Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Hon’ble Founder, KIIT and KISS in his virtual message for the conclave said that the Covid -19 pandemic has been the center of human existential chaos throughout the world, which has affected the manufacturers in an extraordinary and unexpected way. With the decline in demand, supply and workforce, the industries are driven into the gloom. Before the COVID 19 pandemic, Indian firms have focused on interconnected and lean supply chains to ameliorate the gaps through increased efficiency of supply chains. However, the pandemic has exposed most Indian firms to severe supply chain disruptions (SCDs) due to undiscovered supply chain vulnerabilities. Prof. Satya Narayan Mishra, Dean, KIIT School of Management conveyed the message of the Founder to the audience.

 Dr. S K Mahapatra, Director, KSOM in his introductory address welcomed the esteemed dignitaries and introduced the theme of the conclave. He spoke about supply chain interruptions in the current industrial scenario. He drew an interesting analogy comparing the story of human civilization to the history of supply chain management.

Dr. Sasmita Samanta, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, KIIT DU talked about the importance of the development of supply chain in line with the industry’s attempts to build a trustworthy connection, not just with the organizations, but with the globe as a whole. She said while the pandemic has exposed much vulnerability in the supply chain industry, technology can only be one of the tools to address the same. The critical factor will always be human resources especially the young generation who needs to develop and acquire critical thinking skills to solve problems at hand.

Mr. Pushkar Singh, CEO  & Founder, LetsTransport as the first keynote speaker. Mr. Singh talked about the intricacy of truckers interacting with major firms, as well as how the company’s platform has helped democratize truckers’ access to enterprises and improve the cost factor dramatically for organizations. He talked about the evolution of supply chain management and cited that a few years ago no one envisaged things like cash on delivery and return/pick ups. He was impressed that such conclaves are being held where such a large talent pool can discuss the future of supply chain management in the next 5 to 10 years

Mr. Sathish Narayanan, MD & CEO – Principal Consultant, Chools Group delivered the second keynote speech. Mr. Narayanan drew a fascinating analogy from the ‘Mahabharata’ to convey the notion of supply chain management. He compared today’s supply chain challenges and solutions with the ancient times and spoke about how one can learn and adapt from those times.

Dr. Sushanta Tripathy, Convener offered vote of thanks to the dignitaries, organisers and participants.

The inaugural session was followed by two panel discussions. The first panel discussion was on the topic – “Supply Chain Disruption & Resilience”. It was moderated by the conclave Convener Dr. Sushanta Tripathy, School of Mechanical Engineering, KIIT DU. The panel discussed the challenges and key issues experienced in the supply chain industry and how the pandemic has adversely affected the industry. The panelists discussed how they tackled the unprecedented situation in their respective firms and highlighted their learnings. They discussed about various types of risk in supply chain management like warehouse risk, political risk, supplier risk, manufacturing risk, and pandemic risk.

The second panel discussion was on the topic – “Supply Chain Digitization”. It was moderated by Dr. Brajaballav Kar, KIIT School of Management. The panelists discussed about the implementation, challenges and effect of digitization in their respective firms. The panel concurred on the significance of data collection and maintenance and how digitalization helps improve forecast accuracy & data flow in supply chain management. The panel also opined that digitization is a necessity, not a choice and at the same time it is not the absolute solution to all supply chain related problems.

The second half of the conclave consisted of five interactive workshops with topics related to supply chain and e-commerce, the growing shift towards automation in SC, transport management and logistics. The conclave was powered by KIIT School of Management in association with School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Computer Engineering The conclave provided the students with an opportunity to interact with business leaders and policy makers from across the nation for holistic learning. The conclave was able to create a digital platform to connect industry professionals, academia and students.