600 Senior Executives Gather at Defense Logistics 2007 To Discuss and Tackle Emerging Logistics Challenges of the 21st Century

WASHINGTON--Over 600 senior executives from the defense industry responsible for logistics, supply chain management, operations, procurement and IT convened at the Defense Logistics 2007 Conference in Washington, D.C., from November 26-29 to tackle key challenges and discuss successfully implemented initiatives.

The conference focused on the establishment and progress of military transformation in order to meet the emerging logistics challenges of the 21^st century. Thought leaders from commercial and defense agencies spoke on the responsibilities and capabilities of their respective operations and shared insights and experiences on topics such as: The Defense Supply Chain: Optimizing Outcomes for the Joint Force Commander, Air Mobility Command Transformation, U.S. Army Logistics, and Preparedness for Disasters.

LTG C.V. Christianson kicked off the conference by giving the audience a clear perspective on the challenges of providing effective support to the front line. Other keynote speakers included General Norton Schwartz, LTG Russel Honoré, and LTG Christopher Kelly, who all addressed issues that concern the Warfighters today and provided suggestions on how to take logistics-initiatives to the next level.

The conference also featured two separate focus days that flanked the main conference days. The “Synchronized Supply Chain” day was tailored towards end-to-end integration and synchronization of supply chain processes and systems, while the “Performance Based Logistics (PBL), Maintenance and Sustainment” day addressed how the best government-contractor tandems work together to improve weapon system availability and reduce maintenance costs.

Noteworthy event highlights included the SOA panel discussion on Meeting the Demand for Business Flexibility, a cutting edge topic that drew in a large audience, and the 4^th annual awards dinner held on the second day of the conference, which celebrated the best logisticians and logistics strategies in the industry. The honor for “Beyond the Call of Duty: Logistician of the Year” went to Captain Adam L. Minnich, Logistics Readiness Officer of the US Air Force.

“The Defense Logistics conference continues to deliver a great mix of content and speakers that you can’t get anywhere else,” said Kevin Trammel, Director of Aftermarket Business Development at Pratt & Whitney Military Engines.

The Defense Logistics conference was launched in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 aftermath and has since then consistently been the annual meeting place for senior logisticians. Defense Logistics 2008 will run December 2-5, 2008 in Arlington, Virginia. Please visit www.defenselog.com for more information.