Exciting event on startup suppliers jointly organized by the Chair of Logistics Management and CIPS
Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner and his team hosted an inspiring evening at the ETH Dozentenfoyer in cooperation with CIPS-Switzerland. Approximately 70 leading Swiss procurement managers and three startups attended the “Supply Chain Startups: Reality Check”-event to discuss their experiences.
Attending an event hosted together with startups is currently on the wish list of almost every major company. However, this event was not an off-the-shelf event: it was tailored to the needs and interests of supply chain startups and procurement managers.
First, John Everett, Branch Chair of external pageCIPS Switzerland, and Aleksandr Sidorec briefly introduced CIPS – the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply. CIPS is a UK-based organization serving the procurement and supply chain profession, and aims at promoting good practice in the industry.
Then, Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner presented the chair’s research journey and main contributions with respect to “Managing Startup Suppliers”. Following the slogan “Reality Check”, Prof. Wagner linked his research expertise with practical insights, by drawing practical implications for procurement managers and explaining best-practice examples.
Afterwards, three aspiring Swiss startups – external pageArchlet, external pageGenLots, and external pageModum – presented their business ideas and value propositions to the audience, followed by an intensive panel discussion moderated by John Everett. Four top level panelists – Roger Gonourie (Head of Global Sourcing at Swiss Re), Chris Holmes (Global Head Procurement Strategy and Innovation at Novartis), Simon Ulmann (Supply Chain Executive at Givaudan), and Prof. Wagner – discussed the previous startup presentations, their experiences, and shared their standpoints.