Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) 2019 Conference Highlights

11/05/19

Were you able to attend this year’s ASCM national supply chain conference in Las Vegas?

If not, we’ve summarized a few of the highlights below!

“The ASCM conference value for me comes from the networking and educational sessions. The Carey Lohrenz general session was my favorite this year!”

Alyssa Rollins, Executive Vice President, APICS Greater Detroit

Several members from APICS Greater Detroit were fortunate to be able to attend the ASCM national conference that took place this past September in Las Vegas. The event took place over three days and was filled with valuable information on today’s hottest supply chain topics! Below are a few of the highlights.

Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, was a keynote speaker! Carey shared her lessons learned from a career in the cockpit at Mach 2: “When you are working toward high performance in this rapidly changing environment, you must show up as a fearless leader. You have to show up with courage and operate with tenacity — and know what to do when things go sideways.” Landing fighter planes is all about teamwork! You can read more about Carey’s book, Fearless Leadership, and SCMNow Magazine interview in the July 2019 issue.

The power of Supply Chains is to make an impact! So many of the educational sessions discussed ways we can make an impact in the world through sustainability efforts, new technologies and risk management.

ASCM engaged a mural artist to talk with attendees, learn about what motivates them and how they can make an impact as supply chain professionals. Attendees shared their thoughts on sticky notes and the artist created visual testimonials to the mural in real time. It gave people from all across the globe a place to interact and be a part of a collaborative dialogue about the power of supply chains to improve lives. A sample is featured on the right. More information can be found in this article shared by Abe Eshkenazi, ASCM CEO.

ASCM hosted a Women in Supply Chain Forum and invited attendees to be an essential part of their efforts to attract, promote and retain women in supply chain by joining the forum. Speakers shared their insights regarding the new faces of supply chain leadership and the future of the field. There was also the opportunity to network and discuss opportunities and challenges.

There were also Women In Supply Chain Panels. Read more about the panel discussion in our September 20th blog post.

Networking, networking, networking!! Every day was filled with amazing opportunities to meet supply chain professionals from all over the world. From educational sessions, to networking luncheons and dinners, definitely a key benefit of attending the ASCM national conference is the chance to learn from each other!! APICS Detroit hosted a dinner at the Pink Taco pictured on the right with attendees from other APICS chapters and APICS students from Canada and the US!

More information on the content for the 2019 ASCM conference can be found on the national ASCM website. Also next year’s event will be in New Orleans on September 13 – 15. We hope to see you there!