One of CSCMP's goals is to promote the supply chain management profession to students around the world. CSCMP's roundtables are vitally important to realizing this goal because they continuously build collaborative relationships with universities, colleges, and academia. As part of that effort, many roundtables offer scholarships to students who are rising supply chain stars. Here are a few examples.
The Arizona Roundtable proudly awarded its first annual supply chain scholarships in 2007 to Naomi Amparo, a student at Arizona State University (ASU), and Manish Sawlani, a student at the Thunderbird Global School of Management. Each received a scholarship of US $1,250. The roundtable also recently awarded a US $2,500 scholarship to Amanda Schmidt, a supply chain student at ASU who has been involved in sending medical supplies to various regions of Africa.
To fund these awards, the Arizona Roundtable contributes 75 percent of the net proceeds from its events to the scholarship fund. In addition to raising scholarship funds, this practice aids in event promotion and helps justify the expense for attendees. It also allows the roundtable to build a strong line of communication with the local education community.
The Columbus Roundtable, through its Bernard J. LaLonde Transportation and Logistics Scholarship program, awarded Steven Miko, a student at The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, a US $3,270 scholarship.
The New England Roundtable (NERT) awarded five US $1,000 scholarships to students at partner schools. Through its scholarship program, the Education Committee of NERT works with professors at area colleges and universities to recognize students who are interested in supply chain management and who excel both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities.
This year's recipients are:
Chris Chesebro will receive an MBA in management of operations and technology from Bentley College in 2009. He plans to focus his studies on textile supply chain management, which will allow him to be a fourth-generation contributor to Wigwam Mills, a well-known hosiery manufacturer.
Jarred Sternbergh is a 2010 candidate for a bachelor of science degree with a concentration in international business and logistics at Maine Maritime Academy. Sternbergh has been an officer in the Regiment of Midshipmen and has received the Rear Admiral Warren C. Hamm Jr. Leadership Award.
Erik Caldwell is a student in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) master of engineering in logistics (MLOG) program. His research has focused on exploring how transportation pricing is correlated to other factors such as tender lead time and business policies. Before entering the MLOG program, Erik attended West Point, served in the U.S. Army, and worked in third-party logistics.
Marcia Muñoz Robles will receive a bachelor of science degree in international business with a concentration in supply chain management at Northeastern University. Robles, who is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian, will also earn a dual degree with Universidad de Las Americas in Mexico. She is a research assistant to one of her professors, a position usually reserved for MBA students.
Helen Zhang is a 2009 candidate for a bachelor of science degree with a double major in supply chain management and management information systems at the University of Rhode Island. Zhang, who speaks Shanghai-dialect Chinese and is studying Mandarin, is an active member of the Supply Chain Management Club and assists faculty with various research projects.
Repeat performance
Student Showcase returns to CSCMP's Annual Conference
"Don't mess with success." That's a motto CSCMP takes to heart, especially when it comes to something as successful as CSCMP's Student Showcase! The showcase premiered at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference 2007 and featured students' case studies, projects, white papers, and résumés, all of which highlighted their unique talents and experience.
CSCMP developed the program last year after asking members if they would be interested in interviewing future supply chain leaders. Based on their enthusiastic response, we created the Student Showcase as a way to connect practitioners with supply chain students.
The 2007 Student Showcase in Philadelphia was overwhelmingly popular, and this year's event promises to be equally exciting. Companies will be able to schedule interviews with the best and the brightest graduate and undergraduate students at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference, October 5-8, 2008, in Denver, Colorado, USA.
The Student Showcase will be open Sunday, October 5, through Tuesday, October 7. Conference attendees will be able to view students' résumés, projects, and papers, as well as network with them. Students will be available for interviews on Tuesday, October 7, between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
While the showcase is a new addition to the conference, student participation is a long-standing tradition. For more than 20 years, CSCMP's roundtables have been sponsoring college students so they can attend the annual global conference as part of CSCMP's extended staff. Students are selected by the roundtables based on their scholastic performance and passion for the profession. Each year, CSCMP's Annual Global Conference benefits from the participation of these outstanding young people, and the students benefit from the event's educational content and the opportunity to meet potential employers.
For more information about the Student Showcase, or if you, a colleague, or your human resources staff are interested in participating, please contact Sherrie A. Nauden, CSCMP Manager of Roundtables, at +1.630.645.3466 or
Global risk, crisis and leadership: An insider's view
Few people know as much about global risk, crisis preparation, and leadership as Frances Fragos Townsend. Townsend, who will be the keynote speaker at CSCMP's Annual Conference October 5-8, 2008, served as assistant to President George W. Bush for homeland security and counterterrorism and chaired the Homeland Security Council from May 2004 until January 2008. During that time, Townsend was known for having the ear and respect of the president, advising him almost daily on matters of global security.
