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From natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes to pandemics, cyberattacks, and labor strikes, companies have to navigate so many complexities to get goods where they need to go.
What's their secret weapon to operating within the unknown?
It’s the people.
Welcome to Supply Chain Champions, the show that showcases the stories of those who keep supply chains running smoothly. We're here to highlight their untold stories and share lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Join us as we peel back the curtain on the people who make supply chains work and enhance your own career in the process.
Tune in. Get smart. Move forward.
Eric Fullerton [00:00:00]: Welcome to Supply Chain Champions, the show brought to you by project44, where we're talking to the people who make supply chains work. Hello and welcome to another episode of Supply Chain Champions. I am your host, Eric Fullerton, and I have the great pleasure to be, uh, joined today by Kristen Kravitz. Kristen is the group Vice President of Transportation at Abercrombie and Fitch. Kristen, thank you so much for being here.
Kristen Kravitz [00:01:00]: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Eric Fullerton [00:01:02]: The way I wanted to start our chat today is. You know, when you think about Abercrombie and Fitch and the brand that it was maybe in, just a decade or so ago, but certainly through the nineties and early two thousands, uh, what that brand is today is completely different. It's really been revolutionized and when you're rebranding and, you know, seeing the success that. Uh, Abercrombie has had from that, in order to actually deliver on that, you know, you really need to have that supported by supply chain and transportation, and you've had really an inside seat to this experience, and I wanted to get your take and maybe a little bit of the, the journey and the story that, that you've been through there.
Kristen Kravitz [00:01:47]: It's an exciting story and it's been a really interesting journey. I've been at Abercrombie almost nine years now, and so I really started, right around the time that we were probably at a pretty low point actually. And I came from another turnaround, uh, in the transportation logistics industry that wasn't so successful.
Kristen Kravitz [00:02:05]: There were some touch and go moments when I first started where there was a lot of, you know, I. Talk of, potentially being sold to a competitor, uh, or the like. And so, it's been a really fun and exciting journey to be, you know, part of coming in and then, seeing that transformation.
Kristen Kravitz [00:02:20]: And it's really been a very thoughtful and holistic rebuilding of all of the brands, as we've gone through the last, nine or so years. And it's been really exciting. We have fantastic leadership that's been really, really thoughtful and, cohesive about thinking about our brand purpose, our focus on the customer, you know, building completely new, uh, organization structures that help to support, that model, uh, and do things better than really anyone else in the specialty retail space, in my opinion.
Kristen Kravitz [00:02:49]: We have an incredibly strong focus on the customer, and that's really been, the driver of the turnaround and the transformation, and so. Yes, absolutely. Supply chain is a huge part of that. From a last mile perspective, you know, for us delivering and being able to deliver to the customer and what their expectation is, is really critical.
Kristen Kravitz [00:03:06]: Being able to fulfill, you know, the e-comm orders and the e-comm space the way that we need to, and work really, really closely with our digital teams, on that customer experience. Experience designing the right customer experience is really critical and then, you know, backing up further, being able to support our, brand teams to get the inventory here and to support the inventory strategies.
Kristen Kravitz [00:03:26]: And none of that happens without a strong supply chain. So both excited about the transformation in the brands and the company over the past, you know, decade, but also the transformation that we've seen has been really an amazing experience as well.
Eric Fullerton [00:03:39]: A lot of conversation about supply chain transformation and supply chain digitization, but, doing it is more complex and it's more nuanced. Talk through that a little bit?
Kristen Kravitz [00:03:49]: Transformation often, you know, a lot of times people think of it as new systems, new roadmaps on PowerPoint slides. I think a tremendous amount of the work of it is in the organization. The teams, the structure of the teams, the processes that the teams have, across the entire organization, not just within.
Kristen Kravitz [00:04:07]: Supply chain, and really getting all of the teams that are critical to the process, moving in sync. And it's about execution. And I think that's been a very special thing about, you know, Abercrombie is not just, you know, redesigning the way things should go, but the execution is top notch and we're able to really work in sync across all of the cross-functional teams.
Kristen Kravitz [00:04:28]: It's been a big enabler to our success and it is really critical within the supply chain as well, right? So, we can't just be doing things in silos. We need to be working across each of those teams and building, processes that allow us to, not just be reactive, but be proactive as well, to be calling out what's going on to our cross-functional stakeholders, for them to be telling us what their priorities are, and for us to be able to work in sync to be able to deliver those.
