 We are very, very happy to have today with us Craig Jones, Senior Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain in Under Armour. Craig has been somebody with whom we have been collaborating for a long period now and a person and a leader who has went through various different, let's say, ups and downs of the overall industry and then as well, who has shared his experiences across the board, always with a smile on his face and with an idea of how to resolve the situations. So that's why starting what we are starting is Digital Supply Chain Institute through collaboration and partnership with our members. Craig is a great person to kick start with. So hello Craig, welcome and good to have you with us. Nice to see you again Marco. It feels like yesterday we spoke. I mean, we tend to speak a lot at these days. There's always something on our agenda, right? There was some topic to talk about. So yeah, great, great seeing you and look forward to the conversation today. Great Craig and I think this gives us a segue to kick start as it usually goes in supply chain immediately to the topics. We will be trying to cover today two very interesting areas we have been talking about and you have been working on. One is related to the data trading. Another one is related to the way of how companies can collaborate in the future in order to tackle the supply chain challenges, which Digital Supply Chain Institute calls constellations of value. So let's start from data and data has been something everybody is talking about. Everybody is thinking about, but from our knowledge, not that many know what to do with it. So can you explain what data and data trading is from your point of view and why is it in an area that Under Armour is exploring? Oh, it's a great question Marco and data trading is not a new phenomenon. I mean, this has been going on in the financial institutions for years. And I think with the acceleration of the digital supply chain, there's so much data available out there. The challenge is what to do with it and how to manage the data. And then what we found through looking at data as you go through various areas in supply chain. So whether you're doing conversations with third parties or logistical or freight providers, you find we're still working with the same data, but it's very siloed in the way that we look at data. What we are moving towards now and what we're starting to partnership and collaborate is how do we then use the data and try to build it through one platform. And by looking at data, you know, there's got to be some caveats around that with regards having the right access, you know, the certain conditions, the certain information you want. But in an efficient way, how can we look at reams of data and start to look at trends, look at opportunities through data trading and look at the end of the day. I think we're all in the same boat in our industry. So, you know, whether you're looking at cost in lead time performance, you know, there is certain data that's available that we can start to see patterns. And I think through collaboration through data, we can start to build, you know, better innovation in our industry that we really haven't been partnering with before. And let's be honest, and I'll say this again, and maybe I should copyright this, but we don't compete right on the freight container. You know, when we're shipping across the ocean, when we're on the back of an airplane, we're not competing. When we get to the mall, we go our own ways, but how can we as an industry start to capitalize on data and through good accuracy through data platform and working together? I think that's the way to go. It has to be the way to go because we're all looking at the same information, but interpreting it somewhat different and it must be a better way and a more efficient way to do that. Sorry, Marco, that was a long answer, but I hope you got the context of that. Of course, and a very good one. Thank you very much, Craig. And, you know, after hearing what you shared, you know, we can call it more data collaboration from today on, rather than data trading, because it's all about finding the way to collaborate and exchange data. So we all overcome the challenges of supply chain and then really compete where we need to compete. I like the way of how you said, you know, the area where we compete is not in supply chain per se. You know, it's coming to the customer, right? So that brings me to the next question is how do you see then data trading, data collaboration improving Under Armour's ability to reach the new customer? Well, you know, we're all facing similar challenges. Let's take a couple of examples. You know, we're all shipping, you know, a lot of freight across the ocean. Let's take, you know, from Asia, you know, to the West Coast, you know, the customer at the end of the day is looking for visibility, is looking for on time performance. And we found by working with data, even through our through the lens of competition, we're starting to see the synergy there where some partners are getting on the vessel earlier, or they get into the consumer quicker. So by collaborating with that information, we're starting to normally reach new consumers because we're able to be very clear on how we're going to meet their expectation. But we're also starting to see opportunities in the market where these gaps where we can actually accelerate product on the shelf before our competition, or given a much better customer experience, because ultimately the journey we went through, and we continue to drive through the front side flip is really putting the consumer in charge of everything we're doing. And we get new consumers by building on the customer promise. So, you know, we're all in the malls, we're all in different, you know, retail outlets across across the globe. But if we can, you know, perform through reliable information, give visibility, the customer's going to come to underarm more and more because you start to build that credibility start to build that trust. So new consumers are coming because his credibility and trust in the service. And ultimately, that transpires to the brand, you know, brand is not only about product, it's very important. But if you can provide products and great service, then that enables a much stronger brand and consumer experience. So that's where we're seeing, you