Can another supply chain group save us?

From the September-October 2024 edition of Supply Chain Management Review.

September-October 2024

Back in late 2023, in response to global panic about the state of the supply chain, President Joe Biden announced the formation of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. “We’re doubling down on our…

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Back in late 2023, in response to global panic about the state of the supply chain, President Joe Biden announced the formation of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. “We’re doubling down on our work at home—starting right here, right now—with the launch of a new Council on Supply Chain Resilience,” Biden said.

That council won’t turn in its first official report until later this year, and while the myriad of crises that triggered the administration’s action has mostly subsided, the risks remain. Disruptions such as the recent Microsoft-Crowdstrike computer outage, a pending East Coast longshoreman’s port strike, and trade wars to name a few, continue unabated.

Now, another group has formed, promising it can secure the supply chain. The Supply Chain Council was announced on July 26. Led by CEO Josh Wood, the organization is promising to “secure and strengthen America’s supply chain.” In an interview with SCMR sister publication Logistics Management, Wood said policymakers are responding to the challenges with regulations that “weaken the supply chain and create instability and greater unpredictability for businesses, workers, and anyone who depends on the goods and services moving through our ports, airports, railways, and logistics centers.”

Sounds good, right? Hopefully it will be. The group has a cross-section of industry leaders from companies such as Prologis, Johnson Controls, and Sierra Northern Rail Company. Labor unions such as the Laborers’ International Union of North America, and trade associations like the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. Wood said the group is “bringing the links of the supply chain together.”

Wood went on to tell LM that the group’s first goal is to protect American jobs. Investment in supply chain infrastructure and safeguarding the supply chain and economy from global instability are also goals. “Our goal is to unite voices and interest groups and present what is a clear win, strengthening the U.S. supply chain, to those in power who are able to legislate on its behalf,” Wood said.

Pulling legislators, industry groups, and workers in one direction is a tall task. Getting two of those groups to align is challenging enough. Whether the Supply Chain Council is able to do that—and whether it can be a blueprint for similar collaborations in the future—will be a lesson in real time.

NextGen Supply Chain Conference agenda reveal

We unveiled our NextGen Supply Chain Conference agenda and speaker lineup in August. You can see it here: nextgensupplychainconference.com/agenda.

The highlights: Keynotes from Amy Rardin at Procter & Gamble; Luis Roman of Johnson & Johnson; and Jennifer Springer of Whirlpool Corporation. In addition, Karisa Sprague of Walmart will present as part of our Visionary Award. We will be handing out End User Awards to Estee Lauder, Schneider Electric, and S&S Activewear; and Solution Provider Awards to Agility Robotics, Westfalia, AutoScheduler, and Waites Sensor Technologies. The Start-up Award will go to Squint. Each of these companies will also be presenting at the conference.

Our speaker lineup includes executives from Carhartt, UPS Healthcare, U.S. Cellular, Diageo, Hai Robotics, and Corning just to name a few.

We’d love for you to join us at NextGen, taking place Oct. 21-23, 2024, at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel. Register here. 

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