E048: Freight and supply chains with Alexandros Joseph

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en
00:00:00.250 --> 00:00:04.390
[Music]
00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:06.470
if you're a business owner or senior
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.629
manager you probably had more than
00:00:08.639 --> 00:00:10.310
enough about all the wonderful
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:12.549
opportunities awaiting you in the era of
00:00:12.559 --> 00:00:15.509
digitalization whether it is big data
00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:18.310
cloud data science or whatever buzzword
00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:21.029
is currently trendy if you would like to
00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:23.590
hear someone dissecting these claims and
00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.509
showing you what it actually takes to
00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.589
improve business processes you're in the
00:00:27.599 --> 00:00:29.990
right place this is between data and
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.950
risk where we discuss real life examples
00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.270
of what works and what doesn't in the
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.110
world of business
00:00:38.120 --> 00:00:40.310
operations hello I'm your friendly
00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:42.069
neighborhood data guy Dr marian Shivak
00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:43.990
and with me is my co-host Arur Guy
00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:45.590
Cognition Shared Solutions Chief Risk
00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.350
and Strategy Officer welcome to Between
00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:49.430
Data and Risk today we will take a look
00:00:49.440 --> 00:00:50.790
at the company culture and the
00:00:50.800 --> 00:00:52.790
contractor's market and we have with us
00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:54.790
Alexandros Joseph business consultant
00:00:54.800 --> 00:00:56.950
from Talmix who agreed to share some of
00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:59.110
his experiences with us hello Alexandros
00:00:59.120 --> 00:01:01.430
hello sir how you doing today good hey
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:04.070
it's great uh it's it's really good to
00:01:04.080 --> 00:01:06.870
have uh you with us we've been trying to
00:01:06.880 --> 00:01:08.950
uh get you into the podcast for quite
00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:10.710
some time now and if I remember
00:01:10.720 --> 00:01:13.429
correctly last time we spoke you were
00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.070
dealing with supply chain and issues
00:01:16.080 --> 00:01:18.550
issues with with that but recently you
00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.870
changed into contracting and and dealing
00:01:20.880 --> 00:01:22.630
with the people so can you describe what
00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:24.789
you're doing now and uh why the change
00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:27.670
i'm sure sir first uh I was working in
00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.070
supply chain and transportation projects
00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:32.710
for multiple companies uh used to help
00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:34.950
them with um their operations their
00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:37.830
management help organizations to find
00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:40.390
cost savings become more efficient and
00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.109
now we are changing the switch towards
00:01:43.119 --> 00:01:45.429
serving the industry helping companies
00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:47.910
to become digitally transformed using
00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.230
much more advanced softwares artificial
00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:52.550
intelligence to find more efficient
00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:54.950
costsaving tools helping startup
00:01:54.960 --> 00:01:58.310
companies by being switched to being a
00:01:58.320 --> 00:02:00.469
technology startup company and uh
00:02:00.479 --> 00:02:02.709
helping with their financial structure
00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.109
in order for them to have more leverage
00:02:05.119 --> 00:02:07.030
so uh more of a business consultant
00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:08.949
position sir would you give us an
00:02:08.959 --> 00:02:12.630
example of like what a startup can
00:02:12.640 --> 00:02:15.430
expect what do you mean by changing
00:02:15.440 --> 00:02:17.510
actually there are two questions one is
00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:18.869
when you are a startup you have some
00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.270
idea for I don't know new type of shoes
00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.229
or new bicycle how do you change that
00:02:24.239 --> 00:02:26.630
into into AI at what level do you need
00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:29.110
to of startup you need to be to jump
00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.150
into AI startup and how much of a pivot
00:02:32.160 --> 00:02:34.150
is it and the second question I think
00:02:34.160 --> 00:02:35.910
interesting to our audience would be
00:02:35.920 --> 00:02:37.830
okay so you know I'm a startup I'm
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.869
starting to run out of money like what
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.430
does this financial restructuring entail
00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:45.350
okay that's a good question that's a big
00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.990
question Actually so the whole job is to
00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.990
find areas where you can improve the
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.309
operation and the management which it's
00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:54.630
creating a cost efficient tools for the
00:02:54.640 --> 00:02:56.869
companies it it provides return on
00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.030
investment from a financial standpoint
00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:01.509
where you can cut corners eliminating
00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:03.990
unnecessary steps in the operation
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.229
serving the customers in a more speedy
00:03:06.239 --> 00:03:08.949
way make sure you have more access to
00:03:08.959 --> 00:03:10.630
services that you can provide to the
00:03:10.640 --> 00:03:12.869
clients with a higher quality most of
