The Voices of the Pioneers

Late last year, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) brought together two dozen leading figures in supply chain management in Florida. With CSCMP approaching its 50th anniversary, the organization wanted to host a conclave of some of its most influential members to record their observations and create a historical record for the future.

The men and women in attendance were among the pioneers of the profession. Their contributions helped shape CSCMP as a professional organization and supply chain management as a vital discipline in today's world of global commerce. Many of the practices and ideas they and their contemporaries initiated have become commonplace in the field today.

Forum participants included: Kenneth Ackerman, Joseph Andraski, Donald "Dee" Biggs, John Bowersox (son of the late Donald Bowersox), Robert Camp, Ann Drake, Ralph Drayer, George Gecowets, Howard Gochberg, Nancy Haslip, Roger Kallock, Douglas Lambert, Clifford Lynch, Richard Murphy, Mark Richards, Tim Richards, Frederick Schorr, Thomas Speh, James Stock, Frances Tucker, and Justin Zubrod.

Over the course of two days, CSCMP President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Blasgen and Supply Chain Quarterly Group Editorial Director Mitch Mac Donald moderated a series of discussions on a range of topics. Those discussions revolved around how the discipline of supply chain management has evolved since its early days and what might be in store in the years ahead.

The discussions explored the impact of certain developments on the profession, exploring how U.S. transportation deregulation in the 1980s changed the motor carrier, rail, airfreight, and maritime industries, and examining the effects of globalization on logistics and supply chain operations. Also discussed were the explosive growth of technologies that have enabled advances in logistics and supply chain efficiency, as well as the growth of outsourcing and third-party logistics over the past 25 years. Other conversations addressed changes in approaches to customer service and the rise in stature of supply chain management in corporations.

The discussion sessions were filmed to create a special video series titled "Supply Chain Pioneers." As part of this issue's special section commemorating CSCMP's 50th anniversary we have included edited transcripts of three of those sessions.

Space restrictions do not allow us to reproduce all of these lively and informative discussions, but you'll be able to view them in their entirety on our website. We'll be releasing a new episode each month, beginning October 2013.

You can read excerpts from three of the discussions here:

• How the discipline came of age
• The current state of the profession
• Supply chain reaches the C-level

We hope you will take the time to listen to the voices of the Supply Chain Pioneers.

The Editors