Fritz Pinnock (second left), executive director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute, discusses the importance of Information Technology in Supply Chain Management with Marjory Kennedy (right), president of the Jamaica Exporters' Association. Also participating in the discussion after the Shipping Association of Jamaica's most recent Lunch and Learn seminar are Nadia Fong (left), sales and marketing manager of JTS Trading, and Chris Kennedy, managing director of Eagle and Whale Limited, joint sponsors of the seminar. -Contributed

Last week's Lunch and Learn seminar on 'The Missing Link in Jamaica's Supply Chain' proved to be a thought-provoking session for all shipping professionals who were in attendance. Staged by the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), the seminar was held on Tuesday, May 22 at the SAJ's Newport West offices with a multimedia presentation by Fritz Pinnock, executive director of the Caribbean Maritime Institute.

Participants were also addressed by Chris Kennedy, managing director of Eagle & Whale Limited, and Nadia Fong, sales and marketing manager of Jamaica Trading Services Limited, joint sponsors of the seminar.

Allocation OF resources

Last week's seminar focused on resource allocations in supply-chain management and the extent to which labour rates drive supply-chain decisions. Pinnock pointed out that "information technology is the key link in the supply chain as it allows participants to make informed decisions on how to improve customer service on a real-time basis".

The Hon. Noel Hylton, president of the Port Authority of Jamaica, will be the presenter for the next Lunch and Learn seminar scheduled to take place at the SAJ office in Newport West on Thursday, June 14. He will speak on the topic 'Kingston as a regional 'hub port': competitive and comparative advantage'. Participants are being asked to register with the SAJ by Tuesday, June 12 because of limited space.

The next Lunch & Learn seminar is being sponsored by APM Terminals (Jamaica) Limited.

The SAJ launched the monthly Lunch and Learn seminars in July 2006 in an effort to raise the awareness of developments in regional and global shipping for stakeholders in the industry.