Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain - Africa

Supply Chain Action Network Meeting
2022-04-26 14:00 - 17:00 UTC
Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) Meeting
Supply Chain Implications of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Africa
How will the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) affect your supply chains? Don’t miss the discussion at CARISCA’s upcoming event.
CARISCA’s Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) engages supply chain stakeholders in Ghana and across Africa to discuss current topics, trends, opportunities and challenges for managing African supply chains. The goal is to create a strong network of policymaking, private sector and civil society organizations to strengthen supply chain research, education and facilitate knowledge transfer.
At our next SCAN meeting, you will participate in a high-level discussion about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an Africa-wide trade agreement, and its implications for integrating African businesses into global supply chains. The World Bank estimates AfCFTA has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, boost wages by 10 percent and increase intra-African exports by 81 percent.
Join us to

Learn about AfCFTA and how it can help African companies boost intracontinental and global exports
Understand the current challenges to full implementation
Interact with supply chain experts
Network with logistics, procurement and supply chain colleagues

This meeting will feature presentations from Mr. Emmanuel K. Bensah Jr., Deputy Executive Director–AfCFTA Policy Network, and Professor Jonathan Annan, Associate Professor in Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain at the Strathmore University Business School, Kenya.
This event is free of charge – register today! We look forward to seeing you there.
Questions? Please contact Ms. Elsie Konadu Addae, the Centre Administrator, at ekaddae@carisca.knust.edu.gh or +233265654718.
SPEAKERS’ PROFILES
Emmanuel K. Bensah Jr

Emmanuel K. Bensah is Deputy Executive Director of AfCFTA Policy Network, with responsibility for African Union (AU) Policy Programming; Outreach and Partnerships. He is also an ECOWAS and AU Policy Analyst with cumulative experience in the African Union, ECOWAS, UNECA, OECD and Sahel West Africa Club. He has been a member of the Agenda 2063 Media Network since 2017 and the African Peer Review Mechanism Communicator’s Network since May 2019.
Bensah has an M.A. in International Politics from the renowned Brussels-based Centre Européen de Récherche Internationales et Stratégiques and has UN certification in Regional Trade (2011); Continental Free Trade Area (2012); and acquired a UNITAR/ECOWAS certificate on Multilateral Trade Negotiations.
Bensah was the first journalist to interview Chief Technical Advisor of the AfCFTA Negotiations Prudence Sebahizi on what was then CFTA. He has moderated at international conferences, including AU’s Regional Youth Consultation in Abuja; NEPAD’s Africa Environment Partnership Programme (AEPP) in Nairobi; and in Dakar, where he moderated a session on “Institutional Architecture of the African Continental Free Trade Area” (AfCFTA) at a Stakeholder’s Forum for Private Sector and Civil Society. In 2019, He was asked to moderate the Second Edition of the Arusha Symposium, which focused on AfCFTA and the AU’s Free Movement of People Protocol.

Professor Jonathan Annan

Professor Jonathan Annan is an Associate Professor of Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the prestigious Strathmore University Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. His research focuses on the interface between Transport Operations, Logistics, Project Management, Sustainability and Supply Chain Management. His research has won multiple awards including the 2017 Global Innovation and Knowledge Academy Best Conference paper. Jonathan has published in leading scholarly journals such as the International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management and Thunderbird International Business Review.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Master’s Degree in Industrial Management and a Doctor of Philosophy in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute of Project Management Professionals (IPMP) and a Distinguished Fellow Member of IPMP. He is also a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT, UK). Professor Annan has authored four books on Supply Chain and has consulted for several companies in Ghana and Kenya on Transportation, Logistics, Operations and Supply Chain Management policies.
Professor Annan is currently the Programme Lead for Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain and Operations Management at Strathmore University Business School. He has represented Strathmore University on National Dialogues in Kenya. He has been a speaker for various events organized by the Kenya Institute of Supply Management, Zetova, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development and many others.

Distinguished Lecture Series with Veronica Villena
2022-06-16 17:00 - 19:00
The Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain – Africa hosts Distinguished Lecture Series and invite scholars and supply chain practitioners to deliver in-depth presentations to faculty and students of KNUST and other stakeholders. The series aims at providing attendees with the opportunity to learn about best practices, new techniques and ideas, and from exemplary research activities and case studies.
Join Us for CARISCA’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
The topic for this Lecture “Do Sustainability and Resilience Go Hand in Hand? The Case of Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers” will be delivered by Veronica Villena, Associate Professor, W.P Carey School of Business – Arizona State University.
Register Today!!
Meet the Speaker

Veronica Villena is an associate professor of supply chain management at the W.P Carey School of Business, Arizona State University.
Her research focuses on how companies engage their global supplier network to achieve economic, environmental and social outcomes. She has worked with leading sustainability companies in the automotive, electronics, consumer product, pharmaceutical, fashion and food sectors on how they can diffuse their environmental and labor practices to their first-, second-and third-tier suppliers. Her research explores the challenges companies face in cascading their environmental and labor requirements to these upstream suppliers while informing the reasons why suppliers do not fulfill such requirements. She has done extensive grounded research in several emerging/developing countries and worked with industry organizations and NGOs to better understand the environmental and labor conditions in supplier factories.
She won the 2019 Jack Meredith Best Paper award at the Journal of Operations Management and the Chan Hahn Best Paper Award of the Academy of Management (OSCM division) in 2016 and 2020. Her work has been published in a variety of prestigious journals, including Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and Decision Sciences. She also publishes in managerial outlets such as Harvard Business Review and Supply Chain Management Review. She currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Operations Management and a senior editor for Production and Operations Management. Villena’s research papers can be accessed at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Veronica_Villena.

