SCM4ECR Conference 2016

The Academic Partnership 2016 SCM4ECR Conference  organized by the SCM-ECR Laboratory, The Faculty of Economic Sciences, Valahia University of Târgovişte – in collaboration with Czestochowa University of Technology (Poland), Romanian Logistics Association – ARILOG, University Politehnica of Bucharest (Faculty of Transports), Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Faculty of Marketing & Faculty of Business and Tourism), and Romanian-American University (Faculty of Management-Marketing) – took place from 28 to 29 October 2016, and was attended by the globally recognised Keynote Speaker Ruediger Hagedorn, Senior Manager, Collaborative Value Chain Initiatives & Projects, The Consumer Goods Forum, Paris (who delivered a high-profile talk of real interest to everyone at the 2016 SCM4ECR Conference ).

Founded in December 2009 – following the merging of three industry-leading associations,  CIES (The World Food Business Forum), the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) and the Global CEO Forum – “The Consumer Goods Forum” (CGF) is fostering debate across the board and membership (400 members across 70 countries retailers, manufacturers and service providers; CGF member companies combined sales of € 3.5 trillion; CGF member companies directly employ nearly 10 million people; 35 projects sand working groups with 1500 experts; 30 events per year workshops and study tours to large conventions) to identify areas which require collective, measurable action, is developing, agreeing and encouraging the targeted global adoption of practices and standards which do not impede competition, is sharing solutions and best practice examples across and beyond the membership, and is engaging with stakeholders and regional associations to speak for the industry with a common voice. CGF is governed by its Board of Directors, which includes 50 manufacturer and retailer CEOs and Chairpersons.

The theme of this year’s SCM 4 ECR Conference was: Future Value Chain – Rethinking Networks through Omni-Channel for Consumer. New challenges of IoT in Supply Chain Management, the topics of interests including (but not being limited to) the following issues: Customer-Driven Supply Chain; Demand Chain Management Empowered by Consumer Engagement; Future Value Chain – Rethinking Networks through Omni-Channel for Consumer; Supply Chain Security Management and Business Continuity Management; IoT and Supply Chain Management.

This year’s SCM 4 ECR Conference proved once again to be a significant event, also reconfirming the well-known passion, competence and perseverance of Professor Virgil Popa, Conference Founder and Chairman, the builder of this true brand – Supply Chain Management (SCM) for Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) Conference. Allow us to remember a particular historical less known moment: Virgil Popa (as CEO and President of the Board of RESCOPA S.A., Târgovişte) and Theodor Purcarea (as a representative of the Romanian Ministry of Commerce) had a meeting in 1992 with Richard Fedigan, President & CEO of CIES (January 1990 – February 2005), on the occasion of the International Food Exibition SIAL Paris (Salon International de l’Alimentation). Four years later, in January 1996, Virgil Popa participated at the first Official ECR Europe Conference, Geneva, Switzerland.

The representatives of the Romanian-American University (RAU) at this year’s SCM 4 ECR Conference were involved as Conference Co-Chair, and in the Conference Organizing Committee, the Programme Steering Committee and the Advisory Board/Scientific Committee. It is also worth mentioning that the presentation of a RAU Master’s student in Marketing, coordinated by the Dean of the RAU Faculty of Management-Marketing Costel Negricea, was very well-received and appreciated by the participants (Conference Chair Virgil Popa and Keynote Speaker Ruediger Hagedorn congratulated him personally) – You are just one click away from a glimpse of this presentation, after the photo gallery.