Art of Supply
Art of Supply, hosted by Kelly Barner, draws inspiration from news headlines and expert interviews to bring you insightful coverage of today’s complex supply chains.
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OceanGate and the Limits of Supply Base Innovation
11/13/2025
OceanGate and the Limits of Supply Base Innovation
On June 18, 2023, the OceanGate TITAN, a submersible on its way to the Titanic wreck site, imploded, killing all five passengers, including OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush. There were a number of factors leading to this tragic event, including a horrible disregard of basic safety measures, a deliberate effort to work outside of regulatory and inspection protocols, and a toxic company culture. While many of these issues were internal, OceanGate did not make the TITAN or its predecessors in-house. This means that they had suppliers, and those companies had a front row seat to what was unfolding. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers the OceanGate operation from a supply chain point of view: OceanGate’s evolutionary journey – first to buy and retrofit their submersibles and then to build them The different suppliers that played a role in manufacturing the TITAN, and signs that the company was looking for alternatives The challenge presented by innovation that seems to defy convention. When is an idea truly groundbreaking, and when is it just reckless? Links:
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Asset Optimization Isn’t a Destination – It’s a Discipline
11/06/2025
Asset Optimization Isn’t a Destination – It’s a Discipline
“No trucking company in the history of trucking companies has ever made money if their wheels aren't moving basically all the time.” - Sean Devine, Founder and CEO, XBE When costs are high and competition is tight, how companies think about opportunities and challenges determines how successful they will be. They must deal with the never-ending push and pull between procurement and sales, the role of operational planning, and demand that alternates between peaks and troughs, but the big question is always the same: Is your core business as profitable as it could be? Sean Devine is the Founder and CEO of XBE, and Sean Correll is their General Manager of Heavy Logistics. XBE is an operations platform focused on heavy materials, logistics, and construction. Their customers build and maintain roads, manufacture with concrete and asphalt, and mine and transport aggregate – expensive, asset-intensive activities. Starting with the need to maximize asset utilization, and then transitioning into how the most strategic business decisions are made, this conversation applies far beyond heavy logistics. Kelly, Sean, and Sean discuss: How to optimize owned v. hired logistics capacity The many different levers that can turn a good operation into a great one Understanding the cost of an opportunity, as well as buy-side competition Why we all need to resist the temptation to run towards even the best answers
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Inside the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics: Harnessing Creative Destruction
10/30/2025
Inside the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics: Harnessing Creative Destruction
“Capitalism, then, is by nature a form or method of economic change and not only never is but never can be stationary.” - Austrian Economist Joseph Schumpeter (1950) The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was recently awarded to Joel Mokyr, an economic historian at Northwestern University, Philippe Aghion, who is affiliated with universities in France and the U.K., and Peter Howitt, a professor of economics at Brown University. Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt worked together for decades to develop and publish a model that makes it possible to better understand business growth - but not just any growth. The growth fueled by Creative Destruction. Creative Destruction was first described by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 in response to ideas from Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. In fact, Marx thought, and Schumpeter agreed, that it would lead to the end of capitalism… they just didn’t agree on why. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: What Creative Destruction is, and why it is no ordinary form of growth How the idea is connected to the potential end of capitalism Why it is so fascinating that this idea is being highlighted at this moment in time, with the rise of AI right before us. Links:
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Intermodal by Design: How Coordination Drives Efficiency W/ Anne Reinke
10/23/2025
Intermodal by Design: How Coordination Drives Efficiency W/ Anne Reinke
When it comes to moving freight long distances, you can go from ship to drayage to rail to over-the-road trucking… or you can go intermodal. Intermodal freight transportation combines the advantages of sea, air, and land transport to facilitate a preplanned end-to-end journey. Understanding the relative cost, security, and emissions benefits of intermodal transportation is key for companies looking for the most efficient way to move their goods. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner is joined by Anne Reinke, the CEO and President of the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA). Anne has experience lobbying for the rail industry and working at the Department of Transportation, as well as with an organization representing 3PLs. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly and Anne discuss: How the relative roles of private companies and government agencies vary by mode of transportation Which factors are most influential in driving demand for intermodal transportation How tariffs are changing shipper behavior, altering the usual seasonal patterns for transportation peaks and lows Links:
