LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 2, 2021) Registration is now open for the 11th Annual Supply Chain Forum presented by the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics and sponsored by BlueWorld Supply Chain Consulting LLC. The free virtual event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. daily on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17. See the program agenda for more information and to register.

The 2021 forum’s theme is “Thriving Through Disruption” and will feature a keynote presentation by Regina Lemgruber at Estee Lauder. Other speakers will include Haoying Sun, director of the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program at the Gatton College; Monique Picou with Google; and Karin Bursa with NIRAKIO. A panel moderated by Eric Wilson of the Institute of Business Planning and Forecasting will feature Aimee Peacock of FLEXcon, Tim Engstrom of Essendant and Billy Spears of Lexmark.

“Beyond the recent focus on global supply chain disruptions, more large and small businesses are making strategic supply chain investments to innovate and stay competitive,” said Simon Sheather, dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics. “There has never been a better time to thrive as supply chain professionals than right now." 

Hosted by the Don and Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center at the Gatton College, the 2021 forum brings together national-caliber supply chain leaders who are practitioners, academics and consultants. It has two main purposes: to allow businesses to share their supply chain initiatives with each other to promote inter-organizational learning, and to engage with University of Kentucky MBA students working on supply chain improvement projects. These projects will be discussed during a session on Project Connect Teams.

The program will include the presentation of the 7th Annual Commonwealth Supply Chain Innovation Award Sponsored by SAS Institute, Inc. This award honors organizations that have demonstrated operational excellence in supply chain management. Past honorees include Escalade Sports, Lexmark International, TempurSealy Inc., RJ Corman, and Toyota Motor North America.

For more information, contact Lorna Patches, executive director of the Professional Resource Center, at lornapatches@uky.edu.