The Logistics of Logistics Joe Lynch

Jason Miller and Joe Lynch discuss market insights. Jason is a professor of supply chain at Michigan State University, which is ranked as one of the top supply chain schools in the world.
Summary: Market Insights In this podcast, Jason Miller, a professor at Michigan State University, shares his expertise on the current state of the supply chain and logistics industry. He discusses the ongoing freight recession, the impact of Trump tariffs on the US economy, and the potential effects of reshoring. The podcast also covers recent disruptions in the container shipping market and air freight volumes from Asia to the US. Additionally, Jason Miller emphasizes the importance of understanding data quality and expresses skepticism about the revolutionary potential of AI in certain domains. The discussion highlights the significance of making informed decisions based on real-time data and qualitative forecasts.
#SupplyChainInsights
#FreightMarketOutlook
#DataDrivenDecisions
About Jason Miller Jason Miller (PhD The Ohio State University) is a tenured Associate Professor of Logistics and the John D. and Dortha J. Withrow Endowed Emerging Scholar at Michigan State University's Eli Broad College of Business. His primary research stream examines firms' logistics operations, with an emphasis on studying motor carrier safety, productivity, pricing dynamics, and driver turnover. Jason has been recognized with multiple awards for research and teaching. He was recognized as the undergraduate faculty member who had the greatest impact on students based on the 2017 graduating senior survey. The website Poets & Quants has recognized him as one of the top 40 undergraduate professors.
About Michigan State University, Department of Supply Chain Management Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU was founded in 1855. Today, MSU is one of the largest universities in the United States and has approximately 634,300 living alumni worldwide. MSU’s Department of Supply Chain Management is the consistently ranked as the top supply chain management school in the country. The department educates students to succeed in careers such as procurement, manufacturing, inventory management, warehousing, transportation, and customer service. Students graduate with foundational knowledge across all areas of SCM, positioning them to work in multiple capacities for the top global companies. The business world views Broad’s graduates and faculty as the voice of the SCM field.
Key Takeaways: Market Insights Jason Miller shares insights on the current state of the supply chain and logistics industry, discussing freight rates, inventory levels, and consumer spending. The freight market has been in a recession since late 2022, with spot rates and demand moving along a trough. The impact of reshoring on the US economy depends on the location of the parts ecosystem, and interest rate cuts by the Fed will likely be needed to stimulate freight volumes and housing activity. Air freight volumes from Asia to the US, particularly from India and China, have seen a significant increase due to ecommerce demand for cheap goods. AI will revolutionize fields like drug discovery and engineering but may struggle with economics and human-related activities due to unpredictability and measurement difficulties. Making informed decisions involves understanding data sources, forming a coherent narrative, and using qualitative forecasts based on experience and intuition. Timestamps (00:00:01) Market Insights with Supply Chain Economist
(00:00:17) Supply Chain Challenges and Economic Outlook
(00:01:09) The Supply Chain Economist
(00:03:26) Freight Markets: Trough, Capacity, and Demand Surges
(00:10:27) Tariffs' Negative Impact on the Economy
(00:19:06) Reshoring, Interest Rates, and Freight Volumes
(00:21:14) Container Shipping Demand Surges, Rates Soar
(00:24:22) Navigating Disruptions in Global Shipping Routes
(00:27:55) The

Mike Droesch and Joe Lynch discuss the supply chain road map. Mike is a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that backs promising startups in technology, supply chain, healthcare, and consumer markets. Mike's focus is on logistics and supply chain. Click the link to see Mike review BVP's Supply Chain Roadmap. 
Summary: The Supply Chain Road Map In this podcast, Mike Droesch from Bessemer Venture Partners shares insights on the importance of a supply chain roadmap and how technology is transforming the logistics industry. He discusses their firm's focus on investing in early-stage companies that bring innovation to the sector, and highlights key areas such as workflow optimization, digital connectivity, and automated financial workflows. Mike also emphasizes the significance of having a founding team with industry expertise and a deep understanding of pain points, and how venture capital funding enables the development of cutting-edge solutions in a competitive market.
