Click here to view this page in a web browser

Season’s Greetings…

CIPS Australia & New Zealand wishes you a festive holiday season and a safe and happy new year. CIPS Australia would like to thank all of its members for their support over the past two years and we look forward to working with you again in 2007.

Welcome New Zealand Members

CIPS now has over 170 members residing in New Zealand. This number has grown substantially on the last few months following much interest in CIPS form the New Zealand professional procurement community. Member numbers are now more than enough to warrant a regional branch committee to begin developing this community of procurement professionals throughout the country.

Although ‘CIPS New Zealand’ will not be a separate limited company and will be administered directly from the CIPS Australia office in Melbourne, the CIPS programme of activities for the region will be focused on the specific New Zealand market needs and on the professional agenda required by our members in the country.

The formation of a regional committee and the appointment of two locals to the CIPS Australia Steering Group – the CIPS advisory body in the region - will help ensure that this agenda is maintained in the best interests of New Zealand.

From early 2007 onwards, the New Zealand procurement community will be in the CIPS mainstream. Activities will include;

• Regional committee networking events
• Dedicated NZ articles in PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONAL magazine
• A monthly newsletter for all NZ members (not published in January)
• Open training courses in Auckland & Wellington in 2007
• The development of an education strategy for NZ market
• Inclusion in all CIPS Australia research activities (inc. the new benchmarking survey)
• Inaugural conference at SkyCity on 14th June 2007

Please let us know how we are doing at any stage – or let us have your suggestions on what you want to see in your region.

Also anyone interested or keen to serve on the voluntary regional committee for NZ can express their interest through info@cipsa.com.au

New Zealand Interim Regional Chair

Introducing: David Freeman - Strategic Sourcing Manager, TelstraClear Limited

David Freeman has been appointed as ‘interim chair’ for the New Zealand region, now apart of CIPS Australia & New Zealand. David’s experience and commitment to the procurement profession played a large role in been chosen as inaugural chair, and a challenging time lays ahead as CIPS forges ahead in New Zealand, offering many events, conferences and training courses to come in the years ahead.David Freeman is a Strategic Sourcing Manager with TelstraClear Limited a major telecommunications provider in New Zealand. He has a broad range of international experience in purchasing management within the airline, transport, petro-chemical and financial services sectors.

Prior to joining TelstraClear, David was with Vodafone (NZ) Limited as Supply Chain Manager, Commercial. Subsequent to this David has held various positions notably Group Purchasing Manager with First Group looking after their entire fleet of buses, Head of Sourcing for Société Générale, Purchasing Manager with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, Head of Purchasing for FINA Plc together with management roles at British Airways and an Engineering role with Rolls-Royce. Throughout these roles he has been largely responsible for a variety of services and has been particularly involved in the education of category management and in the complex area of inter-company trading environments.

Many of David’s key achievements have been based on the application of category management skills including developments in cost based charging mechanisms and continuous improvement programme initiatives.

David’s category experience ranges from airport services, vehicle supply and maintenance, warehousing, professional services, capital projects, power plant maintenance to consultancy.

David lives on the North Shore with his wife Helen and two sons Billy and Adam. His specific interests include cricket, scuba diving, motorcycling and travel. If you have any questions please regarding the New Zealand Committee please email newzealand@cipsa.com.au

New Zealand Committee Vice Chair

Babs Klyn, Senior Analyst of the Government Procurement Development Group, has been appointed Vice Chair for the CIPS New Zealand Regional Committee. Babs is a Senior Analyst with the newly established Government Procurement Development Group (GPDG) at the Ministry of Economic Development. The GPDG was established to provide a centre of advice and expertise on best practice government procurement. Babs’ role as Vice Chair of the Regional Committee reflects GPDG’s aim to become a catalyst for learning and knowledge sharing, including linking public sector procurement practitioners into world best practice training and education.

