In Episode 77, Dr. Yossi Sheffi, iconic thought leader and professor at MIT, innovator, and author of a new book ‘ The Magic Conveyor Belt’ chats with host Sheri Hinish about the future of supply chain including the people, exponential technology, and disruptive themes that will shape the future of the profession. This book offers explanations to pressing supply chain topics and much more, with historical perspectives and modern examples. It covers contemporary issues of outsourcing and re-shoring, sustainability, resilience, regulations and the social, managerial, and policy issues resulting from technological innovations.

Additional topics covered in this episode include: how tech adoption has shaped and helped humanity, how technology has repurposed jobs, the digital divide, the impact of AI and ChatGPT on the future of work and automation, and freeform flow on sustainability, quantum, nuclear, and many other political, provocative topics!

In the Magic Conveyor Belt, Professor Sheffi lays the foundation for understanding supply chains and the characteristics that make them complex. In Part 1 of the book “The Global Dance,” he delves into the often-hidden intrinsic structure of supply chains to ground the reader in the challenges of managing the mammoth networks involved.

Part 2, “Further Complexity and Challenges,” shows how the last 50 years have added even more complexity to supply chains. This part covers the rising demand for goods, as well as the increasing consumer expectations for fast, perfect delivery services.

The relevance on technology creates a sobering thought around the digital divide. The digital divide is multifaceted and includes many factors such as access, affordability, quality, and relevance. As Michael Kende wrote, “the digital divide is not a binary.” These gaps in availability, affordability, interest, and digital literacy. The UN’s Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development estimates that nearly 3.6 billion people remain totally unconnected to the Internet by any measure. This means there are around 4.1 billion people online, about 53.6% of the global population. 

What does the future hold for global supply chains and countries, economies, marginalized communities left behind in a technology infused world? 

The capabilities and future roles of automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence are changing and augmenting the jobs held by workers—covered in Parts 3 and 4. Elements of the book trace the implications of multiple trends in the operating environment for tomorrow’s global supply chains, as they change and augment the jobs held by workers.

While many of the new skills require technical knowhow, it is social skills, ironically, that may be a key for future human employment in an economy dominated by technology.

To learn more about The Magic Conveyor Belt, visit https://a.co/d/0mUVNYq

To connect with Yossi Sheffi on linkedin, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/yossi-sheffi-b38b731/

To connect with Host Sheri Hinish, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/supplychainqueen/

In an exclusive Earth Day Special, Jim Massey lays out the case for why all progress in sustainability depends on trust - the basis of successful selves, teams, and systems. Sustainability is the path to prosperity for humanity and businesses alike. Every April 22nd, stakeholders of all backgrounds come together to advance sustainability and climate action in commemoration of Earth Day.

Companies who’ve developed strong Environment Social Governance (ESG) standards are seeing better profitability, stronger financial performance, and happier employees. But this transformation isn’t just about transforming our economies, operating models, and supply chains, it is about transforming lives by putting people and trust at the heart of decisions we anchor in sustainable development.

When Can, Care, and Do come together, something interesting happens: trust is formed. Across regions, cultures, and languages, trust is a common currency - the connective tissue that makes all positive action possible. In an exclusive Earth Day Special, Jim Massey lays out the case for why all progress in sustainability depends on trust - the basis of successful selves, teams, and systems. In a time when many are rapidly losing trust in our institutions – whether in government, society, or finance – it’s more critical than ever that leaders cultivate their ability to build trust. 

Episode 76 is the 3rd Earth Month feature celebrating provocative themes and people in sustainability, supply chain innovation, and circularity. Jim Massey is a Chief Sustainability Officer, Global ESG Expert, and former VP of ESG Sustainability, Ethics, and Compliance at AstraZeneca. 

In our chat, Jim unpacks wisdom from Trust in Action, including:

* where will leaders have the greatest impact

* what is the “breakthrough” proven trust model for sparking action

* how can folks listening drive positive change in their organization

* what are some of the actionable repeatable approaches for working with teams to tackle today's toughest problems 

* what words of wisdom can you give others leading or have the ambition to lead in sustainability?

This year, we rally behind the Earth Day theme “Invest In Our Planet”, which highlights the importance of dedicating our time, resources, and energy to solving climate change and other environmental + social issues. Our world needs transformation. Solving the environmental crisis calls for bold, creative, and innovative solutions and leadership. This will require action at all levels, from business and investment to city and national government. Investing in our planet is necessary to protect it and the best way to pave a path towards a prosperous future. When we Invest In Our Planet together, we are supporting healthy, happy, and thriving communities worldwide.

To learn more about Jim Massey and Trust in Action, visit https://www.jimmassey.co/

Earth Month Exclusive featuring Steve Pratt (CEO of Noodle Al, Co-Founder of Infosys and Regenerative Ranch aficionado) + Supply Chain Revolution podcast to explore how better math and Al can enable circularity in a new supply chain planning paradigm.

The way supply chain planning has been done for the last 30 years has been under the assumption that computers were slow and data was expensive, and so they needed to make a lot of simplifying assumptions.. Very importantly, they ignore probabilities and complex pattern recognition that are all allowed by this more advanced mathematics.

To Learn more about Steve - visit https://noodle.ai/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-pratt-094b5916/

Circular economy is increasingly recognized as a better alternative to the dominant linear (take, make, and dispose) economic model. Circular Supply Chain Management (CSCM), which integrates the philosophy of the circular economy into supply chain management, offers a new and compelling perspective to the supply chain sustainability domain.

Two aspects that make a CSCM unique: 1) its restorative and regenerative cycles designed based on circular thinking; 2) the vision of a zero-waste economy that is inherent in the CE philosophy. This is CEO Steve Pratt + Noodle AI's mission - to build and design a world without waste. Steve also walks the talk as a farmer and student of nature, where he brings inspiration like the Noodle culture mantra BCHILL, and planting seeds of innovation for long-term value creation.

Steve is an O.G. Rebel and friend of the podcast, one of the original supporters. He is an incredible technical background and at every turn has pushed boundaries with tenacity and a 'people and planet first' north star. His journey in consulting started at Deloitte. He went on to start Infosys, had a brief stint at IBM, then founded Noodle with a lingering nudge 'there has to be a better way' and a vision of a world where nothing is wasted where technical, natural, and human systems exist in harmony.

About Noodle: Noodle.ai software uses some of the most advanced math on the planet to tame global supply chain chaos—so the right stuff gets to the right place at the right time with less drama. More importantly, Noodle's 'Value at Risk' shows you the hard money costs of each of the millions of errors made by your planning stack, for both demand and supply, across raw materials, production, and distribution.

This episode is packed full of lessons in big transformation, inspirational messages, and pragmatic reasons why circular supply chains provide the conduit for marrying the environmental, social, and economic benefits for change. Sectors and client examples highlighted are from CPG, Industrial and automotive. Everything we need exists NOW to build and empower better decisions for a circular and inclusive world.