Last week at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, ISM World 2024 provided education and networking opportunities for over 2,000 professionals in procurement and supply chain. The focus of this year’s event was on reimagining the future of supply chains; specifically, challenging the status quo, embracing innovation, and fostering a mindset that transcends boundaries.
Our team was on the ground in Las Vegas and had the opportunity to discuss the future of supply chain risk management with fellow industry peers and attendees. We also had our ROI calculator on hand to demonstrate to booth visitors how to calculate the ROI of their supply chain resiliency technology.
From our booth to our sponsorship of the women’s panel session, here are our top takeaways from ISM World 2024.
The need to train emerging supply chain leaders now
This year, Resilinc sponsored the “Women’s Supply Management Community: Voice of the Emerging Leader” session, supported in partnership by ISM and Power Your Impact. This interactive session featuring Shami Anand, Founder of Power Your Impact, and Dan Zeiger of ISM, focused on the voice of emerging women leaders in the profession, and addressed the need to upskill the next generation of supply chain talent to offset high labor retirement forecasts. According to a study from Protected Lifetime Income, 2024 marks a record-breaking year for retirement, with an average of 11,000 Americans expected to celebrate their 65th birthday, in what some are dubbing a “silver tsunami”.
“The female speakers also discussed what emerging and senior leaders find important in the workplace,” confirmed Resilinc’s Kylie Schmid, who introduced the session and its speakers. “Work-life balance was a big one, along with sustainability.” Through a diverse panel and roundtable networking discussion, attendees walked away with a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead for women.
AI and modernizing the supply chain is a key priority
AI took center stage at ISM World 2024. The conference’s first session, “Procurement’s AI Governance Playbook: Managing AI Across your Supply Base,” discussed an interesting trend. Suppliers are adopting AI faster than procurement teams. This thought-provoking session explored how this can lead to both risks and opportunities.
Additionally, Generative AI, was top of mind as various panels explored its influence on supply chain, including:
- Generative AI Explained: from Leaders at Google and Tesla
- Generative AI for the Modern Supply Chain: Inventory Management and Beyond
- Generative AI: Hallucinations and Real-World Applications
- How to transform your supply chain using Generative AI
- The Future of Procurement: Leveraging GenAI for Competitive Advantage
AI continued to be a hot topic at our booth as well. We engaged with attendees to educate them regarding our hybrid approach to sub-tier mapping through the Resilinc Multi-tier Mapping™ solution, which leverages both AI and supplier-validated data to deliver unmatched mapping accuracy down to the part-site level. Curious to learn more? Check out our blog, Predictive AI vs. Generative AI in Supply Chain Management.
ISM continues its commitment to advancing the supply management profession
ISM is dedicated to helping foster and grow the supply chain management profession. This shone through at this year’s conference with powerful sessions like the Supercharged Leadership Workshops. These workshops covered the six “superchargers”—strategy, inclusion, connectivity, collective intelligence, learning, and agility—that will help leaders deal with challenges and build true long-term capability as procurement leaders.
Another panel our team found insightful was “The Future of the Profession: The Critical Role of Soft Skills.” At Resilinc, we provide customers with powerful supply chain risk management solutions powered by AI-driven technology, but the people who pilot our powerful tech are even more valuable. This session discussed the strategic skills of influence, collaboration, and communication needed to thrive in the world of supply chain.
Empower your supply chain journey
As we reflect on the key takeaways from ISM World 2024, we invite you to continue the conversation and explore how Resilinc’s solutions can empower your organization. Want to understand the transformative potential of our SCRM software firsthand? Try out our ROI calculator today and discover how much your organization can save using supply chain resiliency technology.
