One of the leading events on the Gauteng supply chain community’s calendar, the SAPICS Spring Conference, is back in-person for the first time since the pandemic.

It will take place in Johannesburg on 20 September 2023, The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management (SAPICS) has announced.  

This year’s SAPICS Spring Conference is being held in collaboration with the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF). Supply chain professionals who were unable to attend the 2023 SAPICS Conference in Cape Town in June will have the chance to catch up on some of the highlights at the SAPICS Spring. The one-day event is also aimed at supply chain professionals looking for a high calibre, high impact, affordable and informative event that doesn’t require extended time out of the office, explains SAPICS president MJ Schoemaker.

She notes that the conference offers supply chain professionals an important platform to become active, involved participants in the SAPICS supply chain community, and to learn, network, interact and collaborate with their peers, business partners and industry stakeholders and role players. “This year, we are also celebrating having the popular SAPICS Spring Conference back in person in Gauteng after a three-year absence,” she states.

The speaker line-up includes Paul Raphaely, marketing director at NOMU South Africa, who wowed the audience at the annual SAPICS Conference in Cape Town with his inspiring tale about evolution, supply chain adaptability and agility. It featured “global mayonnaise giants, demanding consumers and a little newcomer condiment”, NOMU’s new MAYU.

Delegates at the annual SAPICS Conference had high praise for Raphaely’s presentation. “Well conducted”, “Inspirational”, and “Fabulous”, was some of the feedback. "Absolutely fantastic. So positive and real. I just loved the go get ’em attitude. We need more people like this,” one attendee enthused after Raphaely’s session. Another stated: “I enjoyed every aspect of Paul's presentation. It was incredibly engaging, light-hearted and fun."

The lessons that Raphaely will offer SAPICS Spring Conference delegates include how tactical advertising works; why “MAYU” happened; how to manage scarcity as a marketing device; and how to leverage public opinion into a finished product.

Other exciting speakers and topics on the SAPICS Spring Conference programme are David Crewe-Brown, general manager at Vitalliance and a SAPICS director, who will update delegates on the importance of getting the pharmaceutical supply chain ready for big changes. “There are tectonic shifts happening in the pharmaceutical healthcare supply chain that will impact our environment, people and ways of working. Pandemic responsiveness, global data visibility, localisation of production on the African continent, artificial intelligence, pooled procurement and serialisation are critical issues,” Crewe-Brown says.  

The dynamic Dr Faith Mashele, who has recently been celebrated as one of the leading women in supply chain management in Africa, will share her thoughts on fostering a forward-looking mindset for supply chain excellence. She stresses that having a forward thinking mindset is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Her masterclass will underscore why this mindset is crucial for all supply chains across industry.

Another popular presentation from the annual conference in Cape Town was by Greg Cress who is the principal director: Sustainable Energy & eMobility at Accenture. He will take to the SAPICS Spring Conference stage, too, to explore the critical role of sustainable e-mobility in South Africa's transition towards a greener, more sustainable future. Cress will share insights on the challenges and opportunities in the quest for sustainable e-mobility, and the role that each industry sector, including the supply chain and logistics sector, can play in driving the transition forward.

Karen Pretorius, founder of KPI Cubed and a SAPICS director, will discuss sustainability in a disruptive environment from a business perspective and look at scenarios for balancing (or potentially compromising) the triple bottom line of ethics, environment and economy.

Passionate entrepreneur Mark Sham has been confirmed as the event’s closing keynote speaker, with a not to be missed presentation focusing on happiness.

For further information including the up to date speaker line up, or to register for the event, which takes place at The Indaba Hotel in Fourways, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or call +27 (0)11 023 6701. For up-to the-minute information, visit the website: https://www.sapics.org.za/sapics-spring-conference-2023