SA is running out of options to lower freight transport costs, and consumers need to help South Africa’s transport sector, despite accounting for 60% of total logistics costs, could be nearing a stalemate. Owners and operators, even at their most efficient, are at the mercy of escalating road tariffs, upped driver fees, rising maintenance costs, and, of course, erratic fuel prices. For transport-hungry South Africa, the well-being of its logistics sector is crucial. “We are running out of options,” cautioned Zane Simpson in his presentation at the 37th annual SAPICS conference of the Logistics Barometer launched in June 2015 by Stellenbosch University (SU). Logistics embraces not only the transportation of goods or people, but the organisation of all links in an immense supply chain – from source to warehousing, inventory, and even security. It is therefore not only transportation methods that need a rethink, but changes to all the links that impact rising costs. A farm nearer the fork Different to Europe, where most agricultural goods are produced within a small kilometer radius of the point of sale, South Africa’s transport distances are extensive, compounded further by inland mineral reserves that must be transported to seaports. Inland Gauteng especially has a high demand for goods, requiring long-distance carriage. Based on the current rate of demand growth, freight is likely to triple over the next three decades from the current 781 million tons moved annually. “Imagine three times the number of trucks on our road network and the impact this would have on road infrastructure, traffic and delivery times. If we don’t change, a system shock is inevitable,” explained Simpson. “What we can still change is behaviour on the demand side. Consumers are spoilt for choice,” says Simpson. “By demanding less variety, consumers will inevitably reduce the amount of transport needed, saving money, resulting in less road congestion, and ultimately benefiting our environment. The logistics industry too must be transparent about these benefits.” Consider all options “There has to be a change in the way goods flow between points; whether it be driven by technology or by this reduction in the variety of brands and options on offer to consumers.” In cases where no alternative exists other than to convey goods over long distances, Intermodal transport (moving containers using multiple transport modes) could have a dramatic impact but requires significant investment into rail systems. “The future,” says Simpson, “would have to include a fixed mode of transport.” Simpson and his team proposes that all other conveyance options; alternative technologies, even the unconventional, need be considered. “3D printing items close to source, for example, rather than having to transport from afar would help to reduce transport demand and subsequent costs. Seemingly ridiculous ideas even, such as building a canal between KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, long distance conveyor belts, or drones, need to become part of mainstream conversations if we are to reduce logistics costs,” he says. “Overall, instead of trying to reduce transport costs in isolation, we need to work hard at economic growth, which will solve more problems than just increasing logistics costs,” Simpson admits in closing. Simpson will repeat his presentation on the report findings at the SAPICS Cape Town Regional Conference on 25 August 2015. For more information and to register please visit www.sapics.org.za ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries.
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It’s easy to lay all blame on government for the shrinking of South Africa’s once buoyant manufacturing sector. Frequent power outages, tariff hikes and ill-timed legislation have no doubt put local producers under immense pressure, but would all be peachy if these issues were resolved tomorrow? Times have changed and business needs to adapt quickly. “No company can operate today the way it did 40 years ago,” says Dawid Janse van Rensburg, MD of CargoSolutions, a prominent South African supply chain and logistics service provider. “Everything has changed, and some of the largest manufacturers in South Africa need to accept the cliché of ‘adapt or die’.” Addressing delegates at the 37th Annual SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals, Janse van Rensburg tells how it’s high time that business stops blaming utilities, laws, or state of the economy and rather for management to take responsibility for implementing changes that will meet the different needs and pace of today. Smart tech or smart decisions? “Competitive local manufacturing is less about smart technology than about smart decisions – those made by management,” explains Janse van Rensburg. “Local manufacturers need to get over their egos, embrace true leadership. Without this fundamental change, no other changes by government, utilities or of IT systems will have a sustainable effect,” he says. “You need breakthrough intervention; something substantial to motivate South Africa’s purchasers to buy locally manufactured goods.” Local really is lekker South Africa has posted negative trade balances (where exports exceed imports) since 2012 (Trading Economics/SARS). The sporadic spikes in exports, mostly due to surges in the precious metals trade, is offset by imports of fuel and high value added goods. South Africa’s footwear and steel producers specifically have felt the impact lately. Despite the initial lure of low prices, importing can have serious drawbacks. Quality issues, lengthy delays during shipment, and language and payment hurdles, can all affect buyer and consumers. Local purchasers are now seriously considering buying local, and government is supporting, in some instances compelling, companies to source locally manufactured goods. “But,” says Janse van Rensburg, “we desperately need to address service