2025 - Supply Chain and Logistics Council Meeting Q1

The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce recognizes that resilient, efficient, and secure supply chains are fundamental to our local and statewide commerce, economy, and the overall standard of living in our community. To address the critical challenges that threaten the stability of our supply chains—ranging from infrastructure investments, security threats and economic volatility to production issues and workforce shortages—the Wilmington Chamber is launching a Supply Chain and Logistics Council.

This council aims to bring together leaders from the local industry to collaboratively tackle these issues and support industry growth. Our goal is to create a robust and collaborative network that enhances supply chain resilience, drives economic growth, and sustains the prosperity of Wilmington’s business community.

On February 19th we will hear from Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University and director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, Dr. Rob Handfield. 

Handfield is the consulting editor of the Journal of Operations Management, one of the leading supply chain management journals in the field, and is the author of several books on supply chain management, the most recent being Supply Market Intelligence, Supply Chain Re-Design and Introduction to Supply Chain Management (Prentice Hall, 1999, 25,000 copies sold, and translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean).  He has co-authored textbooks for MBA and undergraduate classes including Purchasing and Supply Chain Management 3rd revision (with Robert Monczka) and Operations and Supply Chain Management (with Cecil Bozarth).  Handfield was identified as one of a handful of individuals in the 2007 “Pros to Know” list compiled by Supply and Demand Chain Executive journal :(http://www.sdcexec.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=9287).  He is regularly quoted in periodicals such as The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Inc. Supply Chain Management Review, and other periodicals.

Handfield has consulted with over 25 Fortune 500 companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Freightliner, Boston Scientific, Delphi, Chevron, British Petroleum, Nortel Networks, Chevron Phillips, Lyondell Chemical, Conoco Phillips, Federal Express, Milliken, and others.  He has published more than 100 articles in top management journals including California Management Review, Sloan Management Review, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Operations Management, and Decision Sciences.

Dr. Handfield’s research with a number of leading SCM organizations across a variety of industries has identified that companies who excel in the consistent application of “best-in-class” supply management processes and practices and becoming a customer of choice have demonstrated significantly higher financial performance than their competitors.  This performance of best-in-class organizations has not gone unnoticed by market analysts and has been amply rewarded by significant improvements in stock performance.

Handfield is considered a thought leader in the field of supply chain management and is an industry expert in the field of strategic sourcing, supply market intelligence, and supplier development.  He has spoken on these subjects across the globe, including in China, Turkey, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Canada, and other locals.

VOLUNTEER INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP

The Supply Chain and Logistics Council will be led by volunteer co-chairs including Brian Clark from the North Carolina State Ports Authority, Michael Braddock from Frontier Scientific Solutions, Laurie King from NFI Industries (formerly MCO Transport), and Shawn Synnestvedt from Confluent Logistics.
 

ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

Our Supply Chain & Logistics Council aims to gather a diverse group of stakeholders, including port personnel, freight forwarders, customs brokers, shippers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), carriers, chassis providers, and logistics team members from local manufacturers.

These meetings will be open to both chamber members and non-members within the mentioned industries and roles. We kindly ask that members of the broader business community await an invitation to a future open meeting.