Supply Chain Resilience

A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

Read more at innovatingcanada.ca | 1 Read more at innovatingcanada.ca

Supply Chain Resilience

Indigenous Awareness: An Imperative for Competitive Canadian Supply Chains

S

upply chain as a profession has transformed in a myriad of ways in the past two years, amplifying its vast impacts on the economy.

As well the profession has now been recognized for the strategic role it has started playing in influencing organizational performance and strategic mandates, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

Supply Chain Management Association Ontario (SCMAO) has been a champion for bringing awareness to the role that the supply chain plays in strengthening the Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) of organizations.

“Awareness through continued learning is the first step toward fostering a safe environment where organizations can develop the right tools, tactics, and leadership that can advance an organization’s relationships with the Indigenous Peoples,” says Al-Azhar Khalfan, President and CEO of SCMAO. With over 4,100 members and a community of 10,000-plus supply chain professionals, including leaders from some of the country’s largest organizations, SCMAO recognizes its role in building Indigenous awareness and supporting supply chain professionals in developing the knowledge necessary to bring this discussion to the boardroom.

SCMAO started this initiative by partnering with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) to build a knowledge-sharing forum for supply chain professionals. This forum included Indigenous leaders and business owners.

“OPG and its predecessors have a long While supply chain plays a pivotal role history in the province and a journey marked in bringing an organization’s Reconciliation by very negative and very positive chapters. journey to fruition, it’s truly incumbent on senior C-suite leaders to facilitate and pave Although we were proud of the progress achieved through our 50-plus agreements the way for a culture that puts Reconciliation with Indigenous communities and organizat the core of strategic decisions. ations, this was only a start.

According to CCAB’s research, as of 2016, Launched in 2021, OPG’s Reconciliation Indigenous Peoples contributed over $30 bilAction Plan builds on our long-standing comlion annually to Canada’s GDP. In Canada, the mitment to creating meaningful economic Indigenous private economy alone contribdevelopment opportunities for Indigenous utes roughly $12 billion annually, and these Peoples and communities. It’s a direct response numbers only continue to increase. This to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s research clearly corroborates that Indigenous Call to Action #92, which awareness is no longer a corspecifically urges corporate porate social responsibility Canada to adopt the Recbut a sound business deciAwareness through onciliation framework to sion for a stronger Canadian education is the first create a better future. OPG economy. step toward fostering has seen the immediate “The next phase in our a safe environment and lasting economic beneroadmap to building Indigenfits that come from clean where organizations can ous awareness is focused on power partnerships and the develop the right tools, senior C-suite business leadincreased participation of tactics and leadership ers, especially CSCOs, CPOs Indigenous businesses in our and COOs, who see the value that can advance initiatives — benefits like job in prioritizing Indigenous an organization's creation, skills development, Reconciliation strategies and relationships with the and stable revenue streams. aligning their organizational Indigenous Peoples. goals. Our Executive SympoWe believe partnerships and relationship building are the way forward, and sium, starting in January 2023, will address the we know there’s much more we can do,” says knowledge gaps and provide necessary tools for Karen Fritz, Chief Supply Officer at OPG. the C-suite to start embedding Reconciliation SCMAO has also collaborated with Staples Action Plans into the enterprise strategic frameProfessional as part of its roadmap for buildwork. We’re looking for the right organizational ing continued Indigenous cultural awareness partners who appreciate the opportunity and gravitas of elevating Indigenous business relaand competency through education and collaboration. “We’re delighted to help amplify tions for a better future,” says Khalfan. the learning offered by SCMAO on Indigenous Organizations that recognize the opporculture, history, and understanding as a way to tunity to strengthen relationships with the support the advancement of Indigenous-focused Indigenous communities and build prosperity initiatives that will drive the reconciliation for all Canadians are the true trailblazers in process in Canada,” says Michelle Micuda, building the pathway to a sustainable future for our beautiful homeland of Canada.

President of Staples Professional Canada.

Al-Azhar Khalfan President & CEO, Supply Chain Management Association Ontario

For more information please visit scmao.ca.

This article was sponsored by SCMAO.

Michele Romanow on Supply Chain Resilience Through An E-commerce Lens What do you believe are the biggest challenges e-commerce businesses faced due to unpreceded disruptions from the pandemic?

Maintaining customer loyalty and retention were two of the biggest challenges coming out of the pandemic. There was a huge influx of brands popping up during that time and incredible saturation across many different markets. This meant e-commerce businesses had to prioritize customer retention — investing in marketing and enhancing the user experience like never before. For some, this meant simultaneously expanding product offerings to meet more of customers’ needs.

