CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, APICS, the premier professional association for supply chain management, honored Weir Group and Novartis as this year’s corporate winners of the prestigious APICS Awards of Excellence. The APICS Awards of Excellence are for corporations and individuals demonstrating superior performance and dedication to advancing the field of supply chain management. Awards were presented at the annual APICS 2018 supply chain conference.
“The APICS awards program is designed to recognize exemplary organizations that show dedication to the high standards APICS sets for supply chain organizations and ingenuity in the implementation of supply chain solutions,” said APICS CEO Abe Eshkenazi, CSCP, CPA, CAE. “Weir Group and Novartis are not only dedicated and creative supply chain organizations, but also wowed our judges with impressive business results. We’re thrilled to recognize their hard work at APICS 2018.”
The 2018 APICS Award of Excellence in Education was presented to Weir Group. This award recognizes an organization’s commitment to productivity and advancement based on the effective and ongoing application of the APICS body of knowledge. With employees in many different countries, divisions and business units, it was critical for Weir to develop a common understanding of supply chain terms and practices. Weir turned to APICS to provide a full supply chain body of knowledge that would enable the organization to advance its value chain excellence program and heighten overall company performance. As a result of the initiatives, one Weir business reduced its lead time by 45 percent, another decreased inventory by 20 percent, and Weir’s Oil and Gas division realized a 67 percent increase in orders compared to the previous year.
The 2018 APICS Award of Excellence in Transformation was presented to Novartis. This award recognizes organizational transformation that elevates the business and its overall supply chain performance. Novartis leaders wanted to achieve best-in-class levels of customer service, ensure patients have access to the medicines they need and improve operating efficiency in order to maximize overall business success. With executive support, Novartis enhanced processes, defined key-performance indicators based on APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) principles and systematically drove process and performance improvements. These initiatives led to a commercial-service-level performance increase of 3 percentage points, to a sustained 99.8 percent level; supply on-time, in-full improvement of 50 percentage points, to a sustained 90 percent level; supply lead time reductions averaging 22 percent; and substantial reductions in waste across the entire supply chain.
A panel of judges composed of members of the Editorial Advisory Board selected the APICS Awards of Excellence winners. This panel based its evaluations on the applicants’ originality of supply chain strategies, effectiveness of implementation and overall impact on business results. In addition to their recognition at APICS 2018, the winners will be featured in a 2019 issue of APICS magazine.
About APICS
APICS is the industry leader in supply chain certification, training and networking. For over 60 years, APICS has provided world-class supply chain training and certification to foster supply chain talent and improved end-to-end performance. Under the umbrella of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), APICS sets the industry standard for supply chain education through outstanding training, certification and community programs. This includes the APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM); APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP); and APICS Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD) certifications. For more information, visit apics.org and follow APICS on social media at LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
