Supply Chain Unlocked

Dr. Matthew Waller
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Supply Chain Unlocked delivers actionable intelligence for suppliers to Walmart and other retailers. Hosted by Dr. Matthew Waller—renowned supply chain expert, author, and trusted advisor—the show decodes the strategies, technology, and leadership required to win on the world’s biggest retail stage. Each episode blends Dr. Waller’s expertise with insights from industry leaders, innovators, and former retail executives, giving listeners clear and practical strategies to navigate compliance, harness technology, and build stronger partnerships. More than just commentary, the show provides the intelligence and actionable guidance suppliers need to stay ahead in today’s fast-changing supply chain.

Episodes

  1. 12/25/2025

    Ep. 5 - The Hidden Cost of EDI Chaos

    Orders don’t move without clean data. We go deep with Jonathan Kish, SVP at Orderful, to reveal why EDI still runs global retail, where it quietly breaks omnichannel performance, and how modern teams can turn a tangle of maps and testing into a fast, reliable growth engine. From empty shelves to OTIF deductions, the symptoms are familiar; the root causes live in outdated mapping, slow retailer testing cycles, and inventory that never syncs across stores, marketplaces, and drop ship networks. Jonathan explains how retailers standardize on EDI specs and why that foundation won’t vanish just because APIs are popular. He breaks down the documents that matter: 850s for POs, 856s for ASNs, 204/210 for freight, 810 for invoices, and 997 acknowledgments, and shows where small errors become big penalties. We explore the onboarding bottleneck that delays first purchase orders by months, plus the ripple effects on cash flow, vendor scorecards, and customer promise dates. Real case studies highlight how a single JSON-style integration and automated validations can migrate hundreds to thousands of partners in weeks, not quarters, without rewriting code per retailer. We also look ahead. As agentic shopping grows and real-time inventory promises are made in chat, search, and social, the margin for data errors shrinks. Jonathan shares how AI-driven validation and captured testing “tribal knowledge” can compress EDI cycles from months to days, and eventually hours, while web-based EDI opens a simple path for smaller suppliers to trade without engineers or per-transaction fees. If you care about omnichannel reliability, faster vendor onboarding, and fewer chargebacks, this conversation is a practical blueprint for turning EDI from a drag into an advantage. If this helped clarify your EDI strategy, follow the show, share it with your ops and IT teams, and leave a quick review so others can find it.

    43 min

  2. 12/11/2025

    Ep. 4 - Refund Rage: The Psychology Behind Return Policies

    Ever wonder why a “standard” return policy can feel so unfair at the counter? We unpack the psychology and operations behind returns with Dr. Travis Tokar, Professor of Supply Chain Management at TCU, and explore how loss aversion, fairness, and frontline interactions shape customer reactions far more than a PDF policy ever will. We walk through the five policy levers: money, exchange, time, scope, effort, and show which ones trigger loss perceptions that spark anger, and which ones customers accept when the rules are clearly justified. You’ll hear why framing a 15% fee as an “85% refund” doesn’t help, how justice theory explains real-world reactions, and why linking stricter terms to item-specific costs (like data wiping for electronics) earns legitimacy. We also compare mail-in versus store returns, highlighting where centralization saves money, when a fast shelf restock wins, and how to nudge shoppers to lower-cost channels with faster refunds, nearby drop-offs, or small incentives. Beyond costs, we dig into what matters for loyalty: measuring more than return rates, using returnless returns strategically to boost goodwill, and training frontline teams to balance consistency with humane exceptions. Travis shares experiments, real policy patterns across retailers, and practical tests worth trying, like adaptive leniency for high-value customers and firm guardrails for serial returners. It’s a candid playbook for designing return policies that reduce friction, respect customers, and protect margins. If this conversation gave you new ideas for your returns strategy, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review telling us which policy change you’ll test next.

    38 min

  3. 11/27/2025

    Ep. 3 - Why Digitizing The Warehouse Now Cuts Cost, Risk, and Stockouts

    What if your warehouse could flex labor across sites on demand, cut safety risk, and feed cleaner data into your WMS—all without a massive retrofit? We sit down with Brian Nachtigall, VP & GM of Vaux at ArcBest, to unpack smart autonomy that blends autonomous forklifts with remote teleoperation for a fast, pragmatic path to automation. No gimmicks, no buzzword soup—just a clear look at how deep learning, digital twins, and disciplined operations deliver measurable wins right now. Brian traces his journey from Bain to Cognex to Boston Dynamics, sharing what he learned about scaling machine vision, building reliable autonomy stacks, and applying management systems that actually fit the culture. We break down the Vaux suite: robotic forklifts that map your facility, fleet management that coordinates traffic safely, and a human-in-the-loop model that lets operators “dial in” only when tasks get tricky. That pooled remote labor becomes a powerful lever for load balancing across DCs, smoothing demand spikes and reducing stockouts, late fees, and excess safety stock that quietly erode margins. We also explore warehouse digitization and why data integrity is the real multiplier. By capturing accurate pallet locations and on-forklift dimensions with Vaux Vision, your WMS makes better calls, slotting improves, and the bullwhip effect softens. Beyond forklifts, Vaux's freight movement platforms accelerate shuttle runs, protect sensitive electronics for data center logistics, and enable scaffolding to move non-stackable freight efficiently. Throughout, Brian’s stance is grounded: automate what you can, keep people in the loop for edge cases, and compound gains over time rather than chasing lights-out promises. If you care about safer operations, faster deployments, and resilient supply chains, this conversation offers a blueprint. Subscribe, share with your ops team, and leave a review with the one bottleneck you’d automate first—we’ll feature our favorite responses in a future episode.

