Supply Circles Podcast by Ai Group

In the last episode of 2024 Joanna Kay joins the show to explain the hydrogen industry to Australia and the opportunity for Australia, for business and supply chains.  Joanna has a wonderful CV having worked in renewable energy around the world, and her depth of knowledge is on full display in this highly engaging and informative conversation.  To find out more about Joanna   To contact Joanna via...

Can hard-to-abate industries meet the decarbonisation targets of Australia? How will they do it? What can other businesses and industries learn from their decarb journey? In this episode, our Infrastructure ‘guy’ Michael Kilgariff is back to talk about the Concrete, Cement and Aggregates industry and his new role as CEO of the industry association.  In a typically unstructured yet insightful conve...

Ai Group's resident expert on all things 'decarbonisation', the great Tennant Reed, joins us again for his yearly update on the annual upcoming U.N. global Climate Change conference called COP – the Conference of Parties. COP 29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in a few weeks and, as always, Tennant will be there to represent Australian industry and to get the inside details for Ai...

Kerryn joins the show for another fascinating chat on modern-day workplaces, the role of leaders and team members, and the changing workplace of people and technology. It’s always a delight to have Kerryn share her unique insights and perspective on the modern workplace and on the challenges of managing and leading as everything changes around us. This time, the two discuss the post-Covid era, the...

“North Australia is Australia’s economic powerhouse”. So says today's guest, Dean Deighton, Head of Northern Australia for the Australian Industry Group.  Dean is a passionate advocate for the business opportunities across the top of our country. In this episode James and Dean discuss the challenges, the opportunities, the sheer size of the region and the many large industries that exist and...

Listen in to get an amazing insight into how one family has gone taken an idea from start-up to international business in just 10 years. Huds & Toke is a pet food company based on the Sunshine Coast, with a great story to tell. Co-founder Russell Gibbons provides a masterclass on the keys to building vertically integrated businesses with complex omni-channels pathways to market. This is a must...

Today episode is an engaging café style chat with two supply chain specialists: Host James Scotland sits down with his old mate Andy Brightmore for a wandering and endearing chat on all things supply chain. Listen in to hear the two have another of their usual fun and unstructured wanderings through the issues of business and life today. Topics covered this time include: Why is Andy no longer cons...

Everyone’s favourite CEO returns to the podcast to talk us through the current issue facing the Australian economy, and what impact could they have on business operations. Innes delivers a masterclass in macro-economics covering such as issues as: The upcoming Federal election: when will it be held and who will win. The latest on the significant changes to Workplace Relations laws, why Ai Group is...

In this episode, host James Scotland ask Adam Blake: ‘How do we, in Australia, build resilient and sustainable supply chains in and from Australia’. Blundstone Australia is a 150-year, family-owned, Hobart-based, globally-successful boot and apparel manufacturer. The company sells over 3 million pairs of boots annually to multiple markets in over 70 countries. It has a well-structured brand story...

In this episode, Jim Wilson mounts a passionate and cogent argument for the global shipping industry, especially in support of the industry’s performance during the Covid years. James and Jim discuss the current issues of the industry and look to the future. Issues discussed include: Recent and future expectations of container pricing The issues for shipping in the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the...

Digitalisation is a core subject of this podcast, and today we deep dive into digital disruption in supplier engagement and business matching. James and guest Tim Walmsley investigate the challenge of building a successful digitalised business from start-up. It’s a great discussion, and Tim provides lots of good insights including: The LEAN start-up approach and why it works The need to train your...

What’s the China market really like? What’s it like to start a business in China? To be a supplier? To be a buyer? What’s the difference between an Italian craftsman and a Chinese worker? Are we ahead or behind the average Chinese worker in terms of technology use and adoption? In this episode, James chats with China expert Susan Heffernan about her decades of first-hand experience in the market,...

