(Double Click on the thumbnail to view  / Right Click to download Newsletter - PDF Format)

Value Add – SCMG’s Newsletter

Welcome to Value Add.  Keep up to date with the activities of SCMG.

This first edition of Value Add is being sent to all our Clients old and new.  We hope it is a useful reference point for you and inspires you to examine and improve your supply chain.

If we haven’t spoken for a while this will keep you up to date with what we have been doing and developments in our business.  If we have been in touch more recently you still might be surprised about the extent and range of our activities.

As always don’t hesitate to contact us if you need and help and support

Copies of the Newsletters are available to view / download from the top of this page

SmartStores 2005
SCMG will work with BP as they transition to BP Chemicals and Newco during 2005 to continue the SmartStores initiative from 2004.

SmartStores 2005 will implement improvements in inventory management and working capital across 10 sites in the UK, Europe and the US.  This is a significant project that recognises the influence that supply chain improvements are having on major companies and their suppliers.  By planning better and working closely with key suppliers it is possible to create win / win situations from both a customer and supplier perspective and deliver improvements in service levels. 

This needs a change of mind set and a focus on areas which for some businesses have not been a priority in the past.

BP are a world class company and SCMG are delighted to be able to continue to support and develop this major initiative

BP Exploration - Low Cost Drilling Workshop Facilitation
SCMG has again been asked to facilitate a Workshop for BP Exploration. In January a new team was brought together to embark on a Low Cost Drilling Programme on the BP Andrew Platform. The workshop brought together two offshore crews, one from Andrew and the other from the Magnus facility in addition to the new On-shore crew who will provide services to the offshore crew in new and innovative ways. This will be the first time that certain functions normally carried out offshore will be undertaken on-shore, with feedback provided to the rig, in real time.

Highlands & Islands Enterprise OJEU Tender Process
SCMG is managing the OJEU tender process for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Leadership and Management Development Programme Tender.  This 2 stage process involved designing and maintaining a website to prequalify potential candidates.

Successful candidates were then issued with a formal tender document, and invited to a debriefing session where they could quiz the HIE / SCMG panel on how the programme would be run.

It was also important to provide feedback to those companies who were unsuccessful, such that they may improve any future bids they submit to HIE.

SCMG helped develop and facilitate BG Group’s Contracts and Procurement Global Forum. The Forum welcomed over 100 participants from all over the World to a three day event to look at industry best practice and develop an improvement agenda to support C&P’s supply chain strategy.

The event included a pre-Forum survey to assess participants’ perceptions of the Contract and Procurement group’s performance against industry best practice.

Sessions included a best practice overview from Professor Douglas Macbeth as well as interactive voting to assess audience opinions on a number of wide ranging premises presented to a culturally diverse audience.

SCMG involved fifth dimension a training company to support key messages and themes being presented through their innovative use of magic – yes magic – and humour to ensure that a consistent and reliable message was relayed to everyone involved.

What Gets Measured Gets Managed

SCMG will launch the Purchasing Benchmarking Study (PBS) 2004 in August.  Following last years successful study that attracted 85 replies from blue chip companies the Study will become an annual event that will not only take a snapshot of current purchasing performance but will as things develop identify trends in company data to indicate if best practices are being translated through to improved operational performance.  PBS 2004 is available here.

Supply Chain Mapping – Aerospace and Defence Sector

Scottish Aerospace and Defence Supply Chain Mapping Project – SCMG have complete a supply chain mapping project of the Scottish A&D cluster.  The project was funded by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and focused on the SE A&D Company Guide.  The project uncovered a few myths and confirmed some true-isms about the sector in Scotland in terms of how joined up the A&D supply chain is in Scotland and the dependencies that exist in terms of Prime Contractors, Operators and Contractors and Suppliers.

Taster Sessions

SCMG ran Taster Sessions for SE Forth Valley’s My Future is in Falkirk programme aimed at business development for SME’s.  Bill Long a supply chain veteran from BP Grangemouth and secondee to SE Forth Valley organised the event and has involved SCMG in a number of initiatives aimed at and intended to get SMEs to develop their business by considering a supply chain approach.  Long says ‘it still amazes me that many of the fundamentals of corporate life apply to SMEs as well but are not considered or applied to this vital part of the supply chain.  Many of the SMEs we work with have enormous potential but are bogged down in day to day activities.  Anything we can do to encourage them to think about the bigger picture and adopt a supply chain approach is a useful exercise’.

All Points North!

Supply Partnering is alive and well in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  SCMG developed and implemented a Supply Partner strategy for Highlands and Island Enterprise during 2003.  The strategy was to reduce the number of providers of Business Advice and Property Services in the Growing Businesses Directorate to focus on a sustainable delivery service to HIE clients using supply partnering.  The strategy is starting deliver benefits and HIE can now focus on managing the relationship and focus on economic development outcomes while supply partners deliver services to HIE customers.  This project followed strict EU public procurement rules and identified supply partners who were able to deliver services consistent with HIE’s high standards and still be sympathetic to the many issues faced by local companies operating in remote areas. 

