CSCMP Notebook

By the numbers: Behind the scenes at CSCMP's Annual Global Conference

By Teri Elloitt Jarvie, CSCMP Director of Meeting Services

For three and a half days each year, CSCMP's Annual Global Conference provides attendees from all over the world with opportunities to hear about current and emerging supply chain and logistics trends and issues, as well as new techniques, strategies, and best practices they can put to use right away. The conference also lets them share their experiences and perspectives with peers, meet up with former colleagues, and make new acquaintances.

Many of those attendees may not be aware that the Annual Global Conference is itself an incredible logistical project. The planning for this largescale educational event begins years in advance when CSCMP's Meeting Services Department reserves convention center space and hotels in the designated host city. But that's just the first step in the year-round preparations required to stage this premier global event. Here are some interesting facts to keep in mind while you attend this year's conference in Denver, Colorado, USA:

• Over the course of the conference, attendees will quench their thirst with 1,400 gallons of coffee (equivalent to 28,000 cups) and 21,000 soft drinks, including sodas, bottled waters, and juices— about 875 cases, or six palletloads.
• Meals and snacks will be served on 47,000 china plates and glasses. That's more than the number used to serve all the people on the Titanic. (Fortunately, our annual global conferences are held on land, far from drifting icebergs.)
• Speaking of icebergs, four tons (8,000 pounds) of ice, or about 10 pallets' worth, will be needed to keep things cool.
• Some 1,100 tablecloths will grace the tables at the conference. If they were laid end-to-end, they would stretch 8,250 feet, or nearly two miles.
• Making sure all attendees can see and hear speakers in the general session hall will require 12,018 feet of video cable, 9,393 feet of lighting and electrical cable, and 9,136 feet of audio cable. That's a grand total of 30,546 feet of cable, equivalent to 75 home runs to center field at Wrigley Field, home of the world-famous Chicago Cubs baseball team!
• The lighting and sound systems for the general session hall will also require 8,000 feet of gaffer, carpet, and electrical tape; 390 feet of aluminum lighting and video truss (steel bars used to suspend equipment); and 40 amplifiers that can generate up to 100,000 watts of audio power for the public address system.
• All of the equipment required for the general sessions will arrive at the convention center in three 40-foot trailers. The hall is so big that the trailers will be driven right inside for unloading.
• Nearly 50,000 square feet of carpet will help keep attendees comfortable as they walk the corridors and meeting spaces of the convention center. This amount of carpeting would cover an entire football field, or about half of an average distribution center.
• More than 400 volunteers, students, and CSCMP staff members are needed to make the entire conference run smoothly ... and that doesn't include the staff at the conference hotels.

These are impressive numbers, yet it's not the quantity of goods and equipment necessary to make CSCMP's Annual Global Conference operate seamlessly that's most important—it's the quality of the event itself. Together, CSCMP staff members and the professionals they work with focus on every aspect of the conference experience to ensure that the environment for education and networking is the best that it can be, costs are controlled, and service is friendly and efficient.

We hope you agree, and we look forward to seeing you there!

New job-specific courses will sharpen your skills

Rising oil prices, transportation bottlenecks, new import and export regulations ... the list goes on. In today's challenging economic environment, you can't afford to be complacent. Now more than ever, it's imperative that you stay abreast of current trends and continually hone your professional skills.

One way CSCMP is responding to this need is by adding more than 200 new offerings to its cache of online courses. The courses are broken down into six major supply chain functions: inventory management, manufacturing, purchasing/procurement, supply chain planning, transportation, and warehousing. Within each of these areas, we have created 22 bundles of courses that apply to a specific job role or title. Each bundle contains between 9 and 18 courses that cover the core competencies and requirements needed to succeed in the job.

The following is a breakdown of the course bundles being offered under each function:

• Inventory management: inventory manager, inventory planner, and inventory analyst
• Manufacturing: operations manager, production supervisor, master scheduler, materials manager, and production scheduler and transportation planner
• Purchasing and procurement: senior buyer, buyer, and business analyst
• Supply chain planning: demand planning manager, demand planning analyst, supply planning manager, and supply planning analyst
• Transportation: transportation/traffic manager, transportation supervisor, transportation scheduler, and transportation planner
• Warehousing: warehouse manager, warehouse supervisor, and warehouse clerk

"The new course bundles are a convenient, fast, and costeffective way for practitioners to receive supply chain training," says Burt Blanchard, CSCMP's manager of education and research. "Users never have to leave the office for professional education."

