Agenda • October 19

Registration and Coffee

Session 12: Industry Leaders Breakfast

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

Supply Chain Professionals are changing the way business is done; however, many business leaders and organizations may not realize the true value of the role. Many confuse the role with procurement, and while supply chain professionals provide good and services at the right time, at the right price, the role can be much more strategic to all departments. Supply chain professionals generate and share ideas that improve the supply chain system and create more competitive companies. During this session, we’ll discuss why organizations should incorporate supply chain professionals into their businesses, why supply chain managers should have a seat at the executive table, and how having robust supply chains are critical to the competitiveness and survival of your business.

Moderator:

Rajbir S Bhatti, PhD, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of International Business & Supply Chain Management, Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University

Panel Members:

Doug Romanuk, Senior Vice President, West Region, Bison Transport Inc.

Fernando Lamk, B.Eng., MBA, SCMP, Director, Supply Chain Management, Edmonton Regional Airports Authority

Thiago Braga, Director Supply Chain Management & Chief of Logistics, City of Edmonton

Session 13: Supply Chain Financing, How to Make it Your Ally

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

For a variety of reasons, global supply chains for businesses large and small have been disrupted over the past two years, and the future looks equally challenging. One of the most important components of a company’s supply chain, is related to finance. With innovative financing options in front you, you can approach your supply chain challenges from a different perspective. Banks and other Financial Institutions have various solutions and government agencies can bring unique ways of mitigating various related financial risks. During this session, our expert panelists will explore supply-chain finance related matters and provide available solutions on the market that will be able to deliver better outcomes to various businesses.

Moderator:

Samir Musayev, Senior Business Development Manager, Global Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBC Bank Canada

Panel Members:

Karen Shaw, District Manager - Prairies  | Commercial Markets and Small Business, Export Development Canada

Jason Palmer, Head of Sales for Canada, Global Trade and Receivables Finance, HSBC Bank Canada

Joel Voisin, Sales and Import Manager, Precision Trading

Session 14: Digital Procurement Software, Created by Supply Chain and Product Management Experts

(Blackfoot Crossing B)

Current SCM is a digital procurement software created by supply chain and product management experts to meet the highly sophisticated and underserved needs of project-orientated companies.  

Current SCM is purpose built to regulate a business’ supply chain and procurement operations efficiently and effectively with minimal overhead and training. Providing a much-needed solution to modern digital procurement. We aim to provide an innovative and universal procurement management system. Allowing you to control your supply chain from materials sourcing to end user clients.

Current SCM is a subsidiary of Vista Projects which has been recognized consistently as a ‘Best Employer’ and won numerous ‘Best Managed Companies in Canada’ awards. 

Vista has engineering over one-third of Alberta’s oil producing facilities (measured by Bpd), with projects ranging from $10K to $5B in total installed cost. 

Presenters: 

Melissa Stockley, Procurement Lead, Vista Projects

Rizwan Hassan, Project Services Director, Vista Projects

Session 15: Myth Busting Federal Government Procurement

(Blackfoot Crossing B)

Are you interested in selling your goods and services to the federal government?  Wondering if the government buys what you sell?  Would you like to know how to find contracting, sub-contracting and supply chain opportunities? Please join us to learn more about federal government procurement processes and opportunities.

Presenter: Kris Ruiter, Chief, Stakeholder Engagement, Procurement Assistance Canada (PAC), Public Services and Procurement Canada – Western Region / Government of Canada

Networking Break

Session 16: Where Did They All Go?

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

During this presentation, Sean will shine a light on the HR side of Supply Chain. There are labour shortages everywhere - but no one seems to know where all of the employees have gone. Let's get to the bottom of this problem once and for all.

Presenter: Sean Baker, Senior Recruiter, MacDonald Search Group

Session 17: Supply Chain Challenges and Opportunities - A Young Entrepreneurs Perspective with a Multi-Industry Lense

(Blackfoot Crossing B)

This fireside chat will explore the challenges within supply chains over the past few years; along with unique and creative ways that businesses are capitalizing on opportunities to support more stability in locally sourced supply chains. 