know, new traction. Thank you very much, Craig. And you mentioned the trust as something which is very important. And it's not anymore trust directly with the consumer, but it's trust as well with the companies within the supply chain value chain, if we can put it that way. So having that in mind, it's a tango of all of the players. First time in the history. And in that sense, what would you say to the companies in your supply chain, let's say ecosystem, what they should do in order to have better collaboration with companies like Under Armour in order to really utilize the data rightly for all the stakeholders. Yeah, it's a good question. There's a lot of challenges around trust and having that visibility and what will that individual do with that information. And again, I go back to my original point in regards to we don't compete in certain parts of the supply chain. I don't think anybody in my job, in the competition or in the industry, nobody's looking for delivering products at the highest possible cost as late as possible. So we all have a common vision and anybody that says any different, I don't know, maybe that's a different philosophy, but I think that's the industry I've been in for 30 years. It's about driving high service level, having stability in the lead time at the lowest possible cost. Now, if I can share that with my third party logistics companies or my freight providers to get a better service and a better experience for the customer, it's a win-win for everybody, right? Because the more the customer wins, the more they're going to buy, the more they're going to buy converts into volume, converts into more boats, more vessels, more planes. So I think we can definitely work together as an industry and build trust through improving service. I mean, ultimately, that's what we all want to do. And again, when we arrive at the mall and we go to our own warehouses, that's where we can compete with different expectations and product is different from every consumer's experience. But I think unlocking that data and building better service lower cost is good for the consumer. And that's ultimately why we exist. So we need to knock those barriers down. And I think some companies are ready for it because they've been in the business a long time and they're mature enough to take that step. And some of the companies might just take some time. And it's not all, you know, all fits, all size fits all. It might be a certain commodity. It might be a certain passage. It could be a certain traffic lane. It doesn't need to be everything. But I think starting to share information through the eyes of the consumer experience, I think that's definitely going to help build trust and try some small things and, you know, see what's out there. And through that, you'll build trust and it can just grow. Building trust in a sense of open collaboration is a segue towards the notion of constellation of value, which we have been talking about lately. And in that sense, this preserve a new way of how you structure, let's say, a valuable relationship within supply chain from, you know, the people who are buyers of the service, people who are enablers of the service, people who have business intelligence on one side and then as well, people who are touching the customer at the end of the day. So having all these things in mind and everything what you shared and explained, I just wanted to hear your opinion about the new way of organizing, you know, where we, as you said, compete at the store at the mall, you know, where the consumer is rather than in touch points from, you know, the first mile up to last mile. So in that sense, from your point of view, how would you explain the constellation of value? Yeah. Yeah. And again, this is not new, right? This is, we've talked about constellation, we talked about value propositions for a while. And I think this is more like formalizing it. And for me, I think the best way of explaining a constellation is really around a group of actors, it could be a supplier, it could be partnerships customers, it could be third parties, really working together and really, you know, mobilizing creativity through the consumer experience and driving, you know, towards getting a better experience by working together. And again, I think we've, it's sort of with, we've even evolved as a supply chain, I think, going back when I first started, it was very functionally driven, you know, if you add a good day in freight, you know, your filling rates were high and your costs were low, you know, your service level, if you was in, you know, managing the commercial side of the business, it was all about on time in full. I think now, you know, we've started to look horizontally across the supply chain to say, look, if I partner up, even internally, it doesn't need to be externally, if I just partner up with my planning organization, with my commercial friends, my marketing team and the finance, et cetera, let's have a look at what's the right thing for the consumer. And again, we started this journey a couple of years ago, right, Marco, with frontside flip, frontside flip, flipping horizontal, looking at the consumer first, okay, looking at the consumer, if we're going to improve that experience, let's flip everybody in regards to that frontside, side slip. So that's it, frontside, you know, flip. Sorry, yeah, yeah, getting excited on all the information here. So if we got everybody thinking in that way, we could start to partnership and maybe some parts of the organization had to give a little to ultimately improve that meeting with the customer. So again, if we apply that externally on the market, hey, you know, dear third party provider, logistics provider, whoever you're working within that sphere, how can we work together in partnership as a constellation to improve, you know, that overall experience? And it's all about the consumer. That's what it, every time I look at a constant constellation of value, if I look at data sharing, it's all about putting the consumer in front of everything we do. And you know, we've had this conversation before, we've always been talking about, you know, historically about the marketing size of a country or a marketing size of an area of a particular category. Now the marketing size is one, it's you and me, we have our own expectations. So through that constellation and building