13 December 2012 | Lorna Blackwood
CIPS travels for Eastern boost
CIPS CEO David Noble joined senior members of staff from CIPS on a visit to China last month to begin building a presence on the ground, working with the China Communications and Transportation Association (CCTA).
November’s visit included CCTA – a non-profit organisation with over 2,000 member groups that acts as a bridge between government and enterprises – and CIPS hosting three local professional network events in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The aim was to promote the benefits and support that a local network can provide to members and buying professionals.
CIPS, together with the CCTA and Chinese National Education Examinations Authority, has been established in the education field in China for some years. A new agreement with these partners was agreed in August and will run for a further five years.
The CIPS delegation then headed to Hong Kong, where Noble gave a presentation on the future of procurement and supply, together with a roundtable discussion over dinner with senior procurement leaders.
The mini tour of Asia finished with Malcolm Youngson, CIPS head of membership and publishing, visiting Thailand and Singapore branches to update members on the development of the CIPS network across the region.
Gildert urges fellows to offer guidance for future
CIPS’ new president Paula Gildert called on fellows to become her ‘mini presidents’ at their annual dinner, held at the Institute of Engineering and Technology last month.
To an audience of about 50 fellows, she announced that CIPS had a big job to do, raising awareness and reinvention. She said: “Our profession is not all about savings. We have to remove these shackles and highlight all the other great things we do for business.”
She also asked all fellows to invest philanthropically, giving time at both local and national level to raise awareness of the profession and get more involved with the institute. She applauded those already involved and called on new fellows to realise their potential in helping guide the profession in the future.
A lively Q&A session followed, with subjects as diverse as setting up network groups in France and branch expansion plans, as well as the possibility of looking into a fellows’ ambassador programme.
Many attending fellows agreed they could offer to speak at local branch meetings. Suggested topics included inspiring younger members to become fellows, career progression and recounting personal journeys.
This call to action came after Shirley Cooper, chairwoman of the Fellowship Committee, announced a 40 per cent increase in members becoming fellows since 2009, with female membership doubling in the same period, now standing at 66 of the 550 total.
She also announced a timetable of future events, including celebrating Chinese New Year in February and the annual wine tasting and portrait sitting to be hosted by 4C Associates in May.
Initiatives on course to attract future talent
David Smith may have hung up his presidential boots, but his quest to attract young people to the profession continues at CIPS.
First up is the nationwide Negotiation Challenge. For the second year running, CIPS has partnered with Peter Jones Enterprise Academy (PJEA), to help teams of students put their negotiation skills to the test. The event, taking place between January and February 2013, will see 35 PJEAs and more than 1,000 students enter. Each academy will stage an event where teams will test their skills, following advice from a CIPS volunteer. Each will then submit a film of the winning entry to CIPS, where an expert panel will pick six finalists. An overall winner will be picked following a day of negotiation challenges.
CIPS is also involved in the Scottish Procurement Learning and Skills Partnership. Launched at the October Procurex conference, it focuses on developing procurement talent. There are a number of initiatives underway. One of them is the Generation Y Project, a pilot in six West of Scotland schools initiated and led by the City of Glasgow College, in partnership with the Scottish government and CIPS. The pilot will teach students the value of the profession and offer work experience. Due to end in Spring 2013, the goal is to extend the pilot to more schools across Scotland.
Other initiatives in Scotland include the Schools Curriculum Project, working to embed procurement in schools, developing a HNC/D and introducing a procurement apprenticeship.
If you would be interested in supporting any of the Scottish initiatives, for example offering short work placements or providing a placement to an apprentice or graduate, email spcdcommunications@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Branches back call for more volunteers
The annual conference of branch chairs headed to Birmingham this year, where there was a call for more volunteers and support for branch events.
The tireless work of branch volunteers was celebrated by CIPS in the opening presentation.
UK branches held over 130 networking events throughout the year, with some highlights including Kent branch’s fun music and leadership event, which made the front page of The Independent newspaper, Merseyside’s annual brewery tour and Devon and Cornwall’s use of the Eden Project venue to host an event on sustainability.
The conference also heard that average attendance to events is now at 31, an increase of 50 per cent since 2008.
Both Birmingham and Manchester branches recorded attendance figures of 120 at a single event, while Derbyshire held 10 events across 12 months.
However, the branches are not sitting on their laurels and are keen to entice more members to events, as well as increase the number of volunteers.
