2009 Annual Global Conference: Ideas. Tools. Results.
Whether you're new to the field of supply chain management or have years of experience under your belt, CSCMP's 2009 Annual Global Conference will offer invaluable information and networking opportunities you simply won't find anywhere else. Come to McCormick Place in Chicago September 20?23, 2009, to attend educational sessions and benefit from such unique events as the Learning Exchange, Student Showcase, "Sit with an Expert" discussions, the annual Supply Chain Innovation Award, and much more.
Choose from sessions in 20 tracks covering all aspects of supply chain management. Sessions will cover a host of subjects, including transportation, warehousing, inventory management, talent recruitment and retention, supply chain metrics, aligning supply chain execution with business strategies, and hundreds of other topics that are directly relevant to your job.
You'll also hear from world-renowned major session speakers. Here's a quick preview of the special presentations we have lined up:
Take advantage of a rare opportunity to hearnational supply chain for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Gary's keynote presentation on Monday, September 21, will address the challenges of maintaining performance in global supply chains while managing local conditions.
On Tuesday, September 22, Dr. Prashant Yadav of the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program will speak on how supply chain professionals can use their knowledge and expertise to save lives and improve health around the world.
This year's closing session features Alison Levine, polar adventurer and team captain of the first American women's Everest expedition. Her presentation, titled "Oxygen Not Included," will cover her unique perspectives on leadership, teamwork, innovation, and dealing with change.
Complete details for the 2009 Annual Global Conference are available online at CSCMP's new conference web site. This convenient and comprehensive resource makes it quick and easy to register for the conference and get all the information you need about travel and hotels, sessions and events, the Learning Exchange and networking opportunities, and sponsorships.
Supply Chain Quarterly to chair Annual Global Conference track
For the first time, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly will present a track at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference. The "Highlights from Supply Chain Quarterly" track will feature presentations by some of the thought leaders whose articles have appeared in the magazine. Supply Chain Quarterly's editors will moderate the sessions, which will include:
Chuck Taylor of Awake! Consulting on how companies should prepare for the next round of oil price hikes
Stephen Cain of Groenewout Consultants & Engineers on multilayered distribution in Europe
Ted Schaefer of Profit Point on how to manage the twin corporate goals of profitability and sustainability
Prof. Doug Lambert of The Ohio State University on how to determine which customers are most profitable
Brad Sampson of XCD Performance Consulting on when in-sourcing is the right decision for a company
Joe Martha of Booz Allen Hamilton on how to determine a supply chain's carbon footprint
In October, brief video interviews with each of these dynamic speakers will be available on the magazine's web site.
Student Showcase, job fair return in 2009
Meet tomorrow's supply chain leaders at the Annual Global Conference.
If you've attended CSCMP's Annual Global Conference, then you undoubtedly have seen medallion- bedecked college students patrolling the hallways, working at information desks, and assisting CSCMP staff in numerous ways. For more than 20 years, CSCMP's roundtables have been sponsoring college students who 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. In return for their participation, the students gain hands-on experience and benefit from the conference's educational sessions as well as the opportunities to network with supply chain management professionals.
Student assistants also can take a more formal approach to networking by participating in the Student Showcase, a popular conference feature since 2007. The event provides an opportunity for students to present their résumés, projects, and papers to supply chain professionals from around the world.
In 2008, CSCMP expanded those opportunities by hosting a job fair that brought promising students together with prospective employers. This new feature was so popular that CSCMP is bringing it back again in 2009.
Companies can take advantage of this exceptional recruiting opportunity to personally meet the next generation of supply chain management professionals. If your company would like to participate in this unique program, please contact Sherrie Nauden, CSCMP Roundtable Manager, by e-mail at snauden@cscmp.org or by telephone at +1 630.645.3466. Please note that certain rules and regulations apply.
The Student Showcase will be held from Sunday, September 20, through Wednesday, September 23, 2009. The Student Job Fair will be held on Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Register now for CSCMP'S Annual Global Conference
If you haven't already signed up to join thousands of your peers from around the world at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference in Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 20-23, 2009, now's the time to register and make your hotel reservation. Conference fees cover all program events, meal functions, and materials.
Complete details about the conference agenda, track topics, accommodations, activities in Chicago, and more are available at https://cscmpconference.org.
Coming soon! New how-to guide explains integrated supply chain costing
For companies that are focusing on improving supply chain performance, timely and accurate cost information that supports strategic, enterprisewide decision making is a must. For a variety of reasons, however, getting that information—a critical success factor in gaining competitive advantage—is very difficult for most organizations.
