My reflection after the first international trip in Europe nearly 2 years after the global Covid lock down

Welcome to "Wonder of Logistics," the podcast that explores the world of logistics and supply chain management. I'm your host, David Bang, and today, we'll be discussing the role of logistics and supply chain management in the production and distribution of lithium batteries.

Nearly two years ago we had an episode on cannabis logistics with Yoram Eshel, CEO Cannabilog, a guru in cannabis supply chain and logistic management.  What have been advanced and changed since then? The global medical cannabis market size is still on a fast growing pace with CAGR of 25-30%, projected to be worth USD 50 billion within next 5 years.  I had an opportunity to sit down with Yoram once again and got to have some fascinating conversation.  Let's listen in.

The first set of EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) standards would be adopted by later 2022, which means large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees in EU (that's nearly 12K companies) would have to disclose environmental and social information based on the guidelines. And EU's 'Fit for 55' refers to the EU's target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, and it will apply carbon trading to the transport sector in 2026.  Here, carbon trading means companies would have to buy emission rights above certain thresholds.  Yes, buying!  It means it is a hard dollar/euro cost item on your balance sheet.  That's why carbon visibility reporting for complex and multi-tier supply chain is a hot topic, and a digital logistics platform company like Transporean is drawing up a new era of carbon visibility partnering up with a handful of large enterprises (like Pepsico, Sipro, Trane, Evonik, Rewe, and DS Smith) to test their beta version.  I've recently sat down with Hermann Ude, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Transporean, a former CEO at DHL Global Forwarding & Freight, who has such keen and practical insights to the matter.

My last international trip before Covid lock down was early March 2020. That was in Mexico City.  Now 2 years later, I've taken my first international trip to Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Monaco, and Italy.  It was a bit weird, but exciting at the same time to finally see European customers, partners and colleagues in person.  Some of them, it was the first time we see each other in person. Before I fly back home, I've taken unedited clips of my reflection and compiled them into this bonus episode.

Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) 2022 took place last week in Las Vegas, and let’s take a look at some trends that were highlighted at CES 2022, and talk briefly about the implications to the logistics industry.

Gen Z is born in 1997 or later, and some of them are either already in work force or about to get in.  Is logistics and transportation industry ready for this generation?  Is this generation even thinking about starting their career paths in this industry?  This generation is also known as "Digital Native" - their first phones were already smartphones.  Recently I had a great fun having a open and informal conversation with two amazing young people: Daniela Ghimp in UK and Khaled Al Saber in UAE.  Listen to what they had to share.

About a month ago, I’ve had a honor to share my thoughts on logistics and shipping during and beyond Covid-19 at Rx-360 European Virtual Conference, and this is a part of what I shared at the conference.

After a little more than a year of Covid-19, what are the top logistics technology trends for 2021? One thing Covid taught us is that it is already too late to think about these when the next disaster (small or big) hits your supply chain.

We are hearing almost every day about the Covid-19 vaccines, and often, there are many talks about the cold chain logistics.  Rightly so, it will surely be one of the largest vaccine logistics we've ever seen.  So, every other month I am planning to share my insights and observation on Covid-19 vaccine logistics.  At this episode, I am kicking it off with some fundamentals of Covid-19 vaccine logistics that we should be aware of.

From Jan to July this year, Mexico is the top trading partner of the United States, with two-way trade totaling $290.6 billion. With such increase of activities, here come bottle neck and in-balance challenges.  For examples, at the cross-border point in El Paso TX, the load to truck ratio is as high as 8:1 while the ratio at Laredo TX  skyrocketed to 15:1 (number of loads per truck). Since USMCA (United States Mexico Canada Agreement) is new (since July 2020), many people are trying to figure out their supply chain impact and future planning, and currently there is significantly less freight going into Mexico, meaning lack of drivers situation from Mexico to USA.  Some drivers (who live in Mexico or US) are trying cross the border to drive for their next truckloads are often stuck in the borders waiting for hours  (due to Covid-19 related additional inspections) and eventually give up and return home, amplifying driver shortage issue. Of course, recent weather uncertainty (hurricanes and storms) and surge of eCommerce and consumer behavior changes due to Covid-19 are adding additional complexity.  Will it be a new norm for US/MX cross-border?  How can multi-stakeholders including governments work together to improve the situation? We had a fascinating interview with Gubio Henrique - SVP at Redwood Logistics, Larry Hotz - Marketing Director at Woodfield Distribution, and Professor Tom Fullerton at University of Texas at El Paso.