Freightvine

This week’s guest is Matt Waller from New Roads Capital Partners and the University of Arkansas. He has held various positions, including Dean, and taught for 30 years at the University of Arkansas, where he currently holds the William Dillard II Leadership Chair at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He is also a Strategic Advisor at NewRoad Capital Partners. In our conversation, we talk mainly about the always evolving Retail Value Chain - how it has changed over the last 30 years and where we might expect it to go. Matt also gives some examples of new start-ups in this space that bear watching.

This week’s guest is Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics and author of the recent book, The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work. Written mainly in response to the general public’s newly awakened awareness of and interest in supply chains during the pandemic, the book explains in great clarity how supply chains work, why they are complex, and where the challenges are. Additionally, he addresses and explores the impact of future trends including robotics, automation, shifting labor patterns, and the need for continuous education. The conversation touched upon the influence of the pandemic on supply chains, the impact of technology implementation on labor, and, of course, the challenges and opportunities that AI brings.

This week’s guest is Matt Harding, Head of 4PL Data and Analytics at UberFreight. With over 25 years in the industry at logistics.com, Chainalytics, Transplace, and now UberFreight, Matt is a leading light in applying analytics and visualization to the transportation industry. In our conversation, we trace the evolution of data science in trucking, discuss the understanding gap between the C-suite and transportation executives, debate the impact that the wide availability of market data has had on drivers, carriers, and the industry as a whole, and talk about the challenges and hurdles of introducing change - especially data driven - within an organization.

This week’s guest is Dylan Alperin, VP of Professional Services at Keelvar. Founded in Ireland in 2012, Keelvar is a software company specializing in procurement automation and optimization solutions. The word Keelvar can be loosely translated from Irish as “sensible” or having “better intelligence.” Dylan joined Keelvar about 3 years ago after having spent the previous fifteen years in logistics procurement at a number of shippers as well as consultancies. His experience across these companies as well as his current role at Keelvar has given him a great perspective on transportation procurement. In our conversation, we discuss how sourcing optimization and automation each play a role, how the pace of procurement has changed over the years, and how AI, ML, and OR techniques and methodologies all play a role in helping humans make better decisions.

My guests today are Dr. Zac Rogers, Assistant Professor at Colorado State University in Supply Chain Management, and his father, Dr. Dale Rogers, Professor of Business at Arizona State University.

While I had Zac on the Freightvine about 18 months ago to discuss his research and the Logistics Managers Index (LMI) that he co-developed and currently leads, I had never had his father, Dale, on before. Which is surprising since I have known Dale through our joint involvement in the CSCMP for over 2 decades. He spent over 20 years at the University of Nevada where he was the Foundation Professor for Logistics & Supply Chain Management and has been at ASU now for about 8 years. He was awarded the 2021 CSCMP Distinguished Service Award. It is interesting to see the SC profession through the eyes of two different generations - what has changed and what has stayed the same. We discuss this and the current state of the industry and market.

To wrap things up, Dr. Inam Iyoob joins Dr. Chris Caplice for the latest North American truckload market rate trends and forecast powered by

DAT iQ

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