We are only a week away from our annual Supply Chain Executive conference in Scottsdale. The content for this year is quite exciting and we are all looking forward to the reveal of the 2011 Supply Chain Top 25. The conference has been a hot topic with clients so I wanted to provide more details. Mike Burkett released a great overview of the conference this morning, so I thought I would share for anyone who is interested.
From Mike Burkett, VP Supply Chain Research…
Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference Gets Back to Basics
by Michael Burkett
“The Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference, starting 1 June, is fast approaching. Whether you are attending for the first time or as a returning participant, there is plenty in store for you as you hone your supply chain initiatives. The theme of the conference is “Getting Back to Basics,” highlighting the fundamental supply chain capabilities that have guided leading companies through the downturn, and lays the foundation for their next phase of growth. First Thing Monday does not publish again until after the conference on 6 June, so it’s the perfect time to offer guidance about what’s in store for those attending.
The main sessions will feature supply chain executives from top companies across industries sharing the practices that have helped their businesses compete. Featured on the main stage will be Coca-Cola, DuPont and Raytheon. Renowned author and Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen will provide his insights on the importance of maintaining innovation as companies fight to stay profitable. The highlight of the conference is the unveiling of our 2011 list of Top 25 Supply Chain companies, representing the best performers as judged by financial performance and supply chain peers.
In addition to the great speakers presenting in the main session, there will be five supply chain “tracks.” These tracks will feature Gartner analysts presenting on the most important topics that we see supply chain professionals wrestling with today. Several sessions will include case studies or guest panelists from industry. Conference attendees can reference the following highlights, in addition to the detailed conference agenda, to determine the sessions of most value to your initiatives.
Supply Chain Strategy
A characteristic that distinguishes companies on the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 is an emphasis on supply chain strategy. Gartner’s survey on supply chain organization and talent shows a 36% gap between these leaders and the remaining respondents, where strategy and change management are priorities. Aligning supply chain strategy to business strategy is the shift needed to take a traditional supply chain that is reactive and transform it into an organization that supports profitable growth.
Organized by our lead analyst for the consumer value chain, Steve Steutermann, this track will prepare supply chain officers and senior operations executives for the new fundamentals of supply chain success. The track kicks off with a presentation and leadership panel on the stages of value chain transformation. It then continues with sessions providing insights and case studies around best practices in supply chain segmentation, developing talent and managing demand-driven global manufacturing operations.
Supply Chain Planning
In our 2010 study on supply chain management, demand variability and forecast accuracy top the list as the greatest obstacles to achieving supply chain goals. While a perfect forecast may be the ultimate goal, we see leaders implement better demand sensing and shaping to improve their supply chain planning process. This pursuit of excellence moves beyond just process and extends into how value chain functions are organized and measured to drive performance.
Noha Tohamy leads our cross-industry demand planning research, and has brought together a team to help supply chain planning executives understand the needs and challenges of next-generation planning organizations. Retail analyst Mike Griswold will start this track by addressing the sales and operations planning (S&OP) challenges facing this industry. A sampling of later sessions includes the latest research on achieving advanced maturity stages of S&OP and supply planning, maximizing value across product life cycles, and techniques for sensing and shaping demand.
Sourcing and Procurement
Supplier management is more strategic than ever as companies seek deeper relationships with their partners. In a recent Gartner study, a closer collaborative relationship was the top and most successful method utilized to shorten new product time to market and mitigate supplier failure. We expect suppliers to become more ingrained in helping their customers deliver product innovation. Supply risk will remain top of mind, highlighted by the recent events in Japan that shut down supply lines across the high-tech and automotive value chains.
This track, organized by lead supplier management and sourcing analyst Mickey North Rizza, will help supply chain sourcing and procurement executives master the new sourcing realities and complexities of today’s global supply network. The session starts with a look at sourcing and managing supply chain service providers, led by our supply chain services analysts Dana Stiffler and Mike Dominy. The track then moves on to address the top issues that supplier management professional are facing, including multiple panel discussions with supply chain leaders from the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25. The discussions and sessions include sustainable sourcing, trends in manufacturing outsourcing, predictive analytics in supplier performance and risk management, sourcing’s role in new product introduction, and low-cost country sourcing strategies.
Distribution and Logistics
Logistics costs represent more than 10% of product-centric company revenue, and while traditionally viewed as simply a cost of doing business, best-in-class firms now recognize the strategic importance of global logistics. We’ve seen companies improve service levels, while realizing 15% to 30% cost savings, by applying segmentation and network design techniques to their logistics operations.
Global logistics analyst Dwight Klappich will lead a team to present on the latest strategies for managing advanced global logistics operations. A highlight of this track will be results from the latest Gartner study on supply chain user wants and needs. Later sessions will address topics such as global logistics strategy, managing third-party logistics (3PL) providers, customer experience measures, cost-to-serve analysis and tracking the logistics supply chain.
Supply Chain IT
Managing a global end-to-end supply chain isn’t possible without the technology to enable it. However, we continue to see technology projects for supply chain implemented in silos that often suboptimize benefits to the broader value chain. Part of the challenge is the technology itself, but quite often, issues point back to organization and alignment to business goals. Addressing this task starts with defining an architecture that supports a demand-driven value network (DDVN) where service levels are defined by customer segments and the appropriate process and technology deployed.
This track will show supply chain IT leaders how to leverage new technologies for integration, collaboration, transparency, traceability and sustainability in the global supply chain. It was coordinated by Simon Jacobson, who has extensively researched the alignment of manufacturing and business IT to support DDVN. Supply chain analyst Tim Payne will open with an overview on getting the best technology for your supply chain. Later sessions will then drill deeper into topics such as transformation, IT and business organization, leveraging the cloud, track-and-trace solutions, the convergence among digital content, IT and operational technology (OT), the emergence of sustainable business systems, and operations intelligence.
We anticipate a great event where supply chain leaders can network with peers, while also drilling into the latest research on supply chain. This note should get you thinking about how to best derive the greatest benefit from the many sessions available. We look forward to seeing you at the conference and working together toward achieving supply chain excellence in all industries.”
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Category: AMR Supply Chain Top 25 Demand Sensing and Shaping Digital Supply Chain Emerging Markets Supply Chain Risk Management Tags: AMR, AMR Supply Chain Top 25, Gartner Supply Chain Conference, Global Logistics, Logistics, Operations Management
