Norman Katz With Katzscan Inc.

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Lee Kantor here another episode of South Florida Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, DIA’s trade law, your customs expert. Today on South Florida Business Radio, we have Norman Katz with Katzscan. Welcome, Norman.

Norman Katz: [00:00:32] Thank you so much, Lee. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:34] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Katzscan. How you serving folks?

Norman Katz: [00:00:40] Well, Lee, I I’m celebrating my 26th year in business. I started January 1996, and I help companies with supply chain execution, from data to transactions to software to operations. I focus on multiple levels of supply chain performance and execution in helping companies internally and externally with their supply chain partners, whether they are customers or suppliers like third party logistics providers or or contract manufacturers. In helping my clients, the companies that I help improve and strengthen their relationships with their customers and their supply chain partners.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:27] So what drew you to this industry? Was this your whole career in this space?

Norman Katz: [00:01:33] Well, I started my career about 36 years ago as as a programmer. And then I progressed to a programmer, analyst, business analyst, IT manager, and I was primarily working for consumer product companies. I did work for a few traditional manufacturers, but I have pretty much stayed in the consumer product space my entire career. I’ve helped in some some other industries like pharmaceutical, medical products, electronics, book publishing, but primarily in the consumer product space. And so the 11 years that I was in corporate America really did provide a very, very good foundation for the consulting that I’ve been doing for the last for the last 26 and a half years.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:24] And then when you moved into, I guess, focusing in on supply chain over those years, it must have changed pretty dramatically with the advent of all the technology that we’re utilizing today.

Norman Katz: [00:02:35] Well, there are certainly additional technologies that are in use today, but the three core technologies that I specialize in, enterprise resource planning systems, electronic data interchange and the ubiquitous barcode are the same technologies that I started with 26 and a half years ago, and they’ve really been around since the 19, 1970s, 1980s. The science behind those technologies has has improved as those technologies have really remained resilient and consistent through their use in the supply chain. And so if you really want to participate in the supply chain today, you still have to rely on those technologies that are that are decades old. So the science behind those technologies has improved, but those three core supply chain systems or technologies are really the ones that are still utilized today in all major supply chains.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:37] So those foundational kind of, I guess software and operations are those things that is that good that they’re still around because then at least there’s a common language or is it kind of have they run its course, in your opinion?

Norman Katz: [00:03:52] Well, it is good in the sense that there are there are industry standards that are standards for retail standards for the electronics industry. Everybody knows the ubiquitous barcode, even as much as radio frequency ID has has its place in the supply chain. Radio frequency ID did not displace the ubiquitous barcode. Edi electronic data interchange is a data standard. It is not a data language, and EDI is maintained by a subgroup of the American National Standards Institute. So EDI is used to exchange business documents in an electronic format purchase orders, sales orders, invoices, ship notices, warehouse releases. And so even as much as EDI is is very, very flexible. And that flexibility, even within a standard, causes a lot of headaches. Edi Being a data standard does allow for a certain level of consistency within supply chain use.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:08] Now, what is the typical problem that your clients are having that CAT scan is the solution to?

Norman Katz: [00:05:15] Well, a lot of my a lot of my clients, especially in the consumer product realm, face what I wrote my second of three books about vendor compliance chargebacks. So when they sell to retail, if the retailer supply chain requirements, whether they are technical or operational and often they go hand in hand together, are not complied with 100%, the retailer will take money right off the invoice before the invoice is paid. So those financial penalties are called chargebacks, and the chargebacks can be so severe that they can wipe away a profit. Write off of write off of an order. So. Um, I happen to have a very, I think, unique niche in supply chain vendor compliance and I’ve been able to help companies really, really knock down tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars in supply chain, vendor compliance, chargebacks in the in the help that I have provided to them.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:28] So how did you stumble upon this niche? This niche?

Norman Katz: [00:06:32] Well, again, I have to credit the career that I had in corporate America with with providing the foundation that I have built my consulting practice on and just helping companies over the years in, in, in this specialty area. Erp, EDI and barcode labeling and scanning are part of not only the core supply chain technologies, but are significant players in keeping supply chain penalties. Chargebacks reduced. It comes down to certain good operational practices, good master data management between the company and not only their customers, but today, as outsourcing warehouse and distribution operations to third party logistics companies to contract manufacturers is more prevalent. It really, really takes a lot of coordination in your supply chain to make sure that everybody has a good understanding of what their responsibilities are, that your communication is accurate and timely with your supply chain partners, and that data and transactions are being communicated accurately and very, very timely to meet the very, very rigorous needs of your supply chain customers, especially if they’re retailers.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:11] Now, you mentioned chargebacks. Chargebacks. They’re the obvious kind of marker that something’s gone amiss. How do you kind of go back and find the breadcrumbs to where the real problem lies? Obviously, the the chargeback is the result, but there must be clues along the way that, hey, this is where we need to shore this up because their systems are so complex and there’s so many interweaving parts and so many different people touching everything.

Norman Katz: [00:08:42] Well, you’re correct. And the chargeback reasons provided by the retailers tend to be very vague and nondescript. So there is actually some detective work, investigative work, analysis work that I have to do in order to trace back the chargeback reasons to the operational and or technical sources as to why the chargebacks are happening. And fortunately, I’ve got I’ve got a lot of experience in doing this. And and it really does come down to understanding. What the chargeback reason is and being able to again trace it back. And I think that a lot of it has to do with just my experience in, in doing this for, for so long.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:35] Now, how have you seen kind of industry evolve? I mean, I guess with the advent of Amazon and so many other companies that are are selling direct to the consumer now and they’re bypassing stores. I know still a lot of people go into stores, but it just seems like so much stress on the system.

