Supply Chain Council Announces 2011 North American Supply Chain Excellence Award Winners

JOC Staff |
HOUSTON --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Supply Chain Council (SCC, www.supply-chain.org), a global nonprofit management association, announced the winners of the 2011 North American Supply Chain Excellence Awards today at the annual Supply Chain World conference in Baltimore. A panel of expert judges selected the winners in three categories:

  • Celestica, Inc. won the Supply Chain Operational Excellence Award
  • The University of Tennessee Center for Executive Education won the Academic Advancement Award
  • SAP won the Technology Advancement Award
In addition, the U.S. Air Force Global Logistics Support Center won the Defense Sector Operational Excellence Award, a special award sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Operational Excellence Award recognizes an organization that demonstrates excellence in the design, operation, or improvement of a supply chain. Celestica, a multinational electronics manufacturing service provider, employs over 35,000 people and reported annual revenue of $6.5 billion in 2010. Since it launched “Project Firefox” in 2006, the company has transformed its global supply chain organization. Inventory turnover has increased to 9.7 turns per quarter, and return on invested capital has increased from 2% in 2007 to 29.5% at the end of 2010.

The Academic Advancement Award recognizes an organization that contributes applied research advancing the supply chain management body of knowledge. Funded by the U.S. Air Force, The University of Tennessee Center for Executive Education worked with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) to study companies using performance-based procurement practices. The research team developed a seven-step strategic sourcing model and four-day workshop that DAU is now using to train sourcing teams from the Air Force and other branches of the U.S. military.

The Technology Advancement Award recognizes an organization that develops methodologies or products that enable superior supply chain performance. SAP applications currently support more than 109,000 customers globally. Based on the SCOR model, SAP’s BusinessObjects Supply Chain Performance Management (SCPM) solution improves end-to-end supply chain visibility, which supports departmental and organizational performance management.

The Defense Sector Operational Excellence Award recognizes a U.S. Defense organization that demonstrates excellence in the design, operation, or improvement of a supply chain. Declaring war on a lack of parts, the U.S. Air Force Global Logistics Support Center overcame cross-functional and IT disconnects to combat parts non-availability caused by erratic demand patterns. The initiative yielded $210 million in cost avoidance, while increasing aircraft availability and reducing the need to purchase $3.5 million in parts.

The SCC Supply Chain Excellence Awards encourage the continuous advancement of the supply chain management body of knowledge and the sharing of that knowledge. In addition to North America, the SCC awards program recognizes supply chain innovators in three other regions:

Asia & Oceania (Application deadline: 30 June 2011)
Latin America (Application deadline: 31 August 2011)
Europe, Middle East & Africa (Application deadline: 31 August 2011)
The three operational, academic, and technology award winners from each of the four regions compete for the Global Supply Chain Award in each category, as well as the single overall Global Supply Chain Excellence Award. Go to the SCC Supply Chain Excellence Awards website for more information on the application process and selection criteria.

For additional details on the winners and the competition, contact Caspar Hunsche, chunsche@supply-chain.org.

ABOUT SUPPLY CHAIN COUNCIL
Supply Chain Council (www.supply-chain.org, +1 202 962 0440) is a global management organization that helps its members make dramatic and rapid improvements in supply chain processes. SCC maintains the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR®) model, the supply chain management community's most widely accepted framework for evaluating and comparing supply chain activities and improving performance.