January 22, 2008

Global supply chain conference to focus on risk management

Registration is required by Feb. 4 for the annual conference, which is open to the public and managers at area companies who are interested in discussing how a firm's exposure to risk is affected by choices made in getting the right products to the right places at the right time all over the world. It is sponsored by the Global Supply Chain Management Initiative, an operations and supply chain education, research and outreach center in Krannert.

"Modern global supply chains consist of independent firms coordinated to deliver competitive performance," said Ananth Iyer, director of the Global Supply Chain Initiative and the Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises. "In such an environment, managing operational risks arising from raw materials, manufacturing processes, product designs and performance guarantees becomes a key capability that focuses senior management attention."

Companies represented at a series of panels in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom include Caterpillar, Cummins and OFS Brands. The first panel starts at 10:45 a.m., and the panels wrap up at 3 p.m.

Krannert alumnus William Kassling, chairman of Wabtec Corp., will be the keynote speaker at 12:45 p.m.

Kassling held various administrative positions at American Standard Inc. since 1978 and helped found Wabtec in 1990. Wabtec manufactures a broad range of products for locomotives, freight cars and passenger transit vehicles.

"The conference offers an opportunity to hear about state-of-the-art practices from successful executives such as Bill Kassling," Iyer said. "It promises to provide real-world insights for our students and attending managers and an opportunity to network with successful practitioners."

The conference also will include final presentations of the MBA graduate case competition beginning at 8:45 a.m. Student teams from across the nation will compete in a two-round case evaluation with the theme Global Supply Chain Risk Management. The top three teams will be announced at the end of the conference.

Winning teams will take home a total of $8,000 in prizes. Sponsors for the event are APICS, Purdue's Center for International Business Education and Research, Eaton Corp., and OFS Brands, along with the center's partner companies American Axle and Manufacturing, Caterpillar,  Cummins, Delphi Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Saint Gobain Container.

More information is available online at https://www.gscmi.org or https://www.dcmme.org or by contacting managing director Mary Pilotte at gscmi@purdue.edu

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Sources:   Mary Pilotte, (765) 494-2860, gscmi@purdue.edu

 Ananth Iyer, (765) 494-4514, iyer@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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