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The Soybean Economy: What’s at Stake in the U.S.–China Trade Talks
10/16/2025
The Soybean Economy: What’s at Stake in the U.S.–China Trade Talks
Global trading of steel, lumber, and rare earth minerals makes our companies and industries and economies work. And yet, right up there with those examples is an agricultural commodity many people don’t like and won’t eat: soybeans. Soybeans are a huge focus of the trade talks between the U.S. and China, and there is a lot at stake between now and the end of the year, especially for U.S. soybean farmers. China has been actively diversifying their sources of soybeans away from the United States, and they have developed at least two viable alternatives: Brazil and Argentina. The U.S. has less actively (and only lately) started diversifying their customer base for exported soybeans, leaving farmers with a bumper crop and no one to sell it to. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers the soybean supply chain and its intersection with geopolitics: Starting with an overview of the global soybean market and how soybean trade is being affected by tariffs Why soybean farmers are upset with the country of Argentina - and the Federal government How the United States actually took soybean production away from China in the 1950s and 1960s, but now stands to lose their place as a prominent global source Links:
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Kodiak’s Road to IPO: AI, Defense Contracts, and the Future of Autonomous Trucking
10/09/2025
Kodiak’s Road to IPO: AI, Defense Contracts, and the Future of Autonomous Trucking
On September 25, 2025, Kodiak, an autonomous truck software company founded in 2018, went public with a $2.5 Billion valuation. Unlike other companies that make the whole truck autonomous, Kodiak retrofits existing equipment with their sensors and software. Also, unlike other companies in their space… they have revenue, something that is a challenge in any emerging industry. In 2024, Kodiak became the first company to announce the delivery of a driverless semi-truck to a paying customer, but I think everyone has the same question: will it work? That goes for both Kodiak’s solution and their business model. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner: Reviews how the Kodiak model works and what makes it different – including how they generate revenue Explains where they already have trucks in operation and how that is going, as well as the military investment that infused them with the capital required to grow And finally, she tries to answer the question ‘Will it work long term?’ from an operational and investment point of view Links:
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Reimagining Reshoring With the Help of 3D Printing
10/02/2025
Reimagining Reshoring With the Help of 3D Printing
In conversations about reshoring, people usually assume that it means building or retrofitting facilities for U.S. manufacturing, bringing in equipment, and hiring people to operate it. But what if that isn’t what it is going to look like at all? The costs and uncertainty associated with tariffs may be changing attitudes about global trade enough that 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, will get its long-speculated opportunity in the spotlight. 3D printing has advantages and disadvantages, and requires a completely different supply management mindset than importing parts. There are also early signs that AI and the rise of “digital inventories” could change the paradigm yet again, giving companies a whole new set of variables to optimize. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner shares: How 3D printing (or additive manufacturing) is being used today, and what the benefits and risks are What we know about the domestic supply chain for 3D printers and parts How the concept of digital inventories may shift the paradigm yet again Insights from a brand new research project that seeks to calculate a more accurate cost for each 3D printed project Links:
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Truck Drivers, Trade Deals, and Denials: Sorting Fact from Fiction in Nebraska
09/25/2025
Truck Drivers, Trade Deals, and Denials: Sorting Fact from Fiction in Nebraska
“Werner Enterprises wishes to clarify that we are not involved in any agreements of discussions regarding the recruitment of Kenyan truck drivers to the United States. Any claims suggesting otherwise are just false.” - Werner Enterprises on X, September 9, 2025 In early September, rumors started to swirl that Werner Enterprises, a $3 Billion transportation and logistics company based in Omaha, Nebraska, was bringing people from Kenya to drive for them in the United States. The rumors aren’t completely based on speculation. Delegations from Kenya and the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office have been going back and forth for over a year. Werner and their CEO have publicly denied the rumors, and the Governor of Nebraska has clarified the limitations of the Secretary of State’s office, but only digging into the details can separate fact from fiction. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner pulls together the facts as she found them: Reviewing the timeline - a critical piece of this story Pictures that seem to have been worth more than a thousand words Who said what when, including representatives of the Federal government The lessons we can all learn from what happened Links:
