December 2007
Contents
- Seasons Greetings
- Office Closure Times
- No January Newsletter
- New CIPS Australia corporate relationship manager
- Sydney Conference
- Procurement Professional Magazine
- Member Satisfaction Survey
- NSW Gala dinner… one ‘Eck of an evening
- Movers and shakers around the country
- It’s a Steele. Negotiation Masterclass a rioting success!
- 2008 Training Dates to be announced soon
- The Knowledge Club 8
- 29 exam candidates during November
- CIPSA Fee Increase Reflects Rising Costs of Operation
- 5th International Conference on Supply Chain Management and Information Systems
- Supply Chain Business Forum 2008
- New Benefit for CIPSA members
- Buyers’ blogs
- News from abroad
- Other news bytes from around Australia
Seasons Greetings
As the year draws to a close, CIPS Australia and New Zealand would like to like to thank its valued members for your support throughout 2007 and to wish you a safe and happy Christmas period. We look forward to working with you again in 2008, which is already shaping up to be our biggest year yet.
Office Closure Times
With the festive season upon us and a successful schedule of conferences and training sessions behind us, its time for us to wind down for the year. As of 12.30pm (Victorian hours) on Friday 21 December the office of CIPS Australia and New Zealand will be closed, and will reopen at 9.00am on Monday 7 January. Any enquiries during this time should be emailed to info@cipsa.com.au and will be responded to upon our return.
CIPS Australia & New Zealand Office
If you’ve visited us recently you may have noticed some office renovations taking place in order to make room for the growing CIPSA team (including new Corporate Relationship Manager, see below). Feel free to drop in at any time and check out our facilities, including our training room which is available for hire by members at a discounted rate. We also have a reference library, which is available for members to use. So next time you are in the city stop by Level 10, 520 Collins St, Melbourne and have a look around.
No January Newsletter
Just a reminder that due to the Christmas break there will be no January newsletter. The next edition will be available in February 2008 and looks set to be a bumper issue! Send your contributions to regions@cipsa.com.au
New CIPS Australia Corporate Relationship Manager
Edward Rayner has been appointed as a new corporate relationship manager at CIPS Australia. Edward started on 1 October just in time for the annual conference in Melbourne. Working closely with CIPS Australia’s other corporate relationship manager, Amanda Lamont, Edward will be assisting our top corporate and public sector clients in delivering their people development plans and organisational process certification throughout Australia and New Zealand. Originally from the UK, Edward spent some time in New Zealand then returned to Melbourne in 2001 after studying and working in China. His previous professional roles focused on business development in East Asia with Austrade, the Victorian State Government and most recently higher education providers. He has worked in Taiwan, mainland China and Japan and speaks Mandarin. Edward can be contacted at edward.rayner@cipsa.com.au or +61 3 9629 6000.
Sydney Conference
The Category Management Forum, 13-14 March 2008, The Grace Hotel, Sydney
This one-and-a-half day event will be focused on ‘best practice’ management of key indirect categories. Designed to offer a practical, hands-on programme, this event covers all the basic principles behind successful category management with the bulk of the programme consisting of longer workshop-type seminars dedicated to individual supply categories. These seminars will include key insights, market dynamics and the practices to ensure an optimal buying performance in each of these specialist areas. Visit www.cipsaconferences.com.au for all of the latest information on this conference, and full programme will be out shortly.
Other Conference Dates for 2008
The Category Management Forum, Sydney:
13-14 March 2008, The Grace Hotel, Sydney
The 3rd Public Sector Procurement Forum, Canberra:
21-22 May 2008, National Convention Centre, Canberra
The CIPS New Zealand Strategic Procurement Forum:
12 June 2008, Sky City Convention Centre, Auckland
Women in Procurement, Melbourne:
19-20 June 2008, The Sebel Citigate, Albert Park, Melbourne
The CIPS Australia Strategic Procurement Forum, Adelaide:
19 August 2008, The Stamford Plaza, Adelaide
The CIPS Australia Strategic Procurement Forum, Perth:
21 August 2008, The Novotel Langley, Perth
The 4th CIPS Australia Annual Conference, Melbourne:
14-15 October 2008, Crown Palladium, Melbourne
Click of the link here to download a brochure with full details of all CIPSA conferences to be held in 2008. For more information on conferences as they arise remember to visit www.cipsaconferences.com.au
Procurement Professional Magazine
Issue 16 of Professional Procurement (PP16) is now available. Featuring an overview of the Annual Conference, all of the Award winners, and other great topics, this issue is a must-read. Also, don’t miss out on reading the latest White Paper which will be included, “A short history of procurement”, written by Prof Guy Callender FCIPS. This is also available for download from the CIPSA website on the Professional Resources page. A “new look” Procurement Professional (PP17) is due out the first week of February.
