The first annual IPSA Procurement Awards ceremony (Pictured left. click to enlarge) was hosted at the Emperors Convention Centre on the evening of 19 May 2008. This prestigious event, the first of its kind in Africa, proved to be a huge success within the history of the Southern African Procurement and Supply Chain Management environments and was attended by 150 people from 10 different countries.
The award category winners were as follows:
- Best Cross-Functional Teamwork Project: EXXARO
Reason for receiving the award: The main focus of this award was on the internal teamwork between a purchasing or supply management team with another team from within the same organisation.
Accepted by: Lee-Ann Krishna.
- Best People Development Initiative: Transnet Supply Chain
Reason for receiving the award: Training programmes were of the essence here. The panel of judges considered programmes that substantially raised the understanding and/or skills of the purchasing and supply management team, therefore assisting in real improvements in performance.
Accepted by: Raj Ramlaul & Karen van Vuuren (Pictured here)
- Best Process Improvement Initiative: Construction Industry Development Board
Reason for receiving the award: This award is all about processes. Results definitely spoke louder than all in this case as this was the main criteria by which any change or upgrade in the purchasing or supply management processes were evaluated.
Accepted by: Inba Thumbirn & Ronnie Khosa.
- Best Purchaser / Supplier Relationship: Telkom SA
Reason for receiving the award: What makes this category extraordinary is that the entry had to come from both the purchaser and the supplier. The mutual benefit for both parties was the deciding factor in the end.
Accepted by: Mike Midgley.
- Best Public Procurement Project: Department of Home Affairs
Reason for receiving the award: This category was open to all public sector bodies as covered by the National Treasury Procurement Directives.
Accepted by: Hennie Meyer.
Along with the above categories, three “Awards of Excellence” were also awarded in recognition of outstanding accomplishments and contributions in the Supply Management Environment. They went to:
- Professor Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss (Unisa):
Awarded because of her tremendous role in the industry, whether being teaching, writing, researching or moderating papers. She has published numerous articles, has co-authored and edited various books, and is the chairperson of the CPM Board of IPSA.
- Professor Bola Afolabi (CIPS Vice President):
Awarded because of his contributions to purchasing and supply management in Africa. He was responsible for the implementation of SAP business across 11 subsidiaries. He is also the first non-European to occupy the position of Vice President for CIPS (UK).
- Ken James (Immediate Past President IFPSM & ex-CEO CIPS):
Awarded because of his attributes to represent the profession at the highest level, fostering productive relationships with key individuals over the years, and thus getting the support for the industry.
**SmartProcurement would like to thank the following people for their help and support in the compilation of this article: IPSA management, in particular Marius Bosman and Kraai van Kraayenburg; and Provision Marketing (Selenta & Sune).
