Supply Chain Trends and Challenges with the Deusto Business School

When the supply chain is put under pressure, logistical intelligence comes to the rescue with one primary objective: to free up, imagine, and emphasise that now more than ever logistics is one of the most important drivers of the global economy. Taking care of our logistics department is crucial nowadays, a safe bet and essential for any organisation and its supply chain to function properly. At this key moment in the run-up to the Black Friday and Christmas campaigns, and with the Glasgow Summit as a backdrop, we are trying to turn the spotlight onto these current business and sustainability challenges that concern us.

For that reason, on Friday 5 November, VASCO, in collaboration with Deusto Business Alumni, organised a seminar open to professionals and the media to explore the current challenges and trends of the supply chain. A debate chaired by our colleague Yolanda Bautista, CEO at Deal Logistics Consulting, who kicked things off with an interesting reflection: “Managing the supply chain nowadays is a heroic quest. You have to be sustainable, multi-channel, flexible, fast, you have to customise for the customer who has access to everything. We need a transformation if everything around us is changing and we are not.” For Jon Azarloza, CEO of VASCO and a participant in this round table discussion, the path is clear: digitalisation and creativity at the service of the customer: “Each player within the supply chain has its own system, and the customer likes to see a global view of their business; the future lies in integration tools. With 5G technology, Big Data, Block Chain, and artificial intelligence, we are finally seeing information transparency and much-needed traceability, which is turned into sustainability and speed.”

That is why, always from the perspective of knowledge, and with a view to giving hope to professionals in logistics and procurement, as well as making this new situation increasingly more accessible to our society, we had the pleasure of welcoming two eminent speakers.

Alberto Madariaga, Chief Operating Officer of Eroski and Chairman of the AECOC Logistics Committee, illustrated the resilience that has forged a path for the main retail distributor of Mondragón Corporación. For this organisation, undoubtedly, the increase in e-commerce and last-mile operations are the great challenges they face, and logistics are key to this. Charles Kirby, director of supply chain and sustainability at  Tubacex, put his industrial vision into context for us: “industry has never had to deal with a shock in supply costs of this magnitude, not even during the oil crisis. The prices of some raw materials have skyrocketed and there’s no way to protect ourselves from this.”

We like hearing from these companies, because, as Yolanda Bautista mentioned in her speech, “there are many internal duties, but we have to look beyond, even outside the organisation.” The supply chain requires both internal and collaborative work. We can’t stay as we are and face these new challenges: diversify suppliers, design before assisting with technology, and also join the “co-petition” movement (collaboration + competition). Innovative ideas that offer nothing but advantages and bring fresh perspectives to an industry that needs to improve its productivity.

Here at VASCO, this is a universe that we have been dealing with for years (50 years no less). The supply chain is always a strategic asset, seeking collaborative innovation, and “fighting for sustainability,” in the words of Naiara Tobalina, managing director of Deusto Business Alumni.

Through logistical intelligence, the talent of our people, their experience and knowledge, we find solutions so that our companies and clients continue to grow, always by means of logistics viewed as an opportunity.

You can watch Yolanda Bautista’s presentation and the round table discussion here:

Photo gallery:

We would like to thank all those who attended, the organisers, and the media representatives who took part (El Correo, ETB, TVE, Cinco Días, Empresa XXI, Transporte XXI, Crónica Vasca, Diario del Puerto, Diario Vasco).