The overall programme is aimed at elevating the visibility of supply chain management in and between firms in Southern and greater Africa, at helping to make supply chain management a career of choice for professionals, and at the enhancement of national competitiveness and economic growth in the Southern African and greater African context through effective supply chain management.

A key feature of the programme is the establishment of both a regional and an international dimension. This will be reflected in establishing links with leading centres in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa, as well as recognised overseas and local academics and professionals in this field.

A number of elements form the base of the GIBS and IMPERIAL Logistics partnership. GIBS MBA students will be able to select a supply chain and logistics management elective in part fulfilment of their academic coursework. GIBS will also run a number of executive education short courses in supply chain and logistics management, as well as host a number of executive round tables each year focused on sharing best practice. In addition, GIBS will be involved in carrying out research and development projects in the field of supply chain management and logistics, and the publishing of research findings.

GIBS and IMPERIAL Logistics also intend to host a number of conferences and forums each year, with the primary focus on the provision of a structured learning environment focused on areas of topical interest in the field of supply chain management and logistics. The first of the planned events is scheduled to take place in May 2012.

Chief Integration Officer of IMPERIAL Logistics, Cobus Rossouw, commented: “Stimulating debate between executives on supply chain and logistics topics is essential to drive improvement. We believe that the GIBS conferences, forums and roundtables will provide excellent opportunities for supply chain and other executives to engage with each other.”

These conferences and forums will include leading academics and practitioners in the field, with the first of these events on "Supply Chain Strategies for Emerging Markets; Challenges and Keys to Success" scheduled for 8 May in Johannesburg to include Nenad Pacek as the keynote speaker.

Nenad is the acclaimed author of Emerging Markets: Lessons for Business Success and Outlook for Different Markets and was vice-president of the economic intelligence and business advisory divisions of The Economist Group. He has chaired over 100 Economist government round tables with the prime ministers (and their key ministers) of Italy, Austria, Spain, Finland, Portugal, Chile, Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bahrain, Iceland and virtually all Central Eastern European markets from Czech Republic to Kazakhstan.

Other topical and important themes which have been identified include "Company and Country Competitiveness: The Role of Supply Chain Management" and "Managing Risk and Complexity in Supply Chains". It is envisaged that subject matter experts for each of the themes will be requested to participate in GIBS- and IMPERIAL Logistics-sponsored events, including conferences and forums.

Planned speakers for these events include Professor Richard Wilding, chair in supply chain strategy, Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Cranfield School of Management UK; Dr Lyal White, director, Centre for Dynamic Markets at GIBS; and Dr John Langley, clinical professor, supply chain and information systems, Penn State University, as well as several other leaders in the field.

“Efficient and effective logistics and supply chain management have proved to be a catalyst for global competitiveness and economic growth for many dynamic markets. We believe that our partnership with IMPERIAL Logistics sets the stage for us to create distinct competencies in this field, assist African businesses to gain real competitive advantages and to set the stage for economic growth and job creation,” concluded Professor Nick Binedell, Dean of GIBS.