Time for CSCMP’s 2014 Annual Global Conference

While it feels somewhat hard to fathom, the stage is set for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The timing for this year’s conference in that there will be a lot of heavy hitters in the industry from both inside and outside the four walls.

And as usual, from an editorial perspective, there is more than enough to cover and learn about both at the sessions but also catching up with old friends in the hallways between sessions, and at networking functions, too, of course.

The timing is also beneficial due to the fact that there is a lot cooking in the sectors we cover and many questions to ask about different things like trucking capacity and regulations, rail and intermodal service, careers within the logistics and supply chain sectors, service collaboration between shippers and carriers, 3PL trends, and a whole host of other things, too.

With so much going on and to do next week, things will be hectic to say the least. Logistics Management (Peerless Media) will be in attendance at CSCMP and you can expect to see a lot of post-conference coverage on Logistics Managements Website upon my return late next week and into the next week and beyond for certain.

As has been noted in this space in recent years, with keynote speakers, sessions, and networking, there is plenty going on at this event, and these things are all key components of it.

That is what usually makes it worth the time, effort, and resources to attend. Like I noted last year: how often are you in the same place with about 3,000 other people that are there to learn about all the different things going on in the supply chain and logistics world?

There really is more going on at CSCMP than there is time to actually get to everything you want to do for certain. That said, you need to come in with a plan to cover your bases in order to see what you want to see and learn what you want to learn. That is easier said than done, of course, but it gets more manageable as time goes on, it seems.

Another great takeaway is that CSCMP does not discriminate when it comes to what you can learn with 20-plus sessions ranging from transportation to warehousing and distribution to case studies to, well, you get the idea.

While sitting in sessions and listening to industry experts update and teach us about what is happening in our industry, there is also time to catch up with old friends and make new ones, too. There are people whom I only see at CSCMP, and when we catch up it is easy to pick up where we left off from the year before.

Even if the host city changes on an annual basis, the themes of learning and networking do not. There is never a dull moment. Can it be draining at the end of a long day at CSCMP? Of course, it can (and will) be. But I bet you anything you will be saying it was time well spent.

I look forward to seeing you this week in San Antonio.