Datebook

Europe conference offers timely advice on cost control

In a slumping economy, the key to supply chain success is to manage those things that are within your control while anticipating and mitigating those that are not. At the top of the "control" list for most companies: supply chain costs.

That focus is reflected in the theme of CSCMP's Europe Conference 2013, "How to Cut Supply Chain Costs Without Paying the Price." The event will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 15-17.

Sessions will examine how to use sourcing strategies, sustainability, lean administration, and more to control costs without compromising quality and service. To keep these discussions grounded in reality, supply chain executives from companies like Unilever, Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, and Siemens will talk about their real-life supply chain challenges and solutions.

The conference also includes the European Research Seminar, which examines current issues in European logistics and supply chain management.

Event: CSCMP Europe Conference
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Dates: May 15-17, 2013
Info: cscmp.org/events/europe-conference

ASU launches online master's in SCM and engineering

Arizona State University's new Master of Science in Supply Chain Management and Engineering will teach students to use both business and industrial-engineering perspectives to solve supply chain problems. The online program will be delivered by ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Classes will cover operations and supply management, strategic procurement, supply chain cost and design, logistics, modeling and analysis, deterministic and stochastic operations research, and math tools. In a capstone project students will propose and evaluate solutions to actual supply chain problems and present their recommendations to a client business.

The 21-month program, which requires one orientation visit to the ASU campus in Tempe, Arizona, is designed for mid-level professionals with several years of experience in the supply chain field.

Program: Master of Science in Supply Chain Management and Engineering
Location: Online
Dates: Application deadline June 3, 2013
Sponsor: W. P. Carey School of Business and Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University
Info: wpcarey.asu.edu/masters-supply-chain-management

Master the logistics of health and humanitarian response

Recent events have demonstrated the importance of logistics know-how in providing assistance to those affected by natural and man-made disasters. But there are significant differences between logistics management in those circumstances and the version practiced in commercial settings.

The Georgia Institute of Technology Supply Chain & Logistics Institute's Health and Humanitarian Logistics Certificate program examines those differences and prepares graduates to effectively manage in the uniquely challenging and rewarding humanitarian response environment. The three courses in the program cover pre-planning strategy, tactical decision making, and systems operations in health and humanitarian response organizations.

Program: Health and Humanitarian Logistics Certificate
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Dates: May 6-7, May 8-10, and September 11-13, 2013
Sponsor: Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute
Info: www.pe.gatech.edu/scl/2013