W. Stölzle
The focus of the University of St. Gallen's Supply Chain Day, which takes place on September 27th in Rorschach, is on so-called "hinterland transport", which in connection with Switzerland mainly refers to inland navigation on the Rhine, rail freight transport and international risk management.
Wolfgang Stölzle, Head of the Institute for Supply Chain Management (ISCM), and Managing Director Erik Hofmann invite you to an exchange of experiences at the Würth Forum on Lake Constance. As part of the comprehensive program, Stölzle will address, among other things, the question of supply chain resilience in light of the difficulties currently facing international shipping. "The deep-sea shipping industry is experiencing massive turbulence, manifested in significant ship delays as well as an explosion in freight and charter rates over the past two years.".
However, focusing solely on maritime shipping to address the problems is insufficient. "The real pressure points are often found in the hinterland of seaports. Inland navigation, in particular, has long suffered not only from a backlog of investment but also repeatedly from low water levels and other infrastructural limitations that significantly reduce capacity." The conference aims to shed light on how to address these "accordion effects" and unforeseen capacity constraints – especially considering the needs of inland navigation stakeholders in the hinterland.
“After the crisis comes the next crisis,” says Erik Hofmann. “The logistics markets seem to have gone completely crazy for quite some time now. Prices currently only know one direction – upwards.” The reasons for the increasing volatility and the massive spikes in freight rates vary considerably depending on the mode of transport. While road freight is struggling with an acute shortage of drivers, port closures and a lack of containers are current challenges in sea freight, and the loss of (belly) cargo capacity is a significant problem in air freight.
E. Hofmann
“Furthermore, shippers and service providers often still blame each other for the predicament. It should be common knowledge by now that the challenges are better overcome together,” said Hofmann.
In addition to experts from rail and road freight transport, top-class experts from the fields of renewable energies and digital platforms/applications also participate in the various topic sessions.
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