NEWS AND INSIGHTS

12 winners & 3 special mentions recognized in Bangladesh Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2020

[Dhaka 29, 20200] IPDC Finance Limited in collaboration with Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society

(BSCMS), have hosted Bangladesh Supply Chain Excellence Awards 2020 through a virtual event on 29 th December

2020. This year, BSCEA 2020 recognized 15 organizations and individuals under eleven categories for their

excellence in supply chain management, with 12 winners and 3 special mentions.

The current supply chain ecosystem of Bangladesh is flourishing and transforming due to newer and innovative

methods and strategies implemented by organizations in the country, and in order to recognize them, IPDC Finance

Limited, in collaboration with Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society (BSCMS), started Bangladesh Supply

Chain Excellence Awards back in 2018. This year was the third edition of the prestigious award ceremony, which

was broadcasted live on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 on the official IPDC Facebook page and YouTube channel.

International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA) was the knowledge partner of the event and its CEO, Ejazur

Rahman, anchored the award-giving ceremony. 

The Chief Guest of the event, Dr. Rubana Huq, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (BGMEA), stated, “IPDC had always been special. I congratulate both the organizations for such a

timely step because it is important to incentivize and recognize the good work that goes behind building an

organization. It’s not just one person that does it, it’s not one strategy or one vision that does it, it’s a collaborative

effort. And people who are a part of this collaborative supply chain effort need to be recognized and celebrated.”

Guest of Honor, Kedar Lele, Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, said, “What a year

this has been. 2020 will go down in history as one of the most exceptional years of all our careers. None of us was

trained to handle this pandemic. It’s also special because if there are one set of heroes that all organizations had in

this year, they have to be the supply chain professionals. They’re the ones that kept the organizations humming,

they’re the ones that ran the factories and brought in the products. If you had given up, the whole organization

would have collapsed, so on behalf of me and all other leaders, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for having done

a great job during this year.”

Speaking at the event, Mominul Islam, Managing Director and CEO of IPDC Finance, said, "Today’s event is all

about innovation and invention. Those who can continuously reinvent their processes, their internal resourcing, their

corporate culture, and can collaborate continuously can attain this excellence. Bangladesh has achieved phenomenal

social and economic growth in the last decade. We believe supply chain is going to play a key role in the

improvement of our efficiency and productivity to make Bangladesh competitive globally. That is why this award

was jointly introduced by BSCMS and IPDC three years back.”

“We have been able to establish our commercial importance due to the support from our government, who is playing

a significant role in our growth, and also because our supply chain leaders are creating impactful relationships

globally. The phenomenal trajectory growth our country is enjoying requires our individual commitment to go the

extra mile and tonight we are here to reiterate that.”

Naquib Khan, President of BSCMS, stated, “This year is an unprecedented year for mankind and supply chain was

one of the worst affected sectors during this pandemic. This year was the most challenging years for all of us for

continuing supply chain practices, but supply chain cannot be stopped. We need serve our mankind, the

organization, the country for continuing economic activities, and allow all supply chain professionals to run their

businesses to serve the nation despite this pandemic."

 

BSCMS serves as a platform for supply chain professionals and practitioners in Bangladesh.

IPDC is catering to over half of the supply chain financing needs in Bangladesh which is why the non-banking

financial institution is engaged to inspire supply chain efficiency and excellence.  As IPDC prioritizes the welfare of

Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium sized Enterprises (CMSMEs), they offer a wide array of financial solutions at

competitive rates for supply chain related business activities by them.

Islam hopes that within 2030, the supply chain sector will multiply in size, and until then his company will continue

to support their Supply Chain Finance (SCF) clients to flourish and expand.

Imran Rahman, Special Advisor to the Board of Trustees, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; Masud Khan,

Chairman, Unilever Consumer Care Bangladesh; Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director at Apex Enterprise Ltd;

and Md. Miarul Haque, Managing Director, DHL Express Bangladesh created an independent jury panel who

selected the winners from over 85 nominated organizations and individuals this year.

The award is given to those who have been able to make significant contributions to various aspects of the supply

chain management of the manufacturing and service organizations of Bangladesh.

Present at the event were management from all winning organizations: Shehzad Munim, Managing Director, British

American Tobacco Bangladesh; Rupali Chowdhury, Managing Director, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited;

Sudarshan Reddy, Chief Operating Officer, Apex Footwear Limited; Ashish Goupal, Managing Director, Marico

Bangladesh Limited; Vishal Gupta, Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Limited; and Abir Ahmed

Rabbi, President, Supply Chain Alliance.

 

Bangladesh Supply Chain Excellence Award winners for 2020

Apex Footwear Limited and Marico Bangladesh Limited both won the award for their excellence in Customer

Service, Warehousing & Distribution. While Apex’s strategy included avoiding stock out and ensuring customer

satisfaction, Marico ensured excellence in customer service by strengthening multiple KPIs.

Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Limited took the award for Logistics & Transportation Management category for

their cost savings in freight through increasing stack height & upsizing case configuration.

The award for Supply Chain Collaboration and Partnering was won by British American Tobacco Bangladesh for

their project on joint value creation in extended value chain, such as enhancing farmers livelihood, loss analysis of

distributors and suppliers, and partnering with the government for capability building.

Marico Bangladesh Limited took two more awards for Supply Chain Finance Management and Supply Chain

Planning Process due to their excellence in customer service and significant process improvement through the

strengthening of monthly S&OP process, respectively.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited took the award for Supply Chain Sustainability For their project in Paper & Plastic

Sustainability through packaging activities.

Supply Chain Alliance received the award for Supply Chain Talent Development for their initiative to recognize

professionals who have led the way in the implementation of the best supply chain practices.

Technology as Supply Chain Enabler award was bagged by Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited for two projects

combined, Berger Aastha (বার্জার আস্থা) and their Implementation of Real Time Tracking System of the Sourcing

Process on the Cloud. Kishwar Ahmed Hashemee from Kludio Limited, a Cloud Kitchen based digital food chain

with multiple brands sharing technology, real-estate, and supply-chain leading to customer experience designed for

delivery, received a special mention for the Technology as Supply Chain Enabler category.

 

Young Supply Chain Talent of the Year category saw two winners this year, both women, reaffirming the notion

women leaders will be playing in the future of supply chain in Bangladesh. Asma Akhter from Unilever Bangladesh

Limited won the award for her initiative in creating synergy between business growth & service, while Zeba

Samiha from Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited bagged the award for creating customer value through strengthened

collaborative demand planning.

Hasnain Ishtiaq from British American Tobacco Bangladesh won Supply Chain Professional of the Year for his

leadership in innovating newer ways to ensure maximum optimization of resources. There were two other special

mentions for this category - Md. Abdul Alim from Unilever Bangladesh Limited for his contribution in both topline

and bottomline of the company & ensured social responsibility, and Mohammed Zia Uddin from Reckitt Benckiser

(Bangladesh) Limited for his initiative to drive business growth through excellence in SCM and contributing in

supply chain professional development in Bangladesh.