Ep. 3 - From Delta Roots To Global Logistics

A shy kid from the Arkansas Delta walks onto the UCA campus and, years later, is steering freight to Hawaii and Alaska during port strikes, building partnerships that keep shelves stocked, and advising small businesses through global turbulence. That’s the arc of Kevin Parkerson—UCA alum, J.B. Hunt and Walmart veteran, and founder of KP Global Logistics Consulting—and it’s packed with lessons for anyone working in a fast-changing supply chain world.

We talk about the scrappy early days of intermodal at J.B. Hunt and the practical skills that matter more than jargon: running clean meetings, communicating under pressure, and treating carriers as true partners. Kevin shares how a leap to Walmart plunged him into maritime logistics under the Jones Act, what it was like managing ocean freight during labor disruptions, and why contingency planning isn’t a slide deck—it’s a mindset. He names the mentors who shaped his approach to strategy and people leadership, and reveals the everyday habits that separate resilient operations from those constantly in crisis.

Today, Kevin helps small and midsize brands navigate customs and tariffs, select the right 3PLs, and pilot AI where it saves time now—forecast tuning, appointment scheduling, and exception triage—without getting lost in hype. We also look at Northwest Arkansas’s rapid growth, where UCA can add value through events and talent pipelines, and what employers actually want from new grads: sharp communication, self-motivation, and comfort with ambiguity. If you’re a student aiming at supply chain, a leader building resilience, or a founder who needs a “phone-a-friend” for logistics, this conversation gives you a clear, workable playbook.

Enjoy the episode, then subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a colleague who’s planning for the “next event” before it hits.

Transcript

Setting The Scene In NWA

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This is Central to NWA, a UCA podcast. I'm your host, Paul Gatling, and we are bringing the University of Central Arkansas to Northwest Arkansas. Each episode, we will talk with leaders, alumni, and innovators driving this region forward, people who are shaping industries and defining what is next for our state. Let's get started. All right, we're back for another edition of Central to NWA, a UCA podcast. I'm your host, Paul Gatling, and I'm very excited today to be joined by Kevin Parkerson, somebody I've met through my job here at UCA last year. I think our first conversation uh was at Heroes Coffee. It was, which is very nearby. I know. It feels like this this is the perfect spot to keep this going. Because if you don't know, we're recording at podcastvideos.com, and it's about what, 20 steps away from Heroes Coffee here in Pinnacle Hills. So um, and it's been, you know, if you're like me, it's kind of my unofficial office.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

And that's where I was gonna say, Paul, is if you ever look for me, I'm probably at Heroes Coffee. So not to give them a too much of a plug, but it's a great hub, a great meeting place.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Yeah, well, we'll give them a plug. Yeah, we'll give those guys a plug. So uh anyway, Kevin, thanks for being here today. I'm excited to have a conversation

UCA Origins And Delta Roots

SPEAKER_00 1:20

with you. Um, you know, you've you know we'll get into this, your career, you know, 30 plus years with logistics at both JB Hunt and Walmart, and now uh the founder of your own consulting firm, KP Global Logistics, that's based here in Northwest Arkansas. Thanks for being here. Yeah, I'm excited. Thanks for having me. All right. So uh, like we said, we'll get into that uh uh shortly, your career here. But let's go back to where it all started at UCA in Conway, Arkansas. You're from Dermont, Arkansas, Extreme South Arkansas. How does a boy from the Delta end up in Conway at the University of Central Arkansas?

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, I love telling this story, but um, you know, you may have to edit it because I'm gonna be long-winded on it. But I, you know, it's a story that I love to tell because, and it's got a, you know, UCA is a big part of it. But um I tell people I was born and raised, educated, got married, started my career, started my family, all in the state of Arkansas. Um and I'm very proud of that. Like I said, I love telling that story. But if people don't know where Durmont is, it is the exact opposite of where you and I are at today. We're in northwest Arkansas, and it is in the far southeast corner of Chico County. A lot of people, uh, when I tell them where I'm at, they say, Oh, yeah, I think I went through there on my way to Florida to the beach. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Only so many bridges to cross.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

