Adam Lesh

Adam Lesh
Chief Technology Officer, Testronic Laboratories North America

in 2008, Adam Lesh joined Testronic Laboratories in the newly established position of Cheif Technology Officer, Nother America. Since joining the TL team, Adam has been invoived with process improvement for both DVD and Blu-ray QC, developing comprehensive test plans and procedures for BD-Live and Digital Copy for a variety of studio clients, and expanding TL’s services to better ensure a positive consumer experience for TL’s clients’ products.

C. J. Wehlage

C. J. Wehlage
Vice President Supply Chain Systems, Sony Electronics

C.J. Wehlage brings 18 years of experience to his role at Sony Electronics. Previously at AMR Research, C.J. was responsible for research of the high tech value chain, including SemiConductor, Contract Manufacturing, Consumer Electronics, Network and Telecom, and Media & Entertainment. Before joining AMR Research, C.J. was the Director of Supply Chain Operations at EMC, where he was responsible for third party enablement, outsourcing, and lean design. He also was Director of Information Technology, helping to build EMC’s IT Portfolio model and leading key mergers & acquisitions.

C.J. has worked extensively in Asia and Silicon Valley with Apple Computer, in the new products development, commodity management, and materials management areas. C.J. has held leadership roles in large scale SAP and Oracle ERP projects and led the development of supply chain optimization at Bose and Digital.

C.J. earned his BS in Industrial Engineering and a Minor in Statistics from Penn State University, and his MBA from Boston College. He is certified in supply chain management (CSCP) from APICS, Six Sigma certified, and an Adjunct Professor of Supply Chain Management at Northeastern University

Thomas Moran

Thomas Moran
Senior Director, Media and Entertainment Markets, Savvis

Tom Moran joined Savvis Communications Inc. when they acquired the commercial business of Eagan, MN based WAM!NET Inc. in 2003. Having served as Director of the Media and Entertainment division of WAM!NET from 2001 through 2004, Moran was promoted to Senior Director of the Media Services division of Savvis in January 2005. He is responsible for corporate strategy, business development, as well as sales and market development for the WAM!NET Service Portfolio at Savvis (SVVS).

Moran helped lead the successful restructuring of Cybernet Systems Inc. of Minneapolis, MN from hardware sales into professional services and training for its media industry customers, ultimately leading to the acquisition of Cybernet by WAM!NET in 2001. While leading the Media and Entertainment business unit at WAM!NET Moran was responsible for establishing a unique domain expertise that led to the implementation of a number of ground-breaking content management and distribution projects, serving customers such as Universal Music Group, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, EMI and Technicolor, and many other marquee names in the Media Industry.

Moran is the primary architect of business-to-business systems that are now the industry standard practice for production and distribution of media content electronically as opposed to the more costly, risky and time-consuming processes associated with handling physical media. This success led to his appointment to the Executive Governing Board of Directors for the Global Society for Asset Management in 2003 as well as a number of other industry accolades. Tom serves on the Board of Directors for the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and the Media and Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) as well as being the chairman of the Digital Supply Chain Committee of MESA.

WAM!NET’s Media and Entertainment business unit was the fastest growing and most profitable division of the Company under Moran’s management. By providing leadership for an industry-wide transformation of the way both packaged goods and on-line media products are produced and distributed, WAM!NET offers solutions that enable media companies to shave weeks off production schedules, get products to market faster and reduce the impact of content piracy.

Prior to entering the technology business, Moran was a successful artist, freelance photographer and media producer. He worked in Minneapolis, New York and London for major magazines, newspapers, film, and music production companies during his seven years as a freelancer. Moran studied Journalism and Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota from 1988 to 1992. He founded the highly regarded international artists collective “Otaku” in London in 1992.

Tony Gorski

Tony Gorski
CEO, Demand Point

LeRoy Nelson

LeRoy Nelson
Global Program Director, Leupold Inc.

John Brockwell

John Brockwell
Vice President, J. P. Morgan Trade Management Consulting

John Brockwell has an extensive background in global trade business and process evaluation, logistics planning, and decision support systems. As the Global Supply Chain Management Practice Leader for JPMorgan Trade Management Consulting for the last 3 years, his focus is on finding opportunities for businesses to optimize their international trade by improving costs, cycle times and quality and by minimizing risks As Global Supply Chain Practice Leader, John works closely with JPMorgan consulting teams in Asia, Europe, Mexico, Canada and South America to deliver local knowledge and expertise to U.S. parent companies. In 2007, John was named as one of Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine’s Pros to Know.

