Earlier this week, FoodLogiQ joined supply chain leaders and representatives from top universities in sharing supply chain insights, industry updates and innovative ideas at the ninth annual Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit. The event, spanning October 19-20, was held at the University of Southern California Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute, and centered on the theme “Reimagine. Reinvent. Resilient. The New Realities of Supply Chain Post Covid-19.”
This year’s global summit brought together 12 panels with 67 industry experts, who spoke on a variety of topics including supply chain resiliency, emerging technologies, innovation, digital transformation, the global food supply chain and traceability. The 2021 event adopted a hybrid participation model that included both in-person and virtual attendance options, which attracted over 1,000 attendees.
This packed two-day summit featured the voices of some of the leading minds and pioneers in the supply chain, including Scott Penberthy, Director of AI & Cloud CTO of Google, Peter Jameson, Managing Director, Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance at Asia Pacific of Bank of America, and Nasim Afsar, MD MBA MHM, COO of UCI Health. This is in addition to Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, Randy Kendrick, Founder & CEO of Xebec, and. Dr. Nick Vyas, Executive Director of The Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute.
FoodLogiQ Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Insights Julie McGill was pleased to speak as a panelist on the topic of “Global Food Supply Chain and Food Traceability.” McGill spoke alongside Persequor SVP of International Markets Ron Volpe, Blaze Pizza Co-Founder Bradford Kent, and Bob Wolpert, Corporate Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Golden State Foods. This engaging session was moderated by Carl Mount, SVP of Supply Chain Operations at Starbucks, and included expertise from several areas across the food supply chain – from manufacturing and distribution, to restaurant operations and solution providers.
Mount opened the discussion with a simple question to all of the panelists: “Why is food traceability important to you personally, and what additional aspects would you include in defining it?” The panelists noted that traceability is not just about knowing where a product is; it also means understanding your supply chain, being proactive in your approach to operations, and encouraging interoperability across systems to truly understand the ecosystem that is the food supply chain. Without the ability to exchange data between systems, visibility and transparency risk significant impact, and traceability efforts are siloed.
During the “Global Food Supply Chain and Food Traceability” session, the group also discussed how the industry is responding to unprecedented consumer demand, in addition to highlighting supply chain challenges that stretch each of the represented businesses on a daily basis. The panel then discussed the resiliency of the food supply chain, noting how COVID has accelerated the adoption and use of technology, from source to consumer. In order to move forward, the industry will need to continue to innovate, digitize and strive for collaboration and operational excellence in all areas of the food supply chain.
“Events like this are so very important and impactful,” said McGill. “They’re not only wonderful opportunities for supply chain leaders to come together – but they’re also incredibly valuable for the future leaders of the supply chain. This dynamic, collaborative summit serves as a great example of how today’s leaders are bringing tomorrow’s leaders forward. FoodLogiQ is thrilled to have been a part of this year’s Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit, and looks forward to participating in future summits.”