Africa’s child mortality rate is high, the highest in the world. Malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa sees one in eight children die before the age of five (UNICEF). “This, despite having the food to feed them”, says Hermann Haupt, CHEP Country GM Sub-Saharan Africa. “At 5% compared to the western world’s 60%, food waste in Africa (that by the consumer) isn’t the main problem,” stresses Haupt. “It is food loss – incidents during the early stages of the supply chain, from post-harvest and production to retail. We lose about 220 million tons of food this way annually but the food deficit needed to feed the hungry is only 45 million tons. We need to resolve only 20% of the losses to fix this crippling problem.” Haupt alerted supply chain professionals at the recent 37th annual SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals to the severity of the food crisis. CHEP is a division of supply chain logistics giant Brambles, which is actively looking at ways to remedy the situation. A vicious circle A consequence of malnutrition, explains Haupt, is stunting. 40% of the continent’s children are stunted – physically and mentally underdeveloped as a result of malnourishment, making them more susceptible to disease and less able to learn and ultimately work and develop themselves both from the persona and professional stand point. Haupt points out that “We need to work hard to reduce and ultimately eliminate malnutrition, thereby improving people’s lives whilst creating a value-adding economically active population”, he says. “Africa has five times fewer roads than the developed world,” Haupt says. “On top of that, congestion at seaports and delays at border posts makes for a challenging cold chain environment.” Harmonised effort by industry, government Haupt pinpoints 5 stages of food loss and the crucial Supply Chain Management (SCM) details often overlooked: Production “Yield in Africa is just 1.1 ton per hectare, but 3.2 tons in the rest of the world!” he says. “Even a small increase in yield can make a massive difference to the malnutrition problem. We need to find a way to transfer skills to Africa’s farmers.” Harvest processing Problems include timing, storage, and refrigeration methods Industry processing Taking consumer ready product and getting it to market. “Packaging is a major issue here,” Haupt explains. “When products are packaged in bulk or in containers that aren’t suitable, the packaging is easily crushed and the food wasted. Distribution and sales Forecasting is not accurate; resulting in oversupply and waste. Retailers focus only on displaying perfect looking food, rather than concentrating on whether the food is still nutritionally perfect. Waste Consumers buy too much and do not monitor sell-by dates. Haupt maintains that while some solutions, such as closer collaboration of Africa’s governments, building road/railways and processing facilities, are long-term; in the short term, the most sufficient supply chain is obviously one where the production facility is as close as possible to users. “Ultimately, we need a coordinated, collaborative effort if we are to make a difference here,” says Haupt, citing that the SCM industry is the place to start. “Correctly managing food supply chains can have an immediate result by overcoming obstacles in the getting of goods to those in desperate need,” ends Haupt. 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. “Management must create a culture that encourages conflicting opinions to be aired and considered before decisions are made.” This controversial piece of advice was shared by Joe Shedlawski at the recent 37th annual SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals. Shedlawski, a 30-year S&OP veteran and associate with America’s R.A.Stahl Company, explains that orderly conflict “allows for setting proper policy, strategy and risk assessment and performance measurements, and effective resolving of conflict.” Effective business management is best described as a journey – one of constant improvement, aligning an organisation to create defined, repeatable processes that provides executives the confidence to drive a business nearer its goals which can usually be narrowed down to most efficiently matching supply with demand. One of these businesses processes is called Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). S&OP is traditionally seen as an isolated supply chain management effort driven by technology, process definition or discipline. Succeeding with an S&OP voyage is however more about successfully circumnavigating the catch-22 of the required culture change management. The paradoxical catch: “Successful implementation of S&OP demands a high-level understanding of the required changes but failing to involve top management however diminishes the chances of success,” Shedlawski explains. “These changes include cementing the vital role top management plays in supply chain planning, the cultural changes which more often than not must be achieved, and the methods available to overcome this catch-22 situation.” More than executive lip-service Most new processes claim to need the support of top management, but Executive S&OP is quite different. “It needs not only support to address cultural change,” says Shedlawski, “but commitment and, more importantly, hands-on participation in true executive decision making.” “The organisation’s leadership team should align the energy of the enterprise towards the strategy, policies, budgets, goals, and level of risk taking – all which are established and maintained through this process. Disagreements must be expressed in Executive S&OP, and must be managed to contribute to the overall health of the entire organisation.” These open and honest opinions should be collected from all levels and functional areas of the entire business. It is important that the executive participants are encouraged to ask questions of the relevant departments to obtain solutions to the challenges faced. “While executive leadership expects that strategies that are set in the boardroom will somehow translate into aligned tactical execution plans and schedules, so often that is not the case,” warns Shedlawski. “Management must keep things simple, making logic explicit, and focus on sustainable healthy improvement, rather than short-lived perfection.” 