The conference gave branch members the opportunity to share ideas about successful events and explore some of the more creative ways of attracting members.
A presentation from the Birmingham branch on its involvement with the Generation Y scheme encouraged other branches to visit schools and promote the profession.
Birmingham suggested reminding members that two CIPS CPD points could be earned per school visit, or by attending local branch meetings.
If these varied events have sparked your interest, but you are not yet connected to your local branch, contact your local chair here.
Roundup
- Tickets for CIPS' Annaul Dinner 2013 are now on sale. The black-tie event takes place at the London Hilton, Park Lane on 13 March and is an excellent opportunity to network and celebrate with fellow professionals and luminaries of procurement and supply. The after-dinner speaker is the stalwart of BBC News, Huw Edwards. The BAFTA award-winning journalist has spent nearly 30 years at the BBC and will doubtless have some topical tales to tell. To ensure a place on the night, book early or email charlotte.bogaert@redactive.co.uk.
- Want to learn from the best? Join last year’s CIPS/SM award winners at the ‘Best in Procurement’ event, the first of the CIPS members’ events for 2013. The award winners will explain how to reach the top – and possibly win an award at next year’s ceremony. The event will be held at Cranfield School of Management near Bedford on 30 January. Book early to ensure a place.
- Good on camera? We’re looking for members to video themselves talking about what CIPS, the profession and being a member means to them for a CIPS project next year. Please upload your 10-20 second videos to Dropbox. Email address for login: press@cips.org Password: purchasing1! For more information, email trudy.salandiak@cips.org
New Zealand scoops double award win at Australasia event
This year’s CIPS Australasia Annual Conference, Australasia’s flagship event, was bigger and better than ever, with more exhibitors, delegates and speakers.
Held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, under the theme ‘Navigating complexity’, the event addressed the strategic professional agenda for procurement in the region.
This year’s conference also introduced the use of an interactive phone app, allowing delegates to pre-set their personal agenda, post immediate feedback and take part in live polling.
A highlight of the conference is the annual CIPS Australasia Procurement Professional Awards. The New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was the big winner on the night, with wins in ‘Best infrastructure and capital works project – Canterbury earthquake’ and ‘Best process improvement initiative – e-auctions’.
Both projects are part of the government’s procurement reform programme, supporting government agencies to ‘buy better’ and reducing costs, improving buying decisions and making it easier for companies to tender for government work. These initiatives are anticipated to save NZ$353 million (£180.6 million), with further programmes expected to begin over the next three years with the potential to save another NZ$180-$300 million (£92-£153 million) each year.
The Awards Dinner was hosted by CIPS Australasia managing director Jonathan Dutton, with CIPS CEO David Noble and the then CIPS president David Smith each hosting a table.
During his visit to Australia, Noble also had the opportunity to meet with Australian federal government ‘procurement czars’, including the deputy CEO of defence procurement at the Defence Materiel Organisation.
Newly-elected Congress meets
CIPS Congress members met in Peterborough last month for the inaugural event.
This was the chance for the 47 representatives to meet for the first time, with members flying in from Africa, the US and Australia.
Congress is made up of a large number of new representatives as well as some experienced council members, which included chairwoman Melinda Johnson, who opened proceedings with a welcome speech. There was then the opportunity for members to find out more about each other through a game of ‘getting-to-know-you’ bingo.
Congress members also had lengthy discussions about their roles and responsibilities and how they can best represent the wider membership.
Two presentations followed by CIPS CEO David Noble and Carole Bain, the institute’s capability development director. These set out CIPS’ aspirations and plans for the future. A workshop followed, with members contributing key ideas to the development of this strategy.
☛ List of elected members
☛ More details on Congress
Best practice helps energy group’s expansion push
CIPS Certification is helping the procurement team at Pacific Rubiales Energy (PRE) in Colombia to use an internationally accepted best practice. This will support the business, which is looking to expand into new countries and different social, political and economic environments.
PRE is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Colombia and is focused on identifying growth opportunities in almost all the hydrocarbon basins in Colombia, as well as in eastern Peru, Brazil and Guatemala. It has a strong reserve base and is maximising future production prospects through its exploration activities.
Carlos Perez, CFO of PRE, said: “PRE is expanding its horizons, growing sustainably and harmoniously with our stakeholders and environment, at any place we operate. This certification confirms our commitment to permanently improve and compare our performance with best practice. I think CIPS is a strategic ally to help us to maintain our continuous search for excellence.”
