Manufacturing Happy Hour

Andrew Johnson is a supply chain innovator, speaker, and the CEO of ShelfAware. After being raised in and working for his family’s industrial business O-Ring Sales and Services, ShelfAware developed out of that company and now provides an RFID-powered solution that gives wireless traceability to a manufacturers’ inventory. In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Andrew takes us behind the scenes to look at ShelfAware’s origin story. We hear how much he learned growing up in a family business and what led him to start ShelfAware.  Andrew explains how automation has been key to growing his business and why he uses the idea of “incremental innovation” to scale his company sustainably. We also hear the lessons he learned from the movie Moneyball and some top tips he has to share for other manufacturers. In this episode, find out:     How growing up in a family business introduced Andrew to entrepreneurialism     The origin story of ShelfAware      Why automation can be a great way to boost your competitive advantage     How the movie Moneyball inspired him  What incremental innovation is and why it’s the best way forwardWhy manufacturers should focus on developing young talent (even if they lack experience)Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going! Tweetable Quotes:   “We have to have fun. In our workplace, we have to take some risks. And we have to be willing to get messy, or we’ll never take that next step in innovation.”“I think a lot of manufacturers should throw out all of their experience requirements when they're hiring new folks for their company.”      “Look at innovation as a race, a marathon, a long race with huge goals. But you're going to run your incremental races as a series of sprints to get to that big finish line.”Links & mentions:ShelfAware, RFID technology manufacturer that automates supply chainsShelfAware’s YouTube channel, short and sweet videos about ShelfAware, manufacturing musings, and hot takes on where the industry is headingJack Stack Barbecue, an upscale Kansas City BBQ chain with several locations across the cityJoe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, an old-school BBQ joint set in an old gas stationMake sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Kiley Summers is a manufacturing leader turned financial services entrepreneur. He’s the Founder of SpenDebt, a financial technology company that helps people payoff debt through micropayments in every day transactions. But prior to that, he came up through the ranks in engineering, operations, and business unit leadership at PepsiCo.In this episode, Kiley takes us through his journey to becoming an engineer, a leader in manufacturing, and ultimately, an entrepreneur. Kiley shares stories about his background and the biggest lessons he pulled from his time working at Frito-Lay’s Rosenberg, TX plant that he now uses to navigate the challenges of running his own business. Plus, you’ll hear how SpenDebt is changing the game when it comes to paying off debt, along with a couple of other tasty conversations and takeaways.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

It’s the final episode of our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! Chris is responsible for hosting duties this week, and he’ll be joined one last time by 5 other sales & marketing experts to take on the topic of leadership in 2020.In this last installment of our 4-part series, we’ll be sharing our observations about leadership since the world changed in March 2020. Our panelists will each boil leadership down to a single word, share stories of where they’ve seen leaders emerge, and wrap things up with advice that anyone can use to step up and lead in this brave new world.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What are the top solutions for manufacturers that we’ve come across in our first year of this podcast? This week, we’ll be sharing the best technologies and companies we’ve come across through our podcast interviews and virtual events since we started the show last summer. From technologies that address the workforce skills gap to those that reduce your bottom line without sacrificing new business and revenue, these companies are taking on the biggest issues facing manufacturers in 2020.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Welcome back to another episode of our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! The third edition of our 4-part panel discussion features Chris and 5 other sales & marketing gurus sharing their thoughts on the most pressing topics for B2B business leaders in 2020 and beyond.Are there things getting in the way for you and your organization to make sales? Part three is all about identifying and eliminating those roadblocks impacting sales and marketing. We share our perspectives on the top roadblocks, how to detect them, and wrap up with pointed tactics on how to reduce them.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

We’re moving right along in our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! In the second edition of our 4-part panel discussion, Chris is once again joined by 5 other sales & marketing experts to take on some of the most pressing topics for B2B business leaders in 2020.In part two, we’re shifting the focus from marketing to sales as we discuss the importance of listening, tracking outcomes, and creating a marketing strategy that is all about the customer. Said another way, it’s not about you! We’ll all share 1 thing that leaders can change to not only impact sales, but gain a ton of authentic customer feedback in the process. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a conversation about leveraging data so that you never have to “sell naked” ever again.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Jason Ray is the CEO of Paperless Parts, a company on a mission to make manufacturing more accessible. After spending 8 years in the Navy in leadership roles ranging from Supply Corps Officer to Additive Manufacturing Lead, Jason co-founded Paperless Parts, and through their cloud-based sales and quoting software solutions, he's helping job shop manufacturers quote faster, win new customers, and increase revenues.In this episode, Jason takes us through his story as a military leader and how it ultimately led to the creation of his current company. On the surface, this episode is about Paperless Parts’ software solution that’s streamlining the quoting and sales process for job shop manufacturers. But beyond the ins-and-outs of their software, we’ll cover bigger topics like customer experience, digital transformation, and the workforce skills gap. Whether you’re in a job shop or not, this one is jammed with lessons for leaders across the manufacturing sector.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Welcome to the Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series, a 4-part bonus edition of Manufacturing Happy Hour where we’ll be tackling the most pressing topics facing B2B business leaders through weekly panel discussions. Your host Chris Luecke is joined by 5 other B2B sales & marketing experts to take on some of the most pressing topics for business leaders in 2020.In our first edition of the Game Changers, we’ll be focusing on authentic, modern marketing. We start by debunking some of the biggest misconceptions about marketing before hearing multiple perspectives on what effective marketing looks like today. Finally, we share actions you can take right now to make your marketing more impactful.After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Wendy Covey from TREW Marketing rejoins us for a bonus episode where we get into the details of content marketing to a technical audience. In this short episode, we’ll cover the specifics of both publishing and promoting content. We start by focusing on a company’s website as the primary publishing platform and why it needs to be an effective marketing tool, from responsiveness to frequency of updates, even to the code behind it. We also cover why having a marketing automation platform and an integrated CRM is essential for measuring how marketing is performing. Finally, Wendy covers inbound and outbound strategies, including how to attract people to your site and move them through the buyer’s journey, as well as working with industry publications and LinkedIn strategies for pulling in new clients.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Wendy Covey is a maven of technical marketing. She is the CEO & Founder of TREW Marketing, an agency that educates middle-market engineering companies on technical buyer behavior and how to utilize inbound marketing and sales methodologies to generate more demand. She is also the creator of Content Marketing, Engineered, a podcast, book, and now a digital training course focused on building trust and converting technical buyers with compelling content.In this episode, Wendy shares plenty of tips for engaging a technical audience, but not before she shares her own story that got her to create a marketing agency of her own. We’ll discuss the type of content that technical buyers are looking for, as well as how to make technical content cool, interesting, and informative. Wendy has plenty of stories to share from her decades of experience, and we’ll even walk you through the steps companies should take to start creating better technical content.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.