HPCLC Spring Meeting recap

On March 24-26, more than 100 supply chain and logistics professionals convened in Philadelphia for the semiannual Health and Personal Care Logistic Conference (HPCLC). Since the 1920s, HPCLC has been addressing relevant and current topics facing logistics professionals in the health and personal care product sectors. This most recent conference was no different, as the sessions and presentations focused on the transportation “capacity crunch” that most firms find themselves trying to strategically navigate.

With a theme of “Transformational Logistics: Addressing the ‘Capacity Crunch’ through Change and Innovation,” the conference focused on how transformational approaches to managing logistics can play a role in proactively managing and mitigating the effects of emerging transportation capacity concerns. Sessions highlighted strategic and tactical best practices in areas such as change management, contracting, transportation network optimization, forecasting, and operational planning.

Featured talks included an opening keynote address by Caterpillar’s General Manager of Outbound Transportation, Doug Gray, who shared their journey to a more visible transportation infrastructure. Also, representatives from Johnson & Johnson and Alcon Laboratories shared examples of how pallet optimization and transportation yard tracking technologies are resulting in better transportation capacity utilization.

Industry sponsors of the event were: Crowley, Kenco Group, Green Mountain Consulting, Landstar, Magno International, Panalpina, QProducts & Services, Total Quality Inc. (TQI) and Transaver.

The theme for the Fall Meeting was announced: “Mega Trends: Major Themes Impacting the Strategy and Practice of HPC Supply Chain Management.” For the first time, the conference will be held in Chicago, IL on October 12-15. For more information visit www.hpclcnet.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles T. Bennett is a member of the Board of Directors of the Health and Personal Care Logistics Conference, Inc. He is also Director, Global Specialty & Cold Chain Logistics for Pfizer, Inc., in Collegeville, PA.