DSCInsights in Action: The Blueprint for Connecting Supply Chain Leaders

Duration: 14:09 2435 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The video highlights a significant shift in how supply chain leaders approach industry events, moving away from simple networking or passive listening toward seeking immediate, actionable value. Tanzil Udin of The Manifest emphasizes that attendees now prioritize content that offers tangible takeaways they can implement within days rather than years, focusing on solving specific problems like returns management and reverse logistics challenges right away. Beyond the curriculum itself, leaders are looking for an ecosystem where all segments of the supply chain—from startups and investors to shippers and LSPs—are present under one roof. This environment fosters organic conversations through curated experiences tailored to different groups, allowing professionals to build lasting connections that extend well beyond the duration of the conference. Real-world examples illustrate how these events drive tangible transformation by acting as a catalyst for strategic partnerships and innovation announcements. The Manifest serves not just as a meeting place but as a platform where brands partner with logistics providers to solve specific operational hurdles, often starting with initial meetings at one event that accelerate into full-scale collaborations by the next year. Furthermore, the event acts as a launchpad for major industry milestones such as new product releases, funding rounds, and merger agreements, which are frequently announced during or immediately after the gathering. This dynamic creates a ripple effect where startups secure necessary capital to scale their services while established companies find collaborative solutions to complex challenges like waste reduction and efficiency optimization within what Tanzil describes as a "safe lab environment." For organizations preparing for future events like Manifest 2027, the advice centers on approaching the conference with clear objectives rather than treating it merely as an opportunity to collect business cards. Leaders are encouraged to define their specific use cases beforehand, such as identifying where AI can solve particular pain points or determining which areas offer synergy for new partnerships, ensuring they do not adopt technology just for its sake but based on a deep understanding of operational challenges. A critical theme emerging from the discussion is the need to look beyond hype and focus on practical applications that deliver clear efficiencies rather than vague bottom-line returns, while also paying close attention to how different ecosystem players integrate with one another. By engaging in these targeted discussions about real-world constraints and opportunities, companies can position themselves for competitive advantage over the next few years. Ultimately, the collaboration between DSCI Insights and The Manifest aims to bridge the gap between theoretical innovation and practical application by centering on the operator's perspective. This partnership ensures that event content reflects the daily realities of supply chain professionals who are actively deploying digital tools to improve workforce efficiency and operational costs across various industries. By maintaining a focus on practicality, both organizations strive to create valuable events that genuinely accelerate industry progress rather than just generating buzz. As they look toward Manifest 2027, the shared goal remains clear: to continue building an environment where leaders can test new ideas, form meaningful alliances, and drive real transformation within their supply chains through informed dialogue and strategic exposure.

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Welcome to DSCI insights in action. I'm pleased to have with me today Tanzil Udin who is a content director of one of the largest supply chain events globally called the manifest. Tanzil welcome >> Marco happy to be here. Thank you so much. So from your perspective, what are the biggest shift you are seeing in uh what supply chain leaders actually want from events like yours right now? Right. >> Happy to answer that. What what we've seen is there are a few things that attendees prioritize within a conference gathering. So number one is when I look at content as an example, um can I come into an event like this and extract real takeaways, tangible examples that are coming through in the content of this event. Meaning I'm a VP, director, whoever I am, I have one or two ideas that I can literally take back to my team, my office next week, not next year. So it's really the actionable insights that are coming out of not only your content I say content but your event number two is of of course not in a specific order but two second would be the people are the right people in this room we pride ourselves in being an ecosystem event at manifest meaning we're telling you that all parts of the endto-end supply chain ecosystem are here under one roof the startups are there the investors are there all the users ers, the shippers, the LSPs, they're all under one roof. And so delivering on that and not only that, but also the right person, the leadership from that category. And obviously it it kind of I say number two, but that it probably starts and ends there of the right people in the room. So that's second, the right people. Three will be organic conversations. So there is a healthy mix of structured formal content sessions, receptions, but then there's also a lot of pockets of curated experiences for each individual group. So if I'm a startup or