In thinking about the tours and events in which we’re recently participated, spoken or led, the audience represented a great cross-section of manufacturing and logistics industries, as well as company size:

• Professional Women in Healthcare – spoke on the Amazon Effect
• Aerospace & Defense Forum – spoke on the resilient supply chain
• Anti-seminar themed Executive Luncheon – was a panelist on the topic of increasing demand
• CSCMP state of the industry event – listened to the president of CSCMP discuss the latest statistics and timely topics in logistics
• ProVisors manufacturers and distributors event – featuring a City National Bank expert discussing an economic forecast
• The Founder of the UGG brand – talking about how he created the UGG brand and grew the company from the back of his van to what it is today
• Tours of UPS, Amazon, Pacific Mountain Logistics, Shamrock Foods, Goodwill, Lifestream, ESRI and more.
• Meetings with 9 academic institutions in the Inland Empire and surrounding areas
• Harvey Mudd executive roundtable event –  M&A and preparing for sale
• Webinars with APICS-IE on IoT and with the Society for the Advancement of Consulting on overcoming obstacles, leveraging PR and more.
• And more…

So, what is at the cross-section of ALL of these tours, events and/or interactions?

The need for a resilient end-to-end supply chain!

What is in common is the sheer amount of volatility and disruption. Whether the disruptor or the disrupted, entire industries are transforming the way business is done. Some are preparing to have artificial intelligence and automation take over. For example, according to research performed at the University of Redlands, 60%+ of jobs are subject to automation by 2025. Others are dealing with massive benefits or disruption from changes in trade, depending on their role, while others choose to ignore the hoopla and are growing while everyone else is caught up in the chaos! And, this is just the beginning. Trade wars or not, many companies are near-sourcing, and looking at additive manufacturing and vertical integration.

What’s next? If you develop a resilient supply chain, the idea is you don’t have to worry because you’ll successfully navigate disruption to achieve peak performance. Contact us if you’d like to find out how to create a resilient supply chain.

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