Looking Forward: Preparing for the Future of Supply Chain Management

The sheer amount of industry knowledge being passed around at Jump Start 2024 has been astounding to behold. From evergreen tips on leadership to concrete strategies for managing volatility, our attendees are leaving with a fuller picture of where the logistics industry stands. On the third and final day, it’s natural to ask: What’s next?

The final day of Jump Start set its sights on the future of supply chain management and logistics. Attendees had a chance to ask industry experts the questions at the top of every leader’s mind: What role will sustainability play in the industry’s next steps, and how can we implement the inevitable changes? What do regulators and elected officials have in store for us? How can we use data and AI to improve our core processes?

The day kicked off with a conversation with Geoff Muessig, executive VP and CMO of Pitt Ohio, about leadership around sustainability. As Muessig was quick to point out, concerns over carbon emissions and climate change aren’t going to lessen or go away. Logistics leaders need to craft a message around sustainability that appeals to both environmental and business imperatives.

“What we’ve really messaged out there is that, at least in the transportation space, this is not a political issue,” he said. “It’s a business issue.”

Muessig elaborated on this point, using fuel costs as an example. “50 percent of Pitt Ohio’s LTL shipments weigh less than 500 pounds and are single pallet orders. Why do we need to pedal those on a tractor trailer when we could use a straight truck or even a sprinter van—both of which get better mileage?”

Bottom line? What’s good for the planet is often good for the business’ bottom line.

“At Pitt Ohio, fuel is the second largest cost item on our P&L statement, after labor. If you can reduce your fuel cost, and it’s your second biggest item, why wouldn’t you be going after that? That is just good basic business.”

Muessig also touched on what he sees as a renewed interest in carbon reporting requirements on the other side of COVID, and the need for a standardized reporting formula within the LTL space.

Nothing sums up Pitt Ohio’s leadership in sustainability quite like its pilot Pittsburgh LTL terminal, which is powered by a “microgrid” system that draws its energy from conical windmills and solar panels. Onsite geothermal wells extract air from 500 feet below ground to heat and cool the building. The facility has been such a success that Muessig noted Pitt is expanding its microgrid program to other terminals.

The next session of the day concerned “The Capitol’s Pulse on Transportation”—i.e., the critical regulatory issues facing all aspects of trucking. Moderated by Randy Mullett of Mullett Strategies LLC, this panel covered a wide range of topics, including sustainability, state independent contractor rules, alleviating financial pressure with child tax credits, ensuring proper facility (e.g., restroom) access for drivers, and extending corporate tax rates to smaller businesses. But the entire session was united by a common thread: making your voice heard by local and federal politicians and regulators.

“The pandemic made it clear to everybody that trucking is the glue that holds the economy together,” Bill Sullivan, chief public affairs and advocacy officer of American Trucking Associations, noted. “Congressmen, senators … they need you more than you need them.”

Shannon Newton, president of Arkansas Trucking Association, expanded on this point. “The biggest misconception out there is that it’s not within your purview or your control to shape legislative or regulatory outcomes.” Addressing logistics leaders who have questions for their local and federal politicians, Newton turned the questions around on them. “What have you done to engage in the process, to shape the outcome, or to inform the people who are making that decision? Do you know who your state representative is? Do you know who your congressman is? Do they know who you are? I promise you that they would love to know who you are.”

Ellen Voie, founder of Women in Trucking, put it in concrete terms, giving attendees an idea of what this regulatory outreach might look like in practice. “We have an image team at Women in Trucking that organizes ride-alongs with legislators and regulators. They really do want to hear from the people who are working on the front lines, but they don’t understand your world. So, you must tell them what your world is like.”

It all comes down to strategic communication, outreach, and not being afraid to make your voice heard. Mullett summed it up well: “Politics and policymaking is a full contact sport. If you’re not making noise about what you need or what works best for you and your industry, regulatory notions are going to be shaped by somebody else. And that person may not be your friend.”

The day’s final session focused on “The New Superheroes of the Supply Chain,” aka: data scientists. It was a wonderful opportunity to dig deep into the nuts and bolts of their work and elaborate on a part of supply chain optimization that some supply chain leaders might not be familiar with.

Understandably, AI was a hot topic. Both panelists (Erica Brigance, VP of data science at ArcBest, and Chris Orban, CTO and co-founder of JourneySCM) agreed: AI is best used in contexts where it empowers better decision-making.

“Where we focus a lot is augmenting our people,” Brigance said. “How can we equip them with the best information about what may happen or how to adjust routes based on that happening? We look at ways to put that in front of our creative problem-solvers and help them. If I can get you the right information at the right time to make the right decision, it can be very impactful.”

Orban was in the same boat. “I think about using AI for decision support much more than replacing. I think we would all like to get to a higher level of automation, but really where I think we need to focus is putting the right information in front of the human who can make that final call.”

Data scientists may be thought of as purely technical in their approach to work. But as Brigance pointed out, their field involves a deep level of creativity.

“Data scientists bring a very pragmatic approach to solving problems. They’re also very creative, very exploratory. They tend to come in not with a predefined answer or solution, but rather a need to really understand the data and how to use it.”

The session ended on an optimistic, pragmatic note—one that captured a common theme throughout the Jump Start sessions: striving for the best possible outcome while accepting hiccups along the way. “Something we say pretty frequently in our group is that all models are wrong, but some are useful,” Brigance said. “We can’t predict things with 100 percent accuracy. But can we get it to the point where we can act and feel comfortable about the decision we’re making?”