Food for Thought at Supply Chain 2013

(03 Jul 2013)

New Picture  106  Thumbnail0

The Annual Supply Chain Conference – Supply Chain 2013 – took place in Dublin last week. NITL is the patron of the event which was curated by Edward Sweeney. The conference is dedicated to showcasing, discussing and sharing the very latest information and thoughts on the implementation, management and sustainability of integrated supply chains in Ireland.

New Picture  116  Thumbnail0
                                        Armin Samali, Director of Supply Chain and Operations, Accenture

Supply Chain 2013, chaired by Armin Samali (Director of Supply Chain and Operations at Accenture) opened with a session that set the scene by providing insights into supply chain trends and context. This session was built around keynote speeches by two graduates of NITL’s Executive Masters programme, Gerry Hanrahan of Enterasys and James Treacy of Boston Scientific. Gerry discussed the role of Ireland as a strategic hub for SCM in the context of increasingly global and virtual supply chain configurations. James’ presentation explained how the principles of lean thinking can be applied beyond the manufacturing function in a practical way to improve overall supply chain performance. The opening session ended with a panel Q&A discussion with Gerry and James joined by Emmanuel Dowdall of the IDA and Jane O’Keefe of the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI). A lively debate ensued with the audience raising a range of policy and strategic issues.

New Picture  117  Thumbnail0
                                  Gerry Hanrahan and James Treacy compare notes after their presentations


The middle session was built around the theme of “building innovative and sustainable supply chains”. Justin Hayes of Accenture set the scene for this session with a stimulating presentation on the need for dynamic supply chain operations in what has become the era of permanent volatility. Shane Clifford of Zetes introduced delegates to a range of proven technological solutions that facilitate supply chain visibility and integration. Denis Doyle of Syncreon then discussed the way in which supply chain architectures have evolved in recent years in response to increased competition and other pressures. He illustrated this evolution with a number of short case studies from Syncreon client companies. The final presentation was by Declan Keegan of Heineken who introduced delegates to his firm’s sustainability programme known as “Brewing a Better Future” with a particular emphasis on one constituent element of the programme that aims to green the distribution process. The session concluded with another lively panel Q&A discussion.

New Picture  118  Thumbnail0
                                                            Dr. Bernd Huber, Google

The third and final session was built around presentations by Dr. Bernd Huber and David Natoff of Google and Professor Martin Christopher of Cranfield University. The Google contribution explained how e-auctions are being used in the context of driving value in the supplier base. Professor Christopher’s presentation discussed how SCM needs to change to address the challenges posed by the increasingly resource-constrained environment in which we now operate. Professor Christopher was joined for the final panel Q&A discussion by Darren Lynch of Accenture and Dr. Donna Marshall of UCD. This discussion was informed by some interesting findings from a recent survey of supply chain trends in Irish firms by Amarach Research.

 

New Picture  119  Thumbnail0
                                                  Professor Martin Christopher, Cranfield University

Supply Chain 2013 ended with a summary of the key take outs from the various sessions by Armin Samali. The event was very well received by delegates with the variety and quality of the various presentations highly commended. The organising team thanked NITL for its role and stated that “we offer a special note of appreciation to Dr. Edward Sweeney, who leads the NITL, for that organisation’s support and for placing his own unique views, knowledge and tireless enthusiasm at the disposal of the team”. For his part, Edward pointed out that the conference was now an important event in the SCM calendar. “We endeavour to introduce delegates to the state of both the art and the practice of contemporary SCM. The goal is to build awareness and understanding of good practice in line with NITL’s mission of promoting the adoption of the integration concept that is central to business success”.

New Picture  120  Thumbnail0
                                                                Dr. Edward Sweeney, NITL

© 2024 National Institute for Transport & Logistics

  • Technological University Dublin City Campus Bolton Street Dublin 1
  • Phone: +353 1 4023898
  • Fax:
  • Email: Pamela.obrien@dit.ie

Search

Search - Use spaces to seperate your keywords