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GWBC Radio: Hannah Kain with ALOM

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Hannah Kain is President and CEO of ALOM, a global supply chain company she founded in 1997 headquartered in Fremont, California.
ALOM operates out of 19 global locations to support its Fortune 500 customers in the technology, automotive, medical, financial, and energy sectors with brand enhancing supply chain management services and solutions.

Hannah was born in Denmark where – in addition to a business and political career – she taught at Copenhagen Business School. Hannah holds three university degrees. She immigrated in 1990 and moved to Silicon Valley in 1994.

Hannah is a Board member of the National Association of Manufacturers and former board member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), part of the WBENC Forum Leadership Team and a current board member of WBEC-Pacific. She is the board chair of How Women Lead, Silicon Valley. She serves on the Advisory Council of Heritage Bank of Commerce and The Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. Kain is a member of the exclusive invitation-only Committee of 200 for executive women.

She has received numerous awards for her supply chain, leadership and diversity activities. Among her 2020 recognition, Business Insider named her one of the top 100 people transforming business. For the sixth year in a row, Hannah was named a Supply Chain Pro to Know. She was recognized as one of the top 10 women in logistics, and she won the inaugural SDCE Women in Supply Chain award in September 2020.

Among her prior awards, 2019 WBEC-Pacific Pinnacle Award, 2017 Gold Woman of The Year Stevie, and the 2017 Silver Stevie for best global woman-owned business. She has been honored as a Top 25 Champion of Diversity in STEM, won the Manufacturing Institute STEP Ahead Award, the YWCA Tribute to Women Award, inducted into the Silicon Valley Capitol Club wall of fame, won the global Vistage Leadership Award, and named a WBENC Business Star. In addition, ALOM has won numerous awards.

ALOM has earned numerous quality certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, TL 9000 and DMSCA CMP Level 3.0.

Connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and follow ALOM on LinkedIn.

Transcript

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business. And this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Hannah Kain with ALOM. Welcome, Hannah.

Hannah Kain: [00:00:28] Thank you. I’m glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us who you’re serving and what are you guys doing over there.

Hannah Kain: [00:00:37] We are a local supply chain company. So, we serve medical, automotive, technology, rich companies, very regulated industries with outsourced supply chain. So, we do everything from procurement, production, distribution, fulfillment services. And even if customers don’t want the items, we take them back. So, we are really a full-service boutique supply chain company. So, we do the physical supply chain. So, we’re getting the product stored and distributed. We also do all the data related to that. And we do the financial side of it.

Hannah Kain: [00:01:26] It’s a little bit complex to understand, but, let’s say, you are on a website, then you click the submit button, and you buy something, you would think that you do business with, maybe, Ford Motor Company. But reality is that while you are in a Ford-branded site, we might have designed that site, and we might have produced the product that you are buying, and we may be the ones shipping it and charging your credit card. So, we are sort of the behind-the-scenes people that consumers don’t really see.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:02] Right. I think the average consumer has no idea what happens when, like you said, they click the buy button and then it arrives, they don’t know how complicated it is to get it from the website back into their home or their place of business. There’s a lot of moving parts.

Hannah Kain: [00:02:23] That is correct. And I think, though, in 2020, a lot of companies got to be very conscious about the supply chain and what happens with the supply chain and the consumer. Certainly, we saw it early in the pandemic with the disruptions, et cetera. But it is very complex. Actually, one of my favorite things to talk about is that, in the old days, when you wanted to test supercomputers, they used to test them on weather systems – very complex weather systems. But today, they test them on supply chains because supply chain is just so complex that even the supercomputers, sometimes, have a problem solving the issues related to supply chain.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:13] So, how did you get into this line of work? This is a pretty male-dominated industry.

Hannah Kain: [00:03:20] It is, but with a lot of opportunities, it’s a big growth industry. Actually, even though the industry, still, has ways to go, it does spell much the equity, at least less inequality in supply chain. And it really builds on a number of strengths that women have, including very, very strong collaboration. Because in the end, supply chain is very much about collaboration.

Hannah Kain: [00:03:51] So, I started ALOM in ’97 along with some other supply chain specialists. And our vision was, we wanted to be very quality-oriented and very service-oriented, but also very fast. And I had this weird vision that we could produce and ship for delivery next day. And I can’t even tell you how many people laughed at us about that. And today, that’s exactly what we’re doing. So, it’s been very fulfilling to see that. Originally, before I started ALOM, I was, what I call, gainfully employed. And I was employed with a competitor and didn’t like the business methods. And thought that there was some opportunities to make a company that was different, had that different perception of corporate social responsibility. So, even before that became a common concept, I was very conscious about that early on.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:02] So, now, for the people who don’t understand the ins and outs of the supply chain, like, you’re dealing with the trucking, you’re dealing with kind of warehousing, there’s a lot of places that historically have been, like we said, male-dominated. But they’re not necessarily done in that same manner today where it requires, like, a lot of strength or things like that. There’s a place for women to participate and thrive in this environment in today’s world, right?

