How to Build a Better Supply Chain (ft. Sarah Barnes-Humphrey)

How do inclusion, sustainability, and innovation shape the future of supply chains? And what does it take to build a community that truly elevates underrepresented voices in the industry?

In this episode, we’re joined by Sarah Barnes-Humphrey—creator and host of Let’s Talk Supply Chain and Women in Supply Chain, founder of the non-profit Blended Pledge, and a #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author. We explore her journey as a trailblazer in the supply chain space, her work advocating for equity and representation, and why community-driven leadership is essential for meaningful, long-term change.

It’s a conversation about building more inclusive, sustainable supply chains, and the leaders pushing the industry forward.

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Let's Talk Supply Chain: https://letstalksupplychain.com/
Blended: https://blendedpodcast.libsyn.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkSupplyChain/videos
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbarneshumphrey/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/sarahbarneshumphrey/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/letstalksupplychain
Buy her best-selling book: https://www.amazon.ca/Buried-Her-French-Press-Finding/dp/1544549466
Join her supply chain community: https://letstalksupplychain.com/what-is-the-secret-society-of-supply-chain-with-sarah-barnes-humphrey/

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0:00 - Teaser
0:21 - Intro
1:34 - How did you get involved in the supply chain industry?
2:49 - What are common misconceptions? 
3:59 - How was the transition from sales to marketing?
4:59 - What inspired you to start your podcast?
7:56 - Why is inclusion important?
10:45 - What are the challenges for minorities in supply chain?
12:14 - How can you build more inclusive teams?
13:35 - Have you experienced any pushback or skepticism?
14:54 - Why is it important to send your team to industry events?
16:52 - Have you noticed a shift since advocating for women?
17:56 - Where does 80% of greenhouse gas emissions come from?
20:26 - How do you implement sustainability into your supply chain?
22:08 - What's a real-world example of sustainability done well?
23:36 - How are companies approaching digital transformation?
26:11 - What tech is emerging?
28:36 - How can businesses balance the human side and AI?
31:02 - What emerging tech do you think will have a huge impact in the future?
33:18 - What's your favourite thing about working in the supply chain?
35:07 - How do you be a good leader?
36:32 - How do you break into the supply chain industry?
39:37 - Outro

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Transcript

0:00

If your team goes and they can resonate with the person on the stage and they go, wait a second, that is possible for me. You never know where they're going to go within your organization. Light up a fire in you. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Hello everybody. I'm Jared. Hi, I'm Melinda. And welcome back to The Secret Life of Inventory. This is a show where we talk about the unseen world of inventory management. And uncover the hidden mysteries that help businesses like yours optimize their workflow and succeed. Today, our special guest is someone who's made a powerful impact in supply chain community. Flying in all the way from Florida. Let's welcome Sarah Barnes Humphrey. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here. We're in person and it's minus five degrees outside. That's my only complaint. Sarah is the creator and host of Let's Talk Supply Chain and Women in Supply Chain. She's also the founder of Blended Pledge. A nonprofit dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices on global stages. And most recently, Sarah actually launched her very first book, and she has earned the title of number one Amazon bestselling author in not one, but two categories. Sarah is a huge trailblazer when it comes to, you know, sustainability, inclusion and innovation. And we're going to be talking about all three of those things in today's episode. So, Sarah, again, thanks for being here. Super excited to be here. Those are some heavy topics. Yeah, we got a lot to talk about. Exactly. So let's get started that into it. Yeah. So Sarah, it's no secret that the supply chain industry is male dominated and there's still a gender gap when it comes to leadership. So can you take us back to where it started as a female, how did you get involved in the supply chain industry? So I was really lucky. My family has been in logistics like my whole life. So I can remember talking about supply chain at the dinner table since I was like nine years old. So I feel like at this point it's in my blood. Yeah. Um, so right after high school, I went into the family business. And so I started off as reception, which honestly was a great place to understand the industry and understand the business and the different roles. Right. Trucking, air freight, ocean freight, warehousing, all the things. Um, and then I was in operations for eight years, and then I was in sales for eight years. And I'll tell you, when I started off in sales, I was one of three women at a conference. Oh my God. At a con. At a conference. I'm like, yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna date myself because I've been in the industry over 25 years. So, yeah, there wasn't a lot of women at a logistics or like a freight forwarder conference. Oh, I was like, yeah, one of three, maybe. Maybe one of five. Oh, my God, that is incredible actually. So what would you say are some of like, people's first impressions when they come to work in a supply chain and kind of on the on the flip side, what are some common misconceptions? Well, I