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Target Steps Back from ‘Stores as Hubs’ Digital Fulfillment
09/18/2025
Target Steps Back from ‘Stores as Hubs’ Digital Fulfillment
“It's also important to note that while our stores are fulfilling more digital orders it's not coming at the cost of in-store sales…our stores as hubs strategy isn't putting our core business at risk. It's simply helping us grow faster.” - Brian Cornell, Target CEO, in 2019 In August, Target announced that they would be backing away from their ‘stores as hubs’ program. The program started in 2017 and used dedicated spaces in the backrooms of regular Target stores to fulfill the company’s digital orders. The ‘stores as hubs’ program was rolled out with huge fanfare… and a massive $7 Billion investment… so why has Target changed their mind? Their explanation for the change is that they need to focus more on the in-store shopping experience, but it could also be that true omnichannel retail fulfillment is harder to deliver against than they thought. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner considers the roll out and then roll back of Target’s ‘stores as hubs’ program: How the program worked, and what the incentives were to keep it going The challenges Target ran into as well as the successes they had under their omnichannel strategy What we know about how they plan to handle digital order fulfillment moving forward Links:
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Honk If You’re Qualified: Understanding CDL Safety
09/11/2025
Honk If You’re Qualified: Understanding CDL Safety
If you want to operate a truck over 26,000 pounds, earn money for doing it, and cross state lines… then you need to have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Truck drivers are essential to the economy, and so having a CDL is a real asset. It offers job security and flexibility, as well as solid earnings and great benefits. In fact, CDLs are so valuable that even people who haven’t earned one are willing to break the rules to get one. But having unqualified commercial drivers on the road is a danger to everyone. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers the right way and the wrong way to get a CDL: Safety statistics associated with large trucks and their drivers How to get a CDL and what the pass/fail rate is Recent news stories that illustrate what can go wrong when the administration of CDLs is not handled properly or when licensed drivers aren’t qualified Links:
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Can Apple Reshore the iPhone?
09/04/2025
Can Apple Reshore the iPhone?
“We’re committed to supporting U.S. suppliers involved in every key stage of the chip-making process — from the earliest stages of research and development, to final fabrication and packaging.” - Sabih Khan, COO at Apple In April, President Trump said that he wants the Apple iPhone to be manufactured in the United States. The iPhone’s 2,700 components currently come from 187 suppliers in 28 countries, according to an article from the Financial Times, and less than 5 percent of the total components are manufactured domestically. Apple ships 438 iPhones every minute, and 85 percent of them are assembled by Foxconn, with its dozens of locations in China. Can Apple reshore the iPhone? We’re all watching to find out. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner looks into whether this lofty goal could become a reality: What incentives does Apple have to make this work, and what are the disincentives to tolerate failure? How are they investing domestically in terms of capacity, partnerships, and talent? Are they thinking big enough to address the raw materials required in their silicon and battery supply chains? Links:
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Shipments Under Siege: The Growing Problem of Cargo Theft
08/28/2025
Shipments Under Siege: The Growing Problem of Cargo Theft
The supply chain faces a lot of challenges right now: geopolitical unpredictability, tariff uncertainty, the end of de minimis exemptions, and constantly changing regulations worldwide. It doesn’t need one more problem - but it has one anyway. And that’s cargo theft. According to Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb), since 2021, there has been a 1,500% increase in cargo theft incidents in the U.S., costing $35 Billion annually. The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) has reported that cargo theft grew by over 600% between November 2022 and March 2023 alone, less than 6 months. Recent estimates say that 2,500 truckloads are stolen every year, an average of 200 truckloads per month, or 7 per day. And who pays for all of that theft? Companies shipping goods, companies transporting goods, and you. The consumer. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner looks into this massive and growing problem: The different types of theft associated with the cargo crime epidemic How technology is making it easier for criminals to seize loads and making it easier for shippers to safeguard their cargo A case example involving one of the worst and fastest growing areas of cargo theft: copper Links:
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Lost at Sea: Can the U.S. regain maritime dominance?
