Penn State To Hold Supply Chain Contingency Planning Workshop

Penn State To Hold Supply Chain Contingency Planning Workshop

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA-Contingency planning will be the topic of a special one-day workshop hosted by the Center for Supply Chain Research in Penn State's Smeal College of Business.

The "Supply Chain Contingency Planning Workshop" is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., Thursday, December 6 in 201 Keller Conference Center at the University Park campus.

"In contingency planning for the supply chain, a supply chain manager must be concerned with possible interruptions to the flow of goods from the firm's suppliers, deciding the appropriate levels of inventory to ensure business continuity, and weighing the costs vs. benefits in building redundancies in the supply chain," says William "Skip" Grenoble, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research.

"For example, should the firm identify a second source of supply, a backup transportation mode, or have the capability to route information flow to alternative systems? There will also be a presentation and discussion with a representative from U.S. Customs since many of today's businesses engage in global trade and are concerned about getting their goods across borders within a reasonable timeframe."

Workshop plans include a discussion on how recent events have impacted supply chains; BASF Corporation and Hewlett-Packard share their current contingency plans; representatives from The Port Authority of Baltimore and the Federal Railroad Administration will be on hand to discuss how marine and rail transport are impacted.

The Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) is organized within Smeal College's Division of Research. Founded in 1989, the center is a pre-eminent research community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to shaping practice in logistics and supply chain management in today's converging economies. The center draws upon faculty members from several academic areas as well as from other universities. Faculty affiliates are involved in several disciplines, including Business Logistics, Management Science, Operations Management, Business Law, Geography, Agricultural Economics and Industrial Engineering.

The CSCR is one of the nation's leading institutions dedicated to research and education in the field of supply chain management and logistics. It serves as a major source of published research and other information related to logistics, transportation, and supply chain management, and develops programs, conferences, and workshops for management and academic enhancement.

A CSCR Corporate Sponsors' meeting is scheduled to take place on December 7, following the workshop. Sponsors promote the research objectives of the center through financial support, participation on a research advisory board, and through direct participation in research projects. Sponsors receive early results sharing of research performed through the CSCR and notification of critical logistics research impacting the sponsor's firm or industry. The Center for Supply Chain Research has more than 43 corporate sponsors.

"The Corporate Sponsorship Program allows business leaders to stay current in the rapidly changing world of supply chain management and to maintain a competitive edge," says Grenoble.

For more information on becoming a corporate sponsor, contact the CSCR at 814-865-7789.