How to Keep Supply Chain Agile and Sustainable with Edward Hertzman

For this episode of the eCom Logistics Podcast, we welcome Edward Hertzman, Executive Vice President of Fairchild Media and Founder and President of Sourcing Journal. Edward shares the trends in supply chain he is observing today post-COVID and beyond. From the way Amazon changed logistics forever and its effects in consumer expectations as a result, to the importance of remaining agile and how to do it, Edward takes a deep dive into how global supply chains will look like in the near future and how to maintain inventory to scale. ABOUT EDWARDEdward Hertzman received a degree in economics from NYU and spent more than a decade working as a top executive for major sourcing companies all over the world, including Synergies Worldwide and Pearl Global. Hertzman sits on the Board for Delivering Good, a charitable organization that channels the resources of the fashion industry to those in need.In 2009, in response to a need in the industry, he founded Sourcing Journal Online. With more than 75,000 subscribers, Sourcing Journal Online is the largest trade journal devoted to the sourcing apparel and textile industry supply chain in the world. In August 2020, he was promoted to executive vice president of Fairchild Media, tasked with growing the businesses of all Fairchild Media titles in his new position, while continuing to lead the day-to-day operations at Sourcing Journal. He will also oversee the growth of Fairchild Media’s strategic content studio, bolstering the creation of engaging, interactive content to help industry partners stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape. HIGHLIGHTS07:07 DTC is dying and mergers are set to happen13:08 Surviving devaluation and managing inventory for what's to come20:23 Keeping sourcing lean and agile in fashion25:23 Nearshoring and diversifying manufacturing and sourcing capabilities30:22 Regulations and sharing the responsibility of sustainability in supply chain management QUOTES14:27 On pushing back on the growth-at-all-costs mindset, Edward says, "Just don't acquire customers saying, Oh, the lifetime value is X and never really realize that. Don't buy inventory without testing the product. Find retail partners that are gonna support you, not just be transactional."31:09 As regulations will push for tangible sustainability measures from retail, Edward says, "I think there's only two ways to incentivize people or two ways to get people to change. One is through incentive and one is through repercussions. And what I mean by that is either you're gonna pay me more to do something or you're gonna punish me for not doing it."39:48 To survive the recession, Edward suggests, "I think that if people don't think short term, the same way I say don't buy a million T-shirts when you really only need five. Don't just start laying off to make the quarter. It's very hard to find talent in this space. Don't stop investing in technology to make the quarter because you're gonna need that technology." Find out more about Edward and Sourcing Journal in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed....ward-hertzman-2401b3 https://twitter.com/EdwardHertzmanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwardhertzman/Website: https://sourcingjournal.com/