Held on the 14th June, 2007 at the Hilton Metropole at the NEC, Birmingham, the conference was designed to explain how to attain, maintain, and retain a leading position within the rail industry supply chain, given the current trend of rationalising supplier numbers.

Both multinational companies and the SME community were represented by the visitors, who attended the event to hear leading figures from the railway industry sharing their best practice secrets in a series of practical presentations and workshops. The speakers revealed fantastic insights into lean principles and first hand experiences from both train operating companies and train builders.

From accreditation, lean manufacturing and skills to e-procurement, and operational issues, the breadth of the seminars ensured that every aspect of the supply chain and related business issues were covered. Over 160 delegates involved in the railway industry’s supply chain attended the seminar sessions, which also provided the perfect opportunity to network and make new contacts.

The companies speaking at the seminars included Siemens, South West Trains, Bombardier Transportation, Eurostar and Achilles. The day kicked off with a presentation delivered by Achilles, on the importance of accreditation – Achilles is a provider of Link-up, the most widely used system in the sector.

Looking at the supply chain, in its presentation Bombardier cited that the company currently uses 290 suppliers on £0 to £1 million pound contracts, with the aim of reducing this to just one. Train operating companies and train builders South West, Eurostar and Bombardier Transportation also offered first hand experiences from their businesses through the day.

The conference sponsor, TBM Consulting, presented two masterclasses. The first, presented by VP Bill Schwartz, discussed Transformational Management for Continuous Growth and Competitive Advantage, while the second, presented by Richard Holland, Senior Management Consultant for TBM and Steven Clarksmith, Business Improvement Manager for West Coast Traincare at Alstom, aimed to demonstrate how to generate rapid, dramatic and sustainable business improvement, using Alstom as an illustrative client case-study. Both masterclasses provided invaluable answers to the problems of building a truly sustainable transport infrastructure, and illustrated how those forward-thinking companies in the rail industry are responding to the challenge by becoming true world-class performers.

Schofield Media Europe’s conference organiser Alan Freeman was delighted with the feedback that the first Railway Strategies Supply Chain Conference has already received. “I have heard very encouraging comments from the visitors and speakers and many have indicated that they will be returning to the 2008 event, which is already being planned,” he said. “Based on the very positive response to the first conference, 2008’s event will be extended and will include an award ceremony. I think that the Railway Strategies Supply Chain Conference is a welcome addition to the sector, and I look forward to developing the 2008 show.”

Founded in 1999, Schofield Media Group publishes business-to-business magazines and operates conferences & events in the US and UK. The company is headquartered in London and has regional offices in Chicago, New York, Boston, and Norwich. Divisions include Schofield Publishing UK, Schofield Media Chicago, RedCoat Publishing, and Ideal Media. ww.SchofieldMediaGroup.com