2022 Paper Development Workshop - Pre-Conference Workshop
2022-06-27 09:00 - 16:00
If you are faculty or a senior doctoral candidate in a higher education institution (HEI) in Africa, CARISCA invites you to participate in the special Paper Development Workshop, a pre-conference session of our Annual Supply Chain Research Summit. The workshop will be held in person at KNUST on Monday, June 27, 2022, 9 am – 4 pm GMT.
The number of seats for the program is limited. To be eligible, you must be a faculty or senior doctoral student in an African HEI, register for the conference, have a complete or near-complete research paper, and commit to attending the summit in person. The same paper may or may not be submitted for presentation at the main Summit.
Click here for more details
To be considered for the 2022 CARISCA Paper Development Workshop, please apply online by Friday, April 1, 2022.
Accepted participants will be notified by May 2, 2022. If you have questions, please email Professor Adegoke Oke at Adegoke.Oke@asu.edu.
The workshop is fully supported by the Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain – Africa (CARISCA); there is no cost to attendees.

CARISCA'S 2022 Supply Chain Research Summit
2022-06-28 - 2022-06-30 | KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
The Second Annual Supply Chain Research Summit is scheduled for June 28-30, 2022.
The summit will be a hybrid event featuring in-person and virtual presentations. In-person sessions will be held in Ghana at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi; virtual sessions will be held via Zoom.

Call for papers open now: Share your expertise at the 2022 Summit
Subscribe to the CARISCA mailing list to receive updates.

Submit your abstract now!

Save the date for the 2022 Research Summit June 28-30, 2022
Subscribe to the CARISCA mailing list to receive updates.

Subscribe for updates

For more information on the summit, click here to visit our page

CARISCA Hackathon- Breeding and Hatching Supply Chain Innovations Beyond Borders
2022-07-08 - 2022-07-09
CARISCA INNOVATION LAB HACKATHON COMPETITION PLAN
The CARISCA Innovation Lab has innovation as one of its pillars. A hackathon is a tool that can be used to drive sustained innovation and crowdsource solutions to address real-life business problems and social issues.
Why a hackathon?
Currently, the lab is searching for innovative ideas and projects that are student engineered to help drive the lab into its vision as a hub for supply chain innovation and creativity in Ghana, West Africa, and beyond. Hackathons have some clear advantages over traditional methods of hunting for ideas and talents. They are inclusive, agile, and promote multidisciplinary collaboration. They have shorter innovation cycles and are better suited for addressing fast-changing consumer demands.
TARGET AUDIENCE / PARTICIPANTS
Undergraduate Students, Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Postgraduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology
Registration is free for participants
Time and Date
8th – 9th July 2022
VENUE
CARISCA Innovations Lab, KNUST
DURATION
It’s going to be a 2-day Hackathon
REGISTRATIONS
Participants would have to register online using the following link.
https://forms.gle/53zTYKnMquWCwgds7

CPD -Supply Chain Digitalisation
2022-08-30 - 2022-08-31
Learn to help fulfill customer needs and improve decision-making using existing and emerging digital technologies in our continuing professional development course, “Supply Chain Digitalisation,” Aug. 30-31.
Attend in-person in Adjirinagor, Accra, Ghana, or from anywhere via Zoom. Our innovative, practical and evidence-based CPD programs are for senior professionals who want to acquire new skills, network and improve their organization’s supply chain management.
Your investment in this two-day workshop is GH¢600.00 for in-person participation and GH¢300.00 for online Zoom.
This investment will cover your fees, training materials, a buffet lunch and two snack breaks each day, and a certificate of participation.

Register before August 23, https://wp.dev.ksbadesua.net/product/supply-chain-digitalization/

Distinguished Lecture Series with John Karani
2022-09-02 15:00 - 16:30
Join CARISCA’s Distinguished Lecture Series with John Karani, president of the Kenya Institute of Supplies Management (KISM). The title is “The Journey Toward Supply Chain Management Professionalism: Lessons From the Kenya Institute of Supplies Management”
About the speaker
John Karani is the Chairman of the Kenya Institute of Supplies Management (KISM).
Karani is a seasoned Pan-African Procurement; Supply Chain Professional with over 27 years’ experience in major blue-chip multinationals across Africa, 18 of them as Strategic Procurement Director with Coca-Cola Africa, covering 39 countries in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Karani is passionate about entrenching integrity and credibility in the Supply Chain Management Profession by ensuring that we “earn our seat at the decision-
making table” by developing and inspiring the next generation of professionals to
positively impact the role that Supply Chain Profession plays in Organizational
competitiveness, efficiency and effectiveness.
Register
To register in advance for this event, visit https://bit.ly/DLS092022

