Roundtables have a heart, support local charities
By Sherrie Nauden, CSCMP Roundtable Manager
CSCMP'S roundtables are known for the excellent education programs and networking opportunities that they provide to volunteers and members globally. Yet little is known about the numerous charitable programs and projects they sponsor and the contributions these programs have made—and continue to make—to their communities.
In the United States, for example, the Dallas/Fort Worth Roundtable has collected useful items for new mothers for a large hospital in Dallas, and the Kansas City Heartland Roundtable has collected money to purchase teddy bears that local police officers can give to children who have been affected by crime or accidents.
Last December, the Arizona Roundtable, in conjunction with St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance and FedEx, sponsored a food drive aimed at feeding up to 40,000 people in the Phoenix area. The roundtable was responsible for delivering more than 8,200 pounds of food to the food bank.
In 2006, the Atlanta Roundtable raised nearly $3,000 in funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. These contributions were inspired in part by the work of member Rob Nemchik, who is general manager of Porsche Logistics Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche Cars North America. Nemchik was a speaker at the Atlanta Roundtable's February 2006 dinner meeting, and no one who attended could forget his impassioned plea to remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He also discussed his efforts to establish a private logistics supply chain that provided a nonprofit group in Pass Christian, Mississippi, with survival necessities immediately after the disaster.
Congratulations to our roundtables for jobs well done!
How does your supply chain measure up?
How do your supply chain processes compare to industry-leading practices? You can selfassess your company's supply chain skills by using CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Process Standards books. This series of six books identifies best practices in the areas of Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return, and Enable. The books are based on research conducted by the consulting firm Supply Chain Visions. Supply Chain Visions made more than 250 site visits to establish both minimum process standards and identify industry best practices.
These reference guides can help you identify process strengths and weaknesses. After performing this assessment exercise, you can then focus your attention on areas where improvement efforts will produce the most benefit.
Each individual book costs US $19.95 for CSCMP members, or US $99.95 for the complete set. To order the books, visit cscmp.org.
Recognize a life of service
Distinguished Service Award submission deadline extended to April 30
Do you have a colleague who exemplifies excellence and outstanding service to the development of the supply chain management (SCM) discipline? If so, nominate him or her for CSCMP's Distinguished Service Award (DSA), the highest honor for an individual's achievements in the supply chain profession.
To open the award up to more nominees, CSCMP has extended this year's submission deadline. Nominations will be accepted through Wednesday, April 30, 2008.
The DSA is given to an academic, consultant, or practitioner who exemplifies sustained, consistent, and excellent service to the supply chain management profession. The selected individual will have shown high integrity and moral principles throughout his or her professional career.
CSCMP's 2008 Distinguished Service Award Selection Committee will evaluate your nominee based on the following criteria:
- distinguished record of contribution
- recognition as a leader
- recognition as an innovator
The nomination process includes submitting both a résumé and letters of recommendation for the nominee. If selected, your nominee would join the ranks of such supply chain luminaries as Michigan State University Professor Emeritus Donald J. Bowersox, Wal-Mart Chairman H. Lee Scott, Schneider Logistics Chairman Donald Schneider, and former Accenture Global Managing Partner William C. Copacino.
The DSA presentation will take place at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference 2008, to be held October 5?8, in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Visit cscmp.org for more information on how to nominate an outstanding candidate for CSCMP's 2008 Distinguished Service Award.
The word on warehousing
It's not every book that comes with an open invitation to contact the author. But that's precisely the commitment that Allan Howie has made in the workbook, Fundamentals of Warehousing, now available on CSCMP's web site (cscmp.org). Howie— who is also the director of continuing education and professional development for the Material Handling Industry of America—encourages readers to contact him directly with questions, comments, or suggestions for future editions.
Fundamentals of Warehousing covers the operations of a typical warehouse or distribution center. The book is divided into four sections that address the four main warehousing activities: 1) the movement of goods, 2) the storage of goods, 3) the control of goods, and 4) the protection of goods. Howie then explains the equipment, software, and fixtures needed to accomplish these activities. Readers will learn the reasons for having certain equipment available for warehouse personnel. Fundamentals of Warehousing also includes study questions at the conclusion of each chapter that reinforce the key concepts and test comprehension.
The Fundamentals of Warehousing workbook costs US $150 for CSCMP members and US $250 for nonmembers. Supplemental materials are available, and CSCMP is offering quantity discounts for nonprofit and educational institutions. To order the workbook, visit cscmp.org/marketing/feature-mar-08.asp.
Fundamentals of Warehousing is only one of the many books that members can purchase at a discounted rate on the CSCMP web site. Also available is the recently published book Start Pulling Your Chain! Leading Responsive Supply Chain Transformation, authored by Donald Bowersox and Nicholas LaHowchic. An excerpt of this book can be found on Page 72 of this issue. For details and order information on all of our publications, visit the CSCMP Store at cscmp.org.
New RFID research generates excitement
By Kathleen Hedland, CSCMP Director of Education and Research
The long line of people that stretched outside the warehouse on a cold January day looked like a crowd of customers ready to rush through opened doors to an incredible winter sale. In reality, they were there to attend a forum that was jointly sponsored by CSCMP and Volunteer Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS); the warehouse was actually the University of Arkansas's (UARK) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Lab. Once inside, they would be among the first to witness a hands-on demonstration of what could be one of the hottest trends to hit the apparel/footwear industry and beyond: item-level RFID.