One of Clearco’s goals is to help e-commerce founders with these fixed marketing and inventory costs, providing more wealth-building opportunities for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds. From a supply chain perspective, fluctuations in demand in the United States drove congestion in ports. The pandemic led to port lockdowns, further reducing shipping capacity. As a result, we found ourselves in

a global shipping crisis in combination with disruption of trade between the United States and other countries. E-commerce businesses, especially ones without scale, were met with extreme adversity and had to pivot to complete the consumer journey, while larger retailers weren’t spared either.

What can e-commerce businesses do to prevent disruptions and ensure success within their organization?

Diversification in every aspect of your business can help prevent disruption and ensure success. For example, having a diverse supply chain management system is probably one of the most important parts of a successful e-commerce business. On top of that, diversifying distribution channels and marketing will help you reach a broader customer base more efficiently, both with your products and your messaging.

The most successful e-commerce businesses, particularly those that have found success since the pandemic, are constantly looking at new ways to diversify their business functions.

Read the full interview on InnovatingCanada.ca

Publisher: Annalisa LoMonaco Business Development Manager: Karim Jooma Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Lauren Livingston Lead Editor: Karthik Talwar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve the National Post or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

@MediaplanetCA

facebook.com/InnovatingCanada

Please recycle

A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

Read more at innovatingcanada.ca | 2

If We Don’t Reinvent and Reinvest in Our Supply Chain Now, Then When?

With supply chain resilience freshly top of mind, industry leaders are sharing a potent vision that could forge a truly secure, modern, and accessible future for Canadian logistics.

D.F. McCourt

F Rizwan Kermalli President, Founder & CEO, eShipper

Imtiaz Kermali VP, Sales & Marketing, eShipper

or over two years, the often-overlooked complexities and inner workings of our global supply chain have been on public display. We’ve seen and celebrated its strengths and successes. But many points of weakness and obsolescence have also seen daylight for the first time. Coming out the other side of the pandemic, we now have an opportunity to take a hard look at the lessons we’ve learned and rebuild our supply chains better and stronger with the flexibility and resilience that modern technology and modern know-how can provide.

Of course, the indispensability of a robust supply chain — and the vulnerability of a poorly managed one — is not a recent realization for everyone. Rizwan (Riz) Kermalli was already thinking hard on the subject in 1999 when he founded Canada Worldwide Services as a specialized logistics service dealing with the most critical supply chains. By 2005, as technology marched onward, Riz had seen the early tectonic shift in the needs of increasingly online businesses and also in the possibilities of a truly modern digital supply chain. And so eShipper was born.

“It’s no secret that the supply chain and logistics industry have taken time to catch up with the modernization of the broader economy,” says Mohamed (Mo) Datoo, Vice-President of Strategy and Partnerships at eShipper. “There’s now a lot of thought going into technology for a number of reasons. The general expectations of the customer have changed. Customers expect complete transparency and end-to-end visibility on what’s going on at any one time.”

not originated with a global pandemic in mind, but their ideas were built on the knowledge that unexpected challenges are inevitable. Innovative thought on new logistics frameworks — including ideas like drone delivery, zone skipping, and utilizing alternative carriers within the gig and commercial travel economies — have proven their merit in overcoming not only pandemic-related d i sr upt ion s but also the m a ny ot her for m s t he se unexpected contingencies can take.

“Consider the recent forest fires and floods that were happening in B.C.,” says Imtiaz Kermali, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at eShipper.

“We had road networks that were completely shut down for two to four weeks at a time. We were able to conjure up relationships with some of our air providers to not just bypass the ground but actually provide a zone-skipping service at a cost-competitive rate. Being able to innovate and being able to come together with customers and carriers to problem-solve is the key Logistics doesn’t need to be a barrier to to providing solutions when things go wrong or growth when they hit capacity. This same thinking allows The new era of digital logistics is opening up what for creative solutions that help smaller businesses was previously a closed and inaccessible system grow when they have unique supply chain needs.”