think now it's very different, right? Because we've got a lot of courses and we've got a lot of diplomas and things like that within supply chains. So there is a lot of opportunity to understand where your career can go. Right. When I first started, it was like you fell into the industry and you had to figure it all out, right? Right. You sort of had to try everything to figure out what you were good at, what you're not good at, what you like, what you don't like. Right. To really navigate your career and figure it out. Mhm. Um, and so a lot of people, I think, from my generation have just fallen into it and then fell in love and couldn't leave because it kind of grabs Ahold of you. Right, right, right. Even if you try to leave, most of them come back. It's like, yeah, they keep pulling you back, uh, like the Godfather, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And so I was lucky in the fact that I went straight into the family business. Um, but, yeah. And there's a lot of engineers in supply chain as well. From my generation, it was like engineering. Math. Supply chain. Yeah. So something I'm curious about is you said you worked in operations for eight years, and then later you transitioned to sales and marketing. So what was that transition like for you? Uh, scary. And I'll tell you, I probably did it at one of the worst times because it was 2008. I don't know if anybody remembers 2008, but there was crashes going on. There was all sorts of stuff happening. And so I had to figure out where I wanted to go to sell the most within my first year, and I picked customs. I undercut everybody, and I think that first year it was 250,000 in revenue. Oh, wow. Okay. Which, you know, at that time was pretty good. Specifically focused on. That. That's a hell of a start, I'll say. Yeah. But setting the bar really high, you know. But I understood the industry, right? Right. I had been in trucking. I had been in air freight. Ocean freight warehousing. So I understood the customer. I understood who they were, what they were looking for, and that really made a difference for me. Right. Right. So, I mean, you. Were. In the industry for you said 25 years, right? And at least. Yeah. So 21 years in. Yeah. And you were going to be launching, I think at the time it was called Two Babes Talk Supply Chain and has since rebranded and is now called Let's Talk Supply Chain. So can you talk a little bit about, you know, what the process was like for that. Like what you know, possessed you to start this podcast. You know, and and did you know at the time that your family business was going to be kind of like shutting down? No. Two months later? No. So I'm gonna use your word process very loosely, because I literally bought a podcast set from Amazon. Okay. Because I was director of sales and marketing at the time, and we were like, we need to be able to tell our brand story. What does that look like? How do we do that? It was very stuffy marketing in supply chain. And this was 2016 was a little stuffy. I was still getting questions as to why we needed a website. You know. Oh, geez. Just saying. Um, and I was listening to a lot of podcasts at the time. I don't know if you guys know who Louis house is. I do not. Know. Okay, so he's the School of Greatness podcast. Okay. It's like 2 million downloads a month. Okay. Okay. Right. You don't know? Yeah. Maybe go check them out. Yeah. But I was like, if Louis house can start a podcast, why can't Sarah Barnes? Humphrey and I asked a gentleman from my customs department and my team was like, let's call it two babes talk supply chain. Tongue in cheek. Just trying to be funny. And the first couple of episodes, I think you can still find them on YouTube. They're horrible. We recorded them on Skype. Like Skype. Skype? Not very good. Like, the. Guest was behind us on the screen because we were trying to do it virtually and figure it all out. Um, but we got 1000 downloads overnight. Oh my God. Wow. Overnight. That is not like the first episode, but like a couple months in. Right, right. And so I knew I was on to something. I knew that people within the industry were sort of looking for this kind of content ? Yeah. And I was still experimenting at the time, trying to figure out what the right guests were. And what do we talk about? How do I ask questions. And. What do I say in an introduction? Right. And how do I be myself on camera? Yeah. I'll have to get some tips from you, you know. So that's how it all started. And then unfortunately, almost a year, I think it was a little over a year later. Um, we had to close the doors for a variety of different reasons. I talk a little bit about that in the book. Okay. But I lost everything, right? I lost my co-host. I lost my team. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I had to learn graphic design, social media, website design, because I had companies paying to come on the show, so I had obligations. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so it's like a whole new vibe for you, I guess. Yeah. And, like, I never went to school for marketing. I actually didn't go to college or university at all. Um, but I didn't know anything about marketing, so a lot of what I've done is pretty much taught. Yeah. It's awesome. So earlier we touched a little bit about inclusion in the supply chain. But from your experience, can you dive deeper into why it matters? Yeah, I think it matters in a variety of different ways. I mean, listen, I don't think that we as an industry or as organizations can really be innovative without multiple different perspectives. Yeah. And that runs the gamut. I think sometimes we get too focused on maybe gender differences. And really it's about people holistically. Right. And so if we can embrace somebody holistically as themselves and talk