3D printing & cyber security on IOM Conference agenda

20th November 2014

IOM (Institute of Operations Management)

Barney Scott

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This year’s IOM (Institute of Operations Management) conference took place at Ettington Chase, Stratford-upon-Avon, where delegates were invited to participate in IOM’s first-ever interactive conference. The theme of the conference was ‘Plan and Take Control’ and the jam-packed itinerary included speakers from Rolls-Royce, Lego Ltd, Fujitsu and Hughenden Consulting as well as new innovative concepts such as IOM’s World Café and ‘Speakers’ Corner’.

Andrew Martin, Director, S&OP, Demand Management, Rolls-Royce PLC kicked off the day’s proceedings with his presentation: ‘Ten strategies for making your S&OP process effective’. Martin highlighted the importance of planning ahead and told delegates that he learnt early on in his career that “running a business is like flying an aircraft - you must make gentle decisions, not jolt the controls.”

For the first time at the IOM Conference, delegates witnessed industry leaders debate the current key topics in operations management. The first debate, titled ‘3D printing- is it a game changer?’ was discussed by Professor Moataz Attalah, University of Birmingham and Peter Karran, Principal Consultant, Fujitsu.

At the conference, IOM also premiered their ‘Speakers’ Corner’ concept. Dr Emma Philpott, CEO, IASME Consortium, spoke to delegates about cyber security and the importance of securing supply chains against cyber risk, and IOM’s Lynn Mentiply informed delegates of the importance of data, information, knowledge and decision making with particular reference to the capabilities of the IOM International Knowledge Centre.

Dr Emma Philpott, Festival of Innovation founder, said: “There has been a really exciting buzz at today’s conference, the innovative format certainly got people talking and there have been some great discussions. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the day.”