— Imran Kermalli for many small-and medium-sized businesses Indeed, a big part of the work eShipper does is (SMBs). Democratizing enterprise-scale supply chains allows growfocused on thought leadership, ensuring that Canada’s supply chain ing businesses to compete while remaining focused on their core infrastructure, technology, and support network are up to the task of competencies. the profound modernization and reinvention they champion. “Our “A lot of entrepreneurs start a business and are surprised to ports and our roads infrastructure are old,” says Imran. “E-commerce discover that selling product is not their biggest hurdle; it’s actually has shot up a few hundred per cent over the last two years, and our getting the product to the consumer,” says Riz. “Especially as they infrastructure was not ready for it. The cost of fuel and transportation grow and start looking at customers and suppliers who are outside is rising, the labour supply is dwindling, and the shipping networks are overwhelmed. These are the kinds of big problems our team is of North America, the logistics in places like China and always thinking about.”

India become a huge challenge. Large businesses have entire departments focused on this. We The company’s advocacy and activism on these concerns have led want small business owners to be able to eShipper to create an educational alliance with Export Development focus on innovating in their area of Canada focused on helping SMBs develop their international logistics expertise and to know that an expert while minimizing risks. Because, after all, building a more robust logistics provider is taking care of supply chain infrastructure and framework is fundamentally an their supply chain innovation.” undertaking of collaboration by everyone and for everyone’s benefit.

But equality is only the first step. Using technology Never trust a fragile supply chain again to make yesterday’s best and The worst of the pandemic may be behind us, but infrastructure debt, most robust supply chains outdated frameworks, and ongoing labour shortages remain extremely accessible to all is an obvious disruptive to logistics. Now that the weak links in the system have been win, but the vision of Riz and so clearly identified, we must take this opportunity to reinvest against the expected and unexpected disruptions of tomorrow. eShipper extends beyond that to ensure that the supply Come what may, at the end of the day, the challenge will be the chain of tomorrow is even same, even as the circumstances and obstacles vary. It’s all about getting better and more resilient. things where they need to be, when they need to be there, in the most appropriate way. For each new wrinkle in the logistics puzzle, technology Resiliency and agility are and innovation are providing the opportunity for fresh solutions. For those who are bold enough to realize them, advocates like Riz and his two sides of the same coin team are there for you every step of the journey.

The thinking behind eShipper was

Indeed, a big part of the work eShipper does is focused on thought leadership, ensuring that Canada's supply chain infrastructure, technology, and support network are up to the task of the profound modernization and reinvention they champion. Focus on what your core competence is and leave the logistics and technology to us.

Imran Kermalli Director, eCommerce & Marketing, eShipper

Mo Datoo VP, Strategy & Partnerships, eShipper

Access the global market at eShipper.com.

This article was sponsored by eShipper.

A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

Read more at innovatingcanada.ca | 3

CIFFA — A Strong Voice for Canada’s Supply Chain Recent events have highlighted weaknesses in the supply chain. CIFFA acts as the voice of freight forwarders, freight brokers, and drayage operators.

Anne Papmehl

C Bruce Rodgers Executive Director, Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association

anada’s supply chain — deemed fragile at best before COVID-19 — has become even more so in the past two years. “COVID-19 was the catalyst to really expedite all these challenges,” says Bruce Rodgers, Executive Director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA).

“Under the current situation, a disruption at any of the points along the chain means significant breakdowns and failures everywhere, where one day of disruption will take roughly a week of recovery.”

Weather issues, labour disputes, rail blockades, and changes in consumer purchasing habits are some of the factors that have compromised the stability of our supply chains. Another is the irregular and unpredictable steamship schedules, making it hard for importers to gauge when products arrive. “This causes them to order in advance to ensure well-stocked shelves. Then when the ships do arrive, it creates a surge of volumes which causes an overflow in the warehouses, which in turn creates further congestion down the line at the rail yards and ports,” says Rodgers.

Advancing the interests of freight forwarding community The Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association — established in 1948 — works to advance the needs and interests of the supply chain community across three pillars — membership, education, and advocacy.

There are two membership categories — regular members and associate members. The regular membership category, which comprises freight forwarders, was recently extended to include drayage operators who move shipping containers from ports and terminals and Third-Party Logistics (3PL) load brokers to ensure a stronger voice and broader reach. Associate members are any companies or entities connected in some way to freight forwarding and movement of goods, such as insurance companies, legal firms, IT-related organizations, port authorities, rail providers, carriers, trucking

Build an Exciting Career in Supply Chain Management Seneca helps students efficiently enter the supply chain sector through its impressive Supply Chain Management program.

Katherine Cappellacci

T

he global economy is dependent on a complex web of supply chains. These links are incredibly important to keeping us economically afloat. As we’ve learned, any minor disruption to a supply chain causes ripple effects that are felt across the world.

Now more than ever, it’s the right time to find a rewarding career in supply chain management — and the best way to start is with the Supply Chain Management (SCM) graduate certificate program at Seneca.

