At the beginning of June 2014, one of the biggest Supply Chain Conferences took place at Sun City.
SAPICS welcomed over 1000 supply chain professionals to their 36th annual conference which included four days of workshops, networking, entertainment and fine dining. IMMIX representatives, Nikki Isherwood, Sales and Marketing Director and Louise de Bruin, Microsoft Dynamics ERP Manager, attended the event with Imperial Logistics, diamond sponsors of SAPICS as well as Resolve, subsidiary company of Imperial Logistics and soon-to-be majority shareholders of IMMIX Solutions.
“The interactions with the Resolve and Imperial teams at SAPICS was invaluable in establishing relationships between the organisations” says Nikki Isherwood.
Over 50 different companies showcased their experience and knowledge in progressive technology and solutions within the supply chain industry. The variety between local and international speakers exceeded expectations with focus on customer management and centricity. Conference programs provided valuable insight into the current projects that IMMIX is tackling, such as supply chain methodology and change management.
IMMIX Highlights:
Supply Chain Risk Management: What Is It and Why Should We Care?
Host, Gregory Schlegel, founder of Supply Chain Consortium USA, highlighted the importance of managing uncertainty, complexity and risk in the supply chain industry. IMMIX believes that managing their clients’ risk is key to ensuring their budgets are well spent while continuously adding value. Identifying project risks early is a critical component of their methodology.
“Prior to the conference, I was unaware of the new supplier rating tools available on-line.” says Nikki Isherwood. “The insight provided by Gregory will now be used when discussing supply chain strategies with clients and prospects who need to identify the differences between hazard risks, financial risks and operational risks.”
Closing Keynote: Managing Change in the Supply Chain Evolution
Alan Milliken, Senior Manager: Specialist, Supply Chain Capabilities Management of BASF Group USA emphasised how change management should be integrated into improvement plans and business objectives to enable a sustainable competitive advantage. This is often overlooked by enterprises. IMMIX will utilise his thinking when engaging with clients on Microsoft Dynamics EPR, CRM and SharePoint projects as the vast majority of their client base requires the incorporation of change management into their business strategies. The example and case study by Alan Milliken provided real-life expertise over and above the experience IMMIX has gained over the years.
Louise de Bruin leads many ERP projects for IMMIX and says: “South African companies need to start realising the long term value of including change management as a component of their projects. With prime examples, this conference reiterated how and why it is so important in today’s market.”
SAPICS Gala Dinner
SAPICS ended their conference with a gala dinner that not only provided exceptional entertainment and cuisine but also presented the winners of the Supply Chain Management Education Excellence Awards. Imperial Logistics walked away with the Supply Chain Educator of the Year award for the third consecutive year.
“The success of the conference together with the Resolve branded Bentley’s escorting guests to and from meeting points was unprecedented and we are definitely looking forward to being part of next year’s event.”
Written by Sunisha Jular