a little bit about their different perspectives and talk through it, whether we agree with them or not. Yeah, right. Think about the creativity. Think about the innovation that can sort of thrive within your organization or the industry to do that. So I think it's very important. I've thought about that for a while. I started the Woman in Supply Chain series in January 2018, and really just because I wanted to know their stories. Yeah. Right. Right. I just wanted to know, how did you get to where you are? Yeah. Like, any advice? Because I'm. Not sure where I'm. Going. Yeah. You know, and then in 2020, I realized that it was more than just gender. I have a very blended family, and, I don't know, the conversations just started. They were different in 2020. And I was like, I want to be part of that. I want to be able to foster that. And so I announced on my live show Thoughts and Coffee. I think it was January 2020. I was like, I'm going to do more. But I had no idea what. And these people kept asking the audience, the community, they were like, when's it going to come out? What are you doing? And I had no idea. I think it was July 2020 where I was like, you know what? I'm going to do a Red table talk for, um, podcasts about inclusion. And in October 2020, I launched the blended podcast, and I bring five people from different walks of life together to talk about inclusion in the workplace. Because if we don't and it wasn't like, experts are welcome, but I really just wanted everyday people. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, that's a great perspective. I've just like clicked in my mind. All the perspectives blending together. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And like I'm a little bit biased because I'm the host. I actually never introduced myself on the episode, so it's really funny. Um, but magic happens because none of these people have met each other, and most of them have never met me. And so this is the first time you've ever even spoken to these? Some of them. Oh, wow. That's a really. Cool. And we talk about really hard topics. Yeah. This is for. An hour and. A half therapy session. Yeah. Free therapy? Yeah. Therapy. And so if we're fostering conversations like that, I think that's where inclusion can really make a difference is when we're listening, when we make space for it. Right. And what would you say are some of the like the biggest challenges that women and minorities are facing in supply chain. And, you know, how do you like what do you think is helping to really break those barriers? Um, I think management there was a McKinsey report, I think, that just came out. I don't know all the stats, though. That's okay. But I think. A couple of people have posted about it in the fact that it's a little bit disappointing as to where the numbers are. Mhm. Um, and but I will say something about this whole wordsmithing thing. Right. Because we were using the word diversity. Now we're using the word inclusion. And I think now that we're using the word inclusion, it's going to take everybody to take responsibility for the impact of how we can create inclusive workplaces. Inclusive dialogue. And no longer is there room for excuses. Right. Yeah. Inclusion literally means everyone. Yeah. Right. Union means everybody. So we're gonna wordsmith. And that's the word that we're landing on. You know, there's no excuses. And so I think that everybody needs to elevate the conversation. Everybody needs to pull people up. Everybody needs to question. You know, and you look at your C-suite or your senior leadership and go, wait a second. We're not having the inclusive voices that we want to have in these boardrooms, behind these doors to help us move the organization forward. We're going to keep doing the same things over and over and over again. So for smaller businesses listening, what advice would you give them to build more inclusive teams? Yeah, I think that really you want to listen to your people, right? Like I've created we have a team of 14 people. Um, they're all freelancers. Most of them are 98% women owned businesses. Oh, awesome. And I think we've done a great job collectively of creating the culture. So it hasn't necessarily just come down to me. And I've made mistakes along the way, but they've given me grace. They've made mistakes along the way, and I've given them grace. And so we've established this culture of safe spaces for conversation. There's no bad, you know, questions, right? You might do something potentially the wrong way. And so we just fix it and we move on. Right. Yeah. Right. And there's no room for toxicity. Like, those are some of my rules. Is the fact that everything is figurative. All right. Please go and try and find a solution before we go to everybody else. Right. Right. Because we don't want you asking questions and making work for somebody else when you could potentially solve it yourself. Yeah. That's right. And don't be a jerk. Like, those are like simple some of the rules. That. We. Have and that we sort of live. By. It's good to have those boundaries though. And like, yeah, clear rules for people to follow. Yeah. Have you experienced any pushback or skepticism when trying to implement these inclusive initiatives at all? Um, yeah. When the people aren't the right fit. Right. Right. And then they have to move on. And it doesn't mean that it's a reflection on me or a reflection on them, which I've had to learn. Mhm. Right. Because when somebody hasn't been a right fit, a lot of times, especially as humans, we decide to blame ourselves. Right. What could I have done differently. What could I have done differently. Like what could I have maybe done earlier on so that it didn't quite happen this way? But also I've learned from those interactions because I haven't managed those all very well and neither have they. Right. Right. And sometimes it's just not a good fit. And so I feel like we just have to let people move on if they don't want to be at the level, maybe because I can get a little bit intense with you. You know how I want to grow the business, where I know we can be and where I know somebody else can be? Right. But if they don't want to be there, I can't really push that. They have to want it. And they. And at the end of the day, if that's not for them, then I have to learn that that's not necessarily all me, right? Yeah, right. Don't shoulder that blame. Yes, I did for a very long time. It's it's hard as humans, right? Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about the importance of organizations not only building out these inclusive environments, inclusive teams, but also like fostering those teams, you know, like sending them out into the world to see them, you know, amongst their community members. You know, like conferences and things like that. Yeah. Let's talk about that. Yeah. So you mentioned the blended pledge earlier, and we give away grants to cover travel expenses so. That. We can see more inclusive voices on industry stages. Right. So they're not the only like, woman at the. At the conference or one of the three like you were. Yeah. Well, and. Representation matters. Of. Course. Yeah. Right. And so if we see somebody like us up on stage, it means that we then know what is possible, right? Yeah. You can see yourself there. Of course. Right. And so what you want from your teams is not only hearing from people with inclusive voices. Because then they'll come back with creativity, innovation. They'll come back with different perspectives on how to solve different problems. Right. Right. But then also, if your team goes and they can resonate with the person on the stage and they go, wait a second, that is possible for me. You never know where they're going to go within your organization. Right. Right. If they're not in sales, maybe they're in marketing, and maybe they're like, wait a second, I want that to be me. And maybe sales is the only path to do that within your organization, I don't know. But maybe they take the transition over to sales, and maybe they're your number one sales person. Right. Yeah. Like a fire in you? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. So just. Plans. To play. Creating moments and igniting these sort of sparks within your team to come back with different ideas. Think about things differently. Maybe think about their career differently. You never know where it can lead. That's awesome. Yeah. Jinx! Yeah. You. I don't know. You owe him coffee or he owes you a coffee. I'm not sure we. Could say. Something else. I don't know if it's appropriate for the podcast. Yeah. So you've been leading this conversation for years now. Have you noticed a shift since advocating for more women? Yeah, throughout the years, I think inclusive voices have gotten better at advocating for themselves. Yeah. For understanding their value, working on themselves. Right. Because I think you have to work on yourself to be able to advocate for yourself and then also advocate for others. Right. You've got to be comfortable in your own skin and what you're doing to be able to advocate for others. And that doesn't mean everybody. Because we still have a lot of work to do. Right. Um, but I think that, um, we have seen some progression, but the fact is we're not going to see pay equity until what was it? I don't know, 20, 40, 20. Like it's a long time. That's just staggering to me. And I I'm just not. Entirely sure how we cut that down, how we cut that down, how do we cut that in half? We still have a lot of work to to, to get there. I just don't know what the solution is. And I'm not sure we, any of us do. To be perfectly. Honest. Yeah, yeah. So we are actually going to shift gears a little bit and talk about something else that you're really passionate about, which is sustainability. Yes. So for our audience who doesn't know, there is reports that show that 80% of greenhouse gas emissions actually come from the supply chain. And you have mentioned that learning that number was like staggering for you. It really made an impact. So can you talk a little bit about, you know, where this number came from, first of all and why it's so important? Well, I mean, we you have to look at the supply chain holistically. Right. So it's anywhere from sourcing to last mile delivery. Some parts of the supply chain, um, emit more emissions than others. I think some organizations have become more intentional about cutting those emissions. but theoretically, supply chain is all it's a lot of transportation. And so a lot of those emissions are going to come from the transportation that happens just to be able to get a good to your door. Right. Fair. Right. And so LinkedIn actually approached me during the pandemic to do the LinkedIn learning course, the Foundations of Sustainable Supply Chains. And I was like, I don't know. I don't know if I'm the right person for this, but I knew that some of the stats were staggering. I knew that we needed to be able to talk about it and tell the story of why. And what does that look like? Because if we're able to tell the story as to why and what companies are doing well and what companies, you know might not be doing things so well within sustainability, then we could do something about it. Right? Yeah, right. And as long. As each person kind of understands the role that they play within supply chain, then they can advocate for for different things. And it's even small things that will make a difference, like, um, instead of, um, you know, New Year's resolutions. I actually talk on my show about everybody picking a sustainable development goal for the year. That's just doing something towards that, either daily or weekly or monthly, or maybe an organization picks one, right, and says, hey, this is what we're going to be focusing on this year. Everybody decide from here what you want to do. To help us. To make that suggestion to, uh, to our a company. