Global Supply Chain SumMIT

China and India are the main drivers behind Asia’s rise as the world’s most important source of economic growth. Countries in Southeast Asia also have a central role to play, but their contribution has received less attention and they need to address some unique supply chain challenges before their full economic potential can be realized. On July 19th, 2011, a major conference, The Global Supply Chain SumMIT organized by the Malaysian Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI), will bring together thought leaders from renowned research centers such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to discuss the region’s response to surging economic activity.

The International Monetary Fund recently forecast that the size of China’s economy will surpass that of the United States in 2016 – a mere five years away. Experts disagree over the accuracy of the forecast; many predict that it will be decades before this point is reached. Still, the idea that China is on course to become the planet’s largest economy is widely accepted. India is following a similar path. The Asia Development Bank (ADB) projects annual growth rates in India of 8.2% this year strengthening to 8.8% in 2012. In addition to fueling global commerce these two trade powerhouses are generating tremendous intra-Asia growth. Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, will grow 5.5% in 2011 and 5.7 % in 2012 according to the ADB. Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to expand more than 6 % for the two-year period. The forecasts raise some critical questions, such as what supply chain infrastructure and managerial expertise will these countries need to support their expanding businesses?

Moreover, solutions must be developed locally; the challenges are unique to the region and cannot simply be imported from the west using western experts. Important global changes must also be taken into account. In its Asian Development Outlook 2011 report the ADB suggests that countries in the South should strengthen their economic links. In the words of Changyong Rhee, ADB's Chief Economist, "Growing South-South relations at a time of modest growth in industrial economies could be a potential new driver of global growth, but only if these economies become more open to trade and capital flows with each other."

MISI was created in March, 2011, by a partnership between MIT and the Government of Malaysia to tackle these issues. Developing a supply chain platform from which Southeast Asia can launch an economic renaissance is one of the government’s top priorities. Crucial to this mission is helping to shape the supply chain transformation that is sweeping the globe. The interconnectedness of economies is creating unequaled business opportunities as knowledge is transferred at lightning speed between nations.

As a member of MIT’s expanding international network of education and research centers known as the Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network, MISI will take a leading position in shaping this flow of information and unlocking its commercial potential. The Global Supply Chain SumMIT will advance this mission by providing an exclusive forum for the exchange of ideas.

The first-of-its-kind event will feature the following speakers:

JANICE H. HAMMOND
Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing
Harvard Business School  

YOSSI SHEFFI
Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems
Director, Center for Transportation & Logistics 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

JAN C. FRANSOO
Professor of Operations Management and Logistics 
School of Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Netherlands 

HUGO YOSHIZAKI
Professor of Supply Chain Management
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

DR. RICHARD PIBERNICK
Professor of Supply Chain Management and Executive Research
Director of European Business School Supply Chain Management Institute (SMI)

REGISTER NOW  for this breakthrough event!