Atoapem Frimpong Barimah, Regional Inventory, Logistics and Warehouse Governance Manager, Newmont Gold Corporation
A Supply Chain Action Network Meeting
The Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain – Africa brings together leading supply chain experts and stakeholders from multiple sectors to translate university research into real-world solutions for Ghanaian and pan-African supply chains during its semi-annual Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) Meetings.
In November 2021, CARISCA hosted a hybrid SCAN meeting, Managing Global Supply Chain Disruptions: An African Perspective.
“We want to build partnerships that can help us create professional development opportunities and bridge the gap between academia and practitioners,” said Professor Nathaniel Boso, Director of CARISCA, in his opening remarks.
“Part of CARISCA’s goal as a center of excellence is to engage key stakeholders to address developmental barriers caused by inefficient and ineffective supply chains in Ghana and Africa. Engagements, like this meeting, are a major source of ideas that will help us address locally relevant supply chain problems.”
Atoapem Frimpong Barimah, Logistics and Warehouse Governance Manager at Newmont Gold Corporation Ghana, served as the keynote speaker and led a lively discussion.
“I’m happy to be here because of what CARISCA is doing. Theory is important, but alone it is not enough. We have to apply knowledge, and there should be a collaboration between our universities and industry. It is time we train supply chain professionals through development courses to help them understand what is happening in the industry as well as their theoretical knowledge,” said Frimpong Barimah.
A Pan-African focus on self-reliance
Frimpong Barimah highlighted Africa’s importance to global supply chains and said Africa should focus on self-reliance by working with others in Africa, especially higher education institutions, to manage future supply chain disruptions.
“African countries should support each other. This [mutual aid] will help the supply chain eventually. The only way to beat supply chain disruption is to be self-reliant. What we need in Africa is collaboration, not competition. What can Ghana provide Nigeria? What can Nigeria do for Tanzania?”
Frimpong Barimah believes that COVID is not the sole cause of recent supply chain disruptions.
“Supply chains have been vulnerable since 2017. For example, everything from labor shortages to warehouse fires can cause supply chain disruptions, and these events existed before COVID, but COVID just made them worse.”
Frimpong Barimah said he does not think there is a one-size-fits-all remedy for managing supply chain disruptions.
“Supply chain must be in the board room of most organizations. It must be part of the corporate strategy and road map in every organization.”
More than 200 attendees participated: 60 in person and more than 140 online.
Plan to join CARISCA for the next SCAN Meeting in April 2022! Please sign up for CARISCA’s mailing list to receive notifications about upcoming events.