Hannah Kain: [00:05:34] Yeah. I don’t do a lot of lifting of boxes these days. And so, yes, it’s very technology driven. It’s very tools driven. And, of course, you know, we are working on shipping out of 19 locations globally. And each of these locations, we have warehouses, and we have inventory, and we have to move stuff around, but you do that using tools. And, actually, we have upwards of 60 percent female staff members and a lot of our equipment staffers, such as forklift drivers, are women. And so, you know, it’s a great opportunity for women in supply chain. And as I said, great pay, equity. Even some areas, such as procurement, where women make more money than men.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:38] Right. For the young women out there that are listening, I want them to not think of this as, maybe, they pictured it in their head 20, 30 years ago, because this is a more woman-friendly environment today with all of technology and robotics and big machinery that you don’t have to do what you used to have to do back in the day. I don’t want women to self-select out before they educate themselves about all the opportunities that are in this industry.

Hannah Kain: [00:07:10] Absolutely. I’m with you. And, as I said, we are [inaudible] with three different supply chains. So, they’re physical, which sometimes require some lifting, but mainly, as you said, there is equipment for that. But also the technology, so we have a lot of female programmers and engineers who are working in that part of our business. And then, of course, the financial also, the way you are doing things like processing the credit cards and stuff like that, so it’s partially electronic, but it’s also partially financial. So, lots of opportunities. So, if you think about an area such as procurement where you’re doing purchasing, you’re making sure that the suppliers are following good corporate social responsibility, and, generally, delivering quality and delivering on time. Well, you know, there’s not a lot of physical heavy lifting. There might be a lot of other heavy lifting in doing that.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:24] So, now, let’s talk a little bit about how COVID impacted your business and your team and how you were able to kind of navigate that and, I’m sure, still navigating that.

Hannah Kain: [00:08:34] Absolutely. So, of course, we were immediately impacted and we are an essential business because we do medical products. And so, we very early on started doing medical testing kits, COVID-19 testing kits. And, today, we are one of the major providers of COVID-19 testing kits. I am very proud of that, because, in the beginning when the pandemic hit, I set six goals for myself and the company. And, of course, the number one goal was to keep everybody safe. But one of my other goals was to be part of the solution to the pandemic and that’s exactly what we’re doing here. And, for me, that’s a very important part of our corporate social responsibility, is to be part of the solution.

Hannah Kain: [00:09:36] So, when the pandemic hit, the first thing we did was, of course, do a plan for keeping everybody safe. And as you probably recall in the beginning, there was so little known about how the virus spread and things like that. So, we have kept adjusting that plan. We currently have 40 different activities going to ensure that everybody is safe. And, of course, we are one of the companies that have to be open. We have to have people on site. That’s how we produce the kits. And everybody who can work from home, of course, works from home remotely. So, we have both environments. It makes it a little bit challenging sometimes, but, you know, that’s just how it is and nobody has gone through 2020 without facing a lot of challenges.

Hannah Kain: [00:10:34] So, I’m grateful that we are part of the solution. I’m grateful that my staff members are staying safe and really have been able to ship uninterrupted throughout this entire pandemic. That has been very exciting for me. It’s been a lot of work for everybody on my team to ensure that we continue to ship, we continue to ship on time. But it’s also been a big responsibility as we are shipping lifesaving products that we continue to ship and we continue to deliver and keeping, not just people internally as safe as possible, but the greater population. So, very satisfying, but also very challenging.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:29] So, now, can you talk about your vision about the future of supply chain? It changes so rapidly with technology. You know, just there’s more and more bandwidth. There’s more and more ways to communicate. And just the future seems to be ever changing. If there was ever an industry that has to adapt and react, it’s the supply chain industry. Can you talk about your vision of how you see this industry evolving?

Hannah Kain: [00:11:57] You’ve got it right, supply chain is really evolving all the time. And I see many changes that have happened over the last ten years. And year-by-year, certainly, the supply chain have gotten more complex. What’s happening now is, technology is catching up and we’re starting to see technology to be more useful and help solve some of the key areas in supply chain.

Hannah Kain: [00:12:33] So, there are, right now, a couple of different trends that I’m following very closely. One is on the geopolitics. So, lots of countries out there being very focused on their own production and taking a very nationalistic approach to trade. And so, our entire supply chain, until recently, was entirely predicated on having free trade go across countries. And I think as I’m seeing what’s happening now, it’s getting to be more and more complex, and more and more restricted. And so, that’s a trend I’m following very closely.

Hannah Kain: [00:13:30] For women-owned businesses out there, though, there’s also opportunities in that, because corporations are looking to near source. They are looking to procure, to buy products locally such that they don’t have to transport them. The transportation is, of course, fraught with risks and disruptions these days. Or get them over borders, which is also getting more and more complex. So, that entire scenario opens up some new opportunities for WBEs, for Women Business Enterprises, in capturing new markets, capturing new customers, and really leveraging that corporations are starting to look differently at the supply chain.

