AMES, Iowa -- Efficient supply chain management has helped Wal-Mart become a retail giant. Entrepreneurs also know that supply chain management can make or break a business.
That's why Iowa State University's College of Business has been hosting the Voorhees Business Conference for the past 15 years, inviting top executives from around the world to discuss supply chain issues related to their businesses.
The 15th Annual Voorhees Business Conference will take place on Friday, March 23 and feature executives representing America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network; General Mills; Rockwell Collins, Inc., a worldwide leader in communication and aviation electronics; and the Mayo Clinic. The conference will be held in the Scheman Building, Iowa State Center, and will run from approximately 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee is $125 for early registrations received on or before March 16, and $160 after that date, and includes all conference materials, speaker sessions and lunch. College of Business students may attend free, but must register. All other students must pay $25 and register to attend.
According to Michael Crum -- a conference organizer and the John and Ruth DeVries Chair in Business -- competition today is not between companies, it's between supply chains.
"What we're discovering is that many firms today are differentiating themselves in the marketplace, not just with their product, but all the services that go along with their product -- and that's what supply chain management affects," said Crum, who also is associate dean of ISU's College of Business. "Supply chain performance has a huge impact on customer service.
"We tell our students when you put a new product out there, companies can replicate that pretty fast. But it's pretty hard to replicate your whole supply chain that takes years to create and perform at a high level. That's what makes it so challenging and so important."
The conference kicks off with keynote speaker Michael Halligan, senior vice president, supply chain services, America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network, the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the country. His presentation is titled "The Logistics of Hunger-Relief: Lessons from a Parallel Supply Chain," and will explore lessons taken from his hunger-relief system that parallel other supply chains and may help to improve responsiveness in many management systems. "This comparison demonstrates how performance can be improved by linking appropriate responses to sympathetic actions," said Halligan.
Jeff Kester, senior manager, logistics operations, Pillsbury US, General Mills Inc., will follow at 10 a.m. with a presentation titled "Innovation at the Speed of Change." With annual net sales of $12.5 billion, General Mills is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of consumer food products, including Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Hagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and more. Kester will share examples of how General Mills is striving to innovate its supply chain amid today's rapid technological advancements.
Roger Weiss, vice president of material and supply at Rockwell Collins Inc. -- a recognized leader in the design, production, and support of communication and aviation electronics for customers worldwide with $3.86 billion in 2006 revenues -- will give a presentation at 11:15 a.m. titled "Supply Chain -- Creating Value through the Product Life Cycle." Weiss will discuss approaches to supplier management that create value from source selection through product obsolescence.
Sharon Gabrielson, unit manager, systems and procedures; Michael Morrey, administrator, Office of Access Management; and Michael Schryver, administrator, clinic operations -- all from the Mayo Clinic-- will present "What Does Supply Chain Management Have to do with Health Care?" at 1 p.m. It will outline the development of an integrated appointment access management system for a large multi-specialty practice.
There will be an hour-long question and answer session with all the conference presenters at 2:15 p.m.
Dale Voorhees (left) listens at one of the past conferences.
To register or for more information, call (515) 294-3656, e-mail business@iastate.edu or visit http://www.bus.iastate.edu/voorhees.
The Voorhees Business Conference was established to honor the career of Iowa State Professor Emeritus R. Dale Voorhees, who taught at the College of Business for more than 20 years.