levels as well as stock availability; our ability to compete with these global suppliers.” TOC logic “The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is one way that major change can be identified, managed and implemented,” explains Janse van Rensburg, whose company has implemented TOC supply chain solutions successfully in a wide range of local manufacturing companies for many years. The brainchild of Dr Eliyahu Goldratt, TOC looks to identify the most important limiting factor (the constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then steadily improving that constraint until it is no longer an issue. To supply competitively here and compete against imports, lead times for example need to be world class, says Janse van Rensburg. “This would generally imply that you should have products manufactured based on demand forecasts (make-to-stock) or by having high levels of stock, but this, again, is a misconception by management. There are IT systems that can optimise both! “The cost of implementing this type of breakthrough change should never be the focus. The cost of NOT changing? Potentially going out of business,” Janse van Rensburg concludes. EVENT NOTICE: To learn more about solutions that can completely transform supply chain and management of projects, visit http://bit.ly/1egbbj9 for information on the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization (TOCICO) Annual Conference, scheduled to be held 6-9 September 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. Private sector service providers looking to enter the public sphere should be willing to move beyond simply meeting the basic requirements of a project as defined by the public sector Terms of Reference (TOR). This is according to Gill Jones, Director of Client Solutions at UTi. Jones, in her presentation during the recent 37th SAPICS conference, validated how effective public-private partnership engagements can be in improving the lives and futures of ordinary South Africans. Jones advises that private sector be willing to learn lessons at risk and at cost to the business for a period of time, but should work on building a trust relationship while learning those lessons. “The risks taken and profit sacrificed might not make traditional business sense, but it has a bigger goal – the heart of the supply chain – that of providing services of a high quality to South Africans.” South Africa’s future, its success, rests upon the upliftment and education of her youngsters. While more than 20% of state expenditure is allotted for the purpose, the timely delivery of resources to around 11 million learners, more than half of whom are in rural schools, is testing. A partnership that does more than ‘just’ work Private courier and logistics firm UTi and the Lebone Litho Paarl Media Joint Venture (JV) were tasked by the public Department of Basic Education (DBE) with the distribution for the WorkBook Project. The state-funded initiative delivers nearly 60-million of the books throughout South Africa. Unlike textbooks, workbooks are provided for learners to practice their language and numeracy skills – those already taught in the classroom. The UTi-JV-DBE partnership saw workbook deliveries to learners improve from below 95% in 2011 to a staggering 99.9% in 2014. Learners not only had their workbooks on time, but six months prior the start of classes. A lack of accurate data prompted UTi to recommend that a database cleansing process be followed, allowing the company to streamline distribution. “Although database cleansing and maintenance was not in the TOR of this project, it delivered immense value in terms of meeting and exceeding project deliverables, and in the end achieving the truly important objective of getting the right textbooks to the right schools at the right time,” Jones explains. How to make Public-Private Partnerships work “Working in the public sector, you are bound to very strict Terms of Reference. As a private sector provider, working on that size of project with public sector for the first time, you have to remember that you are dealing with public funds that need to be regulated according to the upfront-agreed TORs”,” says Jones. “Once you’ve won the project, and you start setting up Service Level Agreements (SLAs), you are bound to the rigid TORs, with no room for negotiation on either time or price.” Jones doesn’t want these facts to put off private sector providers from engaging with public sector and ultimately achieving the best possible service delivery for South African citizens. “Just keep in mind that with limited information you have to cost a responsible risk factor to it,” she explains. “From there on it is up to you to stay focused on the end goal, and let your experience guide you in building trust relationships that will allow innovation to be to the benefit of the greater good.” ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. Editor’s note: For a selection of high resolution event images available for publication please visit http://bit.ly/1cIII4v The recent 37th Annual SAPICS Conference and Exhibition held true to its long-standing reputation as the leading event in Africa for supply chain professionals. The sessions covered an array of topics with some impressive speakers stepping up to the stage to deliver significant insight into topical issues, challenges and trends affecting not only the supply chain management profession, but also business in the context of global economic growth. Opening keynote speaker Justice Malala bravely took on a political stance, often a risk, and provided some excellent perspective on the challenges facing the profession. His view was that there is plenty of noise in South Africa across both politics and industry and that it is necessary to be very selective in the issues one spends energy on. Justice’s advice was elegantly simple – figure out a way to worry better. He advised us to spend more