Art of Supply

Kelly Barner, Art of Procurement

Art of Supply, hosted by Kelly Barner, draws inspiration from news headlines and expert interviews to bring you insightful coverage of today's complex supply chains.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    The Panama Canal Power Struggle

    The ports of Balboa and Cristóbal bookend the Panama canal. They don't control the canal, and they have been privately operated by CK Hutchison's Panama Ports Company for decades.  Those old contracts are now in the middle of a legal fight, a sovereignty debate, and a live test of how far national power competitions can reach into commercial infrastructure. Panama's Supreme Court recently ruled that the legal terms underlying CK Hutchison's port concession were unconstitutional. The concessions have been canceled and Panama has selected two different operators to take over responsibility for the ports while new owners are determined. If that wasn't complicated enough, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson intended to sell the ports to U.S.-headquartered BlackRock, a move that China was not too happy about.  The ports are now in the middle of a high stakes proxy war, with China and CK Hutchison on one side, and BlackRock and the Trump Administration on the other. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers the short and long term implications of uncertain Panama Canal port ownership: Panama's disputed Supreme Court ruling  Why the original $23 billion BlackRock-MSC transaction now looks much more complicated than a straightforward ownership transfer. How BlackRock, Maersk, MSC, and other bidders are repositioning around the two terminals. What to watch for when a local concession dispute becomes a multi-jurisdiction legal and geopolitical risk event Links: Who owns the Panama Canal? Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    18 min

  2. 5 MAR

    How iRobot's Supply Chain Became Its Last Resort

    At its peak, iRobot generated nearly $1.6 Billion in annual revenue, and by 2022 Amazon believed the company was worth $1.7 Billion. By just a few years later, the company that pioneered consumer robotics would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company that ultimately took ownership of iRobot wasn't Amazon or another Silicon Valley tech firm or even a U.S. competitor. It was the company's own overseas contract manufacturer. How does a company go from being a pioneering leader in robotics to being owned by the very supplier that once built its products? The answer is a story about regulation, supply chains, debt, competition, and unintended consequences. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: The rise of iRobot and the creation of the Roomba line of vacuums Amazon's $1.7 Billion acquisition attempt — and why global regulators blocked it How financial pressure, debt, and supply chain decisions reshaped the company, right into the ground And how iRobot ultimately ended up owned by its largest manufacturing partner Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    20 min

  3. 26 FEB

    National Security Starts in the Supply Chain

    "There are a lot of different ways to hold all of the conspirators who are involved in the effort to intentionally smuggle counterfeit goods into the U.S. and into U.S. systems accountable."  Most modern supply chains are complex, sprawling beasts. Their global scale is highly strategic, but it also creates opportunities for criminal organizations to threaten companies, the Federal government, warfighters, and first responders.  The Government Supply Chain Investigations Unit (GSCIU) was created as the result of a 2022 Congressional request for Homeland Security Investigations to address concerns about the risk of counterfeit components finding their way into U.S. military supply chains. Since then, they have operated as a task force, analyzing interagency information to identify and combat threats to relevant supply chains. Brian Andersen is a supervisory special agent at Homeland Security Investigations Global Trade Division, part of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, and the Government Supply Chain Investigations Unit, which he had the opportunity to help build from the ground up. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Brian and Kelly Barner discuss: The priorities of the Government Supply Chain Investigations Unit How they partner with other agencies and private businesses to root out risk within the supply chain and hold criminals accountable What procurement and supply chain professionals should be on the lookout for as warning signs that they have acquired or encountered counterfeit products  Links: Brian Andersen on LinkedIn National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    45 min

  4. 19 FEB

    How a $3M Company Destroyed $17B in Freight Market Value

    How could a company worth about $3 Million wipe out more than $17 Billion in transportation market value in a single day? On February 12th, a press release from Algorhythm Holdings, a company that started its life as a karaoke machine manufacturer, announced that its AI-enabled freight platform SemiCab could reduce empty truck miles by more than 70 percent. By midday, major logistics firms were down as much as 20 percent. C.H. Robinson, Landstar, J.B. Hunt, railroads, and airlines all felt the shockwave. If SemiCab's technology works as described, it could reduce waste, lower emissions, and save shippers billions. At the same time, it could compress margins, erode pricing power, and expose just how much excess capacity the freight market really has. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: The sequence of events: how a small-cap AI announcement triggered a historic sell-off The claims behind SemiCab, and how Algorhythm evolved from karaoke to freight tech Why reducing empty or "deadhead" miles (which sounds like unqualified good news) could actually hurt incumbent logistics firms Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    19 min

