Riyadh, Oct 16th to Oct 17th
A group of male and female students (32 in total) from the Supply Chain Management course at the College of Business have participated in the 3rd Supply Chain conference held in Riyadh from Sunday, October 16th to Monday, October 17th. The supply chain conference addressed the Kingdom’s future projects related to supply chains and logistical facilities. A group of international experts and specialists exchanged knowledge and experiences on the best methods and latest practices to improve the performance of supply chains. The conference presenters also discussed issues related to the development of key sectors associated with the logistics industry to meet one of the most important objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which is to consolidate its position as a global logistics hub. Students, accompanied by Dr. Mario Ferrer, met key global and domestic logistics suppliers who exhibited their products and services. Similarly, students were enthusiastic to learn from key government representatives about the establishment of more than 30 logistics zones and more than 15 industrial zones across the Kingdom to assist the growth of supply chains and logistics services and enable the Kingdom to play a regional and global role. The government representatives emphasized that the most important factor in supply chain development is investing in the human capital required to manage supply chains with the efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability required. The latter excited students and made them realize the importance of learning the concepts of supply chain and logistics taught at the college of Business.
Some students’ testimonials:
“The event I attended was really beneficial to me. All the speakers were very well- prepared, and they’ve given me some deep insights about the future, especially when it comes to supply chain management. I’ve learned that the supply chain is very important in several businesses and sectors. It can, for example, be helpful in controlling manufacturing processes and in improving product quality, just to name two.
The most enjoyable part was the topic of supply chain localization which was delivered by Engineer Mohamed Al Jenini, the General Manager of Localization and Local Content in the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. Mr. Al Jenini shed some light on manufacturing and shipping goods locally. I like the idea of “buying where you sell and selling where you buy” as he mentioned. In brief, the event was really very interesting and beneficial…”Khalid Bader Al Saud.
“The Supply Chains Conference conveyed to us the full picture of the transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in data collection and the importance of supply chains.
Saudi Arabia, after the announcement of Vision 2030, became investment opportunities
for global companies in the supply chain industry…” Khalid AlSallum.
“Due to the attendance of various executives at the conference held last week, I benefited greatly from learning and hearing the different viewpoints regarding the supply chain in Saudi Arabia. However, the primary notion that stuck with me is the proposition of lowering the cost of transporting and storing Saudi-origin commodities for the benefit of boosting local businesses and promoting national industry aims”Nawaf Bandar Alamre.
“The supply chains conference has opened our minds on the importance of supply chains in the kingdom, How the Vision 2030 affected the supply chain industry and the investment opportunities for global companies decreased in the industry…” Khalid Alzouman
“The supply chain conference I attended really enriched my knowledge on the topic and complemented what we are studying in class.
I would say the biggest highlight of the conference was attending the procurement and
sourcing strategies workshop done by Dr. Keith Bezant Niblett. The most interesting point mentioned in the workshop was about the big shift of the new procurement criteria that includes industry 4.0, and the competitive advantage it gives…”Deem AlTamimi
“It has been my pleasure to attend the Supply Chain Management Conference. I acquired more knowledge of many concepts we are learning in our Logistics and Supply Chain Management course. There are many reasons to why I decided to attend the conference. Networking is upon the most important ones. Another reason is to expand my knowledge to learn and improve in the workforce, gain experience from high achievers, and work accordingly. Since supply chains are vital for the local economy, I was sure that the conference would give me a clear picture of this reasoning and it’s core activities. Such as, coordinating the different sectors accommodating a specific supply chain. I was also interested to dig deeper into the processing of Saudi export products and the value of supply chains among them…” Mashael Abdullah Alras
