WORKSHOPS

The demands of Senior Management in Logistics and Supply Chain roles continue to mount with increasing pressure of fuel prices, global competition, and transportation challenges. Richmond Event’s Logistics and Supply Chain Forum offers you a timely, solution-packed conference program to assist you in meeting the demands of today’s competitive marketplace. The program is researched, developed and tailored to address the needs of senior management.

Prior to the event, you will have the opportunity to tailor your learning experience to your needs by selecting the most relevant workshop topics of your choosing. To take part in our conference research, please go here to fill out a quick survey: 2009 Logistics & Supply Chain Conference Survey


Transportation
Mark Rigdon
Senior Director, Logistics
PSSD World Medical, Inc.

While you may feel that dealing with and managing the effects of transportation and fuel costs are left to the mercy of the market, there ARE things you can do. There are initiatives that can be implemented in your organization to push cost savings to a new level and Senior Director of Logistics at PSSD World Medical, Mark Rigdon, is going to impart some lessons learned and best practices that have yielded PSSD tens of thousands in cost savings. He will walk you through key steps you can take to manage fuel costs externally, and cost-saving employee initiatives you can apply internally that can shave thousands. Attend this session and learn more on:
- Negotiating fuel rates at local fuel stations
- Making the most out of credit card rebates
- Monitoring idle time and speed
- Managing fleet size
- Incentivising sales force
- Drilling cost savings to the employee level with bonus rewards
- Visuals that layout trends before initiatives were put in motion and after

Reducing Costs through Cutting out the Waste in Your Supply Chain
Joseph DeSantis
Senior Director of Supply Chain Operations
Office Depot

There is a big difference between cost reduction and waste reduction. Many of you are charged with the task of cutting costs, especially in today’s current economic environment. However, slashing costs at every turn can ultimately end up creating more expense, people losing their jobs or even result in the loss of a customer. It is imperative that before you begin getting rid of expenses that may impact the quality of your good or service, you take a step back and really evaluate and properly identify the non-value added tasks in your supply chain operation. Senior Director of Supply Chain Operations at Office Depot, Joe DeSantis, will guide you through effectively identifying areas of wasteful spending and then devising an action plan to put into motion of eliminating waste in your supply chain. In this session
- Hear what Office Depot has done to eliminate waste, what it has resulted in for them, and how you can apply their strategies to your supply chain
- Discuss their lessons learned
- Identify the "7 Deadly Sins of Waste"
- See examples of what happens when useful costs are slashed versus wasteful costs slashed
- Learn to create an action plan for cost savings relevant to your supply chain

How Logistics and Supply Management can tap the Power of Process Improvement
F. Michael Babineaux, CPSM, C.P.M.
President/CEO
Babineaux Educational Services and Training, Inc.

In the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS) focus study, "Purchasing and Supplier Involvement: New Product Development and Production/Operations Process Development and Improvement," researchers examined ways in which purchasers and suppliers can contribute to an organization’s process improvement efforts. According to the study, a majority of respondents (56 percent) said that process improvement was a source of competitive advantage.

Processes use materials, supplies, capital equipment, labor, and information to convert resources into tangible products and services. For the majority of products that are mature in a lifecycle, the best path to lowering costs, elevating quality, and reaching greater profitability is often through process improvements.

Logistic and Supply Management will benefit from attending this workshop by increasing their understanding and appreciation for the power of process improvement.

Global Logistics
Cindy Lewis
Director of International Logistics
Destination Maternity Corp

The falling dollar has strengthened the volume of US exports but the growth in international sales has created logistics and cost challenges that vary from lack of container availability to rising fuel surcharges. Hear about some of the best practices that shippers are using to combat the challenges of exporting in today's economic conditions.
- Trade agreement issues
- Economic projections
- Demand for US goods
- Value of dollar and US economic influence on trade
- Emerging markets for supply of retail goods
- Trends in sourcing
- Movement from China to India? Vietnam? What's next and why
- C-TPAT and other mutual recognition programs in other countries
- New trade programs such as 10+2 and how they will impact global trade
- Warehousing & Inventory
- Best in class WMS systems
- Driving stronger inventory management without driving up costs
- Incorporating a DTC system with WMS
- What 3PL WMS system capabilities are and their limitations
- New practices for lean warehousing
- Optimizing inventory management

Leadership on the Fly
Ray Bender
Speaker, Author & Consultant

This session examines the parallels of leading Army helicopter units in combat and leading your organization in challenging conditions. The session will address actions of personal leadership such as developing a reputation, being visible, sharing hardships, and being approachable.

In addition we will discuss how to lead professionals in complex and stressful situations by building trust and organizational cohesiveness.

Performance Under Pressure: Leadership and Mental Toughness
Dr. Mark Lowry, Partner
Marc Sagal, Managing Partner
Winning Mind, LLC

We find ourselves in challenging times. In no place is this challenge more pronounced than now. Now more than ever, leaders must stay focused and composed despite the increasing difficulty in doing so.

High levels of stress and pressure bring out the best in some and the worst in others. Getting things done, keeping teams motivated, working effectively with business partners and keeping clients happy is challenging in even the best of times. How then do leaders succeed under the toughest of conditions?

Winning Mind. LLC works with leaders and performers who must be at their best under pressure. Borrowing from their work with Fortune 500 Executives, Military Leaders and Elite Athletes, this presentation will help you improve your mental toughness and leadership capacity. You will learn how increasing levels of stress impact your ability to perform; you will get first-hand exposure to techniques for keeping yourself and your team focused on what matters most; and you will walk away with practical approaches for keeping your head in the game no matter how crazy things get.

