Memorable Conference on Innovation in Supply Chain Management at ESCE

Let’s delve into one of our most recent conferences, with its intriguing title, “Innovating in the face of increasingly complex supply chains with demand-driven flows: from theory to practice”, this event was a landmark moment for our academic community.

At the heart of the action, Caroline Mondon lit up amphi 8.05 on the Cœur Défense campus on Thursday November 23, 2023. During two electrifying hours, Caroline, with a 40-year career behind her, shared her juicy anecdotes and revealed the secrets of the company’s revolutionary Demand Driven Adaptive (DDAE) method, with a special focus on Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP) inventory management.

Caroline Mondon, the dynamo behind our school’s partner Association francophone de Supply Chain Management AfrSCM, and a true factory globetrotter, introduced France in 2012 to the amazing DDAE-DDMRP concept, which is making waves around the world thanks to its ability to merge strategy, tactics and operations, while leveraging the collective intelligence of teams.

The concept of Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) was developed by Carol Ptak and Chad Smith. This model, which rethinks the supply chain from a demand-driven perspective, was first introduced in their book “Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning”, third edition, published in 2011.

The conference delved into the current challenges facing companies, especially in times of inflation. Caroline identified three main headaches: low cash flow, slow or uncertain deliveries, and the headache of recruiting and coordinating skills in the face of market fluctuations.

With concrete examples from companies of all sizes, our speaker showed how the DDAE-DDMRP approach can provide tailor-made solutions. Participants were also able to bombard Caroline with questions about the implications of this method in all areas, from finance to HR, purchasing, sales, production and logistics, to boost flows in supply chains.

So a huge thank you to Caroline Mondon for her sparkling talk and to our brilliant students for their active participation. An event that will go down in history!