Sink or Swim – The Future of the UK Marine Industry

SCMG will work with Northern Defence Industries in the North East of England to look at the Marine sector in the UK.  The MoD is about to embark on its biggest ship construction programme since WWII that will deliver 600,000 Te of ships over the next 20 years.  David Bowles, MD of NDI is concerned that current nervousness from the MoD about the capacity and capability to deliver the programme cannot be provided form within the UK will translate in to a strategy that looks abroad to fulfil some of this programme.  ‘It would be a travesty if the UK Marine industry is unable to develop a collaborative strategy that can guarantee that the RN shipbuilding programme can be delivered on time and budget at a time when most Prime Contractors and Suppliers are facing an uncertain future’.  Bowles continues ‘the Marine industry is not asking for any favours or preference but a fair crack of the whip in terms of its ability to compete.  The consequences for the industry in the UK if it is unable to rise to the challenge will result in thousands of jobs being lost to overseas competitors not only in the construction of the ships but also in servicing and maintenance over the next 20 years’.

Working Smarter Will Generate Cash!

SCMG have won a contract with BP to help improve Working Capital.  The SmartStores 2004 project will identify the improvement opportunity across 10 BP  manufacturing  sites globally including the UK, Europe and the US.  The project will focus on  the efficiency of  current supply chain operations to be benchmarked and compared to best practices and implement a sustainable improvement plan to support the overall project objectives.

This is a project that is a perfect fit for SCMG skill sets and project aspirations and we look forward to working closely with BP across their business.

The Power of the Network – Global Horsepower

SCMG announce the launch of the Supply Chain Excellence Network.  ‘SCexNET is an umbrella brand that combines three leading consultancy companies, 2 in the UK and 1 in Switzerland as a powerful force in the consultancy World’.  Martin Murphy, MD of SCMG, says ‘the World is getting smaller all the time, our clients have global expectation and we need to be able to support them.  A network approach allows us to leverage all three consultancy partners in the network and provide capability through collaboration with each other that increases our width and depth as a ‘business’ but does not build in unnecessary fixed cost that in reality would have to be met by our clients’.  Murphy continues ‘our Clients can now have the best of both worlds.  They have the security of contracting with a single point of responsibility but don’t have to worry about the ambiguity and uncertainty normally associated with working with a loose affiliation of individuals’.

SCexNET will focus on delivering high value add global consultancy assignments to blue chip clients

SCexNET now has access to 50 highly qualified, experienced and motivated consultants with extensive experience of SCM across a wide variety of industries.  Large scale Procurement and Logistic assignments with multi language capabilities can be delivered.

SCexNET comprises of SCMG and Aria in the UK and ZMC in Switzerland.

Outsourcing Still An Act Of Faith?

Professor Douglas Macbeth of SCMG and Glasgow University will present an overview of Outsourcing at the Conference Board workshop to be held at IBM in May 2004.  The ‘Battle for the Heart and Soul of Your Business’ will look at many of the key opportunities and concerns that organisations face in considering outsourcing, identifying, selecting and managing outsourced service providers across a range of activities and core business process.  Outsourcing despite its already high profile is still in its infancy and although it is already a ‘huge’ market place will present enormous opportunities for providers and outsourcers alike as long as the process and relationship is managed properly.  Outsourcing has the potential to change the structure of market places and sectors on a global basis.

To explore these issues further a web based questionnaire www.trendsinoutsourcing.com will be launched in August 2004 to capture information from an outsourcers perspective on the key issues that organisations are considering as they look for more ways to improve their competitive position.

The project is being managed by the Centre for Supply Chain Management www.cscm.org.uk and partners including SCMG.

Macbeth’s early research suggest that much of the information being used as the basis to justify outsourcing tracks back to three or four consultancy and or analysts report that are based on relatively small sample sizes that has been extrapolated across entire sectors and activities with little challenge to the extent that it (outsourcing) has become an accepted wisdom.  Many companies would appear to be ignoring the basic disciplines or applying the rigour that may be expected of such a strategic decision.

Metronet BCV (formerly London Underground) Continue Their Long Term Relationship with SCMG. 

SCMG are delighted to announce that MetroNet BCV will continue their innovative licence and consultancy agreement with SCMG.  The licence has been in place for 10 years and over that course SCMG have witnessed enormous changes within the Underground from a civil service culture through PFI and PPP to the current business model where BCV as an InfraCo owned by Metronet now provides services to London Underground as the customer.   The licence agreement provides IP to BCV for their supply chain managers to utilise on a day to day basis as part of their tool kit but also provides consultancy support and training from SCMG in areas that require a more strategic approach or perspective.  Over the years this has included spend management analysis and Asset strategy development through to specific supply chain improvement plans with individual suppliers.  SCMG also supported the development and implementation of MetroNet’s supply base reduction programme that has identified key suppliers and a relationship strategy to improve performance and reduce total cost.