Are you heading to Philadelphia next week to attend the CSCMP Annual Global Conference? Can’t decide which sessions to attend? Let me help you by highlighting the three sessions that I am moderating.
1. CSCMP’s 22nd Annual “State of Logistics Report” presented by Penske (Tuesday, Oct. 4., 10:00-11:30 AM)
Most of the panelists from the June press conference are back, including representatives from Macy’s, BNSF Railway, Penske Logistics, Fortna, and Delcan, plus we welcome the addition of Tom Speh, Senior Director of MBA Programs at Miami University. This time around, however, we will focus our conversation on current trends and challenges in the logistics industry — Hours of Service, CSA, infrastructure funding, trends in capacity and rates across different modes, and so on — as well as what to expect in 2012.
The title of this year’s report was “Navigating Through the Recovery.” As we approach the end of 2011 and you assess where we are year-to-date, what would you title next year’s report in terms of summarizing the state of logistics in 2011?
That will be my opening question to the panelists. But how would you answer it? Post a comment and share your perspective. And come to the session with your own questions for the panelists.
2. Outsourced vs. In-sourced–Debated by Case Studies (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 3:00-4:30 PM)
Do we outsource a particular supply chain function or do we keep it in-house? What factors tip the scales in one direction versus the other? What are the pros and cons of each approach?
Many companies have to deal with these questions at some point, and in light of today’s ever-changing business and economic environment, companies are raising these questions more often than ever.
Of course, there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to whether you should outsource a supply chain function or keep it in-house. In this session, you’ll hear two case studies, an “outsourced” one by Bill Pollard, VP of Customer Service and Transportation at Del Monte Foods, and an “in-sourced” one by Todd Jackson, President at Alliant Logistics, a division of US Foodservice. They will be joined by their respective partners, Matthew Menner from Transplace and Fabrizio Brasca from JDA Software.
I will kick the session off by briefly sharing my perspective on this topic, which the postings below highlight, and after the presentations, I will ask the presenters to elaborate on the factors that led to their decisions, what (if anything) they would do differently if they could, and to offer some words of advice to members of the audience who might be facing the outsource vs. in-source decision today.
- Reasons Why Companies Aren’t Outsourcing to 3PLs
- Is Logistics Outsourcing Still a One-Way Street?
- Drawing the Line on Logistics Outsourcing
- Business is Growing at 3PLs–But Why and Is it All Good?
3. At the Social Media Inflection Point: Texting, Tweeting, and Friending the Next Wave of Supply Chain Innovation (Wednesday, Oct. 5, 8:00-9:30 AM).
I’ve been promoting this “mega session” for several months, so please check out the postings below for more details, including my podcast conversation with keynote speaker Terri Griffith, author of the forthcoming book “The Plugged-In Manager.”
- Social Media and “The Plugged-In [Supply Chain] Manager”
- At the Social Media Inflection Point (A Preview)
- Want a Fast-Response Supply Chain? Facilitate People-to-People Communication
Joining Terri on stage will be representatives from Home Depot, Volkswagen, Trendset Information Systems, and Con-way who will discuss how their companies are using social media today, both internally and externally; the lessons they have learned, including expected and unexpected benefits and challenges; and how they see social media transforming supply chain processes in the years ahead.
If you’re a high-level executive skeptical about the role and value of social media in supply chain management, or you’re a young professional wondering how you can leverage your social media skills and experience to drive meaningful change and innovation within your company, then you can’t afford to miss this session.
—-
So, if you’re attending the conference and want to make things easy for yourself, just put these sessions on your calendar and you won’t be disappointed. However, if you’re not attending or you can’t make all of these sessions, you won’t miss out completely: I plan to share my key takeaways from each session in future postings.
Have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you in Philly!
(Editor’s Note: Logistics Viewpoints will not be published this Friday in observance of Rosh Hashanah).
