Bees survive by cross-pollination, and are inventors of the hexagon shape which is one of the strongest structural designs on earth. We could learn something from them by increasing our efforts to cross-pollinate in our rapidly changing global market and supply chain.

The Supply Chain Network is a very impressive group of leaders that I have recently started to spend more time learning from. Their goal is to progress, streamline, and innovate the supply chain using a straight forward approach with open communication between everyone. They value team collaboration with colleagues, customers, founders, management, as well as their competing supply chain networks.

New product designs, data collection, diversity, modular packaging, recycled packaging, volume container reduction, analytics, IT development, streamlined logistics, and of course a handful of manufacturing topics are all on the discussion boards. Also, sourcing new sustainable material without slowing or disrupting the supply chain in a negative aspect. Think............ manufacturers' capabilities now and for the future. In addition, finding creative designs that not only use new innovative materials, but also look to incorporate or use proven materials currently on the market.

Customer experience at the end of the day is the most important and they haven't forgotten this key aspect either. During a recent podcast the host was asked this question and his answer was simple "at the end of the day it all comes down to customer experience". Sometimes in business we have become almost inept in perceiving what the customers needs are and how these needs are changing with the market trends and the world around them.

My perspective is that continued education (self-taught, higher-level, job experience, etc) in what interest you in business, knowledge from your peers, and keeping a leaders mentality throughout your career are imperative to achieve a high level of success. Also, after working from the ground up in two separate industries, I began to realize using knowledge from one industry could teach me valuable things about the other. An example unrelated to my personal experience is sometimes the Health Industry gains knowledge or insight from the Aviation industry. Most likely the safety division is the most important for this situation. It is another way as the old phrase says "look from outside the bottle......inside of your company" or "think outside the box".

This past year I created a comparison industry-mapping chart with a painted chalkboard on my living room wall. Some interesting insights on how industries could benefit from each other or where there may be deficiency's were revealed. Subjects cross-analyzed are as follows, employee culture and training, innovative trends,, safety, accounting procedures, IT development, material sourcing, logistic changes, HR, customer service, procurement, and health programs.

There will be updates with more details in articles to come, however there are several intellectual properties involved at the moment regarding product designs. I do plan to write another newsletter for April and May and here are a couple things we will discuss.

-The other aspect of the hexagonal shape from the cover picture in this article on a molecular level and what the future may hold.

-Modular packaging more in depth and how we can incorporate this into the product design and find sustainable packaging materials.

Lastly, any readers that are in High School, College, Tech School, or School of Hard Knocks. Please take a close look at the Supply Chain, Smart Cities, Innovation, and Leadership sectors of the business world. This industry encompass most fields or business that you may be interested in, all while working with a diverse group of people and helping to better the world we live in.

Just like the bees cross-pollinating it can be life changing to integrate a similar method into your business, industry, or personal life.

By Sean Melancon

Keywords: Sustainability, Supply Chain, Smart Cities

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