Let's Talk Supply Chain

The biggest challenge in industrial manufacturing is customer acquisition and retention. When it comes to marketing in the traditional world of Industrial manufacturing many companies see marketing as a cost center rather than an investment. This means marketing budgets are given low priority, especially during a recession when in reality marketing should be at the forefront of any strategy because it will set you apart from your competitors and keep your brand top of mind. In the long run, this ends up being more expensive, since companies need to start from ground zero when the market picks up. Only some companies are realising that marketing is the key to future success - especially when trying to get through a revenue plateau.

Christopher realised this was an issue and started helping more industrial companies with their marketing. His system focuses on creating momentum, producing value and building a community before launching a product or asking customers to buy. Consistency and the long play is what sets one marketing strategy apart from the rest, marketing should work hand in hand with sales to keep the leads flowing in. Sales should be encouraged to showcase their thought leadership online with the help of the marketing team and together the business will have a winning strategy.

Christopher is a big believer in social and uses social media such as Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn (3 hashtags!) as a platform to educate, entertain and build up a consistent brand image. As consumer behaviors keep shifting, more industrial companies will have no choice but to turn to more effective marketing in order to gain a competitive edge.

Christopher is also the leader in the profile rings you see on Linkedin, he gave back to the supply chain community by doing this for professionals for free to stand out, in a time of so much noise its efforts like these that will be the most rewarded

In this episode we discuss:

● [0.35] Industrial Manufacturing ● [4.46] Top challenges in the industry ● [11.59] Winning marketing strategy ● [16.35] How different platforms provide communication opportunities ● [23.00] The carbon footprint of manufacturing companies

Resources and links mentioned:

• Nesbit Marketing
• Christopher Nesbit

Phillip Lechter of CXT Software talks about challenges in last mile; building a people-first culture; & how they're helping customers grow, compete & thrive.

[05.45] How CXT innovated over the past 25 years to meet the changing needs of an evolving logistics landscape.

“25 years is a long time in the software space!... In maturation of software, it’s easy to want to 'set it and forget it', and live off the benefits. But you can’t do that today. Supply chain is changing so rapidly, and our focus is on innovation, connectivity, and our ability to make it easy for our clients to do what they want to do - and not be hamstrung by the business we’ve created.”

[09.13] Where CXT is now, what they do, and how they help their customers.

“It’s about making ourselves as configurable as possible to our clients... our ability to serve multiple workflows based on the business our clients are doing for their own customers.”

[11.08] The ideal client for CXT.

[13.25] From the uniqueness of workflows to real-time visibility, some of the biggest challenges in the industry right now, as last mile strives to catch up with changing consumer expectations.

“Amazon has done some amazing things, but it’s made it very difficult for the average courier service – everyone wants that Amazon experience... And that’s the opportunity we have in the TMS space, to even the playing field.”

[16.04] How CXT’s white-labeled portal empowers clients with the tools they need, without a big costly investment, and how that ultimately drives customer loyalty and boosts satisfaction.

“Too often we’re in reactive not proactive mode. And the more we can streamline that, the more we can meaningfully create relationships with our clients.”

[18.59] How CXT’s shipment management technology supports operations teams across a range of functions, and a closer look at the user interface.

“We’re ensuring that a dispatcher still has the ability to make decisions, but some of the heavy lifting gets done for them. They’re managing exceptions rather than every single element along the way.”

“We see a ton of waste that’s really low margin. Even a 1% increase in profit can be pretty significant in this type of business.”

[24.30] The importance of driver management, and how CXT’s app integrates with operational and client functions to tackle challenges, and drive efficiency, accountability and customer service.

[30.19] Some of the key opportunities and growth areas CXT are supporting their customers with.

[32.53] A case study showing how CXT helped a long-standing client enter the medical space and demonstrate a significant efficiency metric, and the importance of partnerships.

[36.44] Why CXT consciously built a people-first culture, and what we can expect from them in 2025.

“This business is a people business... We use software as a way to make efficiencies, but it’s still somebody delivering to somebody else!”

Head over to CXT Software’s website now to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with CXT and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram or YouTube, or you can connect with Phillip on LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more about last mile, check out 365: Delivering the Amazon effect: how to increase your last mile delivery efficiency by 30%, 348: How COVID Changed Last Mile Delivery Forever, with SEKO or 393: Get 100% Visibility Over Your Final Mile, with OneRail.

It’s episode 24 of Blended: I’m joined by another fantastic panel of guests and, today, we’re talking about gaslighting. This is a term that we’re hearing more and more, but I’m not sure it’s something that everybody fully understands just yet. There are a lot of misconceptions around exactly what it means and how it works, but ultimately the impact on a victims mental health, and the people around them, is huge. And so it’s an issue that you’ve been asking us to dive into on Blended.

Today, our guests will be exploring exactly what gaslighting means; sharing their personal experiences; discussing whether the rise in popularity of the term is a good thing or a bad thing; giving us tips on how to spot gaslighting at work and in our homes; and sharing advice on how we can help victims.

[02.10] Introductions to our Blended panelists.

• Jolene – VP of Marketing Strategy and Communications at FarEye
• Jenn – Host of ‘Sh!t You Don't Want to Talk About’ Podcast

[05.43] The group explores what gaslighting means, and how it relates to their own experiences; where and when gaslighting can happen; and exactly what it can look and sound like.

• Self-doubt
• Narcissism
• Manipulation
• Male-female dynamics in the workplace
• Whitewashing of history
• Why empathy is in direct opposition of gaslighting

[17.59] The panel shares their personal experiences; the impact those experiences have had on their work and personal lives; and how they dealt with them.

