The Council of Logistics Management's 1997 annual conference will focus on removing barriers to cooperation, productivity, and change. This year, the program will offer more than 100 seminars in 43 separate workshop tracks. Included among the track topics are Creating Logistics Value; Changing Cultures and Paradigms; Dealing with Time-Sensitive Supply Chains; Supply Chain Benchmarking Initiatives; and Supply Chain Integration Strategies.

General Session speakers include General Colin Powell (Ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell will speak on "The Management of Crises and Change" during the Sunday afternoon keynote presentation. Speaking at the Wednesday afternoon closing luncheon will be Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and other books about ethics and human relations.

Removing the Barriers

Sponsor: Council of Logistics Management

Date: Oct. 5–8, 1997

Venue: Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers and Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel

Cost: $825 for CLM members, $1,025 for non-members, includes conference materials and most meals.

Contact: CLM Conference Registrar at (630) 574-0985

Case studies of successful supply chain operations are the focus of the Third Annual "Best Practices in Supply Chain Management" conference, organized by the Institute for International Research. Most sessions are presented by logistics practitioners and, therefore, offer practical and detailed information on how leading companies have achieved their supply chain goals.

The conference will begin with a keynote address by former football pro Fran Tarkenton on managing organizational change. A plenary session on implementing a supply chain integration program follows. Sessions in two concurrent tracks address a variety of subjects, including demand management, using information systems to improve transportation efficiency, vendor-managed inventory strategies, and more.

Day Two begins with a keynote address by William (Gus) Pagonis, head of logistics operations during Operation Desert Storm and now executive vice president of logistics at Sears, Roebuck and Co. The concurrent sessions that follow address such topics as using supply chain management to gain competitive advantage, the importance of purchasing in supply chain management, and how to leverage supplier competencies.

There will be two optional, half-day workshops on Day Three. The first addresses how vendor-managed inventory can improve inventory control, and the second discusses how to structure the optimum supply chain logistics network.

Third Annual Best Practices in Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Institute for International Research

Date: Sept. 21–27, 1997

Venue: Hotel Inter-Continental, New Orleans

Cost: $1,395 for conference only, $1,795 for conference and one workshop, $2,095 for conference and both workshops.

Contact: IIR at (800) 999-3123 or (212) 661-8740

APICS, the Educational Society for Resource Management, now offers a course titled Basics of Supply Chain Management. It may be taken either as a stand-alone workshop or as a module in the organization's Certificate in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) program. This module serves as an overview of the supply chain process as well as an introduction to material included in the six CPIM certification modules.

The two-day course covers four subject areas: understanding business concepts for satisfying customer expectations; determining and managing customer demand; managing the transformation processes used to satisfy customer demand; and managing the supply activity supporting transformation processes. The course examines not only theory, but also practical aspects such as demand planning methods, financial management issues, process design, and performance measures.

APICS offers several ways to take "Basics of Supply Chain Management." The national organization offers the course as a workshop in several locations. Local APICS chapters also may present it from time to time. Finally, companies can arrange with APICS to obtain course materials to use in-house or they may hire an APICS instructor to teach on-site.

Basics of Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: APICS

Date: Sept. 22–24, 1997 (Seattle), Dec. 3–5, 1997 (San Diego). Other dates will be available in 1998.

Venue: Seattle, WA, and San Diego, CA

Cost: $745 for APICS members, $895 for non-members

Contact: APICS Customer Service, (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344

An executive program on "Information Technology for Logistics and Transportation" will be offered by Northwestern University's Transportation Center. The three-day program examines the role of information technology (IT) in the supply chain and considers its linkages to marketing, manufacturing, and other critical business functions.

Among the featured topics are leveraging information utility, emerging technologies, the role of technology in global logistics, and supply chain integration. Sessions also will examine how information technology can provide a sustainable competitive advantage.

The faculty for this course comes from industry, Northwestern University, and other leading academic institutions.

Information Technology for Logistics and Transportation

Sponsor: The Transportation Center, Northwestern University

Date: Nov. 18–20, 1997

Venue: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Cost: $1,975, includes course materials and some meals.

Contact: The Transportation Center at (847) 491-7287

The Fritz Institute of Global Logistics will offer a six-day course on the "Elements of Global Supply Chain Management." The program's objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the global supply chain, while laying a solid foundation in the techniques of managing a global operation.

The course is designed for new or entry-level personnel and recent college graduates working in international logistics. It is directed to individuals seeking specific knowledge and skills to advance their management careers.

Instructors for this and other courses offered by Fritz's Global Logistics Institute include academics and industry professionals. Guest lecturers and best-practices case studies supplement the lesson plans. The curriculum features lectures, discussions, and student team research of case studies.