CARISCA Training Series
2022-09-22 16:00 - 18:00
Learn how to create quality research questions
If you’re an academic and would like to learn how to create quality research questions, join us September 22 for a virtual workshop on that topic.
Knowing how to create quality research questions is essential to reaching your objective for your study – and your career. Your research questions set the stage for your entire study. They determine your literature review. They guide your methodology. They shape how you analyze the results. They help you weave the story of your research when you share it with the public.
During the workshop, you’ll review and critique sample research questions. You will learn how to connect research questions to a story the research tells. You’ll also leave the workshop with a research question checklist to follow.
Bring your own research questions to work on during the session.
Workshop times:
4-6 p.m. GMT / 5-7 p.m. BST / 12-2 p.m. EDT / 9-11 a.m. MST
Register in advance

CPD - Quantification of Health Commodities: Forecasting and Supply Planning
2022-09-27 - 2022-09-28
What you will learn
This training workshop will allow participants to improve their forecasting and supply planning skills. Participants will learn to understand the data requirements, the key steps in quantification, and select the appropriate forecasting methodology and tools.
Objectives of the Workshop
This workshop will build the capacity of supply chain practitioners and service providers within the public and private sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as the Ministries of Health and their implementing agencies, hospitals, and other private sector practitioners engaged in the quantification of health commodities.
The workshop will also contribute to bridging existing capacity gaps within organizations and ensure the availability of competent human resources to support and strengthen quantification and the supply chain management system in general.
Who can participate in this training?
This training workshop is intended for procurement and supply chain practitioners and professionals working in the health sector and working for governmental and non-governmental entities, including:

Pharmacists
Pharmacist Technicians
Medical officers
Hospital procurement and supply managers
Tender committee members in the healthcare industry
Medical stores managers
Supply chain lecturers, researchers and students;
Suppliers and manufacturers of health commodities
Officers performing similar roles

Workshop Details

Dates
Location
Venue

September 27-28, 2022
Accra
Online
In-person: KNUST African Institute of Sanitation and Waste Management, Adjiringanor
Zoom

Investment
Your investment for the in-person two-day workshop is GH¢1000.00 per person. This investment will cover your fees, training materials, a buffet lunch and two snack breaks each day, and a certificate of participation.
The cost to attend virtually via Zoom is GH¢300.00 per person. Training materials and a certificate of participation will be provided electronically.
Discounts are available to organizations with multiple participants.
Register before September 20th https://wp.dev.ksbadesua.net/product/quantification-of-health-commodities/

Distinguished Lecture Series with Kevin Dooley
2022-10-20 17:00 - 18:30
Thursday, October 20, 2022 @ 10 a.m. MST/ 5 p.m. GMT

Speaker: Kevin Dooley|| Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University

Title: Working with Industry on Supply Chain Sustainability Issues
Environmental and social issues are at the forefront of many organizations’ strategic plans. Given the significant industry needs and the rapid pace of change, now is an excellent time for academic researchers to engage industrial partners in supply chain sustainability research. This presentation will outline the topical research questions that define supply chain sustainability, and its unique dimensions of industrial engagement. Kevin will use The Sustainability Consortium as an example of how universities are well positioned to drive pre-competitive collaboration and innovation.
Register Now !

2nd Quarter Logistics Managers Index Launch Webinar
2022-11-23

Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) Meeting
2022-11-29
Supply Chain Financing: the Fintech and Traditional Banking Perspective

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. GMT
Attend in person at the Fiesta Royale Hotel in Accra, Ghana, or virtually via Zoom

Register Now

CARISCA’s Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) engages supply chain stakeholders in Ghana and across Africa to discuss current topics, trends, opportunities and challenges for managing African supply chains. The goal is to create a strong network of policymaking, private sector and civil society organizations to strengthen supply chain research, education and facilitate knowledge transfer.
Join us Nov. 29 for the next SCAN meeting to discuss two perspectives on supply chain financing. Presenting the traditional banking perspective will be Raymond Denteh, team leader for Agribusiness and Financial Services for USAID Feed the Future Market Systems and Resilience in Ghana. Presenting the fintech perspective will be Kwesi Korboe, chief executive officer of Ghana Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL).
Following the presentations and a lunch break, participants will discuss supply chain financing in breakout groups and then convene for a panel discussion.
Meet the presenters:

Raymond Denteh is an agribusiness business specialist, impact investment expert and a banker with experience in small- to middle- market investing and business development.
He also is a business development services specialist and value chains/inclusive business expert. He has rich knowledge in value chain analysis and development, fund management, market facilitation for poverty reduction, wealth creation, and capacity building.
Denteh has 20 years’ experience working across various industries, both in the private sector and international development. His key expertise is in corporate and market development advisory services, impact investment, value chain facilitation, project management and fund management.
Currently, Denteh is team lead for agribusiness and financial services for USAID’s Feed the Future Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity, being implemented by ACDI VOCA in Ghana.