Member Satisfaction Survey
The Annual Business and Profession Study, an online survey to examine how well you feel CIPS Australia is doing, has now closed. Thank you to all members who participated by completing the survey. CIPSA is pleased to announce that of the 30 associations that were involved it had one of the highest completion rates. Results are currently being analysed and will available around Easter.
NSW Gala dinner… one ‘Eck of an evening
More than 150 CIPSA members, suppliers and sponsors had one ‘Eck of an evening on November 30, as guests celebrated the end of another year, and for some hairy fellows on the night, also the end of Movember! The NSW committee were dressed to the nines and put on a show that will no doubt spur on some competition between the regions! Suppliers sponsored tables at the event and invite their procurement contacts to be their guests. This was a great foundation for an exciting evening filled with great food, wine, music and comedy.
Gary Eck, one of Australia’s favorite comedians had the crowd in tears as he recalled stories of the world’s best sellers, his take on the topic of “procurement”, a whacky impersonation of Darth Vadar (using a microphone and a mug) and like any comedian targeted an audience member, in this case it was Silver Sponsor Qantas, who will never see their new Airbus in the same light again!
Guests were also entertained by he guests were entertained by the Dan Barnett band, whose soothing jazzy tunes provided a perfect backdrop to endless networking.
CIPS Australia would like to thank its sponsors, Platinum Sponsor Jigsaw Search, Gold Sponsor PMMS, and Silver Sponsor Qantas for supporting this very successful evening. Another big thanks to the table sponsors who also generously donated the charity raffle prizes: Corporate Express, Bunzl, Skilled Group, Snap Printing, BlueScope Steel, Fuji Xerox, Fuji Xerox Printers, Europcar, Ecolab, TravelEdge and Kimberly Clark. With awesome prizes ranging from golf clubs, to a helicopter flight, V8 Hotlap, wine packs, a portable DVD player and a whopping supply of toilet paper and nappies, the raffle raised almost $2000 for beyondblue, the national depression initiative.
As well as the donation to beyondblue, some of the proceeds from the night will be used to fund a NSW Scholarship Fund (similar to the QLD scholarship), to enable one lucky procurement enthusiast to study towards MCIPS. More details of this will be announced in 2008. An extra warm thanks to Sandra Keller and Visna Lampasi from the NSW committee who organised the night.
Movers and shakers around Australia & NZ.
NSW Visna Lampasi MCIPS is leaving Tyco International and moving to OneSteel as the General Manager Distribution Sourcing. Visna has also recently received MCIPS.
NSW Paul Hopkins has moved from NSW Department of Commerce to Department of Education.
NSW Richard Allen has taken up a position at RailCorp.
QLD Billie Gorman MCIPS, QLD Vice Chair has moved from Parmalat to Head of Strategic Sourcing
at the Bank of Queensland.
QLD Dave Allen MCIPS, QLD Chair has moved from Turner & Townsend to Santos.
WA Tina Groves moves from Dept of Treasury & Finance to Dept. of Housing & Works to, WA Govt,
effective 30 November.
NZ New Zealand Chair, David Freeman FCIPS moved from TelstraClear to Westpac during
November.
It’s a Steele. Negotiation Masterclass a rioting success!
More than 30 people seized the opportunity to spend two days in a Paul Steele Negotiation Masterclass in Sydney and Melbourne. Participants were able to build into their working practices negotiation techniques and preparation frameworks to skilfully influence and move other parties. The two-day sessions flew by as everybody was kept busy through role-plays, negotiation games, and constant interaction with Paul and each other. The participants were highly impressed with Paul’s extensive negotiating background and robust training skills. Participants were equipped to maintain the edge in future negotiations by receiving copies of Paul’s book “It’s a Deal” and Negotiation Cue Cards. This is a fine example of how CIPS is providing world class training events. Although Paul Steele won’t be here in 2008, his colleagues at PMMS, will continue to run their very successful negotiation courses next year.