08/21/2025
Lost at Sea: Can the U.S. regain maritime dominance?
“Today, the U.S. ranks 19th in the world in commercial shipbuilding, and we build less than 5 ships each year, while the PRC is building more than 1,700 ships. In 1975, the United States ranked number one, and we were building more than 70 ships a year.” - Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (2021-2025) The Trump Administration is on a mission to make shipbuilding great again… a bipartisan effort that started during the Biden Administration. In the spring of 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative released the findings and recommendations of a Section 301 investigation into whether or not China is engaged in anti-competitive shipbuilding practices. This release led to the “Ships for America Act,” introduced by Senator Mark Kelly, among others. When both sides of the aisle agree, the problem must be huge… and in the case of U.S. shipbuilding capabilities, it is gargantuan. There are currently about 80 U.S.-flagged ships involved in international commerce compared to over 5,500 China-flagged vessels, and the connection between military shipbuilding and commercial shipbuilding is too strong to ignore. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner: Tracks the downfall of U.S. shipbuilding from its peak in the 70s to today Examines China’s strategy for combining military and commercial shipbuilding capabilities and how that has helped them build a dominant global position Considers the many moving pieces that will have to fall into place to put the U.S. on a better path Links:
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From Billable Hours to Measurable Impact: The GSA’s Push for Outcome-Based Contracts
08/14/2025
From Billable Hours to Measurable Impact: The GSA’s Push for Outcome-Based Contracts
“If you’re as good as you say you are, you should be able to keep your cost structure down, deliver the mission and the outcome, and still make a margin.” - Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the GSA The General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for Federal contracting, has been making DOGE-style headlines of their own this year. In late June, they sent a letter to a number of large consulting firms under contract, looking for opportunities to reduce spending and better understand the work that is underway. Josh Gruenbaum, who is overseeing the review, specifically requested “No consultant gobbledygook” in the responses. The GSA has signaled a mindset shift from time-and-materials to outcome based contracts, a dynamic that is likely to impact private sector consulting contracts and spending as well. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner looks into this shift and what it will require from all involved parties: How the government defines consulting services The multi-round outreach process being led by the Federal government and how firms are responding How to shift to outcome based agreements and the pressure of AI is likely to change the future of consulting Links:
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Coming Unchained to Embrace Global Supply Networks W/ Tim Richardson
08/07/2025
Coming Unchained to Embrace Global Supply Networks W/ Tim Richardson
“We've had this whole period of trying to manage supply chains for lowest cost, whereas I think now we're managing for resilience at a managed cost and at an acceptable cost.” - Tim Richardson, Founder and CEO, Iter Consulting Supply chains aren't really chains anymore. They're complex, interconnected networks. Supply networks are anything but predictable. What used to be straightforward relationships between suppliers and customers have become webs of interconnected partnerships, each with its own risks and opportunities. The leaders and teams who succeed in this environment understand that optimizing for resilience at a managed cost has fundamentally replaced the old paradigm of chasing the lowest cost… at any price. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner welcomes Tim Richardson back to the podcast. Tim is the Founder and CEO of Iter Consulting, a global team of experts with supply chain and manufacturing experience that are helping companies navigate the new world order of distributed manufacturing and supply network complexity In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Tim and Kelly discuss: Why we've moved past peak globalization and what "local for local" manufacturing means for supply network design How to balance the challenge of mapping supply network complexity against the need to understand cost and risk exposure The talent gap in supply chain leadership and why strategic thinking capabilities haven't kept pace with operational demands Links:
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What Restaurants Can Teach Us About Procurement & Supply Chain
07/31/2025
What Restaurants Can Teach Us About Procurement & Supply Chain
