Supply Chain Frontiers issue #21. Read all articles in this issue
The world’s population is aging. The 50+ segment is the fastest growing age group worldwide, and predicted life expectancies are at a historical high. These changes have profound implications for supply chain management – changes that will be explored in two key sessions created by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT-CTL) for this year’s annual Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ annual conference.
The conference will take place in Philadelphia on October 21 – 24, 2007. The first session on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, will be delivered by Joe Coughlin, Director of MIT-CTL’s AgeLab. As the title of the Major Session “New Markets for Old Age – How Disruptive Demographics will Transform Businesses” suggests, Coughlin will give an overview of the tremendous changes that companies must face as the age profiles of their workforces and customers increase.
In the afternoon, MIT-CTL will host two one-hour sessions under the Hot Topics banner, a conference track created by the Center to present newsworthy developments to conference attendees. The main theme will be the workplace challenges associated with shifting demographics. There will be two presentations in the first hour, and the second hour will feature a panel discussion. Major freight carrier CSX will describe some measures it is putting in place to ensure that the organization has the talent it needs to sustain future growth. Trade organization Material Handling Industry of America will describe how supply chain industry workplaces such as distribution centers must adapt to changing worker attitudes and needs.
For more information on the CSCMP sessions or MIT-CTL’s work on disruptive demographics, contact Ken Cottrill.