Interview: Dr Kanak Madrecha, SCLG

Dr Kanak Madrecha, member of the Supply Chain & Logistics (SCLG)'s regional development committee and practice head, DP World Business Excellence Centre, charts the growth of SCLG in 2009.

What is the Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG)?
Operating with the legal backing of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Supply Chain Logistics Group (SCLG) is a non-profit organisation that remains committed to serving and advancing the logistics industry through the development and dissemination of supply chain and logistics knowledge. The group was founded with the help of senior management professionals representing variety of industries on supply chain and we have now entered our sixth year of operations.

How would you describe SCLG’s performance in 2009?
It’s been another year of growth for SCLG, with an increasing number of corporate companies, individuals and students signing up for membership. In total, more than 40 companies took up basic corporate membership this year, while the likes of Oracle, Dubai Investment Park, Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions (EPS) and Al-Futtaim Logistics became premier members and Kanoo Group, Schaefers, Morgan International, University of Liverpool and Prologics took privileged membership.

What have been the highlights of 2009 for the association?
Our second Global logistics & SCM Strategy Summit 2009 was organised on 6th May this year, with the theme ‘Strategies for Business Excellence through effective Supply Chain and Logistics’. The event was a bigger success than the one conducted in June 2008 and over 200 delegates from across the globe participated, in addition to 18 speakers, 36 panellists, moderators and six track leaders. Industry experts at this conference predicted that by end 2009, situation would normalise within UAE and GCC and by the end of 2010 global situation will normalise.

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FEATURED COMMENT Interesting and informative interview for a very worth while organization for Supply Chain Professionals.   3 Comments Read more comments »

Were any new initiatives launched this year?
Yes, we launched SCLG’s Dubai Young Professionals Initiative, which aims to connect the industry with students and professionals that are starting their logistics careers. We hosted an Iftar networking evening for Dubai Young Professionals this year at the Shangri-La Hotel, with more than 80 young professionals from various organisations attending, along with SCLG Board of Directors, Dr Satish Mapara and Geoff Wheatley, as well as Soma Sekhar, SCLG president – who all graced the event with their inspiring speeches.

SCLG highlighted its global ambitions in 2009. Was any progress made with this in 2009?
SCLG is the biggest not-for-profit body in region and we are expected to connect to at least 100 countries in the next two to three years through chapter formation and nominating International advisors. We launched our presence in South Africa this year and continue to build more chapters. Also, only a month back, 30 international advisors were signed up in Europe, Asia and Australia, bringing our total to around 40 international advisors.