What’s the difference between the Circular Economy and Circular Supply Chains? In this episode, supply chain specialist Brendan O’Keefe addresses the difference between the two and provides a raft of insights in the way forward. James and Brendan speak of the importance of moving past the take/make/use/ dispose mentality into a less wasteful, less inefficient /more sustainable approach to business...

A special edition of Supply Circles to recognise and celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2024. Our guest is Daniel Joinbee and this is a ‘do-not-miss’ episode. In this fascinating café-style chat, James and Daniel talk about professional procurement, the role of indigenous businesses in supply chain, the tips for being a preferred supplier, the joy of being a proud Australian working overseas a...

Business is a human-centred endeavour, and the one thing you can guarantee about people is that they change constantly.  So one of the challenges for businesspeople is to keep up-to- date with the shifting needs and attitudes of your customers and stakeholders. In this episode, James and Leanne discuss ways to engage the multiple relationships within your supply chain eco-system, how to get the be...

In this episode, we hear a story of Australia, of Australian manufacturing, of innovation and change, of resilience and adaptability. And of the ups and downs of family ownership as the business grows, adapts, and changes from generation to generation. It’s not a sexy business or a sexy range of products. But it’s the story of persistence, resilience and change. It’s the story of Everhard Industri...

To coincide with Anzac Day, this episode unpacks the concerning emerging issue for ex-Defence personnel in your business and your supply chain. The Defence Amendment (Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets) Bill 2023 came into law in Australia on the 8th April 2024. The act has two arms: the first impacts ex-Defence personnel and ex-Department of Defence staff, the second affects ‘Australian ci...

Generative AI is here and is a major game-changer for business and supply chains. In this episode, A.I. specialist Dave Phung guides us through the confusing and often challenging task of understanding the opportunities and challenges of AI in the workplace, and in implementing it. Dave tells us what AI can do for your business and how to help staff accept it. He also addresses the elephants in th...

Sarah returns to provide clarity to the confusing plethora of announcements coming out of government regarding the Defence Industry. With her usual insightful commentary Sarah explains what’s going on, what is means for business and what we should do next to capture the opportunity. In a wide-ranging and engaging conversation, Sarah explains the many recent announcements and what they provide for...

Innovation is a fascinating and often misunderstood concept when it comes to business and business operations, but not for today’s guest, innovation specialist David K. Martin. Host James Scotland gets into an engaging and enjoyable deep dive with David on what innovation means for business and what businesses need to do to thrive through innovation. The two address the benefits and challenges of...

Leann Webb is widely regarded the undisputed pioneer of the bid management industry in Australia. With over 20 years in the industry, Lean has a deep expertise in managing bid responses for major and mega project bids, particularly in the construction, infrastructure, transport, and defence sectors. She also helps small-to-medium sized enterprises to successfully respond to bids and  tenders. In c...

In this insightful episode, David talks about using the company brand to build resilience into the business.  “Brand is your biggest asset and it’s critical to the success of any business, regardless of size,” he tells host James Scotland.   In this fascinating conversation, David reveals:   why a brand is essential to operations and supply lines; how the expectations and performance level on B2B...

In this first episode of 2024, James speaks with Ai Group's Director of Research and Economics, Jeff Wilson. In a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, James and Jeff talk through the lessons from last year and the current economic trends framing the year ahead. They then discuss the findings of the recently released report, Australian Industry Outlook 2024. This annual report is an anal...

Louise McGrath has been working in international trade for decades and now represents Ai Group and Australian industry at global industry meetings around the world. In this engaging conversation James and Louise share humorous stories  and insights into the keys to effective cross-cultural communication in business, supply chains and international meetings. Louise also share her thoughts on the cu...

For this last episode of the year James chats with Kerryn Fewster, the CEO of Change 2020 about the year that’s been, the year ahead and the leadership issues of both: the two dissect multiple questions like:   What have we learnt? what has changed? What do we need to do to prepare for the year ahead? They investigate the generational change underway in the workplace, the impact of Work from Home,...