Anybody in the house?

Lets share experiences on SLA and outsourcing since this is the main focus of all organisations these days.

Yes for me they are mainly driven by agreed KPIs but we are yet to transit to the level of bonus for over achievement and penalties for under achievement. What do we do? .Sometimes your partners look you in the eye and ask whether you are operating in Nigeria or elsewhere. Operating in panic mode all the time does not look good at all.

Lets share experiences

What any sales rep may ask is if any of these KPIs were actually agreed as you know very well that the same economic condition in Nigeria has led them to accept your T & C because they may risk biz opportunities if they counter-offer your T & C.

The basis is dat organisations(buyers) T & C are mostly imposed on the vendors and I can assure you that they will agree wit your offers as they know they are in competition with other vendors,the issues after the award of contracts becomes 'when we get to that bridge we shall cross it' and the obvious reason they will whip sentiments of the Nigerian operating environment once they have challenges of meeting your imposed targets.

It has always been said most time,a collaborative approach with vendors is the best approach to outsourcing and it goes beyond T & C and KPI,it involves collaboration with your vendors as a partner, its a problem solving approach,involves transparency of processes across both org and the risks are obvious and may be too much of a risk depending on the risk appetite of such organisation.e.g ,intellectual property risk,so called partner may become a competitor if empowered with trade secrets.

Some of the reasons above suggest why organisations(buyers) work with vendors at arm`s length only engaging with them on  transactional basis and nothing beyond that ,I mean T & C and KPIs,but contractor performance just goes beyond that.

I would say this thread has been so inspiring and educating, Thanx to wills,mikedeoye,abinibi and the whole other guys. You ve done so well.
I need ur advise on this. I am presently with one of the airlines and would like to build a career in the aviation industry. I just registered with CILT but its that enough? Also I started an MBA programme in Transport Mgt with air transport mgt as option in one of our eastern university but am not rili okay. The option of going to UK or western countries is one major challenge due finance. What are the professional certifications one can get here while planning for the outside studies?

Wills, the mgt school of supply chain mgt that was to kick off in abuja/lagos by prolog, any news?

Pls I would like to know if I could get copies of the CIPS Level 4 study materials at discounted rates from anyone.
Thank u

@ datriplea, call maxwell in Lagos  on 08030753081.Tell him you are from the guy in PH.

@ Datriplea
Check my previous post to get Maxwell contact if the number Abinibi posted does not go.

Thanx peeps,

though, many people does'nt know much/nothing about this like mikedeoye said but thanks to the poster for posting it for the benefit and participation of those that know about it.

Nairalanders,

I have some concerns about the banking industry and how they conduct business especially as it concerns the procurement function,this is due to investors reaction to some banks second quater results,they seems to have bogus profit declaration without these book profits translating to dividends or investment growth especially with the crash in stock price across the capital market and the banks being terribly affected,no thanks to the margin loans wahala.

Procurement is the function that most organisation are turning to for help,not because it provides all the solution to an organisations problem but because procurement has a huge potential for savings that could help alleviate problems faced with the realities of global financial crisis that has dunned on our bankers despite guru Soludo promise that our banks are safe.

I do not have any experience in banking operations but there are associated activities in the banking value chain that portends huge savings potential,they are marketing(advertisements on all the media),Logistics(Fuel,Transportation etc),Power(Operations & Maintenance,other incidental services etc),Information Technology & Telecomunication,Manpower services,Security,, many more areas I may not know because i do not operate in this enviroment but nairalanders can help to identify more areas with potentials for savings.

What I have noticed is our bankers seem to be too corky and see no gains in procurement ,they know everything already and do not want to know more perhaps they see procurement as a rivalry profession.I discussed with some internal control guys in one of the new generation banks,they lack so much about the procurement knowledge that they think is just another fad and no thanks to the CBN that seems to also know everything about banking and nothing about any other thing,their control over the operation of these banks is terrible,I wondered how they could not realise that procurement issues even go beyond coperate strategy issues but also coperate governance as procurement dwells on due process.

There are loopholes of procurement fraud and conflict of interest issues that pervades the banking industry ,there are examples of directors with brothers and sisters and family members registered as suppliers which are being used as backdoor channel for reaping investors of their hard earned money,masquerading as suppliers who are awarded contracts that are not competitively tendered.