Kwesi Korboe has over the past 34 years managed and provided support to agribusiness enterprises and designed, managed and implemented agricultural projects for the Government of Ghana and related agencies, USAID and other international development organizations.
He is currently executive director/CEO of GIRSAL. He previously was a USAID embedded advisor to the Ministry of Food & Agriculture.
Korboe has worked for several international organizations and local companies in senior management positions. He has served and currently serves on several boards for both agribusinesses and agricultural finance institutions.
Korboe has a master’s degree in economic policy management, a post-graduate diploma in agriculture administration, and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, all from the University of Ghana, Legon.

Distinguished Lecture Series with Denis Wolowiecki
2022-12-08
Thinking Beyond Procurement
Denis Wolowiecki
Executive Managing Director, CAPS Research
Register: https://bit.ly/DLS122022
Speaker Biography:
Denis M. Wolowiecki is executive managing director of CAPS Research, a nonprofit research center for supply management leaders. He has more than 25 years of cross-industry supply management experience as an executive, as well as the savvy of consultancies and a deep understanding of driving transformational improvements.
Prior to joining CAPS, Wolowiecki held executive supply chain and sourcing positions with Vitalant, Husqvarna Group, Aleris International, Inc., and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He also offers more than a decade of supply chain consulting knowledge, having worked with Accenture and KPMG following initial career experiences as an aerospace systems engineer.
Wolowiecki holds an MBA focused in operations and international business from Kent State University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Ohio Northern University.

CARISCA Training Series - Writing for News Outlets
2023-01-24
About the event:
Knowing how to write for nonacademic audiences is a key skill for researchers who want to have an impact beyond professional journals. Industry, institutions, policymakers, the general public and other stakeholders need research findings communicated in simple terms to aid them in decision-making.
Being able to appeal to a larger audience beyond the academic community has other benefits as well. Representing your own research for general readers is the best way to clarify any controversies around your work. Researchers who are skilled at translating their work for a lay audience tend to gain research funds and consultancy opportunities, establish an online presence and increase their number of citations.
In this workshop, you will learn the nuances involved in writing for new outlets as one avenue for making your research relevant to non-academics, especially within the African context. The training will cover how to craft your article title, opening paragraph, the main body, conclusion and, most importantly, the language.

About the presenter:

Seth Krampah is a financial and economic journalist. He is currently the regional editor and manager of Business & Financial Times newspaper, Ghana’s leading provider of business, financial and economic information. Krampah is in charge of the Ashanti, Bono & Ahafo Regions.
He holds a diploma in communication studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and information studies from the University of Ghana and a Master of Science in marketing from Kwame Nkrumah University Science & Technology.
Register Now

Distinguished Lecture Series
2023-02-09 17:00 - 18:30
Seaports and African Trade: the Role of Ports in Africa’s Economic Growth
Africa’s port infrastructure presents both challenges and opportunities for the development of trade. Among the key challenges is congestion, which was an issue on the continent long before the COVID-19 era. Another is the need for investment and technological advances to support mega shipping vessels.
On Feb. 9, Frank Ojadi from the Lagos Business School faculty will talk about the latest paradigm shifts in ports globally and the role ports are now playing to enhance trade. He will address why ports in other areas of the world play a much more important role than they do in Africa.
In his presentation, part of CARISCA’s Distinguished Lecture Series, Ojadi will first look at the fundamentals and history of port development in Africa. He will cover the early growth period and the role ports have traditionally played in African trade. He also will offer insights with respect to colonial-era port development on the continent.
Ojadi will look at the challenges African ports need to overcome to make supply chains on the continent more efficient. This issue is especially urgent considering the rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is hindered by current port infrastructure.
Other key questions the presentation will address include: How can African ports help support regional growth? How can the proper development of African ports support the hinterland regions? How can sustainability be addressed through port infrastructure?
Read More

From the editor’s perspective: Writing for non-academic audiences
2023-02-21 16:00 - 18:00
Register Here

Knowing how to write for nonacademic audiences is a key skill for researchers who want to have an impact beyond professional journals. Industry, institutions, policymakers, the general public and other stakeholders need research findings communicated in simple terms to aid them in decision making.
Being able to appeal to a larger audience beyond the academic community has other benefits as well. Researchers who are skilled at translating their work for a lay audience tend to gain research funds and consultancy opportunities, establish an online presence and increase their number of citations.
Representing your own research for general readers also is the best way to clarify any controversies around your work.
This training on how to write for a non-academic audience will cover the kind of information that is useful for practitioners, how to structure a non-academic article and keeping an article interesting for practitioner readers.
Key questions the training will answer include:

What is the typical structure of a non-academic article?
What do editors look for in this type of writing?
How does this type of writing differ from an academic paper?
How important are graphs and other visual elements and how should they be used?
What findings are of interest to practitioners as opposed to academics?

