point the three PLs have to kind of work together.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: But I love what I loved about this whole series was that it did put the focus on three PLs as the all-in-one service provider.
9:50
SPEAKER_02: They're not just a trucking company.
9:52
SPEAKER_02: A lot of these companies do so many things.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: And I think we kind of lose sight of that focus when we do basic things like awards, when you really talk to them and say, okay, well, do you provide cold stories?
10:02
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
10:03
SPEAKER_02: Do you provide co-packing?
10:04
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: These are wonderful things that I think a lot of companies should take advantage of, but may not know exist.
10:10
SPEAKER_02: So I think that was the cool part of what I learned from this entire uh exercise.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: Well, I I think the the timing was interesting too, because obviously there there have been things that have been percolating in the last several months that uh that have been different.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: But even even just when you went out to people, I think that was right around the time uh around the time that Iran started to be an issue with fuel, which was another variable that you throw into the mix with you had already talked about the the trucking regulations and um and all of those things and the food regulations as well.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: So um an interesting time to catch everybody, I guess.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
10:53
SPEAKER_02: Well, and on top of that, there is that labor issue.
10:55
SPEAKER_02: You know, you have a lot of drivers that are retiring um and not a lot of in infiltration coming in to kind of replace that.
11:04
SPEAKER_02: And then how do you take care of that with technology?
11:07
SPEAKER_02: And then how do you take care of that with all of the FFM's CSA regulations where they're now kind of pushing back and saying, no, you can't have drivers drive more than X amount of hours.
11:17
SPEAKER_02: You can't have them driving long term and oh wait, now we're changing all the CDL requirements.
11:22
SPEAKER_02: And so there's a lot of things going on that, you know, are putting the pushing the brakes on a lot of these companies.
11:29
SPEAKER_02: But you know, to your point with Iran, it was it wasn't intentional.
11:33
SPEAKER_02: That was just when I put out the interview, and then, you know, just like anything that we experience in supply chain, stuff happens.
11:40
SPEAKER_02: You know, we were in war and here we are, and we just have to figure out how to move forward.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so in talking to the uh three PLs that that responded on on the trucking, uh FMCSA capacity, all of those issues, how are you seeing uh them sort of dealing with that scenario that we're in right now with with the capacity leaving and not necessarily uh looking like it's coming back?
12:11
SPEAKER_02: It was weird.
12:12
SPEAKER_02: I was expecting a lot of companies to come back and say, oh, here's, you know, it's really hurting our business.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: I was really expecting that because I do see a lot of market research where even though it says, oh, you know, the market's growing and it's doing great, you know, when you drill down and you talk to executives one-on-one, they're like, no, we're we're dying.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: It's not it's not good.
12:36
SPEAKER_02: But what I saw was a lot of these executives, um, including Rick, who we interviewed, say, you know what, there's hope we can move forward.
12:46
SPEAKER_02: We just need to kind of go back to the basics and figure out where we really need to focus our attention on.
12:52
SPEAKER_02: And then that's how we fix this problem internally as a company and then move forward.
12:57
SPEAKER_02: You know, there's always gonna be a capacity issue, there's always gonna be a demand issue, there's always gonna be a workforce issue.
13:02
SPEAKER_02: Those issues are normal.
13:05
SPEAKER_02: That's just the state of life in operation and transportation.
13:09
SPEAKER_02: But, you know, control the things you control and the things you cannot control, maybe step back and go, okay, well, we got to figure something else out.
13:17
SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of what I learned from a lot of the responses.
13:20
SPEAKER_02: And I was not, I was not expecting that.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: I was expecting a lot of negativity.
13:25
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, this is this is not gonna work, we're gonna shut down, you know.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: And I've had executives tell me that in the past, they're like, don't print that, but they've told me that.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: But um, that's not what I got this time around, which was actually kind of hopeful for the future.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, it really gets back to you you just need to know what the rules are.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: And once you do know what the rules are, then you can go play the game.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: It's just a matter of in the last couple of years, the rules just seem to be ever shifting.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: And maybe we're we're not that negative because we've been doing it for a couple three years.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Actually, really, since the pandemic, things have been shifting.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: Um and you you just have to, you know, focus on the things, as you said, that you can control and let the other ones go by and uh just just play by the new set of rules that's put in front of you.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you really don't have any other choice, really.
14:16
SPEAKER_02: Well, that's true.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you could sit there and humano about the things you can't control, but I mean there's always going to be a disruption, and it's always going to be a to some global um degree.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: Well, and also going into the the timing a bit, the the rates had obviously been already starting to head up when you when you started reaching out to folks.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: So there did seem to be maybe maybe that light at the end of the tunnel when you were talking to them this time that maybe if you did this last year, um maybe maybe they wouldn't have been as uh optimistic.
