Johnny Slattery is the Chief Executive Officer at SCNX.
He is a seasoned technologist and has been building software for 20+ years. Verticals of focus include derivatives trading, management consulting and logistics. Johnny has rich experience building and running companies and maintains a passion for developing novel technical solutions that solve real problems.
Listen to the full discussion here:
- Listen on Stitcher
Connect with the Host:
Rushit Shah: LinkedIn | E-mail
Connect with the Guest:
Johnny Slattery: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- Becoming the CEO of SCNX
- SCNX’s portfolio and services
- Deploying technology using IoT and machine learning
- Culture and skills needed within supply chain tech industry
- Advices to young graduates and interns that will enter corporate world
Show notes:
- [1:10] How did you end up becoming the CEO at SCNX?
- [4:40] On arrival in SCNX there was a kind of a CapEx intensive solution that had been put forward by the original incubating team and I made a few changes there and that solution was seen as a success. And a year later, the CEO position opened up on the board asked me to step in as an interim. And that was two years ago, and I’m still there.
- [5:35] What are the portfolio and services SCNX provides?
- [5:49] SCNX was set up to address the problem of inventory management offshore on vessels.
- [9:08] On the IoT side, is the product made by SCNX as well?
- [9:40] Currently, our tablet is sourced from a third party. And then we’ve written very bespoke code, so we’ve written it on Android, but also, we’ve kind of made some machine code alterations that speak directly to the RFID scanner on this particular tablet.
- [10:43] With SCNX, do you think you have moved compared to a data management company now?
- [10:49] It’s really two sides of the same coin. So I don’t see it as IoT versus data management. I think the two sides have to happen in parallel.
- [13:48 ] Where do you see the landscape five years from IoT and data within the supply chain?
- [13:53] I think all these things are correlated, I don’t believe that any particular area is going to massively advance beyond the other. I really think as visualization moves on, then it’s going to take IoT with it.
- [16:25] Do you mind providing some success stories with your clients?
- [19:05] What we do is we work with the purchasing teams, and also the superintendents who own the P&L for the vessel to show them that they have this excess purchasing on board and then of course, we can maintain the accuracy and help them with purchasing decisions through our shore portal.
- [19:54] How long does it really take for you to completely get on board and give them the first output? What’s this lead time from your acquiring a client and giving them data?
- [21:16] We have the variable of how much help the onboard engineer in that company can give us, obviously, the more help they give us the better. So it’s probably at its tightest, maybe six to seven weeks from when we actually decide to do a pilot that we can provide them with a post pilot report showing all the value with a fully bagged and tagged and transformed vessel.
- [22:20] Is there a way to artificially learn from the weight of the size and the frequency of what the product has been sent from one destination to another from one buyer?
- [22:46] We’re trying to apply AI and machine learning shortcuts to all the different areas that we’re deploying technology.
- [24:28] Is lack of talent the challenge you’re facing right now?
- [24:35] We’re very fortunate that we have a wonderful culture of supremacy and an accent. We do very well in our employee engagement surveys and I think the key to our success here has been to try and hire people with a good accountability model.
- [25:41] What do you think is the hardest to find skills right now in your industry and how are you trying to develop them within SCNX?
- [25:57] It’s hard to find good people in every department. But definitely, there’s a real shortage of good engineering talent. We have people moving between departments and we encourage that because they may be relatively new to their new department.
- [26:52] What are the soft skills which enabled you to find a job within the supply chain tech industry?
- [27:36] I think the most important soft skill is to have a will to succeed and having that kind of “Never Say Die” attitude.
- [27:48 What culture as a leader do you promote in SCNX?
- [27:51] I think you have to be very supportive of people experimenting and the only way that people will experiment is if they feel safe for something to “fail”.
- [28:51] You’ve seen multiple industries now, and if you kind of have to go back and restart again, will you continue being in that kind of trade and end up in the supply chain?
- [29:07] It’s very hard to question the road not traveled but I’m incredibly happy actually, that I ended up in the supply chain. I think we’re in a very exciting wave of both investment and experimentation in the supply chain and I’m just happy that I had enough experience from all these other industries. It’s a fantastic space to be in.
- [29:58] What would you suggest to the young graduates and interns to work in a corporate world or to go and work in a tech company or establish a startup company?
- [30:26] I would encourage young people to not just focus on one skill with the power of internet tutorials, and just engage with your environments at work and home, you can learn multiple skills concurrently.
Quote from the Episode:
About the Host:
The host, Rushit Shah is the Managing Director of APAC and North America at Alcott Global. Rushit comes with 20 years of Executive Search and Selection with 8 years of Supply Chain Consulting service within APAC. He worked for more than 40 countries with diversified industries and functionality.
Alcott Global connects and upgrades the supply chain ecosystem by finding the right talent through executive search, developing talent through learning solutions, and meeting supply chain technology needs through a comprehensive crunch base marketplace.
The supply chain executive search has been our focus since the very beginning, offering recruitment services for top-tier supply chain roles at every level of the end-to-end supply chain: plan, source / procure, make, and deliver. Our consultants have years of experience in placing top talent, in North America, LATAM, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and APAC, and besides speed, one of our biggest strengths is our network within the supply chain industry, and we capitalize on it to find the best solutions.
Through the years, we have grown as an organization and our offerings with it. One of our initiatives, the learning solutions- training and supply chain academy, is focused on transforming leadership- self-leadership, executive presence, influence capital, and business acumen. Through Supplify, we aim to match corporations with the top technology companies to solve their supply chain and logistics challenges with a focus on innovation and digital transformation.
We are in constant touch with the leaders in supply chain, inviting them to inspire the supply chain professionals in thought-provoking podcast episodes and events, and showcasing what is possible at the yearly Leaders in Supply Chain Awards.
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