My advice to the entire banking sector stakeholder is to start looking for solutions in procurement,unfortunately due to their naivety of what procurement entails,they think it is like just buying an item in the market without taking a lot of things into consideration as in the purchasing cycle.Many also makes the mistake of restricting procurement to operational level planning,what I would suggest to the banking sector is to start focusing on cost leadership strategy through procurement and stop all the propaganda on the media which seems a fallout of differentiation strategy as investors fund is lost through this aggressive marketing that has not provided the solution at this critical period.

I would be posting this on another thread for some bankers to be able to contribute to this piece.

Just to butress the points in my post;

We cannot disclose any details now but we shall tell Nigerians the truth about every bank. Not until the audit is completed, disclosing the details now is not healthy for us and the industry. What is of importance to note is that the good bank is not
necessarily the big bank. The good bank is the one with the ability to manage resources efficiently and deliver services.”---- Sanusi Lamido.

Analysts had said that applications for winding up proceedings against some companies and billions of naira losses written off within the last four weeks have among others become major issues in the financial market to watch keenly as a test of CBN’s resolve to truly move into a regime of sound corporate governance, improved disclosures and a culture of best practice risk management by all banks.

Culled from Bussinessday.

rankin5:

I would say this thread has been so inspiring and educating, Thanx to wills,mikedeoye,abinibi and the whole other guys. You ve done so well.
I need ur advise on this. I am presently with one of the airlines and would like to build a career in the aviation industry. I just registered with CILT but its that enough? Also I started an MBA programme in Transport Mgt with air transport mgt as option in one of our eastern university but am not rili okay. The option of going to UK or western countries is one major challenge due finance. What are the professional certifications one can get here while planning for the outside studies?

Wills, the mgt school of supply chain mgt that was to kick off in abuja/lagos by prolog, any news?

@ rankin5, sorry it took a while to reply your post.

The essence on of this tread is that we always strive to answers peoples question, or share our insight into the profession. You intend building your career in the aviation sector, and I think that’s a good thing already. However you didn’t mention the specific functional area you which to specialise in, e.g. passenger services, operations, logistics , procurement etc.

Since your are registered with CILT and also doing a Master program in air transport management. I Think you are on the right track already, however do make efforts to define the particular area you want to specialise in, if it’s in Logistics or operations management, then like I said you are on the right track already.

The CILT professional certification I reckon is very good professional body ,however as we have always emphasised on this tread, it’s the hands on experience you get that counts the most in this profession.
So don’t worry too much about any further professional certification, I will advise you focus on the CILT, and also your masters and try make the most of your current work experiences. These are very good spring board already for an upward career mobility.

As regards schooling aboard , this is my personal opinion, but feel free to talk it over with other people and seek further advice.
Due to the current economic situation in the West, this is not the best of times to leave a job in Nigeria especially if that job gets you by, and then come to the UK, US or any place in the West. For now i advise that if you can’t get a sponsor/someone or scholarship that can cover the entire cost and also the assurance that you can get you a better job back in Nigeria when you are done with your studies, then don’t borther about studying abroad for now.

If it’s possible, put it off until the economic situation in the West blows over, because then it will be a lot easy for you to get a job there on completion of your study and with the experiences you have also acquired, during this waiting period it sorts of gives you an edge when you want to go back into full time work after your studies.
As for the supply chain academy thing, it’s still in the pipeline, don’t worry once it goes live!, you will be sure to see all details on this tread.
Hope this helps, Cheers!

@datriplea and others
I will try and work on getting CIPS study guides (hard copies) available for purchase in Nigeria,but this may take some time. I know that’s getting study guides is still a challenge for most people taking the exams. However other than study guides or other recommended text for studying towards your CIPS exams, all other study materials like, past questions, assessors report( marking scheme) for previous exams, CIPS articles, and ISM articles can be downloaded free on the CIPS website. Also try and read and keep up to date with the supply management magazine, its a helpful tool for studying towards your CIPS exams.

@abinibi, Thanks a million for sharing your insights, Cheers and keep up the good work.

@ rankin5, sorry it took a while to reply your post.

The essence on of this tread is that we always strive to answers peoples question, or share our insight about the profession. You intend building your career further in the aviation sector, and I think that’s a good thing already. However you didn’t mention the specific functional area you wish to specialise in, e.g. passenger services, operations, logistics , procurement etc.