2008 Training Dates to be announced soon
Keep an eye out for the release of the 2008 Open Training Programme. The programme will be bigger and better and more tailored to the needs of members, following feedback from the successful 2007 programme. An e-version of the training brochure will be released soon, and you will receive your hard copy brochure in February. Don’t forget allocate those training budgets to CIPS Australia and New Zealand’s extensive training programme!
The Knowledge Club 8
The 8th issue of The Knowledge Club, a quarterly digest of briefings relevant and practical articles to support procurement practitioners, is due out in mid-December. Members with suggestions of what topics they might like to be covered, specifically in the coming issues, please email your suggestions directly to info@cipsa.com.au
The Knowledge Club Compendium -2006 (Issues 1-4) is available in hard copy as an insert in the latest PP magazine and accessible by members from CIPS Australia. Please contact us if you would like a copy sent to you.
29 exam candidates last weekduring November
CIPS Australia facilitated 29 CIPS examinations across Australia and New Zealand for the November 2007 examination series. Candidates from across the region sat for examinations of the units comprising the CIPS qualifications ranging from the CIPS Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Purchasing and Supply through to the CIPS Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply.
Several candidates self studied for these examinations, whilst the Supply Chain Management Education Australia, CIPS Australia's first Study Centre, successfully supported candidates via the distance education mode of study.
Completion of each level confers a specific membership grade and upon successful completion of the Level 6 qualification, in addition to 3 years work experience in a procurement related field, members will be eligible for full membership of the Institute, the post nominals MCIPS.
The Membership Grade Structure is as follows:
The next CIPS examination series will be held in the third week of May 2008.
Contact Angelina Pillai, Membership and Education Manager to find out how you can study the CIPS quals and begin your journey towards excellence in procurement standards.
CIPSA Fee Increase Reflects Rising Costs of Operation
CIPSA has recently reviewed its costs and as a result has decided that it can no longer sustain its existing fee schedule. While interest rates and the CPI have continued to climb in the past few years, CIPSA fees have remained static since the formation of the organisation back in January 2005. However, to continue to offer members the service that they expect, CIPSA has had to increase its fee schedule.
The new fee schedule came into effect from 1 November 2007. The new fees are still well below those charged by similar organisations. CIPSA has deliberately kept its membership fees low and the revenue raised by fees does not cover the costs of the services offered to members. This is why CIPSA is always exploring new revenue streams that allow it to keep its fees as low as possible.
The new fees range from AUS $50* for a full-time student membership in Australia (even less in New Zealand and the South Pacific) through to AUD $245* for other membership levels in Australia. (*Does not include joining fee). Click on the following link for a full schedule of the fees.
5th International Conference on Supply Chain Management and Information Systems
The 5th International Conference on Supply Chain Management and Information Systems is scheduled to take place from 9-12 December 2007 in Melbourne and will be jointly hosted by Monash University, RMIT University, Victoria University, University of South Australia, Australian Maritime College and GS1 Australia.
Appropriately themed ‘Theory Wedded to Practice’, the conference is designed to seek practitioners’ knowledge and opinions, and encourage theory being informed by practice. The conference schedule will include academic papers, symposia, and contributions from industry. Academics and practitioners are invited to submit papers, abstracts, and symposia proposals.
Previous SCMIS conferences have been popular, with conferences having taken place in Hong Kong, Greece and Taiwan.
The conference aims, in the context of a global economy, are to:
• Explore the importance and interactions of Supply Chain Management, Information and Communications Systems, globalisation, and logistics
• Identify major trends, challenges, and risks for Supply Chain Management, Information & Communication Systems, globalization, and logistics
• Explore and research the impact and current status of policies of governments and international bodies (such as the WTO) on Supply Chain Management, Information & Communication Systems, globalization, and logistics
• Identify ways in which Supply Chain Management, Information & Communication Systems, and logistics can contribute to the betterment of humankind, especially citizens of poorer nations
• Consider ways in which the teaching of Supply Chain Management and allied topics can be integrated into tertiary education
• Engage practitioners and enable academics and practitioners to swap ideas, problems and solutions.
