Conference Post Script
SCMAP’s Annual Supply Chain Conference and Exhibit, held just over a week ago at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, was a rousing success. In his thank you letter to the sponsors, speakers and other contributors, SCMAP president Ike Castillo described the conference through its salient components:
- 36 sponsors
- 14 speakers
- 26 CEO/CSCO forum delegates
- 256 conference participants
- 3 academic launches
- 5 cooperating organizations
- 3 major supply chain excellence awards
- 1 perfect storm
In addition to the above, Supply Chain Philippines magazine released issue no. 2 of volume 2.
Salute to Supply Chain Excellence
Towards the end of the conference, Supply Chain Excellence Awards Committee Chair Ana Rose Ochoa announced the winners of the Supply Chain Excellence Awards for 2012:
- Third Party Logistics XVC Logistics
- Operational Excellence Fast Logistics
- Green Logistics Advocacy Fast Logistics
As this is just the second year of the awards, participation in the competition is still low. But it will grow over the years.
Philippines Rising
I have not really been reading Supply Chain Asia magazine for a long time, but recently is the very first time I came across an article about the Philippines.
The article, titled “Philippines Rising”, was published in the July / August 2012 issue. It focuses on two points:
- Good news about the economy
- The need for improved infrastructure
The good economic performance is now recognized in economic circles.
According to the article, Standard & Poor raised its rating of the Philippines to its highest level in nine years, from a level of BB, to a level of BB+, said to be one level below investment grade.
Strong indicators cited are high remittances, an expanding export service sector, resulting in current account surpluses. Also cited are a strong outsourcing industry and a growing technology sector, to the extent that the Philippines has overtaken India as the world leader in the business support sector
Comments about our poor infrastructure are not new, but this time the strong economic performance all the more requires a vast improvement in our road and port infrastructure.
The article mentions a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies:
- A good “network of roads and ports linking production areas to consumer markets is important in bringing down transport and marketing costs”
- “The lack of efficient transport and distribution system increases the cost of transporting agricultural produce, reduces the quality and quantity of these goods, and reduces the profitability of supply chain actors
- “There is ground fot exploring public-private partnership in the development of road and port networks”
The above ideas and comments are not new. I myself participated in a major study for the Dept. of Agriculture and CRC on improving the competitiveness of a number of agricultural product groups in 1999-2000.
Address inquiries and comments to Ed Sanchez at tel. 671-8670, fax 671-4793, cell 0918-914-1689, or email scmap.org@gmail.com. Those interested in DMAP training and other activities are requested to send their e-mail addresses.
