The biannual Smart Conference and Expo has come to a close for another time, and delivered a strong and improved conference program. With both the number of presentations and visitors up on the previous conference, it offered something for everyone involved in the supply chain, from technology to management systems, from procurement to sustainability, from operations to human factors.
The Smart Expo running alongside the conference has seen the ‘who is who’ of supply chain technology, equipment and services providers represented, with a noticeably strong display of automation and systems from the leading distributors including Dexion, Dematic, Swisslog and Schaefer.
Smart Conference and Expo will move to Melbourne for the first time in its history in 2015, and will run alongside the National Manufacturing week, enabling the manufacturing and supply chain industries to get even more value out of their attendance at these well-established events.
The event concluded as always with the gala dinner and Smart Awards presentation, sponsored by Dexion. Below is a full list of winners.
Award for Excellence in Manufacturing Supply Chains
The judges looked for efficient re-engineering or enhanced design of workflow, from inventory through to production and into stock.
The winning nomination achieved, through automation of its customer interface and integration of their engineering processes, significant inventory and labour efficiencies.
Winner: Delta Shelving Systems
Award for Excellence in Supply Chain Management and Distribution
The judges looked for improvements in storage, inventory management, materials handling, order fulfilment, shipping or forwarding at any stage in the supply chain. The winning nomination packaged new technology into its storage site and its clever inventory analysis significantly contributed to performance at the site.
Winner: BIG W
Award for Excellence in Event, Humanitarian or Military Logistics
The judges looked for significant achievement in the supply chain supporting a major event or military customer anywhere in the Asia- Pacific area, especially its integration and contribution to the success of the mission, task or event. The winning nomination responded to a difficult event with speed and assembled and supported in a degraded environment sufficient equipment and resources to achieve their mission.
Winner: Jacobs Engineering Group
The Award for Excellence in Transport and Logistics:
The judges looked for streamlining of operations and improvements in cost control and customer service in the transport of goods or people, locally or internationally, and across transport modes. The winning nomination was a collaboration that reduced last mile distribution costs for FMCG by 10% and reduced kilometres driven by one million kilometres per year.
Joint winners: NICTA and Tip Top (ANZ)
Award for Excellence in Procurement
The judges looked for excellence in negotiation, outsourcing, service agreements, contract performance management and particularly, the move away from transactional purchasing. The winning nomination was a collaboration that targeted organisation-wide compliance to purchasing and contract management processes. The resultant improvements achieved multi-million dollar savings.
Joint winners: SingTel Optus and Accenture
Smart Award for Individual Excellence
In making this award, the board of SMART Conferences looks for an individual who is reasonably well known, and whose ‘time has come’; they have more than ten years in the supply chain industry, and have made a significant contribution to their field, including innovation and creativity (other than the traditional supply chain improvements).
Professor David Hensher with chair of the 2013 Smart Awards Allan Murray.
Our award recipient, for 2013, conducted research at OxfordUniversity in the 1970s that remains influential today, founded Australia’s key centre for teaching and research in transport management and now offers post-graduate qualifications to the industry, and is a significant contributor to public debate on transport management within NSW. He is a Professor of Management and Founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.
Winner: Professor David A. Hensher