Mathijs Luts

It’s no secret that the medical device industry is in the midst of a period of unprecedented M&A activity and 2016 looks to be continuing the trend with the Abbott-St Jude Medical megamerger already announced this year. In this fluctuating environment, how can you design a supply chain that’s optimal for today’s business yet prepared for tomorrow’s potential disruption? When a merger or acquisition is announced, what are the biggest inherent challenges for supply chain executives and how can they best be tackled?

• What is the outlook for further major M&A activity in the near-medium term?
• In terms of supply chain impact, what are the biggest pitfalls companies should look out for?
• How to successfully integrate new product lines
• Overcoming internal collaboration issues
• How are the people impacted? Managing uncertainty within the team
• Not just a headache: How to take advantage of the supply chain opportunities created by M&A

• Improving global harmonisation across supply planning
• How can supply planning be improved by the use of big data?
• How to effectively introduce new product lines after a merger or acquisition
• Made to order vs. consignment stock – impact on supply planning
• Effectively dealing with both internal and customer budget cuts
• How to overcome problems with large MOQs (Minimum Order Quantities

Table 1: How to strengthen forecasting abilities with improved communication and enhanced security - Benefit from increased accuracy
Mathijs Luts, Director Supply Chain EMEA & India, St. Jude Medical

Table 2: How to successfully get S&OP processes started and run sustainably in the long-term
Björn Neal Kirchner, Vice President Supply Chain Management, HARTMANN Group

Table 3: Improving collaboration between logistics providers and medical device companies: Reducing costs, increasing flexibility and achieving global visibility
Pieter Nijman, Managing Director, ShipitSmarter
Mirko Müller, Senior Manager Logistics & Distribution, Beckman Coulter

Table 4: Optimising regional distribution strategies - don’t lose your customer focus
Wolfram Waschke, Director Customer Distribution and Warehouse, Supply Chain Management, HARTMANN Group

Table 5: How to re-design supply chain flows in order to reach optimal cost and better lead times - Improving efficiency and flexibility
Isabela Furtado, Supply Chain Manager EMEA, Terumo BCT Europe

Table 6: Advancing the customer experience: How to engage your customers and solve their biggest problems
Rick Desmarais, Director, Global JJOS Deployment Leader, Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems