December 2007 Issue 7

I n t e r n a t i o na l P u r c h a s in g & S u p p l y C h a i n M a n a g e m e n t

ITC TOT WORKSHOP –Zimbabwe 2007

By Priyangani Jayasundara I am proud to state that I had an opportunity to conduct a “Train the Trainer Workshop” on Training Techniques applied to ITC’s Modular Learning System on International Purchasing & Supply Management (MLS-IPSCM) in Zimbabwe on behalf of International Trade Centre. I trained 13 Trainers attached to Empretec Zimbabwe from 10 December 2007 to 14 December 2007. This was an ITC Workshop for future MLS-IPSCM Trainers attached to Empretec Zimbabwe Training was undertaken at the Empretec in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Empretec has been established by UNDP in collaboration with the Zimbabwean government. It later became an independent business organization mainly catering to SMEs and providing training for various sectors. At present, Empretec is also closely associated with UNCTAD & UNDP in Zimbabwe. Empretec is vigorously canvassing for business everywhere as the economic & political situation in Zimbabwe is really feeble. They are now moving towards Southern Africa as there is a potential for business in the field of training. Empretec is run by a group of women (five women - 3 in Harare & 2 in their Bulawayo branch), except for the driver who is a male employee. Also, most of the women are single mothers. Isn’t this intriguing?

The participants are from all walks of life & their connection with Empretec is varied. They are consisting of Empretec’s clients (who have undergone training initially & now closely work with Empretec as long term business partners), external trainers & other private & government officials. The participants who attended the workshop are hardworking, very energetic, passionate, and determined to acquire the knowledge and skills required to become an IPSCM Trainer. Few participants declared that they have discovered that the concepts they learned made them realized how to perform their job better. They are looking forward to applying the theory practically in their own organization. They are planning to launch the MLS Programme in Zimbabwe very soon.

Finally we have Established an “E – Group” to communicate if they need further assistance. I am in process of assisting them in fine-tuning their session designs for the MLS modules.

Ms Priyangani Jayasundara delivered the above 4 day workshop. Ms Priyangani, or Priya as she is often called, is successfully coordinating and developing the MLS-IPSCM based training offered by ISMM, Sri Lanka. In recent months she has also been actively involved in network activities in the Asia region and also in the development of training videos for the network. ITC wishes to thank her for her excellent contributions to the network.

Zimbabwe TOT Workshop MLS-IPSCM Evaluation DCCI – A success story Exploring Regional Events Pictures from the network

1 2 3 5 6

rofessional Certification Programme

International

In this Issue

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Centre

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Tel.: (4122) 7300451 Fax: (4122) 7300328

Email: ipscm@intracen.org http://www.ipscm-

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Opinions, references

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for information and discussion purposes, and

are not intended to represent ITC’s position on either good or bad

practice.

December 2007 Issue 7

Participants in the Zimbabwe TOT hard at work and after completion of the four day Workshop

The MLS-IPSCM Advisory Board met in Geneva on 2 November to discuss the findings of the programme evaluation and how to further develop and expand the programme. Discussions focused on how to further develop, expand and add value to the MLS-IPSCM programme and to our partner institutions. As a result of the very positive evaluation, the Swiss government agreed to provide global funding for the MLS-IPSCM programme over a 5- year period allowing for the programme to be scaled up and to offer support to any institution in any country. New modules, support tools as well as improved web support will be developed as part of this initiative.

TOT Pictures 10th – 14th December 2007 Harare, Zimbabwe

MLS-IPSCM EVALUATION

December 2007 Issue 7

We warmly thank the government of Switzerland for their support.

