On 24.03.2022 Packwise, represented by Managing Director Gesche Weger, was allowed to participate in a panel discussion as part of the NHA Demo Days. Together with Dr. Martin Schwemmer, Co-Managing Director of the German Logistics Association and Dr. Kai D. Kreisköther, CEO of DroidDrive GmbH (Ducktrain), the topic of "Supply Chain Challenges" was discussed under the moderation of Nina Beike, PwC. Specifically, it was about the current situation, but also innovations and the future of supply chain management.
After a brief introduction to supply chain management and its goals, the topic was discussed in the context of crises and supply shortages. The fact that these can affect any company at any time is clearer today than ever before. For this reason, supply chain management should ideally play a preventive role.
However, since many risks cannot be taken into account in advance because they are simply not known, supply chain management takes on the central role of damage limitation and must be able to respond to all developments to ensure that critical processes in the company continue to run. From raw material supply, to production, to shipping to the customer. This is where resilience comes into play: "The earlier I recognize the problem, the earlier I can act, the further ahead I am of the competition, the more resilient my supply chain is." - Says Gesche Weger.
In the further course of the discussion, the future of supply chain management was discussed. In this context, Packwise Managing Director Gesche Weger clearly highlighted two points that she believes will play a central role in the future: On the one hand, supply chains must not only become more transparent through the use of data, but also more predictable in order to be able to make better predictions about specific events. In this context, customer and supplier are merging in the B2B environment. On the other hand, it is clearly a matter of reliable relationships rather than just price. If you have a good relationship with the customer or supplier, you will clearly position yourself as a pioneer.
In conclusion, Gesche Weger says customers should address three issues in particular to ensure long-term success: Data visibility for more transparency, planning with risk scenarios for hedging, and sustainability and efficiency to reduce the environmental footprint.