470: Women in Supply Chain, Melodie Van Der Baan
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Melodie Van Der Baan talks about her career journey; juggling motherhood & entrepreneurship; positivity; and the intricate dance between supply and demand. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [04.04] The early years of Melodie’s career, why she fell in love with retail, and how her experiences laid the groundwork for her entrepreneurial journey. “I loved every store, every city, every boutique owner I visited and sold to. But, without fail, they would point out what didn’t sell from the season before, and say ‘Mel, what are you going to do about it?’ And so I had to find a...
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469: Join a Network of $20B of Freight Under Management, with Uber Freight
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Megan Keith & Shawn Piper talk about Uber Freight; bridging tech & service; bringing product & design together; automation; & the future of freight technology. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [04.00] Introductions to Megan and Shawn, and their roles at Uber Freight. “I was drawn to logistics because of its complexity and impact. It’s a space where smart, intuitive tools can really make a difference, and I love simplifying that complexity so transportation teams can move faster and make better decisions.” [05.21] An overview of Uber Freight, the evolution that brought...
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468: Make Intelligent Purchases Driven by Data, with ProcurementIQ
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Anthony & Lyle of ProcurementIQ talk about client collaboration, leveraging data, the growth of procurement & the biggest challenges impacting teams in 2025. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [06.08] Lyle’s background and the journey that led him to co-found ProcurementIQ. [09.00] How ProcurementIQ has evolved over the last decade, and where they are now. “We were learning – and so was procurement in its own right. The concept of category intelligence wasn’t really a thing in 2013... Back then there was market intelligence so what we really had to learn about was that...
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467: Put The Pedal To The Metal with Hassle-Free Rentals & Leasing, with Premier Trailer Leasing
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Craig Barth of Premier Trailer Leasing talks about understanding if your business needs to buy, rent or lease; & leveraging fleet management for success. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [05.31] An overview of Premier Trailer Leasing – who they are, what they do, and how they help their customers. [06.07] What sets Premier apart, and the secret to their success as they celebrate 20 years in business. “There are several companies that will rent or lease you a semitrailer. So why do people come to Premier? The reality is: it’s the people. It’s the partnerships we form, the...
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466: Women in Supply Chain, Alexia McLaughlin
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Alexia McLaughlin talks about making an impact through innovation; her commitment to cultures of excellence; & her big achievement as an industry rising star. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [03.52] An introduction to Alexia and her role at Veho. “If Uber and UPS had a baby, it would be Veho!” [05.08] How Alexia began her career in sales, and her journey through roles at Oracle and Jebbit to her current position at Veho. “I never thought I was going to be in sales! That used car salesman connotation springs to your mind… But, when I was coming out of college, a lot of...
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465: Your Fulfillment Transformation Starts Now, with TGW Logistics
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Dexter Weber of TGW Logistics talks about the trends, challenges & opportunities in warehouse logistics; building strategic partnerships; and TGW's new brand. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [05.31] TGW’s 50+ year journey from small fitters shop in Austria to global manufacturing leader. “Part of our journey was becoming a foundation-owned company... We reinvest our profits into our solutions and capabilities, and to charity. We’re not chasing goals and pleasing shareholders – we’re focused on that long-term vision.” [09.07] Where TGW are now, their vision for the...
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464: Women in Supply Chain, Beverly Steele
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Beverly Steele talks about her journey, making a big change mid-career; what it means to be a workforce innovator; and her take on work-life balance. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [04.29] An introduction to Beverly and her role at Inmar. [05.11] Beverly’s career journey, and her decades of varied experience. “I’ve been in reverse logistics well over 20 years. I actually stopped saying how long because I realized I’d been in it longer than some of my colleagues have been alive!” [07.15] Beverly’s 20-year tenure at CORT, and an overview of the roles she took on as she climbed the...
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463: Simplify Your Last Mile with Technology That Delivers, with CXT SoftwareD
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Phillip Lechter of CXT Software talks about challenges in last mile; building a people-first culture; & how they're helping customers grow, compete & thrive. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [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...
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462: Procurement Unlocked: Sourcing Best Practices in a Tariff-Driven World, with ProcureAbility
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Carlos Perico of ProcureAbility talks about sourcing best practices in a tariff-driven world & how to turn procurement from cost center to competitive advantage IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [04.29] An introduction to Carlos and ProcureAbility. “All we do is procurement! It’s our speciality, it’s what we’re passionate about. And that’s key.” [05.59] Tariffs: what they are, and why supply chain professionals need to pay attention. [07.07] Diversification: Some of the strategies companies can employ to build agile supply chains for long-term resilience, the big...
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461: Go Behind the Scenes of a History-Making Partnership, with OneRail and PepsiCo
Let's Talk Supply Chain
Bill Catania of OneRail and Anna Farberov of PepsiCo talk all about their strategic partnership, how it works & the benefits it drives for Pepsi customers. IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [03.42] Introductions to Bill and OneRail, and Anna and PepsiCo Labs. [06.22] Why PepsiCo reached out to OneRail to explore partnership opportunities. “They have the solution and we have the problem; they have an entrepreneurial mindset and can move fast, and we have the business expertise and deep industry understanding. And when we’re able to feed that back, that’s where the magic happens.” ...
info_outlineAmber Salley of GAINS talks about being data-driven - its four-stage evolution, misconceptions, the problem with LLMs & the benefits of letting the data lead.
IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
[05.43] An introduction to Amber, her background, and her role at GAINS.
“I’ve taken all that I learned in the past 25 years and brought it to GAINS, to help them think through: ‘Where should we take our product in the future, and what should we be focusing on to help our customers make the highest-quality decisions for their supply chain?’”
[07.42] The evolution of data-driven thinking, as technology and mindsets have changed.
“You come up with an instinct, a feel for a decision, and then you use the data you have to back it up. You have a lot of confirmation bias in your decision-making.”
[10.50] The new paradigm in data-driven thinking.
“The new paradigm focuses on discovering patterns and finding correlations over explaining causality… It’s not trying to get into the ‘why’ that is – it just IS.”
[16.18] From confirmation bias to managing leadership pride and instinctual approaches, the common misconceptions and challenges around being data-driven.
[21.12] A case study detailing how GAINS helped a key client to get on top of volatile lead time predictability and utilize full data-driven decision-making.
[24.50] The challenges of emerging technologies like Language Learning Models.
“Generative AI is ultimately a predictor, and it’s trained to predict around text. And it’s very good – it knows the rules of language, that are pretty rigid and have been around for a very long time… But, if we’re thinking about forecasting or creating inventory plans or production plans – there’s not an established pattern.”
[27.54] The four stages of data-driven evolution and what they mean for teams.
[32.44] The benefits of letting the data lead, for both teams and businesses.
“For teams, it allows for faster actionable insights and a reduction in manual effort and bias, so they can start to focus on more value-add activities… And the business can achieve better inventory management, better supply chain design, and increase their overall resilience.”
[35.20] Exactly how GAINS can help organizations to adopt a truly data-driven approach.
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:
Head over to GAINS’s website to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with GAINS and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, YouTube, or X (Twitter), or you can connect with Amber on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more from GAINS, check out 390: Achieve Real Results And Innovate For The Future, with GAINS, 385: Make The Right Decisions For Your Supply Chain, with GAINS or 374: Achieve Supply Chain Optimization In Record Time, with GAINS.