Monday, 20 November, 2006

The official newsletter of the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society.
http://www.lscms.org/

- Logistics Society conducting regional Salary Survey
- 2nd Trans Middle East Conference
- New Intake for Diploma, BBA and MSc programmes
- Logistics Society Awards 2006
- Qantas to axe 340

Logistics Society conducting regional Salary Survey

The Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society have joined forces with eyefortransport, the worlds leading provider of Logistics and Transportation information and services and Europhia, a Logistics Recruitment and Consulting firm to conduct this survey with leading endorsing organisations globally to better understand industry trends and performance.

Results of the survey will be announced at the 3rd China Logistics Summit to be held in Shanghai on the 13th of March 2007. Fellow Logisticians are encoraged to participate by logging on to the Society's website at http://www.lscms.org

2nd Trans Middle East Conference

The 2nd Trans Middle East Conference will be held in Dubai on the 28th and 29th of November.

Trans Middle East is the largest annual Container Ports, Shipping and Transport Logistics Exhibition and Conference to take place in the Middle East every year and one of the largest within the Europe Middle East and Africa Corridor. The event will be officiated by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation.
Endorsed by the Society, members who wish to attend the conference will enjoy a 10% discount on conference charges. Please log on to : http://www.transportevents.com/event_page.cfm?event_content_id=172

New Intake for Diploma, BBA and MSc programmes

Enrolments are open for the Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Bachelors and Masters programmes in Logistics and Supply Chain Management conducted by the Society in Singapore.

Students of any of the Polytechnics in Singapore can also apply for a scholarship in the BBA programme and deferred and flexible payment schemes are available to qualifying individuals. Please contact Daq or Leonard at 6222 5280 if you have any queries or e-mail elee@lscms.org

Logistics Society Awards 2006

Nominations are open for the 2nd Logistics Industry Awards 2006. Unlike others awards in the industry, the focus of the Society's awards are on the individuals who help shape and make Logistics the backbone of any economy.

Companies who wish to nominate their employees can find out more about sponsorship opportunities by logging on the Society's website at http://www.lscms.org or by e-mailing Edmund Lee at elee@lscms.org

Qantas to axe 340

In a recent report, Qantas says it will move its IT applications support and maintenance to global service providers Satyam Computer Services Limited and Tata Consulting Services, subject to the finalisation of contractual agreements.

The airline's CEO Geoff Dixon explained that the move, which followed a 12-month review, would commence from next month.

"There is an increasing concentration of suppliers with the skills we need for the ongoing support of these applications, and these suppliers are achieving a scale and efficiency that airlines like Qantas simply cannot match," he said.

Mr Dixon pointed out that it would require an investment of $100 million for Qantas to develop its in-house capability in this area to industry best practice standard - an investment it could not support given the extensive capital expenditure programme already underway.

"The applications support and maintenance work relates to over 300 applications that use a wide range of computer languages and technologies. Much of this work involves aging systems."

Mr Dixon said the transition to Satyam and Tata, which would take place over 15 months, would mean the loss of up to 340 Qantas IT positions.

"Satyam and Tata have established operations in Australia, with a third of the positions undertaking Qantas' work to remain onshore."

Mr Dixon said Qantas had provided regular briefings to its staff throughout the review process.

"We will continue to keep staff fully informed throughout the transition process, and will provide support to them through this change."

He said Qantas had a comprehensive security policy in place, including stringent data security controls, which extended to all of its suppliers and would include Satyam and Tata.