“The way you do one thing is the way you do everything, and we found, over and over, that precision in the smallest of details translated to precision in the bigger ones.” - Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality There are a lot of opportunities for crossover learning between running a restaurant and working in procurement or supply chain. Both fields are highly operational and process driven, not to mention measured by known, benchmarkable performance metrics. In the book “Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More than They Expect” by Will Guidara, we hear the story of one high-end restaurant’s rise to become the best in the world, but it wasn’t just about the food. They had to master and refine their systems, their approach to the guest experience, and serve amazing food all at the same time. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner shares key lessons from the book and connects them to the challenges and opportunities that procurement and supply chain leaders face today: The critical need to pair vision with operational systems that work at scale Crafting an exceptional customer experience and training a large team to preserve it How successful leaders handle difficult times and even failure Links:
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Making the Pivot to AI-enabled Global Sourcing W/ Anthony Sardain
07/24/2025
Making the Pivot to AI-enabled Global Sourcing W/ Anthony Sardain
“There is a world where we can have a much more dynamic supply chain. Certainly, the current set of brands that are experiencing the squeeze from the tariffs would definitely benefit from being able to pivot their supply chain pretty quickly.” - Anthony Sardain, Founder and CEO of Cavela For all of the enthusiasm about AI, global sourcing is one of the processes that has remained predominantly human. Between the complexity of specifications and the relationship-based exchanges of information, it has been too ‘messy’ for straight automation - until now. Anthony Sardain is the founder and CEO of Cavela, a company focused on automating the end-to-end sourcing process. For three generations, his family has been heavily involved in trade. It probably comes as no surprise then that during his graduate studies at McGill University, he focused on developing machine learning and AI models to predict global trade. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner speaks with Anthony about the opportunities associated with (finally) automating global sourcing: Building a business model that delivers the value traditionally associated with a service as a product instead Why increasing competition from smaller players will increase all companies’ reliance on brand How suppliers feel about this new advancement in the manufacturing space Links:
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Remembering Fred Smith: FedEx Founder & Supply Chain Visionary
07/17/2025
Remembering Fred Smith: FedEx Founder & Supply Chain Visionary
“Life is short and it ends, the clock is ticking. Don’t get all wrapped up in your personal self, that’s a very unhealthy thing to do.” - Fred Smith, Founder of FedEx (1944 - 2025) On June 21, 2025, the business world - more specifically the supply chain world - lost a giant. FedEx Founder Fred Smith passed away at the age of 80. Frederick Wallace Smith was born in Marks, Mississippi in 1944. According to common anecdotes, he first imagined a company that could provide overnight delivery for an economics paper he wrote while studying at Yale in 1965 - and he got a C because the professor thought the idea was implausible. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner looks at Fred Smith’s many contributions from five decades in business: The risk he had to be willing to take on in pursuit of his vision The many innovations that were introduced by FedEx during his tenure Why Smith’s perspective on what kind of business FedEx was in was so critical to its success Links:
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How Transportation & Logistics Companies Are Tackling Network Security W/ Ken Rutsky
07/10/2025
How Transportation & Logistics Companies Are Tackling Network Security W/ Ken Rutsky
“This is a long standing discussion within the networking and security industry: is there a perimeter? I think the reality is the perimeter still exists because it's a data and logical perimeter, but it doesn't exist anymore as a physical perimeter.” - Ken Rutsky, Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka As the world becomes increasingly digital, ensuring network connectivity and security become parallel objectives that all companies must prioritize. Add in trying to do it as efficiently as possible, and the challenge only grows. Ken Rutsky is the Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka. They recently released their first Network Security Trends in Transportation and Logistics report, part of a series of research efforts looking at network security trends for different industries. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Ken joins Kelly Barner to discuss: The unique combination of physical and digital security needs that transportation and logistics companies have to satisfy How the cost, complexity, and relative risk associated with network security are being addressed Balancing systems integration and also network perimeters to ensure connectivity on the move without taking on undue risk Links:
