Shippers and carriers line up to debate global issues at TOC Europe

Jochen Gutschmidt, Global Head of Ocean Transport Procurement for nutrition and health giant Nestlé, is among the senior shipper executives confirmed to speak at the TOC Container Supply Chain Europe conference in Antwerp this June. Taking place under the headline theme Reliability, Capacity and Efficiency, the long-running event brings together shippers, 3PLs, carriers, transport companies and port and terminal providers to debate the outlook for global container supply chain operations.

Gutschmidt, who took up his post at Nestlé last March following a long career with Maersk Line and the AP Moller Group, joins an opening day panel on Carriers Close up – Capacity, Consolidation and Risk, alongside other major shippers including Raf J. Cornelissen, Global Marine Dry Cargo Manager for Exxon Mobil, Jason Keegan, Head of Logistics at Marks and Spencer and Peder Winther, Senior Vice President, Seafreight for Kuehne + Nagel – the world’s largest global sea freight forwarder. Joining the session from the carrier side are Stanley Smulders, SVP, Asia-Europe & West Africa Trade Management, MOL Liner and Nissim Yochai, VP Corporate Customer Relations at ZIM.

At a turbulent time for the global liner shipping industry, the panel will assess how recent events are affecting international container supply chains, how shipper-carrier relations are shaping up, and the outlook for the months ahead. In addition to on-going concerns over the financial health and capacity strategies of the container shipping industry, and the global impact of mega alliances and mega vessels, the panel is expected to shed a spotlight on the current booking stoppages and surcharges on the North Europe-Asia trade leg.

Debate continues on the second day with a focus on Global Supply Chain Planning and Operations. Michael Dreher, Vice President, Head of Logistics at global sportswear provider Adidas and Teun Huizinga, Vice President Logistics & Operations at America Chung Nam, one of the world’s largest exporters of recovered paper, will discuss global supply chain drivers, risk factors and responses, and how to ensure stability in volatile times, with Cas Pouderoyen, Senior Vice President Global Ocean Freight for Agility, Jesper Praestensgaard,Chief Commercial Officer at Hapag-Lloyd and Matthew Gore, Associate, Holman Fenwick Willan.

The continued and growing pressure to reduce the environmental and social impact of global container transport operations is also on the TOC Europe agenda again this year. As public sentiment, international policy, government legislation and sheer good business practice converge to catapult sustainability up the corporate agenda, what are the new approaches and technologies to ‘deliver green’? Peter Best, Transportation & Customs Director for Nike EMEA will be joined by representatives from Maersk Line and global engineering consultant WorleyParsons to discuss sustainable end-to-end cargo chains.

“How to minimise downside risks, capitalise on new opportunities and safely navigate through an era of unprecedented global change and uncertainty will be a central theme at the 2012 conference and we are delighted to welcome such high-calibre names to shape this critical debate,” said Rachael White, Conference Editorial Director for TOC Worldwide. “As TOC enters its 37th year in Europe, we look once again to provide a timely platform, bringing the whole container supply chain together to define the new strategies, skills, relationships and technologies needed to keep world container trade moving.”

TOC Container Supply Chain Europe runs from 12-14 June at the Antwerp Expo, Belgium.

For more information visit www.tocevents-europe.com