Kristen Kravitz [00:04:52]: Those priorities. The transformation needs to be really people driven and process driven. Uh, not just, the story around what we're trying to do or the, the systems that we're working within.
Eric Fullerton [00:05:02]: We talk a lot about tech in the transformation space, and it's really important. But when, you know, when we talk to, you know, supply chain leaders very, very consistently, it's like I. Like a huge people component of course, but then the process, which is something that maybe it's less sexy, maybe less the headline of the, of the top the talk.
Eric Fullerton [00:05:21]: But it is instrumental to actually making it, making it possible.
Eric Fullerton [00:05:25]: One thing I wanted to, to kind of chat about is the last mile experience that, that direct to consumer experience. And, and you, you know, you touched on it earlier, but that is a critical way to interact with the consumer and with the customer, it's part of delivering on the brand promise for, for Abercrombie.
Eric Fullerton [00:05:45]: So, can you talk a little bit about how, how you took that existing, you know, direct to consumer last mile experience and, and started to evolve that?
Kristen Kravitz [00:05:55]: With Last Mile, really, it starts in the checkout process, right? To your point about brand promise, you know, the experience of. How our customers interact with us on the website, uh, what they see when they're checking out the expectations that are set at that point in terms of what we're gonna deliver, how we're gonna deliver it, when we're gonna deliver it.
Kristen Kravitz [00:06:13]: You know, that's really critical for us to be in lockstep with our digital team so that we all can stand behind, you know, the brand promise that we're trying to deliver. And then from a, transportation perspective, you know, there's a ton that goes into that, right? So it starts with, you know, obviously the network that you set up and how you integrate that into, all of your systems, everything that you're doing.
Kristen Kravitz [00:06:35]: You know, prior to Covid, when our e-comm business was, you know, a smaller, as a proportion of our total business, we were 100% a FedEx shop, right? So we did everything through FedEx. And then very quickly through the e-comm explosion that was Covid, learns that we can't just be a FedEx shop, right? We need to continue to diversify our, base.
Kristen Kravitz [00:06:53]: We need to make sure we have the right partners that can deliver. We need to develop strategic partnerships with those service providers so that we trust what they're, you know, able to provide for us. And then, the integrations of how we. Pull all that together are really complex when you're using one provider, as we did in the past, it's fairly straightforward, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:07:11]: You have a very simple sort of set of calculations that you use to figure out how you're gonna use that partner to deliver to the customer when you have three or four different companies that are using, as we did as we went through the Covid experience, you know, it made those integrations, it made those decisions.
Kristen Kravitz [00:07:25]: Points a lot more complex. It really shone a light on the fact that we needed really clean supply chain visibility, uh, which is when we brought on project44 to help support that piece of things because we had never really had, outbound transportation last mile visibility before to be able to look at all of these carriers, you know, in comparison to each other.
Kristen Kravitz [00:07:44]: And so we really started to evolve by, you know, bringing on different partners with different, uh, opportunities and. Experience for the last mile customer, you know, bringing in. New visibility technology, like I said. And then really starting to be able to differentiate that experience. So, you know, we're continuing along that journey.
Kristen Kravitz [00:08:01]: You know, we've since added same day delivery, in the last couple of years. We continue to add new experiences there and then really start to think about, you know, how do we personalize the experience for the customer and how does that flow through, you know, every aspect of their, delivery experience.
Kristen Kravitz [00:08:16]: I think it's an exciting area that will continue to evolve there.
Eric Fullerton [00:08:19]: I wanted to talk a little bit about, you and your role, right? So, you know, you're the group vice president of transportation, let's imagine that, you know, we have folks who maybe don't have so much supply chain or tech, uh, or transportation experience. Like what are you responsible for doing?
Eric Fullerton [00:08:35]: Like, what does that actually mean? If you could, if you could share some of that with us, that would be, that'd be great.
Kristen Kravitz [00:08:40]: I mean, it's a role that changes all the time, to be honest. And one thing I love about my time at A&F is I've been there for probably close to nine years, and I've had probably six different jobs in that time, with various titles. And I have probably done just about every job in the supply chain except run a distribution center at this point, which is what I always tell people.
