10 Sessions We Can’t Wait to Attend at NASCES 2024

Welcome to conference season! Here at CoreX, we’ve been crossing the country recently, spending time with ServiceNow at their U.S. Summits, Partner Events, and Industry Expos.  

Coming up this week: The North American Supply Chain Executive Summit (NASCES). Where we’re, gearing up for a killer event “dedicated to exploring innovative strategies, emerging trends, and best practices in the dynamic world of supply chain management.” 

 Like the other executives heading to Phoenix next week, we’re looking forward to learning new strategies to combat inflationary pressures driving operational efficiency and free our teams up to spend more time on high-value actions like sourcing, negotiations, and supplier choices.  

 With two days of sessions ahead, we want to make sure our friends and Supply Chain peers are armed to make the most of the event. With that in mind, here are the sessions we’re most looking forward to catching at NASCES – broken into three sections:  

1. Procurement and Sourcing Strategies
2. Supply Chain Innovation and Transformation  
3. Future Trends and Challenges 
   
   

Procurement and Sourcing Strategies

1. Welcome Day Panel: Inflation Impacts on Procurement and Sourcing

If you’re interested in how inflation is impacting procurement and sourcing, don’t miss the welcome day panel, where leaders from the American Red Cross to Kimberly-Clark will explore key themes like: 

• Organizational Reponses: Learn how organizations of various sizes and scopes are managing the effects of inflation on their procurement operations  
• Lessons from the Past: Gain insights from past periods of economic downturn and how to apply these insights to navigate current challenges  
• The Power of Rebalancing: Discover how rebalancing long-term business relationships can foster more equitable and mutually beneficial agreements and mitigate inflationary impacts.  
• Lean Methodology for Cost Reduction: Better understand practical solutions like lean methodology which can help reduce costs and optimize operations.  

Speakers include American Red Cross Vice President of SC Operations and Manufacturing David Reeve, Berlin Packaging Chief Supply Chain Officer Katherine Storer, JBT Vice President Danielle Hanse, Kimberly-Clark Chief Procurement Officer Roberto Magana, Schneider Electric VP of Digital Transformation Greg McManaway, and Tillamook County Creamery Association Director of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement M. Erin Kelleway. 

2. Lunch Panel Discussions - Our Top 3 Picks:  

Looking for a unique way to connect with your peers? Explore this year’s themes lunches! Choose from a variety of intimate discussions with industry leaders to explore various topics over a meal. Here are our top three panels we recommend joining:  

• Building a Strong Sourcing Process from Scratch  - Speaker: Jason Cawthorn, Vice President, Sourcing Execution (TD Bank) 
• Process Improvement in Procurement  - Speaker: Elizabeth Taylor, Procurement COE Lead (Viega Manufacturing)
• Adjusting JIT to Accommodate Today’s Disruptions - Speaker: M. Erin Kelleway, Director of Strategic Sourcing & Procurement (Tillamook) 

3. How We Collaborate to Improve Customer Satisfaction and Reduce Costs

If you’re looking to connect CSM and SLO through supply chain strategies, this is a must-attend session. It promises to dive into: 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Explore fostering effective communication and coordination across the entire value chain to streamline processes and improve efficiency.  

• Overcoming Structural Challenges: Acknowledging and preparing for the difficulties that arise from making wide-scale structural changes to an organization of significant size.  

• Co-Development of Capabilities: See Phillip Morris’ approach to operational streamlining and collaboration to develop outside technologies and capabilities that support the business.   

• The Digital Supply Chain: Realize how leveraging a digital supply chain with reliable data analytics can enable proactive decision-making and better customer service.  

Speaker: Sidra Tufail, Director of Supply Chain Operations Customer Service, Phillip Morris International.  

4. How to Win Through Delivering Value Transformation on Indirect Spend

If your focus is indirect spend transformation, learn how to drive value for your organization through this engaging session with key takeaways that include:

• Creating a Compelling Business Case: Learn how to develop and communicate a persuasive business case that clearly articulates the potential benefits of indirect spend transformation, securing buy-in and investment from top leadership.  

• Leveraging Source-to-Pay Systems: Better your selection and implementation of digital platforms, investing in an advanced source-to-pay system (such as ServiceNow!) to streamline the sourcing process, enhance efficiency, and gain valuable insights through data analytics.  

• Building a High-Performance Procurement Team: How to, according to Duracell, develop a winning procurement team focused on continuous improvement, core skills, and a collaborative mindset to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving market.  

• Establishing Effective Policies and Processes: Understand the essential role of well-defined policies and processes in supporting workflow changes and fostering successful cross-functional collaboration.  

Speaker: Jenny Harris, Chief Procurement Officer, Duracell.  

Supply Chain Innovation and Transformation

 5. Elevating Procurement and Supply Chain Value

Explore new strategies to enhance your procurement and supply chain operations in this insightful session with AbbVie. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Expanding the Scope of Supply Chain: Learn how to move beyond basic procurement functions like sourcing and price management and focus on strategic levers to elevate overall supply chain value.  

• Strategic Category Management Levers: Acquire a knowledge of actionable use cases for demand management, specifications harmonization, process optimization, transformational sourcing–key tools for driving efficiency and creating long-term impact.  

• Business Partnering Skills: Grasp the business partnering mindset to build a multi-year roadmap, grounded in collaboration, to extract maximum value from critical categories.  

• Finance Alignment: Master close alignment with finance teams to ensure that value generated through supply chain initiatives is accurately captured and reflected in budgets.  

Speaker: Sanjeev Majoo, Chief Procurement Officer, AbbVie.  

