Supply Chain Frontiers issue #7. Read all articles in this issue.
Supply chain management "is an increasingly strategic topic" said MIT President Dr. Susan Hockfield, at the opening of "At the Crossroads of Supply Chain & Strategy", a landmark symposium inaugurated by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, March 1, 2005.
MIT President Susan Hockfield and Center Director Yossi Sheffi were among the speakers at the symposium. (Photo: Justin Knight)
Longer, more complex supply chains present companies with difficult managerial challenges at a time when customers are becoming more demanding. "Public awareness of the importance of the supply chain--and its vulnerabilities--is growing. It is complex problems like these that we like to tackle at MIT," said Dr. Hockfield.
The Crossroads symposium brought together senior executives from C&S Wholesale Grocers, Hammer & Co., IBM, P&G, and Reebok, experts from MIT, and journalists from the Boston Globe, Fast Company and the Harvard Business Review, to discuss the strategic importance of supply chain management.
More than 170 attendees gained insights into how companies can realize the potential of the supply chain as a strategic asset. "There were many rewards" commented Bill Martin, Vice President, Business Development at the NJ-based Rempac Foam Corporation. For example, after hearing how postponement can be used - a strategy for delaying final product configuration until better demand information is available ? he applied it to a new product line at Rempac. "We streamlined the manufacturing process to the point where we do not have to build big finished goods inventory," explained Martin. The effort also improved customer service. "With all this we were also able take cost out of the product and give a better value to the consumer," he said.
The symposium also launched Supply Chain Strategy, a new monthly newsletter that puts supply chain leadership at the forefront of business strategy. This pioneering newsletter, produced by a partnership between CTL and Harvard Business School Publishing, demonstrates how market leaders are linking corporate strategy and supply chain management in a symbiotic relationship. "At a time when the strategic importance of an efficient supply chain is gaining wider recognition in the corporate world, Supply Chain Strategy will become an essential resource for senior executives," said Yossi Sheffi, Director of the Center.
For more information on the Crossroads symposium contact: Jim Rice, Director, Integrated Supply Chain Management Program: jrice@mit.edu. For the full news story on the Supply Chain Strategy launch go to: http://web.mit.edu/ctl/www/news/current/newsletter.htm.