World Trade Group “rethinks” how business is done

If you find yourself wondering how executives in other companies and industries cope with globalization, the skills shortage, and economic shortfalls, you're a prime candidate for membership in the World Trade Group (WTG).

Since 1999, this London-based organization has been sponsoring conferences that give forward-thinking manufacturing and supply chain executives a chance to network with like-minded peers.

WTG's next event—May 13-15, Düsseldorf—is the 10th annual European Supply Chain and Logistics Summit. The 4th annual European PLM Summit will take place June 23-25 in Toulouse, France, and the group returns to Düsseldorf October 6-9 for the 4th annual European Manufacturing Summit.

Oliver Sloane, a group director for WTG, says the supply chain summit will “explore issues such as the increasingly global nature of business and its effect on supply chains.”

Speakers include Matthew Costello, a senior VP with Sweden-based Sony Ericsson; and Walter Clements, associate director of global security with Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble (P&G).

Costello will detail how Sony Ericsson created an end-to-end supply chain, linking customers with back-end operations, and creating more robust connections with those customers. He also will describe Sony Ericsson's development of innovative energy conservation technology, and the work being done to meet global demand for sustainable business operations.

Clements will reveal the success behind P&G's latest risk-assessment programs, and the work its Loss Oversight Team has done in diffusing supply chain risk and threats.

Sloane says the value of the WTC summits is found in the profile of the attendees.

“They are senior executives with at least a national responsibility in their particular disciplines,” he says. “That means they are typically at the VP level or above,” adding that WTG is committed to continuously connecting with “people who are trying to shape their industries by rethinking how things are being done.”