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8 Conference ReportUntapping the supplychain potential ofSri LankaThe Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport – Sri Lanka’s recent annual conference showcased thevalue of logistics and the untapped potential of logistics and supply chain in Sri Lanka. H Nilès PererareportsChartered Institute of Logistics & Transport– Sri Lanka (CILT-SL) hosted its annualInternational Conference in Colombo onthe 28th October 2011. Choosing “Success ofDelivery” as the theme for the day, the eventshowcased the value of logistics and theuntapped potential in logistics and supply chainin Sri Lanka.The International Conference unfolded in front of apacked house with the participation of distinguishedguests ranging from the President of Chartered Institute ofLogistics & Transport International, Professor Alan WallerOBE to government ministers. Six presentations were madeduring the course of the day on how logistics has helpedthe growth of six different fields, namely retail chain, airline,garment manufacturing, Business Process Outsourcing(BPO), shipping and academic sectors.According to the Chief Guest, Dr. SarathAmunugama, Senior Minister in International MonetaryCo-operation, the government is committed to makingSri Lanka the “Miracle of Asia” by 2016 by making it aregional hub in five disciplines including maritime andair. The world’s busiest seaway falling a few nauticalmiles away from the Sri Lankan shore was cited as oneof the key ingredients in transforming Sri Lanka to thesaid hub status. Dr. Amunugama also praised theChinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s vision of making transport& logistics a driver of China’s growth, and elaboratedthat the Sri Lankan government plans to followthe example. He was very appreciative of CILT-SL andits commitment to taking logistics & supply chain in SriLanka to a higher level. He wanted the CILT-SL to be akey player in guiding and supporting the country inbecoming a logistics hub in the near future. The seniorminister went onto say “in this case, logistics and transportbecomes absolutely crucial – we need to reformand improve the transportation sector for our countryand we look forward to even greater cooperation andachievement from CILT-SL in the future”.Professionalism in Supply ChainProfessor Alan Waller OBE, the President ofChartered Institute of Logistics & TransportInternational delivered the keynote address of the day.He highlighted the value of CILT Sri Lanka to CILTInternational and the importance of developing professionalismin this budding field. It was his opinion thatCILT has a major role to play in doing so andexpressed great joy about the steps taken by CILT-SL inthis regard.Professor Waller discussed how globalisation and competitionhas influenced the boom of the Supply Chainindustry at large, which has become a game changer inthe modern world. This has created newer global marketswith added demands from the customers. He reiterated thefact that supply chain should be seen as a value addingfunction rather than a necessary evil which eats into anorganisation’s profit margins.He went on to say “the concept of the free movementof goods, people and money is a regional modelclearly replicated in other areas and Europe has certainlyled the world in developing a seamless logisticsIssue No. 3www.ifwla.com
Conference Report 9capability” citing that Sri Lankacan use the blueprints set byEurope in its quest to become alogistics hub. Professor Waller wasalso confident that the presentEurozone crisis was only a blip in theradar and will not affect the growth ofthe supply chains the world over.Sustainability of business was cited as a majorconcern with the recent green wave that has arisenin the world. But Professor Waller was clear that it doesnot mean “hugging trees”. He spoke about giving morepower to supply chain managers across organisationsto perform in their roles. He presented his findings onhow a supply chain expert with good communicationand leadership skills can innovate while finding hithertounseen solutions to add value to the organisation.Logistics in Retailing: Key for SuccessNext up was Ranjit Page, Managing Director &Deputy Chairman of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, ownerof Cargills Food City. In his presentation “‘Logistics inRetailing: Key for Success” he spoke about the criticalrole of logistics, not only in the success of the company,but also in empowering the farming communitiesacross the nation. Mr. Page elaborated on how heembarked on implementing logistics in 1999 to sustaina retail chain that was running with low returns despitethe opposition from within the organisation. He highlightedwastage of produce during transport as a blackhole that many organisations fail to see. It was thisunderstanding that drove Page and Cargills to collectproduce straight from the farmers by establishing collectioncentres. Cargills did not stop there. They wenton to distribute plastic crates among the farming communitiesto reduce wastage during transportation to thecollection centres. Cargills had to facestiff opposition from the established cartelsand middlemen in its journey to the top, includingthe bombing of one of its retail stores, but Page stoodtrue to cause as he felt “Cargills was notdepriving anybody”.Cargills has gone beyond being just aretailer to being a manufacturer. According to Page,“no retailer in the world today to my knowledge getsinvolved in manufacturing, but we have done it in SriLanka and through it we have been able to ensure thatthe wastage that happens along the supply chainbetween the farmer and the consumer is reduced. Wecreate processing value addition, the value we bring tothe farmers and to the consumers”. In addition to thisthe extensive research and development work and themodern information technology utilisation has madeCargills a major player in the Sri Lankan economy. Thiswas further emphasised when Page disclosed thatCargills amounts to 1.7% of the national agriculturalproduce which can be bought at a static price across171 stores located across the island republic.Page made it very clear that Cargills is not a charity,and are concerned about their bottom line. However,Cargills’ aim was to earn good profits while doing justiceto its suppliers as well as consumers by streamliningits supply chain. Page remarked that the purpose ofCargills is to “help Sri Lankans spend less on food” ashe closed his presentation emphasising that the futuresustenance of food lies with supply chain managementand reduction of wastage.Success of Air Hub: Need for IntegrationG.T. Jayaseelan, Chief Marketing Officer of SriLankan Airlines delivered his thoughts on how tomake Sri Lanka a regional air hub. He highlighted thewww.ifwla.comIssue No.3
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