Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

For our second networking event on Thursday evening, sponsored by Staples, we brought delegates to the newly renovated and expanded RCMP Heritage Centre, where we were greeted at the entrance by a pair of RCMP Musical Ride horses.

At the Centre, delegates learned about the instrumental role that the RCMP played in nation-building by maintaining order in Canada’s early years and its continued role in modern Canadian life securing our borders from threats that include organized crime and terrorism.

After a cocktail reception at the RCMP Heritage Centre, delegates were returned to the heart of downtown Regina where they were given a free evening to explore dining opportunities in this booming prairie city.

Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

In an invaluable roundtable discussion on sustainable supply chain practices, with Gary D’Andrea, Chief Operating Officer, Grand & Toy Ltd., Scott McDougall, President, Terra Choice and Tim Reeve, President, Reeve Consulting, some important tips were shared to help participants move their organizations towards sustainable supply chains.

• Corporate Endorsement – create a sustainable purchasing policy, a supplier code of conduct and green purchasing guidelines.
• Prioritize – get started by targeting key commodities first and build from there.
• Procurement toolkit – make it easy to continue green procurement initiatives by developing: contract clauses and specifications, supplier evaluation tools, weighting schemes, disclosure forms and answers to a list of frequently asked questions.
• Integration – create standard operating procedures, ensure to schedule adequate time for training and capacity building, perform an internal audit and strive for continuous improvement of your processes.
• Set KPIs and Targets – monitor short-term and long-term targets to ensure you are on-track to achieving your goals.
• Design Audit Program – create programs that audit your eco-impact and where possible the eco-impact of your external vendors.
• Communications and Consultation – ensure your key audiences are informed with clear messages, invite consultation to improve programs and engage your vendors to participate in developing sustainability strategies.
• Report on Program Results – reporting ensures process transparency, highlights improvements made and keeps the lines of communications open with all stakeholders.

Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

How did Jim Hopson, CEO, turn the Saskatchewan Roughriders from an uncompetitive and financially burdened team into a perennial Grey Cup favourite and one of the most profitable teams in the CFL? It appears he listened to his own common sense.

In this video, Jim illustrates just what dire straits the team was in by recounting a joke that prevailed, prior to his arrival, about what would happen if you put two Saskatchewan Roughriders tickets on someone’s windshield:

The previous administration was so concerned about filling seats that it resorted to giving away free tickets to get bodies into the stadium. Under Jim’s leadership, the organization stopped the practice. He realized that by giving away tickets the organization removed any perceived value that was attached to Roughrider games.  This strategy worked and is evidenced by the fact that they used to struggle to fill a stadium of 18,000, and today Jim informs us that there are less then 18,000 tickets available for all of next season!

As well as partnerships with businesses to increase exposure of the team and to create new sources of revenue – such as allowing personalized Roughrider license plates for your car – Jim realized that the best way to boost their fortunes was to put a quality product on the field.

More focus was placed on players. Athletic and health facilities were upgraded to provide superior training and development opportunities for the team. This change yielded quick and lasting results: in his five years at the helm, the Roughriders have never missed the playoffs and have appeared in the Grey Cup twice, resulting in one Grey Cup win. 

These and Jim’s other common sense strategies have made the Roughriders a success and show that strategies don’t have to be complicated to succeed; sometimes solutions are the most obvious choices to be made.

Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

Every contract type has subtleties that make it unique and our morning session with Kathleen Kendrick, Senior Legal Counsel, Miller Thompson LLP, discussed some of these points as they related to Consulting Service Agreements (CSA).

 Kathleen brought everyone up-to-speed with a quick overview of the types of CSAs: individual, with consulting firms and hybrid with a company that provides products and consulting services.

 An important reminder to the audience was that all contracts are agreements, but not all agreements are contracts. In order to be a contract these elements must exist:

• Unconditional offer
• Unconditional acceptance
• Intention to create legal relations
• Consideration
• Certainty of terms
• Capacity

Kathleen acknowledges that CSAs are hard to define as deliverables are not always tangible, i.e. advice, therefore professionals must clearly define the scope of what they want achieved, where the consultant fits in, and what they want delivered. The consultants tasks, expected results/goals, deliverables and method of measurement must be included in the CSA.

CSAs are not like regular contracts for sale of goods because they may be ongoing and long-term, therefore regular reporting from the consultant will need to be considered and included in the agreement.

Most importantly, Kathleen stresses that all CSAs be designed with an out clause that clearly states how the contract can be terminated, with a cure period for breaches, to avoid future inconvenience.

Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

Jeff Kelly, General Manager – Western Region at Supply Chain Management Inc., explains that in the past supply chain strategies often focused on filling a warehouse rather than a store. This strategy often sacrificed the needs of the store for the sake of logistical requirements at the distribution centre.

Recognizing this problem, Wal-Mart worked to establish a system that was designed to fulfill the requirements of its stores. Purchase orders are now generated based on total store repleshment requirements. The need for a traditional distribution centre was eliminated and the required inventory was now held in the distribution network. This model was based on a method that was used in Wal-Mart’s UK operations to create a stockless environment. The main differences in the Canadian model are the scale and distance to stores, both of which are smaller because of our population base and our ready access to many vendors south of the border.

The new system has resulted in:

• Cleaner, more organized facilities
• Reduced labour costs
• Improved efficiencies
• Reduced receipt-inventory-cash cycles
• Reduce/delay the need for further brick and mortar assets for years
• Reduce inventory control costs
• Flexibility in changing product lines

Post by: King Siu, Communications Coordinator, PMAC

The first keynote speaker of the 2010 Conference, on Thursday morning, was renowned Canadian futurist Jim Bottomley.

While the future cannot be predicted, Jim believes that future change can be managed, and it is how you react to that change that will determine success. Change is met by either actions to embrace opportunities it creates, or actions to minimize or avoid threats. By monitoring trends that are likely to affect your business: technological, economic, social/cultural, demographic and political/legal, one can get a head start and quickly embrace opportunity or avoid risk when changes arrive.

Some areas of focus that Jim highlighted include: the evolution of our profession from purchasing to strategic supply chain, the emergence of a more intelligent Internet (that can improve productivity and/or increase risk), becoming aware of carbon tracking and trading – grow your knowledge about climate change and other green initiatives, attracting and retaining talent will present a bigger challenge as the workforce ages and generational differences between Gen X’s, Gen Y’s and especially the millenium generation need to be considered in recruiting and retention strategies.

Finally, according to Jim, the most important trend to monitor is the social/cultural trend that is seeing a great rise of individual power through knowledge. As a result, clients/customers may become more demanding and knowledgeable, and will likely pursue partnering opportunities with increased frequency to achieve results.