About the presenter:

Bob Trebilcock has been a magazine writer and editor since 1980. His work has appeared in magazines as diverse as Sports Illustrated and Reader’s Digest. For nearly 20 years, he was a consumer and personal finance writer for Good Housekeeping magazine, as well as Yahoo Finance and CBS MoneyWatch.
He has covered the materials handling and supply chain management fields for nearly 40 years, serving as the executive editor of Modern Materials Handling since 2009 and the editorial director of Supply Chain Management Review from 2013 to 2022. He is also responsible for producing the NextGen Supply Chain Conference, an annual event focused on emerging technologies for senior level supply chain managers.

CARISCA Training Series - “Selecting a Research Design”
2023-03-21
The goal of research is to answer questions. Good questions, however, are just the beginning. The second step is how to answer them. With the growth in the number and complexity of research designs and methods, it can be challenging to know how to select the best research design.
Whether you are an academic or applied researcher, you should have many tools in your research toolbox. A full toolbox will enable you to design the best study possible to answer your questions.
This training session will create and increase awareness about how to design a research study using three real-world examples: a qualitative/quantitative mixed analysis, a full qualitative longitudinal piece, and a conceptual piece.
About the presenter:

Glenn Richey is the Harbert Eminent Scholar in supply chain management, chair of the department of supply chain management, and research director in the Center for Supply Chain Innovation at Auburn University in Alabama.
He has published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and won numerous awards for his research. Included among these are the Cavusgil Award for the best contribution to international marketing in Journal of International Marketing and the LaLonde award for best contribution in supply chain management and logistics in the Journal of Business Logistics.
Richey currently is editor-in-chief at Journal of Business Logistics and an associate editor at the Journal of Supply Chain Management. In 2013, he received Emerald Publishing’s Leading Editor Award as co-editor of the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
He has taught across six continents as a visiting professor and research associate at many universities, including BEM Dakar in Senegal and Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia.

Faculty Workshop - “Experimental Research Designs in Supply Chain”
2023-04-03 - 2023-04-04
On April 3-4, CARISCA will host its biannual capacity-building workshop for faculty and students at KNUST and other higher education institutions in Africa.

On April 3–4, CARISCA will host its second faculty workshop of the academic year to strengthen the research capacity of faculty and graduate students at KNUST and other higher education institutions in Africa. The workshop will be held in a hybrid format, both in person at KNUST in Kumasi, Ghana, and via Zoom.
The goal of these workshops is to provide faculty with new tools for understanding the intricacies of global supply chains and finding ways to improve their efficiency. The April workshop seeks to help participants diversify their research methodology approaches to reflect current trends in the field and reduce the over-reliance on survey designs.
Mahyar Eftekhar, an associate professor of supply chain management at Arizona State University, will lead the workshop. He will expose participants to experimental research designs in supply chains, including examples of classical and field experiments.
The first day of the workshop will feature presentation and Q&A sessions. On the second day, participants will apply the concepts learned the day before. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own research questions to explore the possibility of using experimental research designs to carry out their study.
About the presenter:

Mahyar Eftekhar is an associate professor of supply chain management at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business. He also serves as a senior editor for Production and Operations Management.
Eftekhar’s studies focus on nonprofit operations management, humanitarian logistics and global health. His research formulates decision models that incorporate multiple sources of uncertainty, analyzes the impact of features of humanitarian logistics on relief capacity, and develops tools to cultivate humanitarian logistics resilience.
He has been published in the Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, and Decision Sciences. In 2019, Eftekhar won the Best Paper Award from the POMS College of Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management.
He also has won young faculty and early career awards, as well as the Outstanding Dissertation Award from Decision Sciences Institute. Eftekhar holds a Ph.D. in management science from HEC Paris.

Advisory Board meeting
2023-04-12

CARISCA Training Series - Crafting a Pitch for a Trade Journal
2023-04-18
You have conducted your research and now comes the hard part—getting published. While publishing in academic journals is critical for advancing knowledge, getting your research published in a trade journal will expand awareness of your work and its results to a wider audience.
Trade journals have a different set of requirements and expectations than academic journals. You’ll need to present your research in a way that is relevant and interesting to practitioners and other nonacademic audiences.
Join us April 18 to learn all about “Crafting a Pitch for a Trade Journal.” This CARISCA Training workshop, presented by the executive editor of CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, will cover key elements of a pitch, providing a hook, how to provide samples, and etiquette for following up.
About the presenter:

Susan Lacefield has served as executive editor of the award-winning official magazine of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) for the past five years. In this role, she serves as the primary curator of the publication’s content. She solicits and edits articles from supply chain management subject matter experts, helping them to shape their thought leadership for an audience of supply chain managers and executives.
Lacefield was one of the founding members of the magazine in 2007. She served as senior editor and editor-at-large before becoming executive editor.
Prior to joining Supply Chain Quarterly, she worked at Supply Chain Management Review. Lacefield holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and bachelor’s degrees in English and history from the College of William & Mary, also in Virginia.