Since your are registered with CILT and also doing a Master program in air transport management. I Think you are on the right track already, however do make efforts to define the particular area you want to specialise in, if it’s in Logistics or operations management, then like I said you are on the right track already.

The CILT professional certification I reckon is very good, however as we have always emphasised on this tread, it’s the hands on experience you get that counts the most in this profession. So don’t worry too much about any further professional certification, I will advise you focus on CILT, and also your masters and try make the most of your current work experiences. These are very good spring board already for an upward career mobility.

As regards schooling aboard , this is my personal opinion, but feel free to talk it over with other people and seek further advice.
Due to the current economic situation in the West, this is not the best of times to leave a job in Nigeria, especially if that job gets you by, and then come to the UK, US or any place in the West. For now I advice that if you can’t get a sponsor/someone or scholarship that can cover the entire cost and also the assurance that you can get better job back in Nigeria when you are done with your studies, then don’t bother about studying abroad for now.

If it’s possible, put it off until the economic situation in the West blows over, because then it will be a lot easy for you to get a job there on completion of your study and with the experiences you have also acquired, during this waiting period, it sorts of gives you an edge when you want to go back into full time work after your studies.
As for the supply chain academy thing, it’s still in the pipeline, don’t worry once it goes live!, you will be sure to see all details on this tread.
Hope this helps, Cheers!


@datriplea and others
I will try and work on getting CIPS study guides (hard copies) available for purchase in Nigeria, but this may take some time. I know that getting study guides is a challenge for most people taking the exams. However other than study guides or other recommended text for studying towards your CIPS exams, all other study materials like, past questions, assessors report( marking scheme) for previous exams, CIPS articles, and ISM articles can be downloaded free on the CIPS website. Also try and read and keep up to date with the supply management magazine from CIPS, it’s a helpful tool for studying towards your CIPS exams
Cheers!

Hi everybody. Many thanks to those who have taken time to share their knowledge resource on this subject. Your contributions are quite invaluable. May God reward you in Jesus name.

I am very interested in developing a career in this area, but the qualification i have is not related. I have HND in Elect/Elect form Yabatech and really would want to get a Bsc first before i do Masters. My intention was to do a one year top up degree with any UK University that can offer the programme(Logistics and Supply Chain) by distance learning but, i could not get. I even tried related courses like Operations Management, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, Industrial Management, hoping that if i do any of these, it can provide the platform for me to do a Masters in Logistics, but i still could not get. Also, i tried rdi, but they dont want to take HND in Electrical for any of the business courses they have on offer.

I would not mind going over to uk to do a full time programme but you know, we are talking about some 8000-9000 pounds.

I do not want just professional certification, but also a traditional degree(this is personal).

Can anybody advise on this. Thank you very much.

"JesusuDway",glad to know u are interested in the discipline, hmmm,since you have an HND in Elect,u should think of how it can be applied in the Logistics/SCM field,
Have u read up stuff on RFID(Radio Frequency Identification)?Its use in tagging commodities,luggage,animals etc. is highly widespread,even here in NIgeria.An example is the pharm Industry where companies like MDS logistics are contributing immensely.Tags are fitted onto consignments,with information about the consignments programmed into these tags.RFID could also be integrated with a GPS system to monitor the movement of any commodity in the world.
I am aware there are professional certifications like the RFID+ offered by compTIA (www.comptia.org) or www.rfid4u.com
Hope this helps

Traits/qualities that you feel make a good logistics/supply chain professional

Organized, Meticulous, Passionate about the profession, Good Communicator,
Be commercial in their approach
Have operational experience/knowledge
To be able to question without causing friction
To have belief in their own ability
To be assertive
Creative, Knowledgeable, Analytical, Communicative, and Patient
Analytical, Process-Oriented, Common Sense, Adaptable, Superior Communicator.
Maximizer, Positive Attitude, Organized, Collaborates well with team, Analytical
Consistent, Creative, Proficient, Good Listener, Keen Observer

@ rankin5, sorry it took a while to reply your post.

