Supply chain CEOs ‘optimistic’ – survey

Early indications are that the country’s major industries are taking an optimistic and strategically positive view of the ways in which South Africa’s supply chains will enable recovery from the recession. That’s according to the soon-to-be-launched supplychainforesight research study sponsored by Barloworld Logistics and conducted by international research specialists Frost & Sullivan. In the 2009 study, South African CEOs were addressing the recessionary conditions by aligning supply chain and business strategies. This was seen as a survival tactic, designed to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. The focus of the 2010 research, however, is not on survival, but on approaches to the upturn, and how South Africa’s industries can become more competitive in what is bound to be a more chastened and cautious post-recession economic world. South African CEOs have therefore already begun to focus on strategic alignment, lead time reduction and the use of, especially, ERP technology. This can represent a competitive advantage for markets like South Africa’s that are geographically remote from major markets. Full details of the CEO and senior supply chain executive views of the country’s supply chains post-recession will be revealed at the upcoming national launch of the supplychainforesight research, early in 2010. More details are available at www.supplychainforesight. co.za