It's the End of the Week!

In this edition of Behind the Headlines, David and Charles pull back the curtain on the massive news shaking up the food service industry: Sysco’s $29 billion bid to acquire Restaurant Depot. While the Federal Trade Commission and small restaurant owners parse through anticompetition fears, we dive into the stark operational realities and heavy financials behind the deal. Why pay $29 billion to secure $2 billion in free cash flow? Is Sysco signaling that geographic and inorganic roll-ups have officially hit a wall? We explore the operational differences between traditional multi-stop distribution and the "cash and carry" warehouse model. Plus, Charles shares a compelling theory on how this acquisition could fundamentally change Sysco's e-commerce and urban "last half-mile" delivery strategy —and why GLP-1 medications might actually be the biggest looming shadow over the future of the entire sector.

Why do so many CRM implementations fail? In this episode of It's The End of The Week, LIDD’s Head of Sales, Jeff, and CRM Implementation Consultant, Alex, strip away the corporate buzzwords to reveal the practical mechanics of a highly effective CRM strategy. For professional services and consulting firms, sales reps aren't just selling—they are delivering the projects.This "seller-doer" reality means your CRM must be an efficiency tool, not an administrative prison. Alex and Jeff outline how to combat user resentment by tying software fields directly to business objectives, automating the tedious stuff (like duplicate checking via third-party tools), and introducing feature changes through "progressive overload".

In this episode, Jeff is joined by Isaac, LIDD’s food banking practice lead, to pull back the curtain on the unique world of non-profit supply chain design. Since 2018, LIDD has partnered with dozens of food banks across North America to transform their operations through data-driven design and digital transformation. From the origin story of our work with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to the complexities of "right-sizing" 8-figure capital projects, we explore why a food bank is much more than just a standard warehouse.

What happens to the food that never leaves the factory? In this episode of The Playbook, Gina and Maria sit down with Minnie Ringland, Senior Manager at ReFED, to discuss a year-long collaboration aimed at remodeling the landscape of food loss in US manufacturing.With key government data sets no longer available, LIDD and ReFED developed a comprehensive methodology combining primary interviews and secondary research to provide an up-to-date picture of the food system.

In this episode of Behind the Headlines, Charles and David tackle two major stories where the "visionary" approach collided head-on with operational facts. First, we dissect the recent news of Walmart ending its partnership with OpenAI.We explore why the dream of an AI shopping agent failed because it lacked a deep connection to the ERP and real-time inventory—proving that "agentic AI" is only as good as the data it can actually act upon.Next, we head south to discuss the "Mississippi Liquor Crisis." A botched warehouse management system (WMS) implementation and conveyor incompatibility have left the state with a 174,000-case backlog and bare shelves. We discuss the dangers of inadequate testing and why a $95 million "fix" might actually make things worse.

Is your WMS selection process a value-add or just a long-winded exercise in false confidence? In this episode of The Playbook, we’re joined by Casey from Fullstride to discuss the "magic" of a successful software selection. Moving past the thousand-line spreadsheets, we dive into the "critical levers"—the core workflows and features that truly drive business value. Casey shares insights from 20 years in the WMS space, offering a realistic look at implementation ratios, vendor stability, and the essential "People, Process, and Data" framework required for readiness.

he industrial real estate market is taking a deep breath. In this episode of It’s The End of The Week, Jennifer Hall is joined by Rob Renaud of Encore Advisors to discuss the "rationalization" of the North American industrial landscape in 2026.

Dans cet épisode de It's the End of the Week, David reçoit Marie, experte en développement commercial fraîchement arrivée chez LIDD Montréal. Ensemble, ils explorent les différences fondamentales entre la gestion de la supply chain en Europe et en Amérique du Nord. Au programme :L'évolution des normes de sécurité et le règlement machines de l'UE.L'impact de la RSE sur les appels d'offres et les réseaux de distribution.La lutte contre le « greenwashing » et l'importance des preuves scientifiques.Automatisation : coût de la main-d'œuvre vs disponibilité des terrains.

Nike recently announced the elimination of 775 roles at distribution centers in Tennessee and Mississippi. While the company cites "accelerating automation" as the driver, Charles Fallon and David Beaudet argue that this is a classic case of a strategy shift—specifically, a retreat from an aggressive direct-to-consumer (DTC) model back toward wholesale distribution.In this episode, we explore:How Nike’s distribution centers were built for a "fantasy" of consumer behavior that didn't materialize.The dangers of confusing a vision with a manifestation before demand exists.Why automation is being used as a convenient "spin" for broader business losses.

What happens when a civil engineer realizes they have a knack for sales and a passion for solving complex inventory puzzles? You get StockIQ.In this episode of The Human Link, Emilio Colangelo welcomes Jeffrey Porter, CMO of StockIQ, to discuss the evolution of supply chain planning over the last 35 years. Jeffrey shares the "circuitous path" that led him from Hewlett-Packard to bootstrapping a leading smart inventory management platform