NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOW CIRCUIT roadtrip
SCOPEing out new strategies
THE FOCUS WAS ON SUPPLY CHAIN BEST PRACTICES AT SCOPE WEST, A
conference and exposition for senior logistics and supply chain executives held in
August. During the two-day event, presenters from leading manufacturers, retailers, and distributors spoke about supply chain challenges they had faced and how
they overcame them.
Here are just a few of the tidbits we picked up at the conference:
; H.J. Heinz Co. has developed a performance management program that links qual-
ity control practices like Lean and Six Sigma with best practices in manufacturing, sup-
ply chain management, and customer service. The worldwide initiative uses a formal
communication methodology that’s customizable for different languages and cultures.
; To encourage continuous improvement, manufacturing conglomerate United
Technologies has developed the “Achieving Competitive Excellence” (ACE) program, which certifies and rewards its own business units and its suppliers for excellence in service, supply chain management, and more. The company estimates that
ACE adds more than $2 billion annually to its bottom line.
; To deal with highly seasonal demand, Lennox International, a manufacturer of
heating and cooling systems, used software to analyze the impact of inventory avail-
ability on customer service. The company achieved its goal of providing specified serv-
ice levels at the lowest inventory cost, optimized by SKU for individual service locations.
Organized by Quartz Events, SCOPE conferences are offered twice a year. For
more information, go to www.scopeeast.com or www.scopewest.com.
Nov. 3–4
The Center for Value Chain Research’s
Fall Symposium takes place at Lehigh
University in Bethlehem, Pa. The topic of
this year’s symposium is “Ensuring that
your supply chain provides a competitive
advantage.” For information, visit
www.lehigh.edu/~inchain/SymposiumFall
09/ index.htm.
Nov. 3–5
The IATA Cargo Claims and Loss
Prevention Conference takes place in
Dallas. The event includes sessions on
best practices in loss prevention. For
information, visit www.iata.org/events.
Nov. 4–6
Industry executives and government officials will gather at the Air Cargo
Americas 2009 conference in Miami to
discuss trade, security, and logistics
issues facing the industry. For information, visit www.aircargoamericas.com.
California state Sen. Alan Lowenthal and the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL)
haven’t always seen eye to eye. For example, Lowenthal has led the charge to raise fees on
containers entering the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to help fund clean air and infrastructure projects—fees that NITL strongly opposes.
So a few eyebrows may have been raised when NITL announced that Lowenthal will
address a special member luncheon at the group’s 102nd Annual Meeting and TransComp
Exhibition, which takes place Nov. 15–18 in Anaheim, Calif.
Peter J. Gatti, NITL’s executive vice president, acknowledges that the group has clashed with
the senator in the past. But he adds that Lowenthal, whom he describes as an accomplished
policy maker who is knowledgeable about freight, can provide important insights into what
lies ahead for the industry.
For more information on the annual meeting, visit www.nitl.org/annual.htm.
not your typical keynote speaker …
Nov. 9–10
The Hi-Tech & Electronics Supply
Chain Summit, USA in San Jose, Calif.,
will feature presentations on how to
steer through the economic recovery.
For information, visit events.eyefortrans-port.com/hitechUS/.
How do you match up against the best in the biz? Which parts of your operation
need the most work? What are others doing to improve performance?
To help companies answer these and other questions, the Council of Supply
Chain Management Professionals will hold a Process Standards Workshop on Nov.
16–17 in Lombard, Ill. During the two-day event, attendees will learn how to conduct self-assessments and evaluate the risks and rewards of various initiatives. They
will leave with information on 300-plus supply chain best practices.
For more information, visit http://cscmp.org/events/process-standards/index.asp.
do you measure up?
Nov. 12–13
The SCMchem conference takes place
in Atlanta. Designed for chemical supply
chain executives, the conference
includes presentations from top managers at industry giants like BASF, Bayer,
3M, and DuPont. For information, visit
www.scmchemical.com.
Dec. 1–3
Defense Logistics 2009 will look at how
military logisticians can leverage private
industry best practices to provide better
support to warfighters. The event takes
place in Arlington, Va. For information,
visit www.wbresearch.com/defenselo-gisticsusa/.
