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Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into supply chain management.<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I went to sc<\/span>hool\u202fto become a\u202fchemical engineer at Georgia Tech.\u202f About four years after becoming an engineer, I realized I really\u202fenjoyed\u202fproduction,\u202fmanufacturing,\u202fand operations.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>After that, I became more involved in production and manufacturing. At that time, I was focused on\u202fa single manufacturing process. It was not until I\u202fwent to another company\u202fand moved to Mexico that I had responsibilities of raw materials coming into the\u202fmanufacturing plant. In those\u202fdays we did not call it supply chain, even though that was what we were doing.\u202fThat\u202fwas my first real exposure\u202fto supply chain that\u202fshowed me the importance of\u202fefficiency when it came to the flow of goods.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u202fmentioned you had an\u202fengineering background, so what was it about the operation side that<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>caught your attention?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I love engineering,\u202fand it gave me the thought process to understand problems and find<\/span>\u202f<\/span> s<\/span>olutions. Those skill sets are\u202fimportant in production. But even from my\u202fown\u202fpersonal perspective, I’ve always liked\u202fto do things, to make things, to produce things.\u202f Being a part of that process of\u202f<\/span>actually putting<\/span>\u202fthings\u202ftogether\u202fin a\u202fmanufacturing process and transforming things to finished goods to the next customer has\u202falways excited me.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When you started working, you said there wasn\u2019t the terminology \u201csupply chain,” when do you\u202fthink supply chain started to become a buzzword?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wow, that’s a\u202f<\/span>really great<\/span>\u202fquestion. So, I’ll give away my age here. I graduated from college in\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>1985 and left Mexico in 2000. When I was leaving Mexico in 2000, the movement of goods was an\u202funnecessary evil. Around 2000 is when I think supply chain really started coming around,<\/span>\u202fbecause<\/span>\u202f<\/span>obviously,\u202fyou\u202f<\/span>have to<\/span>\u202fmanage the cost, but reall<\/span>y the flow of goods through the\u00a0<\/span>supply chain is a lot\u202fmore strategic than just, \u201cI’ve got to move things from point A to point B.\u201d\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is your definition of supply chain now and why is it important?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I would define supply chain as moving either goods\u202for services from a manufacturer,\u202fprovider or supplier to the customer. Then, there is a flow of goods, information, and cash that goes\u202fdown to the customer. Some of that may come back, such as returns or warranties. Obviously, cash\u202fcomes back from the customer. Supply chain is strategically looking at those flows. Once again,\u202fthe flow of information, goods,\u202fand cash to take care of a customer or exceed a customer’s expectations is how I\u202fwould frame the definition of supply chain. Supply chain allows organizations\u202fa\u202fstrategic opportunity to grow.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One example is\u202fAmazon, but Amazon is not a manufacturer. They are strictly a logistics provider company that has brought a lot of value. In some ways, Amazon has transformed expectations for customers by the concept of next day delivery or two-day delivery.\u202fIt used to be you picked up your groceries at the grocery store, but now you\u202fcan\u202fget your groceries through Amazon without leaving your home. I think supply chain has proven that it can add value in\u202f<\/span>many different ways<\/span>\u202fthat bring about growth and profitability to companies.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What do you think supply chain wil<\/span><\/b>l look like in 10 years<\/span><\/b>\u00a0with the growth of technology?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think in terms of\u202fsupply chain technology there is going to be many changes. Like how 3D printing is going to transform how some goods flow,\u202fand even the delivery of goods.\u202f\u202fWith delivery,\u202fyou can go\u202fas far as <\/span>picturing\u202felectric to driverless vehicles to drones. The growth, affordability, and simplification of robotics and\u202fautomation–to\u202fhow things move in and out of places–is completely being transformed. A lot of that is\u202fhappening in\u202fvarious\u202fmarkets.\u202fEurope is\u202f<\/span>really ahead<\/span>, whereas in the US, we have not had as much\u202fof a labor constraint.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to technology, what are some of the other opportunities that companies\u202f<\/span><\/b>have to<\/span><\/b>\u202fenhance their supply chain?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I like to put things in simplistic terms as possible. When I look at supply chain, I look for two\u202fthings.\u202fOne being efficiency, which is the reduction of costs and cycle times. How can I do things less expensive\u202fand at a quicker velocity. The other side of that is value. How do I bring value to the supply chain? And\u202fsometimes those are one and the same. Obviously, when we reduce the\u202ftransportation cost of\u202fgoods,\u202fwe improve the packaging.\u202fNow,\u202fyou can transport more goods in\u202fa truck. You are driving efficiency and creating value by reducing the costs. Those can work together,\u202fbut they can also work independently. I think successful companies look at value and efficiency independently.\u202fYou have to be looking at the value in the eyes\u202fof\u202fthe\u202fcustomer and what will exceed expectations.