Norman Katz: [00:09:56] Well, the selling direct to consumer is a great business model and. You know, using companies like Amazon as a as a platform for for some folks that are looking to sell their products is a is a perfectly great way to go. A lot of people don’t know and and if we take Amazon as an example, Amazon actually is two different companies. One is their marketplace, which most people know is the more direct to consumer model. Amazon never really touches those goods. It just is the use of their software platform to connect a buyer and a seller. But Amazon also does have traditional fulfillment where Amazon does touch the goods that a vendor is looking to sell. And so in the more traditional fulfillment model where Amazon touches the goods, Amazon has the same rigorous supply chain standards that Target does, Wal-Mart does, Macy’s does, or or grocery stores do. And so. While the marketplace type model, again, is is a perfectly great way to go, I think that the brass ring for a lot of companies is to still sell in that fulfillment model through retail, because it certainly is a a more higher volume way to go. And the retailer is often involved in the promotion of the product.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:41] Okay. Now is supply chain. Supply chain. So it doesn’t really matter what industry you’re working in.

Norman Katz: [00:11:50] Well, that’s actually a very good point, and there is a lot of truth to that. I think that some industries have looked to other industries for for tips. As far as supply chain goes, a purchase order is a purchase order. I mean, the the definition of the business documents really don’t change. And an invoice is an invoice and what an invoice means. And one industry really does mean the same thing in another industry. So the definition of a supply of what a supply chain is really, I think, is agnostic from from one industry to another. Certainly the definition of the business documents are are the same from from one industry to another. The content of of a business document in one industry to another is going to be different depending on the nature of the industry and the and the requirements. But overall, the a supply chain in one industry is going to be effectively a a supply chain.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:03] Now, there are any if you were to educate a layperson about the supply chain and how would you like how would you describe it in terms of it? It’s not just moving goods from a ship to a shelf. There are so many moving parts. There are so many people who have to kind of communicate and get along and kind of help each other, you know, push that product all the way down to the consumers hands. How do you kind of describe the work that you’re doing in the industry that you’re in to folks who aren’t familiar?

Norman Katz: [00:13:41] Well, that’s a very good question. And from my standpoint, you know, where I help my my clients is I often act as a relationship champion. Sometimes I say I act as a marriage counselor between the companies I help and their software providers, their customers. They are contract manufacturers. They’re third party logistics providers. The. And I’ll go back to the fact that data has to flow consistently. Transactions have to flow consistently, and the data and transactions have to flow on a very, very timely basis. So what does that mean? That means that all the partners have to communicate clearly and communicate on a on a timely basis. And that’s really a very, very good foundation for what a successful relationship should be all about, timely and effective communication. And this is not always the case between supply chain partners. And so a lot of what I do is to ensure that timely and effective communication is being done between, again, the companies that I help, which tend to sit in the middle between their customers and their contract manufacturers and distributors.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:23] So what’s been the most rewarding part of the job for you? And, you know, obviously you must still have a passion for it for doing it for so many years.

Norman Katz: [00:15:31] Yes. I really, really do love what I do. And part of that is I get to help my clients solve some sometimes very, very sticky problems. And I, I do enjoy that very, very much. And it helps my clients grow and. I think that that’s those those are two great things about what I do for a living is that I, I really enable my clients to, to grow and I think become the companies that they that they really aspire to be. Li We, we live in a very, very commoditized world. And, and it’s and it’s just become more commoditized, I think. So supply chain execution is the real competitive edge, and I’m not sure that a lot of companies really understand this. And so they the company that does appreciate the fact that if they can out execute their competitors, they can win the day. They can retain their customers. They can. They can. They can get their products not just to their direct consumers, but they can get their products more solidified into the stores and out executing your your competitors. As long as quality is the same features and whatnot is really where companies should be focused. And so, again, timely and effective communications, whether it’s data, whether it’s transactions, this is this is where execution really, really needs to be focused on. And if I can help a company do that and become the company that they want to be. You know what? The employees are happier because they’re not fighting, you know, frustrating battles that make their jobs harder. Companies get to grow, hire more people. And it’s just a it’s a win win win for everybody.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:54] So you’re kind of reframing this like supply chain doesn’t have to be kind of a necessary evil. It can be a competitive advantage for kind of companies that look that way. Look at it that way.

Norman Katz: [00:18:05] Yes, absolutely. And I’ve I’ve said this for a long time, that as as difficult sometimes as the retailer requirements are. And I am the first to say that. Retailer or in other industries, customer requirements can sometimes be overly burdensome. There are there are certainly aspects of those requirements where implementing them makes a makes a vendor company a, a better run operation, better inventory control, better order fulfillment practices. Has a company step up and and even force it forcibly implement a. A more up to date ERP system or get rid of paper and utilize EDI or put barcodes on on things and have better inventory management and better better fulfillment management. And so know sometimes companies that were reluctant to update themselves are forced into it in order to be supply chain players. And if they look at it like an investment rather than a burden, they are they are better companies for it.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:34] So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the website?

Norman Katz: [00:19:41] Well, the website is easy Cats FC a CNN.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:48] Well, Norman, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work when we appreciate you.

Norman Katz: [00:19:54] Leigh, thank you so much. It’s been an absolute pleasure to speak with you, and I appreciate the opportunity to to tell my tale a bit on on your show.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:04] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on South Florida Business Radio.