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Kipson Gundani
Buy Zimbabwe, a competitiveness and empowerment driver whose mandate is to unlock the country’s potential through a structured aggressive support of the production and consumption of local goods and service will host a retail supply chain conference at the Sango Conference Centre in Harare on October 7.

The confernece that is goig to run under the theme, “ Buy Local – Make it Your Business” is third in as many years.

This conference is aimed at bringing together key stakeholders in the whole Retail Value Chain, to table and tackle the challenges being faced by both retailers and their suppliers to unlock the trapped capacity for growth through local preference.

The Retail Supply Chain Conference is set to bring together Retailers, Suppliers and Captains of Industry in addressing issues affecting the procurement and the visibility of local products in Retail Chains. The conference will provide an ideal opportunity for the industry players to hold conversations, present thought leadership and learn about the latest trends in the supply chain industry.

The conference is expected to be officially opened by the Minster of Industry and Commerce, Mike Bimha. Other speakers at the conference will include the CZI President who is also the Chief Executive Officer of United Refineries Limited, Mr Busisa Moyo, Mr Barry Browne, Managing Director of Metro Peech wholesalers and Browne, Mr Albert Rufaro Katsande, Chief Operating Officer, OK Zimbabwe and Mr Gary Watson, Managing Director, CAPRI, Mr George Nheweyembwa, Managing Director of ZB Bank and Mr Mike Yeatman of N’Richards group among many others.

Retailing is a major part of every economy in the world and it contributes to nearly 10 percent of the Zimbabwean economy. As supply chains beome more global, the pace of demand changes is increasing and product life cycle dwindling.

The responsiveess of a company’s supply and fulfillment networks are becoming more significant determinants of comoany success. Companies need to view their supply networks as a competive network not only to deleiver low costs but also affect the top line growth.

The major issues to be discussed include the trends in sourcing and their implications on the Retail Supply Chain, redefining the Supply Chain through supplier development initiatives and how the retail supply chain is being shaped by the increasing use of mobile platforms and how in responding to the millennial customers’ expectations. It is expected that the conference will foster dialogue between the retail supply chain players towards actively promoting home-grown products for the domestic markets.