Bhubaneswar: Ashwamedh-18 , the annual business conclave of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar(XIMB) was held here on Saturday. Organized by the X-Ops (operations committee of  XIMB) the theme for this year’s conclave was ‘Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Indian Context’.

Rajesh Kutty (Practice Director- Inspirage),  Anindya Sundar Das (Head,Community Operations, UBER), Viswanathan Raju(Vice President, 3PL And Contract Logistics, AvvashyaCCI Logistics (All Cargo Group)),  Debasish Mohapatra (Head (Project quality and Capability team),Shell), and  Viswanathan Rajamanickam (Head Demand Planning- Adhesives, Henkel) were the speakers for the occasion. Prof.Arun Paul (Professor, Operations) was the moderator for the event.

Rajesh Kutty, said that digitalization can help reduce disruptions in supply chain by citing examples of two case studies: 3D printing and cloud computing. He spoke about how digitalization and implementation of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) gives visibility to manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and other stakeholders involved in the supply chain by reducing disruptive costs, time and energy without compromising on the growing needs of the customer.

Anindya Sundar Das said that one can attain sustainability in supply chain by taking example of vehicles. According to him, we should focus on four major areas, which includes, optimization of needs of the customers, reducing consumption, replacement with better alternatives and eliminating unnecessary wants of the customer, which can altogether help in achieving sustainability.

Viswanathan Raju said health and security of workers, energy consumption, inventory, and reconciliation are major areas that needed to work on apart from pollution. He opined that quality operations is the key to successful warehouse management.

Debasish Mohapatra said sustainability is all about meeting energy requirements of the world in a responsible manner, considering energy.  “Sustainability is all about planet, profit and people”, he added.

Viswanathan Rajamanickam said, “Sustainability is not only about employees, it is also about contractors and people we are not directly  working with”. He concluded his speech by stating that sustainability cannot be ignored, it is something, which organizations need to incorporate at every level of product creation.

Ayesha Gupta, Shadow Member, X-Ops, also addressed the conclave.

The –Ops’ operations magazine Ashwamedh was unveiled on the this occasion.