Kristen Kravitz [00:08:58]: So it's exciting and, and we continue to, you know, change and evolve people's roles. It's never really one thing. Right now I have a pretty fun portfolio because I'm responsible for a couple of different things. Operationally, I'm responsible for all of our, shipments from factory into our distribution centers around the world, and then all the global trade compliance.
Kristen Kravitz [00:09:18]: So, you know, that's a, a whole set of challenges, obviously, that intersect. Uh, heavily with geopolitics and international affairs and trade policy and everything else that's going on in the world right now.
Kristen Kravitz [00:09:29]: But we interact significantly with our, cross-functional partners like sourcing and planning and merchandising, uh, to make sure that we're delivering on.
Kristen Kravitz [00:09:37]: You know, the promise to get product here when it needs to be, uh, that we're agile in how we do that, and that we, you know, get product here in a timely way. I also have our outbound transportation team in North America, so that's really all of our operations, from distribution center to stores, distribution center to our e-comm customers, which is obviously a really, exciting and dynamic space, as at all times, uh, that we continue to evolve in as well.
Kristen Kravitz [00:10:01]: And really to your earlier question touches on that end customer experience. The other part of my portfolio that I really love is I'm responsible for all of our transportation expense management, freight audit and pay, visibility and our visibility systems, our technology applications that support transportation and our omnichannel capabilities, and our supply chain data, engineering reporting and analytics teams.
Kristen Kravitz [00:10:24]: So, it's a lot of fun because I not only have the operational portfolio, but I'm also always thinking about, our future state supply chain strategy. You know, how do we bring new systems in? How do we connect data better to make better decisions, and how are we going to evolve in that area?
Kristen Kravitz [00:10:38]: And so having both, you know, the operational day to day and sort of grounding in. You know, what are we trying to accomplish? What are we trying to deliver for the business? And then how can we continue to improve and make that better? You know, with data and systems, is a really nice blend of things because I, you know, can't really get too much in the ivory tower,
Kristen Kravitz [00:10:56]: That. You know, piece of it keeps my brain, you know, working on a different level than just kind of constantly being in the operational sphere. So, it's a nice blend, but I get to, to really focus on both. So in any given day, I'm working, you know, with the teams on, you know, how to improve the operational KPIs, you know, helping them understand, you know, and interact with the business teams and what they're trying to achieve.
Kristen Kravitz [00:11:17]: And, you know, driving that vision. But then also, you know, really driving future state strategy as well.
Eric Fullerton [00:11:22]: Thanks for sharing that. The data ecosystem and connectivity component.
Eric Fullerton [00:11:26]: I think that's something that. If you're in the industry, we've really been talking about the data and, you know, the quality and accuracy of data for, for decades. And I think it's getting better, but with all those new systems be, adds all these new data layers and this new complexity. It's better, but it's also harder in its own way. Like, can you talk a little bit about like how you think through that?
Kristen Kravitz [00:11:50]: I agree with you. I think we've been talking about data forever. Supply chain data in particular, I find the challenge really comes with the fact that supply chain data is so siloed typically, right? If you think about. The breadth of systems that we use operationally across supply chain, from warehouse management systems, transportation management systems, freight audit and pay systems, layered in visibility.
Kristen Kravitz [00:12:12]: You know, there's a tremendous amount of complexity there. We also interact with a massive amount of third party carriers, right, that feed data into our systems, which isn't. Really the case in a lot of other parts of our business and specialty retail. So, you know, we recently went through a pretty significant, uh, inbound visibility transformation where, you know, we brought P 44 in for inbound visibility.
Kristen Kravitz [00:12:33]: We upgraded our TMS platform that we have with E2 open, and. It was a complex project as we were upgrading and layering in all these systems. But the real complexity came with, you know, the massive number of logistic service providers that we have to integrate into that ecosystem, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:12:49]: And all the integrations and network that you have to do so. There's a lot that's happening, and I know we've been going through an integration modernization journey, data modernization journey to help make that, a cleaner, smoother experience. And it's, definitely improving. A lot of the talk now that I think is really exciting for the future is like, how do we create.
Kristen Kravitz [00:13:08]: More connection points between supply chain data, both in its own ecosystem, right? So making some of those, connections with logistics, service providers, technology service providers, shippers, all of those connection points cleaner and easier to use. Which I think will come, you know, over time with technology.