The courses are available any time of day, every day of the week, and cost $950 for CSCMP members and $1,095 for nonmembers. Participants have six months to complete all courses in a bundle and will receive a certificate upon completion.

More information and descriptions of the course objectives can be found at cscmp.org, under "CSCMP University" in the "Online Courses" tab on the homepage.

Tune in to CSCMP!

The next time you are traveling or taking a break from your daily tasks, consider downloading and listening to one of CSCMP's unique, members-only podcasts. These brief (3 to 10 minutes) audio messages from members of CSCMP's Board of Directors contain valuable industry insights on such topics as metrics, finance, and operational excellence.

Currently available are:

• Seven Perfect-Order Supply Chain Metrics: Donald (Dee) Biggs, director of customer logistics for Welch Foods Inc., discusses the seven perfect-order metrics recommended by the grocery industry to analyze and create a successful supply chain. This podcast is great for supply chain professionals in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing. (2 MB, 5:45 minutes)
• Professional Business Talk: Ed Huller, President of Alden Consulting Group, describes the pitfalls that logisticians typically face when talking with upper management. The podcast outlines how to use the language of finance to sell yourself and your ideas at your next big meeting. (2 MB, 3:58 minutes)
• Keeping Your Employees Focused: Greg Chalkley, Director of Global Trade Compliance for Texas Instruments, talks about the importance of communicating openly and positively with your employees. Hear how such factors as changes in organizational structure can affect the focus of your employees. (1 MB, 3:35 minutes)
• A Successful Supply Chain Begins with Clear SCM Process Guidelines: Abré Pienaar, CEO of iPlan Industrial Engineers, says that supply chain management (SCM) professionals must adopt a clear strategy for implementing process guidelines. To accomplish this, they need to create a balance between collaborative processes, focus on the people who manage the supply chain, and implement the right systems. (2 MB, 5:00 minutes)
• Top 10 Tips of Supply Chain Operational Excellence: Susan Rider, President of Rider & Associates, advises listeners on how they can create a successful supply chain operation. In particular, she stresses the need for clear communication as well as a "barrier free" internal customer service department. (4 MB, 10:57 minutes)

Visit cscmp.org to hear these exclusive member podcasts.

Think globally at CSCMP's Annual Conference

CSCMP is striving to make its annual conference as global as your supply chain. This year's conference in Denver, Colorado, USA, highlights how increasingly important it is for today's supply chain professionals to take a global view of their operations. From the keynote address, to networking events, to educational sessions, the conference urges participants to step beyond their national boundaries and gain a better grasp of the challenges of competing in a global economy.

In the opening keynote address, Frances Fragos Townsend will speak about the role of global risk, crisis preparation, and leadership in today's business environment. Townsend, currently a commentator for CNN, was Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and chair of the Homeland Security Council from May 2004 until January 2008.

Subsequent general sessions will pick up this theme of uncertainty and the global economy. Mahender Singh from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Supply Chain 2020 project will speak on "Curved Thinking in a Flat World: How to Capitalize on Future Uncertainty." His address will touch on rising global agriculture prices; the emergence of countries such as Vietnam and Thailand as sources of low-cost manufacturing; and the possibility of high energy costs, environmental concerns, and currency exchange rates breathing new life into U.S. manufacturing. Next, a roundtable of executives from DHL/Exel, ProLogis, Limited Logistics Services, and YRC Worldwide will share strategies for succeeding in a challenging global economy and for managing trade barriers and risks.

Attendees will have the chance to delve further into specific global issues in such session tracks as Critical Business Issues, Emerging Markets, Future Trends, Global Strategic Sourcing, International Trade Compliance, and Matching Supply and Need in Resource-Constrained Settings.

Finally, in the conference's Global Showcase, CSCMP members from around the world will staff booths with information about 26 countries. Attendees can learn more about the economic developments, infrastructures, supply chain and logistics operations, business opportunities, and other significant issues facing their colleagues and potential supply chain partners in many nations.

For more information, visit cscmp.org.