The forum participants did not let the frigid temperatures deter their quest for the latest information on RFID for the retail industry. They were enthused and impressed by what they observed: a testing lab demonstrating the various types of readers that could be used in different applications, a sales-floor replica with varied products and merchandising scenarios, and exciting technology that can read passive tags placed on clothing and footwear from a distance of 50 feet (15 meters). During day two of the forum, these demonstrations were backed up by research presentations and real-world case studies from UARK's RFID Lab, Dillard's, American Apparel, and Wal-Mart.
The forum shared the results and implications of phase I and II of a collaboratively sponsored study, "Item-Level RFID: Future Direction—Current Status." The three-phase project took shape when VICS, a global supply chain organization dedicated to developing standard business guidelines, got word of the retail industry's interest in item-level tagging. VICS passed it along to CSCMP, Dillard's, and Procter & Gamble—all of which understood the potential of itemlevel tagging to improve managing, pricing, and locating inventory as well as offer other, far-reaching benefits. Subsequently, the University of Arkansas RFID Research Center was selected to conduct a feasibility study. CSCMP and VICS will publish and distribute the research results for phase I and II, which involved testing the feasibility of item-level tagging for apparel and footwear in laboratory and real-life applications.
The study marked a first for CSCMP, which traditionally has not been involved in retail-industry research. But our organization saw an opportunity to collaboratively sponsor supply chain research that would benefit a large industry segment and the customers it serves.
Participants are now turning to phase III of the study, which will focus on measuring the return on investment for item-level RFID tagging.
Be good to the earth
When the world's largest retailer starts asking its suppliers to cut down on packaging waste and produce more environmentally friendly products, it sends a clear signal: "Green" supply chain management is no longer a fringe issue, it's becoming a front-and-center concern.
If you need more information about how to incorporate environmentally responsible practices into your supply chain, we can help. CSCMP is joining forces with the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) and the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) to create a conference that will shed some light on this topic.
On June 9 and 10 in Sacramento, California, U.S.A., "Greening the Supply Chain" will bring together government regulators, supply chain service providers, and practitioners to share practical knowledge and investigate possible solutions for building sustainable supply chains. The conference incorporates both educational sessions and a technology showcase. Speakers will address important questions such as: Where can you find green solutions? How do you integrate green into your operations? Can going green actually produce a profit? What environmental regulations do you need to be aware of?
For more information about the "Greening the Supply Chain" conference and technology exhibits, visit www.greeningthesupplychain.com.
Your facility, our faculty
Didn't make it to the Annual Global Conference in Philadelphia last year? Missed one of our other industry-leading events? Don't forget that CSCMP can come to you!
CSCMP On-Site Education offers professional development workshops hosted by top subject-matter experts from CSCMP's global database of 9,000 members, right in your place of business. On-Site Education workshop topics can be tailored for your industry, supply chain function, or specific issues facing your company.
Courses available include:
- Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management: An introductory workshop covering the tactical aspects of supply chain operations
- Executive Issues of Supply Chain Management: A seminar that looks at the strategic aspects of supply chain planning and management
- Global Supply Chain Management: An introductory workshop that focuses on supply chain planning and execution in a global environment
- Supply Chain Management Collaboration: An interactive program that defines meaningful collaboration and details how and why such relationships can be created
- Relationships Management: An introductory course that covers the basic concepts underlying all relationships, with specific attention to collaboration
- Application of Balanced Scorecard: A seminar that teaches how to develop and implement a balanced scorecard
- Activity-Based Costing for Supply Chain Management: An interactive seminar that addresses the basic concepts underlying activity-based costing, with a specific focus on the procedures for assigning costs to activities, products, and services
For information, contact Kathleen Hedland, Director of Education and Research, by sending an e-mail to or by calling +1 630.645.3463.
Two new workshops announced
CSCMP continues to expand its educational offerings with two new seminars: Performance-Based Logistics for Outsourced Supply Chain Operations and a Process Standards Workshop.
It's a fact that a supply chain that is well aligned with its suppliers, trading partners, and transportation providers will be more productive. The Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) program will outline a new approach that can help improve traditional outsourcing relationships by making suppliers accountable. PBL "buys" outcomes—not individual parts or service transactions— which are outlined in typical third-party logistics (3PL) contracts. The Department of Defense, for one, believes that this approach is the wave of the future and has recently adopted it for managing its logistics service providers.
In this seminar, instructors Kate Vitasek, managing partner of the consulting firm Supply Chain Visions, and Karl Manrodt, associate professor at Georgia Southern University, will outline the steps for implementing PBL with suppliers and partners. The program will be held twice at CSCMP's offices in Lombard, Illinois, on May 19, 2008, and Aug. 13, 2008. The cost for CSCMP members is US $450.
The new Process Standards Workshop is based on CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Process Standards books, which help readers selfassess their internal processes, define minimum performance expectations, and enable process benchmarking. The course will provide a structured approach for assessing supply chain improvement opportunities and a framework for evaluating the initiatives. This process will help participants eliminate wasted time and money by identifying potential gaps in their processes. Each participant will receive the full set of Process Standards books.
Supply Chain Visions consultants Kate Vitasek and Mike Ledyard will run the program, which will be offered May 8?9, 2008, and August 14?15, 2008, in Lombard, Illinois. CSCMP members can take the course for the discounted rate of US $650.