#SupplyChainRoadmap
#LogisticsTech
#VentureCapitalInsights
About Mike Droesch Mike Droesch is a Partner in the Cambridge office primarily focusing on AI applications, cybersecurity, supply chain software, and B2B marketplaces. He currently serves on the board of directors for Tackle, Curri, Raft, Cypress, Netography, Optimal Dynamics, and VendorPM. Previously, Mike worked with a few venture-backed startups in Boston, including two Bessemer portfolio companies, Fuze and InsightSquared, where he supported sales operations and analytics efforts. He started his career as a systems engineer and then spent nearly three years in management consulting at Navigant, where he helped companies build new businesses around emerging energy and infrastructure technologies in the U.S. and Middle East. He holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a Master’s Degree in naval architecture and engineering from the University of Michigan, and a degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University.
About Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to build and forge long-standing companies. With more than 145 IPOs and 300 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth. Bessemer’s global portfolio has included Pinterest, Shopify, Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, PagerDuty, DocuSign, Wix, Fiverr, and Toast and has more than $18 billion of assets under management. Bessemer has teams of investors and partners located in Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, London, Hong Kong, Boston, and Bangalore. Born from innovations in steel more than a century ago, Bessemer’s storied history has afforded its partners the opportunity to celebrate and scrutinize its best investment decisions (see Memos) and also learn from its mistakes (see Anti-Portfolio).
Key Takeaways: The Supply Chain Road Map The importance of having a supply chain roadmap aligned with company goals and objectives. Bessemer Venture Partners' focus on investing in early-stage technology companies. The impact of COVID on the supply chain logistics technology industry and market volatility. Venture capital's preference for software businesses over hardware due to scalability and capital requirements. Mike Droesch's journey from mechanical engineering to venture capital at Bessemer Venture Partners. The supply chain roadmap: identifying opportunities for technology to impact the supply chain and logistics industry. Workflow optimization software helping trucking companies improve efficiency and profitability through data-driven decisions. Timestamps (00:00:00) The Supply Chain Roadmap
(00:00:19) The History of Bessemer Venture Partners
(00:02:00) Venture Capital in Supply Chain Logistics
(00:06:31) Venture Capital's Focus on Software Startups
(00:08:57) Discovering Venture Capital and BVP
(00:12:13) Explo

Joe Spisak and Joe Lynch discuss the state of warehousing and fulfillment. Joe is the Founder and CEO of www.Fulfill.com, a marketplace that connects ecommerce brands with the right warehousing and fulfillment partners.
Summary: The State of Warehousing and Fulfillment In this podcast, Joe Spisak, Founder and CEO of Fulfill.com, shares his expertise on the latest trends and challenges in the warehousing and fulfillment industry for ecommerce brands and 3PLs. The discussion covers the impact of COVID on ecommerce, the resurgence of online sales, and the importance of choosing the right 3PL partner. Joe also shares his personal journey from a small board game company to founding Ship Daddy and eventually creating Fulfill.com, a platform that helps ecommerce brands find the best warehousing and fulfillment partners from a network of over 650 3PLs across 2500+ locations worldwide. The podcast explores effective marketing strategies for 3PLs, the current state of mergers and acquisitions in the industry, and the evolving expectations of ecommerce brands from their 3PL providers. Joe Spisak's insights offer valuable guidance for both ecommerce brands and 3PLs navigating this rapidly changing landscape.
#ecommerceFulfillment
#3PLPartnership
#WarehouseOptimization
About Joe Spisak Joe Spisak is the Founder and CEO of www.Fulfill.com, a marketplace that connects ecommerce brands with the right warehousing and fulfillment partners. Prior to starting Fulfill, Joe founded and successfully exited ShipDaddy, a flexible fulfillment solution for ecommerce companies. Joe is also the founder of a 7-figure ecommerce brand, which is when he learned first-hand how difficult it is for shipper to find a good fulfillment partner. Earlier in his career, Joe was a Network Engineer for AT&T global. Joe earned a bachelor’s degree in leadership and public policy, and a master’s degree in education from University of Virginia. Joe was a scholarship wrestler at UVA.