The conference is being held in conjunction with The 2007 Australian Conference for Knowledge Management and Intelligent Decision Support (or ACKMIDS 2007) and The 2007 Collaborative Electronic Commerce Technology and Research (CollECTeR 2007) conference. Links to these two conferences can be accessed via the SCMIS 2007 website.
For full conference details plus online registration, go direct to the conference website at www.scmis2007.org
Supply Chain Business Forum 2008
A conference with a difference, the Supply Chain Business Forum 2008, focusing on designing and managing high-performance supply chains in volatile markets, will be held in Melbourne from 20-22 February 2008.
This is not a training session. The concept is to provide attending executive teams with the latest insights on supply chains, which they can then take back and immediately action in their own enterprises and marketplaces. It is expected that up to 50 senior executives will attend, together with 32 already confirmed panelists.
This senior event is designed around eight (8) panels covering the following topics:
1. Aligning enterprise supply chains with customers, suppliers, and third party providers
2. The critical contribution 3PLs can potentially make to corporate performance
3. The impact of supply chain disruptions on corporate operational and financial performance
4. Supply chain business models of the future
5. Achieving ‘Requisite’ collaboration in enterprise supply chains
6. Leadership, Vision, and Innovation: supply chains in enterprise-leading roles
7. The rise of the ‘humanitarian’ supply chain phenomenon in a troubled world
8. The essence of ‘sustainability’ in contemporary supply chains
Each panel consists of a moderator and three panellists. Each member will give their point-of-view on the topic under consideration, and then the debate will be opened up for audience participation.
Hosted by the Institute for Logistics & Supply Chain Management (ILSCM) and Victoria University; co-hosted by Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM); and sponsored by Linfox Logistics, this event promises to be an insightful opportunity for ‘thought leaders’ to act as a catalyst for change and global supply.
A gala dinner will be held on Thursday 21 February 2008, featuring special after-dinner guest speakers. Jonathan Dutton, Managing Director of CIPS Australia will also be attending this event.
If you feel your organisation could benefit by attending and participating in this high profile event, please contact John Gattorna directly by email on john@johngattorna.com or phone +61 2 9956 5046.
New Benefit for CIPSA Members
CIPSA and Supply Chain Logistics News have reached agreement to provide CIPSA members with a 10 per cent discount off the normal $99 per annum subscription rate for the informative SCLNews email and online updates.
The recently-launched SupplyChainLogisticsNews.net will keep Australia's supply chain and logistics professionals informed on the events, issues and people influencing production and inventory control, infrastructure, transport modes and handling equipment, warehousing and distribution and transportation management and planning systems. Email newsletters and online news at the website will keep you up to date with developments across all sectors of the industry.
However, in order to get this discount you must NOT subscribe online, but call the publisher Aspermont Limited, on 61 8 6263 9100 and tell them you read about the CIPSA offer. You can do this at any time during the one month complimentary trial. You and nine other members of your company or organisation can then subscribe at the rate of $89 per annum including GST, for all 10 members.
For your complimentary trial, go now to http://www.supplychainlogisticsnews.net/link/SCLN_CIPSA_link.asp and click on a story to register your details.
Other news bytes from around Australia
Pioneer Computers Signs $500m Government Deal
(Source: Sarah Falson, SmartOffice)
The government has signed Pioneer Computers Australia in a record-breaking $500 million contract to supply its range of rugged computers, notebooks, tablet PCs and UMPCs for use in government offices in New South Wales. The contract is the largest for Pioneer Computers and the largest IT contract in New South Wales government history, says Pioneer Computers…The company showcased its range in the IT Forum, organised by the Department of Commerce, earlier this year, where hundreds of IT purchasing personnel from New South Wales government agencies got to touch and feel the products and talk to Pioneer Computers about their procurement requirements.
Read the full story here.
Procurement BPO not widely used
(Source: Len Rust, Computerworld)
The adoption of procurement business outsourcing is not widespread in Australia but rather is still discrete in nature and will remain so over the next couple of years, according to surveys by IDC.
"Although IDC has observed a strong interest in outsourcing procurement activities, especially within the sourcing sub-segment, it is primarily within the 500-plus employee companies. Even within this market segment, there are still small-scale engagements and the overriding driver remains cost management," said Aprajita Sharma, IDC's research manager for outsourcing and BPO services
IDC estimates that the Australian procurement business services market will increase at a four-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent to approximately $A534 million by 2011.
Read the full story here.