“If you have the ability to learn new skills and solve problems, then this is the sector for you,” said Jim Wyer, Professor, Seneca School of Human Resources and Global Business. “Students learn while also making industry connections, collaborating, and networking with industry partners and professional associations before they even graduate.”

Students are exposed to all steps of the supply chain, including business processes, digital technology, operations planning and control, procurement, transportation, and warehousing. They can even choose to spend one term in the field through work-integrated learning.

Learn more about Seneca’s Supply Chain Management graduate certificate program and register here: senecacollege.ca/ programs/fulltime/ SCM.html.

This article was sponsored by Seneca College.

Ready for what’s next The SCM program also encourages students to consider the overall environmental impacts of supply chain decisions. “Seneca keeps a pulse on the industry to make sure students are fully prepared,” said Wyer. “We prioritize sustainability by offering training that’s forward-thinking.”

Expert faculty help students select their areas of focus and connect them with related industry groups. “Supply chain management is ever-evolving, and we want students to have the support they need to adapt,” said Wyer. “That’s how our graduates continue to find success in all areas of the industry.”

companies, and customs brokers.

CIFFA’s education pillar has formed the cornerstone of the Association since its inception. “We have a very strong reputation under the CIFFA brand for quality educational products for the logistics industry and a consistency of delivery,” says Julia Kuzeljevich, Director of Policy and Communications at CIFFA. The Association’s programs have evolved and expanded continuously year-over-year and were recently updated with on-demand and virtual offerings to support remote learning. In addition to learning the latest industry news delivered through CIFFA’s eBulletin and access to The Forwarder print magazine, members benefit from special pricing on events, education, and training initiatives.

Through the advocacy pillar, CIFFA is raising awareness of the issues and lobbying for improvement in the industry. “We have developed strong relationships with our external stakeholders such as the ports, terminals, rail providers, and partner organizations, and we regularly participate in and present at industry conferences and committees,” says Kuzeljevich.

Julia Kuzeljevich Director of Policy & Communications, Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association

A holistic approach needed to solve problems CIFFA has also been expanding its outreach with the federal government. “We’re trying to make them aware of the bigger picture because looking at the problems in isolation just creates further problems down the line.

You need to take a holistic view of everything that’s being affected through the supply chain challenges to come up with a solution,” adds Rodgers.

And while the supply cha in cha llenges a re global in nature, Rodgers explains that we can’t solve them as a country if we don’t look internally.

“As I like to say, cargo doesn’t complain, so we’re the voice of cargo and will continue to raise awareness of Canada’s supply chain challenges and strive to improve for the benefit of industry,” says Rodgers.

…cargo doesn't complain, so we're the voice of cargo and will continue to raise awareness of Canada's supply chain challenges and strive to improve for the benefit of industry.

How One Canadian Company’s Unique Approach Can Drive Supply Chain Optimization

To learn more about CIFFA, visit ciffa.com.

This article was sponsored by CIFFA.

Brian Ware President, Cedric Millar

Ken Donohue

T

he pandemic has exposed cracks in supply chain that have existed for years. While many companies are forced to muddle through the chaos, Cedric Millar, a leading supply chain solutions and related technology provider, has a unique and cost-effective approach that’s easing supply chain pain and creating business efficiencies and cost savings for the companies it works with across North America.

“We seek to understand each client’s story, which, combined with a deep analysis of their business intelligence and our supporting technology, allows us to create highly customized solutions,” says Brian Ware, President of Cedric Millar. “We’re not limited by the scope of a preconceived solution. If we don’t find the solution in the market, then we utilize our experience and build it for them.”

What differentiates Cedric Millar is that it’s uniquely positioned to present to companies their current state and then, by utilizing its proven expertise and technology, can deliver optimization and a future state solution. The fourth-party logistics provider doesn’t just identify supply chain challenges but is a long-term partner that supports the execution of solutions.

Data plays an important role in understanding an organization and its supply chain — this is where Cedric Millar excels. “We show our clients how to interpret data so they can use prescriptive analysis,” says Sejal Sheth, Senior Director of Integration and Technology at Cedric Millar. “This means that instead of reacting blindly, they can create actionable strategies that work.”

Cedric Millar works with companies of all sizes and complexities, and its strength is having a deep culture of continuous improvement.

“We want to challenge the status quo and offer scalable solutions,” says Ware. “We’re a trusted advocate for the companies we work with and help support their growth.”

