SAPICS Regional Conferences: Promoting Supply Chain Excellence

September 2011 saw the hosting of the annual Regional Conferences of SAPICS - The Association for Operation Management of Southern Africa- in Durban, Stellenbosch and Gauteng. Local supply chain and business management experts as well as international guest speakers were invited to deliver contributions along the lines of the theme: futuregrowth today.

Delegates at all three venues welcomed Joe Walden, Director of the Supply Chain Leadership Institute in the USA and former Colonel in the US Army (where he headed the Supply Chain Process Improvement Programme), who shared with them the qualities of a leader and how these qualities found amongst leaders in all aspects of business, pertain to the supply chain and operations management chain professional. Walden stressed that leadership in an organisation does not lead a business or a part thereof, but people. "Strategic leadership of the employees – the people forming the organisation – is the key to improving productivity. Such leadership increases the future growth potential of both the organisation and the individuals working in it - today".

Joe Walden shared the Durban platform in Durban with Andy Walker, an associate of Oliver Wight in the UK – a Gold sponsor of the 2011 SAPICS Annual Conference. Walker covered the key differences between the traditional sales and operations planning and integrated business planning.

The attendees in the Western Cape were enriched by the insights of six highly respected supply chain and business management professionals at the Spier Wine Estate and Conference Centre.

Cobus Rossouw, Chief Integration Officer of IMPERIAL Logistics and Chairman of the SAPICS Executive Committee, demonstrated the importance of collaborative planning and sharing of information and data to synchronise and optimise the flow of material through the supply chain. The importance of supply chain players getting it right, received even more attention in the presentation of Dr Alan Barnard, CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, South Africa raised the question whether exponential Population Growth plus Finite Resources equals economic Boom or bust for producers and distributors in Africa and Asia. In his presentation he stated that "The population growth in cities on the African continent could triple in the next 40 years. Supply chains will have to increase efficiencies in the face of an upsurge in the demand for raw materials, food and consumer goods. This will be a daunting challenge as scarce and finite resources like basic services, land, energy and affordable food are already strained."

The contributions of Jamie Wates, General Manager at Inventory by Design, UTi; Andrew Richmond, a Customer Experience Specialist at Outside-Insight and Daniel Silke, South African Political Analyst and Futurist touched on extremely relevant modern-day supply chain and management issues such as inventory management, designing a customer experience strategy and the top ten trends that will transform the world over the next two decades.

The extended invitation to Lee-Ann de Flamingh, Chrisjan Heystek and Mark Theart, three of the top graduates from the Logistics Department of the University of Stellenbosch to share the stage with these distinguished speakers, clearly illustrated SAPICS' commitment to promote futuregrowth today.

Says Joubert van Eeden, study leader at the US Department of Logistics: "Twenty students were given the opportunity to attend the conference; seven displayed posters on their ongoing research projects and three took the stage. Not only did they gain valuable exposure to the professional field but they were also granted an opportunity to rub shoulders with possible future-employers and attain information regarding modern trends in the industry."

SAPICS president, Liezl Smith stated that through the regional conferences the association demonstrated yet again that it will continue to guide the supply chain industry into the future and seek solutions that will ensure the sustainable growth of all its members.

SAPICS - The Association for Operations Management of Southern Africa - comprises professional members from across the spectrum of South African industry. Since its foundation in 1966, SAPICS has become a leading provider of knowledge in supply chain management, production and operations in South Africa. The association is closely affiliated to APICS -The Association for Operations Management in the United States.

SAPICS is the South African custodian of two internationally accredited certification programmes from APICS - Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). The association's education offerings are aimed at advancing industry's ability to succeed in a changing and increasingly competitive market place.

The Annual SAPICS Conference and Exhibition is the premier educational and networking event in Africa for Supply Chain management professionals.

The 34th Annual SAPICS Conference and Exhibition will be held at Sun City from 3rd to 5th June 2012.

For further information, please contact:

Denise Lourens 0832685605 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jenny Froome at SAPICS 011 023 6707 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | www.sapics.org.za