From Bottleneck

to B...

Introduction Overview of the episode’s focus: real-world supply chain crises, ignored red flags, and innovations turning bottlenecks into breakthroughs

Personal Experiences and COVID-19 Lessons Hosts share personal stories from COVID-19, highlighting vulnerabilities like single-source dependencies and lack of diversification

Impact of Tariff Wars and Ongoing Supply Chain Struggles Discussion of recent tariff wars, ongoing supply chain pressures, and the importance of supplier diversification.

Risks of Single-Source and Specialized Vendors Exploring challenges with unique, patented, or single-source components and the pain of limited vendor options.

Leveraging Data and Automation in Supply Chains How historical data and automation can improve purchasing decisions, planning, and vendor communication.

Proactive Vendor Communication and Planning Emphasizing the need for proactive engagement with suppliers and learning from past disruptions.

Vendor Relationships and the Importance of Diversification The value of strong vendor relationships, diversification, and learning from chip shortages in automotive supply chains.

Automating and Structuring Supply Chain Data Benefits of automating data, creating unified systems, and supporting both urgent and planned customer needs.

Understanding Vendor Vulnerabilities and Customer Impact Encouraging open conversations with vendors about their constraints to better serve customers and avoid losing business.

Site Visits and Vendor Validation The importance of on-site vendor visits, looking beyond marketing, and validating capabilities before committing.

Building Trust and Avoiding Marketing Traps Why direct references and transparency matter more than flashy marketing or case studies in vendor selection.

inal Takeaways: Diversification, Validation, and Seamless Partnerships Key advice: diversity suppliers, validate vendors, automate data, and build seamless, trustworthy supply chain partnerships.