14:49
unknown: Yeah.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: Well improving rates certainly do make it better.
14:52
SPEAKER_02: Well, exactly.
14:53
SPEAKER_02: And the fuel thing, I mean, there's no perfect time to to interview somebody on that because what somebody's experiencing in New York is something different than what they're experiencing in Texas, so to speak.
15:05
SPEAKER_02: You know, I would interview folks in California where, you know, diesel was over seven dollars a gallon, and it was like, you can't compare that.
15:13
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm in Illinois and we were pretty high, but I'm not gonna, you know, I'll be like, okay, that's fine.
15:19
SPEAKER_02: We're not in California's rates.
15:20
SPEAKER_02: And I think it just because there's so much fluctuation every day, you know, and I sent the email questions out and started to kind of probe, let's let's set up this interview.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: But by the time responses came in, the world was in a completely different space.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: So it just shows how quickly things move in supply chains.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: No pun intended.
15:42
unknown: Yeah, right.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: It's impossible not to do puns.
15:45
SPEAKER_01: I mean, exactly.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: There's too many, too many words that are just part of the lexicon anyway.
15:50
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: So um so that that was kind of part one was the FMCSA, capacity issues, all of that.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: Part two uh was more on the uh the innovation side.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: And as you said, the that some some were talking about technology as an opportunity, others were talking about it as uh a challenge.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: But what were some of the the types of technologies?
16:11
SPEAKER_01: Um we actually just did a podcast uh a couple of episodes ago with uh a company that's working on autonomous um Dre uh trucks, and uh and so obviously there's autonomous vehicles are sort of front of mind now.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: AI, obviously, uh those a couple of them, and are there some other things as well that people were bringing up?
16:31
SPEAKER_02: So we saw a lot of things about visibility, and it wasn't just visibility of the truck, it was visibility of the driver, visibility of the product that's being shipped.
16:39
SPEAKER_02: It's literally all the components involved, um, which I thought was pretty cool because everybody's talks about, oh, well, we have this great software that tracks, you know, the truck, but what you're not tracking is the person driving it.
16:51
SPEAKER_02: And then you have this cargo fraud uh issue going on in the cold food space, food and beverage space.
16:57
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I thought that was pretty cool to kind of drill down and say, well, it's not just the truck, it has to be the driver, it has to be the from point A to point B.
17:05
SPEAKER_02: It literally has to be every single component involved.
17:08
SPEAKER_02: And then it's also the temperature control of the product inside.
17:10
SPEAKER_02: So, how do you control all of that?
17:12
SPEAKER_02: Um, what I also saw was a lot of cybersecurity stuff and just driver safety stuff in general.
17:19
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, the focus is no longer just on female drivers, truck drivers, it's truck drivers in general.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: It's how do you protect them from somebody coming and hijacking their cargo load?
17:30
SPEAKER_02: How do you protect them when they go into to gas up and somebody's doing something to their truck?
17:36
SPEAKER_02: And that's what we saw a lot of was just the visibility part of it and and security part of it.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: Um, to add to your point, automation was a huge part.
17:46
SPEAKER_02: Um and electrification, there was a little bit in there.
17:48
SPEAKER_02: I think, I think cold food chain space isn't really there yet.
17:54
SPEAKER_02: Um and that's okay because I don't think that there's a need for it, but automation was a was a big piece of it too.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: Well, you talk about uh the cybersecurity and then the physical cargo theft.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, the there are so many ways that uh that that companies are in danger from from that these days, whether it's the the digital world or the the physical world.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: Well, and we saw a lot of um you know AI-driven platforms.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: So it's it's designed to kind of forecast what the outcome could be if you turn left versus right, so to speak, just to just to say.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: But like the security part was huge because it's it's not just the people.
18:42
SPEAKER_02: It's it's you know, when they go to check in, is it really that person?
18:45
SPEAKER_02: Do they have a verified ID?
18:47
SPEAKER_02: You know, is that ID legit?
18:49
SPEAKER_02: It's it's all these things that you don't really think of from a consumer standpoint.
18:53
SPEAKER_02: But when you drill down and talk to these executives who've had unfortunately terrible experiences with drivers who've been hijacked or um, you know, show showing the wrong ID.
19:03
SPEAKER_02: And this is somebody who works for your company, you know, it's fraud, however you look at it.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: But that's that's a real thing.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: So um part three was uh was more on the uh the cost pressure side.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: And so we've talked about a couple of those, but uh one of the other things that that came up in that one was uh the real estate pressure.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: So so what kind of uh pressures are we seeing there for for those companies that are dealing with uh the warehousing space?
19:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, anything that the leasing market is kind of upside down, I guess you could say, and it depends on who you talk to, obviously, because there is, you know, some differences in in how you look at that.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: But you know, they're saying, you know, in the article we we pulled a report from CBRE, um, and it said that this there's a there is an increase in leasing, um, indicating that large companies are relying on three PLs to manage their complex logistics.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: But they're they're attributing this to the rise of e-commerce.
20:06
SPEAKER_02: And that's not just e-commerce on the retail side, that's e-commerce in your grocery.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: That's that's ship to home.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: That's your ordering online, and you're not even touching the grocery store parking lot.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: You're literally saying, I don't even want to go there, just ship it to my house, and I'll pay the extra or whatever to have it because it's temper temperature controlled items.
20:27
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's that's huge because that whole era started because of COVID.
20:34
SPEAKER_02: And then COVID kind of ended, and everybody's like, oh, everybody's gonna return to the grocery store.
20:39
SPEAKER_02: But I have to tell you, I don't know when the last time I went into the grocery store, and it may have been to pick up like five or six things that I forgot to add to my delivery or my order pickup.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, it it's kind of, you know, we're humans and you know, we have we fall into patterns and we fall into routine.
21:00
SPEAKER_02: And I think it it was something that added convenience for a lot of folks, whether you have families or not, it was just convenient.
21:08
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think that that's not gonna go away.
21:10
SPEAKER_02: And so as a result, these these cold chain three PLs are like, wait a minute, I thought this was temporary.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: No, this is a real thing.
21:18
SPEAKER_02: So now I have to readjust things for this being a permanent situation.
21:23
SPEAKER_02: And I think the leasing market, you know, didn't really kind of keep that in mind.
21:28
SPEAKER_02: And so everything was kind of like shifted upside down.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: But there is an uptick in that leasing because now these retailers and these food and beverage manufacturers are like, well, we have to figure out how to continue to cater to this sector of the business that's drawing in a lot of revenue.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it does it did feel like that that space sort of went on pause a little bit when everyone uh initially had been doing all of the uh grocery deliveries and everything back in twenty twenty, twenty one, and then kind of slowed down.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Down and then now it seems like all of the the actual grocery store chains are really pushing that, which was something that they had previously had more of like outsourced uh providers doing, but right now they're pushing it themselves.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: Well and it's odd that you say that oh sorry, continue, right?
22:16
SPEAKER_00: Oh that oh it it's also interesting to see that you y if you go to like a Walmart or a Kroger, those locations are starting to look more like warehouses because you see pig packers with the pick shelves and the and the bins and they're picking all those things off.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: That is when we go to the store because we forgot those two or three items.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Um I just I just noted this this weekend the more times I go, the more it looks like a a warehouse.
22:40
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: And to add to that, it's weird because you know, I shop at Target and you know, I'll do it all on the app and it's and I love it.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: But I noticed yesterday or two days ago when I was doing a drive-up, they're like, oh, do you have returns?
22:52
SPEAKER_02: You could do it from your car.
22:53
SPEAKER_02: So now you don't even want me to come into the store at all.
22:56
SPEAKER_02: Because if I am going to the store, it is to make a return.
22:59
SPEAKER_02: So now I can do the returns for my car, order my groceries, pick them up from my car, and order Starbucks and it have it delivered to my car.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: So you don't even need me to come in at this point.
23:10
SPEAKER_02: So I found it kind of odd because a part of me was like, Well, don't you want me to come into the store?
23:16
SPEAKER_02: Like, I know you're trying to make it convenient, but now you're making it to the point where I'm not even getting out of my car.
23:21
SPEAKER_02: Like I've become that shopper where I'm like, oh, forget it.
23:24
SPEAKER_02: Don't worry about it.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why I'd like the pharmacy stores.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: They would always have the pharmacy in the back.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: So you would walk through the store and you say, Oh, I need this, I need this, I need that.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: And then um they they pick up a f a few more sales based off of that.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's kind of interesting.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: They're they're kind of saying, Don't come into my store.
23:42
unknown: Yeah.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Which is okay with me, because I really don't want to go into the store.
23:45
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
23:46
SPEAKER_02: I'm fine with it.
23:47
SPEAKER_02: Thank you for making it more convenient.
23:49
SPEAKER_02: It's just I don't know, it's a weird mixed messaging, I guess you could say.
23:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
23:54
unknown: Yeah.
23:55
SPEAKER_01: So so overall, we talked a little bit about the the feelings of uh of the executives on how they're doing and the market.
24:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, but but that was sort of the the final piece of the the four parts was kind of a a sum up of of where things are right now.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: So um anything else that you uh took away from that in terms of the the outlook as we go about hit towards the halfway mark of uh of 2026.
24:26
SPEAKER_02: I think the thing that I saw in the last article, which was you know, an overall state of the market for 3PL, was partnerships and you know, putting 3PLs in a position where they are a partner, not a vendor.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's something that's so important for this industry to understand because a lot of food and beverage manufacturers that I talk to, they're like, well, yeah, we hired a 3PL and they'll just do the little things that we need them to do.
24:55
SPEAKER_02: But that's not really how it should be viewed because a lot of today's 3PLs offer so many additional steps and services, and they should be partnering better together to provide that one-stop shop.
25:08
SPEAKER_02: They should be partnering together to build that relationship and look at each other as true partners versus a vendor and a client or a client and a whatever.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, because it's important that everybody works together.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: We're all challenged with the same food safety regulations and trucking regulations and challenges, whether they're global or domestic.
25:32
SPEAKER_02: We're all challenged with it.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: So why wouldn't we partner together better?
25:36
SPEAKER_02: And I think the overall state of the market was that that's what it kind of focused on.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: Like these partnerships matter.
25:41
SPEAKER_02: You know, if you have a three PL, talk to them, pick up the phone, find out what else they do, how you can partner together, and how they're protecting you as a customer and your product, because that is something that I learned in actually having interviews with these companies is that you know, they're just as invested in your company as any as any client because they want to make sure your product gets to the end consumer when it's safe.
26:06
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day, if there is a food recall, it is usually nine times out of 10, consumers blame the company who makes it.
26:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you know, it's Kellogg, it's Nestle, it's this company.
26:18
SPEAKER_02: But it it may not be because of them.
26:20
SPEAKER_02: It could be because of the trucking company, it could be because of the distribution center, it could be because there was a mishap along the way.
26:26
SPEAKER_02: The average consumer doesn't understand that.
26:29
SPEAKER_02: But three PLs do a good job of making sure that they are protecting that messaging so it doesn't even get out.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: So nobody knows there isn't a recall because we protected your product.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and in in addition to picking up the call or the phone and saying, hey, what else do you do?
26:46
SPEAKER_00: The other question is is what are you seeing with our product?
26:49
SPEAKER_00: What are you seeing with our customer?
26:50
SPEAKER_00: What are you seeing with our orders that you've that uh you've seen in other instances that you can go ahead and make some other changes for us.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: So it's not necessarily what can you do for us, but maybe just sit back and ask ask the question.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: Um and I'll that that's one comment I'll make.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: The other comment I'll make uh is that I've been doing this for a long time, and it's interesting that we're still talking about um tracking and tracing and visibility because that's been something that's been talked about for years.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: And then partnerships, that's something that those stories don't go away.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: Those those are never-ending stories.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Right.
27:24
SPEAKER_02: I totally agree with that.
27:25
SPEAKER_02: That's such a good point.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: Well, and the the the partnership piece going back to the capacity and rate situation, that that's beneficial to to both sides, really, when uh a shipper has uh a long-term partner with with a 3PL, then they'll they'll feel a little bit more protected with with rate fluctuations and worries about capacity because they'll they'll probably be the first in line to get taken care of there.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: Right.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: I do have one question because I just I've I've seen it pop up a number of times.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: The GLP um drugs out there.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: Um did you find any conversation around the impact to the people's businesses, whether it's volume related or the types of products that they're that they're distributing because of the GLP one?
28:16
SPEAKER_02: So that's a great question.
28:18
SPEAKER_02: We have never asked it.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: Um mainly because we try to stay away from all the trends and fads of what's going on in food and beverage.
28:31
SPEAKER_02: Um we've never really asked that.
28:33
SPEAKER_02: If I if I was putting money on it, I would say that that was an impact.
28:38
SPEAKER_02: But I don't know how, to be honest.
28:42
SPEAKER_02: And I think that yeah, continue.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: So I I hear stories in terms of the number of truckloads that are being removed from the market because the number of calories that are being reduced, um uh being consumed by um people in the US because of the drugs.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: Um it's just and also different.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: I've I've worked with uh some other uh food manufacturers and they're seeing that there's uh what's being purchased now is a little bit different than what's being purchased previously.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: I so I was just wondering from a global perspective from the articles if you've found any of that.
29:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean that's interesting and it makes sense.
29:15
SPEAKER_02: Um we've never asked it or covered it, but uh I mean I now I'm kind of intrigued.
29:21
SPEAKER_02: Now I may need to go back and and do some research on it.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: Here's a story for you.
29:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love it.