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because resolutions like I feel are so negative. Yeah, yeah. To turn something around to, like, make it better. Like I do this bad thing. I need to stop doing this bad. Right? Right. Why can't we just turn it. Around to be a little bit more positive, and for everybody to make a little bit of an impact every single. Day? Yeah. For real. So for businesses who want to prioritize sustainability, can you give some specific examples of like what a sustainable supply chain looks like or like how to implement that? Yeah, I think there's that is that is a very big comment. Yeah. That is um, and that's a podcast that's a lot. Of different directions. It's almost like when you talk about AI. Yeah. And we'll get there later. Yeah. No, but. I'm just saying, like, when you talk about AI, you're like, start small. Slow down to move forward. Figure out the one process that you want to automate. Right. And what does that look like? You have to break it down. Yeah, right. What is the thing you want to solve for. What is the process? How do you dig into that? What do you do first and what's the success metrics. So I think it's very important to understand, especially if you're going to get into sustainability and understand what a sustainable supply chain means to you. Yeah. Because it means different things to different people. Sure. It's kind of like the word ROI. Yeah. It means different things to different people. Some people are like, it's got to be the bottom line, right? Some people are like, well, if it takes some time out of a process of what I'm doing, that's a win. Mhm. Right. So what are the wins? What are you working towards? What does it mean to you? But also when you look at the Sustainable Development Goals, there's different opportunities to make a difference. And so which one are you leaning towards? Which one makes the most sense to your core values? Right, right. You know, I think it all sort of comes into play, but your C-suite has to be on board, right? It's going to come from the top down, but you're also going to need champions. Right? Who are. Going to, like. Be like Rob regularly and be like. And drive the success? Yeah. Can you think of any like, real world examples of say, you know, an organization doesn't even have to be an organization necessarily. It can even just be an initiative that kind of shows that these sustainability things aren't just good for the planet, but they're actually good for the bottom line for your business. Yeah. And I think, like really simple warehouses that have lights that go on when you walk through the warehouse. Oh, wow. See, like that is like a no brainer you would assume, right? Turn your lights off when you're not in the room, you know? Yeah, right. I mean. That's a really, really easy way. Um, recycling is really difficult depending on the jurisdiction that you're in, because recycling is different. Um, with the provinces or the states, um, they have different rules. They recycle different ways. So recycling isn't necessarily the first option. Yeah. Um, because you do have to do some research and figure out, you know, what recycling means within your community. I think that's my pet peeve with recycling, is they make these containers that are like, oh, those are recyclable, but not here. You know. It's like the black containers, for example. Certain places you can not recycle them. It's like but it's plastic and it has the symbol. So yeah, it's just it's it's crazy to me I. Hate it and where we are. Like glass. Oh yeah. They don't recycle. Glass. Saying to me, isn't that the OG of the recycling things? No. So yeah, I. Mean, all of that kind of stuff can come into play, and you might not realize it until you start digging into. It. Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough. So, speaking of actionable changes, let's talk about the technology side of things now because there's a lot happening there. So from your perspective, what's been the biggest shift in how you've been seeing companies approach digital transformation? Yeah. I'm going to use a stat that I, I use kind of all the time. Digital transformation is only 20% technology okay. It's 80% change management. So it's always management's fault. You're saying no, no, no, it's not your fault. But you got to get change management, right? You gotta. Have the discussions with your internal teams, your internal teams all be on. Board. The C-suite, the leadership. Like they need to all be on the same page as to what this is going to do for you. Yeah. And you have to also have them understand what it means for their role within the company. Right. Right. I think that's super, super important. Although I will say I think we're still talking about getting your data house in order. And I feel like I talked about. That like when I first started this. And like 2019. And I'm not sure why we're still talking about it, although I know that it's a journey, not a destination, because you're constantly ingesting data. Right. Yeah. So you have to clean it up. You got to figure it out, and you got to make sure that it's the right data that's going into the technology. I think the other part of it, too, is that tech stacks have gotten huge. Oh, God. Yeah. Yeah. Even thinking of, like, we're in the inventory management software space and I think there's like 500 or something different, uh, inventory management software system out there. And when we first started, there was maybe a handful, you know. Just. Like it's exploding. Yeah. Like podcast. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. I train podcasts. But it's. Yeah. That's so interesting. Right. Because, um, and I don't know if we're optimizing all of the technology that we're using. And so we're seeing a shift, I think to cloud. So I'm not a technologist, right? But I talk to a lot of people within the supply chain technology space. And so a lot of them are moving to cloud, which I think is helping with the tech stacks. But I know even for me, in my business, like I'm building out a tech stack and I'm looking at different technologies for different things. And we've got a huge announcement actually coming out in February that I can't wait to share. It has to do with AI and. Oh, okay. Very cool. Yes. Very cool. I mean, if it's got AI, everyone is interested. It's the. Buzzword these. Days, of course. But I think that, um, I think things are moving really quickly, and I think a lot of people are having a hard time with it. Yeah. So you mentioned that you talked to a lot of, you know, tech innovators and stuff on your podcast about, you know, AI, machine learning, even like inventory visibility tools and things like that. So can you maybe talk about some of the, like, emerging technologies that you're seeing and how, you know, companies are like leveraging these? Yeah. There's a lot of companies out there. There's a lot of companies doing a lot of different things. and I don't think it's fair to just put everybody in a box or necessarily in a category. One of the things I will say is go to the podcast and check out the different companies as to who they are, what they do, and how they help their customers. It's one of the reasons why companies come on, because I think that is the foundational issue, is that there's so many companies out there, there's so many great companies out there doing amazing things. But for a leader and a team to choose the right company and know who is all out in the market and the difference that it makes to them is a really big challenge. Yeah, right. Because one company isn't necessarily going to be right for what these what this organization is looking for. That's true. And maybe your competitor has a slightly different approach that might be better for them. And I think um, trying to navigate that as a leader and a team is just very difficult at the moment. Yeah, I think there's some exciting things coming out around AI, but I also think that, like I said, things are changing so quickly and so it's almost like you buy into this one technology and then if you decide to switch, you've kind of lost all or it hasn't worked for you. So I think a lot needs a lot of emphasis, needs to be put on testing. It's one of the things that we're working on right now. So we bridge the gaps through content of bringing the vendors and the buyers together. Right. But then how do we get the technology in their hands? So this announcement in February is going to help with that. And then we'll have another announcement later a little bit later on next year to really help bridge that gap and bring them together in a real world environment, because I think that's what's needed. Yeah. You don't know what you don't know unless you try it. That's very true. And there's so much great innovation and technology out there. But again, you can't really put everybody in categories or boxes because everybody has something really cool to offer. Right. Yeah. And there are different use cases too. I hope that answered your question. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So when it comes to automation, how do you see businesses striking the balance between, you know, keeping that human element but still also being efficient in their operations? Um, again, I think it comes down to change management. You've really got to understand what it is that something somebody does on a day to day basis and which process you're going to start with. Um, even if you start with one process, you're already kind of behind. Yeah, right. So you've got to get everybody on board in the fact that we're going to automate this. This means that your day to day is going to change like this. But this is what we're expecting from you. Mhm. Right. What does that look like. Is that creativity. Is that strategy right. Are you allowing them to have more time to sit within the strategy. Because if you think about supply chain right now it's all about strategy. No longer is it just moving goods and moving goods around. Right. It's you know, where are the tariffs? Yeah. You know. Where do we want to move our manufacturing? That doesn't happen overnight. There's a lot of things that need to happen to get you there. And if you allow your teams to understand that, that's part of their job and expectation now, and we're going to give you some time to figure all of this out, to make the best decisions for the organization, for your team, then that's going to make a really big difference once you start automating some of the processes. And I think, um, actually, I think it was, um, Mary from Fender. She was on one of my live shows a little while ago, and she was like, we are completely slowing down to speed up because we got like, you can't get too caught up in all the new things and all the changes and everything like that. You need to slow down. Yeah, yeah, you need. To map out the processes and which ones do we want to do first and then where are we going to go? What does success look like in Q1 for automation for us? What does success look like in Q2 for automation for us. And that is different for all organizations within supply chain. Everybody's trying to do different things. Yeah. And their supply chain is a competitive advantage. I love that slowing down and taking a breath, though. I think that everyone's