Show Notes In this insightful episode of the TechX Podcast, Seth Waters is joined once again by Merritt DeGraw, Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna, to wrap up their comprehensive discussion on the evolution of manufacturing and distribution through technology. They delve into the critical topics of efficiency and sustainability, exploring innovative strategies companies are adopting to enhance eco-friendly practices and optimize supply chain efficiency, while also underscoring the critical role of technology in shaping more efficient, sustainable, and resilient supply chains. Merritt shares his insights on the significant impact of global events on supply chain management. Join us as we uncover the future of manufacturing and distribution, highlighting the importance of flexibility, vendor management, and the transformative power of technology. Topics Discussed Sustainability in manufacturing and distribution Understanding the ecological impact of products from creation to market Recent trends in reporting operational impacts to boards and public shareholders The importance of risk assessment and management in a distributed and on-demand supply model. The role of IT consulting and staffing in navigating data security challenges. Fortuna's approach to partnering with companies for technological solutions. The significance of vendor accountability and the ability to adapt to changes quickly. Quotes "It's about being able to pivot... understanding those pain points and building a plan to navigate out of those challenges." - Merritt DeGraw "Understanding your business and where you want to go is crucial... ask hard questions of your vendors." - Merritt DeGraw "Nobody's perfect... people succeed or organizations succeed that are able to pivot in bad markets or bad times." - Merritt DeGraw Transcript: Seth Waters: Well, welcome back to the TechX podcast. I'm Seth Waters. I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at Fortuna, and I'm here with Merritt DeGraw, the Chief Technology Officer at Fortuna, as well as Planned Capacity and a bunch of other companies that you work with all over the board. Yes, in our last couple of conversations together, we dove into this topic on where technology is intersecting with manufacturing and distribution. And we've talked about a lot of different things like the rise of automation and AI and how leaders in the industry can begin to think about upskilling their employees and adopting new practices, finding the right guides to lead them through the challenges that they're that they're facing. It's been really valuable. And by the way, thank you for your emails. They've been reaching out to us. Always feel free to send us an email if you hear something that we're talking about and you say, “Boy, I'd like to know a little bit more about that, or I'd like to connect with Merritt or Seth and find out more about Fortuna and what they do.” You can always send us an email to techx@fortunabmc.com. Today, as we dive into the final part of this conversation about manufacturing and distribution, I'd love to jump in and talk about efficiency and sustainability. These are two hot topics for everyone, right? Is there talk about technology and all of the things in the future? Merritt, what steps do you see companies taking towards sustainability and eco-friendly practices in manufacturing and distribution? Merritt DeGraw: Why? There's a big push in that direction today to understand how your products are made, how they get shipped, how are they kind of impacting the global ecosystem? I think is one of the big conversations. So, you know, again, I think a lot of it is the ability to, one, measure how your operations are impacting, right? I think you're starting to see a lot of that coming out today. And then again, tracking that from a perspective as it as your product moves to market, kind of giving that scorecard, right? If you look at it, a lot of that information now goes at the boards. It goes up to public shareholder meetings, you name it. Those are all elements that are touched in those areas, right? So being able to put the key metrics in place to be able to facilitate that conversation kind of sets you apart nowadays for some that are not quite there yet in terms of, you know, they may not have a big of a public presence maybe on the distribution side. Yeah, but as you can see, a lot of the big players are all having to touch those spaces, even on the Bitcoin side right now where, you know, you have to talk about how you basically have to publish how much power you're using today, right? So that's those are all elements that are just recently come into play. So one is, you know, how do you measure it? How you how do you manage it right from that perspective to ensure that you're bringing a key. What is the word? I want to use an ethical product to market that probably the best way to ...
