World Urban Forum Attendees

UT and ESSEC Host Global Supply Chain Forum in Europe

The Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration co-founded with the ESSEC Business School a groundbreaking event in the European Union (EU) supply chain community. In June the two groups hosted Europe’s first Global Supply Chain Forum for supply chain executives and academics in Paris, France.

UT Knoxville and ESSEC are two of the world’s supply chain academic powerhouses. UT Knoxville’s internationally ranked faculty members include some of the most-published academics on supply chain; ESSEC is a leading European business school and a world leader in executive education with expertise in logistics and supply chain.

“Participants from eleven countries and twenty-nine organizations came together to discuss critical supply chain issues affecting today’s global marketplace,” said Shay Scott, director of UT’s Global Supply Chain Institute. “We don’t know of any other event in Europe that has provided a similar opportunity for dialogue about doing business in today’s globalizing world.”

Participating companies in the forum included its six founding members— BearingPoint, Caterpillar, Geodis, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble—as well as other leading companies such as Air Liquide, L’Oreal, Nestle, Pfizer, Renault, Shell Oil & Gas, and Warner Music.

A predominant theme of the forum was the complexity of successfully applying supply chain principles in today’s European market.

“Many companies with a presence in the EU have operations in over twenty-five different countries, each with its own language and culture,” said Scott. “Although it is tempting to regard the EU as a single entity, companies must instead negotiate an intricate balance between globalizing and localizing their operations.”

The forum included presentations and break-out sessions on cutting-edge practices, trends, and key industry issues, plus a variety of networking events. Key discussion areas included the differences between US and EU supply chain management, the opportunities that are created when demand-generating and supply chain activities are successfully integrated, and the challenges of product distribution in an increasingly urban European environment.

“By 2030, over 80 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, versus about 50 percent today,” said Scott. “Forum attendees were particularly concerned that current global supply chains are not scalable in this type of environment. For instance, urban environments drive increased traffic congestion and pollution, lower levels of customer service, and additional failure opportunities within a supply chain. Forum participants discussed how to successfully face these challenges while also being environmentally responsible.

Cambodiajobs, Scholarship, Fellowship: UN-HABITAT: World Urban ...

While the urban population in developed countries will remain unchanged in the next two decades, the urban populations in the developing world will more than double. The majority of city inhabitants in the developing world are overwhelmingly young people, and are the most affected by issues of poverty, exclusion, and unemployment, access to housing, water and sanitation. The theme for this year’s UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum which is being held in Rio de Janeiro from 22 to 26 March, “The right to the City– bridging the urban divide” seeks to engage practitioners and policy makers to rethink the urban utopia and identifying the best practices and actions in every city, creating a better world where everyone can live with dignity, respect and citizenship. Young people living in urban areas can play a significant role in addressing the challenges facing decision and policy makers planning for and managing cities. Young people from around the world participating in the World Urban Youth Assembly on 19 and 20 March will have an opportunity to deliberate and make recommendations to better inform the urban agenda.

Urbanisation and poverty, seventh report of session 2008-09, Vol. 2: Oral and written evidence

Ecological Engineering Design, Restoring and Conserving Ecosystem Services

State of the world's cities 2010/2011.

World development report 2009, reshaping economic geography

The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequalities and Urban Land Markets