Attendees come to SMC³ educational events for the unvarnished truth, and Don Ratajczak’s ability to provide the crowd with the information they need to make informed decisions about economic pain points is unparalleled. His extemporaneous, animated speaking style provided a jolt many attendees likely needed after a late night of rocking out to Lou Gramm.

SMC³ hosts its Connections and Jump Start educational conferences in order to bring together supply chain stakeholders for three days of informative panels and targeted, meaningful networking. But on the first two days of Connections 2018, there was plenty of talk of the NBA and of one star player in particular.

Day one of the SMC³ Connections 2018 supply chain education conference, an event focused on the trends and issues in the transportation arena, took a bit of a monetary digression. During “The Practical Guide to Blockchain” panel, a parenthetical discussion of cryptocurrency featured some visionary claims regarding the use of Bitcoin and digital money.

Solutions that simplify the LTL RFP process by automating, facilitating and managing bidding between carriers and shippers are invaluable in this complex environment. SMC³’s Bid$ense® can simplify and expedite the time consuming bid process by automating the entire event.

FedEx Supply Chain’s Ryan Kelly recently spoke with SMC³ about the reverse logistics supply chain and how less-than-truckload carriers are trying to capitalize on the growing trend. Industry expert, Brad Parrish of FedEx Supply Chain, will discuss the topic in more detail during Connections 2018 in June.

The freight costing model solution Cost Intelligence System gives carriers the keys to achieve their goals, but with the use of dimensioners and the introduction of volumetric data into the carrier’s system, this tool can provide even more benefits to each user. Unlike optimization and cost-averaging systems, the SMC³ solution shows carriers their true costs – not an estimate.