If Supply Chain Wonks Ruled the World

No matter how solid a company is, it can’t be competitive in this era of instant demand and supply without competent supply chain management. Launching upon this premise, members of the Material Handling & Logistics Editorial Advisory Board participated in a roundtable discussion of the talent it will take to stay in business through the market turbulence threatening to become our new normal.

We started with a general discussion of some of the major influencers of a business’s stability and then drilled down into its material handling and logistics foundation to determine how solid those grounding elements really are. This discussion touches on C-level politics, talent development, technology, transportation infrastructure and the future we’re making with them.

Although the participants’ viewpoints vary, our board members were united in the understanding that supply chain professionals must play a major role in helping companies not only survive but embrace business volatility.

Before we start, here's who the participants are:

Jim Tompkins, Ph.D., CEO of Tompkins Associates, supply chain consultants;

Tan Miller, director of the global supply chain management program at Rider University;

Alan Will, retired Marine colonel and logistics specialist;

Ron Giuntini, consultant and principal of Giuntini and Co., Inc.

John Hill, director, St Onge Co., supply chain engineering consultants;

Dave Blanchard, MH&L editorial director/associate publisher;

Pat Panchak, group content director of Penton's Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group;

Tom Andel, editor-in-chief, Material Handling & Logistics.