'Meet the Gurus' features Martin Christopher

Christopher's bestselling book, 'Logistics and Supply Chain Management', is now in its fourth edition and is considered one of the 10 greatest supply chain management books. The book focuses on managing risk in the supply chain, logistics and customer value and integrated logistics versus network logistics. It also places major emphasis on responsiveness, reflecting the increased volatility of demand in many markets.

Early on, he recognised that the real competition is between supply chains, not companies. He created a number of guiding principles for supply chain managers to achieve a competitive edge, summarised as the '4Rs'- responsiveness, reliability, resilience and relationships.

Southern Africa's vast geographical scale and rapidly escalating trade opportunities means supply chain efficiency and effectiveness is vital to success. In fact, Christopher believes effective development and management of any supply chain network is a sustainable advantage in today's global marketplace.

A fellow supply chain guru who has worked closely with Christopher is Gerard de Villiers, a Chartered Member of the CILT and a long-standing member and past president of the Institute. "I am delighted that Christopher is coming to South Africa to share his vast knowledge. He is very well known for the '4Rs' concept and his theory is heavily used as the basis for successful logistics and supply chain management strategies. He also has the ability to simplify difficult theories into easily understandable concepts, clearly explaining the important aspects of supply chain management and creating world-class supply chains.

"If I have to choose one title on logistics and supply chain management, it would be Christopher's book. We seldom have the luxury of meeting global supply chain gurus. This is a brilliant opportunity for local practitioners to meet world leaders in a vital global industry face-to-face."

Global mega-trends and implications

Christopher will explore successful investing in the '4Rs'; how to keep a lid on supply chain complexity, aligning a supply chain with marketing and business strategies, and discuss the dynamics of creating a demand-driven supply chain.

He will discuss a range of topics related to handling mega trends predicted to shape the global supply chains over the coming years. Increased turbulence and volatility; new competitive realities; supply and demand imbalances for critical resources; the impact of demographic changes and the search for structural flexibility, will be discussed in detail.

The 'Meet the Gurus' Global Supply Chain Update 2013 is a unique opportunity for South African supply chain professionals to discover innovative trends in supply chain logistics from three highly respected 'gurus' in the industry. The workshops take place at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town, on 22 October 2013 and at the Maslow Hotel, Sandton on 24 October 2013.

For more information, go to www.ciltsa.org.za.