Ep. 167 – Building and Innovating Supplier Relationship Management Technology with Marc Simony, VP of the TraceGains Network at TraceGains

Marc Simony wrote a compelling post at his time at the American Food Innovation Summit. I found it pretty cool, so I asked him to be on the show.

What I didn’t know until I did my reach is that Marc is one of the important people in TraceGains, one of the fastest growing supply chain management software programs in the food industry. And that he lived in Phoenix, neat!

Marc lays on a ton of advice on his experience working for TraceGains such as times pivoting the business and times where taking risks benefitted them. Marc specifically goes into the idea of recognizing weak signals and capitalizing on them

I was happy to meet Marc live at the Cactus IFT Supplier’s Night in Phoenix. We talked for a bit, and I picked his brain on some potential new projects I’m working on for My Food Job Rocks. You can see a really cool picture of him on the show notes.

VP of TraceGains Network

Marc is a holistic brand thinker. He joined TraceGains in the spring of 2008 as head of marketing, where he continuously searched out best practices, stayed atop new market and marketing developments, and relished in devising corporate and competitive strategies that negate competition. That expertise led him to the position of VP of TraceGains Network, where he drives the transition to providing a collaborative industry platform. Marc graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Communication from the University of New Hampshire, and has earned an MBA with distinction in Global Management from The Thunderbird School of Global Management. He occasionally writes on LinkedIn, still listens to vinyl, and cooks Southeast Asian dishes on weekends.

Shownote

The LinkedIn Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/overheard-american-food-innovate-summit-marc-simony/
TraceGains – Supplier Relationship Management
What do you tell people who have no idea what you do?: We make sure that the food you eat doesn’t kill you.
Those who kinda know what we’re about: We make sure the food you consume to make the quality and regulatory requirements
I was one of TraceGain’s first employees and it’s been active for 11 years
Supposed to be a tracking software but people thought it wasn’t worth it.
Recall Insurance
We noticed that people wanted document management so we pivoted to that
Now we truly serve the entire business innovating every day
For example, our program: Post Once – A supplier has to just post once and things happen
The article talks about that people want small wins, but we also need to keep in mind that the consumer needs to trust the food
Barb Stuckey – To the consumer, clean label/front of pack is more important than nutrition label
New trends: protein and fiber
Mergers and Acquisitions
Anthropologists
What is supply chain for you?: logistics moves from point to point but there’s so much going on. It’s actually called a supply web
Food is the largest portion of the CPG supply chain
Can you describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: When I was 16, I went to the United States from Germany. Then I started my own radio company and then I interviewed for TraceGains as head of marketing. I liked the description that combined technology and things that were important to me.
Mitsua or Yaohan Marketplace
What was interesting about growing TraceGains?: I loved to stick my nose into things. I read weak signals and go from there
Inbound Marketing – Hubspot
What is the most exciting thing in the food industry?: Food startups, also big companys are struggling to innovate
What does innovation mean to you?: Finding weak signals and bringing them to life
Kimchi smoothie
Bimbo Bakery
Home delivery kits
Smart Fridge
What is one thing you’d like to know more about food?: The science
Apple
Airpods
Mitch Kapur 
Favorite Food: Dad’s Cardamom from Three Twins Ice Cream
Lavender Vanilla Ice Cream from Trader Joes
What do you think are some opportunities in the food industry?: There is a talent shortage. In supply chain, I would focus on data and data science with logistics
Where can we find you for advice?: LinkedIn. Send me a question or connection. Let me know that you found me through My Food Job Rocks