In a glitzy, glamorous event at the Hilton on Park Lane last night – and in front of more than 500 people – Farmer Connect with UCC Coffee claimed the much-coveted ‘Geek+ Team of the Year’ prize at Logistics Manager’s Supply Chain Excellence Awards, in addition to winning ‘The Kinaxia Logistics Award for Food & Drink Supply Chain Excellence’.
In total, 16 trophies were handed out to 24 businesses that were deemed by the 33-strong awards judging panel to have demonstrated something a little bit special in their individual categories.
Special guest host, Shaun Williamson (‘Barry from Eastenders’ and ‘Barry from Eastenders’ in ‘Extras’), presented the awards, following a crowd-pleasing rendition of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline that prompted the packed ballroom to spontaneously wave their hands in the air and sing along.
Farmer Connect with UCC Connect was perhaps a surprise winner given the strength of the competition and some of the supply chain stalwarts in the running but the project nevertheless unanimously impressed the judges.
Powered by the same blockchain technology as IBM Food Trust, the Farmer Connect platform is designed to help increase transparency, credibility and fairness across the entire coffee supply chain. Retailers and consumers can now trace ‘Orang Utan Coffee’ – licensed and distributed in the UK by UCC – back to its Indonesian origin using the ‘Thank My Farmer’ feature from Farmer Connect.
The judges commented that the project was a “really great, practical example of blockchain” and “groundbreaking” at a time when ethics in the supply chain is of increasing interest to consumers especially.
“It is a project that demonstrates a creative way to achieve visibility and contributions from all parts of the supply chain,” they assessed. “This is blockchain in action and it contributes significantly to the CSR programme with tangible outcomes and benefits for all. The opportunity to extend the application to other product groups is tremendous.”
As well as celebrating excellence in the supply chain sector, the Supply Chain Excellence Awards was a celebration of life returning to normal after 19 months of lockdowns and restrictions – the 2020 Supply Chain Excellence Awards was forced into the virtual world.
“It was great to see the industry ‘out-out’,” enthused Ross Sturley, Head of Marketing at Akabo Media. “As was stated on several occasions last night, there were no losers – and the industry as a whole deserves huge recognition for the way it has pulled together during unprecedented times. The whole awards process started back in May so to see it all culminate with a packed ceremony was really pleasing. We can’t wait to do it all over again in 2022.”
The 26th Supply Chain Excellence Awards takes place on Monday 7th November 2022
The winners of the Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2021 were:
THE CLIPPER LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION AWARD
ASDA with Geek+ and AMH
THE UNIPART LOGISTICS SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Menzies Distribution
WAREHOUSE INITIATIVE
Eurocell
THE KINAXIA LOGISTICS AWARD FOR FOOD AND DRINK SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE
Farmer Connect with UCC Coffee
BEST USE OF ROBOTICS
IKEA with GreyOrange
URBAN LOGISTICS
Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust with CEVA Logistics
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY AND DESIGN
White Stuff with Ligentia
SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY
Swoon with Zencargo
TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARD
Sennder
SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS – BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Chartersync with RVL Group
SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS – BEST USE OF PEOPLE AND PROCESS
DPD Group and AEB International
PUBLIC SECTOR SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARD
Department of Health & Social Care with Uniserve
HEALTHCARE AND PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARD
Crown Agents
RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE AWARD
Victoria Plum
THE KINAXIS RISING STAR AWARD
Ellie-Marie Keene, The Sofa Delivery Company
THE GEEK+ TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD
Farmer Connect with UCC Coffee
And the Highly Commended entries were for:
THE CLIPPER LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION AWARD
Arla Foods
THE KINAXIA LOGISTICS AWARD FOR FOOD AND DRINK SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE
Foods Connected with OSI
SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS – BEST USE OF PEOPLE AND PROCESS
DHL Supply Chain
For sponsorship opportunities for the 2022 Supply Chain Excellence Awards, please click here