6. Fireside Chat: The Intersection between Sourcing and Supply Chain

This chat offers a behind-the-scenes look at Walmart’s efforts to stay ahead of the curve in today’s complex supply chain landscape. Save your seat for key topics, including: 

• Supply Chain Resiliency Transformation: Hear about Walmart’s journey to revamp its sourcing strategies and build a more resilient supply chain that is better equipped to handle disruptions and uncertainties.  

• Tackling Challenges: Learn how Walmart is addressing critical supply chain challenges such as yield forecasting, raw materials and managing the product lifecycle.  

• The Role of Innovation: Recognize innovation as a driving force in addressing these challenges and future-proofing the supply chain.  

• The Power of Collaboration: Explore how Walmart is leveraging collaboration across teams and partners to ensure long-term success in building a robust, flexible supply chain.  

Speaker:  Kyle Carlyle, Vice President Surety of Supply and Innovation, Walmart. 

7. Fireside Chat: Leadership in an Era of Technology-Driven Supply Chain Transformation 

Procurement leaders across industries are stepping up to drive tech initiatives – no longer waiting for IT to solve their challenges. This shift demands a new type of supply chain and procurement leader, one who understands tehnology and workflow in the new paradigm. Join this fireside chat to learn: 

• Navigating Rapid Technological Change: Gain insights into how industry leaders (in this case, the former CEO of Amazon!) recommend you adapt to the rapid pace of advancement and how to leverage this as an opportunity to create more efficient and resilient supply chains.  

• Driving Efficiency: Utilize tech solutions to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and strengthen your supply chain.  

• Embracing Innovation: Discover how leaders are embracing emerging technologies and exploring new opportunities to drive innovation and improve performance.  

Speaker: Dave Clark, Former CEO, WW Consumer, Amazon   

Future Trends and Challenges

8. Navigating the Future: Digital Strategies for Profitable Growth in a Dynamic World

Looking to future-proof your supply chain? This session is packed with actionable insights to leverage digital strategies to grow. Key topics include: 

• Dow’s Digital Transformation: Understand how Dow is focusing on technology-driven planning, ordering, and logistics to streamline decision-making and enhance overall operational efficiency. 

• Cross Functional Collaboration: Dissect the importance of cross-functional collaboration, through Dow’s Logistics Commercial Excellence Forum, which uses a structured decision-making framework to accelerate execution and ensure alignment across teams. 

• Creating Value: Placing focus on margin and efficient execution to deliver value to customers, increase internal efficiency, and promote sustainability.  

• Managing Supply Chain Risks: Through the case study of the Red Sea example, understand Dow’s approach to managing supply chain risks and maintaining stability.  

• Future-Focused Initiatives: Determine how plans for end-to-end supply chain mapping and scaling AI and machine learning applications can further enhance digital capabilities and help stay ahead of future challenges and opportunities.  

Speaker: Jeff Tazelaar, Global ISC Innovation Director, Dow.  

9. Navigating Sustainability Challenges in Supply Chains Amid Rising Energy Costs, Hiring Struggles, and Inflation

Addressing the intersection of sustainability, economic pressures, and hiring challenges is crucial for navigating today’s rapidly evolving supply chain landscape. In this session you’ll gain insight exploring themes like:

• Managing Rising Energy Costs: Amid soaring energy prices, learn strategies for mitigating impact on supply chain operations and transportation expenses, while still pushing for sustainable solutions.  
• Addressing Talent Shortages: Gather insights into how to tackle the challenges of hiring and retaining talent within the supply chain workforce considering labor turnover rates, which can exacerbate operational inefficiencies.  
• Mitigating Inflationary Pressures: Employ effective strategies for managing the pressures of inflation on procurement costs, production expenses, and overall supply chain spending.
• Balancing Sustainability and Economic Challenges: Explore how to navigate the delicate balance between sustainability initiatives and the constraints imposed by rising energy costs, labor shortages, and inflation.  

Speaker: Erik Nickel, Director Metals Supply Chain, Clarios LLC.  

10. Interactive Think Tanks Day 2 (10 options)

The Interactive Think Tanks during Day Two’s Executive Lunch offer a laid-back, unstructured way to connect with other attendees. Picture small groups of like-minded people gathering to brainstorm, share ideas, and dive into key supply chain topics. There’s no formal moderation, so it’s all about open conversation. You’ll have some icebreaker questions to get things rolling, but the discussion can go wherever the group wants to take it. It’s a great chance to exchange insights, make connections, and explore some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in the supply chain world.

1. New Ideas in Supply Chain Resilience
2. Updates and Opportunities in AI for Supply Chain
3. Transportation Cost Containment: What Are We All Doing?
4. Real-World Examples of Real-Time Visibility
5. Procurement Innovations in the Age of Disruption
6. Supply Chain Institutional Knowledge Retention Programs
7. Innovations in Last Mile Delivery as We Regionalize Our Networks
8. Returning to Our Proactive Strategies and Long-Term Visions
9. Progress in Supply Chain Talent Acquisition, Development, and Retention
10. Geopolitical Risk Management as Part of Our Supply Chain Planning

Add It to Your Calendar: NASCES After Hours with CoreX & ServiceNow 

As we prepare for NASCES 2024, we’re excited to gain new insights and strategies to help us navigate the ever-evolving supply chain landscape. On top of that, we can’t wait to chat with supply chain executives looking to innovate and lead their teams through digital transformation. That’s why we teamed up with ServiceNow to host an exclusive evening of drinks and dessert at the historic “mystery room” at the Biltmore Hotel.  

Join executives from CoreX and ServiceNow to unwind after Day 1, network with your peers, and reflect on the day’s insights. Space is limited, reserve your spot before the event!