Feature

Now the question is, what's 'Supply Chain Management'? I think most of the people who regularly update their knowledge about the recent business world, are already acquainted with the term. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer and lastly to the consumer. The definition that American professional association has put forward is that SCM encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, SCM integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.

From the above mentioned information it is clear that SCM is not a mere bookish subject. To be a real expert in SCM one needs to have practical experience. So, to share the reality with the professionals who work in this field, Department of IPE, BUET arranged a daylong workshop and an open discussion on contribution of Supply Chain Management in the corporate arena in association with AIPE (Association of Industrial and Production Engineers). It was held on 4th April 2008 in the seminar room of Civil building. The programme had the goal of sharing the experience with the experts and informing the companies about the initiation of this course in IPE, BUET.

Arranging this kind of a seminar was definitely not an easy task. After several days of hard work, the students (specially the students of L-4, T-1 as they were the main organizers of this event) and faculty members of IPE managed to pull off this event. At first the departmental head Dr. M. Ahsan Akhter Hasin gave a short speech on the importance of SCM in the modern business sector. He was followed by Dr. Abdur Rashid Sarkar, Dean of Mechanical faculty. He said, although the term SCM is a modern concept, practice of SCM actually started around 5000 BC. Then the honorable VC Prof. Dr. A.M.M. Shafiullah delivered his speech. He emphasized that although BUET is an engineering university, it should have a business faculty to meet the demand of the present job market. After his speech a presentation on IPE department was shown to the guests. The open discussion started after that. Mr. Hasin was the co-ordinator, while Prof. A.M.M. Shafiullah presided over the session. The professionals who were present in the programme were Mr. Refayet Ullah, GM, Akij Food and Beverage Ltd., Mr. Syed Asgar Ali, Import Manager, BOC Bangladesh Ltd., Mr. Shankar Kumar, GM, Holcim Cement Ltd., Mr. Md. Akbar Hassan, CEO and MD, Briddhi, Mr. Mainuddin, Project Manager, Star Delta Engineers Ltd., Mr. Rezaul Haque, Supply Chain Manager, BATB, Mrs. Preety Chakrabarty, Chairman, J & J Essential Products Ltd.

All the participants talked about their working experience, especially about the SCM of their companies' particular products and how they operate the entire process. Besides, other things also came into the discussion like what should be the approach of a graduate engineer when he or she enters the job field. It was emphasized that an engineer should possess good communication skill along with technical knowledge. If an engineer fails to communicate with others then it will not be possible for him or her to implement his or her ideas. The following session was presided over by Dr. Abdur Rashid Sarkar and Dr. Nafis Ahmed (Assistant Professor, Department of IPE, BUET) who took the chair and co-coordinated the session.

Later there was a question answer session attended by both the representatives from different companies and the students. A student pointed out that different companies should have arrangements for part time jobs for the students of technical institutes. Moreover students can earn money by doing these works instead of private tutoring. In reply the speakers said, most of their factories are situated outside Dhaka. The problem with the students is that they do not want to go outside Dhaka even after their graduation. So this problem should be solved first. Representatives from over 30 companies took part in the event namely: BATB, BOC Bangladesh Ltd, IbnSina group of industries, Star Delta Engineers Ltd, Transcom beverage Ltd., Akij Group, Holcim cement Ltd., Fung food Ltd., Briddhi, J & J essential products Ltd., DBL group, Babylon Group, ABCO, Ericsson, Duncan brothers, Fakir Knitwear, DAEHAN steel construction company Ltd., World fashion park, Viyellatex, Kallol Enterprise Ltd., Square toiletries Ltd., Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI), Nestle Bangladesh Ltd., Katalyst, Rahimafrooz batteries Ltd., BKMEA, VF Asia, Dutch-Bangla pack Ltd. etc. The faculty members and graduates of IPE who are working in different organizations were also present in the session.

The workshop began at 2.30 pm. This session was divided into three slots. The first one was conducted by Mr. Hasan Raza, Supply Chain Manager, BATB. He introduced the trainees with some basic concepts of supply chain. Then he talked about the functions of BAT worldwide including Bangladesh. The second slot was conducted by Mr. Mizanur Rahman, Head of supply chain, AKTEL. His presentation also included some key words and concepts of supply chain. Mr. Md. Akbar Hassan, CEO and MD, Briddhi, conducted the last session. He also presented the participants with some necessary contents of supply chain. He showed two videos made by his organization. The videos were made on the garments industries of our country and showed how devastating a situation can be when a simple break in the supply chain process occurs. A businessman can experience a million dollar loss due to a minor mistake. So literally there is no margin of error in the global business. It should be mentioned that, Md. Akbar Hassan also takes classes of ITC (International Trade Center) certificate training course. It's a professional level international training course on SCM conducted by WTO. In Bangladesh the course is arranged by DCCI.

By the end of the slot the programme also drew its conclusion. Some light refreshments were given to the participants thereafter. The official drink of the event was 'Clemon' from Akij food and beverage Ltd.

(Department of IPE, BUET)