Fresh ideas, new events mark Annual Conference agenda
CSCMP Annual Conference
October 21?24, 2007
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
If you haven't been to one of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' annual conferences for a few years, you may have a surprise in store. Up until two years ago, the conference agendas tended to be heavily oriented toward logistics and transportation concerns. This year's agenda, by contrast, reflects the broadening of CSCMP's focus to include the entire supply chain. Although it still includes sessions devoted to logistics management, the agenda also features 11 new tracks on such topics as manufacturing, business process outsourcing, designing for the supply chain, sales and operations planning, sustainability, and trade compliance.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will kick off this year's conference by delivering the keynote address. The first female CEO of a Fortune 20 company, Fiorina led HP's controversial merger with Compaq Computer Corporation. On the second day of the conference, Joseph Coughlin, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) AgeLab, part of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, will give a presentation titled "New Markets for Old—How Disruptive Demographics Will Transform Businesses." Coughlin will discuss how the aging of the population is reshaping the business landscape. The conference closes with a presentation from "Stanley Bing" (the pseudonym of Fortune columnist Gil Schwartz), which promises to skewer corporate culture while arguing for creative thinking in the workplace.
CSCMP's Annual Conference will also offer attendees more networking opportunities than ever before. Conference organizers have put together a student showcase and a global showcase. The student showcase is designed to give managers a chance to look over students' résumés, projects, and papers. Interview rooms will be available for those who wish to discuss job and internship opportunities with students. The global showcase will give attendees an opportunity to network with their peers from around the world.
Along with these new events, the conference will continue to offer old favorites like facility tours. Attendees will have the chance to sign up to tour convenience store operator Wawa's distribution center; the U.S. Postal Service's Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center; Subaru's Westhampton, N.J., parts distribution center; a training center run by Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County; the UPS Air Hub at the Philadelphia Airport; and Avon Products' Newark, Del., distribution facility.
Other special events include roundtable gettogethers and informational sessions; an all-day educators' conference; small-group discussion forums; presentation of the Supply Chain Innovation Award; and recognition of CSCMP's new officers and recipients of annual awards, including the Distinguished Service Award and the Doctoral Dissertation Award. The conference's popular Learning Exchange exhibits will offer opportunities for attendees to learn more about technology and software, education and development programs, human resources, and specialized supply chain services from companies and educational organizations that have expertise in those fields. And the literature display area will, as always, feature hundreds of educational books, magazines, and research papers of specific interest to supply chain professionals of all levels of experience.
For complete information about Annual Conference events and schedules, go to www.cscmp.org and click on "Programs and Events."
Get the inside track on innovation at CSCMP's Annual Conference
We all know that today's supply chain challenges require the implementation of innovative solutions. But are you aware of what the top global corporations are doing to meet emerging challenges?
CSCMP and Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies magazine's Supply Chain Innovation Award can help you become better acquainted with what is going on, right now, in the supply chains of the top global players. The award recognizes companies that demonstrate excellence in coordinating and collaborating with channel partners (suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers) as well as excellence in integrating supply and demand management within and across companies. To be considered for the award, the company's results must be quantifiable and sustainable in terms of such metrics as cost savings, revenue, and customer satisfaction.
CSCMP receives dozens of case-study submissions from logistics' and supply chain's major players, but only the most innovative case-study teams are invited to present at the CSCMP Annual Conference, be published on CSCMP's Web site, and be featured in a special issue of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies in December. This year's finalists are The AidMatrix Foundation, Bakers Footwear Group, John Deere, Kraft, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Motorola, and OceanSchedules.com.
The Supply Chain Innovation Award competition began in 2005. It emerged from conversations between CSCMP and Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies that resulted in a program to recognize today's top innovators in supply chain management and collaboration. In its three years of existence, the award has received an enthusiastic response from some of the industry's top companies. Past submissions include Blockbuster's DVD rental unit's packaging program; Campbell's "unsaleables" partnership with retailers; Hewlett-Packard's design-for-supply-chain initiative; Kraft's Global Procurement organization; United Technology Corporation's investment in the health of its suppliers; Dow Chemical's best-practice implementation, improvement, and innovation initiative; and IBM's on-demand supply chain initiative.
The finalists are selected through a review process involving weighted criteria for the written case studies and the conference presentations. The cumulative result indicates who the winner is. Case study presentations will be held during the Cases in Supply Chain Innovation track at CSCMP's 2007 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday, October 22, and Tuesday, October 23, in Room 203B of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The finalists will be recognized at each session as well as during the brunch and closing session on Wednesday, October 24, when the winner will be announced.