The essence on of this tread is that we always strive to answers peoples question, or share our insight into the profession. You intend building your career in the aviation sector, and I think that’s a good thing already. However you didn’t mention the specific functional area you which to specialise in, e.g. passenger services, operations, logistics , procurement etc.
Since your are registered with CILT and also doing a Master program in air transport management. I Think you are on the right track already, however do make efforts to define the particular area you want to specialise in, if it’s in Logistics or operations management, then like I said you are on the right track already.

The CILT professional certification I reckon is very good professional body ,however as we have always emphasised on this tread, it’s the hands on experience you get that counts the most in this profession.
So don’t worry too much about any further professional certification, I will advise you focus on the CILT, and also your masters and try make the most of your current work experiences. These are very good spring board already for an upward career mobility.

As regards schooling aboard , this is my personal opinion, but feel free to talk it over with other people and seek further advice.
Due to the current economic situation in the West, this is not the best of times to leave a job in Nigeria especially if that job gets you by, and come to the UK, US or any place in the West. For now I advise that if you can’t get a sponsor or scholarship that can cover the entire cost, and also the assurance that you can get you a better job back in Nigeria when you are done with your studies, then don’t bother about studying abroad for now.

If it’s possible, put it off until the economic situation in the West blows over, because then it will be a lot easy for you to get a job there on completion of your study and with the experiences you have also acquired, during this waiting period it sorts of gives you an edge when you want to go back into full time work after your studies.
As for the supply chain academy thing, it’s still in the pipeline, don’t worry once it goes live!, you will be sure to see all details on this tread.
Hope this helps, Cheers!

@datriplea and others
I will try and work on getting CIPS study guides (hard copies) available for purchase in Nigeria,but this may take some time. I know that’s getting study guides is still a challenge for most people taking the exams. However other than study guides or other recommended text for studying towards your CIPS exams, all other study materials like, past questions, assessors report( marking scheme) for previous exams, CIPS articles, and ISM articles can be downloaded free on the CIPS website. Also try and read and keep up to date with the supply management magazine, its a helpful tool for studying towards your CIPS exams.

@datriplea I do very much agree with you, on your advice to @JesusuDway I would say its spot on! Cheers!

Ten Commandments For SCM Profesionals

What we should work towards as professionals: not necessarily in this order, comments please.

(Ten Commandments For SCM)

No 1 : Safety and security of supply.
No 2 : No surprises if any supply issue should threaten to materialize.
No 3 : Nil QHSE risks or issues with chosen supplier base or
product/service provided.
No 4 : Cost effective supply chains.
No 5 : SCM to be seen as an easy-to-do business with organization.
No 6 : 100% documentation accuracy throughout the fulfillment cycle.
No 7 : Suppliers to be treated fairly.
No 8 : SCM staff to operate at the uppermost level of business ethics.
No 9 : SCM active engagement in Business Improvement objectives.
No 10 : SCM leading culture change and enhancing business health
as top performing professionals

By Allan Wright.
Supply Chain And Procurement Administration Services Ltd (SCAPA)

Dis Guy:

_{wills, your posts will appear shortly}

Many Thanks.

Thanks Wills and everyone who contributed to this trend.
Please I need some information on supply chain related certification in Nigeria, I work as a HR person and need to enrol some of our staff to be certify in SCM.

so please I need the info especially the best institute to use.

kamsi:

Thanks Wills and everyone who contributed to this trend.
Please I need some information on supply chain related certification in Nigeria, I work as a HR person and need to enrol some of our staff to be certify in SCM.

so please I need the info especially the best institute to use.

Hi @Kamsi, I will be glad to talk to you about, SCM related Certification/ inhouse Trainning. If you can Then Please call me on +447880578930, anytime from 4pm or send a Text and i will try get back to you ASAP.

Cheers.

Would like to share this with NL member:

[b]The Bureau of Public Procurement disclosed yesterday that it has initiated the prosecution of about 18 officials for breach of the procurement process in this year’s budget.

The Director-General of the Due Process Office, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, who made the disclosure at an engagement with professionals from the works and built industry, also revealed that more government officials as well as contractors are being investigated and would face prosecution if found wanting.

He told the gathering that, “About 18 persons are currently under prosecution for various acts that breached the procurement process and led to poor contract implementation, which cost government millions of dollars.

“The greatest frustration is that our colleagues (professionals in the built services industry) were involved in the laxity and poor implementation of contracts. This meeting is a call for revival of our professional and moral ethos to always do the right thing.”

