Institute for Supply Management annual conference preview
The 92nd Annual International Supply Management Conference and Educational Exhibit is the place to be if you're a purchasing professional. Here is Purchasing's complete guide to the event that this year takes place in Las Vegas.
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 4/5/2007 6:00:00 AM
While the Institute for Supply Management's 92nd Annual International Supply Management Conference and Educational Exhibit is in Las Vegas this year, purchasing professionals who attend the event will not be gambling with their future.
ISM is an international association that helps further the purchasing profession through education, and its annual conference is the premier event for training and networking. Attendees this year will have the chance to take in more than 100 workshops that address topics related to the conference's dual themes of continuity of supply and the future of supply management, plus meet with representatives of more than 100 suppliers that provide a variety of goods and services, from software and office supplies to purchasing cards and MRO items.
But that's not all. Conference attendees also will be the first to hear the ISM semi-annual business forecast, followed by in-depth analysis by two eminent economists. And, they'll have the opportunity to meet with recipients of the Second Annual ISM R. Gene Richter Awards for leadership and innovation in supply management during educational sessions that will be added to an already packed conference agenda.
ISM expects more than 2,200 purchasing professionals from more than 27 countries to attend its event this year. If you plan to go and haven't pre-registered yet, you may download information from ISM's website at www.ism.ws.
Purchasing professionals not planning to attend the conference won't have to miss a thing. Purchasing editors Paul Teague, Dave Hannon and Maria Varmazis will report on each day's happenings in an electronic newsletter.
The agenda
Registration for the 92nd annual conference starts bright and early at 7 a.m. on Sunday, May 6, at Bally's Las Vegas, followed by an educational session at 9 a.m. on navigating the conference.
If you want to get an even earlier start, pre-conference sessions begin on Thursday, May 3, also at Bally's, and cover such topics as advanced negotiation strategies, purchasing and the law, finance for the supply management professional and how to develop and manage a supplier diversity program, among others.
Officially, festivities begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday with a grand opening of the exhibit hall and conference kick-off, which includes a ribbon-cutting and lunch. The keynote address speaker in the afternoon is Malcolm Gladwell, author and staff writer at the New Yorker magazine and one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2005. He plans to speak on the topic of successful decision-making. A reception in the exhibit hall takes place in the evening beginning at 5 p.m.
This year, the conference features Networking Roundtable Discussions led by members of the permanent conference committee and general conference committee. These discussions are an informal way for purchasing pros to share experiences, benchmark or simply bounce new ideas off colleagues.
At the Conference Career Center, representatives of purchasing operations at world-class companies will be on hand to conduct interviews with prospective new hires. Purchasing pros interested in meeting with these reps and who register for the conference may post their resumes to the confidential Career Center database developed exclusively for this event.
Back by popular demand are project management workshops, which will be held beginning on Monday, May 7. These include a session on business continuity led by Betty A. Kildow, emergency management consultant at Kildow Consulting. The day's keynote speaker is Stanley Bing, a business pundit and columnist for Fortune magazine. He speaks at lunch. A dessert reception follows. A networking reception at 4:30 p.m. caps off the day's activities.
Between sessions or during downtime, attendees may check e-mail at a Cyber Café where they will find access to the Internet.
On Tuesday, May 8, Norbert J. Ore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, and group director, strategic sourcing and procurement at Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp., will present the committee's Manufacturing Semiannual Economic Forecast. Anthony S. Nieves, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, and senior vice president of supply management at Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp., will present the committee's ISM Non-Manufacturing Semiannual Economic Forecast.
Immediately following these presentations, John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., and R. Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, will provide their outlooks for the economy for the remainder of 2007.
Keynote speaker at a luncheon for attendees later on Tuesday is Paul Laudicina, managing officer and chairman of the board at Chicago-based A.T. Kearney. Laudicina is scheduled to speak on "Succeeding in a dynamic world: supply management in the decade ahead."
In the afternoon, ISM plans to add to the agenda sessions led by recipients of the Second Annual ISM R. Gene Richter Awards for leadership and innovation in supply management. These workshops present real-world applications. Conference-goers interested in attending will find signs posted in the registration area. Last year, purchasing professionals from such companies as Rockwell Collins, recipient of Purchasing's Medal of Excellence for 2005, Johnson & Johnson, DaimlerChrysler and Fluor Hanford received Richter awards.
 ISM expects more than 2,200 purchasing pros from more than 27 countries to attend its 92nd annual conference and educational exhibit this year. |
The J. Shipman Award and Volunteer Appreciation Banquet follows in the evening. The J. Shipman Award honors an individual's career in supply management. Last year, Dave Nelson, who worked in leadership roles in purchasing at such companies as Delphi, Deere & Co., Honda of America Manufacturing and TRW, received the J. Shipman award. Nelson also received Purchasing's Medal of Professional Excellence while with Deere and Honda.
Dr. Beatrice Berry, author, comedienne and motivational speaker is the keynote speaker on Wednesday, May 9, the last day of the conference. She is expected to speak on the importance of social responsibility and community involvement.
Workshops
Educational sessions are the heart of the conference, and take place each day during the event. Many sessions are led by purchasing practitioners such as "Commodity price increases and supply strategies," a panel discussion moderated by Shelly Stewart Jr., senior vice president of operational excellence and chief procurement officer, Tyco International, and a member of Purchasing's Editorial Advisory Board. The panel consists of Craig Reed, vice president of sourcing at MeadWestvaco Corp.; Russ Davis, senior director of corporate sourcing at Tyco International (US) Inc. and Richard F. Carr, global director of the procurement center of excellence at Alcoa Inc.
Some other sessions led by purchasing practitioners on this year's agenda include:
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"Achieving the next level of strategic supply management" by Ernest G. Gabbard, director of corporate strategic sourcing at Allegheny Technologies.
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"Sourcing the meeting planning spend" by Thomas Donatelli, senior director of global sourcing at Pfizer.
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"Supply chains skills assessment and development: building the dream team" by Michael G. Patton, director of supply chain at Johnson Controls and Mark F. Triguba, manager of strategic sourcing at Johnson Controls.
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"Developing suppliers in a lean environment: supplier consistency model" by Sandra Barkman, senior procurement agent at the University of Michigan and Bryon S. Marks, divisional supply chain manager at Eaton Corp.
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"Understanding buyer-supplier conflict" by David Alewin, senior manager, contracts and supply chain management, Fluor Corp.
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"Foundations for the strategic sourcing process" by Billy A. Horne, corporate sourcing manager at BellSouth Corp.
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"Ethics: Establishing the imaginary line before you cross it" by Richard H. Skonier, corporate purchasing manager, New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co.
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"Purchasing economics forecasting: planning to stay on top" by Michael G. Patton, director of supply chain management at Johnson Controls.
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"Winning business cases: how to develop, structure and present" by Thomas A. Crimi, learning and development coordinator at Chevron International Exploration and Production.
Related Purchasing stories:
Collaboration is on the minds of MRO buyers
Supply management award goes to Nelson
Buyers meet with suppliers at ISM conference
Supply chain manager of the year: The consensus builder
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