Since resigning from her post, Townsend has been bringing that expertise to the corporate world. She currently provides consulting services on global strategic risk and contingency planning to companies worldwide. Her keynote address, "Global Strategic Risk: Anticipate, Prepare, and Mitigate," promises to expand attendees' view of global risk, showing how it can affect them no matter the size, location, or other characteristics of the markets their companies serve. She will then address what they can do to mitigate those risks.
Other major sessions include "Curved Thinking in a Flat World: How to Capitalize on Future Uncertainty" by Dr. Mahender Singh, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Supply Chain 2020 research project, and "Faster, Better, Smaller: Leading in an Era of Exponential Change" by noted futurist and best-selling author Jack Uldrich.
Powered by supply chain professionals
Intel becomes first corporate partner in CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Professional Recognition Program
The "Intel Inside" brand awareness campaign made sure consumers knew that their personal computers were powered by Intel microprocessors. Now, with a little help from CSCMP, the company's supply chain professionals are doing a little awareness raising of their own. Through the Supply Chain Management Professional Recognition Program, the company is making sure its employees know that supply chain professionals inside Intel are powering the company's success.
Intel Corporation is the first corporate partner of CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Professional Recognition Program, a collaborative effort between CSCMP and global businesses to formally recognize top-performing supply chain talent. Under the program, partner companies honor their outstanding supply chain practitioners with two designations, Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) and Senior Supply Chain Management Professional (Senior SCMP).
The program does not award an academic or training certification. Instead, supply chain practitioners are evaluated based on their companies' specific criteria, which typically include the level of execution expertise and the professional's influence within both the company and industry. Supply chain professionals who earn these designations are recognized by the organizations they work for, under the auspices of CSCMP. The individuals receive recognition on CSCMP's web site and in various association publications.
Intel Corporation's senior supply chain master and SCMP program chair, James R. Kellso, was recognized with the Senior SCMP designation. The following Intel Corporation employees received the SCMP designation: Simon Barrett, Nikhil Chhabra, German Ham, Isaac Hooper, Scott Kornak, Pallas Kwok, Shelly Lafree, Kenneth Loop, Chris Philippi, K.C. Quah, and Michael Virani.
"We commend these practitioners on their commitment to professional excellence," said Rick Blasgen, CSCMP's president and CEO. "Earning one of these designations is a noteworthy achievement. It increases the profile of the individual receiving the recognition as well as that of the profession by creating company- and industrywide awareness of the supply chain professional's significant role in the global marketplace."
CSCMP's Supply Chain Management Professional Recognition Program benefits both individual firms and the industry as a whole by recognizing and utilizing the expertise and knowledge base within a company. Any organization that employs supply chain professionals, regardless of its mission, size, or location, may participate in the program. There is no cost to participate.
If you haven't already signed up to join Denver, Colorado, USA, now is the October 5-8, 2008, in Global thousands of your peers from around the world at CSCMP's Annual Conference, time to register and make your hotel reservation. Save US $280.00 if you register by July 31, 2008. Conference fees cover all program events, meal functions, and materials.
Information about the conference agenda, track topics, accommodations, activities in Denver, and more is available here.
To register online, go here and click on "Register Now."
ReposiTrak, a global food traceability network operator, will partner with Upshop, a provider of store operations technology for food retailers, to create an end-to-end grocery traceability solution that reaches from the supply chain to the retail store, the firms said today.
The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.
That accomplishment is important because it will allow food sector trading partners to meet the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204d (FSMA 204) requirements that they must create and store complete traceability records for certain foods.
And according to ReposiTrak and Upshop, the traceability solution may also unlock potential business benefits. It could do that by creating margin and growth opportunities in stores by connecting supply chain data with store data, thus allowing users to optimize inventory, labor, and customer experience management automation.
"Traceability requires data from the supply chain and – importantly – confirmation at the retail store that the proper and accurate lot code data from each shipment has been captured when the product is received. The missing piece for us has been the supply chain data. ReposiTrak is the leader in capturing and managing supply chain data, starting at the suppliers. Together, we can deliver a single, comprehensive traceability solution," Mark Hawthorne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Upshop, said in a release.
"Once the data is flowing the benefits are compounding. Traceability data can be used to improve food safety, reduce invoice discrepancies, and identify ways to reduce waste and improve efficiencies throughout the store,” Hawthorne said.
Under FSMA 204, retailers are required by law to track Key Data Elements (KDEs) to the store-level for every shipment containing high-risk food items from the Food Traceability List (FTL). ReposiTrak and Upshop say that major industry retailers have made public commitments to traceability, announcing programs that require more traceability data for all food product on a faster timeline. The efforts of those retailers have activated the industry, motivating others to institute traceability programs now, ahead of the FDA’s enforcement deadline of January 20, 2026.