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. South Africa has over the last seven years managed to claw back a sizeable chunk of professionals lured abroad. A huge talent gap remains though – with competition fierce to fill the almost half a million management and professional vacancies (Adcorp Report, 2014). The Supply Chain Management (SCM) arena is no exception of late, with SCM MBAs and graduates in high demand. “Proper training and skills development are critical, but it cannot simply be an arbitrary mandate,” says Dr. Brian Gibson, Wilson Family Professor of Supply Chain Management at Auburn University in the US. “It has to be specific,” he explains. “It has to be tailored to the individual, and it has to nurture them, help them grow into their current role or ready them for future roles.” This is the link between Supply Chain SCM talent development and succession planning, outlined by Dr. Gibson in his address at the 37th annual SAPICS conference for SCM professionals. In his almost three decades’ retail work and SCM teaching, Dr. Gibson has observed how talent development programmes that take care only of a small portion of employees are doomed to fail. The most successful programmes, he believes, take care of all employees right from onboarding after recruitment, through succession planning. Start early, sustain the process The talent development process begins during the first three months where the 'talent’ is gradually acclimatised to their new environment, making them feel comfortable and confident enough to reveal their true potential and capabilities. The goals and objectives of individuals are determined; establishing what they want to do and where they want to go in the company. “Organisations invest a lot of money recruiting the ideal candidates. Very few however invest time in the onboarding process as the person is employed,” notes Dr Gibson. “A successful talent development programme is about far more than sending someone to a training course, it’s about giving people a graduated increasing level of responsibility, without a great amount of risk.” The fear factor While most businesses understand the potential of succession planning and talent development, some don’t implement it for fear of investing and having those trained people leave or succeed the training management. “Lack of financial resources is of course the biggest cause of insufficient talent programmes,” concedes Dr Gibson. “But, if people don’t feel that they have strong prospects and aren’t being developed, they’ll look elsewhere for career growth.” High Potential (HiPo) employees, those with a unique combination of capability, engagement, and desire, might also be missed because they aren’t provided growth opportunities. Identifying HiPo requires frequent checking in with everyone to gauge their current situation in relation to organisational needs. Dr Gibson makes clear that a certain level of personal time and financial investment by employees is necessary and natural if they truly want to advance. “Investment however needn’t be into formal or costly academic training, but can be in reading industry journals or joining and being involved in industry associations. Joining an association – like SAPICS – is neither difficult nor very expensive, but you can learn a lot. “A company will simply not perform at its best if its people continue to do things the same way,” he cautions. 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. Women are their own worst enemy. This is the view of Ken Titmuss, facilitator of the recent panel session on the role of women in Supply Chain Management at the 37th Annual SAPICS conference. The panel consisted of top female supply chain executives Joyce Lewis, Monika Wates, Onicca Mailula, Kea Mpane, and Claire Bloom and provided significant insight into the issues facing women today. “Women are their own worst enemy because they think they are inferior when they are simply not,” says Titmuss. “Unfortunately they face a difficult market and continue to receive lower wages than men. Attitudes have to change. We need to stop seeing gender and start looking at people in terms of their abilities, skills and experience.” This view is shared by Joyce Lewis, President of the Los Angeles branch of APICS in the USA. APICS is the premier professional association for supply chain and operations management. “There are two major challenges that women continue to face in supply chain management,” she says. “External factors created by the industry and internal barriers created by women themselves.” Talentism not capitalism According to Lewis the majority of the executive leadership roles that influence leadership style, selection and promotion are held by men and they often mistake confidence for competence. Both Lewis and Titmuss believe that women need to develop deeper reserves of self-confidence and recognise the value that they bring to any organisation. “Women continue to lack awareness of their natural leadership abilities such as empathy, agility, adaptability and commitment and how best to use those skills to succeed in supply chain leadership roles,” says Lewis. “Their lack of confidence can be perceived as a lack of competence to a hiring executive.” Titmuss adds: “Women should not feel less than men and some of them do. They feel that they need to do more whereas men just feel