About Fulfill.com Fulfill.com, headquartered in Austin, Texas is the #1 3PL marketplace to help brands find the right warehousing and fulfillment partner. Founded in 2020, the company has rapidly grown. The Fulfill.com team has successfully placed hundreds of ecommerce brands with the right 3PL partner. Fulfill.com's mission is to help businesses streamline their operations and improve their customer experience by providing recommendations for fast, reliable, and cost-effective fulfillment partners. The company's vast 3PL directory and advanced matchmaking technology enable it to efficiently process eCommerce information and recommend the best 3PL partner across the globe.
Key Takeaways: The State of Warehousing and Fulfillment Fulfill.com matches eccommerce brands with the best 3PL options from their network of over 650 3PLs across 2500+ locations worldwide. Choosing the wrong 3PL partner can lead to significant losses and setbacks for ecommerce companies. The ecommerce boom during COVID, subsequent decline, and current resurgence driven by brands diversifying into ancillary marketplaces and omnichannel strategies. Regionalized SEO, referral-based marketing, and content marketing are effective strategies for 3PL warehouses to generate leads. Mergers and acquisitions in the warehousing and fulfillment industry are picking up again, with multiples back in a more reasonable range of 3-5x. The ecommerce fulfillment industry is evolving, with brands expecting better communication and faster response times from their 3PL providers. With increased competition among 3PLs, ecommerce brands have an opportunity to negotiate better rates, service, and communication with their existing 3PL or find a new partner. Timestamps (00:00:00) The State of Warehousing and Fulfillment
(00:01:00) Matching Ecommerce Brands with 3PLs
(00:02:43) Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Finding Partners
(00:05:58) From Wrestling to Ecommerce Fulfillment
(00:07:57) Small Business Struggles with 3PL Fulfill

Kevin Hill and Joe Lynch disucss 4 trends in freight brokerage. Kevin is the Owner of Brush Pass Research, a sales and marketing research firm that helps companies sell to freight brokerages across North America.
Summary: 4 Trends in Freight Brokerage Kevin Hill of Brush Past Research joins the Logistics of Logistics podcast to discuss the growth, evolution, and current state of the freight brokerage industry. Hill provides valuable insights into the categorization of freight brokers based on their annual gross revenue, the challenges faced by mid-cap brokerages, and the increasing importance of supply chain professionals in corporate leadership roles. The podcast also explores the trend of integration within the freight industry, the rise of outsourced sales agency models, and the growing percentage of freight loads tendered to brokers and 3PLs. Additionally, Hill shares his thoughts on consolidation trends, the maturation of the freight brokerage industry, and the significant innovations that have taken place in the logistics sector over the past decade.
#FreightBrokerageInsights
#FreightTechInnovation
#LogisticsIndustryTrends
About Kevin Hill Kevin has more than 10 years of experience in the freight industry, both as a sales executive and a media producer; his mission is to help freight sales professionals grow their business and reach their goals. Kevin is the owner of Brush Pass Research, a sales and marketing research firm that helps companies sell to freight brokerages across North America. Previously, Kevin founded CarrierLists, a carrier sourcing platform that was acquired by Highway in 2022.
About Brush Pass Research Prospecting is about getting in front of as many potential buyers as quickly as possible. Determining which 3PLs you should be contacting and which ones aren’t worth your time is a difficult process though. That’s where Brush Pass Research steps in to help you out with your prospecting game. Our company tech intel on the largest 1,000 freight brokerages along with contact details for the decision makers is designed specifically to light the fire powering your growth engine.