Kristen Kravitz [00:13:26]: But then also how do we connect data better within our own companies, right? So we're having a lot of conversations right now around use cases on how do we connect, planning data. So our sales plan data with supply chain, with finance, with sourcing, all of these systems we have within the company and pull them into,
Kristen Kravitz [00:13:43]: Usable applications and user interfaces so that we can make better, faster decisions. So it's happening and I can see the use cases starting to emerge and we're starting to have a lot of really interesting conversations about, how we can pull all that together in a much more automated way.
Kristen Kravitz [00:13:57]: As with everything, it's taking time to get there.
Eric Fullerton [00:13:59]: Yeah, of course, I wanted to transition a little bit and talk about your journey, right? I think you and I have actually chatted about this probably in a more, in a more casual
Kristen Kravitz [00:14:07]: Mm-hmm.
Eric Fullerton [00:14:08]: But you know, you've mentioned how, your tenure at, at A&F, but how do people get into supply chain, I think is really interesting.
Kristen Kravitz [00:14:14]: Yeah.
Eric Fullerton [00:14:15]: Would love for you to take me through a little bit of your, your kind of career journey and, progression and, and how you got to, to where you are.
**Kristen Kravitz [00:14
:23]**: Yeah. I feel like people who are in supply chain, most of them didn't think they were gonna go into supply chain. Like very few people start out like. Gungho, I'm gonna go into supply chain. When I was an undergrad, I studied international business and I was at Northeastern University, which you know, has a decent supply chain program.
Kristen Kravitz [00:14:38]: And you know, I had a number of friends in it. And I remember thinking at the time like, oh, I don't wanna do that. That's, boring. Supply chain's boring. I don't wanna do that. I don't know why I thought that at the time, but I was, you know. Maybe thought some other things were a little sexier and, studied more in the finance and and marketing space.
Kristen Kravitz [00:14:54]: But then, you know, really kind of got caught up in the idea of, business and politics and international affairs. And, ended up kind of starting my career in Washington, DC with a heavy focus on, business and policy. Which is sort of ironic given my role now, because it's actually highly relevant, right.
Kristen Kravitz [00:15:09]: But you know, it was in that space. And then after, you know, four years or so, decided to go back to grad school, initially with a focus on environmental sustainability. So I, I went back to get my master's in public policy, UCLA, thought California would be a great place to, you know, study environmental policy.
Kristen Kravitz [00:15:26]: It's moved across the country. And then as I am, you know, furiously writing my public policy applications and thinking about what do I wanna do with this degree, how am I gonna use it, you know, trying to sell myself to, you know, a Master's in Public Policy program. One of the realizations I had was I.
Kristen Kravitz [00:15:40]: You know, I'd really actually wanna stay in the private sector. I'd love to, you know, consult with businesses on, how they can become more environmentally friendly. How do you use environmental regulation as an advantage versus, you know, just a threat. As I was doing this, I was like, well, I need to get my MBA too, like this, this is probably a, a dual degree opportunity.
Kristen Kravitz [00:15:59]: So, long story short, ended up getting my MBA and my Master's in public policy at UCLA. But as I was going through the process of looking for an MBA internship, uh, it was 2009, which for those who remember, was kind of the last, you know, bottom out of the last recession right. That we had. And so it was not easy to find a job, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:16:20]: I kind of dried up and I was trying to figure out, you know, what I was gonna do and, actually ended up getting recruited for a company called UTI Worldwide, which was a third party logistics company. And the gentleman who recruited me, uh, who was my boss for quite a while, did a lot of kind of side hustle work in the company on environmental sustainability.
Kristen Kravitz [00:16:39]: So I was like, okay, great. You know, this gives me a little bit of an end to, you know, see what operations is about. It was kind of a supply chain strategy, role, network design, that kind of thing. It had some nice. You know, intersection points with what I was interested in. And I went into their supply chain design and innovation team for the summer as an intern, to do, you know, network projects, a little bit of side work and sustainability.
Kristen Kravitz [00:17:02]: I. And I just fell in love with it. I wasn't expecting to, and I was like, this is just maybe a, you know, a summer internship on my way to doing bigger and better things. But, it is what it is. And so, started out and then I just, you know, very quickly realized, you know, supply chain's a life flow of the world economy,
Kristen Kravitz [00:17:17]: It's really critical to be able to, to drive everything you need to drive in a business. And so I ended up working there over the summer.