You didn't go through Dermot, you went by it. Yep. Um, but uh yeah. All the way to Lake Village. All the way to Lake Village, exactly. So, you know, I'm from Dermont, uh uh educated in the public uh school system in Durmont and ended up in Conway at UCA, and we'll talk a little bit about that in a second. But uh um born and raised in Southeast Arkansas and uh met my wife at UCA and uh ended up in Northwest Arkansas, um which is where I'm at today. But uh uh I'll I'll I'll give a lot more details about that story, but very proud of my heritage of Southeast Arkansas and being raised and educated in in Southeast Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

As a senior in high school, what was it about UCA that ultimately uh initially caught your attention and ultimately um got you up to Conway?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Uh so my sister attended Hendricks um and uh I went on a school visit um and actually I was excited about this. So being from Southeast Arkansas, at that point in time and not been out of Southeast Arkansas very often, um, but being a I was actually a junior and got the opportunity to start visiting some schools on trying to determine exactly where I was gonna go. Um my sister, um, like I said, was at Hendrix, and I took the opportunity to take two girlfriends um to uh UCA for a a tour of the campus. And that really at that point in time, I had leaned toward that because my sister was uh at Hendrix, but um following uh her in a way was a little bit uh of the draw. But once I went on the tour and walked through the campus, talked to people, I was sold. Um, I loved the campus. I loved uh the um the people that I visited with. Um I love the fact that it was three hours away from home, but it was still in the state of Arkansas. Um, and to be honest with you, I like the fact that some friends of mine that I knew were also going to be attending there. So all of those combined is what ultimately led me to UCA. There's a lot more to the story that starts at UCA, but that's how I ended up at UCA. I had explored a couple of other, you know, schools in-state and out of the state. Um my dad set me down and said, look, in-state is is what you're doing for these reasons. And I understood at that point in time, but loved the fact that I would still be in the state of Arkansas, but could be, you know, away from mom and dad and spread my wings.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

So a lot of those variables led you to UCA, and then UCA

Meeting Beverly And Campus Life

SPEAKER_00 5:23

led you, you mentioned to um the love of your life, your wife. You know, I think you guys, you told me you guys met in your second year at UCA. What do you remember about that time in your life and those circumstances that brought you together?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

I've told this story a lot, so I'm I'm glad I'm documenting it for uh my kids, my grandkids, and just a legacy. But uh, yeah, I was a sophomore, you know, at UCA in Arkansas Hall. A lot of great stories in Arkansas Hall. Um, but uh my uh wife was in Conway Hall. And this was uh her freshman year, my sophomore year. Um it was like the second week of school, I think. And a friend of hers that she had gone to high school with was in the dorm and in the room right next to me. She came over to visit just to say hi, make the connection. And my door just happened to be open to my dorm room. And he stopped by and said, Hey, let me introduce you to Beverly. And um he walked her to the door, left, and as soon as he came back, I said, Who was that? You got it, you know, thanks for the introduction, but um, include her in our our group outings or whatever. And literally from that point on, um uh we dated for like three or four months, and that was in 1988.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

What is a first date in Conway in 1988? What what and where does what's that look like?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

You know, I don't remember what the first date was like. A lot of the, you know, at that time was more of uh the groups going out, um, you know, I don't necessarily remember taking her to Wendy's or to Western Sizzling, you know, or any of those type uh those dates. I do remember, you know, and these are some of the details of the stories, I do remember, you know, the location of the first kiss, um, which uh, you know, this is a great uh uh a great story, and uh um very few people probably will um this will resonate with a lot of the UCA alumni, but our first kiss was at Totesuck Park. And a lot of people are like, what? And when I tell people who aren't from this area, they they stand up and take notice. But uh Totesuck Park was uh a location that a lot of us as a group we always hung out at. Yep. Um but I distinctly remember, you know, the first kiss. Um the second kiss was on the steps of Conway Hall at UCA.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

And I you your wife is loving you telling this story, I know. She's hating it right now. All right. Well, let's let's go to a more institutional uh question. Then you were you were a phi beta lambda guy in the UCA College of Business.

Early Business Identity At UCA

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Uh what do you remember about that? What do you, what, what stands out from those days studying as an undergrad?

