The Schneider Electric Plant located in Lexington, Kentucky opened its doors in 1958. While a brownfield plant this age may seem an unlikely candidate for world-leading sustainability results, the facility was named one of the first three Sustainability Lighthouses globally by the World Economic Forum in 2021. How? Lexington is part of Schneider Electric’s global smart factory and distribution center initiative encompassing nearly 300 factories and logistics centers in more than 40 countries. This initiative aims to address the fundamental challenge of sustainability while increasing profitability and efficiency. Sustainability has always been a priority for Schneider, and one of the pillars of STRIVE, our strategy to be the most agile, innovative, planet- and customer-centric supply chain. STRIVE is part of Schneider Electric’s vision that electrification and digitization are inextricable tools in the fight against climate change. We believe digital is the enabler for a more resilient, agile, sustainable supply chain, and should be the number one priority for companies to focus on. The Lexington plant is proof positive of the impact digital can have and why it's good for the planet.

Customer centric and intelligent supply chains have never been as important. With an historic shift in consumer demand and digital acceleration, price is no longer the main competitive differentiator when it comes to customer fulfilment. Creating and delivering a supply chain which is innovative, hyper personalized and forward thinking is key to gaining competitive advantage.

Companies are under mounting pressure from regulators, investors, consumers, and employees to progress toward more sustainable and socially responsible business operations - and to demonstrate these measures in a robust and verifiable way. In fact, corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability risks tied as the third highest concerns for organizations, as ranked by large corporations in a 2021 Forrester report.

•How would you describe your organization’s approach to address your primary sustainability goals?
•How do you currently manage the complexity of ESG reporting and compliance?
•How are you exploring new/existing technology related to sustainability?

Businesses have always had to prepare for unexpected supply chain disruptions. From natural disasters to logistical issues such as overbooked ports, blocked canals, and driver shortages. Not to mention, global pandemics. Supply chains have truly been tested in the past two years, and weak spots have been exposed.
Organizations are finding that current systems and processes are not well-suited to allow them to be nimble or agile enough to adapt to the changed circumstances. Businesses everywhere are re-evaluating, looking at planning and execution methodologies with fresh focus.
So how do you prepare for the unknown? And how do you ensure that your supply chains remain agile and nimble to overcome disruptions as and when they happen?

•What issues have been exposed in regard to sales and operational execution?
•How can new emerging technologies be implemented seamlessly and create little disruption?
•What simple supply chain efficiencies are continuously overlooked?

Consistent, on-time order delivery is the benchmark for high customer satisfaction. But disruptions such as conflicting channel demands, port closures and cross-border trade regulations challenge companies to orchestrate and fulfil orders to meet rising customer expectations. Carbon footprint and broader CSR is rising on the agenda and supply chains are key to deliver on that ask. From human capital perspective, while the need for new analytical skills and leadership was always growing, the pandemic means that the health and availability of operational staff needs to be closely monitored too. Finally, cost pressures on supply chain leaders are always there and any of the above doesn’t mean that new funding is readily available.
Using Data driven decision making takes central stage as the supply chain leaders aim to balance these 5Cs – cost, customer experience, compliance, CSR, and human capital. How can you leverage the data you are receiving and prioritize to positive impact? What tools, such as cloud and IoT, can help keep your supply chain resilient and moving towards CSR goals?

•How can you leverage technology to better reach your CSR strategic goals from your supply chain?
•How are you utilizing your data to create better experiences for both internal employees and to your external customers or suppliers?
•What technologies help hit 5 C’s and transform supply chain efficiency?

Achieving a low carbon future with Net Zero Pledges while driving optimization across supply chains is fraught with challenges. Several forces have pushed sustainability to the top of the agenda. Investors and financial markets are increasingly demanding a compelling environmental, social, and governance (ESG) plan and a path to net-zero carbon emissions. As expectations rise and global regulations expand, many organizations still do not have a solution to the current climate math equation.
The challenges in the value chain includes energy efficiency, technology, emissions reporting, auditing, emissions modeling (configuration and calculations), operations, and process optimization. Having a solution at every point of your value chain is critical. ML and AI can provide real-time enterprise-wide emission, energy intensity and forecasting data.
So, do you have a Sustainability Leadership Organization in place along with the infrastructure, logistics, practices, training, and education to support it? Are you currently evaluating your operations and supply chain for end-to-end transparency, traceability, and optimization? And do you have mature reporting, audit, and emissions management practices in place?

Retail supply chains are continuously rethinking and testing new online fulfillment offerings in the marketplace. In this session, participants will actively discuss their fulfillment offerings, the race towards faster fulfillment (think same- and next-day delivery) and contrast this with initiatives built around divergent thinking such as incentivizing consumers to use slower delivery options.

We’ve all participated in the conversation of ''Customer at the Center'', but do we really know how to do it?
Developing purposeful measures around Industry differentiated promise, how you perform against it, and how customers review your performance, is what purposeful measures are and how you put the Customer at the Center.
Closing our Leadership Summit is Rick Bingle, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Mattress Firm. Understand how Rick and his team are driving purposeful supply chains through their Promise, Performance and Perceptions to keep the Customer at the Centre.