Imperial has won nine prestigious awards at the 27th annual Logistics Achiever Awards, which recognise supply chain and logistics excellence. The group’s achievements at this year’s event included a coveted Platinum Award, two Gold Awards and four Silver Awards, as well as two “Enviro Awards” for its efforts to green Southern African supply chains.
Imperial Logistics group company InSync Solutions’ successful design and implementation of an innovative new production logistics solution for client VW South Africa was honoured with the Logistics Achiever Awards’ highest accolade, a Platinum Award. “We are delighted to have received this recognition of the outstanding technology and expertise supplied by InSync for changes required in VWSA’s supply chain,” comments Imperial Logistics chief business development officer Cobus Rossouw in this month’s SmartProcurement. “This undertaking saw the introduction of a number of lean logistics concepts for VW in order drive productivity, flexibility and continuous improvement, and it included the implementation of a new, leaner inbound plant logistics process,” he expands.
A project that has enabled Imperial client The Twincare Group to reap the benefits of an improved bottom line and an increase in service levels was the recipient of a Gold Logistics Achiever Award. “Twincare partnered with Imperial in order to address the challenge of an extremely complex supply chain, where there were opportunities to improve efficiencies,” reveals Rossouw. “Together, Imperial and Twincare redesigned and simplified the company’s supply chain, resulting in a national footprint for Twincare, reduced stock holding, improved on time service levels, cost savings and a simplified reporting process.”
A Gold Award was also presented to an Imperial intervention that successfully got a chilled foods specialist out of hot water and on the path to success. “The Cold Chain was a company facing a host of issues that were jeopardising the business’s competitiveness – until it partnered with Imperial’s services and technology solutions specialist Resolve. This partnership has yielded a host of benefits, including annual cost savings of R35 million as a result of simplified distribution. It has also set The Cold Chain – now Imperial Cold Logistics – firmly on the path to establishing itself as a leader in the provision of logistics and supply chain management services for chilled and frozen products.”
Silver Awards were won by Imperial for an unrivalled solution to Tanzania’s healthcare delivery challenges; for a partnership with global vision care company Bausch & Lomb; for a supply chain intervention that has yielded significant benefits for South Africa’s leading total beverage alcohol company, brandhouse; and for a collaborative, end-to-end supply chain solution developed for motor manufacturer Mahindra by Imperial Logistics group company InSync Solutions in partnership with Savino Del Bene.
Imperial’s commitment to sustainability and greening South African supply chains was also recognised this year, with the group winning two “Enviro Awards” for energy and water saving drives, as well as waste management and recycling initiatives. “Our sustainability innovations have included a project to install cutting-edge new Aero Kits on Imperial vehicles, which has already resulted in fuel savings of between 5 and 8%,” reveals Rossouw.
This year’s Logistics Achiever Awards were presented at a gala event at Montecasino, in Fourways, Johannesburg.
It was the culmination of a stringent judging process during which nominees went through numerous rounds of submissions and site visits, as well as presentations to the judging panel that comprises representatives of the various professional institutes, vocational societies and trade or industry associations involved in logistics and supply chain management in Southern Africa.