Distinguished Lecture Series: Startups in the Supply Chain Ecosystem—Practice and Research
2023-04-20 17:00 - 18:30
Startups in the Supply Chain Ecosystem—Practice and Research
Startups are associated with innovation, emerging technologies, digitalization and disruptive business models. Therefore, more and more corporates are urged to access innovations that increase the competitiveness of products or productivity of processes.
The scholarly supply chain, logistics and operations management literature has up to now paid little attention to startups’ role in the supply chain ecosystem. Through his lecture on April 20, Stephan Wagner aims to motivate researchers, both in Africa and other parts of the world, to take up projects at this OM–entrepreneurship interface.
Wagner, a professor of supply chain management at ETH Zurich, will discuss research that has already shed light on different modes of corporate–startup interaction, or on the capabilities buying firms need to build up in order to identify, select and integrate startup suppliers.
The talk will also reveal the opportunities and challenges of publishing research at the OM–entrepreneurship interface.
Speaker Biography:
Stephan M. Wagner is a professor of supply chain management at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). He holds the Chair of Logistics Management and is the founder and director of the HumOSCM Lab.
Wagner is an active researcher and an advisor to several supply chain startups. He serves as an editor for five academic journals. He also is author and editor of 13 books and 150 book chapters and articles.
His award-winning research has been published in numerous journals on management, operations management and methods. Wagner’s work has particular emphasis on strategy, networks and relationships, risk, innovation, digitalization, entrepreneurship, sustainability and humanitarian operations.

Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) meeting
2023-05-04
“Supply Chain Traceability: Improving Africa’s Agriculture and Health Sectors”

Supply chain traceability is the key to unlocking the potential of Africa’s agricultural and health sectors. It involves establishing transparent and efficient processes to track and verify the movement of goods throughout the supply chain, from production to consumption.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of Africa’s economies, embracing supply chain traceability is a crucial step that can provide numerous benefits. In both the agriculture and health sectors, it can help ensure product safety, quality and compliance with regulatory standards.
On May 4, the Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) will convene to explore the possibilities for enhancing supply chain traceability to improve Africa’s agricultural and health sectors. The discussions will explore adopting cutting-edge technologies and establishing effective cross-sector collaborations to enhance supply chain traceability.
Integrating innovative technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), holds immense promise for improving traceability within Africa’s supply chains. These digital solutions can enable real-time tracking of products, ensuring authenticity and reducing the risk of fraud, counterfeiting and foodborne illnesses.
Furthermore, by leveraging these technologies, businesses can enhance efficiency, minimize waste, and better manage their resources. The ultimate outcome is increased profits.
Collaboration is another essential aspect of supply chain traceability. Bringing together stakeholders from different sectors can help create an enabling environment for implementing traceability initiatives.
By working together, these actors can establish harmonized regulatory frameworks, share best practices, and develop public-private partnerships to bolster investment in traceability infrastructure and capacity building.
The upcoming Supply Chain Action Network (SCAN) event will serve as a platform for thought leaders, policymakers and industry experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding supply chain traceability in Africa’s agricultural and health sectors.
By sharing knowledge, expertise, and experiences, participants can identify practical solutions and strategies that can be implemented across the continent to foster a more transparent, efficient and resilient supply chain ecosystem.
Join us on May 4 to learn more about the transformative potential of supply chain traceability and contribute to shaping a sustainable future for Africa’s agriculture and health sectors. The day will include two presentations followed by Q&A, lunch, a panel discussion and breakout sessions.
Meet the presenters:

Stephen Acheampong is a seasoned sustainability professional with over 15 years of diversified hands-on experience in global assurance systems such as organic certification, sustainable agriculture standards and Fairtrade compliance systems.
He currently works for the Rainforest Alliance as the senior officer for certification bodies monitoring in charge of Africa.
During his presentation, Acheampong will focus on the agriculture sector, examining the significance of traceability in ensuring food safety, reducing waste and supporting sustainable practices. He will share successful case studies from across the continent, demonstrating how traceability has improved productivity, market access and profitability for African farmers.

Resilinc CEO Bindiya Vakil is credited with bringing supply chain risk management into the mainstream. She has helped transform the way global organizations approach supply chain visibility and risk.
She was named Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s inaugural Woman of the Year and has appeared on nationally syndicated TV, radio and print media speaking on the topic of supply chain resiliency.
Vakil will cover how supply chain mapping is helping companies better understand the health care supply chain landscape and who the players are, down to the supplier, site and part level.

Qualitative Data Analysis and Report Writing
2023-05-22
Qualitative research allows for exploration of how and why phenomena happen, such as why people behave the way they do, compared to quantitative research, which tells us the size and scope of these behaviors. But the data qualitative research generates is often unstructured.
To interpret and derive meaningful insights from the data, qualitative researchers apply structured methods and use special analytics tools. NVivo is one tool that helps researchers organize, analyze and visualize qualitative data in an efficient and effective way.
If you are working with qualitative data, join us May 22 to learn how to use NVivo to facilitate your data analysis. At this CARISCA Training Series workshop, the presenters will take you on a journey to learn how to create your codebook, code and analyze qualitative data, and make a story out of it.
They will take you through the process of setting up your project, importing your data, coding your data, and exporting your data in order to write your report.
This training is for anyone who is working with qualitative data, including students. Even if you are new to NVivo and analyzing qualitative data, you should find this workshop useful.
About the presenters:

Kekeli Adonu is the research and training coordinator for CARISCA and a social scientist specializing in social protection, quantitative and qualitative analyses in the fields of child wellbeing and poverty. Before joining CARISCA, she worked for DataPlas Ltd., the Population Council and Social Policy Research Institute.
Adonu holds a master’s degree in social protection financing from the University of Mauritius and a bachelor’s degree in economics from KNUST.

