Kingfisher, APL Logistics, SEEBURGER, Manhattan, Kong and Allan, Bosch and Coca-Cola honored with their partners at the 2009 CHaINA Awards 

Shanghai, China, November 10^th, 2009 – In its fifth year, the 2009 CHaINA Awards was back again to celebrate and acknowledge the best of the best in China’s supply chain and logistics. The CHaINA Awards is an independent award that has been held yearly since 2005 to recognize and praise companies as well as individuals who have made significant contributions to China’s supply chain and logistic landscape.

The CHaINA Awards is extremely unique as it is one hundred percent sponsor free and is not affected by any sponsorship influences. Being one of the only supply chain awards in China, the CHaINA Awards truly seeks to identify and applaud all extraordinary achievements in supply chain and logistics in an objective and unbiased manner. Our panel of judges consists of experienced and intelligent individuals in diverse industries with their main areas of expertise in areas of supply chain, logistics and operations.

This year, we had more than ninety nominations for the awards in total and to be one of the finalists in the awards demonstrates the tremendous strength and significance of each and every one of the finalists. Moreover, the quality of the awards being submitted was absolutely outstanding so it was especially hard for our judges’ panel to agree on one single winner this year.

The Best IT Solution Provider category was especially difficult in the selection process so ultimately it was decided that an award would be given to two of the finalists in the IT category. The award was presented to Manhattan Associates for their Integrated Logistics Solutions for Ting Tong Logistics. Manhattan’s ILS helped Ting Tong to increase their efficiency significantly with expected savings of ¥700,000 in its first year. SEEBURGER was also presented with the award as they demonstrated exceptional work for their B2B gateway platform for Digital China. This platform enabled Digital China to automatically conduct document exchange with their key partners such as Dell, Apple, Acer and IBM as well as 100% real time B2B ecommerce throughout the supply chain with major reductions in maintenance costs etc.

The Green Supply Chain Award in China was presented to Coca-Cola Bottlers Manufacturing (Dongguan) for their green initiatives in China. Social responsibility has been an important component of Coca-Cola’s business operation focusing on environmental protection, clean production, energy saving and CO2 emission reduction. Additionally, Coca-Cola Bottlers Manufacturing (Dongguan), Beijing branch has achieved Silver Level LEED certification in 2009. This is not only the first Silver Level LEED qualified plant in the Coca-Cola system Worldwide but also the first official LEED certified beverage plant in China.

China’s Training Education and Development award was handed to Bosch Investments for their supplier development program in Asia-Pacific. The Bosch Supplier Development Program is a program initiated by Bosch Corporate Purchasing to develop their key suppliers such as Kaizhong, one of the leading suppliers of commutators in China. With the program, Kaizhong not only received Bosch’s SD Award for successful Lean implementation but has also become one of the top 5 suppliers of commutators for Bosch today.

The Best 3PL Supply Chain Provider was awarded to APL Logistics for their work with Liz Claiborne. APL Logistics' service toLiz Claiborne began with the Ocean Guaranteed product. The time-definite service achieved Liz Claiborne’s needs of cutting down logistics costs with cost efficient transportation without sacrificing the service quality and on-time delivery. Along the way, Liz Claiborne has extended the partnership with APL Logistics to Vendor Management, Air Logistics Management Service, Sea/Air PO Management,  KPI Reporting and monthly Vendor Compliance Reports, which comprising the core components of Liz Claiborne’s Cost Savings Program in Supply Chain Management.

Kong and Allan received the Best Supply Chain Consulting Partner in China for Ningbo Fotile Kitchenware in implementing a supply chain project for 2009. This project proposed by Kong and Allan has achieved increased free cash flow in 2009, improved demand fulfillment accuracy, increase revenue, inventory reduction, raised inventory turnover and many more significant changes that has allowed for controlled operations for Ningbo Fotile Kitchenware.

Kingfisher Sourcing Organization was the big winner of the night as they were honored with the top award for Supply Chain Operational Excellence in China. Kingfisher was awarded specifically for their “Christmas 2009 Direct-to-Store Initiative” with B&Q which has optimized store operations as well as substantial savings on logistic costs. Products were received from ten different locations in Shenzhen, picked, packed and shipped directly to 329 stores by-passing UK distribution centers. This is the first time such flexibility in route to market is delivered on such a scale by Kingfisher.

The awards ceremony was held on November 5^th at the Shanghai Renaissance Zhongshan Park Hotel. The celebratory event held in conjunction with CHaINA ’09 Live welcomed more than 150 guests for the awards. Hosted by Karl Dominik, the awards ceremony capped off CHaINA ’09, the largest supply chain event in China with an attendance of over 250 supply chain and logistic professionals.

For further information about the CHaINA awards program and the winners, visit the event page at http://www.supplychain.cn/en/cev/457 or contact the Council directly at +86 (21) 6280 1329, or email us at info@supplychain.cn