JF HILLEBRAND REWARDS EFFECTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Highlighting the importance of effective supply chain management in the beverage industry, JF Hillebrand Supply Chain Management has launched the Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award.

The initiative is designed to recognize the individuals or companies that contribute to the continued success of supply chain management projects through cooperation and collaboration.

The complexity of global beverage supply chains makes collaboration fundamental to achieving the twin goals of maximising availability whilst minimising inventory. In addition, by collaboratively increasing transparency throughout the supply chain, our customers are benefiting from significantly improved reliability and the associated benefits of having the right amount of product in the right place at the right time, comments Rob Turvey, Managing Director of JF Hillebrand Supply Chain Management. The Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award aims to reward efforts made by our partners in contributing to the continued success of the supply chains.

The Award is ophillebrand,shipping,global,en to all individuals and companies within the JF Hillebrand Supply Chain Management network of suppliers, retailers and agents, and entries will be judged by a panel comprising senior management of the JF Hillebrand Group. The winner will be the individual or partner company judged to have best embraced the Supply Chain Management process and shown outstanding contribution to its workings and results. A shortlist of finalists will be released in April 2007 and the winner will be announced at an award ceremony at the London International Wine and Spirits Fair in May 2007. Along with the title, a prize of 1500 will be given to the winners nominated charity.

JF Hillebrand Supply Chain Management is currently involved in a number of collaborative projects bringing major UK and European based retailers closer to their suppliers and agents. By sharing business critical data, such as demand forecasts, retailers are giving their suppliers vital information to help them plan production to improve supply. In turn, suppliers feed back their replenishment capabilities and production, giving retailers much needed reliability of supply.

With retailers stocking a variety of wines from different vineyards across the world, there are often hundreds of parties involved in the supply chain, all of whom have a vital role to play, asserts Turvey. Hence, collaborative practices are vital to the overall robustness of the wine supply chains and helps companies achieve substantial savings.