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Down but Not Out: California’s Fight to Regulate Emissions
07/03/2025
Down but Not Out: California’s Fight to Regulate Emissions
There have been a number of efforts to regulate a transition to lower logistics-related emissions, and all of them involved the state of California and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). California always plays a unique role in these debates because they have the most air pollution in the country and also the toughest emissions regulations. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) predates the EPA. In the past, they have been able to make their own rules, only requiring waivers when newly proposed standards are tougher than Federal standards. On May 22, 2025, the Senate voted to strip California of its ability to impose tougher standards on heavy duty trucks and ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. California may be down, but they are certainly not out. They are using other creative ways to regulate the emissions associated with logistics. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner looks at this alternate approach to regulation: The Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions Program (known as WAIRE) and the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (ISR) How these rules are are intended to work and how they are being enforced Whether this alternative approach will be effective in achieving its objectives Links:
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A Procurement Crime at Intel: Loopholes and Lessons Learned
06/26/2025
A Procurement Crime at Intel: Loopholes and Lessons Learned
While true crime has gained traction as a genre in the literary world, it's not often we see it applied to procurement. Yet, a fascinating and unsettling procurement fraud case has recently come to light within Intel Israel's operations. Every criminal investigation seeks to uncover means, motive, and opportunity, and this case checks all three boxes, with implications that go far beyond one company. Just a few weeks ago, a story broke that uncovered an alleged scheme in which a now-former employee, Natalia Avtsin, and a component supplier, Yefim Tsibolevsky from Energy Electronics 2000, teamed up to steal roughly 3 million Israeli shekels (NIS), or about $842,000 USD. Although the case is still ongoing and has yet to see its day in court, it poses a lot of questions for procurement teams across the globe. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: How Avtsin and Tsibolevsky pulled off this alleged fraud The process loopholes and absent oversight that allowed them to get away with it for so long The many lessons procurement can take from this case regarding checks and balances, pattern detection, and technology use Links:
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Prioritizing Dispute Prevention Over Problem Solving
06/19/2025
Prioritizing Dispute Prevention Over Problem Solving
After spending years reviewing business books, Kelly Barner knows how to recognize authors who truly move the needle–and Kate Vitasek is one of them. Her latest work, Preventing the Dispute Before It Begins: Proven Mechanisms for Fostering Better Business Relationships, co-authored with James Groton, Ellen Waldman, and Allen Waxman, takes on a surprisingly neglected topic: dispute prevention. While this topic can be applied to procurement, it’s also very human, looking at business relationships from their most troubled moments and aspiring to lay out a plan as well as offering up resources to help teams and individuals stay away from the trouble. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner takes on her first audio book review and covers: The difference between handling conflict and proactively preventing issues in the first place How certain language, particularly within contracts, can lay the foundation for disputes even before they happen Who peacekeepers are and the role they have in strategically averting crises Links:
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High Velocity Lessons on Lobbying and Trade W/ Samir Kapadia
06/12/2025
High Velocity Lessons on Lobbying and Trade W/ Samir Kapadia
“In this climate of being a trade professional in Washington, expect to be in an Uber for about half of the day and then the other half of it sitting in rooms making cases of why people either should be not paying tariffs or how other people should be paying tariffs.” - Samir Kapadia, Managing Principal at Vogel Group and Founder and CEO at India Index Supply chain professionals have always had to keep a close eye on trade–both the policies and the geopolitical happenings that affect it. But with tariffs launching trade-related topics to the top of the news cycle repeatedly since January, all of us - supply chain professionals and otherwise - have learned something new. One person who spends a majority of his time right in the thick of it all is Samir Kapadia, Managing Principal at Vogel Group and Founder and CEO at India Index. Samir and Kelly Barner have discussed global sourcing and tariffs in the past, but in this interview they take a broader approach, exploring how trade policies and lobbying intersect and what they really mean in today's volatile geopolitical environment. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Samir shares his expertise about the: Nuances of trade relationships between companies and governments Factors that influence trade agreements and tariffs Types of lobbying methods that influence and shape trade practices Links:
