Odette2018: Keynote Speakers announced

This year the Odette International Conference & Exhibition takes place in Lille, the northern powerhouse of the French automotive industry. Work on the programme is already well underway and we are delighted to be able to announce two keynote speakers for the event:

Francesca GAMBONI, Senior Vice-President Supply Chain, Peugeot Groupe

Jürgen MAIDL, Senior Vice-President Supply Chain, BMW

These prestigious speakers will be sharing their insights on the drive to digital of the automotive supply chain.  

The transformation of businesses that is brought about by digitalisation is commonly referred to as digital disruption.  There is no denying that such a profound transformation is disruptive but in our eyes the drive to digital is also a journey of great discovery. Whatever your view, disruption or discovery, in order to survive in this environment it is clear that businesses must be agile and focus on responding quickly to fundamental changes.

It’s about the capability of an enterprise to master information and only those who know how to make use of the increasing volume of available data will make the difference and be successful.

But digitalisation of the supply chain is certainly not a new topic and Odette has been at the forefront of the information revolution. Although possibly considered as ‘disruptive’ in the 1980s, Odette standards, especially in the areas of electronic messaging, auto id and telecommunications, are now ‘run of the mill’ implementations which have saved billions for the industry over the past 30 years. In order to take maximum advantage from earlier investments, organisations must take a holistic approach in rebuilding business processes and consider how the integration of the latest innovations can enhance the capabilities of more traditional legacy technologies.

Having an ecosystem of forward looking business partners is vital in tackling the real challenges of digitalisation and in bringing fresh thinking to your own company and colleagues. At Odette2018, you can discover how your peers are approaching the next steps and how they are leveraging new and existing technology to effectively bridge the data gap, whilst learning how others from the global automotive supply chain and beyond are discovering how to minimise the disruption of the drive to digital.

The Odette2018 Conference Advisory Group, including representatives from major players in the European automotive industry, are constructing a programme which will include the hottest topics to help you use innovative technologies to build an agile Collaborative Supply Network. We will be announcing the headlines shortly. If you would like to take part or submit a paper, please email info@odette.org