Supply chain education is one of the core goals of SMC³. Since virtual education is the name of the game these days, SMC³ is now providing a weekly bit of bite-sized supply chain education, covering topics that will be explored in more detail during the logistics technology company’s semi-yearly conferences and LTL education courses.

SMC³’s supply chain education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. SMC³’s exclusive fall version of its LTL operations course details the nuts and bolts of LTL operations alongside live presentations from industry experts.

Countless employees throughout the supply chain are in work-from-home remote roles due to COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing measures have been taken by carriers, shippers, 3PLs and other freight transportation firms. But what happens to those supply chain novices that were just starting their training and are suddenly left without an outlet for logistics education?

Speaking on the first day of Jump Start 2020, Joe Thiesmann gave a rousing keynote address while conference chair Eric Stone, senior manager of domestic sourcing and supplier performance at Johnson & Johnson, ended his brief presentation by showing the audience how to create value in the freight transportation procurement process. While price is important, his team also considers the sustainability programs at their carrier partners, the diversity of those suppliers, and the companies’ commitment to new technology.

On the second and third days of SMC³’s Connections 2019 supply chain and logistics conference, attendees spent their time learning about the ins and outs of the economy and discussing transportation infrastructure and regulations. Emory University’s Jeffrey Rosensweig fears of a recession, while the ATA’s Randy Guillot made the case for a gas tax.

It’s impossible to avoid politics at any substantive gathering of supply chain and transportation industry leaders, and during the first day of the Connections 2019 logistics conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the government was front of mind, both implicitly and explicitly, during most panel conversations.