Sam Ganguly, CGSCM Student
Most say rubbing shoulders with the upper crust matters, but what matters most is meeting and absorbing from the industry’s upper echelon in a sector where both associate. At the Oracle Supply Chain Conference held in San Jose, students received the opportunity to do just that in a day filled with jaw-dropping presentations and insightful discussions surrounding supply chain.
With a Women’s Luncheon,a keynote, and insight sessions on topics related to the Cloud, disruptive technologies, adaptive and intelligent supply chains, integrated supply chain and many more;, the conference had attendees from all over the globe representing an array of industries and interests. With more than 3,000 in attendance, three were students from the USC Marshall School of Business, in the MS Global Supply Chain Management program. Selected as Future Supply Chain Leaders, graduate students Niraj Mahapatra, Riddhi Malviya and Sam Ganguly represented USC and received a look into the future of supply chain.
The conference featured presentations focused on applications of IoT, AI, Digital Twin, Machine Learning, AR/VR and chatbots, there was no stone left unturned in terms of technology explored. At the Solutions Pavilion, the designated area where various companies showcased their products,Silicon valley leaders strolled through stalls to observe designs like an AI Robot named Pepper. A perspective not seen before was projected by some of the most brilliant minds.
Lunches offered more than food. During the networking lunch, each table was assigned an industry or topic for participants to discuss. Armed with a coveted and prestigious degree, USC Supply Chain students interacted with the Oracle upper management and other market leaders alike to gain insight and widen their perspective of what to expect from the market given the accelerated change.
Along with valuable industry discourse, presentations also provided an in-depth look into new cutting edge technology. Several heads turned hearing the Bloodhound Project. The project engineer spoke of one of the most significant feats of this century where land speed records were being broken and re-broken by what appeared to be part car, part rocket moving at a 1,000 mph. Watching the video of a trial test run on a designated flatland in Africa gave the crowd goosebumps. Alongside industry leaders, USC graduate student Riddhi Malviya added to the presentations with a discussion on sustainability.
The conference was critical in providing exposure to young professionals in the supply chain industry. The pace at which technological change will revolutionize industries will determine how well the younger generation can be brought up to speed. With their conference, Oracle has helped set the cornerstone for intellectual curiosity in supply chain. Greek oracles Pythia of Apollo and Dione of Zeus would surely attest to this.