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CSCR Events & Thought Leadership

The Penn State Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) strengthened its impact this year by hosting a series of dynamic events designed to connect industry leaders, share insights, and advance best practices in supply chain management. Through these forums and symposiums, CSCR fosters collaboration, innovation, and professional development across the global supply chain community.

Supply Chain Leaders Forums

CSCR’s biannual Supply Chain Leaders Forums bring together industry professionals to address emerging trends, share innovations, and explore solutions to complex challenges facing modern supply chains. This past year, the forums focused on two critical areas: Supply Chain Finance and Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency.

The fall 2024 forum, held on October 8, explored Supply Chain Finance, highlighting its pivotal role in optimizing working capital, supporting supplier stability, and strengthening relationships across the supply chain. Sessions included financial acumen for supply chain professionals, fuel hedging strategies, integrated business planning, and a panel discussion on accounts receivable factoring. Eight supply chain experts led five sessions, providing attendees with actionable insights and emerging finance models driving change across industries.

The spring 2025 forum, held on April 1, focused on Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency, emphasizing strategies for maintaining operational continuity amid disruptions. Nine leading experts guided discussions on emerging risks, resilience-building strategies, and lessons learned from real-world case studies. This event saw an increase in attendance, further demonstrating Penn State CSCR’s role as a leader in bridging academia and industry. Participants gained a deeper understanding of how companies can adapt to ongoing global challenges and strengthen their supply chain foundations.

Supply Chain Modernization & Talent Insights Symposium

In February 2025, CSCR hosted the inaugural Supply Chain Modernization and Talent Insights Symposium in Tysons, Virginia. This two-day event convened more than seventy thought leaders, practitioners, and educators to examine the technologies and talent strategies shaping the future of supply chain management.

Hosted in partnership with LMI, the symposium featured twelve sessions and twenty-seven speakers covering topics from artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to workforce development and leadership. Representatives from thirty-four organizations, including nonprofit and government sectors, contributed to cross-industry dialogue, sharing perspectives that spanned multiple sectors.

The first day focused on supply chain modernization, highlighting the integration of emerging technologies to enhance efficiency, agility, and data-driven decision-making. Day two addressed talent insights, exploring strategies to attract, develop, and retain supply chain professionals, with particular attention to initiatives supporting veterans and continuous professional learning. The event demonstrated the importance of collaboration in advancing the discipline and was made possible through the support of sponsors, including LMI (Host Sponsor), Walmart (Diamond Sponsor), NobleReach Foundation (Platinum Sponsor), Armada Supply Chain Solutions (Gold Sponsor), Lansdale Warehouse Co. (Silver Sponsor), and Utz Brands, Inc (Blue Sponsor).