The Individual Contribution Award is different from all the other categories in the European Supply Chain Excellence Awards: you, the reader, nominate the candidates and vote by email for the winner.
There were five nominated candidates this year: Neil Ashworth of Tesco Direct, Anne Bruggink from Electrocomponents, Klaus-Michael Kuehne of Kuehne + Nagel, Andrew Neilson from British Ceramic Tile and Dr Gerd Wolfram of Metro Group Information Technology.
Neil Ashworth, director of supply chain at Tesco Direct, joined Tesco in February 2006 and is a leading member of the team that designed and launched the Tesco Direct business in September 2006, establishing the company’s customer delivery capabilities.
Prior to joining Tesco, Ashworth worked at Woolworths for ten years, latterly as supply chain director covering all sourcing, supply and distribution activities. He re-engineered the end-to-end Woolworths supply chain and established fulfilment for Woolworths.co.uk.
He is an active coach and mentor to individuals within the industry, and is a keen supporter of raising the profile of logistics and supply chain as a career.
Anne Bruggink is general manager supply chain, logistics and facilities at Electrocomponents. He has had a truly international career, starting with the FMCG sector working for United Biscuits, followed by the automotive industry with Autoglass and then the technology sector working for Honeywell. He has been recognised for driving change in local, European and global supply chains through systems implementations, outsourcing, mergers and integrations, flow and footprint optimisation and process re-design.
Since joining Electrocomponents Anne has been pivotal in effecting cost reductions and service improvements.
Andrew Neilson joined British Ceramic Tile in April 2007 bringing with him over 20 years experience within the procurement and supply chain arena. He heads up the team that recently won the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management Award for the Best Purchasing Initiative by a Smaller Organisation 2008.
Neilson has worked within both retail and manufacturing industries, having successfully delivered supply chain solutions through working in collaboration with numerous top UK retailers with previous employers including Halfords, Glanbia Foods and Josiah Wedgewood.
He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and is also a faculty member of the Management School of London lecturing in supply chain and procurement.
But the winner of the Individual Contribution Award, by popular demand, was Klaus-Michael Kuehne, executive chairman of the board of directors and the majority shareholder of the Kuehne + Nagel Group.
At the age of only 29, Klaus-Michael Kuehne was entrusted with the management of the company. Pursuing the further internationalisation already begun by his father Alfred Kuehne, he set the path for the dynamic growth of Kuehne + Nagel, which today ranks among the world’s leading logistics providers with more than 53,000 employees in 850 locations across 100 countries.
Klaus-Michael Kuehne is the sole donor of the Kuehne Foundation, set up by the Kuehne family in 1976. The Foundation’s and his personal objective is to support training and further education as well as to foster research in the fields of transport and logistics. In addition, the Foundation sponsors humanitarian, charitable and cultural projects.
Klaus-Michael Kuehne said: “It is a great honour to have been selected as the recipient of the Individual Contribution Award this year.
“While I am very pleased to be recognised for my achievements as an entrepreneur and sole donor of the Kuehne Foundation, I also consider this award an acknowledgement of the work of the Kuehne + Nagel Group and all its employees worldwide. In today’s global markets, trade and industry rely heavily on logistics. Particularly in times of economic uncertainty, it is a discipline which can truly contribute value and increase competitive advantage.”
