Dr. C. John Langley Jr. Professor of Supply Chain Management Georgia Institute of Technology

Although the corporate world is showing an increasing interest in supply chain management, there are still numerous issues to be resolved. This presentation highlights a number of challenges being faced regularly by those managing global supply chain, logistics, and transportation responsibilities. Included among these are value creation, matching supply and demand, integration, managing information technology, outsourcing, globalization, environmental priorities and “green” logistics, and the need to change and reinvent. Concluding remarks focus on a number of defining characteristics of “excellent” supply chains. Among the key challenges to be discussed are the following:

• Need for supply chain integration
• Assuring that supply chain decisions make sense financially
• Identifying information technologies that are necessary for supply chain success
• Leveraging outsourcing as a competitive tool
• Defining the social and environmental responsibility of supply chain management
• Helping executive management understand the importance of supply chain management to overall business success