00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.550
all we find time-saving methods so we
00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:19.350
would be able to use less manpower
00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.750
serving more clients providing
00:03:21.760 --> 00:03:24.390
additional services and more type of
00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:26.949
services now we're transforming we're
00:03:26.959 --> 00:03:30.229
pivoting into into the new AI tools this
00:03:30.239 --> 00:03:32.550
is a big pivot it's not small one this
00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.750
is where you start um within a new
00:03:35.760 --> 00:03:37.830
company with a new mentality you
00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.070
approach the industry in a more advanced
00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:42.070
way this is the difference between an
00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.190
old traditional CH Robinson mentality
00:03:45.200 --> 00:03:46.869
since the company started it's it's
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.110
named after Charlie Henry Robertson it
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:50.949
used to be a trucking company with a
00:03:50.959 --> 00:03:53.589
couple of tractors until it become a $10
00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.229
billion annual income company now the
00:03:56.239 --> 00:03:59.270
pivot is more refined Uber company it's
00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.910
going to help the customer in an
00:04:01.920 --> 00:04:04.229
untraditional unorthodox way so let me
00:04:04.239 --> 00:04:06.070
give you an example when Uber wanted to
00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:08.550
start they spent 5 years researching the
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.990
market collecting data mhm there was no
00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.309
even job opening in the market they
00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:15.910
didn't need any employees or any
00:04:15.920 --> 00:04:18.789
manpower at all they use artificial
00:04:18.799 --> 00:04:21.110
intelligence platform collecting data
00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.430
from the market they had competitors uh
00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:26.230
most of the traditional 3PL companies
00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.230
third party logistics used to do the
00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.870
same by applying some transportation
00:04:30.880 --> 00:04:32.310
management system and warehouse
00:04:32.320 --> 00:04:34.230
management system but they couldn't be
00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.629
as efficient as the business model of
00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.749
Uber even Amazon wanted to do Amazon
00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.230
freight brokerage platform as well but
00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:44.310
they didn't launch it until today's date
00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:47.670
for unknown reason so what Uber did um
00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.830
they kept collecting the data they
00:04:49.840 --> 00:04:52.710
acquired more than five traditional
00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.030
transportation companies and they used
00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.150
all the data from these five five firms
00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.710
they have acquired over a time period of
00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:03.350
5 years and then they went public to the
00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.230
stock market with it and they start um
00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.350
opening the doors for manpower so now
00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:11.510
you're using the platform instead of you
00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:13.909
order regular taxi or a sedan you're
00:05:13.919 --> 00:05:16.550
ordering a truck to move your freight i
00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:17.990
have interviewed with a couple of
00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.550
companies some are confidential some are
00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:23.749
not um these small companies use the
00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:25.749
same technology but on a very small
00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:29.110
scale but Uber have used it nationwide
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.510
48 states of America it's not applied
00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:33.670
yet for Alaska and Hawaii but it's
00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:36.870
applied for 48 states in America
00:05:36.880 --> 00:05:38.790
Canada
00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.550
i I'm I guess but I I didn't um I didn't
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.430
see the the trend yes i'm not sure but
00:05:45.440 --> 00:05:47.670
maybe I can check on that no no it's
00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:49.510
there's no need no it's it's it's really
00:05:49.520 --> 00:05:52.070
interesting story i thought that you
00:05:52.080 --> 00:05:54.310
actually moved Arthur i was going to ask
00:05:54.320 --> 00:05:56.070
probably the similar question because we
00:05:56.080 --> 00:05:57.830
were under the impression that your your
00:05:57.840 --> 00:05:59.749
base of operations and your focus moved
00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.390
a bit to UK but you're you're mentioning
00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:05.350
the states so how how is how are you
00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.670
currently splitting your your focus and
00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:09.909
your operations i was only telling you a
00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:11.990
small portion of my old experience on
00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:13.670
how to transit the market from a
00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.390
traditional 3PL using the new technology
00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:18.230
it's a little bit more advanced than
00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.189
just a traditional TMS or a WMS by
00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:25.350
collecting the data so uh what what Uber
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:26.710
does is the same thing as the other
00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:28.469
company did what I'm trying to say is
00:06:28.479 --> 00:06:31.029
called mothership.com so they have 10
00:06:31.039 --> 00:06:34.189
employees only and they have more than
00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:37.830
