We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Silver lining
Direct Connection

Silver lining

April 16, 2020
Rick Blasgen
No Comments

COVID-19, coronavirus ... we hope the uncertainty, fear, and negative impacts of these words fade fast. The entire world has been affected, and we have seen an incredible surge of collaboration, innovation, and planning discussed and debated at length on television and digital media. I am an optimist and always look for the silver lining, and one of them is this ... we have seen the words "supply chain" become part of daily commentary on a mass scale. Those that had never uttered the terms before are now hyper-aware of things like inventory and demand planning and this cool thing we at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) know of as supply chain. The awareness of what goes on within today's supply chain has changed and will prove beneficial to our industry and the professionals serving within it for a long time to come.

So where do we go from here? We are surrounded by exclamations on what supply chains need to change. Companies will have to answer questions like: Do we need to maintain higher levels of inventory? Do we have the ability to allocate supplies in need earlier and more rapidly? Do we need to bring manufacturing closer to the markets those products serve? Do we need to change regulation and trade agreements that depend on stronger relationships with partners and countries that are more suited to one another?

While I don't have the answers to these questions, here's what I do know: Supply chain professionals always figure it out. We will learn from this disruptive event. We will strengthen our relationships, collaborate with one another, and pay it forward, sharing our best practices and lessons learned.

All organizations, in all industries, in all parts of the world need to step up their confidence and competence in their supply chain activities.

Where to start? Join CSCMP. We are the global group you need to be part of to begin taking supply management seriously.

As for us here at CSCMP, we will continue to do our part. We will continue to advance our discipline and educate those who are entering the field or seeking to better understand what it is we all do. We will continue to strengthen relationships and improve processes that support all the good we do. At our EDGE conference this September 20-23 in Orlando, Florida, you can bet the discussions will be intense. But these conversations will be, as they always are, constructive, demonstrating why we must gather, exchange ideas, and create new ways to work together. Once again we will prove that supply chain professionals always get it done.

Covid-19 Coverage
Rick Blasgen is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

Recent Articles by Rick Blasgen

A final farewell

Look to your leaders

Planning ahead

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

  • Best practices in logistics sustainability

  • Supply chain executives not yet seeing expected results from technology investments

  • Postal Service plans to seize items mailed with fake stamps

  • Inflation drops again as interest rate hikes hit home, NRF says

Featured Video

20221107korber large vs

Enhancing Customer Experience with Your Supply Chain Strategy

Viewer Contributed
With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses have had to transform their warehouses to handle online orders in addition to regularly scheduled inventory shipments. This means warehouses need more information than ever before to ensure they can meet customers' needs. As a result, companies need to select warehouse...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Five tips for parcel success in 2023

  • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • A shipper's guide to navigating post-pandemic holiday freight

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing