2009 Annual Global Conference: Ideas. Tools. Results.
Whether you're new to the field of supply chain management or have years of experience under your belt, CSCMP's 2009 Annual Global Conference will offer invaluable information and networking opportunities you simply won't find anywhere else. Come to McCormick Place in Chicago September 20?23, 2009, to attend educational sessions and benefit from such unique events as the Learning Exchange, Student Showcase, "Sit with an Expert" discussions, the annual Supply Chain Innovation Award, and much more.
Choose from sessions in 20 tracks covering all aspects of supply chain management. Sessions will cover a host of subjects, including transportation, warehousing, inventory management, talent recruitment and retention, supply chain metrics, aligning supply chain execution with business strategies, and hundreds of other topics that are directly relevant to your job.
You'll also hear from world-renowned major session speakers. Here's a quick preview of the special presentations we have lined up:
Take advantage of a rare opportunity to hearnational supply chain for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Gary's keynote presentation on Monday, September 21, will address the challenges of maintaining performance in global supply chains while managing local conditions.
On Tuesday, September 22, Dr. Prashant Yadav of the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program will speak on how supply chain professionals can use their knowledge and expertise to save lives and improve health around the world.
This year's closing session features Alison Levine, polar adventurer and team captain of the first American women's Everest expedition. Her presentation, titled "Oxygen Not Included," will cover her unique perspectives on leadership, teamwork, innovation, and dealing with change.
Complete details for the 2009 Annual Global Conference are available online at CSCMP's new conference web site. This convenient and comprehensive resource makes it quick and easy to register for the conference and get all the information you need about travel and hotels, sessions and events, the Learning Exchange and networking opportunities, and sponsorships.
Supply Chain Quarterly to chair Annual Global Conference track
For the first time, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly will present a track at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference. The "Highlights from Supply Chain Quarterly" track will feature presentations by some of the thought leaders whose articles have appeared in the magazine. Supply Chain Quarterly's editors will moderate the sessions, which will include:
Chuck Taylor of Awake! Consulting on how companies should prepare for the next round of oil price hikes
Stephen Cain of Groenewout Consultants & Engineers on multilayered distribution in Europe
Ted Schaefer of Profit Point on how to manage the twin corporate goals of profitability and sustainability
Prof. Doug Lambert of The Ohio State University on how to determine which customers are most profitable
Brad Sampson of XCD Performance Consulting on when in-sourcing is the right decision for a company
Joe Martha of Booz Allen Hamilton on how to determine a supply chain's carbon footprint
In October, brief video interviews with each of these dynamic speakers will be available on the magazine's web site.
Student Showcase, job fair return in 2009
Meet tomorrow's supply chain leaders at the Annual Global Conference.
If you've attended CSCMP's Annual Global Conference, then you undoubtedly have seen medallion- bedecked college students patrolling the hallways, working at information desks, and assisting CSCMP staff in numerous ways. For more than 20 years, CSCMP's roundtables have been sponsoring college students who attend the Annual Global Conference as part of CSCMP's extended staff. Students are selected by the roundtables based on their scholastic performance and passion for the profession. In return for their participation, the students gain hands-on experience and benefit from the conference's educational sessions as well as the opportunities to network with supply chain management professionals.
Student assistants also can take a more formal approach to networking by participating in the Student Showcase, a popular conference feature since 2007. The event provides an opportunity for students to present their résumés, projects, and papers to supply chain professionals from around the world.
In 2008, CSCMP expanded those opportunities by hosting a job fair that brought promising students together with prospective employers. This new feature was so popular that CSCMP is bringing it back again in 2009.
Companies can take advantage of this exceptional recruiting opportunity to personally meet the next generation of supply chain management professionals. If your company would like to participate in this unique program, please contact Sherrie Nauden, CSCMP Roundtable Manager, by e-mail at snauden@cscmp.org or by telephone at +1 630.645.3466. Please note that certain rules and regulations apply.
The Student Showcase will be held from Sunday, September 20, through Wednesday, September 23, 2009. The Student Job Fair will be held on Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Register now for CSCMP'S Annual Global Conference
If you haven't already signed up to join thousands of your peers from around the world at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference in Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 20-23, 2009, now's the time to register and make your hotel reservation. Conference fees cover all program events, meal functions, and materials.