Ezeh explained that the procurement process in the country was being frustrated by the lack of interest shown by professionals in various sectors, adding that there was need to adhere to the ethics of professional bodies, especially as regards government procurement.

He said, “The challenge we have is that professionals appear not to be enthusiastic as civil society and media in the procurement process even though they are the ones that are mostly involved in consultancy for public projects.

“Often, because of the technical nature of what we do, we need thoroughbred professionals to drive the process, and not those who see public procurement and expenditure as buying and selling.”[/b]

HMMMM, I think i see more bright light and end of the already lighted tunnel, good work albinibi, that portends something great for prospective SCM professionals

NICE 1 @Abinibi,, by the way am back!

welcome sir!!.how was ur trip, hope u ve good news 4 us o, we need it badly

Thanks ,Okeyz.


Thought i share this.

Final words from outgoing Nigerian born CIPS president

Departing CIPS president Dr Bola Afolabi said the most rewarding aspect of his term has been the chance to promote procurement education in Africa.

Bola Afolabi
"I am passionate about increasing opportunities for young people in Africa to have access to CIPS qualifications. I can even claim direct responsibility for the registration of 250 new student members from Nigeria - I physically carried their application forms to Easton House," he said.

Speaking in the CIPS Update pages of SM, Afolabi, whose tenure as president of CIPS ends tomorrow, said he's amazed how quickly the 12 months passed - and how much the institute has changed in that time.

He believes CIPS is weathering the downturn well - with growing membership - and he is "totally behind" the plans of CIPS CEO David Noble, who became head of the institute in June.

He said he has enormously enjoyed representing CIPS at events in Africa, Australia, the UK and US, and the response to the institute at these events confirms CIPS as "undisputedly the world leader for our profession".

Afolabi said colleagues on the institute's council have picked up his theme for the year - "leadership without boundaries" - and are "developing some great ideas that will shape CIPS for years to come

Source. supplymanagement.com

GUYS AND GALS , HOW WAS THE LAST CIPS EXAM LIKE??

PLEASE GIVE UE COMMENTS HERE, WHAT ARE UR EXPECTATIONS??
PLEASE LETS KEEP THIS THREAD ALIVE O,

Wanted to write about my experience but was still recuperating from the exam wounds when this was posted .Its the last three papers for me to qualifying as an MCIPS so I was so engrossed on prep to ensure I do not experience triple failures like I had in Management function paper,it was a nightmare paper of the level 5 set for me since I started MCIPS exams in 2007.

My 5 cents id that students needs to read the exam guide over an over and over,also the matrix at the back of assessors review of past question are very helpful,always use this tools in the last two weeks of prep before ur exams,the improvent you will observe and your level of confidence will be greatly enhanced,and the complementary tool for this exercise is the content objective list at the start of study guides for each paper, this is because rephrasing this objectives in question form almost states the likely questions for the exams.

Sorry for the delay in my contribution,I have been on the study guides all year long.Would share my update you of my success come February cause I cant wait to be at the graduation ceremony come June 2009.

Sorry for the typos on my contribution,I had to send without spellcheck, NEPA no allow me drink water .

ENFORCING SLA'S,KPI AND AVOIDING BUYER/SUPPLIERS OPPORTUNISTICS BEHAVIOURS

Introduction

Interaction among firms in the supply chain is necessary for business process execution, and therefore, occurs frequently. Such interaction is interdependent and dynamic. Each decision or action of a firm affects other members of the supply chain. Notwithstanding, numerous internal and external factors constantly evolve and affect the interaction among firms. One phenomenon in buyer-supplier relations that spans both levels of interaction is opportunism. Opportunism is defined as behavior that is self-interest seeking with guile (Williamson 1975). It differs from simple self interested behavior due to its guile component. Hence, not only is opportunism selfish, it also causes harm to another party. Opportunism is manifested in behaviors such as stealing, cheating, breach of contract (Williamson 1993), distorting data, obfuscating issues, purposefully confusing
transactions, making false threats and promises, cutting corners, cover ups, disguising attributes or preferences (Williamson 1981), withholding information (Wathne and Heide 2000), deceiving, and misrepresenting (Anderson 1988).