  5. 12 FEB

    Sanctioned at Sea: Addressing the Shadow Fleet

    "Shipping in 2026 is going to get darker." - Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst, Windward  Right now, somewhere between 900 and 2,000 aging oil tankers are operating in the shadows. They are carrying sanctioned crude from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. This so-called "shadow fleet" often sails under false flags, spoofs its locations, turns off monitoring systems, transfers their cargo at sea, and sometimes operates without insurance. These dangerous vessels are increasingly being boarded, seized, escorted into port, and tied up in court, but enforcement at sea is messy, expensive, and legally complex.  One company… GMS… thinks they have an answer. They believe they can scrap about 100 of these seized, sanctioned ships annually - if (and it is a big IF) they are given permission by the U.S. Treasury to acquire them. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner explores three interconnected questions: What is actually being done to get shadow fleet tankers off the water? What happens to the ships — and the oil, and the crew — after they are seized? And what are the second- and third-order effects for global shipping markets, risk, and supply chains? Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    17 min

  6. 5 FEB

    Freight Capacity v. Paperwork & Politics

    "Capacity reduction is clearly under way. Regulatory enforcement of qualifications and safety standards was arguably the most welcome development in 2025 for our industry." - Adam Miller, CEO of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings The trucking industry has been flooded with headlines about enforcement: English language proficiency checks, non-domiciled CDL restrictions, immigration raids, and court stays. On the surface, this might look like a political story or an emotional response to a few high-profile fatal crashes, but it is not primarily about either paperwork or politics. It's about freight market capacity. Who is allowed to operate? Where are they willing to operate? Can they operate profitably while following the rules? And how quickly can excess freight capacity be removed without destabilizing the whole system? In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: Why CDL enforcement has become a de facto freight capacity lever What the data says about drivers and smaller freight companies leaving the market How localized disruption is starting to show up before national trends And what we should be watching instead of (or at least in addition to) the headlines Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    17 min

  7. 29 JAN

    One Railroad to Rule Them All? Inside the Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern Merger

    Imagine a single railroad company that could move freight seamlessly from the ports of Los Angeles to the ports of New York without handoffs, interchange delays, or needing to switch carriers mid-journey. That's the promise behind the proposed merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads. If the deal is approved, it will create the first single-line transcontinental railroad in U.S. history, spanning more than 50,000 miles across 43 states and nearly 100 ports. Supporters say this could make rail a more serious competitor to long-haul trucking, lowering costs and improving supply chain efficiency. Critics say it risks concentrating too much power in too few hands in an industry where four railroads already control more than 90% of U.S. freight. Earlier this month, regulators hit the reset button. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) rejected the merger application - not on its merits, but because the paperwork was incomplete. In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner covers: What Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are proposing, and why it would be historically significant The arguments for the merger, including efficiency, cost, and competition with trucking The arguments against it, from labor, shippers, competitors, and policy advocates Where the Surface Transportation Board fits in, and what the January 2026 rejection means from an approval and timeline standpoint Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    16 min

  8. 22 JAN

    Cautious Optimism in the Suez Canal

    In late 2023, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints effectively broke. After Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel, Houthi militants began targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Initially, their target was Israel-linked vessels, then they increasingly started targeting anything that passed through. What followed was a near-collapse of confidence in the Suez Canal, a route that normally handles roughly 10–12% of global seaborne trade. Ocean carriers rerouted thousands of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks, cost, fuel burn, and complexity to global supply chains. Fast forward to late 2025 and early 2026, and something quietly significant happened: Maersk, the world's second-largest container carrier, sent ships back through the Red Sea. It wasn't a full return or a declaration of victory, but it was a meaningful test. In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers:  Why Maersk's Red Sea test voyages matter more than they may appear The economic and capacity pressures pushing carriers back toward Suez Why a "safe reopening" may still create winners and losers What procurement and supply chain leaders should be watching for next Links: High Stakes in the Red Sea Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter  Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

    17 min
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About

Art of Supply, hosted by Kelly Barner, draws inspiration from news headlines and expert interviews to bring you insightful coverage of today's complex supply chains.

Information

  • Creator
    Kelly Barner, Art of Procurement
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    208
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright (c) Art of Procurement
  • Show Website
    Art of Supply

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