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Yeah, I just loved, you know, the getting into college life and finding, I'll call it my people, you know, from a business standpoint. I started off as an accounting major. My dad was a CPA. Um, I ended up a marketing communications major, but I knew I wanted to do something in business. Um, and that organization allowed me to, I'll say, be with my people, find people who were like-minded, and it gave me an opportunity to really start some of my leadership and um, you know, polish some of my leadership skills. Um, a lot of the sponsors, the professors um that were involved, you know, in that organization helped, you know, in some ways mentor me and teach me, you know, um business. Um but I really I thoroughly enjoy just being a part of a group um in a collegiate setting and business, like like-minded people who wanted to, you know, better their education, but wanted to be in that type field.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Is there anything about those lessons and those teachings and that network that you were in about that UCA experience that still resonates today as you work and as you lead? Anything that sticks out?

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Yeah, at the at the time, Paul, I don't think I realized it, but it really helped me focus in on developing those people skills. You know, I was 18, 19 years old, shy, introverted, kid from Southeast Arkansas, you know, at college, not had been away from home very, very much, um, and really got to, you know, get to uh start the people development skills. I call them people development skills, um, that I use today, you know, at an obviously different level and in the business. But I distinctly remember, you know, interacting with professors and my peers in that type setting and having to learn, you know, how to conduct yourself in those type settings. Right.

Joining The UCA Foundation Board

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Okay. Well, let's fast forward a little bit today to something that's happening right now, and that's your recent uh appointment um to the UCA foundation board. Congratulations. We're very excited. I know you're excited now. I'm excited to have you there. Um it's a big deal for us, and frankly, kind of a full circle uh moment for you because a lot of your stories we've just discussed, uh, so much of it starts on campus. What made you say yes to serving on the foundation board for UCA?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yeah, it's you know, it's a season of life, I would say, that I'm at. And it may sound a little cliche, but I love at this point in time that I can give back in some way. I'm not exactly sure how I'll give back, but getting the opportunity, you know, being, you know, hearing my story that I just mentioned, being born and raised in Arkansas, and then now in a position that I can work collaboratively, you know, with people like-minded, you know, at UCA to help support UCA, um, to help uh foster relationships, um, develop policies, all the things that a board um can do and should do. Um, I'm just excited to be a part of that and honored um to be chosen and to participate in that way.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Initial takeaway from your first board meeting in Conway earlier this year.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Yeah, um, you know, we were just talking about it. You know, it was um it was a very, very good experience. I I observed. Um, my personality is uh for the first time, I observed quite a bit, but I was very, very pleased and had a little bit of a moment of how did a young, shy, introverted Southeast Arkansas kid end up here, you know, on the board. If someone had told me that in 1987 when I walked on that campus, that I would be, you know, sitting on the foundation board and having the conversations about how to support um the university, I would have been really surprised that that's the path um that I was at. But I'm I'm very honored um to really be a part of that and hope that I can serve well and you know give back um as much as I can.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Uh that sounds like a you had a moment of great reflection as you were sitting here. I really did on campus. As it relates to Northwest Arkansas, how do you see um the foundation board um helping the institution strengthen its presence in this region?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Yeah, I think you know, having your leadership here um is is huge. Um I love um, you know, I I've lived here 30 plus years. Um, so I feel like, you know, I'm not one of the OGs. Um that would be my wife. Uh pretty close. Um, but I love, you know, the background and the history um of raising a family here. Um I also have uh uh my youngest daughter is an alumni of UCA. We'll probably get to that as well. But I love that background and that uh that rooted, you know, I'm not from Northwest Arkansas, but a lot of times, you know, I've lived here longer than anywhere else. So I feel like, you know, I'm rooted here and love supporting the Northwest Arkansas area and love the role that I have on the foundation board that I can help do that.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, you and I are are alike and we've talked about this. It'll be 25 years for me in January living in Northwest Arkansas. I I ask people uh when during conversations, what do you think the cutoff is? And I think we've we've come up with if you've lived here for 10 years, you're a native, because anything less than 10 years is a lot of people. That's a big demographic of people who've lived here for less than 10 years, or less than five years, even, because there's so much movement into this region.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Yeah. I had