Telstra Revamp Behind Target
(Source: Michael Sainsbury, Australian)
The second stage of Telstra's multibillion-dollar information technology transformation is being overhauled after IBM was dumped as the main systems integrator.
With IBM out of the control loop, it's back to the drawing board for the tech team
A major "replanning" of the project is under way.
IBM had been contracted as the main systems integrator for the section of the project known as TR2 (transformation release 2), which is due to see the light of day at the end of 2008.
IBM was cut from its role as the main systems integrator for the project last month, with control of the work being taken inhouse under the auspices of Telstra chief technology consultant Tom Lamming, sources familiar with the project said.
Telstra is now in the midst of replanning the project in an effort to meet its own exacting timetable. The project has also been spilt into chunks, with a series of "drops" planned in the latter stages of next year.
Read the full story here.
Amazon helps vendor launch SAAS e-procurement
Coupa On Demand available this week
Source: Jon Brodkin (Network World)
An open source e-procurement vendor has launched a software-as-a-service offering that takes advantage of Amazon.com technology. Coupa on Monday said it is targeting small and midsize businesses with Coupa On Demand, a Web-based purchasing platform that automates requisition, approval, purchase order creation, RFQs (request for quotation), receiving, inventory and invoices.
Read the full story here.
TaaS trend will mean cheaper tech for enterprises
Source: Suzanne Tindal, ZDNet Australia
20 November 2007 11:40 AM
Partner analysts predict that technology as a service (TaaS) will play a major role in future procurement, with its pay by use model set to cut user upfront costs and reduce vendor margins.
According to Gartner, by 2011 40 percent of all IT technology products will be sold as a service, where users will pay to use software or hardware, not to own it.
Read the full story here.
Mercinta: Corporate Strategic Sourcing - "Looking From Outside The Fishbowl"
Source:Yahoo Finance News. Monday November 19 12:25 PM
Sydney, Australia, Nov 19, 2007 - (ABN Newswire) - The strategic sourcing value chain diversifies the growth portfolio of companies. Leadership thought is focused on the strategic procurement in a holistic way. Strategic sourcing is about making smart dollars, growing innovative solutions and reaching maturity in cost reduction....
Read the full story here.
That sinking feeling mires Pacific
Source: The Australian – Business
GREENCHIP: Matthew Warren | December 03, 2007
The tiny Pacific island nations have problems enough already, let alone those from climate change.
This week at the UN climate change negotiations at Bali, the tiny nations of the Pacific will once again be paraded as the global poster boys of climate change campaigners. The emotional appeal is obvious: the first innocent victims of a warming climate as their low-lying islands face the threat of eventual inundation from rising sea levels.... They are also trying to band together to establish joint procurement of fuel to give them greater negotiating power with the major oil companies. It sounds easy but it is complicated by the colossal regional geography and the different types of fuel used on differing islands...
Read the full story here.
CIPSA finds interesting buyers' blogs from around the globe...
Green procurement guidelines
Source: http://www.talkingtechnology.com.au/2007/10/29/green-procurement-guidelines/
As the world goes green, governments, companies and communities around the globe are moving towards ‘green procurement’ - purchasing their goods and services from companies that are taking responsible action to minimise their environmental footprints.
In late 2006, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a report which showed e-waste was growing three times faster than regular waste. By the end of 2006, Australians had discarded or stockpiled a total of 8.7 million computers.
The ABS estimates that Australians buy more than 2.4 million new computers each year. It suggests that Australians will replace 9 million computers, 5 million printers and 2 million scanners within the next two years.
AIIA is already leading the charge to establish more environmentally responsible e-waste practices, through its pilot program Byteback in Victoria.
But we can all do more. As consumers – whether we’re buying for the home or for a giant government department – we should think about purchasing computers and equipment from companies with end of life management practices in place to responsibly dispose of e-waste. And products need to be designed with power efficiency in mind.
Defense procurement must be more open
Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun
A bribery scandal involving former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya has greatly shaken the public's trust in the ministry. It is a pressing task for the government to turn things around at the Defense Ministry, an organ charged with defending this nation's peace and security. On Monday, an expert committee studying ways to reform the ministry held its first meeting. In February, the panel is scheduled to put together an interim report addressing three points at issue, including how to ensure the transparency of the ministry's equipment procurement system....
Read the full story here.
