Reimaging Supply Chains in Major Projects

Major Projects Association

Over the last two years we've learned the hard way how often lean and 'immediate' supply chains hold up in the face of major disruption: the Covid19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and shortages. Alongside this global shock, the challenges caused by EU Exit, the move to Net Zero and war in Ukraine have taught us that volatility and strategic risk are here to stay.

Against this context, a number of the speakers at the Association's March Seminar: Reimagining Global Supply Chains (Ruth Todd, Chief Commercial Officer at HS2; Professor Mike Lewis from the University of Bath; Richard Ballantyne, CEO at the British Ports Association and Shaun McCarthy OBE, Chair at the Supply Chain Sustainability School) have come together to record this podcast episode.

Over the course of 40 minutes, in a conversation facilitated by Andy Murray, Executive Director at the Major Projects Association, they explore a rich variety of perspectives on reimagining global supply chains, which starts with the explanation as to why it is far more useful to think of them as complex supply systems, rather than linear chains.

Along the way, you'll learn

• the role of British ports in the projects supply chain
• how supply chains can help lead the move towards sustainability
• the role of the client in setting the tone and enabling the network
• the need for greater investment and greater ministerial focus in the skills of procurement, logistics and supply chain management
• How better buying gives you a better supply chain system

The current levels of economic, business and geopolitical volatility are clear indicators of what projects will need to deal with in the future. The ideas in this conversation will help you ensure your project supply chain, rather than a source of risk is a source of resilience.