Roseanne Schuster is a senior technical advisor for CARISCA and co-lead of the access and inclusion component of the project. She also is an assistant research scientist for Arizona State University’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change and program lead for the master’s in global health program.
Schuster holds a PhD in international nutrition from Cornell University, a master’s in community health sciences from the University of Northern British Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Canisius College.

Ghana Logistics Managers Index Webinar
2023-05-23 15:00 - 17:00
Ghanaian logistics activities have weathered the storms of a near recession mid-2022 and have been resilient in the face of a challenging operating environment. Results from the 2023 first quarter Logistics Managers Index report reveal optimism that the logistics sector is rebounding.
Join us May 23 to hear more results from the latest survey of Ghanaian logistics managers and gain critical insights from the LMI researchers.
The Logistics Managers Index is a tool CARISCA created in 2022 to support decision-makers and improve businesses and livelihoods in Africa. By measuring combinations of inventory, warehouse and transportation activities and tracking the relationship between these variables, the LMI provides a timely measure of movement in logistics activities in Ghana.
The Ghana LMI is the first of its kind in Africa, and a significant step toward supply chain efficiency, visibility and transparency in the country.
The LMI measures the quarterly growth or decline of Ghana’s logistics industry based on eight key components:

Inventory levels
Inventory costs
Warehousing capacity
Warehousing utilization

Warehousing prices
Transportation capacity
Transportation utilization
Transportation prices

The full 2023 first quarter report will be released in early May, prior to the webinar. Visit the LMI website to learn more and download past reports.

Supply Chain Analytics
2023-05-24 - 2023-05-26
Given the importance of the supply chain to organizations across the globe, businesses are looking for opportunities to make processes faster, cheaper and easier as materials move from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Supply chains involve many different activities, people and organizations, which produce a vast amount of information. This overwhelming amount of data has to be processed and converted into forms that influence key decisions and lead to better results. Supply chain analytics uses data analytical tools to manage and improve supply chain functions, such as demand planning, order processing and inventory control, and risk management. This workshop will build the capacity of supply chain practitioners and service providers in both the public and private sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, to use big data to support supply chain management decisions.
What will you learn?
In this workshop, you will apply various techniques to analyze, model and visualize several aspects of operations, procurement, logistics and supply chain. Additionally, you will model various supply chain analytics on dashboards to solve industry-related problems. You will use analytical platforms and tools such as Microsoft Power BI, Python and R Studio to model the various supply chain analytics.

2023 Pre-Conference Paper Development Workshop
2023-06-19 09:00 - 16:00 | FIESTA ROYALE HOTEL, ACCRA
Call for Applications
Faculty and senior doctoral candidates from higher education institutions (HEI) in Africa are invited to participate in a special Paper Development Workshop, a pre-conference session of our annual Supply Chain Research Summit.
The workshop will be held in person at the Fiesta Royale Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on Monday, June 19, 2023, 9 am – 4 pm GMT.
The number of seats for the program is limited. To be eligible, you must be a faculty or senior doctoral student in an African HEI, register for the conference, have a complete or near-complete research paper, and commit to attending the summit in person. The same paper may be submitted for presentation at the conference but does not have to be.
The Paper Development Workshop aims to create a platform for faculty and senior doctoral candidates to meet with and seek professional advice from senior supply chain scholars on a specific academic research paper. It should be a paper you are currently working on at an advanced stage for submission or ready to be submitted to an academic journal.
One-to-one feedback will be provided in a safe environment. Participants will also be able to engage with senior colleagues in more focused discussions.
The workshop is fully supported by the Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain – Africa (CARISCA); there is no cost to attendees. However, only applicants who have fully registered for and committed to attending the main summit in person will be considered.
Application Deadline:
Friday, April 14, 2023
Accepted participants will be notified by April 28, 2023.
Questions?
Email Adegoke Oke at Adegoke.Oke@asu.edu
Apply for Paper Development Workshop Here

2023 Supply Chain Research Summit
2023-06-20 - 2023-06-22 | FIESTA ROYALE HOTEL, ACCRA
Africa’s Supply Chains and the Future of Work
CARISCA’s third annual Supply Chain Research Summit, Africa’s Supply Chains and the Future of Work, is scheduled for June 20-22, 2023. The summit will be a hybrid event featuring in-person and virtual presentations. In-person sessions will be held in Accra, Ghana, at the Fiesta Royale Hotel; virtual sessions will be held via Zoom.
Registration fees are covered courtesy of CARISCA. In-person attendees will be responsible for their own transportation and lodging. Visit the summit website for more details.

