Interview with Frantz Duverseau - Director of Product Management, Supply Chain

Welcome to a new feature on our blog where we interview the InterTrade team! Today we’re speaking with Frantz Duverseau, Director of Product Management, about his role at InterTrade. Read on to hear what Frantz has to say about innovations in the supply chain industry, his journey with InterTrade, and his superpower of choice at work.

How long have you been working at InterTrade and how did you first get started with the company?

I started in 2010. Someone I know told me the company was looking for a project manager to lead the migration of a platform that was just acquired from a major competitor. I decided to apply for the position and ultimately joined the company. My role transitioned from project manager to business analyst, to product manager, to director of market strategy. As of last December, I’m director of product management.

What kind of tasks make up your day-to-day job?

I have a team of product managers. I work with them to plan the initiatives that will allow us to capture all the opportunities out there in the market. My work centers on working with a team to make that happen.

How do you motivate your team to work together on projects?

I’m an information junkie. I like to learn, and I bring all that information to my team. I think it’s one of the things that motivates them in their work.

What has been your most successful development project so far or the project that you’re most proud of?

[When] I started at InterTrade, the company was acquiring a platform from the competition. That project was the most successful and the most challenging. We had only 12 months to complete the project, which involved migrating about a dozen large retailers and 1,500 of their trading partners. It was successful because we ended up completing the process within 10 months instead of 12 months, which is very unusual for a project of that scale.

What has been the biggest innovation or market shift in the supply chain industry in the last five to 10 years?

It’s very hard to not talk about the shift to online or the shift to digital in general. Technology is evolving. It enables better information access, better insights, [and] automation; it’s a driver for efficiency. I think supply chains will continue to improve and become more efficient as the pace of innovation accelerates.

In the upcoming years, what do you predict the biggest change will be in the industry?

I think the biggest change will be driven by applications that leverage not one, but many innovations driven by technologies like AI, IoT, and Blockchain. I think that’s going to be the real game changer. I’m looking for something that combines multiple technologies and solves a problem better than other alternatives that aren’t data-driven.

What would be your superpower at work? 

My super power would be—you think about something, and it’s already being done.

If you had to only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Traceable leafy greens. They contain water, nutrients, carbs, and protein. Traceability gives me the confidence that they’re safe to consume and fairly traded.