Earlier this year, EPCA’s Supply Chain Programme Committee (SCPC) paused to redefine its direction and raise its ambition, supporting the Board’s drive to make committee work more visible. At the committee’s February meeting, the SCPC clarified its purpose: to become the leading knowledge-sharing and networking hub for the petrochemical supply chain ecosystem. This renewed purpose is built around addressing the issues that matter most to members, from cost competitiveness and resilience to digitalisation, infrastructure, and collaboration across the value chain.
Over the next three years, the SCPC will turn these priorities into tangible outcomes, such as hands-on workshops, surveys, factsheets, and an enhanced presence at the EPCA Annual Meeting.
Stay informed about our latest activities via the SCPC’s dedicated webpage: epca.eu/topic-supply-chain.
Intermodal Transportation Network (ITN)
New Publication: Intermodal Transport - Europe's Strategic Advantage in Disguise
If you missed our ITN workshop last November, our guest speaker Michal Silhacek - a supply chain executive with over three decades of experience at IKEA - has written a short article capturing his key messages. Drawing on his practical expertise in global land transportation, Michal makes the case that intermodal is no longer simply an operational choice: it is a strategic capability that shapes competitiveness, resilience and sustainability. He also addresses the decisive role shippers themselves must play and the mindset shift required to unlock intermodal's full potential.
Save the Date: ITN Workshop - 18 November, Düsseldorf
Our next ITN workshop will take place on 18 November in Düsseldorf, the day before the ECTA Annual Meeting. Further details will follow in due course. In the meantime, we warmly welcome any agenda suggestions from members - your input always helps shape these sessions.
Upcoming Webinar: Railway Operator Updates - Early June (date tbc)
We will be hosting a webinar in early June featuring the latest updates from railway operators. Details to follow - sign up to our mailing list to make sure you don't miss them.
To receive all ITN news and event invitations directly, sign up to our mailing list by clicking on the button below.
Digitalization
EPCA, in partnership with Vlerick Business School, has launched a project to address one of the sector's persistent operational frustrations: the fragmented digital landscape across the petrochemical supply chain. From ordering and shipment planning through to tracking and delivery, companies rely on a patchwork of tools and platforms that too often create duplication, delays and unnecessary manual workarounds. Applying lean operations principles to the end-to-end order-to-delivery process, the project will map how suppliers, logistics providers and customers interact digitally, and where that interaction breaks down. The goal is practical: identify the waste, eliminate it where possible, and make the petrochemical supply chain more efficient and more competitive.
Keep an eye out for updates on the dedicated Digitalization subgroup page.
Building Supply Chain Adaptability and Resilience
EPCA recognizes that its members are navigating one of the most challenging periods in recent memory, with shifting trade patterns, geopolitical pressures, and evolving demand that is testing the resilience of supply chains across the industry. At the same time, the complexity of these shifts means that no single company can navigate them on their own, and that collaboration across the ecosystem is key to finding shared solutions. That is why EPCA’s Adaptability subgroup will shortly launch a project, running a programme of webinars and workshops, and the development of practical, actionable playbooks designed to help members understand the scenarios ahead, identify the right interventions, and strengthen both their competitiveness and their operational resilience for the long term.
New SCPC Members
We are delighted to welcome Francesca Coppola, Head of Distribution Logistics at Versalis and Wim Verheyen, Supply Chain Manager Belgium - Base Chemicals at Borealis to the SCPC Committee.
The SCPC is currently composed of 23 members representing petrochemical producers, LSPs, distributors, digital companies and peer sectorial associations - and is coordinated by Lydia Pernal-Stoddart.
✋ Interested to know more? Drop us an email: scpc.committee@epca.eu