Those attending the meeting were (from left to right) Willem Hugo, Board Member (South Africa), Brian Fynes, Board Member (Ireland), Roberto Smith-Gillespie Board Member (Peru), Leelananda Da Silva, ITC Evaluator, Margareta Funder, Manager, MLS-IPSCM Programme, Arjan Van Weele, Chairman of the Advisory Board, Rebecca Arkader, Board Member (Brazil) an Nela Vuksa-Arboleda, MLS-IPSM Programme Assistant.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the largest and most active chamber of Bangladesh, won the "World Chambers Competition Award 2007" in "Best Skills Development Program" category from the World Chambers Federation (WCF).

DCCI WINS WORLD CHAMBERS FEDRATION (WCF) AWARD

A SUCCESS STORY - A TOAST TO DCCI

December 2007 Issue 7

The WCF, ICC's specialized division for chambers affairs, organized the "5th World Chambers Congress" on 4 – 6 July, 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey. On this occasion, WCF organized the World Chambers Competition (WCC) 2007. It is the only global award program to recognize the most innovative projects undertaken by Chambers of Commerce & Industry from around the world. DCCI participated in the category of "Best Skills Development Program". In its Dossier, DCCI highlighted the various activities of DCCI Business Institute (DBI) for development of forward-looking entrepreneurs and business executives. The Vision and Mission of DBI is to become a Centre for Excellence for development of appropriate Human Resources and providing Advisory and other services to achieve the motto of DCCI – "The Best of Bangladesh is Business". While participating in the competition, DCCI President Hossain Khaled presented a paper entitled "Best Skills Development Program – DCCI Business Institute". In his presentation, he highlighted a case study on ITC's Modules Learning System (MLS) on "International Purchasing and Support Chain Management (IPSCM)" which provides the latest technique for "Buying into Competitiveness". ICC Chairman Marcus Wallenberg made the announcement of the Award and President Hossain Khaled received the award on behalf of DCCI. DCCI competed with 38 countries for the award from which WCF received 58 applications. DBI has been holding IPSCM examinations in March & September every year since 2004. During the March 2007 IPSCM examination session, 37 participants took part, and the success rate was 76%. In the September 2007, 47 persons sat the IPSCM examination. The success rate was 65%. In the first batch of IPSCM courses, 31 students were enrolled. They completed the Certificate Course. Now some of them are in the Advanced Certificate Course. In the 2nd batch of the IPSCM Certificate Course, 22 students have enrolled and their classes started on 20th July, 2007. DBI has planned to enroll the 3rd batch of the IPSCM Certificate Course in January, 2008. The future plan of DBI is to customize the MLS-IPSCM Modules to make them more suitable for the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as they are the major contributor to sustainable development. More TOT courses will also be necessary to create more trainers for success of the IPSCM program. We take this opportunity to thank ITC-UNCTAD/WTO, Geneva for extending very useful technical assistance and look forward to fruitful cooperation in the years ahead. Md. Hossain Ali Executive Director, DBI (A.d.)

December 2007 Issue 7

PICTURES FROM THE NETWORK

Successful candidates from theSan Miguel Corporation in thePhilippines receive their MLS-IPSCM certificates. January 2007

FTTC –Egypt Active participation during the Training of Trainers Workshop. January 2007

I.S.M.M Trainers during theTraining of Trainer’s workshopJanuary 2007 in Sri Lanka

December 2007 Issue 7

MLS NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME!

Dear All, We would like to make all of you learn more about what others are doing and, therefore, we invite all institutions and trainers to contribute articles and updates to our MLS Network Newsletter. We warmly welcome contributions including photos on such topics as the following: 1. Your MLS-related events & activities and/or 2. Your preparations to start the programme and/or 3. A write-up on one particular event (past of future) and/or 4. A success story and/or 5. A write-up on some issues or lessons learnt that you would like to share and/or 6. An article on a technical subject Please send your edited articles to oyiolo@intracen.org with cc to ipscm@intracen.org We hope to hear from you soon! Best regards MLS-IPSCM Team International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO

FEBM-trainers at the end of asuccessful Training of trainer’sworkshop in Laos People’sDemocratic Republic July 2007