Last year we at SCMAP came up with a new battle cry: “Connect. Engage. Move.”
We challenged ourselves to connect with more players and stakeholders in the supply chain industry, whether they be members, both current and prospective, or other interested parties such as government agencies and academic institutions with a role to play in developing the profession. We challenged ourselves to engage with them more closely, through our events, as well as through meaningful discussions on policy reforms and other initiatives. With those, we hoped to be able to move Philippine supply chain closer towards being world class.
We’ve already talked about how we address those challenges in previous columns. With a new year, it’s time to look ahead, both to new challenges and new opportunities.
That said, we have decided to stick with the “Connect. Engage. Move.” battle cry for 2018. It remains relevant, even potent, and it continues to capture just what we do here at SCMAP. However, this doesn’t mean we are resting on our laurels, not after what arguably is the most successful year for the organization.
A good supply chain provides value – to consumers using the product, to shareholders behind the product, to everyone along the chain who has a stake in the product’s manufacture, distribution and selling. A good supply chain spells the difference between the world’s biggest, most reliable brands and your run-of-the-mill nameless items sold everywhere. You stand out when you can provide value.
In a way, we at SCMAP are also looking to provide value to our members. There are many reasons why companies come to join us: mostly they want to take advantage of opportunities both in networking – connecting with fellow supply chain managers and stakeholders, and maybe getting some business along the way – and in learning more about the industry they work in. Some take full advantage of SCMAP’s work in advocating for policy reforms through linkages with other stakeholders, accepting our invitations to take part in such consultations and meetings.
This year we give ourselves a new challenge: how can we solve supply chain problems in our own companies?
It’s nothing new – we’ve been doing this in our own companies throughout our careers. But one of the things that make SCMAP unique is how its members (and representatives) are people who live and breathe supply chain, who come in with industry knowledge and professional expertise. There is an opportunity to exchange best practices and knowledge, but often we aren’t comfortable doing so.
Thus, this year, we’re taking the lead, by establishing collaboration groups that will each address a pain point in our supply chains. Led by an SCMAP director, these groups will discuss, brainstorm and propose solutions, insights and best practices – which members are expected to hear in our regular events, as well as bespoke ones, and on our online releases and publications.
We have identified seven pain points that we hope to tackle this year. We will be tackling the challenge of surge planning, of maintaining reliability and performance, and of keeping an optimal cost to serve. We will be looking into the rising importance of last mile logistics and downstream collaborations. We will also explore issues with regards to transport regulation and manpower management. This work will be on top of our ongoing linkages with supply chain stakeholders, which have helped lead to initiatives such as the National Logistics Master Plan and the ROLL IT program.
This is “Connect. Engage. Move.” redefined: to address even more issues affecting our supply chains, we will connect with fellow professionals, engage in meaningful discussions, and in our way, help move Philippine supply chain even further. We hope to count on your support in the coming year as we realize our dreams of a truly world class supply chain.
Sharpening the Supply Chain Practitioners: our Visayas chapter mounts its second Sharpening the Supply Chain Practitioners event on Friday, February 9, from 1pm to 6pm at the Harolds Hotel in Cebu City. Speaking are LF Logistics’ Carlo Magno, Monde Nissin’s Allan Flores and Adsia Logistics’ Nestor Dolina. More information on our website, scmap.org.
Henrik Batallones is the marketing and communications executive of SCMAP. A former board director, he is also editor-in-chief of the organization’s official publication, Supply Chain Philippines. More information about SCMAP is available at scmap.org.