VIB and NEVI (the Dutch purchasing association) will shortly be presenting their international masterclasses in strategic purchasing and supply chain management. The programme has been grafted onto the standards set out in the ADIPS Study Guide and is a good grounding for those looking to acquire this international qualification.
In one form or another, the training programme has been organised every year since 1991 by VIB – until recently in collaboration with Belgian management schools. But in October 2001, a new international concept was developed. The programme is now offered entirely in English and consists of three masterclass sessions at internationally recognised centres of excellence; Germany, the UK and the US. There are also four sessions in Belgium. The international dimension gives participants a good opportunity to interact with practitioners and academics from leading international institutions and also with Masters students from around the world.
The programme offers participants a conceptual framework to think and act in an integrated way across the supply chain. It aims to teach them to analyse and organise business processes in the supply chain with a sound strategic and long-term perspective.
The faculty consists of professors from well-known management schools across Europe, and practitioners with international expertise in industry and consultancy. Theoretical concepts are also illustrated with company visits and testimonials.
The programme is based on four modules of the ADIPS Study Guide:
- Module A Strategic context for purchasing and supply
- Module B European and global business environment
- Module C External environment for purchasing and supply
- Module D Internal environment for purchasing and supply.
These modules are interrelated, and there are some overlaps.
For each theme more in-depth treatment is available in the areas of:
- Theoretical and conceptual substructures;
- key issues and characteristics of the theme being discussed;
- Environmental determinants, stimuli or inhibiting factors;
- Tools and techniques that can be used in each area ;
- Conditions and approach for implementation;
- Best practice experience and benchmarking.
The programme is aimed at experienced managers in the field of purchasing, supply chain management and consultancy, as well as aspirant senior managers from other disciplines who wish to grow into this dynamic environment.
For more detailed information, please see: www.bevib.be/VIB/Mastoverview.html or telephone VIB on: +32 3 286 80 90
Survey: ELA/ Kurt Salmon Associates:
Making better use of human capital
Leading companies rely on people management to improve performance and to meet the challenges of today and the future.
The logistics organisations in the consumer goods industry are faced with the necessity to operate more diverse supply chains that are increasingly of higher complexity and sophistication. As supply chains are becoming more customer specific they are also becoming less static. They evolve and change in line with the customer segment they serve. This results in the requirement for far more flexibility in the logistics infrastructure, namely the DC’s in terms of handling capacity and processes.
The study concentrates on the use and success of incentive systems as well as on continuous improvement programmes. Therefore the study surveys:
- the experience already available today in the industry relating to methods of a more efficient assignment of labour and
- deduce from those experiences a model for the optimal application of these methods.
In total 62 companies operating a total of 450 DC’s from Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom participated in the survey. The study can be ordered at www.elalog.org
