The Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies (GLAMS) at the Indian School of Business (ISB), hosted its flagship event of the year - the Global Supply Chain Summit - during September 6 - 7, 2007. The theme of the Summit being, Strategies for Global Competitive Advantage in Services, it explored the challenges and opportunities in rural as well as global supply chains in emerging markets like India.
The Summit consisted of two events – a Conference and a Workshop on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - systems and applications.

Several leading industrialists, academicians, and policy makers participated as session anchors and speakers at the Summit

 Conference Highlights – Taking India to the Next Level

The Inaugural Session of the Summit saw two interesting key note addresses. The first was by Jim Erdman from Penske Asia. Erdman gave an overview of Penske’s primary business lines and its focus on assets optimisation. "There are plenty of capacities in the logistic business. And if managed well, they can add a lot more value to this industry. So it is important to manage the capacities available, rather than bring in new capacities," said Erdman. He listed some of the challenges of logistics and the importance of value proposition. "There is a need for a robust back-end process to deliver reliable and relevant services, "he added.


The second keynote speaker of the evening was Roopa Purushothaman representing Future Capital Research. She discussed her recently published paper 'Is Urban Growth Good for Rural India?' and came up with startling finds. "Using an econometric approach, we found that a Rs.100 rise in urban consumption, could lead to an increase in rural household incomes of up to Rs. 39," she said.  Purushothaman described the three urban myths about contemporary rural India - "that faster economic growth in urban India vis-à-vis rural India is driving rapid urbanisation, that rural India is still an agricultural economy, and that rural-urban inequality in India is on the rise." She noted that urban demand is actually a largely over-looked engine, which can help drive a crucial shift from farm to non-farm employment in rural India. Purushothaman concluded that rural and urban economies in India are "more integrated than traditionally acknowledged," and is actually converging since around year 2000.

The themes of the other sessions of the summit were India specific and hence relevant and had lots of interesting take-aways for the participants. The sessions were titled - Indian Retail- Scripting and Evolution, Manufacturing Renaissance in India, Indian Service Sector- A Rising Force in Global Economy, and Charting the Strategic Growth of Indian Logistics Sector.

Among a host of renowned industry speakers was, Anshuman Singh, Future Logistics Solutions Ltd. who made a presentation on Vertical Integration in Retail Industry: Benefits and Woes. "Integration in supply chain in retail is important as it is closely related to consumer logistics," explained Singh.

Another speaker was Colin Lian, SAP ASIA Pte Ltd, who spoke on Information Systems for Retail and the Scope of e-Retailing. "Understand, anticipate and inspire," this was the mantra of Lian to help India evolve to the next stage of retail, which is creating life-style destinations. Lian disclosed that according to an AT Kearney survey India is placed number one in "market attractiveness", followed by Russia and China. He projected that over the next 5 years, organised retail will witness a phenomenal growth and that the new consumer will be "goal oriented." About e-retailing, Lian had a few tips, "Choose the right model, know what works online for you, be mindful of channel conflicts, keep to your promise, know your ATP, and last have supply chain visibility."

Peter Holloran, Dow presented a talk on Integrated Global Supply Chain Network: Dow's Perspective and stressed on the linkage between supply chain and strategy and the importance of information flow. Ravi Kallayil from Nike gave an address on Nike's Supply Chain Strategy in India while Kumar Ashish, ICICI gave a gist of Innovations in Rural Financing. Each of the sessions was followed by a panel discussion where industry and academia joined best of perspectives about the road ahead for Supply Chain issues.

Workshop Highlights – the Science and Art of Retail Performance

“What if all the conference attendees had badges and there was a reader at the entrance – it could be used for, maybe, fire safety,” said Professor Sanjay Sarma, Associate Professor, MIT, during a workshop he conducted on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems and applications. Professor N Viswanadham, Executive Director GLAMS, introduced Professor Sarma as “the architect of the RIFD lab at MIT – not only an academic researcher but also a mentor to several industrial activities.” Professor Sarma is one of the founders of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, which developed many of the technical concepts and standards of retail RFID. His current research projects are in the areas of radio frequency identification, IC packaging, manufacturing, CAD/CAM, machine design, RFID applications, device networking and smart devices.

Professor Sarma was accompanied by Dr Ravikant Pappu, cofounder of ThingMagic, a leading provider of high-performance RFID readers and modules. Dr Pappu is a PhD holder from MIT.

RFID is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags - a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into a product which enables them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as price, colour, date of purchase, etc. RFID systems can be used just about anywhere, from clothing tags to defence departments, to pet tags to book stores. Today RFID is being touted as the next leap in the science and art of retail performance – global retail giant Wal Mart is taking the big lead in adopting this “intelligent” technology. In India too it is making inroads in the areas of pharma, airlines, retail, logistics, etc.

The workshop addressed the concept of RFID to the participants, and how it will impact the supply chain as well as other industries. Professor Sarma also provided pointers to leverage RFID in one’s company.

The workshop comprised 4 sessions:

  • Technology: The What and How of RFID

  • Retail Supply Chain: From Manufacturing Lines to Shopping Baskets

  • Suppliers: What is a Brand Worth?

  • Asset Tracking and Other Opportunities

“Think of RFID uses in the most mundane ways and then see how it can affect your business, “said Professor Sarma. He further explained that while it is true that supply chains are not very efficient, it is not yet confirmed whether RFID will solve the conflict because it depends on factors like “how people adopt it and how technology issues and business issues are addressed.”

GLAMS, since inception, has endeavoured to undertake research projects in the areas of logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain management as relevant to emerging economies. The Centre disseminates the research to the partners by organising such conferences. "The Summit’s agenda was to take the retail, manufacturing, and business service industries to the next level of competitiveness in the global arena," said Professor N Viswanadham, Executive Director GLAMS, summing up the core objective.




 

Contributions are invited for the November 2007 issue of Alma Matters. Please send in information on any events that have taken place or are being planned in your chapter as well as personal milestones that you would like to share with the ISB alumni community to Smita_Hopper@isb.eduedu