Earlier this month, one of my guests on Talking Logistics said, “Supply chain and logistics professionals have wanted a seat at the C-suite table for a long time. Nobody said, however, that it would be the hot seat.”

Whether it’s figuring out how to “do more with less” due to labor constraints, preparing for potential disruptions due to cyber attacks or geopolitical conflicts, or figuring out how to comply with new greenhouse gas emissions regulations like the EU import tax, all signs indicate that supply chain and logistics professionals will remain in the hot seat again in 2023.

Tennis great Billie Jean King famously said, “Pressure is a privilege — it only comes to those who earn it.” 

Supply chain and logistics professionals have certainly earned their seat at the table. However, if you sit on the hot seat too long, you run the risk of burning out.

So, get up and go for a walk outside. Leave your phone at home. Don’t check email. Disconnect for a while. Watch a funny movie when you get back. Do whatever you have to do to recharge your body and mind for the year ahead.

You’ve earned that too.

Adelante Turned 12!

As of 2021, 20% of small businesses failed in their first year, 50% within five years, and 65% within 10 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Adelante celebrated its 12th anniversary last month. 

So, to our clients, a heartfelt thank you for your continued trust and support. We look forward to continuing our partnership and collaborating with you in the coming year. Let’s keep beating the odds together.

Talking Logistics: By the Numbers

A big thank you to all of our Talking Logistics readers, subscribers, and followers for another great year of learning and conversation. The numbers speak for themselves:

25 episodes produced in 2022, totaling more than 800 minutes of conversations with thought leaders and newsmakers in the supply chain and logistics industry. 

184 posts published on a wide range of timely and important industry topics, including the most comprehensive weekly news roundup in the industry and thought-provoking and insightful guest commentaries from our sponsors.

More than 306,500 followers on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube combined, including CXOs, VPs, and Directors across many vertical industries and geographies.

200+ podcasts on iTunes of our past episodes.

Below we highlight the top posts from this past year.

Indago: Research with Purpose

Thank you also to all of the supply chain and logistics practitioners in our Indago research community. We completed 31 surveys this year on a wide variety of industry topics and donated $3,950 to JDRF, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish. This brings our total charity donations to $16,325 since 2019!

If you’re a supply chain or logistics practitioner, find out what you’re missing and Join Indago Today! You can also follow Indago on LinkedIn and join the almost 50,000 executives who have subscribed to our “Be Uncommon” newsletter on LinkedIn.

Here is a list of the research topics we explored in Q4 2022. 

• A Formula for Change in Supply Chain (October 2022): When it comes to your supply chain capabilities, which factors provide the greatest resistance to change? What actions/steps are you taking over the next year to realize your vision of “what can be done and what is possible” in your supply chain?
• Supply Chain Collaboration (October 2022): Moving forward, will companies have to collaborate more with their trading partners to address the supply chain challenges they face more effectively? What are the biggest barriers to collaboration?
• Returning to the Office (October 2022): Is your company requiring employees to return to the office? What is your preference?
• Inbound Logistics (November 2022): How would you rate your overall inbound logistics processes? What capabilities are you currently lacking that are having the greatest negative impact on your operations? What actions do you plan to take to improve your inbound logistics operations?
• Unlocking Full Benefits of Supply Chain Visibility (December 2022): Why do companies want to obtain end-to-end supply chain visibility? Where are the biggest blind spots in the supply chain today? Is supply chain visibility software alone enough to achieve the desired business benefits?
• Buyer’s Remorse of Technology Purchase (December 2022): Have you ever experienced “buyer’s remorse” with the purchase of a supply chain/logistics technology solution? Would you say the buyer’s remorse was due more to internal reasons or reasons related to the technology vendor or solution?
• 2023 Supply Chain Trends & Predictions (December 2022): what is the probability of certain issues continuing or emerging in the new year? What supply chain trends will continue to grow? What will stay the same in the year ahead despite all the changes in supply chain management?

See the research questions Indago explored in Q1 2022, Q2 2022, and Q3 2022. 

Logistics Leaders for T1D Cure Team

Our Logistics Leaders for T1D Cure Team was back out on the roads again this year in support of JDRF, participating in several JDRF Rides this summer and fall (see highlights and photos from Saratoga Springs, NY; Death Valley California; and Tucson, AZ).

A big thank you once again to our team members, team sponsors e2open and TranzAct Technologies (and C.H. Robinson for its support of the JDRF Ride program), and our many friends and family members who donated to help find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, a disease that is affecting a rapidly growing number of children and adults around the world.

Thanks to your support, we raised $48,061 for JDRF this year, bringing our total to $332,000 since 2016!

Do you enjoy cycling? Are you looking to explore new roads? Want to have fun with friends while supporting a great cause? Then join our LL4T1DCure team in 2023! Cyclists of all abilities are welcomed. If you’re interested in participating in a ride or sponsoring the team, please contact me for details.

Top Talking Logistics Posts and New Episodes

We have many exciting new things planned for 2023, so stay tuned! In the meantime, in case you missed them the first time around or want to watch/read them again, below are the most popular Talking Logistics posts we published this year and the new episodes we aired in Q4. I encourage you to share this list with your colleagues, as well students, young professionals, and others who might be interested in joining our growing community. They can sign up for our email and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and iTunes to stay informed about upcoming episodes and to read our blog posts on industry trends and news.

Again, thank you for making this another fun and rewarding year on Talking Logistics and Indago. Happy Holidays and I wish you all much health, happiness, and success in 2023.

Top 10 Talking Logistics Posts in 2022

1. Google Making Inroads Into Supply Chain and Logistics
2. International Supply Chain Trends and Challenges
3. You’ve Been Hacked! The Growing Threat of Supply Chain Cyber Attacks
4. What’s Choking Food Supply Chains?
5. Supply Chain Visibility: A Product or Feature?
6. 3 Freight Trends + Strategies Shippers Need to Know from Q2 2022
7. Uber Freight Deliver 2022: “A World We No Longer Live In”
8. The Internet of Things (IoT) and The Future of Supply Chain Management
9. Demurrage & Detention Rules Under OSRA 22: Can Supply Chain Technology Help?
10. Retailers Offering 3PL Services: What Is Going On?

Talking Logistics Video Episodes (Q4 2022)

Note: It’s difficult for us to rank our video episodes because many of them are hosted by our sponsors and we don’t have visibility to their views. Therefore, instead of a ranked list, below are the episodes we aired during the fourth quarter of 2022. For the rest of the episodes we aired this year, see our Q1 2022, Q2 2022, and Q3 2022 posts and our episode archive.

• Improving Supply Chain Resilience: How A Digital Supply Chain Orchestration Platform Can Help
• Beyond Rates: Important Factors in Carrier Selection
• Mitigating Supply-Side Service Risks with AI
• Navigating Changing Times in the Freight Industry

Note: Talking Logistics will be on holiday from December 22 – January 2. We will be back on January 3, refreshed and ready to go for another year of sharing insights and advice about what’s happening in the world of supply chain and logistics.Until then, here’s our final Song of the Week for 2022, “Run Away to Mars” by TALK.