I have just returned home after a week in Las Vegas at ASCM 2019. Our staff and volunteers made the event a huge success — I couldn’t be prouder of their dedication and talent.

There were so many highlights this year: The conference kicked off with keynote speaker Fareed Zakaria, CNN Worldwide host, Washington Post columnist and best-selling author, who motivated attendees to take another look at their supply chains in order to thrive within the incredible complexity of Globalization 3.0.

Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, shared her lessons learned from a career in the cockpit at Mach 2: “When you are working toward high performance in this rapidly changing environment, you must show up as a fearless leader. You have to show up with courage and operate with tenacity — and know what to do when things go sideways.”

One of my favorite parts of ASCM 2019 was a new offering this year. ASCM engaged a mural artist to talk with attendees, learn about what motivates them as supply chain professionals and then add their visual testimonials to the mural in real time. It gave people from all across the globe a place to interact and be a part of a collaborative dialogue about the power of supply chains to improve lives.

The mural represented people’s thoughts about the value of diverse teams working together to achieve common objectives. It depicted people’s goals for transparent, end-to-end networks; businesses having the capability to care for patients everywhere by getting them critical, life-saving medicines; female supply chain leaders being intentional about serving future women in the field; and always viewing supply chain through a sustainability lens.

The mural captured emotions and demonstrated the essential connections that all supply chain organizations and professionals must strive for each and every day. Seeing these things visually really brought to life the incredible impact of supply chains and undoubtedly inspired ASCM 2019 attendees to return to their organizations with even more dedication to harness the power of supply chains to create a better world. 

I look forward to creating another mural at ASCM 2020 in New Orleans. I hope you will save the date, September 13-15, so you can add your voice and share your unique perspectives with your fellow supply chain professionals from around the world.