Holistic approach to supply chain

THE PREMIER EDITION OF USC MARSHALL’S SYMPOSIUM on global supply chain in India was held in Mumbai this March and brought up pertinent issues that the industry needs to be mindful of.

With the aim of initiating discussions and creating an environment for innovative thought process, USC Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management recently organised a one-day symposium in Mumbai. The inaugural edition that took place on March 16, 2018, focused on the global supply chain landscape as well as peripheral aspects of the industry such as talent management and dealing with the millennials. Raj Dias, Symposium Chairperson and President, Global DCM, is also part of the advisory board at USC GSC in CA. He says, “We had international speakers which offered a global perspective of the industry.” Dias feels that India is far behind as compared to the global standards and infrastructure is one of the hurdles. “The USC plans to do such a symposium every year in India. The USC and the Indian government have been discussing signing an MoU in terms of exchange of ideas, education, etc. but its still in discussion stage,” he adds.

He indicated that there was a possibility of organising the next symposium in another city – may be Bengaluru or Delhi. Dias was in Mumbai for the symposium as well as look at investments, opportunities, both from the demand side as well as the supply side. Nick Vyas, Program Director, USC Center for Global Supply Chain Management, for the Masters course, gave a forward-looking outlook about the industry by bringing in the industry status of North America. Speaking about some of the top disruptive technologies in the industry such as drones, 3D printing and even robotics, he underlined the kind of impact they would have on the supply chain.

The first panel discussion of the day started with GST – the most talked-about development in India of late and how it can transform India’s supply chain and logistics landscape. The second panel discussion of the day took this idea forward and exchanged ideas on how startups are solving the SCM challenges in India. The conversation then veered towards the boardroom where the questions revolved around CSOs and how soon can they be on the board.