The fall 2008 meeting of the Georgia Tech Supply Chain Executive Forum (SCEF) met in October to highlight and discuss the work and experience from industry professionals and faculty on the theme of "Reaching for Superior Performance: Strategies and Tools for Continuous Supply Chain Improvement.*

The recent meeting continued the mission of providing supply chain executives with the opportunity to improve the design and functioning of their supply chains. The theme allowed time to be spent on focusing on examples of how companies better measure and improve supply chain performance. In addition, robotics and materials handling innovations were highlighted as well as their role in helping to create the needed improvement in supply chains.

Dr. John Langley, Director of the Supply Chain Executive Programs, welcomed the group to campus and reviewed the following key questions and issues for discussion.
*What challenges are being faced by supply chain executives with regard to the need for continuous supply chain improvement?
*How do we best assess the performance of today's supply chains?
*In what ways can "lean* help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chains?
*What innovative strategies and tools are being used by companies to achieve continuous supply chain improvements?
*What important strategies and tools are being used by companies to achieve continuous supply chain improvements?
*What important roles can robotics and materials handling provide to help achieve continuous supply chain improvements?
*What are some success stories that help to understand effectiveness that may be gained from robotics and materials handling?
*In what ways can information technology help to achieve continuous supply chain improvements?

Dr. Ed Frazelle, Founding Director of the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute and President and CEO of Logistics Resources International, provided the opening keynote speaking on "Assessing Performance of Today's Supply Chains.* Frazelle focused his discussion on moving from the "wrong* supply chain to the "right* supply chain. Starting with first things first, Frazell stated that "everything develops much faster when you speak the same language; if you speak the same language, you can do almost anything.*

Charles Barrentine, Chief Operating System Officer and Vice President at Eastman Kodak, discussed "Lean Thinking- A Key to Supply Chain Productivity at Eastman Kodak.* CB encouraged the group to look at ways to give better customer service. When looking at ways to do more with less, he recommended looking at the entire business, not just a component. In this way, he said, you can make better decisions on how to implement the principles of lean thinking.

Bruce Tompkins, Principal at Tompkins Associates, provided insight into "Supply Chain Benchmarking and Best Prices.* Bruce identified the following as the best ways to conduct benchmarking: "having strong industry leadership, world-class collection and analysis tools, right participants, subscriber centric processes, a wide range of output methods, and excellence in leader network.*

In a collaborative effort, David DuBose (AVP, Limited Logistics Services), Tom Escott (President of Schneider Logistics, Inc), and Mark Holifield (SVP Supply Chain for The Home Depot), provided case studies as to what their organizations do with respect to "Strategies and Tools for Continuous Supply Chain Improvement.*

Concluding the seminar, the following speakers discussed how robotics and materials handling innovations help achieve continuous supply chain improvement: Dr. Christian Wurll (AVP, Manager Robotics Competence Center, KUKA Robotics), Paul Moore (Director Systems Sales, FKI Logistics), Juup Willemse (Team Leader, Swisslog AG), Mark Kidwell (VP Strategic Services, Peach State Integrated Technologies)

Achieving its goal once again, The Georgia Tech Supply Chain Executive Forum provided resources and facilitation for its members and their companies to enhance their supply chains. Executives identified, discussed, debated, and resolved critical supply chain issues improving decision making in a "continually-changing and increasingly-challenging business environment.*

For more information on the Supply Chain Executive Forum, visit: http://www.scl.gatech.edu/professional-education/scef/.