The first quarter of 2023 is in the books.
So, how are we doing overall in the supply chain and logistics industry?
I guess it depends on who you ask. For shippers, the current environment from a rates and capacity standpoint is much more favorable than it has been the past two years. For carriers, however, it’s a more challenging environment, as they try to balance lower freight demand and decreasing rates with higher operating costs.
Inflation? Still dealing with it. Same with the Russia-Ukraine war, growing geo-political risks, and labor constraints.
Robots continue to gain more ground, both the physical kind (e.g., autonomous mobile robots) as well as the software kind (e.g., Robotic Process Automation, ChatGPT).
Are we closer to achieving 100% end-to-end supply chain visibility? It depends on whether you believe we’re moving “two steps forward, one step back” in that direction or “one step forward, two steps back.”
Same with trust and collaboration.
I can’t help but think: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Quarter in Review
In case you missed them the first time around or want to read/view them again, check out the top posts and new episodes from the first quarter of 2023. After reading/watching them, share this post with your colleagues and social media followers, then post a comment and share your perspective on these topics!
Top Posts
- How Machine Learning Optimizes the Supply Chain
- Southwest Airlines Puts Spotlight on Another Supply Chain Weak Link
- Technology’s Role in Transforming the Logistics Industry
- Supply Chain And Logistics: What Will Stay The Same In 2023?
- Navigating the Modern Supply Chain with AI-driven Insight
- When Execution Meets Visibility
- Supply Chain Innovation: What Factors Provide the Greatest Resistance to Change?
- 3PLs: Best-of-Breed or One-Stop-Shop?
- The State of Supply Chain and Logistics Innovation
- The Road Not Taken By Others
New Episodes
- Top of Mind Challenges and Opportunities for Supply Chain and Logistics Executives
- The Connected Channel
- How to Turn Low-Trust Business Relationships into High-Performing Partnerships
- Discussing the Lessons Learned in Transportation Procurement Management
- The Road Ahead in Supply Chain Visibility and Execution
- The New Supply Chain Landscape: Why Moving Up the Supply Chain Spectrum Is Imperative
Indago Research Reports
This quarter we completed seven research surveys and donated a total of $975 to JDRF, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.
- Working with Software Startups (March 2023): How receptive is your company to working with supply chain and logistics software startups? How knowledgeable are you about the financial health of your supply chain and logistics software vendors? Will the Silicon Valley Bank incident lead you to conduct more due diligence on the financial health of your software vendors?
- Supply Chain Sustainability Status (March 2023): Is sustainability a defined and measured objective within your supply chain organization today? Are you on schedule to meet your sustainability objectives or falling behind?
- Revisiting Warehouse Robots (March 2023): If you had to build the business case for investing in warehouse robots, what metrics would be most important in your Return-on-Investment model? How do you think your warehouse workers would feel about using robots? How important would certain factors be in your evaluation and selection process?
- Supply Chain Innovation (February 2023): What is the primary focus of your company’s supply chain innovation efforts today? What supply chain and logistics processes are in most need of innovation? What are the top barriers to supply chain and logistics innovation?
- AI in Supply Chain Management (February 2023): How would you characterize your knowledge/understanding of AI? Is your company using AI in its supply chain operations? What supply chain related question would you ask ChatGPT?
- Revisiting Supply Chain Risk Management (January 2023): How often do you consider risk in your supply chain decisions? Which risks are you most concerned about? How would you characterize your approach to supply chain risk management? Is supply chain risk management part of the business case used to invest in technology?
- Supply Chain Technical Debt (January 2022): How much technical debt exists in your supply chain operations? Which functions have the most technical debt? Is reducing technical debt in your supply chain operations a priority at your company this year?
If you’re a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a manufacturing, retail, or distribution company, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes that need our help today more than ever.
Reminder: There are many ways to stay connected with Talking Logistics and Indago throughout the year — choose all the options that you prefer:
Email Newsletter
LinkedIn (Talking Logistics)
LinkedIn (Indago)
Twitter (Talking Logistics)
Twitter (Indago)
Facebook
YouTube (where you can also watch all of our episodes)iTunes (where you can listen to podcast versions of our episodes)