200,000 locally freight orders so I'm
00:06:37.840 --> 00:06:39.670
just trying to to answer your question
00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.150
about the pivoting um our company is
00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:44.710
based in UK but we have project uh
00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.510
worldwide we have some in Dubai we have
00:06:47.520 --> 00:06:50.230
some in US we have some in UK and other
00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:52.070
nations so we're serving the global
00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:55.670
market not just UK we focus more on the
00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:57.830
transportation and supply chain arena
00:06:57.840 --> 00:07:00.070
some manufacturers would need some help
00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:02.790
so what we offer them we look at their
00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.189
data we analyze all their invoices
00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:07.510
including freight invoices warehouse
00:07:07.520 --> 00:07:09.670
invoices we see if they use any
00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:12.469
technology if they have any extra costs
00:07:12.479 --> 00:07:16.550
they're paying related to you know uh it
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:18.150
warehouse renting or warehouse
00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.309
structuring real estate transportation
00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.029
bills from ocean and air and trucks and
00:07:23.039 --> 00:07:25.070
if they don't have any advanced
00:07:25.080 --> 00:07:27.510
technologies they use some of them even
00:07:27.520 --> 00:07:29.830
have customs issue we have to take a
00:07:29.840 --> 00:07:33.029
look at mainly um mainly it's
00:07:33.039 --> 00:07:35.510
transportation what we focus on and some
00:07:35.520 --> 00:07:37.430
supply chain issues related to
00:07:37.440 --> 00:07:41.110
manufacturing
00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.790
basically is your view that uh sorry is
00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.110
your view that the the the help that you
00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.950
you provide with these companies is more
00:07:48.960 --> 00:07:51.670
of a kaizen style small improvements
00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.550
that that accumulate or is it a big bang
00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.950
approach where it's a full restructuring
00:07:56.960 --> 00:08:00.550
of their operation to to to evote into a
00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.029
completely new uh area or direction can
00:08:03.039 --> 00:08:05.589
you repeat the half first half part of
00:08:05.599 --> 00:08:07.589
the question you said the Kaizen model
00:08:07.599 --> 00:08:09.350
yes like small improvements that
00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.830
accumulate into into bigger it's a good
00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:14.390
question we used to to use the six sigma
00:08:14.400 --> 00:08:16.469
approach and the manufacturing and
00:08:16.479 --> 00:08:18.869
Kaizen approach and the 5 S's back in
00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.749
the days that was 15 years ago but now
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:24.950
we focus on more uh total restructure
00:08:24.960 --> 00:08:27.189
sometimes we rearrange the distribution
00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.189
lanes for the whole company i see where
00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.990
is a pick up and drop off points if we
00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.870
have to relocate the DC transportation
00:08:34.880 --> 00:08:36.949
uh centers sometimes we sell the real
00:08:36.959 --> 00:08:39.509
estate sometimes we rent a new one we do
00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:41.829
a whole restructuring from a freight
00:08:41.839 --> 00:08:44.070
distribution standpoint and we look at
00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.949
the bills if there is any um unnecessary
00:08:46.959 --> 00:08:48.870
charges they're getting overcharged
00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:51.269
sometimes we look at the rates in the
00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.509
market see if there is any competitor
00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.230
have better rates for them on a 12 12
00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:58.630
months basis contract not just for one
00:08:58.640 --> 00:09:00.790
bill or one invoice as example if a
00:09:00.800 --> 00:09:03.190
company paying $20 million annual
00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.310
freight cost that could go down by 40 to
00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.910
50% but we maintain the same quality of
00:09:09.920 --> 00:09:11.590
the service they're getting my question
00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:13.269
would be because when you are you know
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:14.790
operating globally and when you are
00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:16.949
talking about let's say international
00:09:16.959 --> 00:09:19.030
freight I wonder what's your take on the
00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:21.030
situation that I've heard just this week
00:09:21.040 --> 00:09:23.670
when it comes to transporting goons to
00:09:23.680 --> 00:09:25.750
and associated risks i've heard the
00:09:25.760 --> 00:09:27.750
stories where someone sent the frighter
00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:30.710
from China with expected tariff of
00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.430
$3,000 and before it got to the port of
00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:35.630
where it was heading the tariff was
00:09:35.640 --> 00:09:39.990
suddenly 130,000 uh so do you have some
00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.630
risk models included because we also
00:09:42.640 --> 00:09:44.790
work for for some supply chain companies
00:09:44.800 --> 00:09:46.630
and some of them we try to convince them
00:09:46.640 --> 00:09:48.710
to to to implement advanced risk
00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:50.310
modeling and they said yeah our clients
00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:52.710
are actually mainly the US it's a stable
00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.590
relation we don't need that so how how
00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:58.110
the recent events
00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.750
actually are reflected in uh yeah in
00:10:01.760 --> 00:10:03.190
your experience well that's a good
00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.190
question that's a political agenda right
00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:06.630
there we're going to have to discuss
