At independent artist marketplace Redbubble.com, customer designs are printed and distributed on demand, enabling users to create truly unique products. During this educational session, you will become a Redbubble customer and walk through an end-to-end process. See firsthand how artists build a shopping cart and check out, observe fulfillment at a third-party facility, and examine shipping and delivery procedures. In addition, the speaker will explain the value of professional development at Redbubble, as the entire supply chain and logistics team aims to become APICS certified. Presented at the 2015 APICS Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Caterpillar, in support of Industry 4.0, is using robotic process automation, or RPA, to provide "digital assistants" to its workforce. With RPA, software robots can learn and replicate the manner in which a person carries out a certain repetitive, process-related task. In this session, Ken Hayslett and Rita Osborne from Caterpillar will describe how to assess processes for automation, review real-world case studies, and share insights and best practices for implementation and getting started. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Robots are moving materials in Amazon warehouses, delivering medicine and performing intricate surgery in hospitals, serving as paralegals and document review attorneys, and even vacuuming our floors. Artificial Intelligence programs are beating chess masters, Jeopardy! contestants, and Texas hold'em poker champions. We talk to chatbots on our phones, tablets and in our homes (e.g., Siri and Alexa), and they respond to our requests. We’ll look at where these technologies are going and how our jobs might change in this environment of escalating automation. How will AI disrupt where and how work is done, and the decisions made in our supply chains? And will a robot take my job? You'll gain an understanding of what robots and AI can — and cannot — do. You'll learn which jobs might be at the most risk to automation, and what humans can do that a robot or machine can't. You'll leave with new insight into whether your job is safe, or whether it's time for you to start brushing up on new skills. Presetned at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

S&OP has been around for decades, but today it is more valuable and more critical than ever. Global markets require a better balance between the priorities of customer service and cost. This requires a risk management process for both the demand and fulfillment sides of the business, and top management must be directly involved in the process. Too many companies have a management planning process they call S&OP, but many APICS professionals know the difference between a robust process and simple revenue forecasting for quarterly guidance. Industry veteran and educator Don Sheldon will share his experiences implementing robust S&OP around the world and his recommendations for successful, value-added S&OP process design. He will speak to the background of good process, the agenda, metrics for success, and the roles of each top management player and master scheduling in successful S&OP. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Self-service analytics software such as Power BI and Tableau can be powerful enablers for supply and demand planners to reveal insights and drive strategic and tactical actions in an agile manner. Power BI and/or Tableau can be successfully implemented into a company’s existing supply and demand planning process by focusing on three key steps in the implementation cycle: creating a single-source-of-truth data source; creating a centralized dashboard and reports that everyone can trust to collaborate; and creating a personalized dashboard and reports for each process owner and contributor. This session will focus on these three important steps to create a collaborative supply and demand planning process by leveraging practical reports designed in Power BI and Tableau, with the goal of optimizing inventory throughout supply chain network. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

This session takes a closer look at supply chain performance management, starting with an overview of a performance management framework and highlighting the key characteristics of a performance management system. The Balanced Scorecard approach is introduced, along with its link to supply chain performance management. Attendees will learn the most commonly used metrics related to efficiency, productivity, quality and safety, along with key supply chain metrics used in various industries. Presenter Sunil Bharadwaj will also share a snapshot of functional KPIs across the plan-source-make-deliver-return cycle, and the most important factors to consider while developing a performance management system. The presentation also sheds light on the Three Vs: visibility, velocity and variability. You'll depart armed with tips and guidelines on supply chain performance metrics and the concept of multiplicative efficiencies across the value chain. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sales and operations teams often seem to be adversaries locked in battle. S&OP can help break down barriers and create the collaborative environment that transforms an organization. This session will discuss the paradigm shifts needed to turn adversaries into advocates. You'll learn how to utilize CRM and sales tools to drill into data gold mines. Additionally, you will review strategies to deploy that data utilizing probability and timing parameters that open up dialogue between teams. You will gain methods of engaging sales throughout the S&OP process to ensure that teams remain positively and productively aligned. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Traditionally, many healthcare supply chains have been disjointed global networks packed with inventory. This session examines the role of the logistics control tower in optimizing these traditional supply chains and distribution channels. Case studies and examples will illustrate how top 50 global healthcare businesses and logistics service providers have used the control tower approach to optimize these networks. Presenter Richard Gibson of Accord Healthcare will discuss the combined role played by information technology, planning and operations management in delivering a seamless solution across global multi-partner healthcare organizations. Participants will leave knowing the real service and cash value this approach can enable. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

