The Source Refresh Podcast
In The Source Refresh Podcast, host Chandhrika Venkataraman interviews leaders from small businesses around the world about their supply chains, their support systems, and what keeps them moving in today’s dynamic world. Chandhrika is a seasoned supply chain professional with experience working in industries ranging from consumer goods to retail. She is currently the Founder and CEO of Source Refresh, a consulting firm that helps small businesses increase profitability by implementing data-backed sourcing models.
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Episodes
![Dan Bubniak, Dirty Hands, LLC - Can Generalists serve your startup better than Specialists? [The Source Refresh Podcast, Ep 8]](https://deow9bq0xqvbj.cloudfront.net/image-logo/15214226/The_Source_Refresh_Std_Podcast_Cover_1__x47dxe_300x300.jpg){kind=logo}
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest in this episode is Dan Bubniak, now Chief Growth Officer of Dirty Hands LLC (CFO - Dirty Hands, LLC at the time of this interview). Dirty Hands LLC provides contracted field sales, brokerage and merchandising in the natural food industry. Dan has experience building and scaling businesses from scratch.
SHOW NOTES
In this episode we talk about building businesses from the ground up, including his own experience of growing Dirty Hands LLC to 35 states, representing 200 brands. Dan shares his experience with building Finance, HR functions at Dirty Hands LLC. We talk about the different growth phases of startups and how they can make decisions on generalists vs. specialists.
Find more info about Dan Bubniak at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-bubniak-14180b71/
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest in this episode is Zach Harper, Co-founder of Funky Mello. Gluten free, vegan refrigerated marshmallow crème is what Funky Mello is known for, winning the 2022 Shelfie Award for Best Plant Based Product. We cover procurement for small businesses, as well as make-vs-buy decisions.
SHOW NOTES
In this episode we talk about Funky Mello's journey to break into a new product category of refrigerated marshmallow crème. We cover procurement as a small business, including a few key pointers from Zach on negotiation, finding a low-cost overseas packaging provider (FX Packaging), and utilizing a new inventory management software called Fiddle for small business planning. We also learned how Funky Mello made a make-vs-buy decision and decided to invest in self-manufacturing.
Find more info about Zach Harper at https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-harper/
Inventory Operations Management for CPG brands and manufacturers - https://fiddle.io/
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
Wednesday Jan 18, 2023
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest in this episode is Alex Zachman, CEO of Old North Collective. Old North Collective is a digital transformation and customer engagement company helping businesses increase revenue through research, design, IT development, and streamlined business processes.
Digital transformation, B2B and B2C e-commerce solutions, the power of business process mapping, and more!
SHOW NOTES
In this episode we talk about the evolution of B2B e-commerce solutions and how they are being adopted – slowly but surely. We also talk about how a B2B services marketplace could work. We cover B2C recent trends in the post-Covid era. Alex also talks about the similarities between large corporations like Target and small businesses. We discuss how being process-focused can unlock much value and help small businesses avoid the trap of custom-built digital solutions.
Find more info on Alex Zachman at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-zachman-8b8532181/ and about his business, Old North Collective, at: https://www.onc.design/
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest today is Latrina, Founder and Lead Consultant at Redlined. In this interview, Latrina talks about how she helps small and mid-size businesses navigate "dysfunctional deals". She bridges the gap between operations and legal risk to create win-win contracts for her clients.
SHOW NOTES
Small and mid-market businesses often feel like they don’t have much leverage when it comes to negotiating standard contract terms with larger clients. Learn how Latrina helps small businesses redo their “dysfunctional deals”.
Find more info on Latrina Pope at https://www.linkedin.com/in/latrinapope/ and about her business, Redlined, at: www.redlined.co
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest today is Andrew Arbogast, owner of Arbogast Foods and maker of Arbo's Cheese Dip which is available in Memphis, TN as well as across select Kroger, Central Market stores.
Andrew is an army veteran with a background in Procurement. Listen to him candidly sharing the steps he took to build his business one day at a time. He talks about how he saved over 40% in ingredient costs by applying fundamentals. If you are beginning your founder's journey, you must listen to this episode.
