2023 Supply Chain Outlook: Preparing for what’s next

It’s about this time every year that the editorial staffs of Logistics Management and sister publication Supply Chain Management Review finalize our list of presenters for our annual virtual conference. In fact, this marks the 18th year that we’re offering our readers a line-up of educational sessions (going live Thursday, Dec. 7) designed to prepare logistics and supply chain professionals for what’s next.

The preparation over the years has never wavered, and follows the traditional formula for any successful, long-standing conference: take the temperature of the environment; define the challenges the current environment has created; and invite industry thought leaders to the podium to offer solutions.

What we’re finding through this simple process is that the challenges in the post-pandemic world have remained steady—and fairly daunting. With rising costs and ongoing labor pressures, logistics and supply chain managers need to stay focused on increasing productivity, improving organizational resiliency and fostering innovation—all while “doing more with less” in the midst of economic uncertainty and constant change.

The other realization that we’ve come to is that the software and automation tools that were once considered “cutting edge” are now readily available—no matter the size of your organization—and can be integrated into any operation to help ease the pressures of these modern challenges.

The message our presenters will share this year is “don’t be intimated.” And, that will resonate throughout this year’s Keynote address presented by Dr. Yossi Sheffi, director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. In “Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work,” his early advice for anyone worried about losing their job to AI is: “take a deep breath and put things into perspective. It may be time to learn new skills and dive into new advances.”

Once again we’ll be using this platform to share all of the findings of our 33rd Annual Study of Logistics and Transportation Trends, but this year we’re going to do two 30-minute sections in order for our research team to go deeper into the new findings.

“Part 1 will focus on the continuing labor issues confronting logistics operations and offer suggestions for implementing an effective strategy to attract, retain, and develop talent,” says Chris Boone, Ph.D., assistant professor at Mississippi State University and lead researcher. “In Part 2, we’ll identify key strategic and technological trends, explore the historical measures of the survey, and share how the Titans of Logistics—shippers with over $3 billion in revenue—have shifted their operations to prepare for what’s next.”

Howard Turner, director, supply chain execution systems at St. Onge Company and a mainstay of this event, will be presenting a terrific overview of the state of supply chain management software. And then Nathanael Powrie, managing director, data analytics at SGS Maine Pointe, will follow up on Dr. Sheffi’s keynote and offer a session on generative AI and its potential impact on logistics and supply chain management.

Don Derewecki, senior consultant at St. Onge Co, and Norm Saenz, Jr., partner, managing director at St. Onge Co., will put context around our 2023 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey, while Mike Reiss, managing director, supply chain at EY, will offer his insight on how shippers can better leverage their 3PLs and get the most out of the technological advancements these partners now offer. And Dwight Klappich, vice president, fellow, at Gartner, will set out answer: How do we get all the robots to work together?

Watch your e-mail for your personal invitation to register.