When seeking new outsourcing opportunities and strategies to manage risk and maximize team performance, using real-world case studies is a highly effective way to learn what has worked and what hasn't worked for other organizations. Whether you directly manage outsourced suppliers or work through a service provider, outsourcing is a multifaceted process with goals that include lowering costs, managing quality, gaining operational efficiencies, enabling access to external resources, and many others. This joint session includes the perspectives of an outsourcing service provider and a manufacturer who will share sourcing and procurement best practices and strategies. They will outline solutions to address some of the challenges you might encounter in areas including QA, auditing, ethics, product development, cost drivers and cost justifications, and navigating in a low-cost, offshore environment. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rail is big business. Today’s freight railroads carry 14 million intermodal containers, many of which carry time-critical goods. 560 private railroads operate 140,000 miles of track in the United States, support over 1.1 million jobs, stimulate $220 billion in economic output, and contribute more than $25 billion in annual tax revenue. New technology, along with improved relationships between railroads, shippers, suppliers and customers, has brought about new opportunities to raise supply chain performance by integrating railroads with their customers’ supply chains, using technology as both a platform and an enabler. The digital railway age is upon us, and the opportunity is now for rail to adapt, leverage technology and grow as a key part of the supply chain. Attendees will learn how technology has enabled new rail safety developments, along with the use of drones, mobile equipment, sensors, radar and ultrasound detectors. This translates into a vast data source that enables the exchange of information between railroads to provide smoother, more efficient and effective end-to-end journeys. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Smart manufacturing is about helping people do their jobs better, and it is important to understand how this will affect businesses and people. There will be a competence shift that represents a big challenge for leadership. Smart manufacturing is realized through continuous improvement as well as case-driven innovation. The change is driven in three dimensions, making the factory automated, connected and intelligent. It is when we combine these three elements that smart manufacturing is created, moving toward a fully data-driven environment. Connectivity leveraged on 5G technology provides the mobility, security, availability and reliability needed to realize smart manufacturing. This session will focus on the three dimensions of smart manufacturing—automation, connectivity and intelligence—and how these will impact the manufacturing industry and people as they work to support and respond to customer and business demands. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Moving hazardous materials through the supply chain is a responsibility shared by everyone involved. It requires not only an understanding of the requirements, but also an appreciation as to why compliance plays such an important role in the safety of our supply chains. As the movement of dangerous goods can be a key variable in an organization’s business, the need for qualified individuals with knowledge in transporting hazardous materials can be essential to success. This presentation is aimed at an audience that may have no knowledge of dangerous goods logistics and will allow attendees to become more informed on this issue. Topics covered include the ever-changing regulations on the transportation of lithium batteries; new technologies that drive safety and compliance while mitigating risk; and the legal requirements of training required of both shippers and carriers involved in the transport of dangerous goods. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Compare your supply chain leadership development strategy to other top firms. How are you filling the supply chain leadership gap? Are you linking learning experiences to performance to achieve competitive advantage? Are you addressing technical, behavioral, and cultural factors? In this session, Peter Bolstorff, executive vice president of the Association for Supply Chain Management will give attendees an inside look at leadership development in supply chain excellent companies, the benefits that leaders are counting on, and the investments that will enable them. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mary Kay Inc. manufactures approximately 165 million units of cosmetic products annually to support its 3.5 million beauty consultants around the worlds. Its previous plant in Dallas was operational for over 40 years, but the primary drivers for a plant relocation were risk management, attracting top scientific and supply chain talent, and enabling future flexibility. This presentation tells the story of Mary Kay's relocation of its sole U.S. manufacturing and R&D center within a 10-month time frame in 2018. The relocation included not only significant data analysis and execution but also required cross-functional collaboration for a shared purpose. Attend this session to gain useful supply chain lessons that apply to anyone working in supply chain: how to showcase your unique skills and individual importance to the broader organization; planning for worst-case scenarios and remaining resilient despite challenges; and the rules for pulling off the impossible. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Technology is changing the supply chain, and the new systems are network platforms that integrate physical and digital systems in artificial intelligence, data sciences, blockchain, autonomous vehicles and robotic process automation. The convergence of these technologies holds great promise. This presentation describes the disruption in the supply chain and the primary patterns that are surfacing. The gaps in scaling and availability are hindered primarily in the areas of governance, integration and openness of the architectures, rather than the algorithms and design models. Where open source models have been readily available for years, the next chasms to be crossed emerge: integrating disparate proprietary databases, removing bias in models, organizing and cleaning data across multi-cloud platforms, and establishing open integration standards to bring together hybrid architectures. Best practices in SCOR provide a target where we can align measurable goals to the development of new processes and systems. Ignoring the digital transformation’s impact, the governance gaps, and the benchmarks will create confusion, delays and restarts for the supply chain. Presented at the 2019 Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

In this session, you will hear how Northrop Grumman, a prominent defense contractor, manages customer demand, available resources, finite capacity, and cross-functional teamwork to support end-item demand in a highly technical and often unique product environment. It's challenging to achieve accurate and responsive schedules in project-dense engineer- and make-to-order environments, due to many competing objectives. Engineer-to-order environments place even greater pressure on the timely support of customer needs. At Northrop Grumman, product design starts with the customer's needs, which often leads to new and unique technologies and configurations. Cutting edge design, coupled with ever-shrinking response time, puts enormous pressure on supply chains to support demand at quality levels which meet or exceed customer expectations. Functional teams across the supply chain all have a role to play, and these finite resources must be managed to support the customer's goals. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