Complete details about the conference agenda, track topics, accommodations, activities in Chicago, and more are available at https://cscmpconference.org.
Coming soon! New how-to guide explains integrated supply chain costing
For companies that are focusing on improving supply chain performance, timely and accurate cost information that supports strategic, enterprisewide decision making is a must. For a variety of reasons, however, getting that information—a critical success factor in gaining competitive advantage—is very difficult for most organizations.
To help companies overcome that challenge, Terrance L. Pohlen, Ph.D., and Thomas P. Klammer, Ph.D., both from the University of North Texas, and Gary Cokins, CPIM, of SAS Institute Inc., have written a how-to guide titled Handbook for Supply Chain Costing. Based on research conducted since 2007, the book is designed to help companies develop integrated cross-functional and inter-firm supply chain cost information. With this data in hand, managers can make strategic supply chain decisions, enhance enterprise performance, and drive cross-functional process improvements. Throughout the book, readers will find the many lessons learned from companies that participated in the research.
This important CSCMP-sponsored publication is expected to be available for purchase in mid- to late 2009.
Companies in every sector are converting assets from fossil fuel to electric power in their push to reach net-zero energy targets and to reduce costs along the way, but to truly accelerate those efforts, they also need to improve electric energy efficiency, according to a study from technology consulting firm ABI Research.
In fact, boosting that efficiency could contribute fully 25% of the emissions reductions needed to reach net zero. And the pursuit of that goal will drive aggregated global investments in energy efficiency technologies to grow from $106 Billion in 2024 to $153 Billion in 2030, ABI said today in a report titled “The Role of Energy Efficiency in Reaching Net Zero Targets for Enterprises and Industries.”
ABI’s report divided the range of energy-efficiency-enhancing technologies and equipment into three industrial categories:
Commercial Buildings – Network Lighting Control (NLC) and occupancy sensing for automated lighting and heating; Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based energy management; heat-pumps and energy-efficient HVAC equipment; insulation technologies
Manufacturing Plants – Energy digital twins, factory automation, manufacturing process design and optimization software (PLM, MES, simulation); Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs); energy efficient electric motors (compressors, fans, pumps)
“Both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) continue to insist on the importance of energy efficiency,” Dominique Bonte, VP of End Markets and Verticals at ABI Research, said in a release. “At COP 29 in Dubai, it was agreed to commit to collectively double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from around 2% to over 4% every year until 2030, following recommendations from the IEA. This complements the EU’s Energy Efficiency First (EE1) Framework and the U.S. 2022 Inflation Reduction Act in which US$86 billion was earmarked for energy efficiency actions.”
Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.
The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
“The overall index has been very consistent in the past three months, with readings of 58.6, 58.9, and 58.4,” LMI analyst Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University, wrote in the November LMI report. “This plateau is slightly higher than a similar plateau of consistency earlier in the year when May to August saw four readings between 55.3 and 56.4. Seasonally speaking, it is consistent that this later year run of readings would be the highest all year.”
Separately, Rogers said the end-of-year growth reflects the return to a healthy holiday peak, which started when inventory levels expanded in late summer and early fall as retailers began stocking up to meet consumer demand. Pandemic-driven shifts in consumer buying behavior, inflation, and economic uncertainty contributed to volatile peak season conditions over the past four years, with the LMI swinging from record-high growth in late 2020 and 2021 to slower growth in 2022 and contraction in 2023.
“The LMI contracted at this time a year ago, so basically [there was] no peak season,” Rogers said, citing inflation as a drag on demand. “To have a normal November … [really] for the first time in five years, justifies what we’ve seen all these companies doing—building up inventory in a sustainable, seasonal way.
“Based on what we’re seeing, a lot of supply chains called it right and were ready for healthy holiday season, so far.”
The LMI has remained in the mid to high 50s range since January—with the exception of April, when the index dipped to 52.9—signaling strong and consistent demand for warehousing and transportation services.