In the year prior to joining GPDG, Babs worked alongside Phil Weir (now Manager GPDG) in the Syndicated Procurement Unit of the State Services Commission (SSC). Babs held various roles within SSC, primarily in the e-Government Unit. She brought her experience helping networks and project teams use collaboration tools to build and run the public sector’s central communication hub for procurement matters, the Procurement Community of Practice (COP) workspace. Babs holds a Masters (Dist.) and a Bachelors (Hons.) degree in Management Studies from the University of Waikato. You can contact Babs and the GPDG at newzealand@cipsa.com.au

The Inaugural CIPS New Zealand Conference

Mark your diaries now for this inaugural CIPS conference. On June 14, 2007 at Skycity Auckland, procurement professionals we be able to enjoy a programme designed to meet the growing number of CIPS members based in New Zealand. This inaugural event will also feature additional separately bookable half-day workshops on key issues as identified by New Zealand based procurement specialists. Rates for this conference are NZ$945 for CIPS members, and NZ$1075 for non-members. More information will become available in early 2007. Information on all CIPS Australia conferences can be found at www.cipsaconferences.com.au

NZ Government Procurement Development Group

The New Zealand Government Procurement Development Group (GPDG) has announced its support of CIPS Australia & New Zealand as the peak body for the Procurement profession. GPDG has recognised MCIPS as the international standard that public servants in procurement roles will be encouraged to aspire to and the educational pathways as a means to achieving this. The GPDG was established on July 1, 2006 and incorporates procurement policy advice functions, whole-of-government procurement coordination, best practice training and professional development functions and the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS). It is designed to put the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) in the best possible position to lead and facilitate the government procurement developments proposed in a recent review. The Australian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) has also given similar support in Australia.

Phil Weir, Manager of GPDG stated “we congratulate the work and commitment CIPSA is giving to the Australian and New Zealand regions. It is encouraging to see that membership in New Zealand is growing as the government procurement community becomes aware of this relevant and active professional body. This acknowledges that a new mechanism is now available for procurement practitioners to be recognised through professional body association and certification. We look forward to working with CIPSA in raising the standard and capability of the procurement profession in New Zealand.”

New Zealanders invited to join CIPSA Steering Group

The CIPSA Steering Group is an advisory body of eminent procurement professionals who meet bi-monthly to advise CIPS on local market needs. The current membership and terms of reference are available to view at www.cipsa.com.au  

Two new members, representative of both public and private sector procurement professionals in New Zealand, have recently accepted invitations to join the group. Phil Weir, Acting Manager GPDG – Ministry of Economic Development, and Andrea Gregory, General Manager Group Procurement, Air New Zealand will now represent New Zealand. Phil and Andrea will be welcomed into the Steering Group at the meeting on December 7.

Phil Weir is Manager of the new Government Procurement Development Group (GPDG) at the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) in New Zealand. GPDG’s mission is “To drive the best possible government procurement outcomes for government, the taxpayer and business in New Zealand.” Prior to joining MED, Phil’s other public sector roles were in the Syndicated Procurement Unit (SP.u) at the State Services Commission where he developed a community of practice for procurement practitioners across the wider state services, and Contracts and Initiatives Manager at a District Health Board, where one of his responsibilities was the development of collaborative arrangements with other hospitals.

Before entering the public sector, Phil worked for a variety of private industry organisations including; manufacturing industries such as paint and sheet metal, wholesale distribution such as paper and telecommunications and in the engineering field. His roles in these companies focussed on Supply Chain, Contract Management, Logistics and Procurement.

Andrea Gregory has had varied career in a number of management positions in a broad range of industries ranging from Research, Construction, FMCG, IT, to Television. For the past 10 years, Andrea has specialised in Strategic Sourcing and Procurement with major New Zealand organisations such as Heinz Wattie, EDS, and Television New Zealand.

In her current role as the General Manager Group Procurement at Air New Zealand, she focuses on striving toward best practice procurement and supplier management. Andrea is passionate about delivering outcomes that provide best value for money for her organisation through simple processes, great team work and appropriate relationships with business partners.

Andrea’s academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Business Studies and a Graduate Diploma of Business, majoring in International Business.