that value proposition, how can we together improve that experience? So it's partnership, it's partnership and trust. And if you can build that trust through better partnership and share information as the data platform, you're off to a much better, you know, experience for the consumer and for the business overall, right? We all want to make money, we all want to be profitable, but we all, most, all of us want to give that consumer choice and a better experience. And having in mind what you said, you know, we all go and strive towards happy and loyal customers. And then everything we are talking about today basically rounds that up, not with just the brand, but with everybody who is creating the value chain around it. And that's how you explain the constellation in a really very vocal way and practical way. So coming to a practical thing, you know, we spoke a lot about, you know, how practicality is an important thing, right? One thing is thinking and the other thing is acting on the battlefield where, you know, all of the supply chain people are today. So having that in mind, Under Armour is a member of constellation of value which we created in Digital Supply Chain Institute for Shipping and Logistics. And I wanted to hear, you know, just your view, your experience up to now and the expectations of Under Armour being part of this group within Digital Supply Chain Institute membership where we try to tackle the Shipping and Logistics challenges. Yeah, it's a great topic, this one, Marco, and I have a lot of passion for this. It's interesting if you look at the last, you know, 18 months out of the freight industry is really challenged, you know, our business to think differently. And, you know, this is a pendulum, right? I think freight costs will go from one to another. And this will be a phenomenon that will happen for the next years to come. It's all about, you know, it's supply and demand, right? That capacity is definitely always going to have some element of constraint. Through many events, right? It could be a global event or it could be a commercial event that drives these types of phenomenons in our industry. I think one thing that captured my eye was, you know, the whole digitization of the supply chain and the visibility of information specifically around the freight industry in general. And, you know, the freight industry is pretty old school. It's not really evolved as such in regards to information and data flow. And, you know, we sort of underarm an opportunity here. If you think about vessels today floating around the ocean, you know, generally speaking, you might have at least 15% of that container being traveling with air. And not through bad planning, just through nature of lead time expectation, manufacturing lead time or just the nature of the country of origin. It's difficult sometimes to fill those containers. There is a plethora of reasons, but, you know, there's opportunity there. And then if you think about, you know, the packaging in general, you know, packaging, you know, we tend to fill cartons and, you know, there's an opportunity maybe to at least have another 10, 15% in that carton. And again, we have to be careful because we don't want to damage products. So there is some caveats around that. But in generally speaking, I might be wrong, one or 2%, but we're probably traveling around 15% of our containers are empty. And then, you know, we've done all sorts of things over the years. We've looked at consolidation origin. We've looked at LCL where we combine freight, but we still haven't really taken a big step to maximize that container and maximize that weight. So what we've been looking at is we've been challenging ourselves to say, hey, instead of looking at aggregating our own volumes, instead of looking at just aggregating and developing packaging and holding products for longer lead times, is there an opportunity we could start to share available capacity with other sectors in the industry? It could be pharmaceutical, it could be car industry. Again, certain commodities you can and can't do because you don't want to, you know, damage your products or certain products don't carry together. But it or even competition, right? I mean, we're not competing, again, it's an old catchphrase, we're not competing on the freight, on the ocean. Is there something where from the same area, we could sort of load the container, share that cost of that container, maximize that container together, and then when it arrives in a port of choice, then we go our own separate way. You know, it's almost like the uberization, if that's a word, of freight. How do we get into that through digital? How can we put a container and then sell that box to its maximum potential? And that's a little bit where we're exploring now through our third party logistics companies that have complete visibility of our own freight. But hey, is there anybody that wants to partner with us? So, you know, that that's a call to action, I would say through this call, you know, we are open under armor to start to explore and innovate that uberization of a container. Is there something we could do together, you know, to drive innovation through the industry? And again, it's about maximizing that container. It's about lowering our overall cost as an industry. And it's the right thing to do, right? From a sustainability perspective, can you imagine 15% if we could optimize even half of that times the number of containers that float annually? That's a lot of containers off the water. That's potentially a lot of airplanes out of the sky. So how can we drive, you know, through the sustainability ambitions of our organization? I mean, under armor, you know, he's aggressively driving many activities through sustainability circularity. How do we drive our bit through the freight organization by being nimble and driving more, you know, ocean sustainability initiatives? And the only way to do that we see, again, you can do it by slowing everything down. That's not what we want to do because we want the customer to be, you know, to have that great experience. But the only step really we see now is, hey, who would like to partner, you know, through data, through optimizing containers by sharing that burden and having a win-win for whoever wants to collaborate in that space. So that's where our head is at the moment. And that's where I'm