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VIEWS FROM THE TOP PREVIEW • LOGICHEM DESCRIBES ITSELF AS EUROPE’S ONLY EVENT FOR CHEMICAL SUPPLY CHAIN LEADERS, A CLAIM THAT IS BORN OUT BY ITS EXTENSIVE AND IN-DEPTH AGENDA
Sibylle Mutschler. They will look at how supply chain business models can be revamped through the use of digital technologies to support customer demands, improve cross-organisation interoperability and gain a competitive edge. What are the key digital tools that are available? What role should artificial intelligence play? What platforms and standards should producers use? These and other questions will be asked and – hopefully – answered. Taking a more logistics-based approach, Joep Aerts, business unit director at Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics, will talk about the ‘smart cluster’ approach to achieving a more effective way of working, partly through fostering collaboration between supply chain leaders and through data exchange up and down the supply chain. A panel discussion will focus on how digital transformation can help break down silos within the organisation to bring supply chain and commercial teams closer together to deliver better performance – and the role of other stakeholders in ensuring that new digital concepts are accepted. All this takes place before the first morning break, after which Dimitri van de Leest, director of global SCM improvement at Arlanxeo, will talk about overcoming the challenges of legacy systems.
In recent years, HCB has found that one of the best places to find out what the chemical logistics sector is thinking about is the annual LogiChem conference. And a look at the agenda for this year’s event, which takes place at De Doelen ICC in Rotterdam from 17 to 19 March, shows that tradition continuing. Put together with the help of an advisory board comprising representatives from Borealis, Clariant, DuPont, Henkel, Tejin Aramid and the European Chemical Transport Assoociation (ECTA) and with a massive list of speakers primarily drawn from chemical producers, the conference will examine in intense detail the
Some of the themes for the three days are familiar enough: supply chain visibility, digitisation, sustainability, agility in supply chains and exploring new ways of working – these have all been covered time and again at conferences and other events in the past few years. What marks LogiChem apart, however, is the fact that these topics – and others – will be addressed and interrogated by very senior executives and decision-makers from chemical suppliers around the globe. LET’S GET DIGITAL For instance, the opening session –
BEST FOR EVERYONE One example of the sheer breadth of topics to be covered during the three days of LogiChem comes after lunch on the first day, when the conference breaks into four tracks covering: innovation in forecasting and planning; optimising supply chain logistics; re-igniting customer service; and building excellence in distribution. Each of these tracks has relevance for HCB readers, but perhaps the second is the most topical. Anna Henkel,
expectations of manufacturers as the chemical supply chain adapts and modernises.
‘Revolutionising Supply Chain Visibility’ – will kick off with keynote presentations from Sailesh Mishra, global portfolio lead for supply chain and commercial at LyondellBasell, and Robert Nessing, head of global value chain for BASF’s crop protection business, the latter in conversation with Clariant’s head of digital,
global transportation procurement lead at Bayer, and Pablo Nosti, head of logistics procurement and operations EMEA at DuPont, will discuss how mergers and acquisitions affect logistics portfolios and how increasing digitisation adds another layer of complexity. Also in this track, Ovinto will look at how
DIGITAL SYSTEMS ARE COMING FAST IN THE CHEMICAL SPHERE BUT NEED TO BE EMPLOYED WITH CARE
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