Tucked away in the pastoral splendour of the old Pilkington Glass family’s country seat of Rainford Hall in St Helens is me, Stephen Ashcroft, a senior consultant at Brian Farrington Ltd, one of the world’s longest established procurement and supply chain consultancy and training specialists
As the economy continues to dwindle in an unsteady climate there is an increasing reliance on the service industries, in particular supply chain, logistics and manufacturing. Whilst it is expected that the supply chain sector will continue to grow, there remains an uncertainty regarding the length of the economic recovery and how this will impact on the industry.
In the supply chain field alone competition is tough and there are numerous options to consider in order to strengthen your workforce; the dilemma of trawling through these options and deciphering the most suitable combination of institute, qualification and study method can give any business manager a headache.
When looking to make cost savings, most businesses will automatically reduce the budget allocated to training as a quick fix to save the pennies. Whilst this may prove successful in the short term, the impact on the overall growth of the business in the long term is likely to be negative as the workplace skill set plateaus against the continued need for expertise in the competitive market
One lesson to be learned in light of the recent media scandal involving some large supermarkets and global food companies, is the need for greater transparency in supply chains; it has become increasingly evident that an organisation will need to demonstrate their awareness of what goes on in their business beyond their own four walls and collaborate more with their partners to avoid any potential problems which could damage the organisations reputation.
On March 14th I attended the China Business Conference 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, London, on behalf of the Institute of Supply Chain Management (IoSCM).
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