Kristen Kravitz [00:17:24]: Went back kind of part-time during my third year of my MBA, and then ended up staying there for another, probably seven years after that, you know, after I graduated. And had a variety of roles in that company. But it was really cool because I got to work, with a variety of different customers. So, you know, we worked with companies like Estee Lauder and Dow Corning and some of the automotive companies.
Kristen Kravitz [00:17:44]: So I got a lot of, you know, kind of broad based industry experience there and kind of what those supply chain, challenges would be. And then we also, especially during kind of the slow periods during the recession, did a lot of internal strategy work. So I got a lot of. Exposure to the contract logistics business and the freight forwarding business, and was able to create like a pretty interesting curiosity driven career within UTI worldwide, just around things I was interested in, problems I got to solve, you know, moved around to, to quite a few, areas within that, company.
Kristen Kravitz [00:18:14]: But it was a great exposure to supply chain.
Kristen Kravitz [00:18:17]: When we ended up ultimately selling the company to, to DSV, so they became part of DSV, which, obviously still exists today and has acquired a number of different companies, since then. That was when I kind of decided, okay, I, I wanna try something else.
Kristen Kravitz [00:18:30]: You know, I'll go to the, the shipper side, uh, try out the shipper side and, and ended up finding my way to Abercrombie and Fitch. So it's been a really fun. Transition because I went from, you know, solving a set of problems across lots of different types of companies and industries to much deeper experience in the specialty retail space, and being able to figure out the supply chain of our, you know, specialty retail company.
Eric Fullerton [00:18:54]: Uh, sustainability plays a very interesting role in supply chain. When you think about overall emissions, uh, finding ways to, to reduce those scope three emissions,
Eric Fullerton [00:19:04]: I was curious, you know, if that's something that, you know, you, you're thinking about today.
Eric Fullerton [00:19:08]: Just taking that passion and, how we can make some, some significant improvements there.
Kristen Kravitz [00:19:13]: Yeah, it's something that I still continue to work on, and ultimately, I think what really attracted me to supply chain and operations in general was the fact that I. You know, the best way to make something more efficient from an environmental standpoint is just to make it more efficient, right? So take miles out of the supply chain, take take time out.
Kristen Kravitz [00:19:30]: So it's, it's been a really nice way to sort of indirectly achieve some of those goals. I originally thought I wanted to, you know, go after it just by being in, you know, the supply chain and operations space as well. I think it's an interesting, interesting area. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds.
Kristen Kravitz [00:19:46]: 'Cause I think what we've seen in the specialty retail space is, customers are definitely interested in sustainability, but not always willing to pay for it,
Kristen Kravitz [00:19:54]: So there's. You know, a lot of just, I think feeling our way through what that looks like from the customer perspective and, you know, how should we, uh, help to, to support the customer, you know, demand there.
Kristen Kravitz [00:20:06]: But to your question about scope three, so. From a Scope three emissions perspective, you know, that's really evolved and changed over the last couple of years. So, I actually spent a fair amount of time back, you know, in 2009, 2010, 2011, doing, uh, carbon footprint assessments at UTI for, for customers.
Kristen Kravitz [00:20:25]: And we did a lot of, you know, scope three, emissions. Calculations and all of it's really was based on just kind of point to point. Like as the crow flies you, you know, make some estimations to, to figure out the, emissions for each of the modes. There was not a lot of precision inherent in how.
Kristen Kravitz [00:20:43]: That was done. 'Cause the tools just didn't exist. And I think what's been really cool to see over the past few years is a lot better tools now and then a lot more transparency from the transportation industry in general as there's been more focus on this. So you see a lot more of the shipping companies really starting to, you know, set.
Kristen Kravitz [00:21:00]: Better targets, be transparent about their emissions. You know, give better access to, hey, your shipment is on this ship and it has this kind of engine and these sort of emissions. And I know P 44 is doing a lot of great work in that space to help track. You know, you have companies like Maersk that have these very aggressive zero carbon goals, that are coming up in the next decade, which is exciting to see.
Kristen Kravitz [00:21:21]: I'm really encouraged by the fact that a lot of the, the service providers are starting to, set achievable goals. You know, lean in on the biofuels and some of the other, you know, alternative fuels that will help get us there. And I think that's really what's gonna help us make the biggest, impact on Scope three emissions.
