GRA ramps up events in the Year of the Dragon - 6 March 2012

by Events on 2012-01-30

Premier supply chain consulting firm GRA heralds the Chinese Lunar New Year with a quick fire series of events to usher in the Year of the Dragon.

First up GRA Partner Carter McNabb speaks at the TechnologyOne Evolve conference at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on 23 February 2012. Presenting on the topic 'Leading Supply Chain Strategies - from Cost Centre to Competitive Advantage', Mr McNabb will discuss emerging supply chain challenges and trends with reference to recent Australian supply chain benchmarking data. Areas covered include: common issues businesses face, the role of technology, essential skills for your supply chain team and why streamlining the supply chain delivers significant savings.

On 6 March 2012, GRA participates in the Retail Leaders Forum at the Sydney Marriott Hotel in a roundtable discussion panel on the theme, ‘Retail Revolution: What’s going on? What’s changed and why do we need to adapt?’

Carter McNabb joins panelists: Michael Ford, CEO, The Good Guys; Mark Garwood, CEO Retail & Supply Chain, Fantastic Holdings and Rick Wight, CEO, Foodworks. The discussion will review the key drivers of change in modern Australian retail and will cover key areas, such as the impact of the carbon tax to supply chain costs and finding operational efficiencies to counter tighter consumer spending. GRA is a gold sponsor of the Retail Leaders Forum in Sydney.

On the back of 2011’s successful demand planning and inventory optimisation training, GRA Director Matt Miller will conduct sales and operations planning (S&OP) courses across Australia in March and April 2012. Kicking off in Melbourne on 19 March, the course will focus on delivering balanced and efficient sales and budgets through improved communication and information flow. S&OP training sessions will also be held in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

The course aims to:
 - Educate participants in the principles of S&OP
 - Provide a 'how to' framework to establish and fine tune the S&OP process to ensure it remains effective
 -  Introduce key implementation strategies to ensure S&OP success.

The Year of the Dragon is one of the most revered years of the Chinese Lunar New Year calendar as the dragon is a symbol of good fortune and power in Eastern culture. Given the economic turbulence of recent years, it’s a welcome omen for business.

Profile GRA:
GRA is Australia’s premier specialist supply chain and logistics consulting firm. Founded in 1997, the company offers expert consulting, professional services and advanced planning systems across a broad range of industries throughout the Asia Pacific region.

GRA provides its clients with a competitive advantage by significantly improving margins, asset efficiency and supply chain responsiveness. Work undertaken is at strategic, operational, systems implementation and training/education levels. Using proven methodologies for delivering real working capital, cost and service level improvements, GRA’s focus is bringing about real change and sustainable benefits for its clients.

GRA’s clients include Amcor Fibre Packaging, Australian Defence Forces, Australia Post, Cadbury, Cement Australia, Cummins Engine Australia, Fosters Australia, Honda Australia, Hunter Valley Coal, Mitre 10, Nestle Australia, OneSteel, Qantas, Reece, Sara Lee Australia, Super Retail Group and Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety (Blackwoods).

For further information please contact:
Carter McNabb, GRA Partner
Phone: +61 (0)3 9421 4611
Email: cmcnabb@gra.net.au