Deadline to apply for SLFFA National Logistics Awards 2021 extended

NLA 2021 judging panel Chair and CINEC Campus Dean of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences Prof. Lalith Edirisinghe

The deadline to apply for the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA) organised inaugural National Logistics Awards 2021 (NLA 2021) has been extended by two weeks from the date of lifting of the quarantine curfew in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The awards ceremony is planned to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo in the final quarter of the year.

The Daily Financial Times (Daily FT) is the official Print Media Partner, whilst TV1, Yes FM and Legends (Maharaja Broadcasting Corporation) are the official Electronic Media Partners of this event.

The National Logistics Awards currently is the sole awards ceremony dedicated to the field of logistics. An 11-member panel comprising a variety of public and private sector experts, as well as academics from the field of transport and logistics will judge applicants based on a scientific method that incorporates selected elements of the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Indicator (LPI).

SLFFA said that the NLA 2021 has already been endorsed by 28 organisations and bodies, including the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Sri Lanka Customs, Sri Lanka Shippers Council, Ceylon Association of Ship Agents, CINEC Campus, SriLankan Airlines, Airport and Aviation Services and the Board of Investment Sri Lanka, among others. At the time of writing, we were still receiving endorsements, highlighting the importance and prominence that is placed upon the field of Logistics in Sri Lanka.

Panel Chairman for the NLA 2021’s judging panel Professor Lalith Edirisinghe, who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences at CINEC Campus, said that logistics is a relatively new field in comparison to other established fields, and one that has undergone a lot of evolution and transformation over the past few decades. 

“Logistics is the result of a transformation that includes the fields of economics, sociology and politics, among others. We’ve been patiently developing it over decades, and it is now at a stage where we can all stand proud of what we’ve achieved.” 

Professor Edirisinghe further notes, “Logistics is a field where academic institutions and logistics companies work hand-in-hand, along with engagement at school level. We need to convince Advanced Level students that logistics is a career path option for them. They can pursue a course of further studies in logistics and are offered employment by companies in the field after they graduate. This is a holistic experience that provides them the best stepping stones into a career in logistics. Thus, awards such as the NLA are the crowning glory, the showcase of what the logistics industry has achieved, and how it is evolving to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. These awards are important to inspire the current, as well as future generations of Logistics professionals.”

Professor Edirisinghe has stated that Logistics is a relatively new field. Taking us through the evolution of the field, he says, “Logistics is the result when manufacturing, warehousing and transportation come together and work in synergy. A few decades ago, these sectors worked in silos. Logistics was not recognised as it is today. Now it is an integral part of supply chain. In the past, Logistics was not spoken of in the same breath as Medicine, Engineering, Law or Accounting when making a career choice. 

“When I commenced my professional career in 1981, these were the major and popular career choices available to an eager youth who had just completed his Advanced Levels. However, I was interested in shipping (transportation), and thus headed off in that direction, which led me on a path of professional, as well as academic development, culminating in my current position. Today, this perception of Logistics has somewhat changed because logistics plays a very important role in the current global trade environment, and the current generation of logisticians realise the need for a future generation to continue carrying the industry on a forward march.”

Professor Edirisinghe goes on to illustrate, “Logistics is a derived-demand function. You do not have cargo ships travelling between ports just for the sake of it, for example. They travel, because someone has a need to move their goods from Point A to Point B. The way this carriage of goods is conducted is critical, as without logistics, global trade simply would not exist the way it does today. Logistics has to move the correct goods to the correct destinations in a timely and efficient way. To put it simply, one of the pillars of Logistics is to employ sophisticated resources management, in order to achieve the best possible outputs with minimal inputs, and this is one of the things that effective Logisticians are masters at.”

There have been inroads into bringing more prominence on the field of logistics. Professor Edirisinghe notes, “We now have a National Logistics Day, which is August 16th of every year. There is increased awareness among the public on the role of logistics, and we see an uptick in students who are interested in following courses of study in the field. We continue to strive to create a logistics culture where its importance will be understood by everyone concerned.”

Returning to the competition, Professor Edirisinghe explained as per the judging criteria, the most apt criteria is to adapt certain dimensions from the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Indicator, or LPI, as that was found to be the best judging methodology after intense study by the judging panel. “Unlike more established fields, the field of logistics has relatively few models and theorems, as it primarily evolved in a practical-based environment. Thus, we decided to select the LPI after much study and evaluation. The LPI consists of six dimensions, namely infrastructure, logistics quality and competence, customs, handling of international shipments, tracking and tracing, and timeliness.

“We understand that certain dimensions such as infrastructure and customs are areas which our applicants are not able to control, therefore they will not be evaluated on these areas. International shipment handling does fall under their purview somewhat, and thus will be incorporated into the criteria. The other three areas, namely logistics quality and competence, tracking and tracking, and timeliness are all within their control and thus we can strongly evaluate applicants on these.”

The application process will require applicant to submit data pertaining to their companies, and SLFFA understands that data security is a major concern, particularly in the current era of data-driven economies and the easy sharing of data. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) will be signed between SLFFA and all required parties. Furthermore, sensitive metrics such as revenue figures, business volumes and staffing numbers will be presented as ranges which the applicant can select from, rather than providing exact figures. All required data will be discreetly viewed and evaluated by the judging panel, with appropriate efforts taken to prevent any unauthorised access.

The judging panel of the NLA 2021 comprises eleven leaders and professionals from the public, private and academic sectors. The Panel Chair is Professor Lalith Edirisinghe, an experienced professional with a wealth of industry and academic knowledge. He leads a team of 10, comprising the following members: CINEC Campus Faculty of Management and Social Sciences Dean Professor Lalith Edirisinghe who is also the Panel Chairman, Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) Director General Chitranjali Dissanayake, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Chief Executive Officer of audit form Sujeewa Mudalige, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Captain Nihal Keppetipolla, Sri Lanka Customs Director General of Customs Major General Vijitha Ravipriya, Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala, Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka (AASL) Chairman Major General (Rtd) G.A. Chandrasiri, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) Career Guidance Unit Director Dr. Namali Sirisoma, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) President Channaka De Alwis, University of Moratuwa Senior Lecturer Dr. Amila Thobbotuwawa, and Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council Immediate Past Chairman Suren Abeysekara.

Organisations keen in applying for the NLA 2021, kindly get in touch with Shavindra Dias (Chairman Organizing Committee) - 071066 6078 - [email protected] or Rohan Induruwa - 077780 9777 - [email protected].