Today I’m joined by leading software brand, Blue Yonder – the number one supply chain platform delivering more growth, less waste, and amazing customer experiences.
Blue Yonder is the world leader in digital supply chain and omni-channel commerce fulfillment. Its intelligent, end-to-end platform enables retailers, manufacturers, and logistics providers to seamlessly predict, pivot, and fulfill customer demand. So, with Blue Yonder, you can make more automated, profitable business decisions that deliver greater growth and re-imagined customer experiences.
Today, Ann Marie Jonkman, Vice President of Industry Strategies at Blue Yonder, will be talking all about Blue Yonder and what they do; using technology to help brands solve some of the industry’s biggest labor challenges; empowering teams and organizations to fulfill their potential; and how they’re creating the supply chains of the future.
Guest bio:
Ann Marie brings 20-plus years of experience leading teams in Continuous Improvement and 3PL E-commerce, Warehousing, Transportation, and Shared Services. Her scope ranges from Private Equity, Food, CPG, and Retail B2B/B2C operations with full P-L ownership. She has also served as a Technology Strategy Consultant and Inventory/Retail Solutions Leader identifying automation, solutions, and service level drivers to bring end-to-end value to your supply chain. Ann Marie has a passion for delivering results for her clients through technology solutions and innovation. Prior to joining Blue Yonder, Ann Marie held roles at XPO Logistics, Syncreon, RR Donnelley, RGIS-WIS owned by Blackstone, and most recently, Radial. As Vice of President of Industry strategies at Blue Yonder, she counsels 3PLs on industry-leading solutions to get ahead of the market with creating value to solve business problems. She collaborates with Blue Yonder’s product development and innovation teams to create winning opportunities for customers.
IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
[07.42] An introduction to Blue Yonder, what they do, and how they help their customers.
“We’re your technology partner… if you want new innovation, advice on reducing your labor cost, reducing your tech stack debt… we have the chops and vision to execute with you.”
[09.19] The ideal client for Blue Yonder.
“Our clients are looking for innovation and differentiation; in this volatile market, they’re looking to reduce costs… and they’re looking for a partner.”
[13.02] The current landscape of supply chain, and the biggest challenges faced by Blue Yonder customers.
“2024 has been a slow recovery. When you look at transportation, post-pandemic, there was a lot of excess capacity… Now volume is down, we have a lot of healthy competition, and shippers were smart – they locked in rates… So people are looking to increase utilization with what they have. So labor and cost, as opposed to scale for growth, is driving most of the portfolio.”
[15.43] Blue Yonder’s transportation management solution, and how it’s helping customers to overcome challenges, as well as transform their transportation operations.
[22.10] The evolution of warehousing, and how Blue Yonder’s range of warehouse management and execution solutions are helping customers to keep up with rapid change, pivot, and set themselves up for the future.
“I’ve seen the most change in this space. We see heavy automation, automation cost investment – but we see the labor cost driving automation.”
[28.46] Blue Yonder’s Edge technology solutions, how they integrate into customer organizations, and the incredible results they can help customers achieve.
“Robotics has been around for a while, but what we’ve seen in the last 2-3 years is an explosion.”
[34.42] How Blue Yonder helps customers with labor management, helping them to find the balance between people and technology, and achieve employee engagement as well as peak operational performance.
[40.25] A case study exploring how Blue Yonder provided solutions to allow a key client to better understand and utilize analytics, helping them to make operational changes and achieve a 25-30% reduction in labor cost, worth millions of dollars.
[43.50] Why Blue Yonder is committed to helping customers fulfill their potential, and the impact that empowering people and organizations is having on the industry.
“We want to be your technology partner, we don’t want to just sell you a product. We look at your utilization, help you during implementation… we want you to be successful.”
[47.32] The supply chains of the future, and the Blue Yonder innovations that are helping to drive the industry forward.
“That’s the next vision – it’s not just the products and solutions, it’s connecting them. And it’s not just visibility – it’s decisioning, its orchestration, where we’re all working collaboratively.”
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:
Head over to Blue Yonder’s website now to find out more, and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with Blue Yonder and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X (Twitter), or you can connect with Ann Marie on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more amazing supply chain content, check out 377: How AI is Improving Supply Chain Sustainability, with Dyci Sfregola and Hope White or Nicole Glenn on the Power of Hope and Transforming the Logistics Industry.
Check out our other podcasts HERE.
