For the first episode of 2025, co-hosts Ted Stank and Tom Goldsby spoke with UT Knoxville experts Huseyn Abdulla and Seongkyoon Jeong about their research in the areas of returns management and supply chain cybersecurity.

Assistant professors and esteemed scholars in their disciplines, Abdulla and Jeong’s insights are a deep dive into the challenges and innovations shaping supply chain management. Among other points, Abdulla explains how retailers balance the growing demand for customer-friendly return policies with environmental and financial sustainability, while Jeong discusses the rising risk of cyberattacks in an increasingly data-driven world.

Listen in as our hosts also delve into consumer sentiment, holiday spending, the trade implications of the new Trump administration, collaborations between Hyundai and Amazon, and much more.

The episode was recorded virtually on January 17, 2025.

Related links:

U.S. shoppers set record for holiday spending in 2024
Logistics industry growth slowed in December, per Logistics Managers Index report
Trump orders trade review ahead of potential tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
Hyundai begins selling vehicles on Amazon Autos
U.S. consumers ‘resilient and strong’ in face of high prices and interest rates
Read Huseyn Abdulla’s article in The Conversation about consumer backlash when retailers change their return policies, and his study published in the Journal of Operations Management
Read Seongkyoon Jeong’s blogs on cybersecurity risks and three types of cyberattacks affecting supply chains
Register for SCM Academies in Leadership, Finance, and Planning
Read our latest white paper, “Unlocking the Potential of the Gen XYZ Labor Force”
Register for the Supply Chain Forum, April 8–10 in Knoxville
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S3E4: Retail Returns and Cybersecurity I...