CBS International Business School, 28 May 2020

Online Roundtable: Post Corona Supply Chain Scenarios

online-roundtable-about-supply-chain-strategies-in-corona-era

How will supply chain strategies change in the current Corona period? And what role will digital processes and new technologies play? At the invitation of Prof. Dr. Nils Finger, Vice President for Innovation and Academic Affairs and Professor for Supply Chain Management, experts from the business world discussed these questions at the first online roundtable "Post Corona Supply Chain Scenarios" at the CBS International Business School.

"Insights into the practice of the logistics industry are always exciting - for industry representatives as well as for our students of Logistics & Supply Chain Management. With the new online format, we wanted to connect both groups of interested parties and gain an authentic impression of how logistics as well as trade and industrial companies know how to use the current changes as an opportunity", says Prof. Dr. Nils Finger about the idea behind the digital discussion format, which took place as a "Digital Lunch Break" at lunch time. Among the discussion participants from business and academia were Prof. Dr. habil. Lisa Fröhlich (CBS President and Professor for Strategic Supply Management), Stephan Schiller (CEO Hermes International & Managing Director, Hermes Europe GmbH), Alexander Nowroth (Managing Partner, Lebenswerk Consulting Group) and Bernhard Wagner (Head of Purchasing (EMEA/Indirects), Siegwerk).

There was consensus among the experts that logistics companies had to come to terms with the "new normality" in the best possible way. They should not fail to learn from this intensive period: logistics companies should invest more money and time in the development of application scenarios in the future. The discussion participants also recommended that the tendency should be to increase warehouse stocks, and that the supplier landscape should be precisely defined in order to reassess risks in the supply chain. For Stephan Schiller, it was also clear: "In the end, supply chains will be designed by the end consumer - in other words, we all have a responsibility to create the necessary framework conditions.

The crisis would also reveal the importance of sustainable management in the future. Prof. Dr. habil. Lisa Fröhlich and Alexander Nowroth agreed: “We need to rethink our global supply chains - away from pure efficiency thinking and towards a clear commitment to sustainable value and trust in supplier-procurer relationships. This is the only way to manage the risks of global pandemics such as the current Corona crisis. Quality was and will always be the most effective way out of a crisis.”

CBS International Business School

CBS International Business School is a state-recognised private university of applied sciences for business. We offer accredited Bachelor's, Master's and MBA degree programmes in German and English on a full-time or part-time basis. Throughout Germany, the university is represented at three locations in Cologne, Mainz, and Potsdam.

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