Inclusive procurement practices can fuel economic growth and create jobs worldwide through increased partnerships with small and diverse suppliers, according to a study from the Illinois firm Supplier.io.
The firm’s “2024 Supplier Diversity Economic Impact Report” found that $168 billion spent directly with those suppliers generated a total economic impact of $303 billion. That analysis can help supplier diversity managers and chief procurement officers implement programs that grow diversity spend, improve supply chain competitiveness, and increase brand value, the firm said.
The companies featured in Supplier.io’s report collectively supported more than 710,000 direct jobs and contributed $60 billion in direct wages through their investments in small and diverse suppliers. According to the analysis, those purchases created a ripple effect, supporting over 1.4 million jobs and driving $105 billion in total income when factoring in direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts.
“At Supplier.io, we believe that empowering businesses with advanced supplier intelligence not only enhances their operational resilience but also significantly mitigates risks,” Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, said in a release. “Our platform provides critical insights that drive efficiency and innovation, enabling companies to find and invest in small and diverse suppliers. This approach helps build stronger, more reliable supply chains.”
Logistics industry growth slowed in December due to a seasonal wind-down of inventory and following one of the busiest holiday shopping seasons on record, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.
The monthly LMI was 57.3 in December, down more than a percentage point from November’s reading of 58.4. Despite the slowdown, economic activity across the industry continued to expand, as an LMI reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The LMI researchers said the monthly conditions were largely due to seasonal drawdowns in inventory levels—and the associated costs of holding them—at the retail level. The LMI’s Inventory Levels index registered 50, falling from 56.1 in November. That reduction also affected warehousing capacity, which slowed but remained in expansion mode: The LMI’s warehousing capacity index fell 7 points to a reading of 61.6.
December’s results reflect a continued trend toward more typical industry growth patterns following recent years of volatility—and they point to a successful peak holiday season as well.
“Retailers were clearly correct in their bet to stock [up] on goods ahead of the holiday season,” the LMI researchers wrote in their monthly report. “Holiday sales from November until Christmas Eve were up 3.8% year-over-year according to Mastercard. This was largely driven by a 6.7% increase in e-commerce sales, although in-person spending was up 2.9% as well.”
And those results came during a compressed peak shopping cycle.
“The increase in spending came despite the shorter holiday season due to the late Thanksgiving,” the researchers also wrote, citing National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that U.S. shoppers spent just short of a trillion dollars in November and December, making it the busiest holiday season of all time.
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
As U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face an uncertain business landscape in 2025, a substantial majority (67%) expect positive growth in the new year compared to 2024, according to a survey from DHL.
However, the survey also showed that businesses could face a rocky road to reach that goal, as they navigate a complex environment of regulatory/policy shifts and global market volatility. Both those issues were cited as top challenges by 36% of respondents, followed by staffing/talent retention (11%) and digital threats and cyber attacks (2%).
Against that backdrop, SMEs said that the biggest opportunity for growth in 2025 lies in expanding into new markets (40%), followed by economic improvements (31%) and implementing new technologies (14%).
As the U.S. prepares for a broad shift in political leadership in Washington after a contentious election, the SMEs in DHL’s survey were likely split evenly on their opinion about the impact of regulatory and policy changes. A plurality of 40% were on the fence (uncertain, still evaluating), followed by 24% who believe regulatory changes could negatively impact growth, 20% who see these changes as having a positive impact, and 16% predicting no impact on growth at all.
That uncertainty also triggered a split when respondents were asked how they planned to adjust their strategy in 2025 in response to changes in the policy or regulatory landscape. The largest portion (38%) of SMEs said they remained uncertain or still evaluating, followed by 30% who will make minor adjustments, 19% will maintain their current approach, and 13% who were willing to significantly adjust their approach.
Specifically, the two sides remain at odds over provisions related to the deployment of semi-automated technologies like rail-mounted gantry cranes, according to an analysis by the Kansas-based 3PL Noatum Logistics. The ILA has strongly opposed further automation, arguing it threatens dockworker protections, while the USMX contends that automation enhances productivity and can create long-term opportunities for labor.
In fact, U.S. importers are already taking action to prevent the impact of such a strike, “pulling forward” their container shipments by rushing imports to earlier dates on the calendar, according to analysis by supply chain visibility provider Project44. That strategy can help companies to build enough safety stock to dampen the damage of events like the strike and like the steep tariffs being threatened by the incoming Trump administration.
Likewise, some ocean carriers have already instituted January surcharges in pre-emption of possible labor action, which could support inbound ocean rates if a strike occurs, according to freight market analysts with TD Cowen. In the meantime, the outcome of the new negotiations are seen with “significant uncertainty,” due to the contentious history of the discussion and to the timing of the talks that overlap with a transition between two White House regimes, analysts said.