ConnectChains – The Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference 2026
The focus of the 4th ConnectChains – The Humanitarian Supply Chain Conference, which will take place on December 4, 2026, at the Vienna Airport Conference & Innovation Center (Runway 1 room), Towerstrasse 3, 1300 Vienna Airport, will be on knowledge transfer and networking among all stakeholders in humanitarian and commercial supply chain management. The goal: to manage crisis situations even better in the future. The international conference is unique in that representatives from the commercial sector and humanitarian organizations will present best practices for collaboration and partnerships and develop strategies for the future in the field of supply chain management. One of the main topics will be increasing efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence in humanitarian logistics.
The number of tickets (free of charge) is limited. Dress code: smart casual. Premium sponsors of the event are Fritz Institute (USA), duisport (Germany), and Vienna AirportCity (Austria).
The conference is aimed at logistics and SCM experts in humanitarian and development aid organizations as well as logistics companies. Representatives from foundations, academia, and governments as well as international donors are also invited. Representatives from the target group can request a free ticket by emailing the conference organizer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., stating their position.
Program
| 9:00 | Registration and coffee |
| 9:30 | Welcome: Thilo Jörgl, Conference Chair, ConnectChains |
| 9:35 | Impulse: Lynn C. Fritz, CEO Fritz Institute, San Francisco |
| 9:50 | Presentation: ETH tbc |
| 10:10 | Presentation: Gamification - do´s and don´ts TBD |
| 10:20 | Impulse & panel discussion: AI - results of the working group "AI in humanitarian logistics" Impulse 1: Max Meister, Co-CEO Ludwig Meister, Dachau tbc Impulse 2: Analysis of donor requirements: Yuehwern Yih, Ph.D., Director SOS Lab, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University tbc & Sarah Penniman-Morin, Chief Global Supply Chain Officer, International Rescue Committee, NYC Impulse 3: WFP tbc |
| 10.55 |
Intro: Lynn C. Fritz Medal: cooperation and AI - the topics 2026 |
| 11:05 | Presentation: Winning project of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics 2026 |
| 11:20 | Q&A: The winner of the Lynn C. Fritz Medal answers questions |
| 11:30 | Coffee break |
| 12:00 | Presentation & panel discussion: Certification in humanitarian Logistics Mitsuko Mizushima, Chief Logistics Officer, Fritz Institute, San Francisco Martijn Blansjaar, Head of Logistics & Supply, Oxfam, Oxford tbc Sarah Penniman-Morin, Chief Global Supply Chain Officer, International Rescue Committee, NYC tbc |
| 12:20 | Panel discussion: Policy changes affecting pharmaceutical companies and hum. organizations Prof. Dr. Sander de Leeuw, Chair of Operations Research & Logistics, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen Marin Tomas, Senior Advisor for Logistics & Supply Chain, International Medical Corps, Split tbc N.N. |
| 13.00 | Panel discussion: Cooperation, sharing, outsourcing - best practices Dr. Alexander Fuchs, Co-Founder DSCN, Nurenberg (moderator) Impulse: Successful cooperatio in a TMS project: Antoine Collot, AEB, Stuttgart & Jan Kanzleiter, MSF, tbc Impulse 2: Operationalizing anticipatory action in humanitarian logistics: N.N. HeiGIT, N.N. WHH tbc Ben Safari, Head of Supply Management Service, UNHCR, Budapest tbc Julian Schneider, Managing Director, duisport logistics & port services, Duisburg tbc |
| 13:45 | Outlook: Application for Lynn C. Fritz Medal 2027 |
| 13:55 | Light lunch, networking opportunitiy |
| 14:30 | End |
Review of the ConnectChains conference 2025
