Traditionally, supply chains are one directional, linear and strive for incremental improvements. But through the lens of blockchain + sustainability + circularity, supply chains truly become an ecosystem with endless possibilities, connections, collaboration in an ocean of abundance, as opposed to closed, point to point processes. Think open. Think ecosystem, don’t think closed and incremental.  Join host Sheri Hinish (SupplyChainQueen) and Anthony Day (IBM Blockchain Partner and host of...

Think about the journey of a coffee bean from East Africa to the consumer. Thousands of miles away in the 1 sip to field wrapped in a complex, and often unsustainable, inequitable supply chain. There are 25 million people living in the coffee ecosystem, and 2.5 billion coffee drinkers worldwide, and that number is expected to 2-3X in coming years. With little transparency and traceability, it's still a challenge for consumers to validate the sustainability and ethics of that 1st sip of...

Imagine a world with total resource efficiency that leaves no one behind, allowing organizations to better visualize, quantify, and share assets across global supply chains. By connecting leading research institutions, Fortune 500 companies, government, school systems, nonprofits, startups, and other organizations in between, Chicago-based start-up Rheaply is creating a shared economy for innovation. This is the secondary, circular, marketplace of NOW enabled by a super-cool company called...

The business case for diversity is stronger than ever. According to McKinsey's latest research, 2019 analyses find that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability up from 21% in 2017 and 15% in 2014. Yet gender equity in STEM and supply chain has been hit hard in 2020. Women accounted for 100% of the 140,000 jobs shed by the U.S. economy in December, more than 111% of jobs lost last month. 5.4 million women...

It’s a take-over with James George from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in this special holiday edition of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast. In the spirit of the holiday season, join us on Episode 49 as we explore hot topics and trends in 2020 and what is front of mind in circularity, sustainability, and supply chains in 2021. This has been the 'year of the pledges'... There are a lot of tables we can pull up to including pursuing 2030 goals, 2050 goals, but how much does this change...

This is a story that is unique and one that needs to be evangelized. Layla Shaikley, co-founder of a tech start-up that has seen explosive growth in logistics tech and AI-driven optimization within last mile stumbled into supply chain. She actually has a background in architecture and design. As an Iraqi woman, she wanted to make mobility safe during the most recent Iraqi war. It was during an elective class in the media lab at MIT (while she was getting her 2nd masters degree) that a...

This is an ACTION-PACKED EPISODE! Epsiode 47 is part 2 of a series where Sheri Hinish (SupplyChainQueen) chats with a thought leader and supply chain advocate, Dr. Yossi Sheffi from MIT who has been teaching, learning, building, authoring many publications, including a new book 'the New (Ab) Normal' in a conversation that pushes boundaries highlighting areas that many in supply chain and technology shy away from discussing...getting real on transformation, innovation, and disruption. In...

Excellence does not happen by accident. Supply chains are answering the call during COVID and will continue to do so as a new vaccine comes to market. But how do we keep the momentum of speed, flexibility, without cutting corners? In a 2-part series, Sheri Hinish (SupplyChainQueen) chats with a thought leader and supply chain advocate, Dr. Yossi Sheffi from MIT who has been teaching, learning, building, authoring many publications, including a new book 'the New (Ab) Normal' in a...

Dr. Garry Copper, neuroscientist turned sustainability technologist and circularity advocate had a pivotal moment - that our field is one-noted and we need to build a reuse bridge to capture value left in materials to transition to a sustainable world, a fly-wheel of wealth for communities who have been left out. Led by curiosity and studying how people remember and forget, he stumbled on CE, and his life was changed forever. He is the CEO of a Chicago-based technology start-up Rheaply that...

Nine-tenths of all solid waste in the United States does not get recycled. While landfills are among the biggest contributors to soil pollution – roughly 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled - it is our mindset of take-make-waste and the linear economy that presets a transformative opportunity. What’s the business case for change, for moving toward a sustainable and circular world? In Episode 44, Sheri Hinish chats with Stan Chen of RecycleGo. Stan is a 2nd generation...

Experts predict that retail ecommerce sales will reach $4.13 trillion in 2020 and it is expected that mobile commerce will take a market share of e-commerce of 72.9% by 2021. As we enter the holiday season navigating COVID, retailers face unprecedented opportunities to reimagine brand experiences and bridge the storefront’s physical to digital continuum. While adapting an agile supply chain, increasing conversion rates, reducing wastes, including decreasing returns are front of mind, 1...

Every tech company wants to tell you what their AI can do. Patterns help us make sense of the world and can help us overcome the impossible tasks we face each day in supply chain orchestration. From understanding gaps and influences, AI creates more intelligence in how to detect, understand, and pull parts of the patterns together that build an ecosystem. Through the lens of business transformation, a common challenge for many is knowing what levers to pull strategically, reinventing...