energy and thought on issues that could make a difference to our immediate environment, whether in the short or longer term. Although Supply Chain Management (SCM) professionals are experiencing frustration with government for seemingly not getting the basics right, there needs to be a way of channelling this energy towards positive outcomes. Yes, we need to make the call to government and make them realise why these areas need attention, but we also need to focus on what SCM can do for economic growth. One of the reasons I am so proud to be part of this profession is that we always seem to find a way to get things done and, if we can’t find a way, we invent one. Innovation is central to the profession and the people that populate it. There were a number of upbeat themes that threaded their way through the conversations and discussions during the event. SCM professionals are aware that to change and develop people there needs to be flexibility and adaptability alongside a commitment to using technology for change. Being ready for, and forcing, change should be a focus area. We need to remain optimistic and go and search for another way to get things done. It’s amazing what we have accomplished, but we spend too little time celebrating our success and tenacity. Another problem raised at the event was the lack of skilled and talented people who work hard and want to try new things and how it is impacting on the profession. This is not only relevant to SCM, but also to most of South Africa’s public and private sectors. Solutions put forward included changing basic education standards, decreasing bureaucracy around skills development and spending money not only on training, but ensuring that this spend is aligned with strategic business objectives. The biggest challenge for SAPICS as representative industry body is to be relevant for business in general, not just supply chain management. SAPICS will therefore continue to strengthen alliances with both international and local bodies for the greater good of the profession, but we need the help of our incredible industry professionals to position the Supply Chain Management function as a strategic business imperative. ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. Supply chain professionals are in increasing demand across a number of industries. The importance of supply chain expertise to a variety of fields was recently acknowledged at the second annual SAPICS SCNext Student Conference held on 20 March 2015 in Midrand. The conference carried the same theme as the SAPICS 2015 annual conference being held in Sun City from 31 May – 2 June: The Pulse of Africa’s Supply Chains. (Info: www.sapics.org.za)
“Logistics historically only referred to a specific area in the supply chain. Therefore, I would rather appoint a Supply Chain Professional to run my business who understands the complexities of the whole supply chain and the interactions between the different elements within Supply Chain Management (SCM)”, said guest speaker Hekkie van der Westhuizen (CSCP), General Manager of Dairypack. “I would much rather employ someone with a SCM qualification through a quality organisation like Sapics (Apics), because I know that this person should be well equipped to add value to my supply chain.” The attendance of students from a wide variety of learning paths at this year’s conference, hosted by SAPICS, also demonstrated a marked upswing in interest in SCM as a career. Students came from the Universities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology, Vaal University of Technology and the Institute of Marketing Management. The conference was also attended by various professionals offering to invest time mentoring students. An international organisation represented in this country by SAPICS, SCNext helps to recruit and equip students for the working world, an important component of which is pairing students with SCM professionals in order to facilitate a true transfer of skills and experience. “It is our vision to establish student societies at campuses across the country, organising both formal and informal gatherings where SAPICS mentors will address students on a variety of topics, as we saw at this year’s conference,” says Ayanda Khumalo, SAPICS Relationship Manager and President of SCNext South Africa. This year, speakers varied from Fortunate Mboweni from Bidvest Panalpina Logistics, who was the first African to win the Young Freight Forwarder of the Year competition, to supply chain veteran Mark Cleeve-Edwards from Barloworld Logistics who presented results from the most recent Supply Chain Foresight survey. This year’s survey found that people are more stressed by the pace of change than the actual change itself. “Entrants into the SCM market must understand that they will need to be very good at adapting to change fast if they are to stay ahead of the game,” says Khumalo. “The worst thing you can do for your SCM career is to become numb to change. You should always anticipate and get yourself ready for change before it even happens.” Keeping things ‘real’ was SAPICS Director and Head of Long Term Plan Development and Logistics at Transnet Rail Engineering, Kea Mpane, who gave delegates a reality check about not getting in over their heads with debt once they start work. Practical input came from Tongaat Hulett Starch’s Onicca Mailula who used the example of planning a braai to discuss the various roles and responsibilities, bringing clarity to some of the confusion some people experience with regards to supply chain definitions. Another lively discussion emerged from a presentation by Juanita Vorster, Strategist and Owner of At That Point PR, who challenged delegates regarding their social media presence and how it can impact their careers. “At SCNext, we realise the importance of employers and industry professionals investing time and effort in the development of young minds before they start working – for the good of their own organisations,” says Khumalo, explaining the variety of speakers and topics featured at this year’s conference. “As a global initiative that aims to link SCM students with mentors and organisations, we believe in giving students platforms to practice their learnings while still studying. This is proven to give them a head start in making a difference in the world through supply chain practices, to the benefit of the organisations they serve.” ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. Big data can translate into big profits for your business. But, much like a new language, you need to put effort into understanding the numbers or else they won’t mean much at all. That is exactly what a growing number of companies are doing. According to a 2012 SAS-MIT survey, with 2,500 respondents from over 20 industries, more than two thirds indicated that they are using analytics to improve overall performance. But with so many processes that need improvement using the masses of available data, it can be tough to figure out where to focus first. Good starting points across a range of industries that offer high potential in the near term are: visualising delivery routes, pinpointing future demand and simplifying distribution networks. Before you can focus into these areas, you need to learn how to get the numbers talking your language. “The ultimate goal is to convert the mass of unstructured data into useful analytics that help to improve service, reduce costs, improve inventory management and increase profits,” says BASF senior manager for SC Capability Development, Alan Millken. Milliken will present his workshop entitled Transforming Big Data into Supply Chain Analytics at the SAPICS 2015* conference, taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City. So what exactly does it take to transform the masses of available supply chain-related data to business intelligence including analytics? Step one is data mining: the process of extracting information from a data set and transforming it into a usable structure, supports analytics. “With today’s software, it is possible for this process to be fully automatic using algorithms supported by advanced statistics, math and software programmes,” says Milliken. “Or, if you prefer, the mining process can be interactive and driven by the end user.” According to Milliken, online analytical processing (OLAP) of multi-dimensional data cubes - like customer, location and sales – can be integrated into advanced planning software to enable reporting. This way it can also support the aggregation, drilling-down and slicing and dicing of the data. “Operationally, it is also possible for users to develop their own custom analytics,” he says. For example, deploying end user-defined filters or rules to find exceptions to a given rule. “The data-mining tool may be programmed to do cluster analysis, detect anomalies in the data, or apply association rules,” he says. All of the above may seem like Greek to some, but Milliken assures that with perseverance, the numbers start making sense. “My upcoming presentation at SAPICS 2015 is about sharing the journey – because that is what it is - to becoming an ‘analytics practitioner’,” he says. The presentation will start by focusing on the more narrow definition of the terms ‘analytics’ and ‘data mining’ in supply chain management. “We will employ practical supply chain examples of structuring data to support reporting, data mining and analysis, as well as how to use descriptive analytics, for example reports, KPIs, and dashboards, to report performance, determine what happened, why it happened and plan for change.” The presentation will also cover how to use predictive analytics to improve such processes as forecasting, customer relationship management and inventory control, as well as how to build basic decision models that use decision logic or business rules to optimize outputs. “Participants will leave prepared to improve the use of big data at their firm,” he says. In a related presentation on supply chain data, Inventory Optimisation Systems Manager for UTi, Hannari van Gend, will demonstrate how data visualisation software can be used to help drive improvements across an organisation’s supply chains. “We will use real life examples to show how improvements were realised, while sharing the process that was followed from software selection through to implementation,” says van Gend about her workshop entitled: Data Visualisation – Monitoring Your Supply Chain’s Pulse. “We will also cover the main challenges and benefits that have been experienced.” Want to find out more? Catch Milliken and Van Gend at SAPICS 2015. For more information on the 37th Annual SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 31 May – 2 June 2015, please visit www.sapics.org.za. ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. ABOUT APICS APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management and the premier provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate end-to-end supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designations set the industry standard. With over 37,000 members and more than 250 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers. APICS is based in the USA and has a broad global footprint. www.apics.org About Alan Milliken CPIM, CIRM, CFPIM, CSCP, CPF Alan Milliken is a Senior Manager on the Supply Chain Capability Development Team at BASF, the world’s leading chemical company. Prior to accepting this global assignment, Alan was a manager assigned to the Business Process Education Team at BASF Corporation in North America. He previously served as a Business Process Consultant at BASF for 14 years. During that time he supported several business re-engineering projects, three major acquisitions and many small projects. He received the Chairman’s Gold award for his work on a major acquisition. Alan has been an