Kristen Kravitz [00:21:38]: 'Cause it's just been a very opaque and difficult thing to. Manage in the past, and now we're finally able to start to actually see progress against, what that looks like. And then the retail industry in general. There's been a, a big push towards science-based targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, particularly in scope three.
Kristen Kravitz [00:21:57]: We've been continuing to, to track that and, and work with our service providers to better understand, you know, where they're going and, and how they're addressing those issues.
Eric Fullerton [00:22:04]: Yeah, that was great. I think, uh. Best way to make something more sustainable is to make it more efficient.
Eric Fullerton [00:22:10]: At the end of the episodes, usually what we do, something like a little, it's called little quick hits.
Eric Fullerton [00:22:14]: I'm gonna ask you a question and then, it's really just supposed to be like, kind of what comes to your mind, whether it's either a word or a phrase or, or just a sentence or two. So,
Eric Fullerton [00:22:23]: The first question I have is, uh, what, what's one thing you wish everyone who worked in supply chain knew and the industry would be better for it?
Kristen Kravitz [00:22:31]: I think just the importance of, of visibility and ensuring that I. We have a really strong connected visibility ecosystem across all the different partners and how critical that is. We emphasize to, our partners all the time. Like, something can be moving, but if we can't see it moving, it might as well not be moving.
Kristen Kravitz [00:22:49]: And so I think there's sometimes an underestimation of. In the supply chain on how important, uh, it is for, you know, our actual systemic visibility to mirror what's actually happening in the real world, because that's what helps us to be, agile. That's what helps us to be resilient. You know, if we don't have confidence in, where everything is and how it's moving, it's impossible for us to pull levers that will actually make a difference to deliver what the business needs us to deliver.
Eric Fullerton [00:23:17]: What is one trait that all the best supply chain professionals seem to have?
Kristen Kravitz [00:23:22]: One thing that has really inspired me about, the leaders I've seen in supply chain, that I've really learned a lot the most from is that they're very grounded in the, day to day just how things actually happen on the ground. So some of the leaders that I've learned the most from in my career are the.
Kristen Kravitz [00:23:38]: The leaders that came up from the distribution centers or the freight forwarding branches that were driving the forklift that, you know, were managing the people in the day-to-day. And they just really have a different kind of understanding of, you know, how the tactical day-to-day supply chain works.
Kristen Kravitz [00:23:53]: And they're willing to get their hands dirty and really see, See what's going on. And I think, getting into the weeds a little bit as a leader is not a bad thing, right? Obviously you never wanna be micromanaging. But being willing to go out there and, you know, I spend a lot of time each year in our origin offices, you know, in some of our local CFSs at Origin.
Kristen Kravitz [00:24:12]: You know, just being able to really see, what's happening on the ground and understand, what people are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. And then that just helps you be a better leader. 'Cause you can, Understand the challenge better, empower the people better, uh, and just have a better grasp of, of what you need to do in a, crisis situation.
Eric Fullerton [00:24:29]: Yeah. Awesome. I'm gonna give you an opportunity. If, uh, if you could retire one overused buzzword in supply chain today, what would it be?
Kristen Kravitz [00:24:40]: I'm gonna give you one that I've actually spent a lot of time recently explaining and, thinking about how do we pitch. But it's Control Tower. I think Control Tower is a buzzword that has kind of lost a lot of meaning, and so consequently there's a lot of great concepts behind it that we in fact, at A&F are working on, developing and trying to implement.
Kristen Kravitz [00:24:59]: But I spend so much time trying to explain what it means because people use it in so many different contexts and. It's hard to like isolate in this context. What do you mean by that? And often it means, you know, a system as well as a process as well as, you know, some like tech tool that someone developed as well as, you know, some office that someone has somewhere.
Kristen Kravitz [00:25:22]: It's kind of taken on this, like, it means everything and nothing at the same time. And so, that's a, a tricky thing.
Eric Fullerton [00:25:27]: Right? Like when something doesn't have a definition, that's when it really starts to become into that, into that buzzword, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:25:34]: Mm-hmm.
Eric Fullerton [00:25:35]: Concept of course is strong and that's who you were just talking about. But
Kristen Kravitz [00:25:37]: Yeah.
Eric Fullerton [00:25:38]: Yeah, the way it's used is, is really the problem.