NWA Growth Then And Now

SPEAKER_01 13:40

not been to this area until I met my wife in college. Yeah. I drove into Biddenville and I could, you know, there were the interstate stopped um at the Biddenville exit. And Moberly Lane was like a literally a one-lane road. I think it may have been gravel. Barely gravel at that point in time. Um, but uh, you know, 1988 drove into Biddenville um and uh have seen a dramatic change, obviously, you know, since that time frame.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Yeah, that's that is one for the uh the time capsule there if you're listening. Moberly Lane in Bentonville, uh barely gravel road, one lane road at one, the outskirts of Bentonville. It really was. All right. So you moved here, let's let's go back to that time. You moved from Conway to Northwest Arkansas. And I think you and your wife had like um like a pact. You know, whoever got the job first, wherever they got the job, that's where we're going. So your your wife gets a job in Springdale, and so um, I think early 90s, 1992, you move um to northwest Arkansas. So paint, we did a little bit of that. Paint that picture. What did their this region feel like, you know, 1992?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, like I said, I had not even been to this part of the state. Um, you know, born and raised in Southeast Arkansas, I went to all the Razorback games at War Memorial Stadium. I didn't go north of Little Rock. I didn't have any reason to go north of Little Rock, much less Northwest Arkansas. I knew about um Bentonville and heard about Bentonville and Walmart and on the news. Um, but when uh my wife and I we decided to get married, and uh uh the pack was whoever got the job first, that's where we would locate at, she was really smart and said, Hey, look, this area up here, this is where I want to be, this is where I'm from. And she got the job first and worked at uh Springdale Hospital. Um we lived in Rogers, and at that point in time, I was just graduating out of college. And uh where do you apply for a job in Northwest Arkansas in 1992? It's Walmart, it's Tyson, and JB Hunt. And JB Hunt is uh who called who called first. Um, and the story begins there.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Right. Well, you've you've seen a lot, you know, 30 plus years, you've seen this region evolve quite a bit. Uh what is something about Northwest Arkansas that really um people get wrong, or maybe they they don't get they don't understand about this region and its evolution?

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yeah, I think I think the growth and how fast the growth has happened. It's fast growth. Yeah, has has scared people in a way. Um, and you know, change. Um, and and the change, you know, being married to someone who, you know, was basically raised here um has seen even more change than I've talked about. Um and I think that that's a little bit of the fear that people have of all the the change that I don't just and you know, infrastructure, um, the amount of people um and all of that, uh, I think is uh somewhat of a negative in perceptions from people.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Yeah, I was just um I was at a

Breaking Into JB Hunt Intermodal

SPEAKER_00 16:40

uh a mayor's uh coffee this morning, and of course, you know, to talk about city issues. And of course, the first guest she brought up was um Preston Newbill, the water wastewater utilities director in Bentonville, because that's what everybody's talking about. Preston Newbill, a UCA guy, by the way, and um worked for the city since 1991. And I told him, you know, if he's not already, you're about to be the most popular guy in the in City Hall because of the constant growth challenges and growth discussions about water and water, wastewater infrastructure. All right. So you talked about, let's go to the JB Hunt chapter. You you mentioned that, you know, you you were looking for a job, and um um, and this part of the story is is kind of interesting to me. You applied all over. I mean, not just those three, but you applied to a lot of places. And you walk into um at that time JB Hunt's brand new intermodal division. I think you were one of the very first, one of the first, you know, 10 or 12 um employees, and now it employs thousands of people. And it's you know, if it's known for a division, intermodal may be one of the highlight divisions of JB Hunt. Do you really did you realize at the time?

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Absolutely not. Yeah, you know, I was just looking for a job, literally a job in business. Um, and thankfully, you know, like I said, started uh they resurrected the brand of Quantum. And I distinctly remember we were part of the quantum group, and I think there were like a dozen of us. Um, I I was an hourly uh employee at the time, tracking chassis and containers, and I could give you all kinds of you know horror stories of you can imagine the manual process that that that required. Um, but I had no idea, you know, really what was coming. Did you use a computer? Um yeah, I we did have a computer, yes. We had Lotus 123, I think is is the email, and I just thought that you know how interesting that was. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I think that was where I I injected myself into corporate America um and learned so much about corporate America and business. Some great teachers, great mentors. Um, you know, some are still there, a lot were not. Um, but uh uh what a great experience. I spent about a decade there in a variety of roles um and really, you know, cut my teeth there on supply chain. That started my, it wasn't international, but it started my supply chain and my interest in solving logistics problems.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

So, what did you what do you remember or what do you recall about that learning corporate America? What would you you sound

Learning Corporate Fundamentals

SPEAKER_00 19:15

like you were figuring it out as you go? I mean, what do you recall about you know, just figuring it out as you as you go in a new division, new company, and a new place to live?