Hannah Kain: [00:14:26] There’s also growing evidence that consumers are looking more at WBEs, whether the product are produced locally and whether it’s produced by women-owned companies. And so, those advantages, that’s another thing that WBEs can leverage. So, lots of opportunities out there for women-owned businesses and for any businesses close to the marketplace. So, I see that as one big trend.

Hannah Kain: [00:15:07] And then, I think it’s all consumer driven. So, we are getting to be more and more consumer driven. If you think back 10 or 20 years, products got produced and consumers went and bought them or maybe not. But, today, we are looking more at consumers going out and being very interested in product. And then, product is being produced more or less just in time and to specifications and customized. And so, we require much more flexibility in the supply chain and agility. Meaning, customers, all of a sudden, get an idea about what they want and then we react to it and deliver the product.

Hannah Kain: [00:15:57] So, we saw that, especially here during the pandemic, as consumers started panic buying and, all of a sudden, demand went up. It’s still up a lot. If you want to go and buy a desk for your home office or electronics or other stuff to make you productive at home, you would see that it’s very hard to buy. There are lots of lead time. So, that’s just one example of a demand fluctuation where consumers are driving big changes. We are going to see even more of that. So, those are the two big trends that I’m following right now.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:40] And it seems like the customer expectation of getting things, you know, almost immediately. Like, time has condensed dramatically. Like, now, people want it in hours rather than days or weeks. So, that expectation that’s happening in their own personal life is getting translated, I think, in the business community as well.

Hannah Kain: [00:17:04] You’re absolutely right about that, Lee. And I think in addition, when you look at consumer behavior, it’s not just how fast they want it, they want it in the way they want it. Meaning, they want to be able to go to a store or they want to get it at home. They, maybe, want to get it at home, but be able to return it to a store. Or, you know, any combination of that. So, you have the consumer being much more in control of how they want it, when they want it, in which condition they want it, et cetera. And, again, it puts a lot of demands on the supply chain. And it’s part of what I try – and my staff, frankly – is to be able to deliver to those specifications and to help our customers both understand what it is the customers really are telling them and also deliver to that. And, you know, that flexibility is something we have built-in to our systems and our way of thinking and the way we are doing business. And that’s really what allowed us to then go in and do the COVID-19 testing kits and produce them and ship them, because we are really very fast at adapting to new situations in the market. And that’s going to be a requirement in the future in supply chain.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:36] So, early on, you decided to become involved as being a woman founder and CEO. You decided to kind of lean into that and become a certified women business. What was the thinking there to register as a woman-owned business fairly early in your kind of life?

Hannah Kain: [00:18:58] Well, I felt a couple of different things. One was, of course, that when you are a woman business owner, you do encounter difficulties that, maybe, others will not encounter. And so, there are also some advantages. And some of the most progressive corporations, especially in the U.S., have set aside purchasing organizations to help you navigate the systems, et cetera. And I decided it was a good thing to avail myself of it.

Hannah Kain: [00:19:38] Now, I’ve got another thing out of it that was really not the driving force of women businesses. So, that camaraderie, and support, and togetherness with all the female business owners, that’s been really important to me. So, I’m very involved in that entire community. I feel it’s a key area for me to be involved in. So, I’m involved on a national basis with WBENC, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and have been on the board for a number of years. I’m heating up the global community development team for the forum, which organizes all the 14,000 WBEs in WBENC. And I’m on the board of the Regional Partner Organization that’s in California. I have a lot of respect for the Regional Partner Organizations. We are active in a number of Regional Partner Organizations. And I think what GWBC is doing is fantastic, really helping WBEs in the local area get visibility and shine through in this period.

Hannah Kain: [00:21:08] So, a lot of companies have gone through hardship this year, but the way we are working together as WBEs, we can support each other either morally or otherwise. And try to send business to each other, which has been a key thing we are doing as an organization. And I know a number of other WBEs are doing. And, also, help alert each other to opportunities within corporations. So, it’s a true sisterhood, a great network, and, certainly, GWBC is a key integral part of that.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:57] Well, Hannah, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Hannah Kain: [00:22:02] Well, thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure. And wishing everybody who’s listening in, great into 2020 and much luck in 2021.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:14] So, now, if somebody wanted to learn more about your organization or connect with you or somebody on your team if they have supply chain needs, what’s the website?

Hannah Kain: [00:22:22] It’s www.alom, A-L-O-M,.com. Contact us on that and we’ll respond right away. If anybody has questions or if there’s anything I can do for anybody, whether it’s a WBE sister or anybody else, we are here to support you.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:47] All right. Thank you again, Hannah, for sharing your story.

Hannah Kain: [00:22:49] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:51] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.

About GWBC

The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business. 

GWBC^® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.