    57 min

  4. 11/13/2025

    Ep. 2 - Stablecoin Meets Omnichannel

    Money should move as fast as your cart. We sit down with Garrett Harper, Head of Business Development at Squads Labs, to unpack how Stablecoin is quietly becoming the payment rail that matches modern retail speed: instant refunds, cheaper settlements, and programmable rewards that actually feel valuable. If “buy online, pick up in store” reset fulfillment, Stablecoin is poised to reset how cash flows through every step of the retail value chain. We start with a clear breakdown of what Stablecoin is, why most are backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, and where the real product–market fit already exists: access to dollars and cross-border payments. From there, we connect the dots to omnichannel operations. Imagine payouts that land in seconds, loyalty that accrues in real time, and fewer intermediaries taxing every transaction. That’s not a crypto pitch—it’s an upgrade to user experience and unit economics. We explore how retailers like Walmart can harness yield to fund better rewards and lower fees, all while keeping the Stablecoin plumbing behind the scenes so shoppers never have to think about “using crypto.” Then we look ahead to agentic and ambient commerce. AI agents will reorder staples, handle price checks, and even settle micro-purchases across platforms. Videos, streams, and everyday contexts become shoppable surfaces with automatic, transparent revenue splits. Smart contracts make that trust-by-design, enabling if-then money that legacy rails can’t match. We also dig into how processors and networks respond—why companies like Stripe are experimenting with Stablecoin settlements to cut costs and speed payouts—and how transparency on public chains can strengthen trust for marketplaces, long-tail sellers, and nonprofits. If you care about omnichannel strategy, payments efficiency, and what happens when AI meets checkout, this conversation maps the road ahead. Subscribe, share with a colleague who owns payments or loyalty, and leave a review with the one Stablecoin use case you want most next.

    45 min

  5. 10/30/2025

    Ep. 1 - Omnichannel Gets an AI Brain

    A single chat that fills your cart, schedules pickup, and optimizes delivery isn’t sci-fi anymore. We break down Walmart’s new partnership with OpenAI and show how turning conversation into checkout could reshape margins, loyalty, and the last mile—without asking shoppers to open an app. We start with what the integration actually does: ChatGPT pulls live Walmart prices, builds context-aware baskets, and enables instant checkout for delivery or store pickup. Then we zoom out to strategy. For Walmart, this is an offensive move to capture the first seconds of purchase intent and convert store traffic into digital margin. For OpenAI, it’s a path to become the quiet backbone of commerce, earning at scale while learning from real, high-signal transactions. Along the way, we explore competitive responses from Amazon, Google, and Meta, plus why pharmacy + grocery + general merchandise in one cart is a powerful differentiator. The heart of the story is operations. EDLP and EDLC gain strength when chat-driven orders provide early, precise demand signals. Forecasting shifts from stores to households; bullwhip shrinks; routes get fuller; and next-day reliability expands without surge pricing. We dive into restock autopilot, substitution logic when prices move, and the likely adoption curve across busy omnichannel shoppers, small business members at Sam’s Club, and marketplace sellers hungry for discovery. We also examine Walmart Connect’s evolution from reactive ads to conversational recommendations, and the integrity guardrails needed to keep trust intact. If you care about retail strategy, supply chain resiliency, and how AI changes the shape of demand, this conversation connects the dots with concrete examples and numbers. Subscribe for more deep dives, share this episode with a colleague who loves logistics, and leave a review to tell us how you see AI reshaping your weekly shop.

    35 min
  • 5 Episodes

About

Supply Chain Unlocked delivers actionable intelligence for suppliers to Walmart and other retailers. Hosted by Dr. Matthew Waller—renowned supply chain expert, author, and trusted advisor—the show decodes the strategies, technology, and leadership required to win on the world’s biggest retail stage. Each episode blends Dr. Waller’s expertise with insights from industry leaders, innovators, and former retail executives, giving listeners clear and practical strategies to navigate compliance, harness technology, and build stronger partnerships. More than just commentary, the show provides the intelligence and actionable guidance suppliers need to stay ahead in today’s fast-changing supply chain.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Matthew Waller
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Supply Chain Unlocked
  • Show Website
    Supply Chain Unlocked