00:10:06.640 --> 00:10:09.829
that with US president i would prefer
00:10:09.839 --> 00:10:13.350
not if I can thank you
00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.670
absolutely well it's it's We don't have
00:10:15.680 --> 00:10:18.470
a full suit yes yes neither do I it's a
00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.310
difficult situation of course there was
00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:23.829
a similar one when COVID 19 hit um the
00:10:23.839 --> 00:10:26.389
maritime ocean carriers didn't change
00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:28.470
their ocean rates which means a
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.790
container can go as example between US
00:10:30.800 --> 00:10:36.310
and China for 3,000 20 TU and $5,000 for
00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:39.150
40 TEU 20 equivalent food
00:10:39.160 --> 00:10:42.150
um 20 foot and 40 foot was 3,000 and
00:10:42.160 --> 00:10:44.230
5,000 but what's what's end up happening
00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:46.630
the freight forwarding companies like
00:10:46.640 --> 00:10:49.509
Kun and Nagle have been overcharging an
00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:51.910
additional $15,000 so now the container
00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:53.190
is $20,000
00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.430
So any import and export company have
00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:00.389
lost 40 to 60% of their um profit margin
00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:02.790
but they had to take this loss until the
00:11:02.800 --> 00:11:05.110
market stabilize again and it take about
00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:07.990
1 to two years it was very easy for us
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.069
to to look at the numbers but it was
00:11:10.079 --> 00:11:14.710
very difficult for the cargo owner to to
00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:18.310
make profit so the profit went from 80%
00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.710
down to 40% but they had
00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.550
to they had to take this challenge and
00:11:24.560 --> 00:11:26.389
they needed to keep their customers
00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:31.590
happy uh for 24 months um until the the
00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.509
ocean carrier restored everything and
00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.710
they said we never overcharged our
00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.829
clients it is the the contracted fit for
00:11:39.839 --> 00:11:41.590
order but we can cancel the contract
00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.150
with them but the problem is if that
00:11:44.160 --> 00:11:45.750
happen
00:11:45.760 --> 00:11:49.030
um the carrier can't the carrier cannot
00:11:49.040 --> 00:11:51.670
run empty the boats will be running
00:11:51.680 --> 00:11:54.230
empty they need to be fully loaded so
00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:56.230
the sales broker is a freight for order
00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.710
job is to collect a lot of data in order
00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.870
to make sure they're almost fully booked
00:12:00.880 --> 00:12:03.590
but it never happens they're usually 75%
00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.509
fully booked now with the new tariffs
00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.790
comes in uh with a US um political
00:12:11.800 --> 00:12:15.990
uh agenda kicking in uh it's it's a
00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.629
difficult scenario what we can do the
00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.030
risk model that they can use is they can
00:12:21.040 --> 00:12:23.870
um adjust the prices
00:12:23.880 --> 00:12:26.790
uh for the same shipment or the next
00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:30.150
shipment so the final price of the
00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:33.430
product will increase on the customer so
00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.110
they have two options here in a very
00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.190
short time frame either they can lose
00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:38.790
some freight money only for one shipment
00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:41.509
and return the product until and we can
00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:42.949
store it in a warehouse until we
00:12:42.959 --> 00:12:45.750
stabilize the market and we we we
00:12:45.760 --> 00:12:48.949
recharge the same clients and and see
00:12:48.959 --> 00:12:51.910
how it goes or we can just make a very
00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:53.829
little profit margin if it's still a
00:12:53.839 --> 00:12:55.829
profit it's still a profit what you can
00:12:55.839 --> 00:12:57.430
do you can store it in a warehouse at
00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.670
the destination and you can just wait
00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:01.110
and see if the customer is willing to
00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.910
pay for it but remember the chain will
00:13:03.920 --> 00:13:05.829
go from everything from raw material to
00:13:05.839 --> 00:13:08.150
high-end product to military products
00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:10.710
from food to military products if it's
00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.269
if it's going up or down it's almost the
00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:17.509
same percentage worldwide in 222 nations
00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.110
even if you ship it to a small island
00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.110
like Fiji this is a very difficult
00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.110
question to answer we need more than 12
00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:25.990
months to to address the prices but what
00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.150
you can do you can use a warehouse cost
00:13:28.160 --> 00:13:30.310
until you stabilize the final product
00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.509
prices but the shipping is the same um
00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:35.990
inventory cost is the same all of this
00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.110
what you can do you can
00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:41.430
um you can you can ship by larger
00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:43.350
quantity so you would have a bulk
00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.590
shipment for for less cost so the
00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.310
freight savings will cost less but you
