Most supply chain theories point to the key elements of ‘people, process and technology’ as the focus points of efforts to optimise supply chain networks and the organisations in them.

In practice, however, people management is often a secondary priority in these efforts, with the management of change in organisations that accompanies every merger, acquisition or attempt to improve the way business is done, largely focused on technology and operational implementation. Changing how people work and think, and the habits they may have developed over years in a job, is also often much more of a challenge.

An important theme at this year’s benchmark national supply chain conference, SAPICS, will be that of people in the supply chain. A stellar line-up of local and international expert speakers engage with the key aspects of change management, skills and resilience – both for people and the supply chains they work in.

Alan Milliken, a Senior Manager on the Supply Chain Capabilities Development Team at global chemical giant BASF, will speak on change management, his area of expertise. As he describes it, “change management is key to enabling a sustainable competitive advantage for companies. But certain key questions have to be addressed, including how to ensure that employees know and understand what is expected of them, and what education and training is required to support the change?”

Esteemed supply chain thought leader, and doyenne of the South African supply chain profession, Alyda le Hane, will speak on “People Skills for Resilient Supply Chains – 99% Preparation and 1% Perspiration”. Her talk focuses on how best to use people skills to achieve real resilience in supply chains – a must-have in an era when the expansion of supply chain networks across the globe has led to the increased chance of risk and disruption. “Resilient supply chains depend on the leadership from the people that are managing their supply chains,” says le Hane. “How do we bridge the gap between people’s current experience and preparing them for the very expansive requirements for supply chain? Especially in this country, where we face two significant challenges – lack of skills and government legislative requirements. Both create a negative pull on the people skills. Thus there is a need for planning the future people requirements that are critical for resilient supply chains.”

Another presentation at the conference which has resilience as its key theme comes from an Australian educator, Karen Livey, who will speak on developing personal resilience in your supply chain. Karen is an experienced facilitator, trainer and speaker in Australia, and serves on the board of apicsAU. She describes her topics as follows: “Supply chains need both good people and process, and I would argue people are the more important. Building a resilient supply chain with rigorous processes is a necessity, as important as building your personal resilience in your supply chain. The key pillars of a resilient supply chain – visibility, flexibility, collaboration and control are extremely important for you, as an individual person, as well.”

Lastly, the people–focused strand at the SAPICS conference offers a hands-on workshop in preparing for one of the key people-based interactions in any supply chain – that between an organisation and its suppliers. The workshop will be facilitated by Chantalle Wilson, a senior change management consultant at CCI-Growthcon, who has an extensive supply chain background. The interactive negotiation skills workshop, she says, “is a practical exercise designed to introduce people to the value of preparing effectively for supplier negotiations. It’s focused on key parts of the people process in supply chain management, such as understanding Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Supplier Management in the negotiation process.”

For more information on the 36th Annual SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 1 to 3 June 2014, please visit www.sapics.org.za