investor, I have something to go to. If I am a shipper, um as chief supply chain officer, I have something to go to. And that curated experience for me is very important as an attendee where I got to basically got a chance to have these organic conversations as well. Quite frankly, make friends, get acquainted with people that I can remain connected with throughout the year. Those are some of the top ones, but obviously then comes the expo. Uh what is inside that expo? Is it, you know, innovation forward as we promised to be? And but those are the three ones that come top of mind for me in terms of how events have shifted into becoming more strategic for a lot of these leaders. >> Thank you Tanzil. And and what I really like is the way of how you said things are shifting actually from just meet and greet and general buzz of you know like the keynotes into what do I do tomorrow when I come back and you know where I can put this contacts not into business only but actually into the way of how I can work on transformation of my uh supply chain or you know like the the way of how I can test and try new things and that brings me to to really it's a great segue to the next question which I have and it's actually you know c can you please share with us uh uh you know like how an organization's supply chain actually changed because of what happened at one of your events just one of the examples you can share because I think those those messages and those stories are actually creating the true value you have been talking about. >> Yeah, absolutely. So there's there's too many examples to speak to, but I'll kind of speak to just one that comes to mind. I it's basically the core the key way partnerships come out of manifest. So one of the key ways is I am a brand or a shipper, e-commerce company, direct consumer company, whatever I am, and I have a returns challenge. I have a waste challenge. I have a reverse logistics challenge. And we've had many examples. There's one that comes to mind of a brand partnering with a returns a reverse logistics platform straight from manifest where and it's the way what the beautiful thing about it is it's almost like seeds are being planted in in years one and two of the event and then by year three or year four of manifest you're you're accelerating your partnership. And that's what we saw with this company and these two companies in particular where the brand planted the seed you know with or the event the reverse logistics platform uh company met the brand at one of the manifest the seed was planted and then by the time the next year's event came around they were already accelerating their partnership and working on certain things um accordingly. So that's one type of example which we've seen come out of manifest a lot with other companies. The other type that we're seeing is, and we actually have a virtual press room for this. As a matter of fact, dozens of companies would use Manifest to basically launch a new product or they will announce a new partnership. Some have even signed an acquisition or an intent uh at our event. And so, letter of intent, excuse me. So these LOIs are being signed or a partnership is being announced, a new funding round is being announced, a new product is being launched uh at the event and we try to give a spotlight to those uh new that news coming out of the event and our virtual press room exists for just that. So not only is it's the changing of the supply chain directly in this case the first example of a brand working with you know a reverse logistics platform but it's also kind of the the second component of a potential ripple effect on our industry a new funding round new fund new funds are raised by a startup company which helps accelerate that startup company and they're able to then serve the industry accordingly as a result and kind of scale appropriately. Then obviously like I mentioned the M&A side of it, certain mergers or partnerships. So we're seeing all of that happening at an event like ours and we we make sure we we try our best to give them the right platform that they need within the event to accentuate that announcement or partnership. Basically the the the event is now more like an overall platform where actually on one side you can resolve the current difficulties or big problems in partnership or collaboration with the others who have been facing the same problem and already you know have the headway. On the other side, it also brings you closer to new opportunities which are emerging from uh new services or new trends which can be exercised in I I can call it a safe lab environment which is called the manifest platform which is beautiful and um having that in mind uh when the organization come to manifest 2027 and I know you are already like in the peak of the preparations what should they be focused focused on learning. You know, if we can give, you know, our our community an advice and uh what conversations uh they need to have with their peers as well and with the expert that experts that will actually you know improve their competitive position in next two to three years. So let's give them a practical advice from your side signing up for manifest 2027 to be more than just uh let's say a business card collecting event which manifest is much more. >> Yeah, absolutely. So I would say the best way to prep not for just for the event but obviously like you to your point to to maintain or gain a competitive advantage in our space. There are themes that come up very often in our conversations. As you said, we're already in the planning phase and I I'm thankful enough to be able to work with the chief supply chain