Supply Chains for Resilience and Sustainability in Uncertain Times

Background

The race to net zero, heightened geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological advances, and economic volatility, are just some of the pressures facing organisations today. These present serious challenges to supply chain professionals, who now face increasingly complex decisions in an ever-competitive environment. Since the emergence of these challenges, supply chain resilience, sustainability and regeneration have moved to the top of many agendas and to address them requires research and interdisciplinary collaboration.

This event will serve as a forum for those involved in supply chain management to converge alongside leading experts in the field from the University of Bristol Business School. There will be opportunities to discuss and share experiences and knowledge and explore the potential for co-created research and engagement activities related to these issues. The University of Bristol Business School has wide-ranging research expertise in areas including supply chain resilience, robustness, sustainability, and regeneration. Additionally, this includes research techniques such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and operational research and management science methods. The event will provide an opportunity for participants to learn from each other and promote discussion on the key issues and challenges, as well as highlighting the value that academic research can bring to navigating risks and uncertainties in the areas of focus for the event.

Event Aims and Objectives

This half day event will bring together leading academics with supply chain leaders, technologists, and strategy leaders to highlight how the latest research can help build resilience and sustainability into supply chains. The parallel sessions have a focus on manufacturing, critical imports (such as semiconductors), and food security, meaning the event is of relevance to a variety of sectors, including but not limited to, space, defence, aerospace, transportation and logistics, energy, FMCG, retail, agriculture, and food production.

The challenges highlighted above will be discussed by experts from industry and academia in a mixture of formats including parallel sessions, co-productive groups and a panel discussion. These challenges will be positioned in the context of regional, national and international markets and will cover:

• Building resilience and robustness into supply chains

• Role of digital technologies and advanced analytical techniques

• Sustainability and net zero

• Regenerative supply chains

Starting at 09.30, the event includes a short introduction, followed by two parallel sessions and related co-production group discussions. It will finish with a panel discussion and Q&A before a networking lunch. Another key feature is an exhibition showcasing the latest supply chain research from the University of Bristol Business School.

Provisional Programme 

Panellists (in alphabetical order)

Jennifer Johns is Interdisciplinarity Director at the University of Bristol Business School. Her academic expertise lies in developing sustainable and resilient supply chains using digital technologies, drawing on different disciplinary perspectives to understand the spatial reconfiguration of global value chains.

Dr Lucy McCarthy is an Associate Professor at the University of Bristol Business School. Her work focuses on food systems and reconnecting citizens to their food. Lucy is particularly interested in ecologically led and farmer centric approaches.

Stephen Phipson CBE became Chief Executive of Make UK in 2017 having previously held the position of Head of the Defence and Security Organisation within the Department for International Trade delivering support to UK defence and security businesses. Prior to this Stephen held the position of Director for Security Industry Engagement within the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office where he was the Senior Responsible Owner within Government for the UK security industry.

Palie Smart is a Professor in Operations Management and currency holds the role of Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Civic Engagement at the University of Bristol. This role involves working closely with the City of Bristol partners as well as national and international collaborators. Previously Palie was the Head of the School of Management at Bristol. Her research interests are focussed on new models of innovation for sustainable business, and she has been published in world leading and internationally excellent academic journals.

Professor Brian Squire is Deputy Dean at the University of Bristol Business School with a portfolio that includes Education, Finance & Planning, Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus and International Engagement. Professor Squire’s academic expertise lies in operations and supply chain management, examining properties that create resilience, sustainability and innovation.

Mat Thewlis is Operations Director and member of the executive team for Yeo Valley. Mat has worked for Yeo Valley for 5 years and is overall accountable for their manufacturing and supply chain operations with 1,600 employees in Somerset and the South West. He is also responsible for research and future strategy in the areas of data & systems, energy & carbon reduction, food science, and new technologies & automation. Mat is a Fellow of the IMechE with 25 years working in fast moving consumer goods.

Chris Wrigley is a partner and leading member of the Osborne Clarke ESG team. He helps clients develop effective ESG strategies, including understanding and meeting supply chain due diligence obligations.

Minhao Zhang is an Associate Professor in Operations Management at the University of Bristol. He co-leads the supply chain analysis work stream in REWIRE, an £11 million Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) funded by EPSRC, aimed at developing the next generation of semiconductor power electronics. His research interests focus on global supply chain management and the application of unstructured data analytics in business.