just so focused on the momentum and going forward, forward that you need to really stop and take a look at what's going on around you to figure out, okay, are we going to be able to continue, or are we just barreling forward for the sake of barreling forward. Blocking out? Q1, Q2, Q3. Yeah. But think about. Overwhelm and burnout. Mhm. If we keep striving to move that momentum forward, it's not just the leaders that are going to burn out. Yeah. It's all the people underneath. And then where are we. Yeah exactly. So looking down the road say 510 years. Is there any one specific piece of tech that you're seeing emerging now that you think is going to be a complete game changer, is going to, like, just kind of help shape the the future of supply chain, I guess. Can we actually look out that far today? Yeah, I guess you're right about. That because things are changing so fast, right? Like, I. I. I. Don't have a crystal ball. But like, I'm just saying, you know, we don't even know some of the technology and innovation that might come out 5 to 10 years from now. Yeah. So I don't even know if it would be easy for me to even say something like that. I will say right now, I think the digital twin and simulation technology is really cool because you can actually go in and test out different scenarios. So is this like an AR type situation where people are going and training in like virtual worlds? Um, not necessarily that yet, but that could. Be I. Think some some people might. Be okay. But a lot of times they're able to just simulate a different process, maybe a different lane. Okay. Right. If our driver goes this way or our driver goes this way, how many stops does he have to make? Right, right. How many rest stops are there along the way? Does it add time? Does it not add time? So there are a lot of technologies out there that provide this simulation type technology so that you can go in and try different scenarios. Without actually trying. Them, right? That's all. Which I think right now is something that I would hope a lot of supply chain teams and leaders, um. Try out. Right. Get behind. I think the other part that we have to be really careful of is bias in data. So, like you can do these simulations and it can like spit out a solution or maybe you can test out different things and it spits out a solution. But we as humans, right. We have bias if it's going to make us look bad, what do we do with that solution? Do we round up a little more? Down a little. Yeah. So that it changes the outcome. Right, right. Okay. Right. So we have to be a little bit careful as humans working with the technology of the bias that we actually bring to the table as well. Yeah. That's fair. To optimize the solutions because we're not going to like all of the answers. I don't think. So to wrap up this episode, what's your favorite thing about working in the supply chain? People. I'm probably everybody says that though. Yeah. I mean, I mean, I mean, a lot of people and we've got some great people in this industry, right? We've got some real innovative thinkers, um, some creators. I mean, look at the media side of supply chain, right? We're hearing from different voices, which is amazing. Um, and everybody's really taking responsibility and like, ownership of the the role that we play within society and within the world. And what does that look like? Because the world moves with supply chain. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I think. Covid taught everyone that it was a whole global wake up. For. Everyone. I think it's like, wow, this actually impacts my day to day every day. Yeah. Like pharmaceuticals life saving. You know, it all has to do with supply chain. We all have a role to play. And so that's why when I talked earlier about a role to play, what does that look like for you ? Is it sustainability? Is it help moving, inclusive voices? You know, we all have an impact that we're making every single day. And so what does that look like for you as an individual and then you as an organization. Yeah. But also it's given me the opportunity to do some pretty cool things. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah. Um, and so that's kind of the best part. I never, ever, ever thought, right, that I would have a media business, like supply chain media wasn't even a term. I think when we started the podcast in 2016. So and I've been able to write a. Book, you know. And the community's really been behind me, which has been amazing. So. I mean. We said you were a trailblazer in the beginning. We meant. It. Yeah. Yeah. Love how people oriented ya. I just had like one question that popped up because we talked a lot about like leadership and see, like how passionate you are. So do you have any advice for like good leadership? Be you. Be. You. And be authentic and vulnerable ? If I could say that. Right. Vulnerable. Um, because it's too tiring to be somebody that you're not. And people respect authenticity and vulnerability. Yeah, right. Um, I think that's one of the things that my team, um, enjoys about working with me. I'm not going to say for me because it's with me. Um, and working for the brand that we've created. Um, let's talk supply chain is, you know, credible, respected. It's trusted, you know. And that makes a big difference. But it's because I've been able to be authentic. Right? And vulnerable. If you meet me on screen and then you meet me in person. I'm the same person. Yeah, I can feel that energy, too. And I'll probably. Share some TMI. Yeah. The same. Authenticity is so important these days, especially with, you know, social media people are always an AI especially. It's a great point. You know, like if everything feels kind of just almost a little too fake or something, you know, so that when you're a real person being authentic, it's