29:26
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
29:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh well I Rick, from from your perspective, going through the questions, how how does that kind of help you sort of formulate uh like put all those thoughts together as uh as you go through your day-to-day and then you uh get interviewed with with a kind of a variety of questions uh facing uh three PLs?
29:47
SPEAKER_01: How did that sort of uh help you triangulate some thoughts?
29:52
SPEAKER_00: Again, the stories are pretty much the same, it's just a different year.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: And it's really getting in and uh understanding your customer, understanding the market, and understanding your strengths, and taking those three things and then plugging them in and making the vote the the best uh situation for all three uh that are in in part of that um I love that and that and that operating that environment.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's constantly changing.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: But it still stays the same a lot, but it's everything.
30:20
SPEAKER_02: And it and it's the same end uh end result sometimes.
30:25
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the the core of it is the same, but uh the the the players change a little bit, uh how it's done changes a little bit, but yeah, there's there's uh those core principles that are always there.
30:37
SPEAKER_01: So uh shifting over.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: So so that series is is on food logistics.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll put uh a link to it on our uh podcast as well.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: Um the women in supply chain forum, and you also have the women in supply chain forum awards.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: I think the application period just ended for that one.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: But uh uh tell folks about uh how you uh came about founding the uh the awards and the forum and and how it's evolved over the years.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: So the award um I wanted to launch at my previous company because I felt that there was a need to put a focus on the females that are in the supply chain space.
31:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, because it is a male-dominated industry.
31:18
SPEAKER_02: We were trying to get more women into the industry, fill some holes where there was workforce challenges, um, and because they bring a lot to the table.
31:27
SPEAKER_02: So I was trying to find something that would kind of put that special notice on them.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, my previous company didn't see the vision, um, so I didn't launch it off the ground.
31:37
SPEAKER_02: Then I came here, I started here January of 2020, and that is important because it is approximately two months before COVID hit.
31:45
SPEAKER_02: So um then COVID hit.
31:47
SPEAKER_02: I was home at the time, my son was in kindergarten and my daughter was in uh third grade, and they were home e-learning while I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing with my new job and the world is a mess.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: And I thought to myself, I can't be the only female doing 5,000 things in 24 hours or 25 hours or 26 hours, however you felt the day was.
32:10
SPEAKER_02: It felt long.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: And so I said to myself, I'm gonna, I'm gonna relaunch it or I'm gonna launch it, I'm gonna pitch it to my to my uppers and see what happens.
32:19
SPEAKER_02: And I had this whole presentation, I was so ready, and they were like, we love it.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: I didn't even get a chance to present it.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: I was like, wait a minute, I can do this.
32:26
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, Yes, do that slides.
32:28
SPEAKER_02: We share your vision, we see it, you know, we support you.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: So I launched the award in 2020.
32:35
SPEAKER_02: Um, we had a lot of recognition on it.
32:38
SPEAKER_02: A lot of women didn't understand it.
32:40
SPEAKER_02: It's a lot of it is education.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: Um, we just closed nominations this year at over 320 submissions, um, which is amazing because it's only been in operation for five, six years.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so a lot of it is educating the female workforce.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: Like, yes, you you can advocate for yourself without sounding like you're bragging.
33:02
SPEAKER_02: Like there is that line.
33:04
SPEAKER_02: You know, we all do it.
33:05
SPEAKER_02: You should be proud of your achievements.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: Um, we have a lot of female-run companies, trucking companies, procurement companies, consulting companies.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: So um very proud of the award.
33:16
SPEAKER_02: But then about halfway through COVID, we thought, well, well, let's build a conference for these women to come together and let's talk about the challenges that we all share as females in supply chain.
33:27
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so we launched the Women in Supply Chain Forum.
33:30
SPEAKER_02: Um, we're now in its fourth year, and last year we had close to 250 attendees.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: We're kind of on the spectrum to get about over 300 attendees, which is pretty cool this year.
33:42
SPEAKER_02: It's on November 17th through 19th in Charleston.
33:46
SPEAKER_02: Um and, you know, we do have some men who come.
33:49
SPEAKER_02: We've had men present, um, you know, because there are a lot of men who, you know, have females that work for them or that they work for and they really want to continue to advocate for them.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, but a lot of it is just talking about, you know, how do you advocate for yourself as a woman in supply chain?
34:06
SPEAKER_02: How do you, how do you get yourself into the room?
34:09
SPEAKER_02: How do you get yourself a seat at the table?
34:11
SPEAKER_02: And how do you get yourself heard in a male-dominated space?
34:15
SPEAKER_02: And it's not just male-dominated.
34:16
SPEAKER_02: For some time, it was old school male dominated.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: So it was a lot of the old school thinking of we're the good old boys' club, we're gonna go golfing, you're not invited.