The planned tracks and topics include:
Theme Track: Africa’s Supply Chains and the Future of Work

Employability skills for Africa’s future supply chains
Workplace designs for Africa’s supply chains

Track One: General Supply Chains

Logistics and transportation management
Procurement, sourcing and supply chain management
Manufacturing and production management

Track Two: Sectoral Supply Chains

Health/pharmaceutical supply chain
Humanitarian operations and disaster management
Agriculture and commodities supply chain

Track Three: Emerging Issues in Global Supply Chains

Globalization and supply chains
Sustainability issues in supply chains
Emerging technologies in supply chains including blockchain technology, big data analytics, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence
Global supply chains and grand challenges

Track Four: Practitioner and Policy Discourse on African Supply Chains

Supply chain financing
Health supply chain policy
Supply chain technology trends in Africa

Get event updates
Please subscribe to the CARISCA mailing list to receive event updates.
About CARISCA
The Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain – Africa (CARISCA) is a partnership between the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Arizona State University (ASU) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
CARISCA’s key objective is to support higher education institutions in building the capacity necessary to provide best-in-class degree programs and training, facilitate research translation and utilization, and engage stakeholders in best practices and policy changes that strengthen supply chains.

Continuing Professional Development in Supervisory Skills for Procurement and Supply Chain Managers
2023-07-27 - 2023-07-28
Supervisory Skills for Procurement and Supply Chain Managers
The procurement and supply chain management landscape is fast changing, and managers need to develop not only the hard skills but also soft skills to effectively manage these changes. As the purchasing manager, you are responsible for leading and managing staff as well as all operational activities in this changing environment. This course provides insight on the appropriate skills for effective supervision of procurement and supply chain functions. Through practical exercises and case studies, it will also help you develop those skills and techniques. The fast-changing environment is changing the industry landscape and affecting the individual’s skills. Nowadays, the business environment has changed and new jobs emerged. With these new jobs, new skills emerge and they have not received much attention yet. In addition, the purchasing manager is responsible for leading and managing the purchasing department’s staff.
This workshop aims to equip participants with soft skills needed to manage the supply chain function. These skills include communication, motivation, negotiation and problem-solving. You will also learn how to design and implement policies and procedures, handle reporting and manage performance. Lastly, you will be equipped to manage the procurement and supply chain staff for improved performance.
Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/CPD-in-Supervisoryskills

Distinguished Lecture Series
2023-08-24
Dare to Cheat? The Liabilities of Newness and Foreignness in Containing Sustainability Fraud in China

Distinguished Lecture Series - Nathaniel Boso
2023-09-15
Register Now

In many developing markets, a robust trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens the viability of legitimate business activities. Some of the sectors most affected are processed foods, appliances, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
About 10% of medical products in low- and middle-income countries are counterfeit, according to the World Health Organization. In Ghana, up to 30% of all medicines on the market are fake. And the Ghana Standards Authority has observed that over 70% of imported electrical cables were substandard and a major cause of fire outbreaks.
Widespread poverty in major urban communities is a contributing factor, as it erodes the negative stigma associated with consumption of illicit goods. Weak intellectual property protections and an inefficient law-enforcement system exacerbate the problem.
Despite government policies meant to encourage investments by multinational enterprises, the prevalence of counterfeit goods discourages legitimate businesses from expanding to these markets.
On September 15, Nathaniel Boso, professor of international marketing and strategy at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), will talk about what governments can do to alleviate this roadblock to investment.
“Now, they offer juicy incentives in the form of tax breaks, lower interest rates, friendly trade policies, deregulation and grants, loans and subsidies,” Boso says. “An alternative strategy is to encourage local subsidiaries of multinational enterprises to establish ties with the national government itself, local chieftains and religious institutions. Such ties are associated with growth in sales and profit.”
In his lecture, Boso will present findings from his studies of nearly 650 multinational subsidiaries operating in 23 sub-Saharan African countries.
The research shows these companies can gain advantages in the host African countries by mobilizing leaders from multiple political and cultural institutions. In fact, he found that the more dysfunctional the host country institutions become, the greater the impact these relationships have on the subsidiaries’ performance.
About the speaker:

Nathaniel Boso

Nathaniel Boso has won multiple international awards for his scholarship. Notably, in 2021, his article “(How) Does Africa Matter for International Business Scholarship?” won the Academy of International Business Insight Outstanding Article Award. In 2019, he was recognized for authoring the paper in the Journal of International Marketing that made the most significant contribution to the advancement of international marketing management that year.
His research focuses on the interface between international entrepreneurship, industrial marketing and supply chain strategy. It has been published in numerous high-impact journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, International Journal of Production Economics and Journal of International Business Studies.
In addition to being an award-winning scholar, Boso holds multiple academic titles and administrative appointments. Among these are the prestigious OR Tambo Africa Research Chair, dean of the KNUST School of Business and director of CARISCA. He also holds positions as Extraordinary Professor of International Business at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and visiting professor at Strathmore University in Kenya.