The purpose of a supply chain is to move goods and services around the world to meet user demand. And over decades, we’ve built coupled-networks based on principles of regionalization or centralization of function, location, and cost efficiency. COVID is an example of the uncertainty supply chains face on a day-to-day basis derived from old-school thinking and design.  Imagine a world where supply chains are flipped upside down, a world where we send files, not parts? A world that empowers...

Did you know that if you add up the cats and dogs in the United States, they’d represent the 5th largest population of protein consumption in the world? When it comes to pet supply chains and sustainability, there is typically 1 sector called "pet services and products”. This one sector, encompasses dozens of other industries that have many categories in human supply chains. For example, apparel, food, medicine, and healthy/beauty are considered dramatically different industries in the human...

The tire industry consumes 70% of the natural rubber. Issues like deforestation, child rights, land grabbing are at the center of WHY we need a global movement for sustainable natural rubber. Joined with physicist turned green advocate Stefano Savi, this episode explores a new collaborative platform to help the Producers, Processors & Traders, Tire makers and other rubber makers/buyers, Car makers, other downstream users and Financial Institutions, and Civil society transition,...

Networks are all about meaningful connections. When we think about the future of digital supply chains and ‘the network of networks “ powering the world, it’s just as much about connecting people with accurate information, partners, and ideas, as much as it is about connecting people with opportunities across plan, source, make, deliver, and reimagining conventional business models. In the future of work, we will exist in ONE multi-enterprise business network (MEBN), a super-highway...

“The only way to end systemic inequality is to invest in minorities, the underrepresented, and women.” Access to education, healthcare, clean water, and economic development opportunities remain key priorities for many countries. Entire populations and children are being left behind and marginalized through climate change, disruptions, and globalization. Addressing generational poverty and transformation can take decades. How might we learn from current success stories, work that can scale...

Why does Diversity and inclusion matter? What impact does the Black Lives Matter movement have on/in the workplace? How does one navigate discrimination and is there more awareness in corporate America around racism and breaking systemic barriers, including how to engage HBCUs and communities who have talent, but may lack access? How do we make diversity and inclusion REAL? Is it just lip service and social washing? These are questions being asked during a very real inflection point, in the...

Let’s face it. Despite what many technologists think, most supply chains are not run on laptops. We know the promise that advanced supply chain technology holds…agility, velocity, scale, resilience, transparency, and better customer experience. Yet, when I talk to supply chain leaders, many have shiny object fatigue. Have we failed supply chain leaders and professionals by not adding tangible value for impact? Digital transformation isn’t just a thing that you can you can buy and plug into an...

This is the second part of a 2-part lightning talk series. We hear so much about AI and the convergence of tech in digital transformation. But do we know where humans add the most value, particularly in digital supply chain? According to Forbes, 2/3 of a company’s competitive edge comes from its customer experience. Consumers who have an emotional connection with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value. Moreover 67% of consumers will pay more for a great experience. How do we create good UI...

Supply chains power the world and companies realize planning and execution is a competitive weapon in the modern, digital economy. Advanced supply chain capabilities like agility, transparency, and visibility can support efficient, effective, and sustainable approaches that connect the digital landscape into business performance that is tangible and measurable. In Episode 33, Suuchi Ramesh joins the SupplyChainQueen to chat about the Age of Digital and sustainable supply chain. In this...

Two Queens talk tech! Episode 32 is PART 2 of a 2-part lightning talk series exploring Stephanie Benedetto’s journey from corporate attorney, to sustainability tech entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of the Queen of Raw solution: a B2B platform for businesses to recapture value from their wasted materials and touts an impressive list of recents awards including MIT Solve Global Challenge Winner, LVMH Innovation Award, Google Women Who Tech Fashion Group International Rising Star, and thredUP...

This is Part 1 of a 2 part lightning talk series. "Are you naked right now? You’re not…because you’re using fabric. It’s everywhere! It’s where it’s supposed to be, covering things like us, and where it’s not supposed to be.” This was the opening 10 seconds of Stephanie’s award-winning pitch to Ashton Kutcher, Sean “Diddy” Combs, & Gary Vaynerchuk in 60 seconds at the WeWork Creator Awards where she scored a grand prize of $360,000. Queen of Raw then closed a $1.5M priced seed round led...

There is a misconception that sustainability and circular economy is philanthropy... that it's a project or an initiative. Circular thinking can be compared to Lean; it's a mindset, it's a space where you're able to connect a vision, a product to the individuals inside and outside your organization, across your supply chain. The truth is that there is a business case for change and the transition toward a circular world is a fiscal argument. For example, there are companies like Adidas, Nike,...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. It is a bold vision referred to as the 2030 agenda and includes 17 interconnected goals, and 169 targets. The SDGs also position the roadmap for sustainable supply chains. However, many argue that the vision lacks local context and has...