Sejal Sheth Senior Director, Integration & Technology, Cedric Millar

Let Cedric Millar start understanding your story today by contacting info@cedricmillar.com or visiting cedricmillar.com.

This article was sponsored by Cedric Millar.

A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

Read more at innovatingcanada.ca | 4

How to Reduce Supply Chain Risk and Failure in the Manufacturing World Data-driven experts and e-procurement software are needed to reduce supply chain risk and failure for manufacturing buyers and suppliers.

Tania Amardeil

S

upply chain management can be truly challenging, and the pandemic exacerbated the challenges faced by both buyers and suppliers. The manufacturing industry is under increasingly high pressure to modernize and digitize its activities to stay competitive. It’s now critical to develop the ability to anticipate when and where issues will happen and to take appropriate steps to counter them. Alongside this need for more information in the supply chain, organizations must overcome challenges, including having visibility on request for quote (RFQ) statuses, ensuring smooth communications with manufacturers, and finding new suppliers with capacity.

The challenges of modern supply chains One of the main challenges of supply chain management is that clients have a hard time accessing relevant data. Gathering information allows organizations to be ahead of supply chain disruptions, but accessing this information can be difficult.

In addition to the challenges of gathering data, supply chain disruptions are becoming more common. “In the last decades, dispersed supply chains have developed because actors find it’s economically advantageous to seek the least-expensive and most-productive sources of supply,” explains Félix Bélisle Dockrill, CEO and Co-Founder of Axya, a software as a service (SaaS) solution that enables procurement teams and suppliers to be more efficient throughout the procurement process. “These dispersed supply chains develop for good reasons, but they create complicated interdependencies whose risks and vulnerabilities were revealed and accelerated with the pandemic: shortages,

inflation, factory closures, and goods waiting forever at ports to be unloaded.”

Maturing digitally “The previous years have brought many uncertainties, and we’ve experienced the numerous impacts of these complex systems,” continues Bélisle Dockrill. “The lack of data and visibility on some key elements and collaborators played an important role in this disruption.

Manufacturing companies must step up their game to follow the pace and be prepared for more challenges in the future.”

A recent study conducted by McKinsey during the pandemic revealed that the level of supply chain digitization and modernization toward the Supply Chain 4.0 ideal seems to dictate how well companies’ supply chains are faring under disruption. “As part of a Harvard Business Review, it was found that only eight per cent of companies worldwide are mature enough digitally to sustain supply chain disruption,” notes Bélisle Dockrill.

“This robust study showed that only half of the 300 executives had any sort of real-time data and visibility.”

Reducing supply chain risk and failure As such, under one of the greatest supply chain stressors in modern times, the majority of companies worldwide weren’t digitally mature enough to effectively navigate this period.

Bélisle Dockrill co-founded Axya to help solve the various challenges he observed after working for a leading aerospace company in a supplier quality control position.

He saw firsthand the complexity of supplier relationships and global supply chain management and searched for technology

WHATEVER YOU'RE SHIPPING. TO WHEREVER IT'S GOING. YOUR PREFERRED CANADIAN FREIGHT FORWARDER

888.880.8784

www.SealionCargo.com

solutions to increase his day-to-day efficiency — but found nothing available that met his needs. As a result, Axya was born.

“Our mission at Axya is to reduce supply chain risk and failure by digitizing and structuring the manufacturing world,” says Bélisle Dockrill. “Our complete solution facilitates and accelerates the sourcing process. We strongly believe that most supply chain issues can be solved with access to the right information, quickly and transparently.”

Félix Bélisle Dockrill CEO & Co-Founder, Axya

Procurement software that works Axya has developed intuitive software to support procurement teams throughout all stages of their work. From RFQ creation to supplier selection to PO follow-up, the company's e-procurement solution allows users to: • Work with a platform that is easily integrated with their company's current processes and systems.

• Bring unprecedented clarity to their operations.

• Enable additional control on the outcomes.

Recognizing the value of buyer-supplier relations, one of Axya’s objectives is to optimize the work and dynamic between the different parties. The company also boasts its fastest-growing network of over 3,500 suppliers for buyers to explore. “Moreover, suppliers also see value using the platform as they can now access and track their RFQs on one single interface,” says Bélisle Dockrill.

Axya has developed expertise in a variety of manufacturing sectors, including transportation, mining, and aerospace. New teams can get up and running in just a few days, and the platform is simple and intuitive to use. It also easily integrates with any ERP system.

To learn more about data-driven supply chains, visit the resources section on Axya.co.

This article was sponsored by Axya.