AMES, Iowa -- Owners know that supply chain management can often make or break their businesses. And that makes securing the supply chain, both home and abroad, even more paramount in today's global economy.
That's why security and risk management will be the focus of the 16th Annual Voorhees Supply Chain Conference, sponsored by Iowa State University's College of Business, on Friday, April 4. The conference -- which will feature supply chain leaders from General Motors, Motorola and the Ankeny-based Proliant, Inc. -- will be held in the Scheman Building, Iowa State Center, and will run from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
The conference fee is $125 for early registrations received on or before Friday, March 28, and $160 after that date. It includes all conference materials, speaker sessions and lunch. ISU students may attend free, but must register.
Michael Crum, a conference organizer and the John and Ruth DeVries Chair in Business at Iowa State, says that security and risk management are the hottest areas in supply chain management right now. He would know. Crum recently documented ground transportation security issues for a chapter titled "Transportation Management" in the "Handbook of Global Supply Chain Management."
"As you can imagine, in today's global economy as companies utilize material and product sources and serve markets all over the world, they face increased risk of a disruption in the supply chain -- and disruptions have many sources," said Crum, who is also an associate dean of ISU's College of Business. "How do you measure risk and anticipate things that can disrupt your supply chain? How do you mitigate that risk? And how do you put plans in place to recover from an event that may disrupt your supply chain? Process, facility, information, and employee security are, of course, key components."
The conference kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with keynote speaker Jeffrey Tew, technical fellow and group manager of the global manufacturing strategy and planning group in the Manufacturing Systems Research Lab at General Motor's Research and Development Center. His presentation is titled "A Risk Management Strategy for Developing a Robust, Global Supply Chain in Manufacturing," and will cover the importance of employing key technologies and management practices within the context of a lifecycle approach that begins in the product design/ development phase and extends to end-of-life.
"It will describe how this approach can facilitate global manufacturing companies attaining desired supply chain security, performance and brand protection," Tew said.
Claudia Knowlton-Chike, who has worked in end-to-end supply chain with IBM and Motorola -- most recently as a director within the integrated supply chain of Motorola -- will follow with a 9:45 a.m. presentation titled "Global Transportation and Risk Assessment." She will address global transportation and proactive strategies, including route risk assessments, vulnerability assessments and other countermeasures.
Mel Vanden Berg, vice president of quality assurance for Proliant Inc. and APC Inc. -- which produces animal-derived products for the food, animal, dietary and pharmaceutical industries -- will present "The Challenges of Exporting Animal-Derived Products" at 11 a.m. It will reveal some of the means Vanden Berg's company has found to overcome challenges when dealing with animal-derived product exports.
Conference participants will get the opportunity to interact with the speakers and ISU College of Business supply chain faculty during two 45-minute breakout sessions in the afternoon.
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 Supply Chain 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.
