Overcoming Supply Chain Disruptions with Shanna Greathouse and Tony Nichols
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
Release Date: 12/24/2020
From Deal Flow to Data Flow: Investing in the Freight Market with Ben Gordon
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
In “From Deal Flow to Data Flow: Investing in the Freight Market”, and , Founder and Managing Partner of Cambridge Capital, discuss the evolution of investment in the supply chain sector, highlighting the shift from traditional deals to a focus on leveraging data and technology for strategic growth. About Ben Gordon is the Founder and Managing Partner of . He draws on a career building, advising, and investing in supply chain companies. Benjamin has led investments in outstanding firms including , , , , and others. As CEO of BGSA Holdings, Benjamin has spent...
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The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
In “Intermodal Expo 2025: Unpacking Cargo Theft, AI, and M&A”, and , President & CEO of IANA, discuss the critical issues and forward-looking trends that are shaping the future of the intermodal freight industry. About Anne Reinke became the Intermodal Association of North America’s third President & CEO in December of 2024. Immediately preceding her appointment at IANA, Anne was President & CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association for four years. Anne has a long career in transportation policy, with a stint at the Association of American...
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Inside the DAT - Convoy Platform Deal: What This Acquisiton Means for the Freight Market with Bill Driegert
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
In “Inside the DAT - Convoy Platform Deal: What This Acquisiton Means for the Freight Market”, and , EVP of Convoy Platform - DAT Freight & Analytics, discuss how the integration of the Convoy Platform's automation and AI technology with DAT's massive freight marketplace will help brokers combat fraud, increase efficiency, and focus on high-value work. About Bill Driegert is the EVP of Convoy Platform at DAT Freight & Analytics. He was previously the EVP of Trucking at Flexport and the co-founder and Head of Operations at Uber Freight, Uber’s logistics business. Bill began his...
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The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
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The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
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REPOST: Blind Spots & Bottlenecks: Unmasking the Hidden Enemies of Supply Chain with Briana Birkholz
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and discuss blind spots & bottlenecks: unmasking the hidden enemies of supply chain. Briana is the Vice President of Product Management for the 3PL market segment at SPS Commerce, the world’s leading retail network, connecting trading partners around the globe to optimize supply chain operations for all retail partners. About Briana Birkholz is the Vice President of Product Management for the 3PL market segment at SPS Commerce. With a passion for overcoming supply chain and logistics challenges, Briana is committed to addressing the distinct needs of customers through comprehensive,...
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Project 61: The Mission to Give Truckers a Longer, Healthier Life with Jeremy ReymerProject 61: The Mission to Give Truckers a Longer, Healthier Life with Jeremy Reymer
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
In “Project 61: The Mission to Give Truckers a Longer, Healthier Life”, and , the Founder and CEO of Project 61, discuss the shocking statistic that the average life expectancy of a truck driver is just 61 years and the organization's mission to address this health crisis. About Jeremy Reymer is a recognized leader and innovator in the trucking industry with over 20 years of experience as both a carrier and vendor. A frequent speaker and podcast host, he addresses critical issues such as driver recruiting, retention, compliance, and health and wellness. In 2016, Jeremy founded...
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The Dark Funnel Demystified: Unlocking Hidden Sales with Jennie Malafarina
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In “The Dark Funnel Demystified: Unlocking Hidden Sales”, and , the CEO of Virago Marketing, discuss how businesses can drive measurable revenue growth by understanding and leveraging the invisible customer journey. About Jennie Malafarina is the CEO of Virago Marketing, a Cleveland-based agency helping transportation and logistics companies turn marketing into a revenue-driving engine. Since taking the lead at Virago in 2020, she has elevated the agency’s impact—guiding strategies that deliver measurable results aligned with client growth goals. With over a decade of experience in...
info_outlineOvercoming Supply Chain Disruptions with Shanna Greathouse and Tony Nichols
Tony Nichols, Shanna Greathouse, and Joe Lynch discuss overcoming supply chain disruptions. Tony and Shanna work at CarrierDirect, a company that specializes in helping companies minimize supply chain risk.
About Tony Nichols
Tony Nichols is a Vice President in CarrierDirect’s Supply Chain Practice. He has over 25 years of experience across all functions of the supply chain and IT in multiple industries including consumer products, life sciences, and industrial manufacturing. Tony earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Purdue University.
About Shanna Greathouse
Shanna Greathouse is a Senior Business Consultant at CarrierDirect. Shanna has experience in a broad range of industries including oil & gas, health tech, and consumer goods. She has led programs ranging from acquisitions to technology deployment with a strong focus on lean manufacturing and data management. Shanna earned a BA and an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University.
About CarrierDirect
Since 2011 carriers, 3PLs, shippers, and logistics technology vendors have looked to CarrierDirect to deliver the efficiency, strategy, go-to-market plans, and technology that will elevate their business above their competition. CarrierDirect builds organizations and relationships, providing strategy and technology designed to maximize efficiency, reduce cost, and make your business stand out. CarrierDirect advises clients on the elements of their business most vital to success: strategy, organizational structure, compensation, technology, training, recruiting, workflows, processes, and more. CarrierDirect clients include Werner, J.B. Hunt, Covenant, CRST, and FedEx.
Key Takeaways: Overcoming Supply Chain Disruptions
The Causes of Supply Chain Disruptions include:
- Pandemics like the COVID 19.
- Natural disasters like forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes.
- Socio-political events like trade wars and political upheavals around the world.
- Rapid changes in consumer buying habits
The Supply Chain Disruptions Include:
- Manufacturing capacity drops and become less efficient
- Labor shortages and cost increases.
- Raw material shortages and cost increases.
- Financial implications
- Port congestion
- Trucking capacity falls and costs increase.
- Final mile capacity demand increases.
During the podcast interview, Tony and Shanna shared four (4) strategies for avoiding and or minimizing supply chain disruptions
- Flip the forecasting narrative. During unprecedented times, historical forecasting is not useful. Consumption-based forecasting and planning, which is demand-driven and based on consumer and customer consumption short-term patterns, is necessary to ensure customer commitments are realized when supply is constrained. Companies will need to implement solutions that give this data in real-time or in the shortest time possible.
- New partnership opportunities. Distribution center networks have expanded their footprint to allow for more immediacy in stock pulling and decrease time to the consumer. Visibility to data allows companies to work with novel partners including non-historically 3PL partners or competitors to change the distribution network to increase target addressable market and improve last-mile capabilities. More and more companies are looking at building consortiums with other companies to increase capabilities and meet consumer expectations and to be competitive with Amazon and Walmart.
- Unlock the true costs of goods. By understanding the true costs of goods, both direct and
indirect expenses including cost of quality, rework, tariffs, expedited air, and safety stock can uncover overlooked sourcing opportunities that enable resilience and flexibility while reducing overall risk. - Digital Twin/Sandbox. By creating one unified system, a holistic duplicate system or “Digital Twin”
can be created to serve as a sandbox for scenario analysis. Running supply chain simulations enable a quantitative approach to assess risk. Resiliency modeling and can address key supply chain issues. - CarrierDirect recently published a white paper, Data Transparency that contains additional strategies for assessing risk and overcoming supply chain disruptions.
Learn More: Overcoming Supply Chain Disruptions
Data Transparency - The Foundation of Modern Business