The theme of this year’s event “Strengthening the supply chain against challenges and threats” is designed to aid dialogue on issues related to the opportunities and challenges within this industry, including piracy, GCC customs regulation, staffing challenges, sustainability and responsible care, third party logistics as well as the strategies needed to mitigate the impact of long supply chains.
The conference will take place in Abu Dhabi from Oct. 18 to 20.
“Participants at this year’s supply chain conference will not only be armed with in-depth information, statistics and the latest findings but they will also be given the opportunity to witness and participate in rich debate and discussion by industry leaders and executives,” said GPCA Secretary-General Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun.
Hamad Al-Terkait, chairman of GPCA’s supply chain committee and president and CEO of EQUATE Petrochemical Co. will make the welcome address.
Rashed Saud Al-Shamsi, petrochemicals director of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and chairman of Borouge, will focus on the key challenges and opportunities for the GCC supply chain both present and in the future in his keynote address.
Graham Hoar, vice president — Middle East, Nexant, will provide delegates with a Middle East chemical sector overview, while other distinguished local spokespeople will elaborate on overcoming challenges here in the region, improving supply chain management using a Saudi Aramco case study and more specific topics such as port infrastructure, a topic that will be addressed by Dirk Van Den Bosch, chief commercial officer — UAE Region, DP World.
Day 1 will continue with Mohamed Al-Mazeedi, vice president — Middle East region, UASC (United Arab Shipping Company), providing both global and regional perspective on container shipping.
Ensuring sustainability and responsible care in the supply chain is a hot topic that will be tackled by Gary Hanifan, global lead, supply chain management practice, Accenture.
Day Two’s sub-theme “From piracy to personnel: Facing realities and turning supply chain challenges into opportunities” will be dealt with by a line-up of speakers including Rumaih Al-Rumaih, CEO, Saudi Railway Company (SAR) and Richard Bowker, CEO, Etihad Rail.
Nikita Andreev, principal, Camelot Management Consultants AG, will address various sales and operations issues and share his insight on how one can improve margins and run a lean supply chain.
In addition to in-depth discussions, this year there will also be a pre-conference workshop on mitigating the effects of piracy on petrochemical and chemical trade flows, as well as a planned site visit to the impressive Khalifa Port for delegates.
The GPCA is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests and concerns of the petrochemicals and chemicals industry in the Gulf.
The event is co-organized by ICIS, the leading provider of market intelligence for the global chemical industry.
