There is an increasing realisation among senior executives that the  finance function and the supply chain function in the enterprise have to work  together. Traditionally,  CFOs monitor supply-chain matters but tend to work more closely with COOs than  with supply-chain executives. But rising internal and external costs, emerging  new markets, shorter product life cycles and ongoing economic uncertainties are  elevating the role of the supply chain and the supply-chain leaders within a  company. Now collaboration between the functions to ensure alignment between the  business strategy and the supply chain strategy is becoming a necessity – with  the organisation seeing bottom line benefits.

At the SAPICS Conference  2014 www.sapics.org.za , , Jay Reddy, a principal procurement specialist at Sasol Polymers and  a lecturer in the UNISA MBA programme, will speak on how finance can work with  supply chain functions for the overall cost and profit benefit of the business.  In a talk entitled ‘Supply chain resilience and supply chain finance – an  oxymoron?, Reddy tackles the thorny question of organisational alignment and  functional collaboration within the enterprise.

“The financial impact of supply chain activities on the business is  often not well understood, and the cost and profit benefits of closer  collaboration and planning between the departments not clearly appreciated,” he  says. “In traditional supply chains, the role can be considered operational,  whereas aspects of supply chain strategy, such as how much inventory to hold,  where and for how long, can materially affect both the top and bottom lines of  the company’s financial performance.”

Reddy’s dynamic presentation focuses on recent technological and process  advances which are available to the supply chain professional who engages with  vendors. These focus on mitigating risk of supply, optimising inventory,  evaluating the total cost to the business of early settlement discounts, and  generally reducing the supply side risk.

For more information on the 36th Annual  SAPICS Conference & Exhibition, being held at Sun City from 1 to 3 June  2014, please visit www.sapics.org.za