Africa Unchained: Getting African supply chains moving

African and Chinese politicians are opening up the way for business to kick up a notch in Africa. And, as their talks rapidly move beyond so-called resources for infrastructure deals into areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, FMCG and consumer electronics, the time has come for African companies to position themselves to benefit from this trend.

But, are supply chains ready to handle the demand that’s growing with each passing year?

‘The Pulse of Africa’s Supply Chains’ is the theme for this year’s SAPICS 2015* conference, which will be taking place from 31 May - 2 June at Sun City. Several Africa experts have been lined up to share their insights into optimising supply chains operating on the continent.

When in Africa…
As most people with experience of doing business in Africa will agree, the challenges are unique and therefore require an approach that’s different from doing business elsewhere.

Wayne Whiffler, EY’s Executive Director in the Advisory Practice responsible for the Supply Chain Transformation, says an entire rethink of the integrated supply chain operating model is needed when doing business in Africa – the subject of his presentation at SAPICS 2015.

“Upon entering African markets, the complexities in the supply chain increase exponentially,” he says. “The surge in cross-border flows, local regulations, tax implications, and the lack of infrastructure all add to the challenge of growth in developing markets.”

The risk, he explains, is a ‘collection’ of independent markets and operating units with duplicated functions and limited alignment.  “In these cases, point improvements do not deliver overall supply chain benefit. Transformational changes to supply chain operating models are required to improve customer service levels, reduce costs and working capital.”

A problem shared…
Taking an in-depth look at how to overcome infrastructure challenges in supply chains in Africa, University of South Africa Supply Chain Management lecturer, Beverley Kujawa-Waugh’s and Professor Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss’s interactive workshop is billed as a knowledge exchange session for both cargo owners and logistics service providers, as well as other stakeholders in African supply chains.

“We aim to create a forum where we can discuss the infrastructure/operational challenges/issues affecting Southern African supply chains (and thus the pulse of African supply chains) and identify the impacts of the challenges on these supply chains,” Kujawa-Waugh says.

“We will then brainstorm how these challenges can be addressed and overcome!”

With an understanding of the challenges that may be faced and how to handle them, it’s time to talk about how to get your business ready, particularly considering the impact of bilateral China-Africa trade growth on African supply chains. Jacques Marais, COO of The Beijing Axis‘s talk will provide an update on the latest developments, and discuss how businesses may set up their supply chains to benefit from bi-directional trade growth.

Gateways to Africa
Although infrastructure in Africa is improving and the number of airports is growing, ports remain the gateways to African trade. However, ports face two competitive challenges – the large volume of increase and the need for greater efficiency.

“This means loading and unloading vessels faster, reducing turnaround time and increasing the performance of the operators of both vessels and port operations,” says African Centre for Supply Chain Director-General and Multimix Academy CEO, Obiora Madu.

“Ports must transform into logistics hubs, in addition to being more determined to have better connectivity with other modes and better accessibility to their hinterlands. Inter-modalism will be a critical factor in the success of supply chains, while the development of inland container depots and private container terminals form part of the chain.”

During his presentation entitled: Modern Ports & Global Supply Chain Optimisation, Madu will identify all possible economic catalysts for optimum future development of port infrastructure and real estate, port commerce, inter-port co-operation and competition.

The paper he will present will also provide a framework and navigation tool for using the full capabilities of the modern Port Authority in a post-privatisation environment and give priority to environmental and safety issues.

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
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MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 012 644 2833, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za

For more information on SAPICS please visit:
Website: www.sapics.org.za
Twitter: @SAPICS01
LinkedIn: SAPICS group
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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 Dr Beverley Kujawa-Waugh
Beverley Kujawa-Waugh is a part-time lecturer at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and consultant. Until last year she was also Executive Director of the South African Shippers Council (SASC) and masters-theses supervisor at Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS) in Sweden. Before that she was with the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management, as senior lecturer, managing editor of the accredited Journal for Transport and Supply Chain Management; and member of various industry and other interest groups. Prior to this she project managed an extensive logistics outsourcing project for South African Airways; developed and project managed educational models and programmes for the World Bank and the Department of Transport; held research and management positions for Transport Consultants and the Maritime Industry Training Board; .and worked as assistant accountant for a large construction company. She completed Honours, Diploma, Masters, and Doctoral studies while working. Her doctoral thesis on logistics outsourcing was recognised for its practical value to the supply chain management industry and profession, and led to the best speaker award at a SAPICS conference.

About Prof. Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss
Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss is a professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and specialises in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management where she does research, supervises post-graduate students and manages undergraduate and short learning programmes in the area. She was instrumental in the development and accreditation of two new degrees BCom in Supply Chain and Operations Management and BCom Public Procurement Management. She has published widely and is co-author and editor of various books, serves on editorial boards of various international and national subject journals and on the scientific committee of two international associations. Over the last 2 years she also chaired the organising team of the 2014 IPSERA Conference (International Purchasing & Supply Educators’ and Researchers’ Association) offered for the first time in Africa.

About Jacques Marais
Jacques Marais obtained a civil engineering degree and continued to earn honours and master’s degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Pretoria. He later acquired an Executive MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.

Jacques started his career in civil engineering at Transnet. He became interested in supply chain management and after gaining his industrial engineering qualifications worked in the mining information systems industry. He then joined a major South African supply chain management company where he held various general management positions. He joined IMPERIAL Logistics in 2011 and is currently COO at The Beijing Axis, an Imperial partner. He lives in Beijing with his family.

About Wayne Whiffler
Wayne is an Executive Director at EY in the Advisory Practice responsible for the Supply Chain Transformation service line for both Africa and South Africa.

With has over fifteen years of experience in the business advisory arena, consulting to blue-chip clients, Wayne specialises in performance improvement and business transformation initiatives, specifically in the supply chain field. He has consulted both locally and internationally, with extensive experience across Africa.

Having experience across multiple industries including, Financial Services, FMCG / Retail, Automotive, Hotel and Leisure, Media, PetroChem, Utilities, Manufacturing, Mining, and Logistics, his knowledge of optimizing asset, consumer and service centric value chains ranges from the operational through to strategic.

In addition Wayne has been a guest lecturer at some of the foremost SA universities, as well as a speaker presenting numerous papers, both case studies and thought leadership articles at various conferences and seminars.

About Obiora Madu
Recipient of the 2014 National Productivity Order of Merit Award, Obiora Madu who is the Chief Facilitator and CEO of Multimix Academy, CEO of BPO Academy Nigeria and Director General of African Centre for Supply Chain has over 30 years of related working experience with international corporate exposure in international trade, customs and maritime as well as transport logistics & supply chain management. He consults for International Trade Centre in Geneva, The US Commercial Service, USAID, African Development Bank amongst others. An adjunct lecturer at the Centre for Logistics and Transport University of Port Harcourt, Madu is a Fellow of the Institute of Export of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Ghana.  Obiora the author of: Exporting - Frequently Asked Questions and Export Financing, Agro Commodity Export Guide, Getting Paid in International Trade, Managing Import Logistics, is concluding a doctorate programme (DBA) with SMC University in Switzerland

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