Mercury Award winners impress clients

The Mercury Awards are showcasing business results achieved by some of the most innovative and brilliant in the industry.

The Technology Application category of Logistics Magazine's Mercury Awards, generously sponsored for the second year by TIG International, has been one of the most popular and highly contested.

Australian practitioners are at the forefront of rapidly developing supply chain industry technology solutions.

Voice directed order picking, RFID, smart conveyors and modular automated warehousing systems are just some of the recent advances on offer. New software systems provide functionality and control or simulate forecasts and test concepts.

Winners in the Technology Application category of the Mercury Awards have creatively applied a technology to leverage the competitive advantage of their own or a client's business.

Last year's winner was supply chain optimisation specialist GRA for the implementation of the company's forecasting tool 'GAINS" at Super Cheap Auto.

"We feel honoured and proud of this achievement," says GRA partner Carter McNabb who accepted the award. "As well as being highly rewarding for our team, the award has increased the visibility of the results GRA helped deliver at Super Cheap Auto."

"There's no doubt interest has been created interest in the process that lead to Super Cheap Auto's $12m improvement in operating cash flow, store service levels, forecasting and inventory planning."

Highly commended in the category was Pacific National and Fujitsu Australia for the development and implementation of Pacific National's new Container Handling System.

"Achieving the Highly Commended Award was most gratifying," says Fujitsu Australia's Consulting Director Cameron Collie. "Like most significant undertakings, the development of the Cargo Handling System solution was the result of much hard work by many people over a significant period of time."

"Increasingly, the ability to derive real business value and benefits from IT is dependent on having significant understanding and depth of knowledge of the particular industry sector that is being serviced."

"Achieving an industry-based award has served to raise our customer and client awareness more effectively than any internal investment in marketing and pre-sales collateral."

"Logistics Magazine is to be commended on its efforts in hosting the Logistics Mercury Awards," he says.

Has you company created and/or implemented a highly innovative technology solution? We are now accepting entries!

But hurry, last chance! Deadline 12 October.

To enter just fill in our simple and easy application form, available on request from Yvette Veselic or Anna Game-Lopata:

Yvette.veselic@reedbusiness.com.au 02 9422 8947

anna.game-lopata@reedbusiness.com.au 02 9422 2645

About the Mercury Awards.

Initiated and co-ordinated by Logistics Magazine, the publication of choice for decision-makers in Australia's vibrant logistics industry, the awards are open to all individuals, teams and companies regardless of size who work in, contribute to logistics strategy and/or execute supply chain design and management.

Proudly sponsored by Toyota Material Handling, Chep Asia Pacific, TIG International, SmartTrans Limited, ProActive Recruitment and Dematic, the Mercury Awards are designed to enable supply chain management and logistics organizations to reap the rewards of innovation in their many specific fields of expertise.

Why Enter? Logistics professionals are driving a rapidly growing industry – increasingly the key to our nation's economic progress.

As a professional, nominating a young professional for a Mercury Award is an excellent way of recognising the importance of supply chain management and logistics along with all the hard work your company has put in over the past year.

Other 2007 Mercury categories include

• Logistics Leader, sponsored by SmartTrans will reward proven Logistics industry service excellence and supply chain management
• Young Professional of the Year recognizes outstanding, new recruits to the industry who are under 30
• Top Transport, Distribution and Logistics Provider is a new category generously sponsored by CHEP Asia Pacific will reward innovative approaches taken by Australian 3PLs or LLPs that bring about significant competitive advantage for their customers.
• Technology Application generously sponsored by TIG International showcases the highly creative application of technology in a supply chain context
• Australian Export, showcasing excellence in import-export supply chain innovation and strategy

Award winners will be presented with their trophy at a gala event to be held on December 5 2007 at the Anchorage Room, Waters Edge. Walsh Bay, Sydney

For more information online: http://www.logisticsmagazine.com.au/Awards.aspx