Technologies That Tomorrow’s Industry Leaders Are Investing In Today
Adrian Gonzalez
Director, Logistics Executive Council
ARC Advisory Group

They say hindsight is 20/20. If we could fast forward ten years and interview the industry leaders of tomorrow, which technologies did they invest in today that enabled them to outperform the competition by responding intelligently to the various supply chain and logistics challenges that lie ahead? This is the central question that Mr Gonzalez will address in his presentation. Mr Gonzalez will highlight the key challenges supply chain and logistics professionals will face in the coming years—some are historical problems (poor data quality), while others are new and emerging (“green” regulations)—and he’ll discuss how companies can leverage technology to overcome these issues and create a competitive advantage.

Case Study: Virtual Supply Chain Strategy within the Pharmaceutical Industry
Jonathan Adar, Senior Director, Outsourced Manufacturing
Tanya Quinn, Director Global Supply Chain
The Medicines Company

The Medicines Company was founded in 1996 and employs approximately 475 professionals. The company was established to develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products in late stages of their development. Without any infrastructure, the company needed to develop a strategy by which it could manufacture, operate clinical trials, package, distribute and sell globally. A virtual supply chain solutions strategy that assembled the resources, capabilities, and technology of The Medicines Company and other organizations was employed. Similar to a traditional manufacturer setting up a ‘Lead Logistics Provider (4PL),’ The Medicines Company operates similar to a 4PL managing third parties while only owning its own intellectual capital and systems.

Stress Management for Supply Chain Executives
Frank Velazquez
Senior Manager, Supply Chain Management
Burger King Corporation

Supply Chain leaders can have a difficult time dealing with stress. Their traditional job responsibilities, compounded with the demands brought by the global economic meltdown, are putting more pressure than ever on today’s executives. Pressures to reduce costs, to deliver products to market more efficiently than the competition, and many other challenges are magnified as companies reduce their labor force, forcing organizations to do more with less. For some, everything is happening at the same time… and that can be overwhelming! The cost is high for those that leave their stress levels unchecked and unmanaged. Instead of feeling energized by their business objectives and priorities, highly stressed individuals can feel unmotivated, even immobilized, affecting their performance on the job and personal well- being.
In this workshop, Supply Chain Executives willbe provided with tools and techniques that will enable them to perform at their peak, as they learn how to control and minimize the level of stress in their lives.

Manufacturing Improvement is Bigger Than Tools Or Techniques
Iain Clarke
Director, Global Manufacturing Excellence
Molson Coors Brewing Company

Organizations involving manufacturing operations are continually on the look out for the overnight improvement panacea. TPM, TQM, Lean and Six-Sigma efforts have consistently been less successful than desired as a result of this mindset.
An integrated manufacturing improvement approach has three key components, all of which have to be managed in an integrated fashion in order for long term sustainable improvement:

• Work Practices - the means to an end. These work practices include the tools and techniques afforded by TPM, TQM, etc.

• Performance - the desired end. This is the area which stimulates leadership - particularly the sort of short-term mindset driven by quarterly financial market pressure and expectations in the US. Work practices and resultant performance need to be concurrently assessed and worked upon.

• Organizational Design - the enabler. Organizational design is NOT simply structure, though this is what is envisaged by most US leaders when the term is used. Organizational design comprises effective integration of strategy, processes, structure, people issues and motivation/reward.

Only by putting in place effective organizational design will sustainable work practice and performance improvement be possible. Improved organizational behavior and culture have as a precursor organizational design, and it is thus a critical component of any manufacturing improvement effort.

This workshop will, through the use of examples and experiential learning, attempt to provide a framework organizations can use to improve their chances of succeeding in manufacturing improvement efforts, and present learning obtained through many years of manufacturing improvement efforts.


THINK TANKS

Export Management Compliance for The Global Corporation
Mike Waldrop
Manager, Global Logistics and Trade Compliance
Kennametal Inc

Exporting from the US requires a company to navigate through complex rules and regulations. Dual use items - Export Administration Regulations (EAR) US Department of Commerce, Military - International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) - US State Department, and Nuclear Power - NRC Nuclear regulatory commission, and Anti-Boyott - US Treasury Department to name a few. Not have a management plan to insure compliance to these regulations can be devastating to a company.

• ITAR - Civil penalties, Debarment, prison
• EAR - up to $250,000 per occurrence, for willful violations UP to 10 million or 10 times the value of the exports and prison
• Pumps to Iran, China, Syria and Israel : 26 exports $700,000
• Fork lift parts to Iran $5,000 fine and 17 months in prison
• Payments to a terrorist organization - $25million, 5 years probation and must implement an export management system
• Night vision equipment $100,000 fine, 60 months in prison
• False Statements on export documentation, $250,000 and two months in prison

Exporting requires standard procedure for handling customers, taking orders, documenting shipments, selecting vendors and hiring employees. Education. documented procedures and comprehensive internal reviews are critical to mitigating fines and reducing risk of occurrence.

Outsourcing – Powerful Tool for Volatile Times
Perry A. Trunick
Chief Editor
Outsourced Logistics magazine

Get out your ladder, the low-hanging fruit is gone. If you are going to find opportunities in your supply chain, you need to employ all of the best tools. Outsourcing can provide access to fresh resources, better technology, and scalable capacity that will help you adjust to volatile demand. How can you be sure you get the best from this tool set? Come prepared to ask questions and share your experiences with other users. How do you find resources to handle tactical details? Can you cut costs without killing quality? How can a 3PL support your supply chain strategy? How do you set metrics that achieve strategic goals? What does a good 3PL relationship look like? How do you pay for performance (or get the performance you paid for)? What’s your exit strategy if the relationship fails?