officer, similar operators that come to our event and what this is what they're telling me and what I'm hearing. there are certain things that they're prioritizing and it's understanding what these organizations really care about and g given current times is very important for anyone that's a part of the ecosystem that wants to partner with them work with them learn from them whatever it is u some of those themes include oh I would just use the the obvious example of AI right and AI is talked about almost at nauseium to be frank at you know in our daily lives at events so on and so forth however there is a narrative shift in AI or any emerging technology that narrative shift has went from uh what is it how is it being used to now where is it being used and where is it being scaled and I think that's a very important differentiator because it's being applied it's being used um from what we're hearing ROI is not necessarily clear-cut you're not seeing the bottom line ROI but you're seeing efficiencies you're seeing these optimizations on on the team side of things and So understanding that nuance of how these leaders are looking at AI and applying it or any emerging technology and it's usually on one, two or three areas and they're looking to scale it from there versus trying to tack it on to anything and so but they work backwards. they first understand what the challenges are that they have and what challenges they're hoping for AI or tools to solve and if they have that clear understanding the other side so the technology side in this case should also do the due diligence to understand what those challenges are that the organizations are facing versus just AI for the sake of AI or technology for the sake of technology so it's really prioritizing the use case and where the efficiencies are being made is number one and both sides understanding the challenges that they're hoping for the technology to solve is what we're seeing. Uh and then I would say second would be understanding partner ecosystems because if I'm looking to work with a company and they have a lot of third parties for example our suppliers whatever it is there's an integration component that comes up there there is a complimentary question that comes up there um between these ecosystem players. So how do I even integrate with your ecos current ecosystem properly? uh and that's a big challenge that the industry faces but it's just being cognizant of of who those ecosystem players are and we're thankful again taking back to our event uh going back to the CSOS a lot of them will take the stage and speak to just that the the the challenges that they have what they what they experience in their day-to-day and what they prioritize and then what their partner ecosystem looks like at the moment uh and their network what it looks like. So those are the types of discussions that we'll continue to lean towards at our event. >> Thank you Tanzil. And uh actually if I try to put it in one simple sentence is before you go to manifest do your homework and define on one side your use case or the area where you would like to tackle a problem and on the other side where do you see synergies for partnerships not only for business growth and that will actually bring the value for you and accelerate it uh forward which is a beautiful way to put it and that's why I really always see manifest as a an innovation and a driver of you know what's coming in events uh in supply chain. So let's round up our discussion please with why we collaborate together because I think that should be also uh uh mentioned and we we owe that to the audience. So as as everybody knows DSEI brings a specific perspective on supply chain innovation development and learning and from your view Tanzil how will that shape what manifest is planning for 2027? Yes, absolutely. So, we've obviously have been extremely thankful to be able to work with you, your team, the SCI, and you have a lot of synergies with what I just said really and what we do. So uh very close to my heart. Our heart is the operators perspective and you possess a an extremely strong network of operators across a numerous different industries and verticals who are actively working with you to identify innovations and what the digital supply chain actually looks like. So to my point on challenges, actual use cases, you're pretty much talking that language every day. And we've been thankful to put together sessions with you, you know, at previous manifests. And of course, we always look forward to having that operator's perspective on our stage to speak to exactly what you do, which is how we are actually applying technologies in our supply chain for better for a better, more efficient workforce as well as our operations. when you look at costs and things like that, different factors that these leaders prioritize, um that is, you know, you kind of speak to the content that we're looking to take our show towards. Thank you very much, Tanzil. And I think this beautifully wraps up uh our conversation. One thing I can promise is that we will keep on being practical because that's uh part of our DNA and uh I and we are grateful to manifest for the partnership we have built and especially to envisioning and being brave to create the future of supply chain events uh to be valuable for all of those who are participating. So we look forward to manifest 2027 working with you together and we'll definitely circle back after the manifest to share the key insights with our audience. Thank you once again. >> Thank you so much Marco. I appreciate it. >> This was another DSCI insights in action episode and we'll come to you with more.