From the Director's desk December 2020

Welcome to the last edition of Supply Chain Link for this challenging year. What a year it has been for supply chains!

I was pleased to have fielded quite a few calls from reporters during our first lockdown. Dare I hope that awareness of the importance of supply chain management is growing? I would like to acknowledge all the supply chain professionals (and others) out there who have been working so hard making sure New Zealand continues to tick over - many in very challenging personal circumstances. Well done to everybody!

In this edition, we have two articles about Centre for Supply Chain Management (CSCM) events during the last few months. The first event was one of the sessions for the Strategic Supply Chain Management Programme (SSCMP) held 15 October called Collaborating for Change.

In this session, James Feeney and Suzanne O’Leary talked about change and collaboration in supply chains using their personal initiative of KiwiHarvest as a case study. Suzanne gave us a brief history of KiwiHarvest and how it is getting food to where it’s needed most. 

The second event was held for the Women in Supply Chain (WISC) group on 3 November, in which Chris Money spoke about the critical considerations for the future of the Upper North Island logistics and supply chain.

Next, we have John Cleveland, PhD student in the ISOM department, who explains his proposal, Targets for Emergency Department Performance: Strategic Metrics to Ensure Quality of Care and Guided Actions. Focusing on the problem of overcrowding in New Zealand emergency departments, John explains how the current metrics for healthcare performance, specifically the six-hour stay target, can lead to undesirable actions and counterproductive behaviours. He is going to develop a new set of comprehensive and inclusive metrics that ensures the quality of care to patients. You can read about John's proposal here.

In our final piece, Felicity Lawrence offers her wrap up to the SSCMP for 2020.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole supply chain team for all their hard work this year. We are also saying goodbye to Marcus Rinaldi who is leaving us at the end of the year. Marcus has served ably as our Associate Director and will be missed! Many thanks Marcus for all your hard work. Thanks also to Felicity for always stepping above and beyond, and to Aida and Alisha for keeping everything ticking over so smoothly.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry Christmas, a happy new year, and a well-deserved break!