January 7, 2025
January 7, 2025
Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Food Logistics, has had a front-row seat to the supply chain industry, covering it for more than a dozen years. For most of that time, coverage drivers were fairly predictable – retail and e-commerce fulfillment developments, mergers and acquisitions, and technology launches. It was all par for the course in a sector that went largely unnoticed by the American public. Until 2020, that is.
“Since COVID, everybody is an armchair supply chain expert,” Mayer says. “What has surprised me is how understanding the public has become. They're paying more attention to the news, which I don’t believe was happening before. Now, they know the impacts of Canadian wildfires, or what happens when war breaks out overseas (Ukraine-Russia), and so on.”
Indeed, the supply chain industry is having its close-up, and the attention isn’t likely to die down anytime soon as we near the holiday shopping season. So, it was terrific to sit down and get Mayer’s thoughts about what commerce players, technologists, and PR pros need to be thinking about with the supply chain. What follows is an edited version of our discussion:
What should we expect from the retail supply chain this holiday season?
Many companies are starting earlier than they ever have. For instance, I was at a Dollar Tree the other day, and they had a Halloween aisle on full display. Kids aren't even back to school yet. They're trying to get ahead of whatever comes next. We don't know what may happen overseas, or with these trucker strikes. Overall, I’d say there’s a ton of ‘what-ifs.’
What about big-box retail brands?
They also seem to be advancing things a little sooner than they probably would have liked. It just takes one thing to knock everything out of whack again – whether it’s abroad or with something like labor strikes. One missing puzzle piece and everything can grind to a halt. So, now that we’re a few years past the COVID outbreak, retailers understand how critical it is to ‘get ahead.’ For the consumer, we look at it, like, ‘Wow, why do you have a Halloween aisle already? It's still July!’ But if we think about it, there’s a reason that the merchandise is out.
Will the supply chain ever get back to where we were?
Actually, I don't think so. Supply chain disruptions have always been a thing – except no one knew what they were, or they were very minimal. And now these disruptions happen so much that it's creating this theory that it’s the new normal. ‘This is how the supply chain will always operate.’ That’s a challenging thing to admit.
What are some important tech trends across the supply chain industry right now? What does this sector need?
Anything that provides supply chain visibility, tracking, traceability and/or risk mitigation is important right now. There's a lot of new tech out there. And it's not just centered around digital commerce – it’s also addressing areas like cargo fraud. And it’s protecting workers.
<split-lines>"Anything that provides supply chain visibility, tracking, traceability and/or risk mitigation is important right now."<split-lines>
Is generative AI impacting the supply chain sector?
It is – in fact, I see logistics companies tapping into it to help them manage the customer service side of their business. I've seen companies use ChatGPT and other services to formulate different ways to respond to things within their company and externally.
Also, I’ve been reading about crop failure and how that’s going to impact the food supply. What can you tell us about that?
Oh, yeah, it is a real problem. We recently published a couple of contributed pieces on Food Logistics that talk about how the Canadian wildfires are impacting crops, and how the droughts from El Nino are coming around the corner and will affect crops. These are serious issues. And if you go to your grocery store, you will see it is very obvious. Strawberries for some time have been hard to get. And when you do get them, they're costlier. Farmers are struggling. Droughts and wildfires impact current crops and soil, and they can create long-lasting, harmful growing conditions for the future.
<split-lines>"Droughts and wildfires impact current crops and soil, and they can create long-lasting, harmful growing conditions for the future."<split-lines>
Wow, should we be stocking up on food?
I wouldn't say that because I'm not a proponent of stockpiling. When there is an opportunity to support your local farmers, you should do it. Even if it's a head of lettuce at the farmer’s market, it's something because they are struggling. And it's not just your produce – it's also about obtaining meat and other proteins because a lot of those animals live on farms that have been impacted by hazardous weather and a lack of crops. It is a real discussion in the food logistics industry, and it's a challenge. So, I wouldn't stock up, but I would definitely keep an eye out because when you go into your grocery store, you’ll see what that shortage looks like.
Troubles for retail and food logistics go beyond production, right?
Yes – for instance, there's a problem when bridges collapse or when there are major highway accidents, since trucks can't get from point A to point B. So it's not just an agricultural thing, it's also an infrastructure thing. These challenges create bottlenecks for truckers who have to haul temperature-sensitive products.
<split-lines>"There's a problem when bridges collapse or when there are major highway accidents, since trucks can't get from point A to point B. So it's not just an agricultural thing, it's also an infrastructure thing."<split-lines>
Are you open to pitches with solutions to these problems? And where are PR pros falling flat when trying to reach you?
First off, yes, pitches are welcome. And good question – I’d say we get a lot of repetitive pitches and then notes along the lines of: ‘Hey, you didn't get back to me!’ Well, I did, you just didn't check your email. There's no relationship with a lot of these folks – and I like to have relationships with PR companies. We need them just as much as they need us.
