Supply Chain Frontiers issue #42
The Global Supply Chain SumMIT, the first event organized by the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI), took place July 19, 2011, and was a major success with more than 400 attendees.
The conference was held in the Shah Alam Convention Center, Shah Alam, Malaysia. Alberto Alemán Zubieta, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority, delivered the keynote presentation. He was followed by thought leaders who included Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics; Janice Hammond, Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing, Harvard Business School; Hugo Yoshizaki, Professor of Supply Chain Management, University of São Paulo, Brazil; and Richard Pibernik, Professor of Supply Chain Management and Executive Research, European Business School. A panel of senior executives from BASF, Solutia, and Cold Chain Network discussed the region’s supply chain talent challenges.
Most participants hailed from Asia, and represented 12 countries and 12 industries. Some 65% of the attendees were from industry – including almost 100 with C-level or senior vice president job titles – and 35% were academics or government officials.
“The event has launched MISI as the pre-eminent center for supply chain education and research in the region, and represents the first step in our overarching mission to promote supply chain management as a critically important element of Asia’s continued growth,” says Dr. Mahender Singh, Rector of MISI, who moderated the conference. Moreover, the overwhelming response to the event and the mix of attendees demonstrate that there is keen interest in supply chain issues across the region, Singh maintains. There is a lack of high-quality programs and events in the supply chain field, however, and an important part of MISI’s mission is to address this shortfall.
MISI is now rolling out an educational program. Executive education will be offered this year, master’s degree programs are due to be introduced in August 2012, and a PhD program will follow, possibly in 2013.
For more information on the event and MISI contact Dr. Mahender Singh.