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:50.310
have to consolidated i got another
00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:51.910
question actually when we were
00:13:51.920 --> 00:13:53.910
consulting companies the problem that we
00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:56.389
often encountered was the change
00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.030
management and ensuring that some
00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:01.110
processes that we proposed and some
00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.430
changes are are stable rather than not
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.430
how do you do this how do you make sure
00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.110
that you know when you enter the the
00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.949
company and you propose something new
00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:11.269
and people are used to do things you
00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.509
know the old way for the last 20 years
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:17.430
what's your uh recipe on for for the
00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.670
lasting change we talking about change
00:14:19.680 --> 00:14:22.710
in general not for a specific area yeah
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.310
you know it's I think the biggest
00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:26.629
problem is people are creatures of habit
00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:28.790
wherever you consult and want to change
00:14:28.800 --> 00:14:30.870
some processes old people will want to
00:14:30.880 --> 00:14:32.389
do things the old way that's a good
00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:34.790
question you encountered you know we
00:14:34.800 --> 00:14:37.269
encountered it it's a very sensitive
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:39.910
area here you're talking about yes we we
00:14:39.920 --> 00:14:42.150
work with risk takers if they're not
00:14:42.160 --> 00:14:43.670
willing to take the risks they're not
00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:46.069
willing to learn and you can start small
00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:48.629
with them it is the easiest approach let
00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.030
me give you a small example the big four
00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:52.949
or big seven consulting companies like
00:14:52.959 --> 00:14:55.910
Deote want to install any software they
00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:58.750
make $50 billion a year by
00:14:58.760 --> 00:15:02.069
selling four different type of services
00:15:02.079 --> 00:15:05.269
including one of them is is information
00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.189
technology and being a consultant for
00:15:07.199 --> 00:15:10.829
them that means 70 or 80% of small
00:15:10.839 --> 00:15:13.670
companies worldwide even in US they
00:15:13.680 --> 00:15:15.829
don't use the technology that means the
00:15:15.839 --> 00:15:17.750
product of Microsoft and Google is not
00:15:17.760 --> 00:15:20.550
being fully used or efficiently used so
00:15:20.560 --> 00:15:22.949
you can just install small softwares
00:15:22.959 --> 00:15:24.870
regular type and start with them
00:15:24.880 --> 00:15:27.189
including Microsoft Office until you go
00:15:27.199 --> 00:15:29.670
advanced by applying SCP and Oracle and
00:15:29.680 --> 00:15:31.829
full ERP system for the companies and
00:15:31.839 --> 00:15:34.310
integrate all the modules together so it
00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:36.310
is very difficult to to change the
00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:39.110
mindset of someone or a department or a
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.470
company if they're not willing to take
00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.710
the risks but you can start with very
00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.069
small steps to to address the change but
00:15:46.079 --> 00:15:47.910
remember if you really look at the
00:15:47.920 --> 00:15:50.389
details for the most advanced artificial
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.110
intelligence or any software platform on
00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.590
the planet it's not meant to replace you
00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:57.990
as a human but it meant to help you with
00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.150
what you're doing so it might find you
00:16:00.160 --> 00:16:02.310
cost savings might help you to do your
00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:04.949
job more efficient smoother more quicker
00:16:04.959 --> 00:16:06.710
so even if it didn't decrease the
00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.189
manpower it will help you to get more
00:16:09.199 --> 00:16:11.829
clients so as an individual or as a
00:16:11.839 --> 00:16:14.150
company you will have much more revenue
00:16:14.160 --> 00:16:16.790
with a larger client base maybe for a
00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.710
smoother process but you need to look at
00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.829
the details but yes change is is is not
00:16:21.839 --> 00:16:23.829
something easy and this is how you make
00:16:23.839 --> 00:16:25.829
billions of dollars go from million to a
00:16:25.839 --> 00:16:28.069
billion and from billion to trillion so
00:16:28.079 --> 00:16:31.990
10 years ago most of the S&P 500 didn't
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.629
worth4 trillion dollars like Apple and
00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.110
Amazon and Google they used to be a
00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:39.350
couple of hundred billion so I I want to
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.269
challenge you a bit because we're
00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.670
talking here about very very interesting
00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:46.389
uh subjects which are obviously across
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.949
uh across a lot of industries supply
00:16:48.959 --> 00:16:52.069
chain is is is a big topic but you're
00:16:52.079 --> 00:16:54.150
you're to me it sounds like you're
00:16:54.160 --> 00:16:57.189
approaching it from both an kind of AI
00:16:57.199 --> 00:17:00.230
data perspective but as well it seems to
00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.790
me like the service you're providing is
00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:06.150
uh very much kind of a supply shipping
00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.630
shipping management so where do you say
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:10.870
see your your focus being more on on
00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.870
providing data intelligence to your