Prior to the acquisition of Vastera by JPMorgan, John had roles as the Director of Global Solutions Development, leading Due Diligence efforts with prospective managed service and software clients and was the Product Manager for landed cost solutions. Before joining Vastera, John created several innovative decision support tools for logistics planning in his 15-year tenure at IBM, including one project which received a U.S. Patent and an IBM Invention Award.

John has a BS in Computer Information Systems from the University of New Mexico, where he graduated with honors.

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Bridging the Digital Divide: Consumer Electronics and Hollywood

An Interview With Yuka Yu, VP, Global Supply Chain Operations, Sony Electronics

Convergence is real for today’s hardware manufacturer who needs to ride the wave of consumer content demand while managing their product inventory and overall mix. At the Consumer Electronics Supply Chain Academy (CESCA) on January 8, 2010 at the International CES experts will address how web-enabled devices and business models are creating a new supply chain for home entertainment.

Moderator for the workshop is Yuka Yu, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Operations, Sony Electronics.  She is responsible for customer supply chain operations, data management and strategic integration of demand and supply planning processes and executions for the company.

In this interview she offers a preview of this topic,  which will be top of mind for many supply chain as well as sales and marketing executives at the world’s largest technology exposition in Las Vegas.

How do you describe the role of supply chain management at Sony Electronics?

We recognize that effective supply chain management is a competitive advantage. Especially in today’s environment of economic uncertainty and increasing competition, supply chain excellence has been identified as one of Sony’s imperatives for the years ahead. We have always been focused on delivering to our customers, but now, more than ever, we are taking a coordinated approach to supply chain management to strengthen customer relationships and imprint an “operational DNA” mindset across the company.

Considering you are a global company, what are the challenges in having the right product at the right time at the right place?

Our challenges are no different than any other global company. We must accurately predict demand and plan supply across multiple geographies, and we need to manage the complexities of trade compliance and transportation networks in the different regions. In the US, with much of our product originating from Asian manufacturers, we need to balance the need to keep customers in stock with the requirement to control our inventory levels. Supply chain process models like factory direct shipment and vendor-managed inventory help us to achieve this balance.

What is the nature of collaboration between the businesses of Sony, namely, Film, TV and Home Entertainment, Video Games, Mobile, etc.?

We call this theme “Sony United” and it has been expressed more and more in the past few years. For example, Sony Pictures and Electronics have collaborated to make exclusive streaming content available on Sony TVs; Sony projection systems in movie theaters have been used to host multi-player gaming events in support of the Sony Computer Entertainment group; and Sony Supply Chain Services supports both the electronics and gaming divisions. From a supply chain perspective, we are starting to think about how to present one face to key retailers and potentially leverage areas of expertise across the different companies. For example, Sony Pictures has store-level fulfillment capabilities and VMI relationships built into their distribution network, so we now have a project within Sony Electronics to work with the Pictures supply chain team to explore joint operations.

Sir Howard Stringer, the CEO of Sony Corporation, has articulated a world of interconnected devices for a mobile consumer. How is the vision being implemented in your organization?

As devices become more interconnected and interdependent, so too do the supply chain challenges converge. We find that it is so important now that the communication and collaboration between product groups, as well as between sales and operations, is open and seamless. The Global Supply Chain Operations organization acts like a hub to connect these cross-functional teams and coordinate efforts that improve the whole company’s operations, much like connected devices improve the consumer experience.

Many consumer electronics companies are beginning to integrate services into their hardware business. What has been the strategy in your organization?

This is not a new concept for Sony; services to both consumer and business segments have been offered for many years. On the consumer side, there is Sony Backstage, a PC support service available through Sony Style stores as well as online. On the B2B side, there are many targeted service offerings to specific market segments. Also, you can think of the multiple avenues for content distribution and online communities like PlayStation Network as examples of the newer breed of consumer services.

What single initiative in the industry, in your opinion, could enhance the supply chain?