as if they can walk in and start working. Women have a lot to bring to the table and we desperately need them in this industry.” Organisations should recognise talent rather than gender or colour and Titmuss believes that while many of the challenges around colour are being dealt with, the ones around gender remain largely untouched. “It is the sign of a progressive industry that looks at people based on talent and not gender and currently SCM is not ticking this box,” says Titmuss. “Women need to come to work knowing that they are not going to be treated differently and that their skills and experiences are enough.” Transformation in the wings On the outside it seems as if the gender issue remains unchanged. Women continue to feel as if they have to work harder, they still receive lower wages and they struggle to find jobs that allow them to gain valuable industry experience. The question that has to be asked is – has there been any level of transformation within this arena? “One of the primary issues that has seen transformation is awareness of the problem itself,” says Lewis. “Although the lack of opportunity and equality for women in SCM has existed for many, many years, it was never at the forefront of discussions until recently. Research, conferences, books and social media are all creating awareness and stimulating discussion which has helped catapult the issue to a level where true change can occur.” For women, the fight to gain prominence in a male-dominated SCM industry has just begun, but at least there is now a light being shone on the challenges and change has begun. “The adjustment for organisations must come in the form of education and they should perform an analysis of their employment practices to see if hiring needs to be refined to ensure gender equality,” concludes Lewis. “Stereotypes within the SCM field must be broken, especially in the area of emotional intelligence or the acceptable behaviours for men versus women in the corporate environment.” ENDS MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, cathlen@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za 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. For more information on SAPICS please visit: Website: www.sapics.org.za Twitter: @SAPICS01 LinkedIn: SAPICS group Facebook: OperationsManagement 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 What can the popular TV series Game of Thrones possibly have in common with Supply Chain Management? More than you might think…
While business execs aren’t having to fend off cerebral dragons or the odd woolly giant, they are tackling their own destructive mythological brutes and underhanded tactics. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is vital to business strategy, but several myths, misconceptions and outright lies that are perceived as truths are ultimately ruining business. “Those businesses practicing based on these myths are doomed to fail,” warns Steven Melnyk, Professor of Operations and SCM at America’s Michigan State University, and Colin Seftel, trainer and consultant with PSQ. The SCM ‘MythBusters’ teamed up at the recent 37th annual SAPICS conference to give supply chain professionals a stimulating overview of these destructive business fables. Challenge the Myths, unleash innovation Whereas traditional myths are never provided a natural explanation, SCM ‘myths’ on the other hand appear to work or were appropriate at a certain point in time, but might not be fitting in today’s business environment. And although SCM is under much pressure to innovate, this will only happen once these popular fables are dispelled, outlines Seftel and Melnyk. #Myth: Negative working capital is okay Quite the opposite. Suppliers should not be financing your company. Paying suppliers as late as possible while still collecting cash from customers is not on, notes Seftel. “The money you save on extending supplier payments, you ultimately lose again because you don’t have the benefit of supplier expertise and being a preferred customer that might save you both time and money.” #Myth: Standardising is good for business Not so, explains Seftel. It’s one thing for supply chain to follow best practice but a very different matter if it’s merely following the lowest most common denominator that is the easiest to identify, he says. “Today’s marketplace is based on differentiation and not homogeneity. When a standard becomes widely accepted it deters much needed innovation and reduces the impact of the supply chain.” #Myth: Performance Management is about control “Performance Measurement is a good idea, but we use it incorrectly,” warned Seftel. “It shouldn’t be used as control, but as communication. We currently do it after the fact, at a point where the person has little or no opportunity to change things. This makes Performance Management punitive instead of a tool to help a person reach their own and the organisation’s goals.” How can companies break myth-based habits? A far as change management is concerned, showing someone a ‘better’ way of doing things simply isn’t enough. People must be shown that current ways don’t work. “Change management focuses only on implementing new methods, not on breaking old habits and discrediting the way of doing things,” says Melnyk. He believes that companies must look outside the proverbial box. “Compare your company with others, in industries different to your own. Automotive guru Henry Ford for instance learned about automotive assembly by looking at the disassembly line of a butchery plant!” “Ultimately, if you’re going to tackle these supply chain dragons, destroy the myths, you’re going to need leadership, not management. Managers work within culture whereas leaders work on culture,” ends Melnyk. 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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