There's already interest in the 2008 competition, which should elicit more eye-opening submissions that will not only add to the supply chain body of knowledge but also equip logistics and supply chain professionals with the tools needed for their own global supply chain successes.
To learn more about this competition or to find out more about the current and past years' finalist and winner case studies, visit CSCMP's Web site (www.cscmp.org) under Publications & Resources and Supply Chain Innovation Award.
On-site programs deliver CSCMP to your door
No one denies the importance of continuing education. Yet the mounting cost of travel as well as the revenues lost from employees being out of the office can act as significant barriers to a company's training and education efforts.
CSCMP, however, is prepared to help by offering a variety of in-house workshops designed by CSCMP members and developed specifically for your organization's needs. This new on-site education initiative has already gained interest from CSCMP members and nonmembers alike.
"To accommodate professionals who are not always able to travel to our conferences and seminars, we created CSCMP's On-Site Education," says CSCMP president and CEO Rick Blasgen. "We will help companies create an efficient, educational experience at their location and enhance their staffs' team-building efforts."
CSCMP's On-Site Education program consists of established courses that can be delivered in their original form or tailored to fit specific needs. The 10 programs currently offered are:
- Today's Supply Chain Hot Topics
- Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management
- Executive Issues in Supply Chain Management
- Managing Offshore Relationships
- Global Supply Chain Management
- Global Collaboration
- Relationships Management
- Project Management
- Application of the Balanced Scorecard to Supply Chain Management
- Activity-Based Costing for Supply Chain Management
CSCMP can also create workshops to meet the specific needs of individual companies. These educational sessions could be as short as 90 minutes or extend over two days, depending upon the complexity and objectives of each workshop.
By working with CSCMP for on-site education, companies gain access to the world's foremost experts in their subject areas. The faculty comprises leading supply chain management authorities drawn from CSCMP's global membership of 9,000 members and from subject-matter experts. CSCMP will pair companies with experts who have the know-how and experience to address their needs.
"I'm really looking forward to working with supply chain companies and pairing them with our faculty to help create cost-effective on-site education," says CSCMP Director of Education and Research Kathleen Hedland.
Scheduling a course often takes less than a month. Courses created specifically for your organization require a longer lead time in order to develop the proper curriculum, ensure its appropriateness for a company's challenges, and schedule the presenters. For more information, contact Kathleen Hedland at +1-630645-3463, or e-mail to khedland@cscmp.org.
Interactive site provides vital career information
After a year-long development effort, CSCMP's Careers in Supply Chain Management Web site (www.careersinsupplychain.org) will go live in early October. This interactive portal will provide practical information about industry careers, possible career paths, education and experience requirements, and much more.
Designed by the Careers in Supply Chain Management subcommittee of CSCMP's Education Strategies Committee, this Web site is a resource not just for those already in the industry but also for those who are pursuing a supply chain career or who are curious about supply chain and logistics management. "The goal of this Web site is to help students understand the importance of supply chain management, its impact on their daily lives, and the vast employment opportunities," says Careers in Supply Chain Management Committee Chair Brian Gibson of Auburn University. "Our team of Web site creators has worked diligently to assemble informative and interesting content."
The Web site is an extension and an update of CSCMP's 1997 book Careers in Logistics, which can still be downloaded from CSCMP's main Web site (see the "Career Center" section of the site). The book contained a thorough analysis of what logistics is, salary information, job profiles, and educational requirements. By providing all of this information in one place, the book became a must-have resource in the industry that is still in wide use today.
The new Web site will not only update this information but also will expand its scope to the entire supply chain. It will take a global perspective as it defines the supply chain, its importance, and key concepts while explaining what supply chain and logistics professionals do. It also will link to many other supply chain resources like CSCMP's What in the World Is the Global Supply Chain? DVD.
The site will contain the following sections:
- What Is Supply Chain Management? provides definitions, introductory material, and key concepts.
- Building Supply Chain Management Expertise explores the value of a university education and discusses how to gain professional experience.
- Supply Chain Management Career Outlook reviews employment opportunities, salary projections, and tips on where to find jobs.
- What Supply Chain Managers Do outlines the roles within the organization, job profiles, and examples of career paths/progressions.
- General SCM Resources includes frequently asked questions (FAQs), a glossary and information resource list, and a fact sheet.
The Web site will be constantly evolving as CSCMP adds and updates information so that it stays fresh and current.