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With efficiency and\u202f<\/span><\/b>value, it<\/span><\/b>\u202fseems like there’s a lot of\u202froom for\u202finnovation.\u202fWhat\u202fare\u202fsome ways that companies can create a culture of\u202finnovation to improve their efficiency and their value?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A culture of innovation starts with embracing change and enabling people to embrace change.\u202f When a culture of innovation is introduced, it\u202foften brings about the understanding that people are going to make mistakes.\u202fSome initiatives you try just are not going to work.\u202fAn organization must be agile and learn from errors and mistakes. I think those are some fundamental aspects of a culture that bring about\u202finnovation. After innovation there is creativity in technology that can bring about solutions to your\u202fproblems. You really\u202fneed to\u202flook at solutions that have been applied to other problems and how those\u202fsolutions could be used to help you fix problems and your business.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With innovation, sometimes people get a little too excited, and\u202fthey want to do innovation for the sake of innovation. No, you need to innovate\u202fthoughtfully and target problems and\u202fopportunities that bring\u202fvalue and improve the profitability of your business.\u202f<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You have\u202fbeen instrumental in the<\/span><\/b>\u00a0supply chain education<\/span><\/b>\u00a0development<\/span><\/b>\u00a0at CPE. Could you tell us a little bit about the<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>supply chain courses, what they’re designed to do and what you would hope that participants will gain?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our curriculum is for professionals and practitioners that are already\u202fworking in supply chain. \u202fOur goal is to help those professionals and\u202fpractitioners obtain new knowledge, information, and tools that enable them to be more\u202fefficient in their roles. After attending a course, we want participants to bring value to their departments\u202fand companies that<\/span>\u202fultimately\u202fenhances\u202frevenue, profitability, and customer value.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our goal\u00a0<\/span>is to share industry<\/span>\u00a0best practices.<\/span>\u00a0We want participants to see how these best practices can be applied<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0W<\/span>e are try<\/span>ing to accomplish this goal by bringing\u00a0<\/span>people together<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0not only so they can<\/span>\u00a0learn from each other, but so they can learn from industry experts. We\u00a0<\/span>are building a network of practitioners in the Greater Chattanooga area<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and that value goes beyond what they might have learned in the course.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Talking about<\/span><\/b>\u00a0industry best p<\/span><\/b>ractices,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0I know there are<\/span><\/b>\u00a0several certifications that people can\u202f<\/span><\/b>obtain<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Can you tell us a little<\/span><\/b>\u00a0bit about those certifications, w<\/span><\/b>hich one you\u202f<\/span><\/b>received and how it<\/span><\/b>\u00a0help<\/span><\/b>ed<\/span><\/b>\u00a0your career?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think the certifications are valuable in t<\/span>hree ways. The first element is that you are learning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Many\u00a0<\/span>individuals get their<\/span> education from college. Afterwards, learning\u202f<\/span>continues<\/span>\u00a0with<\/span>\u00a0job experience, which is g<\/span>ood, but organizations like ASCM<\/span>\u00a0provide well-structured docume<\/span>nted materials to expand your knowledge from<\/span> school and on the job.<\/span>\u00a0The second element is<\/span>\u00a0you improve your\u202f<\/span>performance to either exceed<\/span>\u00a0expectations\u00a0<\/span>of your customer or your boss.\u00a0<\/span>The third element\u202f<\/span>is networking. Professional certifications bring practitioners together. We share problems and solutions with one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n E<\/span>arly in my career, I studied for the\u00a0<\/span>Certified Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) exam\u00a0<\/span>I needed to know and underst<\/span>and the concepts of<\/span>\u00a0good<\/span>\u00a0inventory management practices and planning practices. However,<\/span>\u00a0at that time<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I<\/span>\u00a0did not pursue the certification further than just studying.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More recently in my career, specifically when I got into distribution and logistics,\u00a0<\/span>I obtained my Certified Supply Chain P<\/span>rofessional<\/span>\u00a0(CSCP)<\/span>.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>In terms of value, I can<\/span>not directly point to a s<\/span>pecific promotion<\/span>, but I know that it enabled me once again to exceed the expectations of my\u202fcustomers and my boss. T<\/span>hat inevitably, with time,\u00a0<\/span>bring<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0promotions\u00a0<\/span>and opportunities. I think that\u00a0<\/span>it helps individuals to be more competent within their ro<\/span>le. As we learn, we test things. We try things.<\/span>\u202f<\/span>W<\/span>e apply concepts. The training most definitely enables people to put concepts to practice<\/span>. Practitioners have more confidence and also see better results. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking about certifications even more, who shoul<\/span><\/b>d go after them?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n