I, it hits home, I think, for people. I have an AI avatar and it's kind. Of Is scary. Yeah, right. Like. These things are a little, uh, strange for me. But. Uh, are you using it, like, actively? Stay tuned. Yeah. Because we're gonna find out. Yeah. So just one last question. For those looking to break into the supply chain industry, what is the best piece of advice you'd give them? Hmm. That's a really great question. Um, I think it depends on what you want to do. Right? It depends on where you want to start. I would say, um, you need to start somewhere. So even if it's a receptionist, you can learn a lot. Um, you know, just being the front lines of a company. Um, even if it's a call center, you can learn a lot. You know, it doesn't have to be forever, but you can try it. I mean, when the doors closed for my dad's business. In order for me to build. Let's talk supply chain. I was a receptionist at a tennis club. Right? Not supply chain, but it allowed me to work on my business, right? So I think there's creative ways to try to figure that out. But there's also a lot of community groups. So we've got the secret society of supply chain that you can jump into and ask questions of and meet all sorts of people. And I think LinkedIn, LinkedIn, to me, I think is one of the safest spaces on social media. Uh, yeah, I would agree with that. Right, absolutely. Because everybody's accountable to their name. Yeah. Professionally, their role, their organization, like people have gotten fired. Yeah. For comments on LinkedIn. Right. Yeah. And so I feel like it's one of the safest spaces. And I feel like the next generation doesn't quite like the UX, UI design, which I understand it can be a little bit clunky in ways, but I think it's really important to to getting started in the industry, you know, start following people, start commenting on their posts, you know, share the post with some of your insights into that. You know, I had somebody on I think it was my Woman in Supply Chain series. She was talking about warehousing as interior design. As interior design. Okay. Like that's how she thought about building out a warehouse. Oh, wow. Was. I mean, that's smart. Really? Yeah. And so these are the things that we want to know about, but we can't know about it unless you put yourself out there and you can put yourself out there in a variety of ways. I was talking to somebody the other day, and they had, um, like somebody from the younger generation come to them about their conference and they wanted to they're a fire fire eater. Oh, geez. Okay. Fire eater. Yeah. And they were like, I want to show how fire eating and supply chain and the risks between both are similar. And apparently this keynote was amazing. And I'm going to find out who this person is. I'm going to have them on my show. While. You're eating fire. I mean, that's. You know, but she was. Able to showcase the risks in fire eating versus the risks in supply chain and it just changes that conversation. It changes its perspective, right? Yeah, yeah. You should have her on as a guest or something. Yeah. I'm gonna try to roll one. Yeah. I mean virtually. Yeah. They can do it in their own home. They did fire hazard. Hopefully nothing goes wrong. Yeah. So Sarah, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure chatting about, you know, inclusion sustainability innovation all the things. Thanks for having me on. It's been great fun. Thanks so much Sarah. So before we go, can you tell us what kind of projects have you been working on or what's next for you so much? You touched on a few? Yeah, well. I. Released the book. So I buried her in a French press. It is not about supply chain. Everybody is like, why didn't you talk about supply chain? And it's more about my personal brand, which is focused on self-worth. Um, but we are, um, we are doing all sorts of things in the new year. I've got a project that I can't really say yet, but should be released in February. It's got to do with content and AI and it's going to be super, super cool. We're also rolling out Let's Talk Supply Chain Europe in 2026 as well, and looking at other regions too. And then we've got our new on site crew that's going to different conferences, and they're going to be working within clients booths to tell the story of being at a conference. And what does that look like? And doing some small interviews and things like that. So we've got a lot going. On. Fostering that team like we spoke of. Yes. And Sarah, for those listening who want to stay connected with you, where can they go to find you? So many. Places. So let's talk supply chain on YouTube. Let's talk supply chain on LinkedIn. Uh, Sarah Humphrey on LinkedIn, Sarah Barton Humphrey Humphrey. Com, and Sarah Barnes Humphrey on Instagram. We also have Secret Society of Supply Chain Comm. That's our free membership group. So go and check that out. And then for the book you can go buy it on Amazon now if you type in. I buried her in a French press. It's the only thing that will come on. I mean. Shocker, right? Good title choice. There's a story in there because I actually buried my grandmother in a French press. Oh, the story is in there, but. You. Have to find. The book to read. It. Anyway, that was a good teaser. But I think we'll also put the link to Amazon as well. We will include links for everything that Sarah mentioned in the description in the comments. So you can just if you want to take a look at any of those, it'll be available for you. Yeah, be sure to check it out and also join her secret community, where you can stay updated with supply chain professionals. And if you liked this episode, please give us a five star review. Leave a comment, share, like, subscribe, do all the things and we will see everybody in the next one. Thanks so much. Bye. Bye. Bye.