CIPS Australia Booklist

For a complete list of all our current books available and to order, please download the CIPSA booklist (PDF)

CIPS Australia PMI/PSI/PCI Monthly
Service for Members

CIPSA endorse the Performance of Manufacturing Index [PMI], Performance of Services Index [PSI] and the Perfomance of Construction Index [PCI] which are compiled monthly by the AIG. Other supporters include PWC and NTC Research. As a benefit for CIPSA members, these indices are available monthly from the CIPSA newsletter.

PMI report for November (PDF) PSI report for November (PDF) PCI report - November (PDF)

PMI in Newsletter NOW

Following feedback from members, as of November, the PMI, PSI and PCI will be published with a link from the monthly newsletter. To suit the release date of the PMI, PSI and PCI, the newsletter will now be sent out a few days later than normal – usually the 5th working day of the month. The CIPSA/PI Indirect Category Indexes and Benchmarking Reports are also published monthly through this newsletter.

Smart 2007 Conference

Smart Conference takes places once every two years at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. The last conference, in 2005, had more than 900 delegates from six countries attend. On June 20-21, 2007, Smart Conference will once again bring together leading local and international supply chain practitioners to share their knowledge and experience of the latest supply chain technologies and implementations. For more information visit www.smartconference.com.au, registrations open in February.

Office closure times

After an amazing second year, with around 2000 members on board, many successful conferences under our belt and a challenging new year ahead, it is time to take a break and recharge our batteries. Please note, CIPS Australia head office will be closed from 12.30pm on Friday December 22, 2006 and will re-open again at 8.30am (Melbourne Time) on Monday January 8, 2007. Any queries during the closure can be emailed to info@cipsa.com.au and you will be contacted as soon as possible in the new year. Due to the end of year break please note there will be no January newsletter, the next newsletter will be issued early February.

Procurement Professional Magazine

Issue 10 of Procurement Professional (PP10) is out now! Featuring coverage of the 2nd Annual CIPS Australia Conference, essay and scholarship winners, and many other innovating and cutting edge procurement stories, this is an issue not to be missed. Also enclosed with PP10, is the latest White Paper, a research paper written by the Portland Group. Procurement Professional Issue 11, will be due out the first week in February 2007.

CPO Agenda is the global business review designed specifically for chief procurement officers and senior purchasing executives in larger organisations.

CPO Agenda is published four times a year by Redactive Media Group in conjunction with CIPS. It reaches several thousand top purchasing, sourcing and supply management professionals worldwide who collectively control hundreds of billions of pounds, dollars and euros of expenditure.

CIPS members receive a significant discount, and Australian subscription rates are available on www.cpoagenda.com/subscribe

To subscribe download the attached PDF file, or secure online at https://secure2.subscribeonline.co.uk/CPOA

CIPS Australia have mini samples of CPO Agenda to give away. If you would like to receive one, please email your request and mailing address to marketing@cipsa.com.au

The 2006 2nd Annual CIPS Australia Conference

Record numbers attended the 2006 2nd Annual CIPS Australia Conference this year at Crown Promenade Hotel, Melbourne. The Purchasing Exchange trade exhibition was bursting at the seams on October 17 & 18 as more than 500 delegates enjoyed their choice of seminars over the course of two days. At the conference dinner, Jeff Kennett as guest speaker delivered an entertaining, and sometimes moving speech, on his work with Beyond Blue. CIPS Australia and Beyond Blue would like to thank the delegates for their generous fundraising efforts on the night, with $3000 being raised for Beyond Blue.

Feedback received from the event so far is excellent. 51% of respondents rated the conference “Excellent” and 49% rated it “Good”, while 0% rated it Average or Poor. The 3rd Annual Conference is already booked for October 16-17, 2007, at Crown Towers Hotel, Melbourne, and looks to be bigger and better than ever.