Key Takeaways: 4 Trends in Freight Brokerage Learn about the growth and evolution of the freight brokerage industry over the last decade. Discover how Kevin Hill's research helps freight tech companies identify and target the right customers in the fragmented brokerage market. Gain insights into the categorization of freight brokers and freight tech companies based on their annual revenue. Understand the challenges and opportunities faced by mid-cap brokerages in scaling their business. Explore the trend of integration in the freight industry, with carriers, brokerages, and warehousing companies blurring the lines between different types of businesses. Learn about the increasing percentage of freight loads tendered to freight brokers and 3PLs, driven by technology advancements and the evolving role of brokers. Discover the key trends shaping the freight brokerage industry, including market volatility, consolidation, and innovation. Timestamps (00:00:00) Four Trends in Freight Brokerage
(00:01:23) Exploring the Freight Brokerage Industry
(00:05:01) Four Freight Tech Trends for Brokerages
(00:08:09) Exploring Sales Strategies and Industry Insights
(00:09:54) Freight Market Volatility and Trends
(00:14:24) Freight Broker Categories by Revenue
(00:15:28) Defining Freight Tech Company Sizes
(00:16:15) The Top 150 Freight Brokerages
(00:17:02) Brokerages Leverage Technology for Growth
(00:21:41) Supply Chain Leaders Gaining C-Suite Influence
(00:25:06) Blurring Lines in the Freight Industry
(00:26:05) Outsourced Sales Model for Mid-Sized Fleets
(00:29:35) Brokered Freight Market Share on the Rise
(00:35:42) Consolidation and Challenges in Freight Tech
(00:37:40) Freight Brokerage Consolidation and Opportunities
(00:40:48) Freight Brokerage Trends: Volatility, Innovation, Consolidation
(00:43:09) Freight Brok

Karl Swensen and Joe Lynch discuss solving the $1.8 trillion distortion inventory problem. Karl is the CEO and Co-founder of Pull Logic, an AI-enabled tech company focused on reducing lost sales for retailers, brands, and manufacturers due failure points in the supply chain and selling processes.
Summary: Solving the $1.8 Trillion Inventory Distortion Problem In this podcast, Karl Swensen, CEO and Co-founder of Pull Logic, discusses how their AI-enabled technology helps retailers, brands, and manufacturers reduce lost sales by addressing supply chain and selling process failure points. The company focuses on solving the problem of inventory distortion, which is having too much of the wrong inventory and not enough of the right inventory. Pull Logic uses the Product Availability Ratio (PAR) score to optimize inventory management and ensure customers have access to the products they want when they need them. By using data analytics and advanced algorithms, Pull Logic helps businesses identify the right products to stock, increase sales, reduce unproductive inventory, and improve sustainability. The podcast also touches on Karl Swensen's background in industrial and systems engineering and his experience working with major companies in supply chain consulting.
#InventoryOptimization
#AIPoweredSupplyChain
#ReducingLostSales
About Karl Swensen Karl Swensen is the CEO and Co-founder of Pull Logic, an AI-enabled tech company focused on reducing lost sales for retailers, brands, and manufacturers due failure points in the supply chain and selling processes. Karl is an executive and professional with a proven track record of growing businesses, implementing change, and leveraging digital technologies with a wide range of companies in North America, Asia, and Europe. His expertise is in supply chain, operations, and manufacturing and has worked at the intersection of strategy and technology to maximize results for companies and shareholders. His work in industry, consulting, and with technology companies have given him a unique perspective in understanding the complete picture and future vision and how to implement it, and he has also led large groups of people with revenue and P&L responsibilities.  In his free time, he likes to snow ski, compete with his spin cycle buddies, and travel with his family.
About Pull Logic Pull Logic is based on research out of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the work of Dr. Benoit Montreuil who leads the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute there and solves the $1.8 trillion problem of “Inventory Distortion” as defined by the retail advisory firm, IHL Group.   Its narrowly focused AI solves this inventory distortion problem of “lost sales” and “unproductive inventory” and has yielded results of up to 30% revenue increase and up to a 50% decrease in unproductive inventory. While the Pull Logic solution is simple to understand and implement, it uses sophisticated algorithms and models based on the customer’s data to predict customer demand and manage inventory more efficiently.    More importantly, it does not replace existing systems but complements and works alongside them to achieve these results and can be implemented in a matter of weeks.
