Professor Richard Wilding, Chair of Supply Chain Risk Management at Cranfield School of Management was presented a Distinguished Service Award at an inaugural 2008 European Supply Chain Distinction Awards Ceremony held at the 10^th Annual European Supply Chain & Logistics Summit in Düsseldorf last month.

The prestigious award for “Thought Leadership and Service to Supply Chain Management” was presented to Professor Wilding by one of the judges, Michael Aguilar, Former Executive Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Electronics and President, Intrepid Consulting Group LLC, USA.He said:“Richard thoroughly deserves this award for his unwavering commitment to supply chain management and for his thought leadership in advancing the supply chains of countless enterprises.”

The awards are designed to honour Europe’s leading supply chain management and logistics professionals who demonstrate best practice and excellence.Nominees and winners are independently chosen by the supply chain community after a thorough evaluation by a world-class judging panel.

Commenting on receiving the award, Professor Wilding paid tribute to those he worked with:“I am both surprised and thrilled to be given this award.It is a real delight as an academic to be recognised in this way by the supply chain industry.It is also a tremendous honour, not just for me personally but for those companies and academic colleagues that I work with.It’s through their contact with me over the years that I’ve been able to innovate and sharpen my thinking.This award is also for them.”

Professor Wilding has lectured, researched, consulted and published in the field of logistics for 17 years and regularly speaks at international conferences.The focus of his work is increasingly on supply chain risk management and the development of supply chain strategies to cope with the increasing uncertainty and complexity of the fluctuating market forces which shape the global economy.