SPEAKER_01 19:24

It was the basic stuff of a business meeting, how to conduct yourself, literally. You know, I had not had that experience, um, you know, not growing up. And um, even, you know, in my in my studies at UCA, conducting a meeting, how to conduct yourself, how to lead people. Um, I had an opportunity to lead people three years into my career there, um, and had a lot of understood uh uh the value of relationships and mentors and being mentors and having mentors. Um, at that time it wasn't called that, or I didn't call it that. Looking back on it, I know exactly that's what it was. And I had a lot of great teachers. Um, you know, they just taught me about business, um, not necessarily about the work, but about business.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

So it sounds like, you know, and you said you moved on, and we're going to get to that next. But as you look back on your time at JB Hunt, that that mentorship and being part of that sort of um, you know, partnership was uh maybe an important lesson that you that you took with you as you departed.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Yeah, no, it absolutely did. Um, you know, and reflecting back on it, I know that now at that time, I didn't know that those were the lessons that I was learning. But uh really, you know, having people uh teach you um and mentor you um was really critical for me during those 10 years. And when I reflect back on my my time at JB Hunt, very fond memories of exactly that.

Walmart Leap And Jones Act

SPEAKER_00 20:51

All right. So after 10 years, uh you make the jump to Walmart, make the jump up to uh to Bentonville. What drew you there? What were the circumstances of that job change?

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Uh you know, it was it was a phone call that I received from a friend of mine that I knew outside of work that said, hey, I've got this role. It's called the Jones Act. Um, it's ocean logistics for Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. And I questioned, why are you talking to me? You know where I work, you know I play with trains all day. Um, you know, why are you talking to me? Um, long story short, uh I interviewed for it and someone took a chance on me, 10 years of my career, uh, which really started my international, my global logistics supply chain career, um, which is what I've done my entire career and what I'm what I'm doing today. But started off uh, you know, managing Jones Act. Um and I distinctly remember starting in July of 2002. And anybody in the supply chain world knows what happened in the fall of 2002, which was which was the first of many of ILWU strikes, um, labor disruptions. Um, and you can imagine Hawaii and Alaska were negatively impacted. And I was three months, four months into my career um at Walmart managing freight movement from the mainland U.S to those entities, those entities and to Puerto Rico. Um, and I baptism by fire. I learning as you go. I learned as I went. Um had some phenomenal service providers um that came in and taught me about maritime logistics, global logistics, um, that I am forever grateful for. Um uh just you know, took me under their wing and helped uh teach me um ocean maritime logistics.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

So besides, besides that difference of as you say, working with trains and now you're in the water, your freight, your cargo freight, your maritime, what was the most different about the pace and really just the scale of stepping into Walmart and that job? Yeah,

Mentors And Maritime Lessons

SPEAKER_00 23:00

yeah, significant.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

And I didn't realize it at that time as well. Um, I was, you know, um uh just trying to absorb the fact that I was responsible for stores in these states in Hawaii and Alaska for having cargo. Um and it wasn't, I didn't have a team, it was one person, and is how it was structured. Um, and you know, again, anybody knows anything about Walmart? Very lean. Um, those teams were very, very lean. And that's why I relied a lot very heavily on the service providers that managed that movement of cargo. But, you know, a great learning curve that I I use those learnings, you know, today, I use those relationships. Um, I take that approach with the relationship of service providers um that took that chance um with me.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Going back to uh the mentors that we discussed, who who were the mentors and the leaders uh at Walmart that still you remember today? Who was the most uh influential uh in your career as you got up and running at Walmart there?

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Yeah, that's a great question because I had a lot of those, a lot of good industry leaders. You know, a lot of them were at Walmart, but again, they were all through a lot. They were at service providers or people that were in the industry. Um, you know, Rob, the name drop, Rob Casil and Brian Most, those are the two that really took me under their wing, taught me not just about maritime logistics, but you know, strategy development, you know, fine-tuning my people skills, um, mentoring skills, but uh both of those, you know, well known in the industry um and really, you know, taught um taught me a lot about how to conduct yourself and how to how to work with service providers.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Yeah, I'm guessing uh I knew you'd say Brian most. I I got familiar with him from my days at the business journal. Yeah. Uh a Titan really in that industry and in that company. Uh, I'm guessing you you guys collected a few stories that you'll never forget from that era. Um, so all right, so just a few years ago, I think 20 uh 22, you decide