Elements of Global Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Fritz Institute of Global Logistics

Date: Sept. 15–20 (Dallas), Nov. 10–15 (Chicago)

Venue: Dallas, Chicago

Cost: $2,500, includes all materials

Contact: Fritz Institute of Global Logistics at (800) 503-5333 or (415) 904-8087

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related decision-support systems have great potential for helping to analyze, manage, and evaluate supply-chain design and implementation. GIS offers the ability to model such areas as demand analysis, sourcing options, manufacturing and staging, transportation, and demand-chain integration.

This unique, one-week seminar offered by the University of Tennessee is designed to help supply chain professionals understand the basics of GIS terminology and its capabilities as a tool for problem solving. The course also will teach participants how to use maps and other graphic tools to communicate information to non-technical people in their organizations, how to use GIS for transportation- and sourcing-scenario modeling, and how to use GIS to analyze product demand.

GIS for Business and Logistics

Sponsor: University of Tennessee, College of Business Administration

Date: Feb. 9–13, 1998

Venue: University of Tennessee Management Development Center, Knoxville, TN

Cost: $3,500, includes meals and lodging.

Contact: UT Management Development Center at (423) 974-5001

A two-day seminar on "Optimizing the Global Supply Chain" will focus on how the use of technology helps companies achieve their supply chain management objectives. Case studies presented by Eli Lilly & Co., Sun Microsystems, National Semiconductor, Xerox, and other first-rank companies will examine how technological developments such as electronic commerce, the Internet, and dynamic modeling systems support their supply chain activities.

Two optional workshops precede the main program. The first is on mass customization, including related design, engineering, and assembly strategies. The second seminar explains the concept of "Available to Promise" and outlines the difficulties of matching manufacturing and delivery schedules to customer demands for accurate ship dates.

Optimizing the Global Supply Chain

Sponsor: IBC USA Conferences Inc.

Date: Sept. 10–12, 1997

Venue: San Diego Hilton, San Diego, CA

Cost: $1,295 for conference only, $1,595 for conference and one workshop, $1,795 for conference and both workshops.

Contact: IBC at (508) 481-6400

The Distribution/Computer Expo will include demonstrations from more than 500 software programs, systems, and services developed for logistics, transportation, warehousing, and distribution applications.

Preceding the Expo will be a full day of practical seminars on various information-technology topics of interest to logistics professionals. Seminar subjects include how to measure warehouse productivity, logistics and the Internet, messaging technology, and using technology to reduce transportation costs.

Distribution/Computer Expo and Seminars East

Sponsor: C.S. Report Inc.

Date: Sept. 23–25, 1997

Venue: Cherry Hill Hilton and South Jersey Expo Center

Cost: $345 advance registration ($395 on-site), includes seminars, exhibits, and Buyers Guide; $60 for exhibits and Buyers Guide only.

Contact: C.S. Report at (800) 338-4112

More than 170 technical sessions focusing on integrated resource management will be featured at the APICS 1997 annual conference and exhibit in Washington, D.C. Professionals in the fields of logistics, manufacturing, materials management, operations, and quality control will find a variety of educational opportunities during the course of the three-day program.

Among the many topics to be covered are supply-chain management, enterprise resource planning, production and inventory management, supplier partnerships, and vendor-managed inventories. In addition to the regular educational seminars, the conference will offer personnel-development workshops, optional pre-conference sessions on agile manufacturing, increasing profits by eliminating non—value-added functions, and workshops on selecting and implementing a manufacturing computer system.

APICS 1997 Annual Conference and Exhibition

Sponsor: APICS

Date: Oct. 26–29, 1997

Venue: Washington, DC, Convention Center

Cost: $850 for APICS members, $975 for non-members.

Contact: APICS at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344

Stanford University will offer a two-day executive seminar on advanced principles of supply chain management. The program is designed for professionals with responsibilities in manufacturing and operations, distribution, product development, finance, information technology, and sales and marketing.

The intensive course will include interactive sessions, presentations, readings, case studies, small-team discussions, and analytical exercises. Topics to be explored include: coping with uncertainties in supply chains, effective metrics and analytical tools, evaluating new supply chain networks, diagnostics for supply chain performance, inventory/service tradeoffs, manufacturing flexibility, and implementing cross-functional approaches.

Faculty for Integrated Supply Chain Management include Professors Hau Lee, Warren Hausman, Robert Carlson, and Thomas Kosnik, all of Stanford University. The program also features presentations by experts in supply chain and strategic planning from Hewlett Packard Company.

Integrated Supply Chain Management

Sponsor: Stanford University

Date: Oct. 1–2, 1997

Venue: Holiday Inn, Palo Alto, CA

Cost: $2,875

Contact: Marian Adams of University Connections at (415) 326-9212