Conference dates for 2007

Building on the success of the 2006 programme, work is already well under way on developing the CIPS Australia Conference Programme for 2007. CIPS Australia’s aim is to deliver a broad range of content, covering issues critical to the development of the procurement profession at pricing levels that reflect excellent value. The planned events for 2007 are:

Emerging Trends in Procurement
7-8 March, Sydney Shangri-La Hotel

The 2nd CIPS Australia Public Sector Procurement Forum
17-18 May, Hyatt Hotel Canberra

The Inaugural CIPS New Zealand Conference
14 June, Auckland SkyCity

The SMART Supply Chain Technology Show
20-21 June, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre

The Queensland Supply Chain Conference
2-3 August, Brisbane Sofitel Hotel

Strategic Procurement
22-23 August, Perth Novotel Langley

The 3rd CIPS Australia Annual Conference
16-17 October, Melbourne

Mark these dates in your diary now. Full programme information and registration details will be circulated as they become available. Check for regular updates at www.cipsaconferences.com.au

Another 29 MCIPS for CIPS Australia

The 29 graduates of the first two Corporate Award programmes got together on November 29 for a graduation luncheon in Melbourne. Attended by the graduates and their workplace mentors (from workplaces such as Australia Post, Coles Myer, Telstra and BHP), a good time was had by all as the graduates and their employers celebrated the achievement of MCIPS.

Sophie Jarvis from Australia Post won the CIPS Award for Excellence, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to this Corporate Award Programme, namely through her commitment to the course, enthusiasm in her learning in the workshops and in achieving a consistent standard of excellence in her work and her assessments and project.

For those members not familiar with Corporate Award, it is an 'applied learning' fast track route to MCIPS (Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply) and runs for up to 15 months. The programme not only provides successful delegates with the globally recognised industry accreditation of MCIPS, it also directly benefits employers through better skilled and qualified employees, and also through a work-based project which delivers significant return to the business on the training investment.

New website timetabled for February 2007

Work is progressing on populating a new website for CIPS Australia, with many new features and benefits becoming available for members. Benefits such as online payments, purchasing, registrations and an e-learning portal are just a number of the new features on the upcoming new website. If you have any suggestions for content you would like included on the website please email marketing@cipsa.com.au with any suggestions.

Awards 2007

Forget the IRB or IRPA Awards, the Inaugural CIPS Australia & New Zealand National Procurement Professional Awards will be presented at next year’s Annual Conference dinner in Melbourne on October 16, 2007. A full list of categories and nomination details will be available early in the new year. This Awards ceremony will be a great opportunity to recognise outstanding achievements amongst our procurement peers.

Old White Papers available

Don’t forget copies of previous White Papers can be requested and sent out to you, simply by emailing info@cipsa.com.au Please note that the new White Paper – The Portland Group Research paper was distributed with Procurement Professional issue PP10. Further copies are available.

The Knowledge Club 4

The next issue of The Knowledge Club, the fourth quarterly digest of briefings on hot topics for procurement practitioners, is due out in mid-December. Members with suggestions of what topics they might like to be covered, specifically in the coming issues, should email their suggestions directly to info@cipsa.com.au please.

Xchanging Sponsors CIPS Australia & New Zealand Conferences

Xchanging, the business processing services company, has entered into agreement for lead sponsorship of the 2006/2007 CIPSA conference activities. The agreement saw Xchanging as the Platinum Sponsor for the CIPS Australia 2nd Annual Conference, as well as the principal supporter of CIPSA conferences, events and publications during the tenure of their one year Sponsorship.

Xchanging is a leading procurement services provider, with over A$10bn of supplier spend under management in a broad range of direct and indirect categories. Jonathan Dutton, Managing Director CIPS Australia, said: “This sponsorship agreement will help support our goals in Australia, acting as a voice for the profession and helping individuals and organisations improve their procurement practices. Xchanging has an excellent historic relationship with CIPS and we are confident CIPS Australia will benefit from this experience." David Ward, Managing Director of Xchanging Australia, said, “To date Xchanging has achieved some exciting procurement deals in Europe with key players in their sectors, including National Australia Bank UK, BAE Systems and United Biscuits. We’re delighted to build on that success by working together with CIPSA and being a part of procurement best practice in Australia.”

Good year end result for CIPS

The CIPS Board of Management is due to meet in London on December 5 to review the institute’s performance for 2005/06 and is likely to be very satisfied by the results. Figures for the year end on October 31 show that CIPS revenue is up on budget and has grown by almost 11% on last year. Membership is also up – having ended the year with just under 42,000 members around the globe, of whom around 2,000 are in Australia and New Zealand. This represents overall growth of 5.4% (last year 4.4%), an encouraging upward trend when some other professional bodies are struggling to retain members.

Ken James, CEO CIPS has announced his retirement plans

Ken James, Chief Executive of CIPS has announced his retirement plans, stepping down from his full-time post in December 2007. He will remain working on a part-time basis until April 2008 to ensure a smooth transition period with his successor, who will start the role in January 2008. Work to recruit a replacement will start in January 2007.Ken James has been with the Institute since 1997 when he joined as Business Development Director. In 2000 he was promoted to Deputy Chief Executive, becoming Chief Executive in January 2001.

During his time in post, the Institute has seen significant growth and change. Membership figures have reached a record high, with more than 40,000 members across the world. This makes CIPS the largest institute of its kind. A complete restructure of the CIPS qualifications, the introduction of e-learning into the qualification suite and record exam figures are just some of the highlights achieved in the last six years.Of course, Ken James was instrumental in establishing CIPS Australia, has visited several times and knows many of our members personally.

Elsewhere in the world

CIPS has just signed an MoU with PISM, the Philippines procurement institute, to deliver CIPS qualification programmes on the same model that is already working very successfully in Thailand, where the second graduation ceremony for Certificate students has been held at the British Embassy. In Singapore, negotiations are progressing with the Workforce Development Agency and Economic Development Board to offer CIPS training in Singapore and Malaysia.

In China, Beijing University of International Education is launching a new procurement degree in January which includes CIPS syllabus content and will be accredited to CIPS Foundation Diploma level. CIPS are also in discussion with the Chinese National Education & Exams Authority, which is responsible for 30 million students, who are interested in offering a similar programme.

Following a very successful second annual conference in Dubai, increasing interest in CIPS among the procurement community in the Middle East has led to an agreement to set up two new member groups, one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. It is early days, but these groups could in time mature into a branch network to support members throughout the Gulf States.

Membership Grades Update

The green light had been given from the Privy Council to introduce the two new membership grades, Certificate Member and Diploma Member, from March 1 next year. The Privy Council, which regulates CIPS as a chartered body in the UK, has confirmed that the necessary changes to the bye-laws will be finalised by the end of the year. This gives CIPS time to put all the new systems and processes in place to manage the change to the new grades ladder. An article will be published in the next issue of Procurement Professional which explains the changes and what they mean for existing and new members. Look out too for Q&As about the new grades on the website from January.

CIPS Supply Management Awards Evening

Australia was represented at a ‘Purchasing Superstars’ dinner held at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London in November. Craig Lardner, whose presentation was one of the highlights of this year’s CIPS Australia conference, was one of a select group of procurement star performers honoured at the dinner, hosted by our UK publishers.

Almost 1000 people attended the CIPS-SM Awards ceremony at a gala evening on London’s Park Lane in October. This event is growing from strength to strength and was voted by attendees the best awards ceremony yet. This year’s entries were agreed by the judges to be stronger than ever. Details of the winning entries from all categories can be found on the SM website, www.supplymanagement.com. CIPS Australia will be running its own awards next year. The Procurement Professional Awards will be held in Melbourne at the 3rd Annual Conference dinner in October. Any sponsors wishing to participate in these awards should contact Deanne Bergmsa, Sales Manager, CISPA Conferences, email Deanne@bttbonline.com or phone (07) 5573 5632.

CISPA JOB SEARCH

Visit the Jobs area of www.cipsa.com.au to view the latest jobs in procurement. If you would like to advertise a position on the website, jobs are $49 + GST per month, download the attached flyer to find out more.