It was a long time in the making but the 60^th Annual Australian Supply Chain & Logistics Awards (ASCLA)  hosted by the Supply Chain & Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA) was held at Crown Palladium Melbourne on March 18^th and it didn’t disappoint. After an online only awards in 2020 and postponement of the 2021 awards the 60^th Anniversary of the Awards attracted a record attendance. Conditions at last were perfect with no interstate travel restrictions or density limits and the supply chain community responded with enthusiasm and their hard-earned cash to attend the industry’s most prestigious and highly anticipated awards with close to capacity attendance.

It was with much excitement that Gamma Solutions announced their support of these 60^th anniversary milestone awards as Gold Sponsor along with long time software partner RFSmart.  It has been a long time since the industry had the chance to get together on a large scale and there were many happy faces and teary eyes as people caught up with friends and colleagues from around the country who they hadn’t seen in years.

We were delighted this year to welcome Shane Jacobson as the event MC.  Shane of course is best known for his lead role and award winning performance in the hit movie Kenny and appears in numerous Hollywood movies including The Dressmaker and The Bourne Legacy.  Shane was the perfect host and kept the laughs rolling throughout the night while pulling together the various segments of the event.  Something that many would not know is Shane’s link to supply chain & logistics with his business supplying trucks to the entertainment industry.  Shane’s trucks are a common fixture at movie sets around the country providing catering, green rooms, staging & general transport to the entertainment industry. 

The Awards night aimed to acknowledge outstanding achievement in Supply Chain and provide encouragement for future excellence.  There were 10 award categories covering various areas of supply chain with nominations judged by an SCLAA judging panel headed by SCLAA director and Chief Judge Cathy-Anne Jones.  The judging panel chose a High Commendation recipient and a winner of the ASCLA for each category.

Personally, there is great satisfaction in seeing the faces of award recipients as they receive their award and the knowledge that the recognition and encouragement that the awards provide can do amazing things for that person’s career and their future contribution to our industry.  In particular the Future Leaders award resonates with me as over the years I have seen the young Supply Chain professionals achieve great things off the back of an ASCLA win.  The recognition and industry exposure the awards provides can be a launching pad for an amazing career in Supply Chain.

The keynote speaker this year was ANL Shipping line MD, Shane Walden.  The keynote, as you would expect, was very topical given the turmoil currently in international shipping.  Shane delivered an on-point presentation and provided an outlook and insights on international shipping only available from someone coming from the inside world of international shipping.

We also had an inspiring presentation from uTenant co-found Kyle Rogers who spoke about his journey in co-founding Australia’s leading on-line industrial property platform uTenant.  He introduced us to the concept of co-opetion (cooperation with your competition) which provided inspiration and encouragement to us all.

The Supply Chain & Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA) host the awards annually through their National board & State based divisions consisting of a dedicated group of Supply Chain professionals volunteering their time to promote and support the supply chain & logistics industry.  Planning for these awards started in February 2021 and I take my hat off to those who contributed to the awards.  The awards were entirely organised and run without an external events management company and was a success entirely due to these hardworking individuals. 

Gamma Solutions were over the moon to be part of these awards and support the industry which supports us.

The success of the awards this year has the organising team thinking about how we can top this one for the 61^st awards with some great ideas already put forward.  Watch this space Supply Chain!