Untitled Document

Johannesburg, South Africa, 8 July 2009 – Imperial Logistics proudly announces two Supply Chain Education Excellence Awards received at the 2009 ceremony hosted by SAPICS on 17 June 2009. Imperial Logistics won an award in the “Corporate Educator of the Year 2008” category, while an Operating Company, Volition Consulting Services achieved an award in the “Operations Management Program of the Year 2008” for its in-house course devolitionSCP.

“Once again Imperial Logistics demonstrates our commitment to the development of our people and the wider supply chain industry”, says Marius Swanepoel, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Logistics. “Through educational programmes we invest in our people and further equip them to contribute effectively within Imperial Logistics, while enabling them to share knowledge and participate actively in industry forums”. Marius continues: “In today’s challenging times, we continuously have to renew our thinking and build our knowledge base. This way we ensure sustainable logistics and supply chain solutions, while creating value and serving our customers in the best way possible”.

The focus of the awards is to recognise and applaud organisations and individuals playing a key role in education and training within the supply chain sector of southern Africa.The award in the “Corporate Educator” category acknowledges excellence with regards to the number of employees at all levels of the organisation receiving training as well as the alignment of training initiatives with national and sectoral skills development priorities. The “Operations Management Programme of the Year 2008” acknowledges unique and innovative training programmes that contribute not only to overall education within the supply chain environment, but also adds significant value and benefits to the individual and organisation at play.

The awards are testimony of the prominence that training and development enjoys within Imperial Logistics and the vast number of training initiatives offered, such as learnerships and skills programmes at all levels of the organisation, management-, leadership and graduate development programmes and bursary schemes. The company contributes to the South African logistics and supply chain industry by addressing the increasing skills shortage in this field, as well as unemployment that is greatly affecting the country. The awards acknowledge the representation and close involvement of Imperial logistics on national skills development structures, such as the Transport Education & Training Authority. In addition, the company is represented at and is actively participating in various industry structures and professional bodies, such as SAPICS, Supply-Chain Council and the CSCMP.

Imperial Logistics is the leading logistics and supply chain management company in Southern Africa with an international footprint in Europe. Imperial Logistics Southern Africa provides customised value-added logistics services and supply chain solutions to blue chip customers in almost every industry. Imperial Logistics is 100% owned by Imperial Holdings and the Southern Africa division is home to 70 operating companies, categorised into four key divisions, namely Transport and Warehousing, Consumer Products, Specialised Freight and Integration Services. Imperial Logistics International focuses on European markets and comprises four operating units, namely Panopa Logistik, neska, Imperial Reederei and Brouwer Shipping. For further information, please visit www.imperiallogistics.co.za.

Volition’s ideology is to passionately drive sustainable business improvement through applying the capabilities of our people, creating value for all stakeholders. As a professional services company, Volition offers specialist skills to address supply chain challenges. Volition employs more than 80 professionals who operate across Southern Africa. Its team is structured according to the skills required to support their clients’ needs. Volition’s expertise spans the end-to-end supply chain domain, including procurement, operations planning, distribution logistics and value chain integration. Their client base has expanded into all industry sectors, such as FMCG, Banking, Public Sector, Automotive and Mining Supply Chains, building long-term mutually beneficial relationships.