challenging my team to drive that message. And I know my CEO is a huge driver of sustainability and his experience in the industry as well is helping capitalize some of these opportunities that we see. Thank you, Craig. You know, I think the story you shared is basically walking the talk, right? Saying that or writing beautiful line that, you know, people think or their organizations think about sustainability is one thing. By having a practical example, which really changes the game, as you mentioned, in numbers. And then having a bold statement as you did now. And thank you for that is inviting even the competition to collaborate in order to tackle these things, which means they can also say that, you know, they're doing it to what you said. But overall, we are all benefiting at the end of the day, not just one brand. So Under Armour has always been, you know, in the mode of really offering a hand. And I salute you for that. And thank you for sharing these details. And then as well, you know, leaving them practically, which is another added value component. So this brings us then towards, I think the last question I would like to ask you today. And that's what would be your advice for, you know, supply chain leaders interested to create their own constellations of value creating groups or, let's say, initiatives, which can tackle the supply chain problems. Because through what we have shared today, we can actually really very simply see that no organization in the world on its own is ready to tackle the problems we have. That means that we need another way of collaboration, cooperating together. And Under Armour has went a long way. And thank you for open, openly sharing these things because they're all practical and usable. And what would be your advice? Yeah, you know, we've been in the fight for three years, right, with COVID, with all of the supply chain disruptions. And it's been very difficult to sort of, you know, raise our head above the fire pit and see what's going on out there. There is a lot of waste out there. There's a lot of opportunities that because of the nature of the industry being so busy at the moment, we're not finding time for that. And there's a lot of good experiences through a very bad experience over the last three years that we've found opportunity. And I think now it's the time to, you know, to your point, what the talk. I mean, I spoke to many, you know, freight forwarding companies to their CEOs to, you know, to their commercial leaders. And everybody thinks it's a really, really good idea what we're embarking on here. But nobody's took that step to do it. And I think that's a little bit of the, you know, the, it's a bit of a shame that we've not capitalized on that. And everybody has their own reasons. And there's a, you know, there's a ton of things going on at the moment. But I would say, you know, look in areas of opportunity. And it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. There is certain areas and freight is one of those that we see as an opportunity. And maybe it's not the whole freight business, maybe there's certain areas where you know containers are not flowing full. Maybe there's opportunities for consolidation in certain parts of the world. Start to look at that area first. And it's pretty obvious where those areas are. And you've got to, you've got to trust, right? You've got to, you've got to take that step. And it's not a step into the unknown, because a lot of partners are out there. They want to do it. They just need to get the right group of people together to do it. And again, you know, I'm very open. I want to sit down with individuals that have a passion, you know, for this idea with me. And I don't know all the answers. And I know some of you are going to be thinking, you know, when I get into this, I've got to think about how do I do my administration, my documentation? What does it mean for customs? Hey, we'll work it out. We'll work through it. There is a way here. There is a solution we can build together. And I think working with the likes of DSCI and Marco and the team, I think we can, we've got all of the contacts here, right, to build maybe a solution that we can pilot together. And look, it's now, now is the time to do it. There's so much disruption. Things are somewhat settling, getting back to normal, whatever normal looks like. So while things are sort of moving in the right direction, let's take the opportunity. And, you know, let's see where we can go with this one. And I really believe that this is going to take us to a new level in sustainability in filling rates, it's going to innovate the freight business, and it's going to, you know, drive us into a much more sustainable low-cost freight option for our businesses together if we work together. So Craig, I think this brings me to a conclusion in what you shared. I think that there are three elements I wrote down through this conversation. First thing is that if we want to tackle the problems which we have ahead of us today, we need to be curious. We need to really think about things from another aspect and then, you know, cross-compare, learn, share, and then, you know, think. The second thing is to be bold, right? We need to be bold to, you know, act differently, like you said, to invite competition to collaborate, to, you know, put the things into perspective which nobody else have put. And then at the end of the day, we need to be very practical, meaning that we need to test and try. We need to see what works. We need to pivot. We need to cut the things into smaller chunks and then build on top of that through the real-case experience because, as you mentioned at the very beginning of our conversation, there are not that many people or even maybe zero who went through these kind of challenges during their careers. So that means that without these three things, we cannot achieve what we would like to do. So I would like Craig to thank you once again for, you know, kick-starting and being bold to do this initiative together with us. We had with us today Craig Jones, Senior Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain from Under Armour. My name is Marco Kovacevic and we look forward to the next conversations. And Craig, I promise, will come back to you to hear more about the practicalities you have tested. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you, Marco.