34:27
SPEAKER_02: That's not like that anymore.
34:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, and it hasn't been like that in a long time.
34:32
SPEAKER_02: But that is what the connotation is for a lot of these women who are trying to make a space for themselves in supply chain.
34:39
SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, it's not just women in supply chain, it's it's understanding that if you want to major in finance, you can join the supply chain space.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: If you want to major in marketing, you can still be a part of supply chain.
34:51
SPEAKER_02: There are roles in this space that are not just driving a truck.
34:55
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the big misconception of the supply chain space.
34:59
SPEAKER_02: So a lot of it is trying to just educate younger professionals, but take a lot of the veterans that come and share their journeys and share their ideas and how they've kind of become who they are.
35:12
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so we're pretty excited.
35:13
SPEAKER_02: We have Ellen Voye, the founder of Women in Tracking Association.
35:17
SPEAKER_02: She is our keynote speaker.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: She's one of my favorite people in the entire world.
35:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, but she's just a wonderful human being.
35:25
SPEAKER_02: And so a lot of it is just advocating for yourself.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and how important is sort of cultivating that community.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: So you have uh people getting together and and being able to share, share stories and experiences and learn from other people's experiences.
35:43
SPEAKER_02: Correct, exactly.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: So it's a lot of it is mentorship and networking.
35:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we all go to the same conferences and trade shows, but there's not that space where you can just be you in that talk shop and just really kind of share and learn.
35:57
SPEAKER_02: And what we've learned over the years is that there are women who come for a personal reason, not professional.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: They want to come and network personally for themselves because they work, they're the only female in their company.
36:08
SPEAKER_02: And they get sent to shows and conferences and they're the only person female mainning the booth.
36:13
SPEAKER_02: And then they go out with clients and they're the only female at the dinner table.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: And that's a real thing.
36:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, but it's also providing that mentorship for women coming into the industry so that they have somebody who can kind of help them understand.
36:26
SPEAKER_02: Here's who you should talk to.
36:28
SPEAKER_02: Let me introduce you.
36:29
SPEAKER_02: And we have men who come because they're the people who we need to introduce these women to.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: Like, hey, this is the CEO of XYZ company, and he's looking to hire, and he wants to build a very diverse workforce.
36:41
SPEAKER_02: And so that's that's kind of how that that started.
36:47
SPEAKER_01: And and so it it's been five years or so, six years now, I guess, uh since uh the award was first founded.
36:54
SPEAKER_01: You've been in the industry, you said 14 years or so.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: You talked about the the the good old boy thing has has sort of uh already petered out a bit.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: But but where do you see uh in terms of the progress of more women getting into not only supply chain jobs, but uh moving up the supply chain ladder and and and being in those executive positions where they're they're making those hiring decisions too?
37:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a good question because I see a lot of market research where they're like, oh, we're moving the needle, we're moving the needle, and it's like 1%.
37:26
SPEAKER_02: It's not a lot.
37:28
SPEAKER_02: Um I don't look at those numbers as as indicative of what's really going on in the industry.
37:35
SPEAKER_02: I think there are so many companies who I've worked with over the years who are now understanding that, you know, maybe maybe I need to be a little bit more diverse.
37:44
SPEAKER_02: Maybe I need to reallocate and look at my workforce culture.
37:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think that that's really what the educational part of it is about.
37:52
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, understand that you still need to hire who's best for the job.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: You know, people come to me, oh, well, why don't you have an all-female workforce?
37:59
SPEAKER_02: I don't hire like that.
38:00
SPEAKER_02: I hire who's best for the job.
38:02
SPEAKER_02: So if I have five women who who interview for a job and I have one man and he seems better fit just because of his skill set, I'm going to hire him.
38:11
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's also the misconception of, you know, it's always it's always about the women, and it's not.
38:17
SPEAKER_02: It is about being fair and diverse and filling the need where you need it, but understanding that women should have a part to play.
38:26
SPEAKER_02: They should have a shot, they should be able to at least interview for that role.
38:30
SPEAKER_02: And I think the good old boys, I haven't seen it in a while.
38:33
SPEAKER_02: I think there are a lot of companies who are changing that mindset and being more open-minded and understanding that, you know, you can hire somebody, but then if it doesn't work out, you can let them go too.
38:44
SPEAKER_02: Like that's okay.
38:45
SPEAKER_02: So um, but I think it's interesting to see, especially among the truck drivers, because a lot of these companies that I've talked to and a lot of the associations that we work with, you know, their goal is to make the road safer for women, to provide that better work-life balance for women.
39:02
SPEAKER_02: But it's not just women, it's also men.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Because guess what?