This interactive presentation is a case study of the transformation of a manufacturing plant that went from the worst KPIs and low morale, to one that consistently delivers company and industry benchmark results. This presentation will compel and empower participants to move their organization beyond the constraints of the past to the next level of performance. Attendees will leave this session feeling inspired and informed, equipped to make personal choices to emerge as the extraordinary leaders that they are already. The presentation will review top lines of a “worst to best” case study, discuss the unique role of leaders in transforming the culture and results of an organization; the habits of transformative leaders and practical action steps they can take to become more effective and increase engagement at all levels. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Alan Milliken of BASF sometimes says the letters ERP actually stand for “Extremely Rare Pain.” Change can bring pain, and the degree of change dictated by an ERP implementation can be massive. The total integration enabled by the ERP system is touted as its greatest benefit, but it also requires simultaneous participation by all value chain participants: supply chain, logistics, purchasing, finance, sales and marketing, and others. The degree of success with ERP can range from giving up entirely and going back to disconnected software, to using the system for some, or most, processes. One key to success is to plan early for the balancing of people-process-technology investment. This presentation will provide insights from 25 years of experience with ERP use and implementation. Participants will gain insight into how to avoid some of the major pitfalls; learn pointers for scoping and supporting the ERP evolution; and see examples of effectively balancing people, processes and technology in the quest for ERP. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ever hear the CEO or executive team member ask, “Why do you need me to sit for a meeting? I pay you to get this done.” Or, "I don't have time for that." Or, and this is my favorite, “Why do we bother planning, anyway?” In this presentation, you will hear some Dos and Don'ts of the Executive Meeting (Step 5) in the generic model of S&OP. If you already have S&OP underway, you’ll gain insight into the impediments that may be keeping you from getting the most out of it and learn best practices that will aid in continuous improvement. If you are in the early stages of S&OP and haven't made it past Step 4 (the pre-executive meeting), you’ll learn techniques to get executives involved and wanting to be part of the process. If you are planning to begin the S&OP process, you'll come away with a better understanding of what to do and what to avoid when it comes to getting executive buy-in. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Business, and the supply chains that enable business, is fraught with risk today. Most of us are reminded of this daily, just scanning the news with headlines about tariffs, weather-related disasters and financial distress. When disruptions happen in the supply chain, how do they impact your organization? To find out, ASCM conducted a survey last summer to understand the types of risks experienced by respondents' supply chains; when and how long those events lasted; and how those events impacted the respondents' organization. In this presentation, we'll share the results of that survey. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

What are some of the skills and talents a leader needs, and how are those skills and talents learned? This presentation is an investigation of how cognitive science has been providing clues and direction for developing, or becoming, a leader. Practical takeaways will include how to increase your self-awareness, increase empathy and social intelligence to better understand those you lead, and how to improve decisions. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Did you know that PwC research shows best in class supply chains achieve 50% higher sales growth and 20% higher profitability than non best in class? SCORmark benchmarking, executed through PwC, is an exclusive ASCM corporate membership benefit that assesses the operational performance, complexity, and process maturity through the plan, source, make, deliver and return processes of your supply chain. SCORmark is part of the SCOR Implementation Roadmap step 3, “Analyze Performance.” This session will highlight the SCORmark process and Greg Mullins from Shaw Industries will share insight into their recent SCORmark experiences. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

A returnable container program can result in significant logistics and material handling cost savings, but many companies that maintain their own fleets are improperly modeling the flow characteristics, then resorting to expensive high-tech solutions (like RFID) to try to resolve the shortages and loss that eventually plague so many businesses. This session presents a case study of a failed returnable container management program, and the specific techniques used to transform the program into a benchmark example. Attendees will learn some of the frequently overlooked aspects of returnable container flow, and see how these considerations can be incorporated into an algorithm to plan appropriate fleet size. You'll hear real-life examples that illustrate the shocking disparity in fleet capacity when using standard fleet sizing practices versus a tailored algorithm specific to your company’s material flow characteristics. Whether you are considering a returnable container program or in the throes of one, this session will provide valuable insights and proven tactics to ensure success and yield the highest possible ROI. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.

Despite of all the talk about work-life balance, why do so many of us feel we're on an endless and futile quest for balance? We face an onslaught of competing priorities between our work and personal lives, and our attention, focus and energy is spread in many places at any given time. Let’s face it, life happens and change is constant. How often are all the parts in your world agreeable? This leads to a possible theory on why balance seems so elusive and unobtainable: perhaps balance doesn’t exist! Now what? Learn how respected supply chain leaders have overcome this dilemma to rise to the top of their careers, and why this is such a critical component of their success. As a result of attending this session, attendees will learn unconventional concepts for achieving success in their career, tips and tricks you've not heard before to avoid overwhelm, and hear approaches leaders don’t normally talk about when telling their stories of success. Presented at the 2019 ASCM Conference--Las Vegas, Nevada.