NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOW CIRCUIT roadtrip
shippers (finally) have
friends in Washington
A HIGHLIGHT OF NASSTRAC’S LOGISTICS CONFERENCE AND EXPO EACH
year is Washington counsel John Cutler’s legislative update. At this year’s event, held
in Orlando, Fla., in April, Cutler spoke about the change in administration and
what it means for shippers, carriers, and third parties.
On the positive side is the appointment of Ray LaHood as transportation secretary—“a plus for the people in this room,” Cutler said. He also was complimentary
about Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano, citing her recent
testimony that screening 100 percent of air cargo by 2012 would not be feasible.
“It’s nice to see that touch of realism,” Cutler said.
Cutler also characterized economist Frank Mulvey, who was recently named acting chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, as “the closest thing to a friend
of the shipper” the board has seen in many years. And shippers should welcome the
appointment of Jay Rockefeller to chair the Senate Commerce Committee, he said.
The West Virginia Democrat is in their corner regarding railroad rates and service.
On the down side is the new administration’s failure to fill key transportation
positions, including the top spots at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration and the Transportation Safety Administration. Cutler’s other big
worry is that the Obama administration’s environmental focus may lead to policies
that hamstring the trucking industry and thus undermine an economic recovery.
“The level of cluelessness out there is hard to believe,” he said. “I’ve dealt with people on Capitol Hill who have no idea that the trucking industry has any impact on
the U.S. economy.”
July 19–22
The Association for Healthcare Resource
& Materials Management’s Annual
Conference takes place in Tampa, Fla.
Topics include current health-care supply
chain trends, issues, and best practices.
For information, visit www.ahrmm.org.
July 20–22
In cooperation with the U.S. Navy, U.S.
Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard, the
American Society of Naval Engineers will
present Naval Logistics Symposium
2009—Logistics in Support of the Joint
Maritime Strategy in Arlington, Va. For
information, visit www.navalengineers.org.
Aug. 4–6
Sponsored by the International Quality &
Productivity Center, the Cold Chain
Management for Food and Beverage
Conference will focus on how to create
a safe and secure “farm to fork” supply
chain for temperature-sensitive goods.
The event takes place in Chicago. For
information, visit www.iqpc.com /us/ccfb.
one company’s risk is another’s opportunity
The ability to manage risk will become at least as important to supply chain success as identifying and exploiting growth opportunities—if not more so, said David Abney, chief operating
officer of UPS Inc. Abney highlighted the growing importance of effective risk management
during his keynote address at the annual conference of the Warehousing Education and
Research Council (WERC), which was held in Atlanta this past April.
Abney said that risk management will “assume a more prominent role in customer expectations.” In fact, by helping businesses plan for unforeseen events and manage them adroitly, logistics practitioners actually open up new pathways to growth for their companies.
To demonstrate that growth opportunity, Abney cited a 2008 study by UPS and the Economist
Business Intelligence Unit of 350 senior executives who oversee global supply chains. Four in 10
respondents said the complexity of their extended networks had outpaced their ability to manage the risk embedded in them. The survey also found risk management had taken a back seat
to rapid growth and low-cost sourcing during the boom years; only one in six respondents said
their company was now prepared to deal with a serious risk to their supply chain.
Which companies will be best equipped to manage risk? According to Abney, it will be
those shippers and third-party logistics service providers that have a decentralized decision-making style rather than a top-down approach to management. “The irony is that in a world
in which supply chains get larger and more interconnected, decision making gets pushed
down more and more to individuals,” he told the group. “In that climate, a culture of empowered people who do the right thing for the greater purpose is a must.”
Sept. 9–11
To be held in Chicago, USA Rail 2009
will focus on the challenges railroads
face in today’s economic environment
as well as government plans to expand
the rail infrastructure. For information,
visit www.terrapinn.com/2009/usarail/.
Sept. 21–23
LogiPharma 2009 in Philadelphia will
address some of the key issues for
today’s North American pharmaceutical
supply chains, including pedigree compliance, business continuity management, and cold chain management. For
information, visit www.logipharma.com.
Sept. 21–24
The seventh annual Cold Chain
Distribution for Pharmaceuticals
Conference takes place in Philadelphia.
Topics include transportation and logistics, packaging, and regulations. For information, visit www.coldchainpharma.com.