39:05
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of working dads out there who are by themselves, who need to be there for their kids, who want to be there for their kids.
39:13
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the messaging we try to say.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: Like, yes, it's about women in supply chain, but it's about overall work-life balance and and making sure that everybody is cared for in the way that they need to be cared for.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean the the industry as such, I mean we sort of ties back to what we said at the beginning where you get get the email and and your day is ruined, but then you still have that list of things that you have to do.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: So uh so it is really a challenge, but it's something that needs to be focused on is to find that that balance also because nobody's really any good if you're just unburied all the time.
39:52
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
39:53
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: So are there some themes that come out um in these conferences that say these are the three things that you should focus on, or these are the three to five things that you should work on, or what what are some of those things that that is just constantly come up um that women say, Well, I did this and this helped better position me to be able to get into the room or have an opportunity for those that next job.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: Um That's a great question.
40:18
SPEAKER_02: A lot of the themes every year we have a theme, and a lot of those themes get directed by attendee feedback.
40:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, what would you like to see more of?
40:28
SPEAKER_02: What would you like us to discuss more of?
40:29
SPEAKER_02: This year it is self-advocacy because what we've learned is that women have a hard time advocating for themselves.
40:35
SPEAKER_02: And I try to educate every woman who, especially who applies for the the award.
40:40
SPEAKER_02: You are your best advocate.
40:41
SPEAKER_02: And it's not just because you're a female, it's for men too.
40:44
SPEAKER_02: Like you are the only person who knows what you do every day, like period.
40:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think the other theme is that there has to be some kind of a community.
40:55
SPEAKER_02: There has to be some place for women and men to turn to, to confide in, to lean on, to learn from.
41:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, if you lost your job but you don't want to post it on LinkedIn, who are the five people in your industry you can call to help you, to make introductions, to look at a resume, to provide that advice for you.
41:15
SPEAKER_02: That's the purpose of this.
41:17
SPEAKER_02: And that's the theme that I see resonate every year, in addition to what you said, Rick.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: Like there are women who come and say, you know, Wanda Johnson from Deloitte, she is our closing keynote.
41:29
SPEAKER_02: She was at our conference last year, and I overheard a conversation she was saying, and I've had lunch with her at various events, where she was talking about, you know, you just go in there and you tell them what you're worth.
41:41
SPEAKER_02: And I thought to myself, that is so key because that is so hard for a lot of people, both men and women, to do.
41:46
SPEAKER_02: Like to go in and say, you owe me this salary because I can do the job.
41:52
SPEAKER_02: And so she's coming in as our closing keynote to provide that advice as to how to navigate when you're applying for a job or getting a promotion, what that looks like for you coming in, you know, on the other side of the table.
42:10
SPEAKER_02: But then as a CEO or a decision maker in that in that area, how to navigate the other side of the fence.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's such an important thing because it impacts everybody.
42:20
SPEAKER_02: It's not just females, it's men too.
42:22
SPEAKER_02: It impacts everybody at all stages of life.
42:25
SPEAKER_02: You could be in your 60s saying, Well, I've never I haven't interviewed in 20 years, I don't know what to do.
42:30
SPEAKER_02: We do get women who come to the conference that are like, I lost my job, I'm here because they already paid for it, but I I haven't interviewed in 20 years.
42:38
SPEAKER_02: What what are people doing these days?
42:40
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I think that's that's the purpose of the community.
42:45
unknown: Got it.
42:46
SPEAKER_01: So uh tell folks we've got a list of things that that we can uh point people to, but uh tell folks uh where they can sign up for the forum and where they can find more uh from your publications and and the articles we talked about, all of that.
43:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so the forum is at is women in supply chainforum.com.
43:05
SPEAKER_02: It's very simple, not trying to trick anybody, it's perfect.
43:08
SPEAKER_02: Um nominations for the award are closed.
43:11
SPEAKER_02: In fact, we've already notified all the winners.
43:12
SPEAKER_02: We're very excited.
43:13
SPEAKER_02: They're under embargo, but they've already been um connected with, so we're very excited.
43:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, the articles are on foodlogistics.com, um, but you can also go to stcxec.com.
43:24
SPEAKER_02: That one's a little tricky.
43:25
SPEAKER_02: Um, to find all the other articles if if you're not in the cold food chain space, um you know, to find articles, market research, we do a lot of contributed content and our awards programs.
43:37
SPEAKER_02: Um and you can read those articles on foodlogistics.com, where you know, RIC was a part of.
43:44
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
43:45
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, Marina, thanks so much for taking the time.
43:48
SPEAKER_01: We we really appreciate it.
