A major conference that showcased state-of-the-art supply chain management (SCM) practices from several leading edge companies took place in Dublin last week with over 200 of Ireland’s leading supply chain professionals in attendance. NITL played a pivotal role in putting on a hugely successful event underlining its role as Ireland’s centre of excellence in this area.


                                                 NITL Staff Edward Sweeney, Pamela O’Brien and 
                                                       Antonio de Linares at Supply Chain 2012

Following the conference opening, Dan O’Brien, Economics Editor of the Irish Times, provided an overview of the key challenges facing the Irish economy in the medium term. His presentation highlighted the key role of supply chain issues in the context of export-driven economic recovery. Despite the volatility of recent years the export sector has proven remarkably resilient. Dan’s contribution provided an ideal context for the detailed presentations that followed.


                                             Dan O’Brien of the Irish Times speaking at Supply Chain 2012

The rest of the one-day event was built around over a dozen presentations and three panel discussions. Among the companies that presented were Microsoft, Vodafone, Dell, Accenture and Symantec. The various contributions provided delegates with fascinating insights in the supply chain strategies, methodologies and technologies being used in these firms to improve competitive advantage. Two contributions of particular interest from an NITL perspective were from Pat Treacy and Elaine Laird. Pat is Head of Supply Chain Management and Logistics at Diageo and a participant in NITL’s Executive Masters Programme in SCM. His presentation explained how Diageo have embraced “end-to-end” SCM as a key element in its quest to enhance overall competitiveness in challenging global markets. He noted the role that Edward Sweeney played in the launch of the company’s supply chain capability development programme in 2011. Elaine Laird is Director of Consumer Replenishment at Logitech in Cork and a graduate of NITL’s M.Sc. programme. Her presentation outlined Logitech’s recent experience in Ireland and demonstrated how companies based in Ireland can exploit the emerging global supply chain opportunity.


                                               Elaine Laird of Logitech speaking at Supply Chain 2012

The three panel discussions focussed on:

• Supply chain excellence as a response to Ireland’s challenging economic conditions;
• Development and implementation of supply chain strategies; and,
• Current supply chain status and future opportunities.

The panel sessions were lively with a large number of delegates contributing to the debate and discussion.


                                     Pat Treacy of Diageo contributes to a panel discussion at Supply Chain 2012

The response from delegates to the event was overwhelmingly positive. There was general consensus that it was an interesting and thought provoking day. Delegates commented in particular on the variety and quality of the various presentations, as well as on the participative nature of the event. NITL’s role in improving the supply chain capability of firms through its various activities over the last 14 years was alluded to in several of the presentations and discussions. A theme that was evident in many contributions was the importance of high quality postgraduate education and applied research in building the capability necessary to complete successfully in the future. NITL is well placed to play a key role in this.

                           Declan Allen, Head of Department of Transport Engineering, DIT with
                             Finbarr Cleary, Director of Celtic Forwarding and Vice-President of the Chartered
                                Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) at Supply Chain 2012

Commenting on Supply Chain 2012, Edward Sweeney of NITL noted that the success of the event highlights the importance of SCM as both a catalyst and an enabler of Ireland’s economic recovery. “SCM has become more complex as a result of developments in technology, economic globalisation, increasingly competitive markets and more discerning customers”, he noted. “We are ideally placed to develop people with the required knowledge and skills to make this happen, as well as to develop the next generation of supply chain methodologies and technologies through our research activities”.


                                  NITL Lecturer Des Lee chatting with Mark O’Connor of Whirlpool
                                       (and a participant in NITL’s Executive Masters Programme)
                                                            at Supply Chain 2012

For further information about the event visit www.supply-chain.ie.