Focus on Consumers, Industry Collaboration, Technology & Sustainability: The First Edition of the Supply Chain Conference Officially Ends After Three Days

AMSTERDAM, October 26, 2022 /3BL Media/ - The first edition of the Supply Chain Conference (SCC) from The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) has officially come to a close in Amsterdam. A very dynamic group of close to 60 supply chain experts and leaders from all over the world convened at the Hotel Okura for three days of best practice sharing, thought-provoking insights and interactive discussions around the future of supply chain and the challenges facing our industry.

The first day saw delegates joining a Technical Tour, which started with a visit to APM Terminals, part of A.P.Moller-Maersk. Delegates were delighted to have access to the container terminals and observe firsthand the port and inland services for cargo handling and transportation. This visit was followed by a stop at Vanderlande’s warehousing solutions, where delegates got a glimpse of their state-of-the-art automated solutions. Delegates were happy to get up close and personal with the machinery, cargo ships and personnel working on-site to move the supply chain forward.

At the end of the first day, back at Hotel Okura, Johanna Hainz, Maersk, welcomed SCC participants to the Opening Cocktail and noted that companies such as Maersk are part of the “glue” that holds everything in the supply chain together.

On Tuesday, moderator Isabelle Kumar welcomed delegates to the Plenary Sessions and opened the floor to John Phillips, PepsiCo who kicked things off with a very energetic session on how to navigate the VUCA supply chain in the post-pandemic era. Phillips shared that the pandemic changed not only consumer behaviour but also worklife balance expectations for employees, and that these changes will require supply chains that are more resilient and automated. This was followed by a session hosted by Johanna Hainz and Mattias Praetorius, Maersk; Tom Rose, SPAR International; and joining virtually, Eduardo Brito, Jéronimo Martins, and Ana Davila Martinez, Unilever. This session discussed the four megatrends impacting supply chains today: globalisation, rising costs, changing consumer demand and dealing with labour shortages.

Kearney’s Dr. Mirko Warschun and Dr. Marc Lakner shared the stage with Dr. Dirk Holbach, Henkel, for a session on Climate Positivity, and emphasised how doing good for the environment comes with financial benefits, by optimising and maximising efficiency of our operations. “The Smart Factory” was the topic of the next session, where Justin Honaman, Amazon, mentioned big data and the metaverse as major vectors for retail evolution. Honaman was joined by Wiggert Deelen, The HEINEKEN Company, and Gareth Byrne-Perkins, Premier Foods, who shared their learnings on the journey from transforming their production plants into smart factories, such as getting people upskilled and creating business continuity plans.

After a convivial lunch, the afternoon hosted three Special Sessions. Avery Dennison’s Jack Pepperell and Noam Assael emphasised how crucial it is to look back on big data and understand potential improvements, especially when tracking the life cycle of a product. Bahige El-Rayes and Jens Kilimann from Bain & Company then presented how to drive resiliency from supply chains, noting there is a strong positive correlation between how proactive supply chain resilience efforts are and the level of supply chain ‘resiliency maturity’. Last but not least, Satelligence’s Niels Wielaard and Ben Vreeburg, Bunge Loders Croklaan, in a session moderated by Ruediger Hagedorn, The Consumer Goods Forum, shared how technology, combined with supply chain knowledge and expertise, can monitor and prove deforestation-free supply chains.

Three sets of parallel Breakout Sessions took place during the whole afternoon, and participants divided into smaller groups to discuss smart cities with Christian Kühnhold, CKB Beteiligungen; in-transit inventory and cold chain logistics with Anna Deshko, Maersk; effective sustainable promotion tools, with Bram van Schijndel, Pure Value, and Nico Wieringa, Jumbo Supermarkets; how to scale sustainable transports, with Evalena Falck, Scania Group, and Tom Rose, SPAR International; collaboration in Latin America, with Danilo Velasquez, Grupo Éxito, and Leonel Pava, Logyca; and how to connect with True-code, with Marjan de Bock-Smit, ImpactBuying. The small group format allowed for interactive, lively discussions, which continued all through the evening at the Networking Dinner hosted by Capgemini at the Strandzuid Restaurant.

The final day of the Supply Chain Conference welcomed participants to a morning packed of learnings from plenary sessions. Starting the last day, Wybe-Jan Bleeker, Picnic Supermarkets, noted that reliability and predictability are key to building a successful digital shelf and managing a supply chain in the retail industry. Max Winkler, Winkler Technology, then took the stage to share a passionate 101 on material handling automation, emphasising that automation can be difficult, but is often the only way forward. Capgemini’s Mayank Sharma noted that challenging questions need to be answered ‘intelligently’ across the supply chain in order to accelerate growth. The final plenary session of SCC had Bin Liu, Alibaba Group, joining virtually to share how Alibaba’s smart supply chain empowers new retail businesses in China, and noted that working closely with the CGF allows them to provide brands with methods to standardise and upload product data.

The group then gathered together for a brainstorming session, led by Ruediger Hagedorn, The Consumer Goods Forum, and Bram van Schijndel, Pure Value. In a very participative session, delegates were able to share what are the pain points in their supply chain business and solutions to them, such as collaborating 2-way data sharing between supplier and retailers; enhancing visibility, connectivity, and productivity; creating frameworks to work together; and thinking of how to integrate sustainability into supply chain operations.

Moderator Isabelle Kumar and Ruediger Hagedorn, Director, End-to-End Value Chain and Standards, The Consumer Goods Forum, officially closed the very successful first edition of the Supply Chain Conference by thanking the event sponsors, delegates and organisers, and gave a recap of some of the key messages that made an impact over the three days. Working together collaboratively is surely one of the most important factors for achieving success as an industry, and participants of the SCC feel collectively engaged to minimise costs, maximise efficiency and customer satisfaction, and build more sustainable supply chain operations.

— Ends —

Please visit the Supply Chain Conference website for more information on the programme. Please check also the SCC Photo Gallery and the #2022SCC story on Twitter.

For further information, please contact:

Flavia Ballve
Communications
f.ballve@theconsumergoodsforum.com