Knowledge Development Alliance in a bid to improve the understanding and application of Supply Chain Management in various strategic and operational areas of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has donated Supply Chain Management Reference Books to GAF last week at the Command Officers’ Mess, Burma Camp.

The Knowledge Development Alliance is a human capital development partnership between the Ghana National Library Authority, the National Lottery Authority, PanAvest International and Partners. It is focused on creating national awareness of the importance of Supply Chain Management and its link to job creation, service delivery quality, long-term industrialisation, economic growth and development.

The Executive Insights Series: Compendium of Supply Chain Management Terms’, the first edition of which was published in 2014, remains the only all-inclusive supply chain reference guide in the world and is the first of its kind to be independently assessed and approved by a national curriculum body, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA).

The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of GAF, Vice Admiral Seth Amoama expressed his appreciation for the Knowledge Development Alliance’s initiative and encouraged all personnel of GAF to actively use the reference resource to improve their knowledge and understanding of supply chain management best practices.

The CDS noted that supply chain management impacts the day-to-day activities of all areas of government and society therefore the Defence Sector is no exception. ‘A clear understanding of the influence of the supply chain on the various areas of our portfolio and the services we provide is essential to ensuring we deliver on our mandate,’ he added.

“Without question, our quest to improve quality service delivery, cut wasteful expenditure and in particular the success of the Military Industrial Complex spearheaded by the Defence Industries Holding Company Limited (DIHOC) project is dependent on supply chain management thinking.

This coupled with the fact that GAF, in collaboration with the Accra Technical University, is currently running a Supply Chain Management Course at the Base Ordnance School makes the donation very timely as students would be using the books as reference materials.” Vice Admiral Amoama re-emphasised.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Library Authority, Mr Hayford Siaw noted that the Knowledge Development Alliance was proud to provide GAF and the Defence sector with a resource and tool that will add to the realisation of the country’s development and national security management agenda.

 He further stated that the Reference Guide provides a holistic and easily accessible reference of supply chain terminology, calculations and data which can be used to support military value chain management, sectorial industrialisation and broader socio-economic development initiatives.

Professor Douglas Boateng, CEO of PanAvest International and Partners and Compiler of the Compendium, noted that there is a growing need for supply chain knowledge development in the country, adding that Supply Chain Management involves the seamless management of all interlinked value-adding activities that goods and services encounter as they move through a value chain.

Prof Boateng affirmed that a common understanding of supply chain management will undoubtedly enable GAF to achieve further sectorial industrialisation, reductions in wasteful expenditure and significant improvement in service delivery quality. The quantifiable gains will have a direct and positive impact on long-term national security management and the realisation of Ghana’s long-term developmental agenda.