Presenters:

Lesley Williams, Director, Park Paving

Shauna Feth, President and CEO, Alberta Chambers of Commerce

Session 18: The Strategy Behind Selecting the Right Location for Your Business Matters

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

When you select a new location to launch, expand or move your business, it has a great impact on your supply chain. Does your business require access to rail, trucking routes, airports? Are you aligned to have your suppliers and customers close by? Or can your new location help you find new customers and suppliers? During this session Chris will introduce you to the idea of working closely with regional economic development offices to select the right location.

Moderator: Chris Steele, CEO & President, EBP

Panel Members:

Tim Feduniw, Director of Sustainable Economic Development, City of Selkirk

Manisha Arora, Director of Trade, Edmonton Global

Networking Break

Keynote Luncheon - The Trials and Tribulations within the Retail Sector, and How Industry is Moving Forward 

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

Moderator: Mario Toneguzzi, Senior News Editor, Retail Insider

Panel Members:

Luke O'Hare, Director, Logistics and Supply Chain Distribution, Urban Barn

Jeff Starnaman, Vice President, Human Resources and Supply Chain Operations, London Drugs

Networking Break

Session 19: Special Presentation, presented by CITT - Canada's Logistic Association

(Blackfoot Crossing D)

Canada’s Logistics Association, will provide insights, strategies and best practices for tackling the accelerating talent shortage in the supply chain & logistics sector. You’ll learn about refining your Employee Value Position to attract and retain talent with a package that goes above compensation in this hyper-competitive market.  

CITT has been training and certifying logistics professionals for over 60 years. Today, it also works with employers of all sizes to develop their people with courses, group training, career path development, and more. 

Presenter: Pina Melchionna, BA, LL.B, MBA, ICD.D, President & CEO, CITT 

Session 20: Technology Spotlight: What Cool Tech Companies are Working On

(Blackfoot Crossing B)

During this session, you'll hear from companies that a disrupting supply chains by doing things differently. You will learn firsthand from from these technology gurus on cool products and services that can streamline your supply chain and move your business to the next level.

Speakers:

Kwame Asiedu, Co-CEO, Braintoy Inc.

Leveraging data with low-code/no-code AI in Supply Chain to drive competitive advantage: SCM organizations and professionals are leveraging their data with no-code AI to transform from being reactive to being proactive. As a result, they are improving inefficiencies, reducing costs, and increasing profits. Is your organization struggling with AI adoption because it's too confusing, too expensive or labour intensive? In this talk, we will demystify AI and share with you why and how easy it is for SCM organizations to enjoy the triple benefits of AI. You will also learn some of the problems SCM professionals are solving to drive positive business outcomes.

Rosy Amlani, Chief Executive Officer, ColdChase

ColdChase is an Alberta corporation that has developed a global asset tracking system for traceability of shipments and storage of highly sensitive goods such as fresh and frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, live animals, chemicals, beverages and highly sensitive equipment. It is an IoT technology. ColdChase multi-sensors provide detailed, accurate, global, real-time supply chain monitoring from producer to customer ensuring awareness of the position, integrity, and environment of shipments.  Our system provides end to end cold chain monitoring of environmental conditions. Monitoring includes:  location, temperature, pressure, humidity, light, vibration and shock. The limits of each parameter can be individually configured, and any limit excursion is traceable throughout the entire supply chain. Our system provides an audit trail for compliance management.

Olivier Aubin, Co-founder, Dianomix Inc.

Dianomix Inc. is an innovative Canadian technology startup developing autonomous last-mile delivery solutions, with the goal of drastically reducing the cost and carbon footprint of traditional delivery methods. No doubt, AI and autonomy will profoundly disrupt the supply chains and last-mile delivery industry in the future, but Dianomix is offering a more practical solution, betting on sidewalk and bike-lane-based semi-autonomous robots, reducing the time to market, being able to deliver the technology today, before solving the more complex challenge of a fully autonomous on-road vehicle. Besides the focus on a feasible hybrid human/autonomous solution, a considerable effort goes on developing systems required to maintain maximum safety for pedestrians, pets, delivery robots and cargo.

Jeff LaFrenz, President, VizworX Inc.

VizworX specializes in transforming large, complex data sets into comprehensive solutions as an enterprise software development company. We integrate immersive technology, custom data visualizations, artificial intelligence and machine learning to create innovative and flexible custom enterprise applications. Our dedicated experts work collaboratively with our customers to create powerful digital enterprise software and engaging experiences.