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Tariffs as a Girder for Domestic Fabricated Steel W/ Stephen Capone and Hollie Noveletsky
06/05/2025
Tariffs as a Girder for Domestic Fabricated Steel W/ Stephen Capone and Hollie Noveletsky
“We need to be able to tolerate this uncertainty and the fluctuations that we're undergoing right now and keep our eye on the long term goal of strengthening American manufacturing.” -Hollie Noveletsky, Owner and CEO of Novel Iron Works While many consumers and business owners feel uneasy about the Trump Administration’s use of tariffs, there is at least one group that views them as essential: steel fabricators. Hollie Noveletsky, Owner and CEO of Novel Iron Works, and Stephen Capone, President of Capone Iron, have personally felt the negative impact that foreign competition and a lack of fair trade have had not only on their own businesses but on their overall communities. As Section 232 tariffs help incentivize domestic steel fabrication, they feel a sense of hope in protecting the security of American jobs and infrastructure. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Hollie and Stephen share their perspectives on: The importance of maintaining, growing, and preserving domestic steel fabrication capabilities Competition–and the factors that impact it–between between fabricators in New England and internationally Advice Hollie and Stephen have for decisionmakers who feel wary about impending tariffs and what this really means for the country Links:
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Semiconductor CHIPS, Checks, and Challenges
05/29/2025
Semiconductor CHIPS, Checks, and Challenges
“Even though the world’s advanced economies are largely considered post-industrial, chipmaking is an area where domestic manufacturing is now being treated as a high priority for economic and national security reasons.” Jon Martin, Writing for the ‘More than Moore’ substack The CHIPS and Science Act, which took effect in August of 2022, is an ambitious Federal program that will inject $52.7 Billion into U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and workforce training. As we look back nearly 3 years later, there has been more talk than action, but no one party or entity bears all of the blame. Forming productive partnerships between the public and private sectors is always complicated - even when everyone’s interests seem to be aligned, and a change of Administration has also brought changes in how the program will be run. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner reviews the law as an example of joint public-private reshoring: Reviewing the commitments that have been made to date Unpacking the roadblocks to progress that we’ve seen so far Considering what the Trump administration is doing to facilitate the process of rebuilding semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in the United States Links:
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How U.S. Tariffs Are Reshaping Global Freight W/ Judah Levine
05/22/2025
How U.S. Tariffs Are Reshaping Global Freight W/ Judah Levine
Global supply chain leaders and consumers alike have watched for months as the U.S. tariff rollercoaster starts and stops, impacting imported goods. While these policy changes are expected to directly impact supply chains, what about their impact on the cost and availability of freight? As companies hold their breath and wait to see if and/or when their imports will be subjected to tariffs, many have been doing their best to plan as far ahead as possible and get stock in well before seasonal demand hits. Even so, concerns still exist over tariff timelines and the availability and cost of domestic goods. Most preparation comes down to data–which is where this episode’s guest comes in. Judah Levine, Head of Research at Freightos, recently joined Kelly Barner to offer his insight into what he and his team are seeing in the ocean and air shipping market. In this episode of Art of Supply podcast, Kelly and Judah cover: The strategy shippers are taking in response to tariffs The extended impact these trade wars will have on global shipping The challenges brought on by the pausing of de minimis exceptions Links:
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Supply Chains & Second Chances: Human Trafficking Aftercare
05/15/2025
Supply Chains & Second Chances: Human Trafficking Aftercare