Kristen Kravitz [00:25:40]: Mm-hmm.
Eric Fullerton [00:25:40]: In terms of supply chain trends, stuff that you're seeing, you think that there's one that's maybe. And maybe one that's underrated that, you know, we're hearing a lot in market today, all the time. Maybe one that you think it's a little overrated and one that I think we should be talking about that more.
Kristen Kravitz [00:25:57]: Everyone's talking about AI and you know, just how much [00:26:00] AI is gonna take over supply chains, right? And I think that's probably a little bit overrated because. My experience has been, we talked earlier about data and connected data, AI tools with, especially within a company, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:26:12]: Because we all have to use kind of proprietary. Versions of this within our companies to protect our data. They rely so much on having good, clean data that's connected across multiple systems. And the reality is that doesn't always exist today. And so I think this idea that, AI is gonna take over, you know, all of these decisions, you know, whether you want that to happen or don't want that to happen, is probably a little bit too aggressive right now.
Kristen Kravitz [00:26:36]: I think it's. Gonna take a lot more time before we have, everyone has their data in the right places that AI can actually consume to be able to help us do all those things. And I'm a believer in AI in general. But I think that like AI is gonna solve all these problems is, probably a little overrated.
Kristen Kravitz [00:26:52]: I think what's underrated is probably a focus on the fundamentals. So especially as we think about, [00:27:00] automation and the use of AI down the road, a lot of that has to depend on like really clean, solid workflows, really clean, solid processes. If you automate a bad workflow, you're really not gonna achieve anything you know, better than what you had before, right?
Kristen Kravitz [00:27:15]: You're just gonna speed up the chaos, or speed up the bad decision making. So, I think just that focus on the fundamentals is I. You know, really critical to, really the success of all of
these initiatives in the future and is probably doesn't get enough, you know, kind of airtime as, as it,
Eric Fullerton [00:27:30]: Absolutely. It's the same thing as the process that we talked about earlier. It's like the, the fundamentals, the things, it's real nice to talk about tech and talk about ai and these things are important, but it's the details and the fundamentals and the processes and the people that actually make this stuff work and make it move.
Kristen Kravitz [00:27:46]: Yep.
Eric Fullerton [00:27:46]: You have such an interesting purview in, in remit in your role and, uh, you, you know, the industry really, really well.
Eric Fullerton [00:27:52]: Do you have any, any hot takes on supply chain or transportation or tech?
Kristen Kravitz [00:27:57]: I don't know if it's a hot take, but I would say the thing [00:28:00] that I think it always is gonna come back to whether, you know, you're dealing with a crisis environment or the day-to-day or just continuous improvement is people, and people are never gonna not be a critical part of your supply chain. So it's so critical to take care of your people, and make sure as you're going through, you know, any situation that, you're growing and developing the right talent, but you're also just.
Kristen Kravitz [00:28:21]: Keeping tabs on your team, making sure they're empowered, continually revisiting your org, to make sure it's the right org. We typically really revisit that almost once a year where we're saying, okay, do we need to move people around to get people in the right seats and get people a new challenge and, you know, help solve the problems we have ahead of us this year?
Kristen Kravitz [00:28:38]: And, I just don't think you can underestimate that enough, you know, with all the focus on. Systems and transformation and technology and data. You know, ultimately it comes down to, you know, your people making, making the right decisions with all of those tools. So if you don't start there and don't take care of, of your team, they're not gonna be able to deliver what you need.
Kristen Kravitz [00:28:57]: So, I guess that's my, uh, my hot take is, is don't forget about your people.
Eric Fullerton [00:29:01]: Yeah, that's awesome. You can talk about all the, the tech, all the ai, all the, all the automation. All the processes and systems and all this stuff, but you know, at its core, the supply chain is a people business and it will be. So I think that was great. Well, Kristen, it was amazing to get your, your perspective, uh, here a little about, about your story and, uh, the A&F story as, as well. Thank you very much for taking some time to chat with us, but mostly I wanted to thank you for being a supply chain champion.
Kristen Kravitz [00:29:31]: Oh, thanks. It's granted a pleasure to be here and talk to you. Thanks, Eric.
Eric Fullerton [00:29:34]: Thank you for listening to Supply Chain Champions. To get connected and learn more, visit project44.com and click the link in the comments to subscribe to project44's newsletter. Tune in, get smart, and move forward.