Starting KP Global Logistics

SPEAKER_00 25:06

to launch your own firm, KP Global Logistics Consulting. What pushed you to uh to make that leap into the consulting world in the consulting world? Yeah, my wife asked me that as well.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

What do you do? You're still a lot, you know. I I call it KP, you know, Kevin Parkerson, but I go by KP. Um, quite a few people in the industry um don't know my name is Kevin. They just call me KP. Okay. Um duly noted. Yeah, but I I woke up one day literally and decided, um, you know, at that point in time I had a pivotal decision. Do I want to stay in corporate America or do I want to write solo? You know, and at this point in my career, um, I chose to kind of go the entrepreneurial route, start my own consulting business, advisory for who I see are underserved small and medium-sized businesses. Um, and people ask me why small and medium-sized businesses? One, they're geographically a lot of those around me, um, you know, in Northwest Arkansas, um, but they're also underserved in the industry and typically are not resourced with people or dollars in a way that they need or have a dedicated global logistics or a supply chain resource. Um, so I'm thoroughly enjoying small and medium-sized businesses navigate global logistics or global global supply chain um trying times in the last four or five years. So um there is not uh um, you know, there's there's a lot of businesses that need that resource or what I call the phone of friend. Um, and I've chosen to to help these businesses that are, like I said, geographically around me. Not all of them are. Um I've got clients that are across the globe that just need someone in many cases to help them navigate what is transpiring in the industry. I leverage my background, my experience, my network to be that resource and to help.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Yeah,

What Resilient Firms Do Differently

SPEAKER_00 27:10

what a time for you to go into your own, start your own business, right? These last three or four years. I mean, uh pretty smooth sailing, right? I say that tongue in cheek, very smooth sailing. Yeah, it it's been challenging times.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

And it's really been, you know, because of the pandemic, uh, the light has been shown on supply chains. And, you know, some businesses have done really well in um, you know, reacting, and uh some have not. Um, and that's where I can step in and try to be that resource or that advisor that can help.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

What the businesses that do well versus the ones that do not do well, what is the difference there? What what what do they do that that uh allows them to succeed where others are uh struggling?

SPEAKER_01 27:53

They tap into their resources and their plan. That's it. I mean, it's it's really basic, you know, tapping into the resources that you have, um, people like myself that are in the industry, but also aligning with the right service provider, and I say right, um, service providerslash partner, um, and then setting, being being prepared for a lot of my career, um, all of my career, um, really contingency planning and being prepared for the next event. There always is one. Um, that that was a huge part of my career and a lot of experience um in doing exactly that. And I help a lot of businesses plan and strategize for the the events that no one's thinking of right now. Um, and there's a lot of value in being prepared um for those type things, especially in supply chain.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

Is that work still interesting after all these years?

SPEAKER_01 28:47

You're still designing for you? It's it's problem solving, right? And I learned that from day one, sitting at a desk at JB Hunt. Um, I was problem solving. Where was the where was the chassis at, or where was this container

AI’s Role In Supply Chains

SPEAKER_01 29:00

at? And making sure that the customer got, you know, got their delivery. That was my job from day one. Um, and that problem solving, the movement of cargo fascinates me, still interesting, and why I'm still doing it today.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

So the one, the one constant thing up here, um Northwest Arkansas is just always going to be evolution growth uh in your industry, supply chain, logistics. What's the next big wave coming in, especially for a place like Northwest Arkansas? No pun intended with the wave there.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, you have to talk about AI and what that is doing. It's so interesting to me. I think about the things that AI can do today. And I think about things that I did in my career just five, 10, 15, 20 years ago, and how it could have helped me be more efficient, saved me more time. I'm so excited and interested to see how that's going to play and what role it's going to play. And that's part of the my consulting and advisory type work that I'm doing today. is helping businesses figure that out, start figuring that out.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

Yeah. Okay. Well that that really kind of ties directly into the purpose of this podcast, right? To help uh to help enterprises figure things out. And and one of the reasons that this podcast even exists is because UCA wants to be more visible, wants to be more engaged and connected and present in Northwest Arkansas. So you've got a great vantage point. You know, you've been here, you know, coming up on 35 years in this region. Where do you see, uh, and I'll see if your your opinion kind of jabs with mine, where do you see the biggest openings for UCA to plug in in Northwest Arkansas?