43:49
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
43:50
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for having me.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: So we hit on a lot of different things there.
43:57
SPEAKER_01: The the state of three PLs, learning about all of The different publications that uh that Marina is a part of and overseas and uh and the Women in Supply Chain Forum.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, all supply chain related, even even the uh other uh publications that she's not writing for, that she's overseeing.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: I think uh she mentioned construction, other things, other in industries like that.
44:18
SPEAKER_01: Everything ties together.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: But uh you were a part of the uh the interviews for for the 3PL, the state of 3pls.
44:26
SPEAKER_01: And and I know like when when we were talking about it, even you were not sure if everything dovetails exactly with what other people are going to be talking about, but I I think it just shows that there's such a a range of uh of things that affect everybody here.
44:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's absolutely a range.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: And as I was as we're going through the conversation, while there's a range, we still tend to get back to a lot of the same stories that we've been talking about for years.
44:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: Um You're getting a little deja vu there.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, getting a lot of deja vu there.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: Um but uh I I I really like the the part on the partnerships.
44:58
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that the partnerships can go a long way.
45:01
SPEAKER_00: And I think not only, I mean, three PLs, trucking companies, distribution companies, whichever area you're in, that it tends to be, I wish our customers would be more partner oriented.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: But the reality is it has to be both ways.
45:18
SPEAKER_00: So if you really want to be a partner, kind of like kind of like when you're when your parents told you if you want uh to be a to have a friend, you got to be a friend.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: Um and so in this particular case, if you want to be a partner, don't sit back and wait for your customers to ask you to be a partner.
45:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's so many different things that you can come up with that um and and drive through uh different conversations that show that you're a partner, and then they will start to come and then they'll start to trust the um what you're bringing is is something for them and a benefit for them and the entire relationship versus, well, you're just asking because, well, it's gonna make it's gonna make it work better for you.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, which a lot of times, uh and I've seen this and and at times I've probably done some of this myself, is that you you go there thinking that that you're you're offering something that's a partnership, but it comes across as, hey, this is really gonna help me.
46:12
SPEAKER_00: Why don't you come in and jump in?
46:13
SPEAKER_00: I know it's gonna help you too, but uh but you talk about more uh uh about yourself than you do about them.
46:18
SPEAKER_00: So um I mean there's there's a lot there and it continues and it continues to expand and and and evolve.
46:26
SPEAKER_00: But the the other part I really liked is the uh all the work that she's doing with women in supply chain and logistics.
46:32
SPEAKER_00: Um over the years I've seen that those um conferences that I've gone to where it's like 1% women are in the audience to five, 10, 15.
46:41
SPEAKER_00: I would actually say probably 30 percent.
46:43
SPEAKER_00: Um but that also depends on what what industry or what the conference is all about.
46:48
SPEAKER_00: If it's technology side um that does it that uh that tends to have some more younger people in it, you just see on the younger side of the people coming in, it tends to be more of a mix.
46:59
SPEAKER_00: And I and um so that that evolution in terms of making it change having the the male-dominated industry flip over to be more you know 50-50.
47:11
SPEAKER_00: Um it doesn't happen immediately, but the stuff uh the stuff, the work, the forums, the the rewards, um those are those are definitely help move the move the process along a little bit quicker.
47:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and as she was saying, the a lot of principles that that come up there uh with the Women in Supply Chain Forum are principles that should help everybody uh who's working in the space, whether it's to to think about things a little differently or be a self-advocate.
47:41
SPEAKER_01: You're talking about advocating for your uh yourself in a way in uh in the partnerships uh side of things too.
47:47
SPEAKER_01: So uh all those are very worthwhile things.
47:50
SPEAKER_01: And and as uh we said, we'll have the links in the description so that you can learn more about the forum and find uh the articles and uh the magazines that Marina is with as well.
48:01
SPEAKER_01: So thanks again to Marina for joining us today.
48:04
SPEAKER_01: And thank you for joining us as well.
48:07
SPEAKER_01: Please do rate and review us, drop us a comment, uh any kind of question that you may have, uh, the comments are there.
48:14
SPEAKER_01: You can follow us and uh like us wherever you get your podcasts.
48:19
SPEAKER_01: We are on video now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube and audio everywhere else.
48:25
SPEAKER_01: So uh plenty of places to uh to find us.
48:28
SPEAKER_01: You can also email us at podcast at intechlogistics.com.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: If you have any bigger questions that you want to take offline, you can also uh visit in tech logistics on the web at www.intechlogistics.com.
48:43
SPEAKER_01: For Rick Lagor, I'm Kevin Baxter.
48:45
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for joining us today.
48:47
SPEAKER_01: And we'll be back soon with another episode.