The definition of supply chain has been evolving over the past few years from traditional logistics, transportation, and manufacturing competencies to encompass demand planning and strategy, impacting the entire value chain to consumers.  As such, it is hard to pinpoint a single initiative.  Top priorities, in my opinion, would include how to address 1) outsourcing, 3PL, TMS, data analytics developments, 2) end-to-end real-time visibility & automation efforts, and 3) sustainability/environmental solutions.

The Art And Science Of Collaborative Planning At CES

Michael Aguilar is widely known throughout the consumer electronics industry for his global supply chain initiatives on behalf of one of the world’s biggest companies – Panasonic U.S.A., where he had direct oversight of corporate strategic initiatives involving sales, marketing, supply chain and logistics. He brings this broad perspective to his role as a Conference Session Chair at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Supply Chain Academy (CESCA) at International CES on January 8, 2010 in Las Vegas.

Aguilar’s CESCA workshop, entitled “The Art and Science of Collaborative Planning and Forecasting,” is of particular importance in a business environment of reduced inventories and hyper-time-sensitive promotions.

Currently President of the Intrepid Consulting Group, LLC, which is located in New York, Aguilar is involved assisting a variety of industries in producing high levels of accuracy in forecasting demand, replenishment, and maximizing “right product – right location” in their supply chain, as well as those of the customers. In his Panasonic days Aguilar was recognized for his pioneering development of a vendor-managed inventory program utilizing offshore resources to predict demand and supply – a first in the consumer electronics industry.

Aguilar recently spoke with CESCA Conference Chairman and Pepperdine University Professor, Devendra Mishra, on the the state of supply chain management in consumer electronics and what’s ahead for the industry.

Knowing the firm believer you have been of POS-driven decision-making, what strides have been made by the consumer electronics industry and what are the low hanging fruits?

Ask any CE company if they are using POS and of course the answer is yes. But dig a little deeper and ask what are they doing with the information and you’ll discover that most are not really using POS as an integrated part of forecasting.

The lowest hanging fruit is to allow a sales rep to validate his or her forecast utilizing the latest POS. Of course this is not the most scientific or accurate tool, but it provides the beginnings of a demand driven forecast. The next logical step is to create a demand-shaping tool that allows the current POS data to be used to model future demand.

How would you assess the retail’s ability to provide timely and accurate POS data to suppliers for efficient replenishment?

If this question were asked a year ago the answer would have been a definite yes – there is a lot of POS data that is being shared. But look at the changing nature of CE with regional chains now on the rise, and becoming more important to every supplier. That is where the weak link is – rapid expansion and systems that need to catch up are not readily in place with many of the regional players.

What are the opportunities for collaboration in the consumer electronics industry?

I think that to truly collaborate you need to get down into the weeds, which means that you can’t look a single rolled up number by SKU. You need to become an expert on collaborating at the region or DC level with each retailer – in essence becoming the second set of eyes. Everyone wants their product to sell well, but if you can’t collaborate on where to place that product you’re only creating half a collaborative effort.

In your opinion, what is the most effective way to get sales, operations and finance to coordinate the development of a forecast?

There is only one way to break down the walls – everyone needs to have skin in the game. What that means in this instance is that compensation programs need to be aligned with the same goals and it’s amazing how quickly coordination happens.

We talk of supply chain management yielding system-wide minimization of cost. What has been your experience in achieving such a goal?

The unfortunate part of almost all supply chain initiatives is that estimated savings are generally forecasted due to the improvements of the supply chain group. In almost every instance, the cause and effect relationship on other strategic areas of the business are never really analyzed beforehand. Consequently – at the end of the year – one group may in fact have created savings at the additional expense of another, or the perceived speed up created by the supply chain group may have taken the flexibility away from another – that had been in place. In reality very few companies take a holistic view of the entire operation prior to a supply chain implementation – this is due to so much compartmentalization within companies.

What will the supply chain of the CE industry look like in five years?

I believe radical changes are on the horizon. First we need to take a lesson from the DVD and music industry – direct to store deliveries are coming as retailers hope to reduce their costs. Direct to consumer deliveries on larger items may also be in the future as retailers strive to have zero net owned inventory. So collaboration then moves a step further into the weeds – down to the store level – and we all need to begin preparing for that now. Most retailers are not good at this level of granularity, so it’s going to be a long learning curve for suppliers.

For more about the fourth annual Consumer Electronics Supply Chain Academy (CESCA), January 8 in Las Vegas, NV, click here.

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