Most Sundays, I often tune in to get a global news perspective by watching CNN’s GPS, hosted by Fareed Zakaria. You can imagine my excitement when Gartner announced that Fareed would present a keynote session at the Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference.

No surprise here…his session is on this “Must-Attend” list.

This excitement, however, pales in comparison to how thrilled we are about presenting a session with Arkieva customer — Lush Handmade Cosmetics. The session that focuses on how Lush delivers a unique brand experience also discusses how effective demand planning solutions help with creating that experience. Last year we created the 2017 Gartner Supply Chain Conference list of Must-Attend Sessions. To continue along that tradition, here is the list of Must-Attend sessions at the Gartner Supply Chain Conference this year.
 

7 Must-Attend Sessions at the Gartner Supply Chain Conference

  1. Lush: Creating an Unforgettable Brand Experience with Predictive Analytics

TH2 | 1:35 PM – 1:55 PM |Tuesday, May 15

From naked packaging to handmade cosmetics – the experience at Lush is unforgettable. This unique brand experience extends throughout the company’s sustainable manufacturing practices by using ethically sourced ingredients. Experiencing year-over-year growth, Lush implemented a demand forecasting and predictive analytics solution from Arkieva to enhance existing S&OP processes.

Learn how Lush is improving demand forecasting by:

  • Using campaign sales predictor tools to forecast seasonal demand, and dynamically adjust mid-season
  • Automatically forecasting new products or limited edition seasonal items based on historical demand patterns
  • Gaining visibility into forecast replacement of aging inventory with newer products

Presenter: Christine Cosulich Demand Planning Manager, Lush Handmade Cosmetics

 

  1. Guest Keynote: How to Innovate: The Key for Countries, Companies, and People

K2 | 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM | Tuesday, May 15

Innovation is a buzzword of the moment. But what does it actually mean? How does one innovate, as a country, a company, or an individual? Fareed Zakaria gives you a controversial perspective deeply rooted in facts and data. He points out that many of the key indicators of innovation – excellence in science testing for example – simply do not work. He does what few experts do — look around the world and through history — for examples of innovation. He takes you to Sweden and Israel, to Germany and Japan, and back in time to the sewing machine and the electric bulb to shed light on the innovations taking place right now and the ones we are going to see unfold. Dr. Zakaria talks about the multiple technological revolutions that are changing the game today. The result is a startling, original understanding of the topic, one that will change the way you think about it.

Presenter: Fareed Zakaria Global Thinker, Columnist, CNN Host

Add Session
 

  1. Keynote: Move to Mastery: Innovate, Disrupt, and Scale the Digital Supply Chain

K1| 8:30 AM – 9:15 AM |Tuesday, May 15

Digital business is real, but how will supply chains innovate, disrupt and scale to create value? How can you leverage the power of people, organization, and technology to achieve the level of mastery required to succeed? The opening keynote will provide practical advice and inspiration – no matter where you are on your digital journey.

Presenters:

  • Ken Chadwick Research VP, Gartner

Add Session      

 

  1. A Digital Strategy in Consumer Products Means Knowing Where to Place Your Bets

CRX3 | 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM | Monday, May 14

The promise of new digital capabilities coupled with rising expectations for cost savings and growth make digital decisions a priority for supply chain leaders. This session will discuss digital initiatives and their disruptions across the industry so that supply chain leaders can direct the right road map of improvements.

Presenter: Steven Steutermann, Managing VP Gartner

Add session
 

  1. Case Study: “Lights-Off” Planning Orchestrates Profitable Growth for Western Digital

B1 | 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM | Tuesday, May 15

Western Digital has transformed its operating model for silicon from “build to forecast” to a highly integrated, synchronized planning and scheduling capability that enables real-time order promising and profitable growth. This session will provide process, technology and organizational details of this integrated capability.

Presenters:

  • Shiva Esturi Supply Chain Fellow, Western Digital
  • Paul Lord Research Director, Gartner

Add Session

 

  1. Journey Through S&OP Meetings

B2 | 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM |Tuesday, May 15

Leaders responsible for S&OP process in their companies will take a journey through real meetings in an S&OP cycle. We will visit real life best practices in new products review, demand, supply, pre-S&OP and culminating in the executive S&OP meeting. We’ll focus on the inputs and prep work needed before each step, decisions made and what the outputs are from of each of the meetings.

Presenter: Marko Pukkila Research Director, Gartner

Add Session
 

  1. The A to Z of Competing with Online Giants

F2 | 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM |Tuesday, May 15

As major online sellers continue to enter new industries and dominate existing ones, affected companies struggle to develop supply chain strategies to remain competitive. This session will present a variety of effective strategies and tactics to enable companies to defend their market positioning, excel at customer service and redress the shifting balance in their favor.

Presenter: Tom Enright Research VP, Gartner

Add Session

See you at the Gartner Supply Chain Conference. Be sure to stop by at the Arkieva booth #513.

Enjoyed this post? Subscribe or follow Arkieva on LinkedinTwitter, and Facebook for blog updates