Supply Chain Conference 2023

Robert is a highly experienced Procurement Manager responsible for the procurement of materials for Bosch Automotive's South American production units. He will talk about how Bosch has been able to cope with change and make its supply chain resilient.

We live in different crises: war, congestion in ports, energy crises. What are the new influences to watch out for when buying from across the sea? What threats need to be taken into account in risk plans? How can we make the right decisions in an agile and changeable environment? What could be the impact of green transport chains? What are our options to mitigate supply chain risks? Ulla Pirita will analyse the different risks in the supply chain and in transport, mainly from a maritime and intermodal perspective.

An over-regulated market, green mobility, digital transformation, breakthrough innovation - how will all this affect our near future? The presentation will share insights on the future of the road transport sector and the challenges ahead in today's context of change and the opportunities in this context.

The global market for raw materials needs to be re-played. Let's look to the future. Will Europe's industries stay in business and be sustainable for the future of raw materials? Can industry continue to function in a situation of uncertain raw material flows? How can contracts and regularities be made to work? What are the opportunities for Estonia? We offer solutions from scenarios on how to predict the future. Versions of how sanctioned commodity channels will be replayed? What challenges and opportunities does this present for businesses?

What is Europe's green turnaround? Is its content comprehensible, reasonable and realistic? Should we, as businesses, just wait for language, orders and guidelines from somewhere higher up, or should we take the initiative to make the world a better place? Mihkel is guided by the idea that in order to survive and thrive in change, you have to initiate and lead change. What is the aim of Rohetiiger, the cross-sectoral voluntary cooperation platform he has conceived and led? How Rohetiiger can support industrial and logistics companies to adapt to the European green revolution. What needs to be re-played in your own production/transport to turn green challenges into success?

Would you expect to reach your destination using the wrong map of the city on your GPS? Probably not. Neither will you and I get there if we use wishful thinking instead of facts to formulate our strategy. As Max Jacobson observed of the crisis in Finland in the early 1990s: 'According to IMF statistics, Finland was the eighth richest country in the world in 1988. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that Finland was the world's richest country in 1988. 'The Finns sailed into the 1990s in first class, but the name of the ship was the Titanic'. Are we in first class or on the Titanic? A little course correction and the story of the Titanic would not have been a cautionary disaster but a success story. In fact, the story of the Titanic was a success story. 80% of the time. Can you and I be part of the course change? Do we have the right map?

What criteria must an Estonian industrial company meet to become a partner of a large corporation? What are the requirements and expectations? Let's look at the most common major mistakes to watch out for on the way to becoming a large corporation partner. The importance of pre-assessing the role of suppliers - what is it and how to prepare for it? How to qualify as a partner? What is our key to the world market anyway?

Magnetic MRO operates in a technology-rich, highly regulated aviation sector. This places many constraints on the introduction of any innovation. Raivo will talk about how Magnetic MRO, through its perseverance and in collaboration with partners, has introduced innovative technological solutions and how they are helping them to improve the efficiency of their purchasing processes and in-house logistics. Raivo's presentation confirms that it pays to take that prudent risk and trust external, often small, start-ups to develop something new and exciting together.

How making transport data exchange paperless will help to increase the competitiveness of transport companies (productivity, fewer errors, faster process and visibility of cash flows), which in turn will also bring savings to suppliers (improved delivery reliability, delivery accuracy and speed of decision-making through process transparency). Data for whom and for what? Why is data-driven decision making important? Why is it important across supply chains? We will talk about how transport management efficiency has increased by 30%, using successful companies as examples.

All functions of the company work for the customer, including suppliers and logistics providers. What does the customer value? We talk about meeting customer expectations, agility, delivery accuracy, delivery quality, customer service and how to make it all breathe in one. Kristjan will share from his practical experience of meeting customers how important the supply chain is for a manufacturer and how to make it a selling point for your customers.

Negotiation is a daily activity for procurement and purchasing managers. The ability to assert ourselves in weak negotiating positions and in difficult situations is what determines how successful we are. In his presentation, Timo will talk about his own negotiation challenges where he has been forced to negotiate literally at gunpoint. In his presentation, he will give some examples and tips on how to assess the other side's intentions and credibility.