Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations at Amazon, joined the Haslam College of Business Supply Chain Forum as the keynote speaker on Wednesday, April 12.

Clark focused on new opportunities in supply chain, noting that in the next 10 to 20 years, businesses will be driven by experts in this field because of the emerging technology revolutionizing the way customers are served. He discussed some of Amazon’s many developments, including robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“Across the supply chain, we’re moving into a place where technology is enabling us to move at a pace we never could before,” Clark said. “Five years from now the things that we thought were science fiction five years ago are going to be the norm.”

Clark is responsible for Amazon’s global supply chain and logistics operations. He also oversees the teams managing Amazon’s transportation and delivery services, sustainability programs and operations technology, including Amazon Robotics. Amazon’s global supply chain and logistics operations comprises more than 100,000 employees operating across 149 fulfillment centers and operational sites in 17 countries.

“Dave offers a rare view of supply chain from a company that has leveraged its capabilities in this area as their main market differentiator,” said Paul Dittmann, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Other speakers at the forum included Sue Spence, vice president of procurement and sourcing at FedEx Services, and Scott McWilliams, executive vice president at GEODIS. Jim Radin and Mike Okoroafor, both vice presidents at McCormick & Company, presented about sustainability and innovation in the supply chain.

The Supply Chain Forum at Haslam has hosted corporate leaders, faculty and students to discuss the latest in supply chain issues for more than two decades. Managers from 60 top corporations participate, and past keynote speakers have included the CEO and founder of FedEx and senior executives from Caterpillar, Goodyear and Walmart among others.

For more information about the Supply Chain Forum, and to see presentations from previous years, visit scforum.bus.utk.edu.

To learn more about the Haslam College of Business and its marketing and supply chain department, visit haslam.utk.edu.

Contact: Katie Williams, writer/publicist, Haslam College of Business, (865) 974-3589, katiewilliams@utk.edu.