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
"After several years of mitigating inflation, disruption, supply shocks, conflicts, and uncertainty, we are currently in a relative period of calm," John Paitek, vice president, GEP, said in a release. "But it is very much the calm before the coming storm. This report provides procurement and supply chain leaders with a prescriptive guide to weathering the gale force headwinds of protectionism, tariffs, trade wars, regulatory pressures, uncertainty, and the AI revolution that we will face in 2025."
A report from the company released today offers predictions and strategies for the upcoming year, organized into six major predictions in GEP’s “Outlook 2025: Procurement & Supply Chain.”
Advanced AI agents will play a key role in demand forecasting, risk monitoring, and supply chain optimization, shifting procurement's mandate from tactical to strategic. Companies should invest in the technology now to to streamline processes and enhance decision-making.
Expanded value metrics will drive decisions, as success will be measured by resilience, sustainability, and compliance… not just cost efficiency. Companies should communicate value beyond cost savings to stakeholders, and develop new KPIs.
Increasing regulatory demands will necessitate heightened supply chain transparency and accountability. So companies should strengthen supplier audits, adopt ESG tracking tools, and integrate compliance into strategic procurement decisions.
Widening tariffs and trade restrictions will force companies to reassess total cost of ownership (TCO) metrics to include geopolitical and environmental risks, as nearshoring and friendshoring attempt to balance resilience with cost.
Rising energy costs and regulatory demands will accelerate the shift to sustainable operations, pushing companies to invest in renewable energy and redesign supply chains to align with ESG commitments.
New tariffs could drive prices higher, just as inflation has come under control and interest rates are returning to near-zero levels. That means companies must continue to secure cost savings as their primary responsibility.
Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.
“Evolving tariffs and trade policies are one of a number of complex issues requiring organizations to build more resilience into their supply chains through compliance, technology and strategic planning,” Jackson Wood, Director, Industry Strategy at Descartes, said in a release. “With the potential for the incoming U.S. administration to impose new and additional tariffs on a wide variety of goods and countries of origin, U.S. importers may need to significantly re-engineer their sourcing strategies to mitigate potentially higher costs.”
Freight transportation providers and maritime port operators are bracing for rough business impacts if the incoming Trump Administration follows through on its pledge to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China, analysts say.
Industry contacts say they fear that such heavy fees could prompt importers to “pull forward” a massive surge of goods before the new administration is seated on January 20, and then quickly cut back again once the hefty new fees are instituted, according to a report from TD Cowen.
As a measure of the potential economic impact of that uncertain scenario, transport company stocks were mostly trading down yesterday following Donald Trump’s social media post on Monday night announcing the proposed new policy, TD Cowen said in a note to investors.
But an alternative impact of the tariff jump could be that it doesn’t happen at all, but is merely a threat intended to force other nations to the table to strike new deals on trade, immigration, or drug smuggling. “Trump is perfectly comfortable being a policy paradox and pushing competing policies (and people); this ‘chaos premium’ only increases his leverage in negotiations,” the firm said.
However, if that truly is the new administration’s strategy, it could backfire by sparking a tit-for-tat trade war that includes retaliatory tariffs by other countries on U.S. exports, other analysts said. “The additional tariffs on China that the incoming US administration plans to impose will add to restrictions on China-made products, driving up their prices and fueling an already-under-way surge in efforts to beat the tariffs by importing products before the inauguration,” Andrei Quinn-Barabanov, Senior Director – Supplier Risk Management solutions at Moody’s, said in a statement. “The Mexico and Canada tariffs may be an invitation to negotiations with the U.S. on immigration and other issues. If implemented, they would also be challenging to maintain, because the two nations can threaten the U.S. with significant retaliation and because of a likely pressure from the American business community that would be greatly affected by the costs and supply chain obstacles resulting from the tariffs.”
New tariffs could also damage sensitive supply chains by triggering unintended consequences, according to a report by Matt Lekstutis, Director at Efficio, a global procurement and supply chain procurement consultancy. “While ultimate tariff policy will likely be implemented to achieve specific US re-industrialization and other political objectives, the responses of various nations, companies and trading partners is not easily predicted and companies that even have little or no exposure to Mexico, China or Canada could be impacted. New tariffs may disrupt supply chains dependent on just in time deliveries as they adjust to new trade flows. This could affect all industries dependent on distribution and logistics providers and result in supply shortages,” Lekstutis said.