00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.429
clients or providing the expertise in
00:17:15.439 --> 00:17:19.029
shipping no I I focus more on um on the
00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:21.029
all the intelligence information on the
00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.990
shipping um industry and it depends on
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.990
the project most of the platforms we
00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.950
work on it's request from the clients
00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.590
some of them just want to install an ERP
00:17:31.600 --> 00:17:33.750
system some of them want it from Germany
00:17:33.760 --> 00:17:35.909
some of them are buying from a third
00:17:35.919 --> 00:17:38.150
party vendor in in Bangladesh or
00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.909
Pakistan they want to have cost savings
00:17:39.919 --> 00:17:41.750
but they want to have uh someone to
00:17:41.760 --> 00:17:43.669
mentor their employees this is a small
00:17:43.679 --> 00:17:46.710
company usually these type of projects
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.549
are the product of a private equity
00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:50.630
company like Blackstone or any
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.549
subsidiary they go in they improve the
00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.950
companies they want to put some funds
00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:59.669
restructure it grow um have have more
00:17:59.679 --> 00:18:02.630
skill skilled employees things like that
00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.710
but small project would be just uh uh
00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.950
finding more competitive rates
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.430
installing software that you could use
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:13.990
over a weekend between the pickup and
00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.830
drop off point so if you have a third
00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:17.990
party uh a medical provider or a
00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:21.590
trucking carrier or a airport warehouse
00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:23.909
they're able to communicate efficiently
00:18:23.919 --> 00:18:26.950
by using any IT platform they don't have
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.789
to buy it they can just pay subscription
00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.029
for for it and the shipment go more
00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:33.830
smooth toward it so usually the clients
00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:35.830
come to us with this request and there
00:18:35.840 --> 00:18:39.430
is a thousand of them that mean 90% or
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.390
70% of the market are small companies
00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.630
and they don't have much access to the
00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.390
technology when we expand to other
00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.990
area be beyond supply chain usually um
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.270
it's related to IT or related to finance
00:18:55.280 --> 00:18:58.390
or to market growth and they want to
00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:01.909
find um a growth hacking methods on how
00:19:01.919 --> 00:19:04.549
to to have more resources and leverage
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:06.950
their their their whole company
00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.830
resources to have more clients
00:19:09.840 --> 00:19:12.150
okay but this is this is a very crowded
00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.669
market right that you've you've just
00:19:13.679 --> 00:19:17.029
described Singapore Dubai even you know
00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.270
Houston they're they're huge hubs for
00:19:19.280 --> 00:19:21.669
for these kind of companies that uh
00:19:21.679 --> 00:19:23.750
provide these kind of services so what
00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:26.470
is your unique selling point if if I'm a
00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.070
client now looking for these kind of
00:19:28.080 --> 00:19:31.110
services how would you convince me to go
00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:33.830
with specifically your offering finding
00:19:33.840 --> 00:19:37.350
you supply chain costs tools which what
00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:40.070
we call ROI return on investment what we
00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:42.470
do we see if we can make the process
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.710
smoother for you take less time have
00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.430
more data available to the market uh
00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:49.590
make sure your your information is
00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:52.150
exposed to more carriers so you can have
00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:54.870
better rates see exactly where are the
00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:57.110
the restriction points that we can
00:19:57.120 --> 00:19:59.510
eliminate for you so it's all come to to
00:19:59.520 --> 00:20:03.190
supply chain from a customs problem to a
00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.789
carrier rate to install a software and
00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:09.669
train the employees eliminate any waste
00:20:09.679 --> 00:20:12.390
in the distribution process make sure
00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.789
it's efficient usually the distribution
00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.110
lanes are a very big problem we have to
00:20:17.120 --> 00:20:18.870
deal with we have to arrange it
00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:21.029
sometimes it just takes 6 months well
00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:21.870
but that's
00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:24.150
but that's that's quite an investment
00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.390
but you said about software some some of
00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:28.230
the software you buy a subscription and
00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.470
it's plug and play i think it was Pel
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:33.029
like 15 years ago this saying but you
00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.870
buy a subscription you just use it and
00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.430
you you know train a person or two to
00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:39.190
use it some companies that you mentioned