• “I’m sorry you feel that way” vs “I’m sorry I made you feel that way”
• Zero tolerance policies and following through in the workplace
• Personal responsibility
• Conscious vs unconscious gaslighting
• Love bombing
• Broken promises
• Control

“A prime example, from my experience, was being told “you blew it out of proportion, I don’t know why you had to report that, I was just trying to help you, I think so highly of you... ” Jolene

[39.17] The group discusses the many and varied damaging impacts that gaslighting can have on victims. The gaslighting phenomenon can have many and varied adverse impacts. It can cause victims to doubt their own reality, question their sanity, and withdraw from social interactions. Gaslighting can also lead to decreased work performance, relationship difficulties, and mental health problems.

• Self-harm and suicide
• Internalization, introversion and isolation
• Further abusive relationships
• Triggering
• PTSD
• Trauma
• Anxiety and depression

“It’s like we attract it... like there’s something we haven’t dealt with, within ourselves, that causes it to repeat from other people.” Jenn

[49.23] The panel reflects on the growing popularity of the term ‘gaslighting’ and whether or not that popularity is a good thing; how we can identify gaslighting; and what we can do about it.

• Has it become a buzzword?
• Raising awareness
• Becoming desensitized through over-use
• Spotting small inconsistencies
• Writing down and recording encounters
• Setting boundaries
• Call it out when you see it
• Listen and be there
• Belief and acknowledgment
• Leave out the words “I told you so”

“The terminology and the headlines don’t necessarily bother me... but when we sensationalize these types of traumatic events, we end up disassociating ourselves from it.” Jenn

[1.09.01.] The group sums up their thoughts from today’s discussion.

You can connect with Jolene and Jenn over on LinkedIn.

If you found this episode useful, why not check out I Said No: Managing Sexual Harassment In The Workplace or From the classroom to the boardroom: the truth about workplace bullying? Be sure to check out our other episodes! We have a lot of great content that we think you'll find engaging and interesting.

Check out our other podcasts HERE.

How does replenishment work in your warehouse? It is probably very manual, lots of paperwork and different stakeholders involved making it impossible to be be agile and efficient. Because of that I thought it was important to introduce you to a company that is revolutionizing this. Andrew is the CEO of ShelfAware, a company that helps suppliers see in real-time what is on their customers’ shelves through hardware tracking RFID technology. This technology allows companies to see the exact moment a customer takes an item off the shelf, how many items they take and how much is needed to replenish stock.

Using RFID technology together with real-time software means that suppliers can easily replenish stock without worrying about waste, workers don’t have to waste time counting items and companies can gather data on their customer habits. From a cost effective standpoint, everyone wins. ShelfAware works as a 3rd party SaaS (Software as a service), so they don’t need to touch the product at any point in the supply chain. The software connects with a tracking code that can easily be printed by the supplier and is put on the product itself.

Who is ShelfAware’s ideal client? As Andrew says, he keeps discovering new industries this system could be useful for. They started with industrial suppliers and manufacturers, but anyone from a dentist to a large scale conglomerate can make use of their product and software. Andrew has helped businesses drastically lower inventory without losing the rate at which they replenish items. Once again, this is proof that collaborating with other companies can make them stronger together.

Lastly we get a sneak peek into Andrew's new show on The SC Supply Chain TV on Youtube called From the Frontlines where he brings us into the frontlines of business, entrepreneurship and supply chain!

In this episode we discuss:

• [0.37] The story behind ShelfAware
• [6.50] Why RFID is so under-utilized
• [17.10] Who should consider RFID
• [21.17] Does it actually work in real life scenarios?
• [30.20] From the Frontlines

Resources and links mentioned:

• ShelfAware

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Welcome back Lets Talk listeners!

What if I told you something BIG was coming to the supply chain community, something that would bring together real people talking about real supply chain topics?

Today, I am revealing one of the secret projects I have been working on for my YouTube channel called "The SC, Supply Chain TV". It is a cross between "The View" and "Sportscenter" where we will debate the hot topics in supply chain today.

In this episode, you will get to know Audrey Ross and Leah Goold-Haws my co-hosts for the show and then we will be joined by a different guest each episode. We are setting the stage for the first episode due out the end of April and giving you a sneak peak into what to expect from the show! They may also just give us their half crazy, counter-intuitive prediction for what the next 5 years in the industry will look like!

Questions I Ask:

• Leah, why don’t you tell us who you are, what you do and why you want to debate the hot topics with me on The Trade Squad? [0:30]
• Audrey, why don’t you give us an overview of The Trade Squad and who you are and what you do?[1:29]
• Why don’t you tell us about your journey? [2:44]
• What did your path look like, Leah? [5:25]
• Why do you think it’s so important to have a show like The Trade Squad? [10:00]
• What do you think are some of the biggest challenges in supply chain today that we should be covering? [14:33]
• What about supply chain professionals. How can we support the community with a show like this? [18:45]
• What is your crazy-intuitive, half-mad prediction for the next five years in the industry? [24:05]

• A little bit about Leah and Audrey. [0:45]
• How Audrey got into supply chain and why it’s a passion. [2:56]
• How Leah got to where she is. [5:39]
• Supply chain is a critical element when it comes to fulfilling foreign customer engagement. [7:45]
• Identifying trends in global trade. [9:10]
• Looking at the skills people need when stepping into the supply chain field. [17:30]