Today I’m joined by a brand trusted to help enable growth and solve their customers most critical business problems: Google Cloud.
Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. They deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably.
Today, Steven Delperdang, Technical Program Manager at Google Cloud, joins me to talk all about Google Cloud and how its technology helps run Google’s supply chain operations. We’ll be diving into the trustworthiness of logistics insights and taking visibility to the next level; the new ways operators can interact with logistics insights; and the biggest untapped opportunity for logistics providers ready to embrace an AI-first approach.
Guest bio:
Steven Delperdang is a Technical Program Manager at Google Cloud, where he leads the Logistics Insights team. He is at the forefront of developing AI-driven solutions to improve the accessibility, depth, and trustworthiness of logistics insights.
Before joining Google, Steven accumulated extensive experience in logistics and transportation systems. He served as an Enterprise Systems Architect at Penske Logistics, focusing on Blue Yonder Transportation Management integrations and dynamic price discovery. Prior to Penske, Steven held multiple roles at Caterpillar Inc., leading their Network Analytics and Business Intelligence team for global ground transport, earning a CEO Award in 2019 for his contributions. His career also includes experience as a Solution Architect at JDA Software (now Blue Yonder), designing and implementing Transportation Management solutions for major retail and pharmaceutical clients.
Steven holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Distribution Management and Computer Information Systems from Baylor University, where he graduated summa cum laude.
IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
[03.08] After years spent at Caterpillar and Penske, how Steven is now using the ‘One Google’ approach to run Google’s own internal supply chain and solve the legacy pain points he faced in his past roles, and exactly what’s so transformative about this approach.
“In my previous roles, many of the frustrations stemmed from fragmented systems and data siloes. You have a warehouse management system here, a transportation management system there, various auxiliary 1P and 3P systems – and often a lot of manual effort to stitch it all together.”
“Siloes are a major barrier, and consolidating data is critical. Logistics is simply a chain of interconnected events… so without that centralized view, you’re only seeing a piece of the puzzle.”
“It’s this centralized access that means we can perform more sophisticated analysis and our AI tools can draw on a much richer data set.”
[07.00] Why trust is such a big hurdle for providers who are already drowning in data, and the areas Google Cloud focus on to build that trust.
[10.44] The evolution of visibility, why consolidating disparate data is so critical, and how Google is tackling disparate data problems to achieve true centralized access.
“Everybody has basic visibility now, but that leap from dots on a map to true actionable insights is crucial. Basic visibility tells us what’s happening. Our target for visibility tells you why it’s happening, what’s likely to happen next, and what you should do about it.”
[13.33] How Steven’s experience of using Google Cloud to power Google’s own global supply chain helps him strategize, and the business outcomes Google has achieved that other organizations can replicate.
[16.12] The practical, day-to-day logistics problems Steven’s team is currently solving with AI.
“AI can help us cut through the noise.”
[21.21] How integrating Gemini AI has changed Steven’s tools, and why he’s seeing faster, better quality insights.
[23.13] How the day-to-day work of Google Cloud’s own analysts and developers has shifted with the addition of new AI capabilities.
“For us, it’s been a really significant shift up the value chain. Three years ago, a large proportion of my teams time was consumed by manual data extraction, cleansing, building bespoke reports for leaders. Today, we have less firefighting and the team can focus on more strategic work, more complex and impactful problems.”
[26.40] How Google is making high-powered AI tools usable for everyday logistics operators.
[29.57] How Steven’s past award-winning work at Caterpillar would have been different if he had had the Google Cloud tools that exist today.
[32.47] From hyper-personalized insights to AI-driven collaboration, the biggest untapped opportunity for logistics providers ready to embrace an AI-first approach.
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:
Head over to Google Cloud’s website now to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with Google Cloud and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) or YouTube, or you can connect with Steven on LinkedIn.
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