SPEAKER_01 30:40

I, you know, I think the work that you're doing, making people aware um the value that the university in Conway, Arkansas has. I, you know, the the reason that my youngest daughter attended was the value that it provides, the size of the university, the location of the university, and the offerings that it has are the three, three reasons why, outside of we had taken her to visit there many, many times through her life and knew that, you know, that's where mom and dad um met, but

UCA’s Value And NWA Presence

SPEAKER_01 31:15

the value that it provides is huge.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

Where could UCA create more value? And you've seen this up close. You've recently been been back to campus, saw some students, visited some classes, done that a couple of times this past year. Where could UCA create some more value uh for companies in the supply chain world?

SPEAKER_01 31:37

You know, I think um I think the university can help with um um maybe ask that in a different way I mean figure out how to well just if if if if uh for an employer what kind of supply chain graduate stands out right now yeah that that's that's a great question I think you know as I visited students I've been really pleased with their eagerness you know their excitement to learn um and then their communication skills I had an opportunity to sit down with a group of them and um I thought many times their ability to converse and talk about and ask questions about the industry um light years from where Kevin Parkinson was at and 18, 1920 years old. Yep. So I think you know continuing to foster that type of uh engagement in those type students um is critical. Well what did they want to know? What questions did they ask you? It was really surprising you know someone would just want to know the basics like what do you do? Like what do you sit at a desk all day or are you in meetings? You know they hear those type things and the other ones are like what type of problems are you solving? You know we're reading about problems and things in the industry. What's your day to day look like um and that's what's really interesting to me in the supply chain and I think a lot of industries it's different every day. And that's what excites me. And if you like that then focus on those if you don't like that change then that's probably not the industry that you want to be in.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Was it fun being back in a classroom speaking to students, interacting?

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Yeah I I love you know um I have a lot of that reflection of like that I that person that's not asking a question of that student out there that's that's Kevin Parkinson. That's me, you know, and you know that giving back how can I help? What do I need? And I I take those learnings um I plan to take those learnings back to the foundation you know and incorporate those into some of the work that we can do. And I know that that's likely a reason why you know I was chosen to do that. But I I can really relate you know I have a unique perspective of born and raised in Arkansas I attended UCA I sat in those same classes and I've gone and worked for some phenomenal companies and now I have my own

What Employers Seek From Graduates

SPEAKER_01 34:05

company. That perspective alone you know is is very unique and I don't I don't take that lightly I know that I need to um use that to the best way that I can and the foundation is going to allow me to do that.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

So yeah so here are my learnings that I can take back from your answer to this question. You know if we were we UCA if we were to plant a big a bigger flag in northwest Arkansas you know what where would you start? Would you start with events? Would you just would you start with talent pipeline? Would you start with partnerships? I mean what what do you say is maybe most important of that?

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Yeah I I like all of those but I'm you know I'm a I have a marketing communications degree and I'm the lot of the work that I'm doing now with my consulting business is marketing. So I lean toward the events getting the word out connecting with people reminding people that there's a university in Central Arkansas and what it has to offer, what the value is for me as a parent, you know, I loved the fact that my child could be three hours away at a great university and in state those were really important to me. And then knowing that you know um the value that they were getting the size of classes the type of classes the type of education um that it provided and again three hours away.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Yeah not bad. You could be home when you need to be and you can meet down there when you need to be right so um so you recently interacted with some of our students on campus in Conway um here's some advice questions what what uh skills or or what habits do you think that are are most important right now for young professionals? What matters most for young professionals recent graduates?

SPEAKER_01 35:49

Yeah that's a great question you know I communication skills and self-motivation you know those are huge big one um you know you can hire a lot of different people um if they can't communicate um to you um that that can that can be a difficult one to try to teach and their eagerness are they eager to learn are they eager to fail and learn from those failures are they eager to work you know those are you know you can't teach a lot of that I've seen a lot be very very successful just from their eagerness and willingness to roll their sleeves up do the

Internships And Networking That Matter

SPEAKER_01 36:30

work um fail and absorb that and then apply that to the to the next item the next issue um that's really really important um and I see a lot of students you know have that um that some of that is not taught so I think those are really did you get a sense that there was a there was a uh a mindset of eagerness and work ethic with the students that you were around at UCA yeah that I think that's kind of what our our president I know would love to say that's what our student body is known for is that they show up on campus ready to work. Yeah these were all it was it was such a um a great experience for me and for the other their other mentor um that uh put that together at the event that uh that we hosted and just talking with the students you can see the eagerness the the lights are on they're ready to go um just in the questions that they asked and their engagement um and that was across the board there was not one that didn't um that wasn't eager so that was really really positive.