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.270
like you know in IT and finance they
00:20:41.280 --> 00:20:43.190
probably have a bit more advanced
00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:45.110
software needs especially when we spoke
00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:47.510
about this this AI transformation how
00:20:47.520 --> 00:20:49.270
about maintenance and development of
00:20:49.280 --> 00:20:51.270
this own software do you do you help
00:20:51.280 --> 00:20:54.310
people because it's easy to to buy in a
00:20:54.320 --> 00:20:56.789
sense right so you just you know shell
00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:59.270
out some money but then you need uh IT
00:20:59.280 --> 00:21:02.149
team to to make sure that it's yeah
00:21:02.159 --> 00:21:04.149
developed that it's maintained uh that
00:21:04.159 --> 00:21:05.909
it's secure do you help your clients
00:21:05.919 --> 00:21:08.549
with this additional burden because of
00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:10.630
course it's an investment there is as
00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.029
you mentioned ROI pretty well known in
00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.350
business acronym what about this
00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:17.350
additional cost of operations
00:21:17.360 --> 00:21:19.909
operational cost okay so you so you
00:21:19.919 --> 00:21:22.390
consider the software investments as an
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.549
additional cost as a company correct yes
00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:26.310
if I have additional software I probably
00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:28.230
need some additional people to to to
00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:29.590
maintain it if it's not a subscription
00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:31.350
because if it's just a subscription then
00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:33.470
I I don't know how much is it for for
00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.710
for supply chain software but I guess
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.110
couple of thousand a year and I just use
00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:41.990
it but if I want something customized if
00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.390
I want something inhouse if I want to
00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.549
turn truly AI I need some people who
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:48.870
actually know about AI I need to you
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.270
know get this team and make it cost
00:21:51.280 --> 00:21:53.110
efficient so the question is how do you
00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:55.510
how do you approach this angle well you
00:21:55.520 --> 00:21:57.510
already get to the point before I answer
00:21:57.520 --> 00:22:00.070
in order to have a costefficient module
00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:02.070
usually the software need to have a lot
00:22:02.080 --> 00:22:04.470
of resources and a lot of options to use
00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.549
including integration with whatever
00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:08.710
systems you have it could be for a VO
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.470
calls to SMS to emails going to the
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.190
finance department for the CFO to review
00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:18.310
so when you install a module from a
00:22:18.320 --> 00:22:20.630
famous ERP system and you choose any
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:22.789
module of it could be the supply chain
00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.029
could be the finance um there is a third
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:28.390
party consultant that is certified by
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.789
the IT vendor itself the software
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.590
company and um the job of the consultant
00:22:33.600 --> 00:22:37.510
is to train the employees and be a
00:22:37.520 --> 00:22:40.230
retainer on call if they need any
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.149
service this way you can avoid the
00:22:42.159 --> 00:22:45.029
maintenance fee and you just either you
00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:46.789
buy a portion of the software and you
00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:49.190
keep it in your company and you pay the
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.149
consultant whenever you need or you just
00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:54.310
pay um a subscription and you don't have
00:22:54.320 --> 00:22:57.830
to buy it and software providers they
00:22:57.840 --> 00:22:59.430
provide the training directly to the
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:01.590
customer and sometimes you go to a third
00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:04.870
party the third party including SEP
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.549
vendors Oracle and even cargo wise uh
00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.029
for TMS but it's very rare that the
00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.950
company buys their own software or
00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:15.430
actually they ask an IT engineer to
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.830
design it for them and put it inhouse
00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:19.909
they they want to have a hassle-free
00:23:19.919 --> 00:23:22.390
business model i used to work for Madson
00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:24.470
Logistics they have their own IT
00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:27.029
department based out of uh an Asian
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:29.190
nation i'm not sure if it's India or
00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.029
Philippine and usually they have a back
00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.430
office support it's a high quality back
00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.590
office support with a very little cost
00:23:35.600 --> 00:23:37.350
so if you have one employee in US you
00:23:37.360 --> 00:23:40.630
have 10 in India and that's serving
00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:45.669
um 400 agents and one broker and 22
00:23:45.679 --> 00:23:47.990
shipping boats going from California to
00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.149
Hawaiian Alaska and China so it's a very
00:23:50.159 --> 00:23:52.950
efficient system model but there was an
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.669
occasion where a company just uh was a
00:23:55.679 --> 00:23:58.390
private equitybacked project where a