In recent years, a lot of work has been done to raise awareness about the massive problem of human trafficking as well as to start to attack that problem. In this week’s episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner interviews two women engaged in an important part of that fight through an organization called Gift of Freedom: Sharon Siar and Nicole Glenn. Sharon Siar is the Founder and President Gift of Freedom, and she is also the Vice President and CFO at Talon Freight Services Nicole Glenn, is a Board Member for Gift of Freedom, the Founder and CEO of Candor Logistics Management, and a host of the Ladies Leadership Coalition Podcast. Unlike organizations focused on raising public awareness, or rescuing victims of trafficking, Gift of Freedom is focused on aftercare. They provide the funding for counseling, a need that can extend years or even decades after a rescue is complete. Even though this is a hard topic to hear about, it is a challenging reality for far too many people - children especially - in the United States and around the world. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Sharon and Nicole share their perspectives on: Why aftercare counseling has been overlooked as an area of need in the past The connection between human trafficking and supply chains Why social statistics fail to capture or represent the scope of this problem Links: on LinkedIn on LinkedIn
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Building a U.S. Solar Supply Chain
05/08/2025
Building a U.S. Solar Supply Chain
“Between 2008 and 2013, China’s fledgling solar-electric panel industry dropped world prices by 80 percent, a stunning achievement in a fiercely competitive high-tech market.” - John Fialka, Scientific American In March, Corning, Suniva, and Heliene announced a partnership that will allow them to build a U.S. supply chain for solar panels, from polysilicon to wafers to cells to panels. In a global solar industry worth $100 Billion, the opportunity is massive, but so is the risk. The path to the present moment is littered with companies who failed operationally or found themselves tangled up in controversy because they were trying to compete with China on cost. With a history of tariffs, concerns about forced labor, and imbalances between supply and demand, the solar supply chain offers many lessons for other manufacturers looking to reshore. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner examines: Unique challenges facing the solar supply chain and how they ironically created an additional incentive for this partnership Why it is essential that more than just final assembly take place in the United States The role of government incentives and regulations in making this possible Links:
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Manufacturing Labor Market Insights in an Uncertain World
05/01/2025
Manufacturing Labor Market Insights in an Uncertain World
Economic commentators often look at consumer spending as a barometer for confidence and outlook - how good or bad financially do individuals and families think the broader economy is, and how profitable it will be for them? The same can perhaps be said for companies and hiring managers. How confident are they that they will be able to keep people employed in uncertain times, and what skills are they most eager to invest their scarce dollars in? In this week’s Art of Supply interview, Kelly Barner speaks with Christine Corson, Managing Director of Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Engineering Recruitment at DSJ Global. She is focused on manufacturing labor at the management level in a way that allows her to form her own opinion of industry outlook, confidence, and planning horizon. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly and Christine discuss: The current supply of - and demand for - manufacturing labor Whether hiring is being impacted by the uncertainty around tariffs Her advice for the candidates hoping to secure mid- to high-level positions in manufacturing companies Links:
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Beef with the Big 4: McDonald’s vs. the Meat Monopoly
04/24/2025
Beef with the Big 4: McDonald’s vs. the Meat Monopoly
In October of 2024, McDonald’s sued four of the world’s largest meat producers – Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef Packing – for allegedly conspiring to inflate the price of beef by creating artificial scarcity in the market. This is not the first time McDonald’s has sued these meat producers, and it is not the first time these meat producers have been sued. Over 200 cases have been brought by restaurants, retailers, wholesalers, and ranchers. Some are still pending and others have been settled - with high payouts but no admission of wrongdoing. In this week’s episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner reviews the case McDonald’s is making against the Big 4: The price setting power associated with controlling 80 percent of the U.S. beef market The complexity associated with trying to track cost and price data in a highly concentrated market Why being the largest beef buyer in the world isn’t enough to tip the scales in McDonald’s favor Links:
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