APICS instructor since 1995. He teaches all CPIM courses and CSCP. In addition to teaching at BASF his external clients include INTEL, Tiffan Company, Lucent Technologies, Allied Signal, Gulfstream Airplanes, Fuji Film, Standard Furniture and others. About Hannari van Gend Hannari Van Gend is an Inventory Optimization Systems Manager at UTi and leads a team of System Specialists within the SDi division of UTi. She is a multifaceted manager with experience in logistics and inventory optimization across several industries and companies. She holds a Computer Science Diploma from CTI and is a qualified SCOR® practitioner. UTi SDi currently provides an Inventory Optimization service to clients in the Automotive, Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Manufacturing and Retail industries. SDi Africa have also completed projects with a number of high profile international companies across several industries and are the Inventory Optimization centre of excellence for UTi’s clients globally. Never too old to learn something new, ordinary school systems in the US are scoring As for efficiency and accountability as they apply supply chain concepts to their tired old systems. Schools that are implementing these concepts are easily scoring between 10% and 60% in textbook savings in the first year and from 10% to 25% in subsequent years. “Even their investment in inventory tracking infrastructure (software, hardware, and training) is quickly recovered in the first year by the cost-savings achieved due to a better understanding of learner material usage and the higher student and teacher return rate of these materials at the end of the school year,” says Joyce Lewis, APICS Master Instructor and President of the APICS Los Angeles Chapter. Lewis will share her insights on how applying supply chain principles can improve accountability and visibility of educational resources during her workshop entitled Applying Inventory Management Principles to Ordinary Schools - Can It Work? at the SAPICS 2015* conference, taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City. “Across the globe, non-traditional supply chains like schools have historically been slow to adopt innovative supply chain concepts in order to manage student resources,” says Lewis. “But, the recent global trend in public reporting of education funding and transparency in spending has pressured many educational institutions to rethink how best to manage its technologies, textbooks, and teaching materials.” During her workshop, which will also be of interest to NGOs, Lewis will present a case study that details how a school system suffering from big budget cuts and quantum growth (200 students to 10,000 students in a ten year period) resolved its educational asset allocation issues and achieved significant cost savings through optimised asset management. Top tips for schools How can South African schools and NGOs achieve similar results? According to Lewis, the ABCs of supply chain apply:
Benefits “The benefits of applying these tips are enormous. Not only is less time spent by teachers and administration reacting to and recovering from textbook loss at the end of the year, but active tracking of resources throughout the year allows them to put processes in place to limit future losses of resources,” concludes Lewis. “And the good news is that funding normally spent on replacing textbooks can instead be used for other educational purposes.” Want to find out more? Catch Joyce Lewis at SAPICS 2015*. For more information on the 37th Annual SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 31 May – 2 June 2015, please visit http://conference.sapics.org/ ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. ABOUT APICS APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management and the premier provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate end-to-end supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designations set the industry standard. With over 37,000 members and more than 250 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers. APICS is based in the USA and has a broad global footprint. www.apics.org About Joyce Lewis Joyce Lewis, MAEd, CPIM, CSCP, C.P.M. is an engaging APICS Master Instructor with 23 years of experience in various high-tech industries, and more than 16 years of experience in the art and science of education for learners aged 4 to 84. Joyce lives in Phoenix, Arizona but serves as President of APICS Los Angeles in California, USA. She holds APICS CPIM, CSCP and ISM Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) certifications and is an APICS Master instructor in CPIM, CSCP, and Instructor Training. She is a certified The Fresh Connection Instructor. Joyce currently privately consults with various Fortune 50-250 corporations in all aspects of operations and supply chain management. With a strong technology background that includes leading 4 SAP implementations in 4 countries, Joyce has applied her knowledge of supply chain to implement inventory systems and course managements systems for multiple educational institutions in the United States. www.linkedin.com/in/joycelewis411 Ever wondered why most forecasts and customer service miss the mark, some by metres but many by a mile? According to author and Demand Driven Material Resources Planning (DDMRP) guru Carol Ptak, it’s because the formal planning systems that most people use are fatally flawed. How so? In essence, it’s because they use history as a basis for planning the future. But, the good news is that by going to greater lengths to understand the new concept of DDMRP, one can begin to service customers with greater levels of accuracy than ever before with shorter lead times and with reduced levels of inventory even in an FMCG context! “Demand Driven MRP is a powerful way to create flow in the supply chain, one of the major issues that companies face in an increasingly competitive