PMAC International Symposium Coming to Toronto This Fall [September 26-28]

(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)

Supply chain management researchers from around the world will be joining practitioners in Toronto for the 8th Annual International Symposium on Supply Chain Management Sept. 26-28.

Hosted by the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), this year’s theme is Exploring the Leading Edge in SCM: Innovation, Sustainability, Performance Measurement.

Practitioners and researchers from around the world will be represented at the event, including those from Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Qatar, Switzerland, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

“The symposium encourages thought leadership in the field of strategic supply chain management on a global level,” said recently appointed PMAC president and CEO Cheryl Paradowski. “Practitioners and researchers benefit greatly from each other. Practitioners are well-versed in current best practices but are rarely exposed to emerging research, which can provide profound advantages to organizations who are early adopters.”

“Practitioners are encountering problems in the field that they do not have time to address. Bringing together academics and practitioners ensures that academics are studying real problems and generating solutions that are useful and not just theoretically neat,” said Dr. Steven A. Melnyk, chair of this year’s event and professor of operations management at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad School of Business.

Dr. Linda Sprague, first emeritus professor at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, will deliver the opening keynote. In her speech, Dr. Sprague will discuss China’s rapidly evolving supply chain infrastructure.

The symposium program also features presentations and in-depth panel discussions on current and emerging issues in SCM, including:

• Integrating sustainability into strategic purchasing;
• Sustainability metrics for supply chains;
• Impact of supply chain strategy and structure on firm performance;
• Integrated new product development on a global scale;
• Contractor incentives: Introducing performance-based logistics;
• High performance in procurement risk management; and
• Supply chain sustainability through supplier development.

New to this year’s symposium is a plant tour that will take delegates to the Daily Bread Food Bank for a behind-the-scenes look at its complex supply chain. The central distribution centre for southwestern Ontario, Daily Bread is responsible for receiving food products at multiple locations, sorting, transporting and tracking all donations.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.scmsymposium.org.