AfriSam’s annual Suppliers’ Awards function is an event much anticipated by the industry, as key suppliers are recognised for their service and support during the previous year. Suppliers compete for this prestigious acknowledgment of their superior performance, reliability and quality which AfriSam actively encourages and courts as it, in turn, strives to remain the customer of choice for its suppliers.

“It’s a two-way street,” comments AfriSam’s Supply Chain Manager, Calie Ehrke. “Our suppliers are integral to our own growth and success and we value our long term relationships with them highly. We incentivise one another to keep raising the bar and in that way, are motivated to strive for constant improvement as we build our future together.”

Suppliers are nominated from different business units and regions according to specific categories and then rated against criteria considered critical to AfriSam’s business imperatives. Internal awards are accorded for above average performance, and this year were attained by the Procurement division, with Johan van Staden collecting the prize for the Strategic Sourcing Team as the best improved procurement region/area for 2012 and Dries Naude and Hendrik Nel representing Dudfield for the best procurement region for 2012.

Astom Courier Services was acknowledged as the winner among six finalists for the BBBEE Supplier of the Year 2012 award while the Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) Supplier of the Year 2012 award went to Bearings International, Kimberley, which beat seven other finalists to the rope.

“Competition for all the awards is stiff,” adds Ehrke. “We have some 3 200 vendors on our vendors’ list and each one appreciates its importance to our company. We consider a range of criteria that vary from total spend to BBBEE status, from safety records to quality of service or product, from contribution to our brand to pricing policies and future market trends, to mention just a few.”

Certificates for the Cement Transporters’ Awards went to Long Distance Swaziland for the Safety award 2012 for the branded cement fleet, to Unitrans for the Corporate Identity award 2012 for the branded cement fleet and to Long Distance Swaziland again for the Service Delivery Award. Unitrans then walked away with the award for Cement Branded Transporter of the year. “The non-branded transporters are as important as the branded fleets, since they also deal directly with our customers,” continues Ehrke, and the winner in the Third Party Transporter of the Year 2012 award was Interfreight. LMM Transport was recognised as the Ready Mix Transporter of the year among five finalists.

“This year a new category was introduced: AfriSam Best Improved Key Supplier of the Year 2012, since we recognised that numerous suppliers had made great strides in upgrading their service offering and making AfriSam a customer of choice, although they were not yet able to compete with the top suppliers. So this year we applaud Chevron South Africa (Pty) Ltd for walking that extra mile with us.”

The plum of the awards: AfriSam Key Supplier of the Year 2012, was granted to Nampak Sacks which came out on top despite very stiff competition. AfriSam remains committed to the principles of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and is currently a level 2 contributor.  The company’s main drive is to assist current suppliers with their transformation requirements, whilst ensuring that all new suppliers adhere to the minimum legislated requirements. “One of our key priorities over the next five years in this regard is to support the establishment and growth of black-owned business, especially black women-owned business,” concludes Ehrke.