and more complex environment” says Steven Montgomery General Manager of Logistics of ABE Construction Chemicals. “It does this by remodeling your supply chain through strategic positioning of inventory and linking to a pull from customer demand, instead of the traditional push and promote methodology found in many companies today” he explains. Forecasting and DDMRP in an FMCG environment The insights of Montgomery and many other experts in forecasting and DDMRP will be available to you at the SAPICS 2015* conference, taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City. Here’s a foretaste of what you’ll be able to learn over just a few days. Forecasting & FMCG During his talk entitled: Forecasting lessons from FMCG aisles, Barnton MD Thinus Hermannn will take participants on a virtual trip to a grocery store, pointing out the insights that can be gleaned there. “There’s lots to learn in every aisle, comparing the behaviour of different pack sizes of the same product, across a range of products,” he says. “And just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, I’ll challenge you to dig deeper into sales in the take away industry, which helps us refine forecasting month ends amongst others.” An excellent case study on the Shoprite transformation over the past 20 years will be presented by Industrial Logistic System’ co-founder, Gary Benatar. The presentation tracks the journey since Shoprite adopted central distribution in 1993 as a key strategy to growth and efficiency for the consumer. “Participants will learn exactly how the strategy was implemented, how it has evolved and matured to allow Shoprite to become the largest retailer in SA and in Africa,” he says. “If you want to learn how Shoprite succeeded in totally reengineering the FMCG market space with respect to supply chain, don’t miss this talk!” DDMRP and the Journey towards Supply Chain Maturity Creating ‘flow’ in supply chain is a function of its ability to create network wide visibility, and most importantly, a conscious effort to move towards a culture of planning and demand driven systems. In his paper on ABE Construction Chemicals’ journey to true customer excellence, entitled DDMRP and the Journey towards Supply Chain Maturity, Montgomery will look at DDMRP in the context of a journey. “The first thing participants will learn is how to put some fundamentals in place: Defining demand; getting visibility on over- and under-stock positions; seeing the implications of a bi-modal stock distribution. These initial steps show what a company might need to get in place before they approach a DDMRP implementation,” he says. “The talk will also describe the role that supporting systems and methodologies have played in the journey to customer service improvement and our continued efforts to drive our business to new heights which we believe can be achieved through a successful DDMRP implementation.” Supply chain simulation With a solid theoretical foundation in place, management consultant, MD at Life Science Associates and partner at Production-Scheduling.com, Kien Leong will run a simulation of a supply chain planning system using DDMRP. “Demand Driven MRP is designed to support material and inventory planning at a full scale of operation. This means addressing hundreds of products, produced and purchased items,” he says. “To deploy DDMRP in the real world, you will need the help of computers to manage all of that information. This workshop will give access to such a planning system.” During the simulation, participants will have a go at making important decisions on selecting product families and Buffer Profiles. “The planner needs to choose a method to determine Average Daily Usage (ADU), Planned Adjustment and Variability Factors,” he says. “These inputs will then determine how well the DDMRP system will perform.” Bringing it all together with three in-depth case studies will be Erik Bush, CEO of Demand Driven Technologies. “Today, nearly every home in the United States has a product in it that passes through the Unilever DDMRP implementation,” says Bush, referring to the kinds of insights participants will gain from attending his talk. Delegates will also learn from a range of case studies from some of the best known global organisations. Want to find out more? Catch these speakers and more at SAPICS 2015*. For more information on the 37th Annual SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 31 May – 2 June 2015, please visit http://conference.sapics.org/ ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. Doing business in the African pharmaceutical sector is tough, but network modelling can help take the guesswork out of significantly reducing cost and improving performance. The challenge In Africa, the pharmaceutical sector faces several challenges, says Riaan Burger, Solutions Architect at Barloworld Logistics. “While costs pressures and legislation changes are on the increase, companies must cater to pockets of demand while battling sparse infrastructure.” “We face a volatile environment coupled with regulated production and storage activities, strong competition and significant shelf life considerations – all of which demand a sound supply chain strategy,” says Kirk Nash, Aspen Pharmacare SA - Supply Chain Manager. The good news is the pair have succeeded in beating the challenges thanks to a smart network modelling approach, the highlights of which they will present in a workshop entitled: Reducing the cost to serve through strategic supply chain modelling: An African perspective at the SAPICS 2015* conference, taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City. Why network modelling? Network modelling is one of the most effective ways to quantitatively and qualitatively define the impact of an investment decision and logistics strategy on an organisation. “It gives one a holistic view of costs within the supply chain to realise the total cost saving, bearing