Welcome to a Recap of The Optilon Supply Chain conference 2021, that was held on September 15th 2021.
The overall theme for this conference was: Thriving in uncertainty. Preparing for the future.
Why is this topic interesting?
Supply Chains are typically designed for efficiency, cost, and proximity to markets, but not necessarily for transparency and resilience. Now they are operating in a world where disruptions are regular occurrences. Both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) companies expect to see meaningful shifts in future demand. This will affect commercial models. Thriving in uncertainty and preparing for the future means building resiliency by improving the Supply Chain and transparency, minimizing exposure to shocks, and building the capacity to respond.
Below you will find an outline of the speakers of this conference:
Block 1:
Speaker Matt Britton on the topic of: Understanding the conscious consumers of tomorrow.
Matt is a true leader when it comes to connecting the dots between the brands of today and the consumers of tomorrow. Matt has inspired and educated the world’s leading brands, on the state of the new consumer and its effect on business models and consumer trends. Listen to this energetic talk and learn how your brand and business will be affected by the conscious consumer.
Speaker Thomas Bjørnsten on Improving business intelligence with human data.
One way of working with resiliency is to work with end-to-end transparency and demand shifts. Thomas Bjørnsten, Phd. works with human data at Innovation Lab. In his speeech he provides insights into facts and fantasies when it comes to the human factor in a data-driven business. He teaches about emotion computing and how feelings can become big (data) business. He also shares how the interactions will be between humans and machines and discuss the role of trust in adoption.
Speaker: Marketing Associate at Optilon John Wikström on the topic: The unredeemed Supply Chain potential in the Nordics.
Nordic companies have a potential to redeem a significant potential when it comes to unnecessary inventory, tied up working capital and unnecessary square meters used for storage and distribution. Speaker: John introduces us to the report, which this year covered all the Nordic countries, named The unnecessary report 2021. John shares the possible actions that can be taken to redeem the potential.
Block 2:
Panel discussion on how you can realize the full potential of Supply Chain sustainability
In the panel we had Thought Leader and strategic advisor Alis Sindbjerg Hinrichsen from Optilon, Karl Orrling from Alfa Laval and Eva Grønbjerg Christensen from Sustainify.
Speaker: Manuel Maihofer on the topic of: Improve your end-to-end planning with a digital twin
Companies that utilize the digital capabilities of Supply Chain planning will be much more resilient and better equipped to handle challenges, as well as competing more effectively. What does that mean in practical terms? Manuel Maihofer, Business Analyst and Project Manager from SKF focuses on how a digital twin could be an enabler. Manuel Maihofer is convinced, that transparency, business intelligence and digitalization of processes are key facilitators to improve supply chains. Manuel manages agile IT development projects, establishes workflows and turns data into insights, from purchasing to customer service and from production planner to top management. He plays an important role in creating SKF’s digital twin, which fuels initiatives like Integrated Planning, Demand Management and S&OP.
Block 3:
Speaker: Andreas Wieland on the topic of: Transformative Supply Chain Management
Andreas Wieland is an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Copenhagen Business School. He is the Program Director of CBS’s Graduate Diploma (HD) in Supply Chain Management. His current research reinterprets global Supply Chains as social–ecological systems. Global supply chains can be quite complex. Many managers have understood this. But maybe supply chains are even more fundamentally different from what we often imagine? In his talk, Andreas Wieland challenges the conventional assumptions we have about supply chains and supply chain management. He provides transformative solutions to futureproof supply chains in an era of crises.
Speaker: Andrew Spence on the topic of: Transforming the world of work with technology
Andrew talked about how organizations will be able to find the talent they need – when they need it – from a liquid workforce. Hence, they will require fewer full-time employees, and we will see the demise of the traditional job. The focus will be leading work, not employees. What does this mean in the short and long term?
