National Institute of Exports holds SSA CXO Conference 2018

From left: SSA Group Founder Chairman N.C. Narayanan, SSA Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer Abhidnya Mahatekar, OREL Corporation Chief Operating Officer Sanath Wijethunga, INSEE Cement Director Procurement and Logistics Thusith C. Gunawarnasuriya, Hemas Group Group CFO Sanjeewa Samaranayake, National Chamber of Exporters Secretary General and National Institute of Exports Chief Executive Officer Shiham Marikar at the panel discussion

The National Institute of Exports (NIOE) the training arm of the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) organised a CXO Conference partnering with the SSA Group of Companies a consulting group from India. It was held on 15 May at the Hilton Colombo Residencies. CEOs and other senior officers of export enterprises participated at the event. 

The Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer Shiham Marikar in his opening address stated that, in the background of the Government entering into Free Trade Agreement (FTAs), with several countries formulating a National Exports Strategy, regaining the USA GSP facility, and other initiatives to improve the effectiveness of ports and customs services will create opportunities for you as an exporters to increase exports and diversify. 

The National Institute of Exports (NIOE) is a service oriented professional institute, and is an affiliate of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE). Its objective is to develop professional skills through training, and provide professional qualifications in the field of exports.

SSA is a leading International profitability and growth consulting firm with Headquarters in India, with regional offices in Bangladesh, Oman, South Africa, The UAE and Sri Lanka, and clients across 24 countries. SSA partners with its clients to enhance competitiveness through world class practices. The experts of SSA are known for their innovation and creativity, and experience to link strategy, process, and technology; and prides on the ‘Return on Investment’ delivered to clients.

The modules covered at the Conference are:

Your Profit Vision 2020, how to get there

Experts speak on ’Organization Change Management’ success stories from around the world and how it can be adopted by Sri Lankan companies.

Get ready as the Sri Lankan industrial and economic transformation propels forward.

Prepare to be a global player with the best in Quality – Cost – Delivery – Profitability – Sustainable Growth.

‘Lean Thinking’ – a way of life and a powerful tool, hear how it is applied.

Strategic Cost Management, see how you can change your mindset and approach to get it right.

Critical essence of change is ‘People’, build the right attitude, culture and structure to support your growth.

The main objective of the event was to create awareness regarding the consulting services provided by SSA to increase profitability to organisations and how Sri Lankan enterprises could make use of their services for the betterment of their organisations.

SSA Founder Chairman N.C. Narayanan delivered the keynote address, in which he spoke about the major transformation strategies and challenges of the developing economies. He also presented a roadmap for Sri Lankan export enterprises to take full advantage of the open economy through globalisation.

SSA COO Abhindya Mahatekar spoke about ‘SSA’s Transformation Approach’ and their experiences in South East Asia, Africa, and GCC countries where SSA extensively pioneered in transformation management.

INSEE Cement Director of Procurement and Logistics Thusith Gunawardane spoke about the ‘Transformation in Warehousing’ consulted by SSA through a case study in which a new approach helped them to reduce inventory and cost of warehousing.

Orel Corporation COO Sanath Wijetunga presented their transformation journey where SSA is currently partnering with them. He covered the Transformation in Marketing and Supply Chain which aimed for better customer service at optimum inventory.

The session concluded after a panel discussion led by Hemas Group CFO Sanjeewa Samaranayake and the other speakers at the conference. The panel gave a new perspective for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to look at the open economy as an opportunity, and move forward in the world map.

Many of the participants indicated interest in meeting the representatives of SSA for one to one meetings to discuss how their organisations could benefit from SSA.