Background
Specific instances of opportunistic behaviors (e.g., deceit and cheating) and often is as a result of pre contract information assymetry leading to moral hazards or post contract hold up- a situation where the supplier calls the buyer's bluff after the contract has been signed and work has commenced.These are major challenges why SLA's and contract are difficult to manage and because of the transaction cost associated to every relationships, it is always pretty difficult for the buyers to enforce the SLA's.Some of the Transaction cost leading to asset specific investment occurs due to some of the follwing reasons:

Complexity
Occurs when the transaction involves a significant degree of private information e.g. difficulty in measuring quantity and/or quality
Supplying party has incentive to engage in post-contract opportunism.If transactions are complex, frequent but with a relatively short period of time before quality is revealed – long-term contracting.If period of time is long integration may be preferred

The major problem of poor SLA execution can thus be divided along the 2 areas as discussed above(1) pre-contractual information assymetry between buyers and sellers that makes one party to want to cheat the oher even before the transaction is consumnated and (2)Post contractual hold up-a scenarion whereby the supplier calls the buyers's bluff because the buyers have invested so much in the transaction in form of sunk cost and asset specific investment.The reasons are better captured below:

i)Poor Legal system in Nigeria-Legal cases may stay for up to 3 years for a simple case of buyer-seller disagreement to be sorted out.

ii)Information assymetry between buyer and sellers leading to pre contract  moral hazards-buying a lemon.

iii)Pure opportunistic behaviour of suppliers or buyers leading to post contract hold up

These are some of the challenges that ties a buyer or seller in an exchange relationship together and because of asset specific investment in most relationships, the firm with more asset specific investment usually is on the recieving side. It is very difficult for the members of the exchange relationships to have complete idea of what will completely happen throughout the lifetime of the transaction and because there is always a transaction cost associated with every form of relationship, a buyer must always have what is called visible foresight i.e.having it at the back of his or her mind that the supplier may most likely be hidding some information pre transaction which he will use to his advantage post transaction.

a)A way to go about this is to design a contract that allows  the suppliers to have an asset specific investment in the transaction-An asset specific investment is an investment with a lower opportunity cost/lower value in alternative uses rather that what it's being presently used for .This way the supplier will adhere to the terms of engagement, this however is also a two way sword, the suppliers often times wants buyers to promise them more business to make this investment and hence buyers will also have to stick to the terms as well.-e.g. asking your supplier to use their fund to purchase an hardware in a specific ICT infrastructure project and the fund will be paid to the supplier 6-12 months later for a contract  that will terminate in 6 months or requesting for leasing of such hardware from the supplier in exchange for a longer term contract.The supplier using their fund to buy  the hardware will want to stick to the contract to recoup their money back.

b)The next option is a mechaism that is based on an option to switch from one contract to another. The client and the contractor must simultaneously enter into two (or more) contracts with an option given to the client to decide which one will apply once the work has been completed. The client's advantage lies in the power of preventing the contractor's opportunistic behaviour. The contractor's advantage lies in the possibility to demonstrate good faith.Another method is to insert penalty clause into contracts.

c)Because it is very difficult for the buyer to fully anticipate all that will happen in the lifetime of the transaction, it is better to leave a clause for re-negotiation in the SLA's at all time to avoid post contractual hold up

Finally a way to ensure that suppliers stick to SLA's is to ensure that you are the more powerful partner in the relationship.There are basically 4 types of power relationships in an excahange relationship.

1.Buyer Dominant-When buyer is more powerful in the raltionship, powerful buyers will always have better bargaining powers.Powerful buyers are usually the big organisation or at least an organisation whose buying budget is a large chunk of the supplier's balance sheet or a buyer that is bery innovative and jointly develop the product its buying from the supplier.This way the suppliers are always fulfilling the terms of contract.
2.Supplier Dominant-This is the opposite of Buyer dominant position in the power quadrant
3.Interdependence-This is when the buyers and suppliers are dependent on each other and hence the risk of opportunistic behaviours are greatly reduced
4.Independence-This is when they are not so dependent on each other and hence they can survive without each other.

Every succesful buyers should always choose to be in the buyer dominant or interdependence quadrant whilst suppliers will always choose to be in the supplier dominant spot to maximise supplier's surplus value.

This is my humble contribution to the challenges associated with enforcing SLA's and Contracts in exchange relationships in Nigeria.I hope it will add some value.

.

.