Monday May 06, 2024
Monday May 06, 2024
Monday, 5 June 2023 03:54 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) Sri Lanka is the Women’s Forum of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka. WiLAT Sri Lanka was inaugurated on 21 March 2013 and is one of the five pioneering fora in WiLAT Global. Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) was launched in June 2013 to promote logistics, transport and supply chain industry to female members and to encourage and support their career development.
By 2018, WiLAT had over 2000 members in 20 countries and by 2023, it had established its 38th chapter and was still growing. Nigeria was the first to establish a women’s group in 2010 while the global launch of WiLAT was in Colombo in June 2013. WiLAT’s vision is to be the most sought-after for advocacy, professionalism, and empowerment of women in supply chain, logistics, and transport. Its mission is to promote the status of women in logistics and transport, to bring together those who support the talent and career development of women, and to provide a support network and mentoring opportunities for women in the industry.
Annual General Meeting of WiLAT to appoint the new Chairperson and the council members for the term 2023/24, was held on 23 May at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. Prof. Renuka Herath, University of Kelaniya was unanimously appointed to lead WiLAT team for the year 2023/24 supported by Aitken Spence Logistics Assistant General Manager Prashani Liyanage in the capacity of the Secretary and National Transport Commission Director (Planning) Vijitha Weerasinghe as the incoming Treasurer for the year 2023/24.
Professor Renuka Herath will also be supported by three Vice Chairpersons (VCs), Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka Head of Manufacturing Aranthi Fernando as the VC Membership Development, Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd. Head of Customer Service and Logistics Rumal Fernando as the VC Branding and Sponsorships and Schneider Electric Lanka Ltd. General Manager Supply Chain and Logistics Kumari Sumanasekara as the VC Membership Services. Council members will be aptly supported by 12 dynamic professionals from Logistics and Supply Chain industry and of leading organisations in Sri Lanka to take annual agenda of WiLAT forward. This occasion was graced by Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka Chairperson Dr. Namali Sirisoma, members of WILAT SL Exco and CILT Sri Lanka Council, industry eminent personalities and CILT/ WiLAT SL broader membership.
Prof. Renuka is a Chartered member of CILT and an active Executive Committee member of WiLAT Sri Lanka. She joined WiLAT in 2016 and served as the Vice Chairperson from the year 2021. In her professional career, she has over 18 years of experience as an academic at the University of Kelaniya and as a visiting lecturer in Supply Chain Management for many state and private universities. Prof. Renuka holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management from Newcastle University, UK and an MBA with a Merit from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, Sri Lanka. She is a regular keynote speaker at national and international conferences and research symposia and carries a great wealth of knowledge and experience with her.
After accepting her new position and addressing the gathering, Prof. Renuka Herath shared her vision for WiLAT SL and stressed the need to urgently address the gaps in industry awareness among younger generation and the need to nurture specialised graduates in Supply Chain Management who would help take the industry forward in future. She also stated that it’s important to focus on encouraging female participation and introducing females to the industry to drive inclusivity and diversity among the industry and amongst professionals. She also promised to align her objectives to four key pillars of thrust at WiLAT Global which is leadership, mentorship, entrepreneurship and empowerment and in doing so, to work collaboratively with its parent body, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).
The outgoing Chairperson Niroza Gazzali thanked her Executive Committee for the unsparing support extended to her over the past two years in embracing her management style and quickly adjusting to the post pandemic atmosphere. She then thanked the three committees led by her three Vice Chairpersons, Treasurer and Secretary for the remarkable support which led WiLAT Sri Lanka to a stronger position with much expanded membership. Her appreciation was also extended to the Past WiLAT SL Chairpersons, WiLAT SL Founding Chairperson Gayani De Alwis, CILTSL Chairpersons during her two years of tenure for their unwavering support extended to her and the Exco. She expressed her confidence in the new team who has come forward to take WiLAT to greater heights by saying, “I am sure under the incoming Chairperson, WiLAT SL will continue to be driven in the right direction aligning itself to CILT and focus on supporting and empowering women in the industry to be stronger, independent and to be inclusive and most preferred in the verticals they represent.”
During the term 2021/2022, WiLAT SL brought a 56% increase in CILT student membership and 45% overall growth in membership with its strong program line up crafted and executed by the Membership Development Committee, including five membership drives and a couple of educational webinars. The revamped mentoring program ‘Ignite’ included regular performance evaluations for mentees and speed mentoring by CILT International for the mentors. ‘Knowledge Hub’ was another fruitful program initiated by the committee, where a pre-registered groups of fresh lecturers were given with the opportunity to visit several manufacturing and operational sites to provide them with practical insights which would support their lectures back in the classroom.
WiLAT SL also held a successful International Women’s Day celebration lead by the Branding and Sponsorship Committee, together with ‘Pickme’ Lady Riders Unit promoting gender inclusivity and diversity in the male dominant transport industry and to appreciate how digital platforms could support women empowerment within the industry and society. Project “Traverse” was another initiative by the Branding and Sponsorship Committee in 2022 to bridge the gap between students and industry by supporting a selected batch of fresh graduates to accelerate their career advancement and learnings through a series of training programs and internship placements that were facilitated through WiLAT network and matched with industry standards.
Membership Services Committee also organised several value adding field visits and webinars focusing on students to capture knowledge in the industry. These visits included to distribution centres of Hayleys Advantis and Unilever Sri Lanka showcasing efficient warehousing, best practices, and goods flow arrangements, as well as to Ratmalana International Airport and its ATC to demonstrate on its end-to-end operation. Through all these means, WiLAT SL feeds in a wealth of knowledge and experience to the academia and the industry, that is necessary to compete with tomorrow’s world.
Addressing the audience, WiLAT SL Founding Chairperson Gayani De Alwis mentioned how WiLAT Sri Lanka has gained the spotlight of WiLAT Global community by driving WiLAT agenda spotlessly with great rigour and passion. She also emphasised the fact that individuals who have emerged from WiLAT SL as creators and doers are being recognised on global platforms and driving global sub committees setting a great example for anyone who wants inspiration and motivation to commit and work towards what they believe in. She made a special mention to the past committees for making WiLAT the most sought-after professional body for women working in the space of supply chain, logistics and transport and wished the newly elected Chairperson and her committee the best of strength to continue the efforts with greater initiatives to uplift and support the community and industry.
Dr. Namali Sirisoma who graced the occasion as the Chairperson of CILT SL, also thanked the outgoing Chairperson and the committee for their outstanding commitment in the past year and extended her and council’s continuous support to the incoming Chairperson and the Exco.
The newly appointed WiLAT Exco, will together stand stronger as a leading female advocacy group in Sri Lanka and the region and will steer all initiatives for WiLAT Sri Lanka under the four key strategic thrusts of WiLAT Global – leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship and empowerment.
WiLAT SL Exco 2023/24
