How much money is sitting unused on warehouse shelves?

In Episode 15 of Forward Thinking, I sit down with Tim McLain, co-founder of Lexin, to unpack one of the most overlooked areas of supply chain: MRO — maintenance, repair and operating materials.

Tim has spent his career working across supply chain, heavy industry and mining, including senior roles at BHP, where he saw firsthand how easily businesses can accumulate huge amounts of unnecessary inventory.

We discuss why companies overstock spare parts, the disconnect between maintenance, procurement, warehousing and finance, why bad data creates enormous amounts of waste, and how AI is starting to change the way industrial businesses manage inventory.

Tim also explains why inventory acts like a “shock absorber” between supply and demand, how Lexin is using AI to improve MRO data and decision-making, and why better inventory management isn’t simply about cutting stock — it’s about balancing cost and operational risk.

A great chat about supply chain, AI, working capital and the hidden cost of the parts businesses keep in the Warehouse.

In this episode, I sit down with Johnny Davison, founder of Hightrak, a transport management system built by freight people for freight operators.

Johnny's path into logistics is anything but typical. He grew up in Auckland, became a certified mountain guide, spent six months in Antarctica, guided Denali and summited Everest in 2010. Endless logistics planning in base camps turned out to be the perfect training for a career in freight.

We cover:

• How a Mainfreight director convinced him to swap mountains for depots

• Starting his own freight company in 2019 and building a TMS in-house
• Winning big box retailers like Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi and Farmers as a two-truck operator
• Why they sold the freight business and kept the tech

• Getting drivers and ops teams to actually adopt new systems
• Hightrak's expansion into Fiji, Singapore and Australia

Ben Young built Frank Green into a household name, selling as many water bottles in Australia as there are Australians.

Now he's taking on a problem the entire logistics industry has ignored: single use plastic pallet wrap.

In this episode, Ben shares the Frank Green origin story, the hard lessons of scaling a physical product globally, and the Christmas peak that cost the business over a million dollars in customer refunds.

Then we get into his latest venture, NoWrap, his reusable replacement for pallet wrap that's faster, cheaper, safer and manufactured in Australia.

We cover:

• Why 1% coffee cup reuse became a national habit, and what that teaches about changing behaviour
• 50,000 hours a year on product development and 17 iterations of a single lid
• Australia's 100 million tonnes of plastic pallet wrap, 95% of which ends up in landfill
• The real cost of wrapping a pallet (it's not a couple of cents)
• NoWrap's sub 12 month payback, rental model, and built in ESG reporting
• Scope 3 climate disclosure rules and what's coming for logistics businesses
• Bringing manufacturing back to Australia, robotics, and where NoWrap goes next

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Whether you run a warehouse, lead a logistics business or just want a masterclass in product obsession, this one's worth your time.

Joe Joseph started out as an accountant at Ernst & Young and spent 20 years in consumer goods before walking out of the boardroom and into the cab of a truck. Fourteen years on, JD Refrigerated Transport runs more than 120 drivers across Southeast Queensland.

Joe joins Sam to talk through how he built the business from a single 14-pallet truck, why cold chain comes down to people and process rather than equipment, and how he holds a tight culture together as the company scales.

In this episode:

• Leaving a 20-year corporate career to drive the truck and invoice at night
• The one-truck, replicated-50-times growth model
• Winning early contracts by time-slotting deliveries when no one else would
• Why JD runs a support office, not a head office
• Training 120+ drivers and protecting the cold chain end to end
• Recruiting through driver referrals in a tight market
• Moving off Freight 2020 and building a new software and AI stack
• Getting a team over the fear of AI adoption
• Personal branding, LinkedIn, and the breaching whale that gets the harpoon
• Why he would not change a thing about the journey

Nick Gavos turned 21 the day we recorded this episode.

He's already a national award winner, an IFCBAA Young Professionals panellist, and an aspiring licensed customs broker at his family business, Gavos Freight Solutions.

Nick grew up in the industry, learning from his father while competing as a national karate athlete through high school. In

this episode, he shares how he went from sweeping up around the office to handling complex customs scenarios, including clearing 13 returned air containers of meat from the UAE during the Middle East conflict.

We cover:

• Working in a family business and why the clashes are worth it
• Why young customs professionals need to get dirty in the books before relying on technology
• His take on remote work and why he believes young people should be in the office
• How martial arts discipline translates into freight forwarding
• Winning the IFCBAA Young Professional Award in 2025

Nick's message to the next generation: age and experience don't always equal knowledge. Put in the work, aim high, and give it a crack.

In this episode of Forward Thinking, Sam Smeaton sits down with Chris Roe, Principal Advisor at FR8 Advice, to unpack the hidden cost of “good enough” in supply chain and logistics.

With more than 25 years across freight forwarding, operations, sales, leadership, and advisory, Chris shares practical insights on where businesses are losing money without realising it and why comfortable inefficiency is one of the biggest risks in logistics today.

The conversation covers:

• Why so many importers and exporters operate with outdated processes• The common gaps between people, process, and providers• How medium-sized businesses can outperform larger competitors• The role AI is actually playing in freight and logistics right now• Why volatility is now the “new normal” in global supply chains• What great freight forwarders do differently• Advice for younger people entering the logistics industry• Why niche expertise matters more than ever

Chris also shares the story behind FR8 Advice and why he launched the business after decades inside freight forwarding and supply chain leadership.

A practical conversation for anyone working in freight forwarding, logistics, transport, supply chain, importing, exporting, or operations leadership.

Hannah Hurckes is the Founder & CEO of Boss Lady Logistics and author of The Leadership Reset.

In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to build a logistics brand that stands out. Not just moving freight, but building something people recognise and trust.

Hannah breaks down her move from operator to founder, how she’s approached growth, and what most people in logistics miss when it comes to brand and positioning.

We also talk about building in a traditionally male-dominated industry, hiring, and the realities of scaling without losing your edge.

Sam sits down with Michael Altamore, National Sales Manager at Civic Transport Services — a same-day carrier doing over 150,000 deliveries per month.

They get into what actually makes a great salesperson in transport, why moving into management isn't always the right call, how the industry shifted post-COVID, and the one piece of advice Michael would give anyone starting out today.

In this episode:

• Why the best sales reps often make the worst managers
• How to sell on value when everyone's competing on price
• The post-COVID shift in customer expectations
• Building a career in transport and logistics from the ground up
• On wealth, mindset and playing the long game