Key Takeaways: Solving the $1.8 Trillion Inventory Distortion Problem Learn how AI-enabled tech company Pull Logic reduces lost sales for retailers, brands, and manufacturers. Discover how Pull Logic uses AI to solve inventory distortion and improve supply chain efficiency. Understand the concept of creating a pull system rather than the traditional push system in inventory management. Explore how accurate demand forecasting and inventory optimization ensure the right products are available for customers. Gain insights into the massive problem of inventory distortion and its trillion-dollar impact on companies. Learn about the Product Availability Readiness (PAR) concept and how it measures inventory and informs deployment deci

Chris Camacho and Joe Lynch discuss the Phoenix factor: how Arizona became a logistics hub. Chris is President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), an organization working to attract and grow quality businesses in the Greater Phoenix area.
Summary: The Phoenix Factor: How Arizona Became a Logistics Hub In this podcast, Chris Camacho, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, discusses how Greater Phoenix has become a thriving logistics hub and a prime location for businesses. He explores the factors contributing to the region's growth, including its strategic location, infrastructure investments, and business-friendly environment. Camacho also delves into the importance of a skilled workforce in supporting advanced manufacturing and the hyper-regionalization of supply chains driven by consumer demand for fast delivery. The podcast highlights the Southwest region's investments in infrastructure, such as the planned I-11 corridor, and how these developments have enabled Greater Phoenix to attract major companies and develop thriving industrial corridors. Lastly, Camacho emphasizes the significance of understanding demographic shifts, population changes, and state policies when corporations evaluate markets and make strategic business decisions.
#PhoenixLogisticsHub
#EconomicDevelopmentAZ
#I11Corridor
About Chris Camacho Chris Camacho serves as president & CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), one of the longest-standing public-private partnerships for economic development across the country. As chief executive, Chris leads the development and execution of the region’s strategic economic strategy, oversees domestic and international business development, and ensures the market position remains competitive through coordination with partner organizations, private sector leaders, and municipal and state leadership. GPEC has attracted more than 540 companies during his tenure, creating more than 100,000 jobs and $56.8 billion in capital investment. Some notable projects include TSMC, Apple, LG Energy Solutions, Microsoft, GoDaddy, Amazon, Garmin, General Motors, HelloFresh, KORE Power, Williams-Sonoma and headquarters including Benchmark Electronics, Carlisle Companies, Rogers Corporation and EMD Electronics. In October 2021, Chris led GPEC to being recognized as the top economic development organization globally by the International Economic Development Council a year after being named the top EDO in the U.S. in 2020.
About GPEC The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), globally recognized as a top economic development organization (EDO), works to attract and grow quality businesses and advocate for the competitiveness of Greater Phoenix. A data-driven regional EDO, GPEC works with 22 member communities, Maricopa and Pinal counties, and more than 200 private investors to accomplish its mission and serve as a strategic partner to companies across the world as they expand or relocate to Greater Phoenix. Over the past 34 years, GPEC has fueled the regional economy by helping over 980 companies, creating nearly 182,000 jobs and more than $65 billion in capital investment. Greater Phoenix is in a relentless pursuit of innovative and entrepreneurial-focused companies looking to thrive and scale in a vibrant, dynamic region. There is an undeniable spirit about Greater Phoenix; one rooted in strength, collaboration and resilience. Greater Phoenix is Greater Together.
Key Takeaways: The Phoenix Factor: How Arizona Became a Logistics Hub Learn about the hyper-regionalization of supply chains and how Greater Phoenix attracts new business by offering a favorable business environment. Discover the role of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council in driving economic development for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Understand the importance of states competing for manufacturing jobs and the need for a skilled workforce in advanced manufacturing. Explore the reasons behind Greater Phoenix