22nd ANZAM Operations, Supply Chain and Services Management Symposium

Geopolitical Uncertainty and the Climate Crisis: What’s the Role of the Supply Chain?

Overview and Welcome Note

The world is experiencing a multitude of crises that permeate national borders, from unresolved military conflicts that cause humanitarian emergencies to protectionist trade policies that pose threats to existing alliances. Meanwhile, ongoing climate change threatens biodiversity and causes natural disasters. These challenges affect societies and organisations worldwide, with their impacts likely lasting for years, if not decades to come. As a result, organisations will need to reinvent their operations and supply chains to remain economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable.

On a positive note, these crises have led entrepreneurs and senior executives to become creative in seeking bold ideas that not only accelerate organisational resilience and responsiveness but also sustainability outcomes. These ideas include adopting novel renewable energy technologies, adapting humanitarian logistics, and implementing circular economy ideas, among others. We believe that these developments represent an opportune time to critically analyse what role supply chains play in these times of geopolitical uncertainty and the climate crisis, and how they can serve as a force for positive change.

We invite you to join this stimulating discussion at the 22^nd ANZAM Operations, Supply Chain, and Services Management Symposium in 2025, hosted by the University of Melbourne. In celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the ANZAM OSCSM community, this year’s symposium aims to cross disciplinary boundaries and includes voices from outside academia to understand the evolving role of operations and supply chain in a volatile global environment.

The symposium aims to provide a platform to collectively reflect on some pressing questions of our time, such as:
What role do recent negotiations on trade tariffs and new trade alliances have on supply chain network configurations?
How do geopolitical dynamics impact the climate crisis and issues of forced labour in supply chains?
How can organisations develop and sustain resilient and agile supply chains?
With operations and supply chain management becoming strategically more important, how does the role of the operations/supply chain manager evolve?
What role do emerging technologies play in addressing protectionist policies and sustainability challenges?

Explore Full Program

Day 1 (Wednesday, 26 November 2025): Welcome reception 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Day 2 (Thursday, 27 November 2025): Events, to include symposium opening, discussion panel, research presentation tracks, and symposium dinner

Day 3 (Friday, 28 November 2025): Events, to include research presentation tracks, and symposium closing

Registrations are essential. Please click Book Now to secure your seat.

Call for Papers

We invite contributions addressing issues in the operations, supply chain, and services management disciplines. Papers addressing our theme of Geopolitical Uncertainty and the Climate Crisis: What’s the Role of the Supply Chain? are welcome. We encourage submissions from all conceptual, analytical, and empirical perspectives.

Click HERE for more information.

Key Dates

- Full papers / Extended abstracts submission deadline: 15 August 2025 (Friday)
- Notification of acceptance: 17 October 2025 (Friday)
- Early bird registrations close: 31 October 2025 (Friday)
- Final registrations close: 16 November 2025 (Sunday)
- Welcome reception: 26 November 2025 (Wednesday evening)

Registration Fees

Registration will open on 18 June 2025 and will close on 16 November 2025.

Parking

Metered street parking is available in the surrounding streets, or please visit the Parking on Campus website.
University Car Park Entrance: 244 Bouverie Street or 206 Berkeley Street. Click here for the map.

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