To help companies overcome that challenge, Terrance L. Pohlen, Ph.D., and Thomas P. Klammer, Ph.D., both from the University of North Texas, and Gary Cokins, CPIM, of SAS Institute Inc., have written a how-to guide titled Handbook for Supply Chain Costing. Based on research conducted since 2007, the book is designed to help companies develop integrated cross-functional and inter-firm supply chain cost information. With this data in hand, managers can make strategic supply chain decisions, enhance enterprise performance, and drive cross-functional process improvements. Throughout the book, readers will find the many lessons learned from companies that participated in the research.
This important CSCMP-sponsored publication is expected to be available for purchase in mid- to late 2009.
The venture-backed fleet telematics technology provider Platform Science will acquire a suite of “global transportation telematics business units” from supply chain technology provider Trimble Inc., the firms said Sunday.
Trimble's other core transportation business units — Enterprise, Maps, Vusion and Transporeon — are not included in the proposed transaction and will remain part of Trimble's Transportation & Logistics segment, with a continued focus on priority growth areas following completion of the proposed transaction.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but as part of this agreement, Colorado-based Trimble will become a shareholder in Platform Science's expanded business. Specifically, Trimble will have a 32.5% stake in the newly expanded global Platform Science business and will receive a Platform Science board seat. The company joins C.R. England, Cummins, Daimler Truck, PACCAR, Prologis, RyderVentures, and Schneider as a key strategic investor in Platform Science along with financial investors 8VC, Activant Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Softbank, and NewRoad Capital Partners.
According to San Diego-based Platform Science, the proposed transaction aims to enhance driver experience, fleet safety, efficiency, and compliance by combining two cutting-edge in-cab commercial vehicle ecosystems, which will give customers access to more applications and offerings.
From Trimble customers’ point of view, they will continue to enjoy the benefits of their Trimble solutions, with the added flexibility of the Virtual Vehicle platform from Platform Science. That means Virtual Vehicle-enabled fleets will receive access to the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace, offering hundreds of new and expanded applications, software, and solution providers focused on innovating and improving drivers' quality of life and fleet performance.
Meanwhile, Platform Science customers will enjoy the added choice of Trimble's remaining portfolio of transportation solutions which will be available on the Virtual Vehicle platform, the partners said.
"We believe combining our global transportation telematics portfolio with Platform Science's will further advance fleet mobility and provide our customers with a broader portfolio of solutions to solve industry problems," Rob Painter, president and CEO of Trimble, said in a release. "Increased collaboration between the new Platform Science business and Trimble's remaining transportation businesses will enhance our ability to provide positive outcomes for our global customers of commercial mapping, transportation management, freight procurement, and visibility solutions. This deal will result in significant synergies along with tremendous opportunities for employees to continue to grow in a more-competitive business."
The acquisition comes just five months after Platform Science raised $125 million in growth capital from some of the biggest names in freight trucking, saying the money would help accelerate innovation in the commercial transportation sector.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in August, though growth slowed slightly from July, according to the most recent Logistics Manager’s Index report (LMI), released this week.
The August LMI registered 56.4, down from July’s reading of 56.6 but consistent with readings over the past four months. The August reading represents nine straight months of growth across the logistics industry.
The LMI is a monthly gauge of economic activity across warehousing, transportation, and logistics markets. An LMI above 50 indicates expansion, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Inventory levels saw a marked change in August, increasing more than six points compared to July and breaking a three-month streak of contraction. The LMI researchers said this suggests that after running inventories down, companies are now building them back up in anticipation of fourth-quarter demand. It also represents a return to more typical growth patterns following the accelerated demand for logistics services during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lows of the recent freight recession.
“This suggests a return to traditional patterns of seasonality that we have not seen since pre-COVID,” the researchers wrote in the monthly LMI report, published Tuesday, adding that the buildup is somewhat tempered by increases in warehousing capacity and transportation capacity.
The LMI report is based on 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).
That hiring surge marks a significant jump in relation to the company’s nearly 17,000 current employees across North America, adding 21% more workers.
That increase is necessary because U.S. holiday sales in 2023 increased 3.9% year-over-year as consumer spending grew even amidst uncertain economic times and trends like inflation and consumer price sensitivity. Looking at the coming peak, a similar pattern is projected for this year, with shoppers forecasted to drive a 4.8% increase in holiday retail sales for 2024, Geodis said, citing data from Emarketer.
To attract the extra workforce, Geodis says it will offer competitive wages, peak premium pay incentives, peak and referral bonuses, an expedited payment option, and flexible schedules. And it’s using an AI-powered chatbot named Sophie to serve as a virtual recruiting assistant.
“We acknowledge the immense responsibility we have to our customers to deliver exceptional service every day, and this is especially true during peak season,” Anthony Jordan, GEODIS in Americas Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a release. “Because peak season is the most business-critical sales period of the year for many of our retail clients, expanding our workforce is vital to ensure we have a flexible, dynamic team that can handle anticipated surges in demand.”