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:00.789
company in US having hospital services
00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:02.950
and provide beds and and things like
00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.430
that they needed to have an ERP model so
00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:07.909
they asked um software company in
00:24:07.919 --> 00:24:10.070
Bangladesh to do it for them so they own
00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:11.990
their own software and whenever they
00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.310
need support it's remotely done there is
00:24:14.320 --> 00:24:16.230
so many option you can use but you can't
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:18.549
just pay $10 million to SAP and think
00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:21.190
it's okay no they work on a global scale
00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:23.430
and they all have vendors certified
00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:24.950
third vendors for training and
00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:27.190
installation okay so maybe a final
00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.029
question because now speaking a lot
00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:32.149
about the the the the the software if I
00:24:32.159 --> 00:24:34.549
understand correctly the the secret
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:36.630
source in this is not the software
00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:38.950
itself it's the data you feed into it
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:41.029
right having all the intelligence like
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:43.029
you mentioned with Uber it's it's all
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.789
the data that they gathered they didn't
00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.269
have some magical software that that did
00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:49.750
it it was the the the data that gave
00:24:49.760 --> 00:24:52.549
them the advantage that's correct 100%
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:55.190
you need to find quality service for a
00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.110
lower rate and it need to be available
00:24:57.120 --> 00:24:59.909
on a 12 12 months basis it include
00:24:59.919 --> 00:25:02.230
custom clearance inland transport and
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:04.789
either ocean and air to connect it
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:07.110
internationally and if you have any
00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:09.350
expensive distribution lanes if you have
00:25:09.360 --> 00:25:12.710
any related bulk cost for a warehouse
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.630
storage that usually eat 60 to 70% of
00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:19.350
the freight invoice hey so do you have
00:25:19.360 --> 00:25:22.149
anything that you would also you know as
00:25:22.159 --> 00:25:24.870
a final thought would want to share with
00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.190
uh with the listeners and uh something
00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:29.669
that would really kind of drive the
00:25:29.679 --> 00:25:31.909
point home for them and uh make sure
00:25:31.919 --> 00:25:34.390
that they they have something to uh go
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:36.950
home and think about okay well just look
00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.110
look for it from a future standpoint
00:25:39.120 --> 00:25:41.110
where you want to improve someone's life
00:25:41.120 --> 00:25:43.269
just put yourself in in that situation
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:45.510
and you will be able to find very
00:25:45.520 --> 00:25:47.750
effective very efficient solutions that
00:25:47.760 --> 00:25:50.230
can help always be open to learn always
00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:52.950
be humble technology is not difficult at
00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:55.750
all it's come back to binary code zero
00:25:55.760 --> 00:25:57.909
and ones you can use any system in the
00:25:57.919 --> 00:26:00.390
world ellen Musk was able to launch
00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:04.870
space rockets faster than Boeing um 10
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.830
times so Boeing make a program for 5
00:26:07.840 --> 00:26:10.149
years but Elon Musk do it in less than 6
00:26:10.159 --> 00:26:13.430
months to ear so you can get to the goal
00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.830
you said to yourself even landed back
00:26:15.840 --> 00:26:18.789
yes not not many but some of them did
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:20.630
yeah and you have no one from NASA to
00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:23.269
help him but he did it so I found the
00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:25.510
same project in small companies same as
00:26:25.520 --> 00:26:28.789
in large corporations including the top
00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.830
10 worldwide so my takeaway is always be
00:26:31.840 --> 00:26:35.269
humble always be optimistic um always
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:37.510
look for the solution not the problem
00:26:37.520 --> 00:26:40.470
and you will be always um ahead of your
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.470
competitors that's what I would say
00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:44.149
thank you very much this was really
00:26:44.159 --> 00:26:47.110
interesting insight into the uh into the
00:26:47.120 --> 00:26:51.350
the kind of shipping and uh supply chain
00:26:51.360 --> 00:26:53.669
world as we always say in this podcast
00:26:53.679 --> 00:26:55.669
let's hope it was of use to someone and
00:26:55.679 --> 00:26:58.630
to our viewers and listeners uh thank
00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.470
you for listening to make sure that you
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.190
don't miss our next episode subscribe to
00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:05.430
our YouTube channel or on your favorite
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.190
podcast platform you can also check out
00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:09.190
cognition.lc LC for more information on
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:10.870
cognition share solutions our services
00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:13.269
and our events hosted by us for now it's
00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.430
thank you from myself Arur Guya and my
00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.350
co-host your friendly neighborhood data
00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:22.679
guy Dr mania thank you and goodbye