in mind that the sum of the individual parts may be greater than the whole,” says Nash. He says the network modelling project Aspen recently embarked upon allowed the company to have a holistic view of its total front end supply chain costs in order to best use its existing fixed network infrastructure, reduce total costs and improve customer service. Network modelling is essentially about the appropriate use and deployment of capacity to serve a market with a particular service offering at the lowest cost. “Legislation, company policies and investment decisions dictate how that capacity will be used and established over time to serve the market within the competitive advantage drivers of the organisation. Various levers are available to protect and enable that competitive advantage but it is evident that in an ever-changing market the continual review of these investments decisions are needed, specifically around logistics,” adds Burger. In particular, the dynamic of third party providers versus in-house logistics, even hybrid models, are to be evaluated to find the best service offering to market at the lowest cost. “But, employing a network modelling strategy doesn’t mean that you have to reinvent your entire network,” says Nash. “We have discovered that small, incremental changes within your existing network may have a significant benefit to customer service in terms of speed to market and in full. It also means a reduction in total costs and reduced business risk.” Some useful advice “The key challenges that need to be paid attention to in supply chain modelling is data, the definition of relevant and appropriate inputs into the model in addition to finding, building and operating supply chain network modelling software appropriately,” says Burger. Nash agrees: “When network modelling, it is critical to understand the data fully and to convert it to useful information. The old saying ‘Garbage in-Garbage Out’ applies.” He also recommends that when choosing a business partner and respective tool, it is important to ensure that it is scalable and is able to use the captured data to run unexpected scenarios that one might not have anticipated at the start of the project. “Lastly, I’d say: be brave, think boldly and try many permutations,” Nash concludes. “Then, challenge the answers presented and push back to take your model to the next level.” Want to find out more? Catch Nash and Burger at SAPICS 2015*. The presentation by Kirk Nash and Riaan Burger at SAPICS 2015 is entitled: Reducing the cost to serve through strategic supply chain modelling: An African perspective. For more information on the 37th Annual SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 31 May – 2 June 2015, please visit http://conference.sapics.org/ EENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. ABOUT APICS APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management and the premier provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate end-to-end supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designations set the industry standard. With over 37,000 members and more than 250 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers. APICS is based in the USA and has a broad global footprint. www.apics.org About Kirk Nash Kirk Nash is the Supply Chain Manager at Aspen Pharmacare with responsibility for the business front-end supply chain, demand planning forecasting, physical distribution and inventory management Prior to joining Aspen Pharmacare, Kirk worked in Logistics and demand planning at several companies, including Adcock Ingram, Tiger Brands (Snacks, Treats and Beverages) and Beacon Sweets. Notable is his 5 years as National Logistics Manager for Adcock Ingram navigating the upgrade of the physical distribution network. Kirk received an MBA from the University of Wales in 2006. For additional information about Aspen click on www.aspenpharma.com About Riaan Burger Having been an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional since 2007 coupled with over 15 years’ worth of experience spanning all domains of planning, Riaan Burger has extensive experience in demand, supply and inventory planning. His experience comes in the form of more than 50 supply chain optimization engagements across multiple industries in various countries, in addition to published works and presenting at conferences. This Easter weekend, fluctuating demand for blood coupled with a shortage in supply could add chaos to the road carnage. That is if it weren’t for the South African National Blood Service’s (SANBS) ground-breaking system that enables the organisation to track and trace every single unit of blood that’s out there, together with its supply chain partner, TrenStar. “For us, delivering blood on time is literally a matter of life and death,” says Ravi Reddy Chief Operations Officer of the SANBS. “That’s why we couldn’t manage without the reliable, flexible, smart supply chain system we’ve fine-tuned over the past few years.” Learn more about this system when Reddy delivers a presentation entitled, “Smart Supply Chains: Blood on a Returnable Basis” at the SAPICS 2015* conference - taking place from 31 May to 2 June at Sun City - together with TrenStar Services’ General Manager, Eddie Fourie. “Blood on a Returnable Basis (BRB) Solution optimises the usage of this valuable limited resource whilst harnessing intuitive software to save lives,” says Fourie. “It makes the impossible possible: getting blood to a hospital within a specified time using track and trace. We’ve enabled SANBS to pool and manage blood to save lives on a mission-critical level.” Launched in 2006 at the Flora Clinic and the Helen Joseph Blood Bank, the project has now rolled out amongst the Life Health, Netcare and Mediclinic hospital groups in the hospitals which do not have a blood bank on site. How it works The system uses barcoding technology to provide visibility over blood