Supply Chain or Crisis Management?

BOOKINGS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOW CLOSED. PLEASE EMAIL ALUMNI@CRANFIELD.AC.UK IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND

Alumni are invited to join Professor Michael Bourlakis,  Professor Alan Waller OBE and Professor Richard Wilding OBE for an online webinar entitled “Supply Chain Management or Crisis Management?”. Our esteemed panel will be discussing the issues currently facing supply chain management and sharing their expertise with alumni through a Q&A.

The event will be taking place on Tuesday 2 November 2021 from 13.00 – 14.00 (GMT). 

Please do book onto this event to secure you place, we will share the Zoom link via email the day before the event.

If you are unable to attend the live event but still wish to receive the recording please book here and we will share the recording after the event.

If you are having any issues accessing your alumni account or booking onto the event please email alumni@cranfield.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.

Programme & speakers

Topic summaries

Ongoing Supply Chain Challenges: An Expert’s View   

We are witnessing numerous challenges in current supply chains including, inter alia, a lack of key personnel (e.g. lorry drivers, warehouse workers etc.) and key equipment (e.g. raw materials and parts, containers etc.). Equally, companies face major economic uncertainty due to increasing energy prices. The above issues need to be considered carefully as they can have a significant, devastating impact on the long-term sustainability and viability of companies. Professor Wilding OBE will provide his expert view on these contemporary supply chain challenges. 

Supply Chain Leaders – Meeting the New Business Challenges’

Professor Alan Waller OBE will continue the discussion on these supply chain challenges by focusing on how companies will not only overcome them but also how to be successfully prepared to manage operational and business disruption.  Alan will focus on the key actions aiming to incorporate agility and resilience into future supply chains and he will discuss the ongoing need to constantly review supply chain strategies ensuring risk minimisation and maximisation of business results. He will finalise his input by analysing supply chain leadership and how important it is under the current supply chain challenges. 

Join our  panel:

Professor Michael Bourlakis, Director of Research and Director of the Centre for Logistics

Michael is the Head of the Logistics, Procurement & Supply Chain Management Group and Director of Research at Cranfield School of Management.  His research interests include food and retail supply chain management, sustainable supply chains, supply chain technologies. He has worked closely with numerous multinationals (e.g. DHL, Knight Frank, Tesco etc.) and other stakeholders (e.g. UK Government) to provide input and strategic advice towards the development of various supply chain-related initiatives. He has published widely and he regularly provides keynotes at international academic conferences and industry events. His multidisciplinary research work and impactful thought leadership has received considerable attention by media (BBC News, ITV News, Sky News, BBC Radio 4 Today, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, Wall Street Journal etc.).  

Professor Alan Waller OBE, Vice-President for Supply Chain Innovation at the International Consultancy EFESO Consulting.  He is also Visiting Professor in International Supply Chain Management at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University

Alan G Waller is Vice-President for Supply Chain Innovation at the International Consultancy EFESO Consulting.  He is also Visiting Professor in International Supply Chain Management at Cranfield School of Management where he also serves on the International Advisory Board. Alan is Chairman of the European Logistics Users Providers and Enablers Group (ELUPEG).  He also serves on the Global Research Committee of APICS SCC and is an Ambassador of Transaid. Alan was Senior Logistics Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Founder and first Director of the Distribution Studies Unit at Cranfield, now the Cranfield Centre for Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, and again directed the Centre between 1997 and 1999 whilst retaining his role as partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has served as the UK Chairman and UK President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and also then served as International President.  He also served as Chairman and subsequently Director of the European Council on Global Supply Chain of The Conference Board in Brussels. Alan is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen. In 1998 he was awarded the Sir Robert Lawrence Gold Medal for his contribution to logistics. In 2006 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to Logistics. In 2011 Alan was named Individual Achiever of the Year for the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards for his contribution to Supply Chain Development in Europe. In 2013 Alan was awarded the prestigious Honorary Fellowship of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (International).

Professor Richard Wilding OBE, Professor of Supply Chain Strategy

Professor Richard Wilding OBE, is recognised globally for his thought leadership in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Richard is a highly acclaimed presenter and regularly speaks at Industrial Conferences and has undertaken lecture tours of Europe and Asia at the invitation of local Universities; Confederations of Industry. He is passionate about taking and creating academic knowledge that creates ACTION in business. He has published widely in the area of supply chain management and is Editorial Advisor to a number of top journals in the area. Richard was appointed in 2005 as the first ever Full Professor and Chair of "Supply Chain Risk Management" in the World in recognition of his significant contribution to this subject area. In 2019, Richard was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession within U.K. Higher Education.

Location & travel details

Online via Zoom. Please register to receive the Zoom details via email one day in advance of the event.

Who should attend

All alumni are welcome to attend.

Cost & concessions

This webinar is free to attend.