Auto industry success underscores collaboration imperative

Radical thinking elevates SA’s global competitiveness Darryl Moerat … ‘The MSCCIP system allows you to integrate disparate systems.’ JOY ORLEK NOWHERE IS the positive impact of collaboration on supply chain efficiency more apparent than in the automotive industry. “What drives our supply chain logistics improvement programme at the AIDC (Automotive Industry Development Centre) is the need for the industry to be more globally competitive because we compete directly with the more established first world countries,” says Supply Chain Development Department manager Barlow Manilal. “The AIDC was created exclusively to do that and collaboration has been a key element in our success so far.” The idea, says Manilal, is to foster as much collaboration in industry as possible so that South Africa rather than any single manufacturer is the ultimate beneficiary. The MSCCIP, described by Manilal as a world first, does just that. Project manager Darryl Moerat explains: “In the past you had your eight OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) working with hundreds of different suppliers, making the release process a nightmare in terms of communication and forecasting. “The disparate systems posed a huge integration problem,” said Moerat. “The MSCCIP system allows you to integrate disparate systems. “It’s the biggest collaborative project for this country across all sectors and has set the perfect tone for similar future initiatives.” Manilal concedes that changing the mindset was an enormous task. “Historically industry members did not collaborate with each other - they just competed. “But we’ve injected a different kind of philosophy where the industry, especially the OEMs, compete on product and not on their processes because there’s lots of opportunity to collaborate on processes and reduce costs.” It was radical thinking, but in the past two years the industry has matured far more quickly in terms of this concept than any other sector, in Manilal’s view. And here the Technical Action Group has played a key role. It provides a single entry point for all supply chain industry initiatives, bringing together representatives from government and industry, all with a single focus – reducing costs and increasing efficiencies. “Before TAG was established in 2001 you had a range of private companies coming up with supply chain ideas that they wanted to implement. Now all these ideas are channelled through TAG which prevents sporadic projects being undertaken throughout the country. “Our objective is to try to standardise so that you have some control over how the industry and supply chain evolves over time.” The project has been a huge success, says Manilal. “You now have the OEMs coming to TAG with requests for industry guidelines for projects on which they may be embarking. “So it’s not only a question of introducing new concepts but also looking at guidelines for industry. It’s the only body of its kind for any sector of industry in the country. “It also streamlines channels of communication for the likes of the Department of Transport or Department of Trade & Industry which can now engage with industry through the forum rather than approaching each sector individually.”