stocks, ensure the quality of each unit of blood and improve services to hospitals and patients – a tall order when one’s handling fluctuating demand of between 2000-3000 units of blood per day. “What makes it even more of a challenge is that it’s not possible simply to have unlimited blood supplies waiting for patients at hospitals. Orders need to be placed via 84 blood banks that serve around 600 hospitals, which makes it a massive logistical challenge,” says Reddy. “With the system, it’s possible for us to track each unit of blood that is ordered from the moment it leaves with the courier until it is received by hospital staff who confirm it is received at the correct temperature,” says Fourie. “That is a real example of how time, efficiency and technology combine to bring blood to patients when they need it most. It is a true smart end-to-end supply chain that is endorsed by the Board of Healthcare Funders.” Returnable blood “The thought of someone dying because they could not access blood is what drives us,” says Reddy. “That is why we make sure that blood that is not used at one hospital is kept in perfect condition, ready to be rushed to another hospital to save a life.” The unique ‘blood-on-a-returnable-basis’ container, specially developed for SANBS, keeps blood cool while enabling continuous temperature monitoring. “That way, patients are not charged for blood that is not used. Also, it can be sent back to the blood bank, ready for redistribution, and all the while being tracked by TrenStar,” says Fourie. Around 7% of all dispatched blood is returned to blood banks – that is a lot of lives saved. Saving money, increasing efficiency The system’s incredible efficiency has enabled the SANBS to handle a rise in demand of around 4% per year without the cost of having to increase the number of units collected per day by the same amount. At present, the SANBS must collect around 3000 units per day. “We’ve also benefited from a system that enables automatic billing and payments,” says Reddy, “which keeps us focused on the business of saving lives rather than just business.” What others can learn from this system? “We’ve learnt that it’s possible to develop an incredibly flexible, agile system that works seamlessly with a call centre emergency solution without having to use off-the-shelf products,” says Reddy. “The applications for such a solution are endless, whether it’s tracking pharmaceuticals, chronic medications or other high-cost items.” “Also, it’s enormously gratifying to know that what we do literally saves lives,” concludes Fourie. Want to find out more? Catch Reddy and Fourie at SAPICS 2015*. Learn more about this system when SANBS and TrenStar deliver a joint presentation entitled, “Smart Supply Chains: Blood on a Returnable Basis” at the SAPICS 2015* conference - taking place from 31 May to 2 June at Sun City. SANBS will also be providing delegates to SAPICS2015 with the opportunity to donate blood during the conference ENDS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement ABOUT SAPICS – your supply chain network SAPICS is a professional knowledge-based association that enables individuals and organisations to improve business performance. SAPICS builds operations management excellence in individuals and enterprises through superior education and training, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources and a countrywide network of accomplished industry professionals. This network is ever expanding and now includes associates in other African countries. ABOUT APICS APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management and the premier provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate end-to-end supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designations set the industry standard. With over 37,000 members and more than 250 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers. APICS is based in the USA and has a broad global footprint. www.apics.org About Ravi Reddy Ravi Reddy is the Chief Operations Officer Services of the South African National Blood Service and has 30 years’ experience. He is a medical technologist and also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Technology and an MBA from UKZN. His current responsibilities are to direct all aspects related to the collection, processing, testing and issue of approximately 823 000 units of blood in SANBS. He has been responsible for a number of initiatives to improve the quality, safety and availability of blood to patients. He is a member of the WHO expert committee on Blood Safety and is currently President Elect of the International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT). He says, “It is most satisfying that the work I do is helping to save hundreds of thousands of lives annually and I believe it is important to change and innovate on a continuous basis to do even better.” About Eddie Fourie Eddie Fourie holds a B. Eng degree in Industrial Engineering (1998) from the University of Pretoria and a MBA (2005) from the University of Pretoria. He started his career as an analyst with exposure to Logistics Management Systems while working for BAE Systems-IFS (Pty) Ltd. He gained experience as a business analyst and consultant while employed at Siemens Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd and Siemens Business Services (Pty) Ltd before joining TrenStar in 2004. His career at TrenStar progressed from business analyst and project manager to Command Centre Manager. Today, he holds the position of General Manger: Services at TrenStar overseeing the Call Centre, IT Support Desk and Command Centre departments. He says, “I’m passionate about delivering solutions to clients that add real business value and believe that IT is a key enabler on the journey to continuous process improvement in the fields of logistics management and supply chain management.” |
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