Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #27. Read all articles in this issue
How to compete in an uncertain business environment will be the central theme of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) Major Session and Hot Topics session on October 7, 2008 at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Annual Global Conference 2008 in Denver, CO. The sessions have become a mainstay of the event, since MIT CTL inaugurated them at the annual conference in 2006.
This year’s Major Session is entitled “Curved Thinking in a Flat World: How to Capitalize on Uncertainty” and will be presented by Mahender Singh who is the head of MIT CTL’s Supply Chain 2020 Research Program . He will draw on the Center’s latest research on how to sense change in the supply chain and use techniques such as scenario planning to support quick decision making. The keynote breakfast session is open to all conference attendees.
The Hot Topics session entitled “Applying Curved Thinking in the Supply Chain” will follow later that afternoon, and will delve more deeply into the approach as a component of supply chain management. A panel of experts will talk about current challenges such as rising fuel costs and the importance of developing countries as a source of growth. The panel members are:
Ken Cottrill (Moderator), Research Marketing & Development Lead, MIT CTL
Brian Bancroft, Vice President, International Operations and Chief Procurement Officer, Oil-Dri Corporation of America
Roger Bloemen, Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Solutia Inc.
David Gonsalvez, Technical Fellow, General Motors Corp.
J. Brad Gray, Global Director, Purchasing, The Dow Chemical Company
The Hot Topics panel will be followed by an interactive, workshop-style discussion. This segment will use the supply chain disruptions that aircraft manufacturer Boeing is currently experiencing in its Dreamliner program as an example of the market uncertainties that companies face.
The Hot Topics session will show attendees how they can improve the way they manage market upheavals, and stay competitive even as their businesses and supporting supply chains go through radical change.
For further information on MIT-CTL’s Major Session or Hot Topics Session at the CSCMP Global Conference 2008, please contact Ken Cottrill.