The Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain-Africa (CARISCA) has urged organisations to integrate supply chain models into their operations, saying it plays a critical role in the running of every institution.
According to CARISCA, success in today’s complex and interconnected supply chain operations environment is driven by a unique blend of skill sets. These skill sets enable professionals to develop and implement sustainable strategies that meet societal, economic and environmental expectations, and drive organisational performance.
The Senior Technical Advisor for continuing professional and executive education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, John Frimpong Manso, explained that the importance of supply chain modules to institutions cannot be overemphasised, especially in the manufacturing and services industries.
“The message is that people and institutions must begin to recognise the supply chain’s central role, whether it is manufacturing or the services industry. Today, banks are employing supply chain practitioners for aspects of their operations,” he said.
Dr. Frimpong Manso made this call during a two-day training workshop organised by CARISCA on the modules of Supply Chain Operations; which include planning and sourcing supply chain operations, making and delivering modules, and metrics for measuring supply chain performance.
The workshop aimed to help procurement and supply chain management practitioners develop appropriate policies, structures and mechanisms to boost efficiency in their organisations’ supply chain operations.
It focused on exploring major emerging issues in supply chain operations, as well as performance and other operations management strategies. The workshop also provided dynamic learning opportunities for procurement and supply chain practitioners to build their capacity to tackle emerging supply chain operations and performance issues.
The workshop’s organisers advocated application of the Supply Chain Reference (SCOR) model to supply chain operation planning and performance measurement for practitioners working with various companies across all sectors.
Dr. Frimpong Manso highlighted how the supply chain’s importance used to be recognised during times of disruption, but over the years that trend changed. He noted that people have now seen its importance to daily operations, and it has again become an essential factor in organisational success.
He also mentioned the logistic management index, which is published almost every quarter, as evidence of supply chain management’s contribution to organisations’ success.
“People have seen the importance of it to their daily operations. We have come up with a logistic management index, and it is published almost every quarter. In trying to do that we have realised its contribution to organisations’ success, which is why people are now finding means of getting employees – as a supply chain practitioner – to go for further training,” he noted.
About CARISCA
The Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain-Africa (CARISCA) is a partnership between Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Its mission is to provide best-in-class professional training and degree programmes; advance research excellence and knowledge translation; and foster innovation in supply chain management in Ghana and beyond.