SHOW NOTES
Find the guest and their bio on LinkedIn:
Andrew Arbogast: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcarbogast/
Check out Arbo's Cheese Dip at: https://www.arbosdip.com/
In this interview, Andrew talks about how he created a business out of a family recipe. Andrew shares his experience using tried-and-tested Procurement tactics such as negotiating price breaks, going direct to source, and how to utilize market competition to your advantage.
Every small business owner who is trying to do-it-all must listen to this episode.
Key topics
Introduction to today's episode and guest
Procurement tips to take advantage of: Price Breaks, Cutting out the middle-man
Outsourcing as the key to scaling up
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest today is Sam Achampong, General Manager of The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), Middle East and North Africa.
Sam shares how CIPS continues to champion Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by advocating for them with their larger corporate clients. He covers the importance of long-term thinking to make supply chains more resilient in the face of ongoing challenges.
SHOW NOTES
Find the guest and their bio on LinkedIn:
Sam Achampong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samachampong/
In this interview, Sam touches on the importance of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in today's sustainability goals to make procurement more inclusive. He shares how CIPS continues to champion SMEs by advocating for them with their larger corporate clients. He covers the importance of long-term thinking to make supply chains more resilient in the face of ongoing challenges.
Key topics
Introduction to today's episode and guest
Why are SMEs critical to business
Why is long-term planning so critical for small business supply chains
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guests today are Vishnu Vyas and Bob Rogers, co-founders of OII. OII uses AI to deliver end-to-end supply chain modeling. It combines simulation with optimization to deliver cost-efficient supply chains.
They share their insights into how they help small businesses improve discards, inventory costs, and financing terms, and reduce chargebacks. Find more details about OII at www.oii.ai, or reach out directly to Bob Rogers at bob@oii.ai, or to Vishnu at vishnu@oii.ai.
SHOW NOTES
Find the guests and their bios on LinkedIn:
Bob Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-rogers-0a00441/
Vishnu Vyas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishnuvyas/
Key topics
Introduction to today's episode and guests
How does OII help with Supply Chain optimization
OII Tech and the Observe, Measure, Optimize approach
Identifying supply chain failure modes using AI
Using OII to rate the resilience in your current supply chain
OII operating model
A few successful cases
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
My guest today is Peter Shah, President of Harris Spice - leader in sustainable spice sourcing and processing. Harris Spice is also a member of Southern California's minority supplier development council. In this interview, Peter shares insights into the spice supply chain, along with valuable lessons from small businesses on how to navigate unpredictable crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
SHOW NOTES
Harris Spice came out unscathed through the Covid-19 pandemic, despite having a Supply Chain that spans multiple continents. How did they do that? In this interview, Peter shares insights into the spice supply chain, along with valuable lessons from small businesses on how to navigate unpredictable crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Find more info on Harris Spice at https://harrisspice.com/
Key topics:
Harris Spice Supply Chain Overview
Black Pepper / Red Pepper Commodity Supply Chain Deep Dive
Organic Spice Supply Chain
How to build Safety Stocks in uncertain times
Overcoming Ocean Freight Challenges
Advice to other Small Businesses
CALL TO ACTION
Thank you for listening!
Follow me on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandhrika/
Sharing is caring! Spread the word about this show to your network
Leave us a rating and feedback
Email me at chandhrika@source-refresh.com if you would like to be a guest on my show
Thank you for your time!
In the Source Refresh podcast I talk to small businesses and startups and hear their supply chain stories, their successes and their challenges. I spent 15 years in manufacturing, visiting hundreds of facilities and making furious notes on material flow from source to customer. I find this subject fascinating, and if you are here, you probably do too!
Subscribe to this podcast to hear from my guests on what their businesses do, what their supply chains look like, and what challenges they face. Maybe you could help them solve some of their challenges, or maybe you are a small business owner looking to grow your own business and you can find a lead or two through my show. Maybe you can support these businesses by buying some of their products… or, simply just listen, learn and grow!