SPEAKER_00 37:31

Yeah well I hope you keep um finding opportunities to go back between you and Doug and and whoever else in the college business to I do I do too.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

I you know I told Doug I I I I get as much out of it as anybody else um just because I know that uh um I'm giving back um in a way and can help answer questions. You know it's not it's not rocket science by any means. It's just answering questions from the 18 year old Kevin that's sitting out there that uh wants to know what it's like to be in corporate America and what are the type things that you work on. It's that basic. It really is.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Well if there's a UCA student that's listening right now who's studying supply chain and logistics and they ask you the question what should I be doing right now at this point in my undergraduate career, what would you tell them? Would you advise uh for summer internships, would you advise something else? What would the answer be?

SPEAKER_01 38:19

Yeah, that that's a great question and we're asked that quite a bit um getting that type of experience you know and if it is an internship or job shadowing networking events um those are the type things that I would highly recommend. And those are the things that I'm I'm trying to uh to make happen um as well. We referenced uh a time where I brought students up uh I call it the scholarship and we attended some events in Northwest Arkansas and got to hear great speakers but also get to work on networking skills. Um networking is ultra critical in in many industries but uh supply chain and being able to network and meet people in the industry and ask them questions um and learn from those are ultra critical and I love exposing students to those type of experiences.

Looking Ahead: AI, Tariffs, Podcast

SPEAKER_00 39:11

What are you most excited about as we as we end this year and get ready for 2026 what uh for your logistics uh consultancy for your podcast that you have now I've been a guest on his podcast he's been a guest on my podcast so uh we're even there we are even we'll we'll we'll compare notes on that later but what excites you the most about 2026? What are you working on?

SPEAKER_01 39:32

What has your attention yeah you know a lot um it's so fascinating to me at this point in my career you know I mentioned you know people to be eager and self-motivated I'm so motivated by what is transpiring in the industry and where I can help um solve those basic challenges of of moving cargo. AI again is the the the flash um right now that everybody is focused on um but the industry there's always something new and different tariffs you know in the current uh customs um compliance uh category has made um importing and exporting ultra complicated um and I think you know people like myself um can help uh from an advisory and being a resource um to help those businesses so I'm excited about continuing to do that type work um and podcasting you know I started a podcast for it's it's a marketing strategy for my consulting advisory business and we're thoroughly enjoying doing things like this talking to people bringing voices forward highlighting what the good work that they're doing in the industry um and where they can help businesses small medium and large um navigate the complexities of global logistics and giving a forum for that so I'm excited about the podcasting side of it but continuing to be able to to help businesses in an advisory consulting business of all things supply chain.

Where To Find KP And Closing

SPEAKER_00 41:06

Yeah so where can people find uh that podcast and where can they find uh your your consultancy online tell us about that yeah uh website kpglc.com um linkedin um podcast is on on youtube and all other platforms um go subscribe uh we're on social media just about everywhere that you can think of um exploring you know opportunities there and uh look forward to to talking to you to geek out on global logistics talk about UCA talk about northwest Arkansas um I'm passionate about all three yeah well I can geek out on two of those three UCA and Northwest Arkansas but global supply chain and logistics I I might need a little handful I got you yeah so you might need to hold my hand there but um uh KP great to have you here so excited for you and thank you for for being part of our foundation board and thank you uh for helping me be an ally for UCA uh in Northwest Arkansas it's been a privilege getting to know you and I'm so glad we could spend some time with you here today. Yeah this was great. Thanks Paul. All right Kevin thanks for being here pleasure to visit with you. Thank you. All right that's Kevin Parkerson UCA class of 1991 and we appreciate you tuning in to the latest edition of Central to NWA a UCA podcast. Until next time, go bears. That's it for this episode of Central to NWA a UCA podcast. I'm Paul Gatling, Senior Director of Northwest Arkansas Engagement for the University of Central Arkansas. Be sure to subscribe to the show and follow UCA on all the appropriate social media. I'll see you next time on Central to NWA